Chapter 55.7 [Li Nai] Part Two
“Nai, come down for dinner.”
“Nana?”
Creak, creak. The sound of slippers on the floor was getting closer. Yesterday, she would have given up after calling me twice. But today, it seemed she could no longer hold back and was coming up.
“What are you doing, you idiot Nai! Can you just come down and eat quickly!”
With a kick, she opened my room door. Wearing an apron with a heart pattern, arms crossed, and a fierce look on her face yelling at me to come down for dinner was Zi’ai…
Who knows why she suddenly came to my house and decided to live here.
“I’m giving you three counts to roll off that bed immediately and come eat! Otherwise, I’ll strip you naked and hang you upside down on the balcony!”
So barbaric. The Zi’ai from before was not like this at all, but this guy is the ‘main body’. The Zi’ai from before was just her spiritual reflection… As expected, a woman’s inner self is a womanific… If Juncheng knew, would he be disillusioned?
Pah, pah, pah, why am I even thinking of him! I decided to forget him! Really, Juncheng An, what’s wrong with you! You’re like a lingering ghost, always haunting my mind!
Forget quickly! Forget! Forget!
I originally wanted to continue wrapped in my blanket like an amoeba, but it seemed that plan was over.
“I’m coming down now.”
I struggled to get out of bed and said to Zi’ai, who was calling me down for dinner.
“Really, what’s wrong with you? You haven’t been to university at all lately, have you?”
…I’ve lost track of how many days have passed. My hair feels like it’s grown so long… Ugh, it’s so greasy and uncomfortable…
“No… it doesn’t matter anymore.”
Not just university, nothing matters anymore…
It’s all fake.
“You’re just heartbroken, aren’t you? Do you have to act like the world has ended and be so out of it?”
Seeing me like this, Zi’ai raised her eyebrows and said something that sounded easy for her to say.
Remembering that seemingly innocent face, anger suddenly surged, and I jumped off the bed and yelled.
“I’m not heartbroken! Huh?! Waaah!!!”
Then I tripped over the rolled-up blanket and fell flat on my face on the floor.
“Pfft, as expected of a girl in love, even her inner god is so childish.”
“I am not!”
After changing, I sat at the dining table again. Zi’ai also took off her apron and sat opposite me, clasping her hands together in prayer.
“Why are you praying?”
“Heh, you’re finally willing to talk to me properly.”
Seeing Zi’ai’s smile, I suddenly felt that perhaps I had been giving up on myself a little before. Locking myself in my room all the time was just escaping reality… No, it was just escaping this virtual world.
“I’m not praying, I’m thanking the god who allowed me to have such an experience.”
“Are you referring to the god of this world? Aren’t you and Ji Lianbing gods of this world?”
They both know everything and can make people in this world disappear or reappear at will… That’s no different from being a god, is it?
“We are just managers; this world was not created by us. This world has a true god.”
“Where?”
“Heh, right beside him?”
That “him” must be referring to Juncheng An. As expected, only that person is special. According to Ji Lianbing, everyone, including this world, was created for him.
“By the way, if this is a spiritual world, then we don’t need to eat, do we…?”
“Theoretically, that’s correct. However, when the god constructed this world, he did so entirely according to the real world. Therefore, phenomena that exist in the real world also exist here… So, rather than calling this a spiritual world, it’s more like a virtual world. In a sense, you are all just data on the network.”
“Why design it to be so complicated?”
Why not just slack off where you can? And also grant us the ability to think freely. Does the god have a malicious sense of humor for watching the show?
“You’ll have to ask that god. I don’t know why it was made so complicated either. Heh heh.”
Zi’ai is brushing me off. She clearly knows, but she’s unwilling to tell me.
“Aren’t you trying to persuade me to join Ji Lianbing’s harem…?”
“Hmm? Do you want to join?”
“…”
“If you don’t want to, then you don’t have to.”
SF Light Novel
Why did she say that so casually? I thought Zi’ai came to my house specifically to persuade me to join that utterly foolish harem, but it doesn’t seem to be the case now?
“Aren’t you guys working together?”
“To be precise, we are in a cooperative relationship because our goals are similar. The main body of me came in, but I didn’t expect her to hand over this power to a split spiritual fragment, just like me… Heh heh, perhaps she and I are indeed similar in some aspects.”
“You mean the current Ji Lianbing is not Ji Lianbing’s main body?”
“Yes, it’s just a split spiritual fragment, supplemented by a spiritual body replicated from this world. In other words, she’s no different from you, or anyone else in this world.”
“I see…”
I have a feeling she’s saying this specifically for me.
She’s no different from us?
“How unusual. I thought you would definitely try to persuade me on behalf of Ji Lianbing.”
“I only sent Juncheng to this world to preserve his soul, because that was the only way at the time. Otherwise, Juncheng would have been declared dead, and his soul would have been taken to the underworld by the Soul Messengers.”
“I feel like I’m hearing something fantastical…”
But considering that this world is a world in a mirror, it doesn’t feel so strange anymore—once you see too many strange things, you get used to them.
“But this Ji Lianbing wants to keep Juncheng in this world forever, so she created that harem. It was all to make Juncheng indulge in it and never think of leaving.”
From the moment Ji Lianbing first appeared before me, I could sense that morbid emotion.
I wondered why she would do something as foolish as ‘establish a harem’ and give Juncheng away. So it was after considering the overall situation that she decided to do so.
Juncheng is from the real world. He died in the real world. So, to temporarily preserve his soul, Zi’ai brought Juncheng into this world. From Juncheng’s perspective, he naturally wouldn’t want to stay in this strange world and would only want to return to his own world as soon as possible.
But this Ji Lianbing cannot leave this world because there is another her in the real world. So, she could only resort to this method.
Looking back now, it explains Juncheng’s strange attitude when we first met.
He knew he didn’t belong in this world and would eventually have to leave. So, facing us, whom he used to know well but who didn’t remember him, he didn’t know whether to approach or avoid us…
What an idiot—
He’s so gentle in these strange circumstances.
“…Aren’t you going to do something about it?”
“Heh, I don’t mind? If Juncheng wants to stay in this world, I will continue to help Ji Lianbing. If Juncheng wants to leave this world…” It seems Zi’ai is not entirely on Ji Lianbing’s side but is playing a neutral role.
“And on the other hand, in the real world, the ‘Zi’ai An’ you know has not yet found a way to revive Juncheng, so for now, it’s impossible to send Juncheng out.”
“Speaking of which… why did you send that Zi’ai out? Shouldn’t you have gone out yourself?”
“She’s more capable than me. Because she merged with Juncheng’s spiritual body, she understands Juncheng’s thoughts better than I do, and she’s more persistent. She has those qualities that I lack.”
At this point, Zi’ai suddenly paused, slowly shaking her head as if denying her own words, and said with a wry smile.
“No, these are all excuses. It’s probably just because I don’t know how to face Juncheng… I don’t know if I can still be like before with him… I feel like meeting him in this state would create a gap between us… Maybe I’m overthinking it… …”
Heh, you’re talking about me? Your indecisive look is more like a girl in love.
No, it’s more like a girl with a crush? Pfft, unexpectedly, it’s kind of cute.
I picked up my chopsticks, propped my cheek, and asked this surprisingly cute Zi’ai casually.
“Speaking of which, why are you telling me this? I remember you would modify the memories of those who noticed something was wrong. But you never performed memory cleansing on me…”
“Because you are an exception.”
“Yes, this world is a world within the Yata no Kagami mirror. Replicated spiritual bodies have an inextricable connection with their main bodies, and their experiences and personalities are largely similar, which is why they are realistic enough. But… Li Nai, you are the only one who is completely different.”
I frowned and pressed further.
“What do you mean? Why am I the only one who’s different?”
“You must have noticed it yourself. You have no past memories, your parents aren’t around, and you’re alone… Do you think this setting truly fits your past experiences? No, it’s simply because there’s no trace, so this is how you had to be placed.”
I indeed have no past memories, and my parents aren’t around. I once thought the world was fake, so when Ji Lianbing told me that this world was indeed fake, I wasn’t too surprised. I just thought, ‘As expected.’
But I never thought about why I was in such a situation. Why—why am I the only one without past memories?
“Well, it’s just a guess, but maybe it’s because your main body in the real world is a zombie.”
“…Zombie?! Zombie, you mean like in the movies? Bloody, slow-moving, with eyes rolling back?”
“Not as bad as you describe. Besides having slightly pale skin, your real-world self is quite like an ordinary person… unfortunately,
“your brain is a bit… Hmm, I don’t think you’d want to know what your main body is usually like…”
“My brain is messed up? Huh?! Zi’ai, tell me! What am I like! Tell me quickly!”
I leaned forward and reached for Zi’ai’s collar. Zi’ai leaned back and raised her hands to stop me, saying with some difficulty.
“…Probably the type who’s always grinning, always does stupid things on impulse, is carefree, and sometimes goes crazy… a lunatic.”
“You! Say! What!”
I slammed the table and stood up, my chopsticks falling to the floor with a clatter.
I—my real-world self is actually a lunatic?!
I absolutely cannot accept this!
Why is the real me a moronic woman!
“That’s why I said you’re completely different. Whether it’s your personality, your memories, or anything else, you’re not similar at all to the Li Nai I knew. Li Nai, as a spiritual body, what… what are you born from?”
Zi’ai looked into my eyes seriously and said.
If my real-world self is that kind of girl, then why… am I like this?
Zi’ai said that the spiritual bodies in this world are all connected to their main bodies, and their experiences and personalities are basically the same… Only… only… completely different from the main body.
Could it be—I’m not ‘Li Nai’? Not even a replicated fake…
Then what am I?
