Chapter 36: Nostalgia

When they first encountered the surprise inspection, Ha-neul was just as startled.

'All of a sudden?'

This was her first time experiencing something like this too.

Usually they wouldn't even spare a glance, but now it was clear the royal family was on edge because of that Lemegeton cult.

'What should I do?'

Her mind went blank as a result.

While she had an adventurer's badge, Yor had nothing to prove his identity. Only she knew that he was a holder of demon's blood.

Various ominous thoughts flashed through her mind.

Then suddenly, a decent solution crossed her mind.

It was to use the magic she had learned - Illusion.

This magic that could deceive human sight could even create things that didn't exist.

"What are you waiting for? Hurry up and take it out."

So she decided to put on a brief act.

Ignoring her pounding heart, she maintained her usual calm exterior.

Fortunately, being naturally stoic made it easy to keep a straight face.

Quick to catch on, he smoothly played along with her act.

While he pretended to search his pockets, Ha-neul formed the image in her mind.

Creating an illusion wasn't just about pouring in mana.

You needed a concrete mental image to properly create a phantom.

What she visualized was an adventurer's badge.

Now that she had the image, it was time to naturally reveal the illusion.

"...Wait, let me look for it."

With that, she reached into his pocket without waiting for permission.

She could sense Yor's momentary surprise, but the situation was too urgent to worry about that.

While pretending to search his front pocket, she was actually creating the adventurer's badge with magic.

Illusion wasn't a particularly fast spell to cast.

Probably because it required forming such a detailed mental image.

As a result, the time Ha-neul spent rummaging in his pocket grew longer.

After a while...

Along with a soft sound, she felt something strange in her hand.

Though just for an instant, it was clearly a different texture from the rough pocket.

Moreover, judging by the contours she felt, it was quite substantial in size.

'Huh?'

While briefly wondering what it could be, she soon realized what it was.

She was searching his front pocket, and there was only one thing that would feel strange in a man's front pocket.

'This is a d─'

Oh fuck.

She mentally cursed.

They even implemented this kind of sensation? What the hell was going through this game company's heads?

Damn, she should have raised her synchronization rate higher. She regretted only raising it to 45%.

Another thought also crossed her mind.

'...I'm screwed.'

Even if it was an accident, touching a man's... well, that area. It was clearly sexual harassment.

In real life, she'd have no defense if taken to the police station.

While that wouldn't happen since this was a game, it could still seriously damage her NPC trust rating.

Still, her magic didn't break.

Amidst strange feelings of embarrassment, happiness, and anxiety, she finally completed the guild badge.

She showed the illusory guild badge to the guards.

An adventurer's badge with a large 'B' engraved on it.

The guards nodded upon seeing it.

"My word, B-class at that age, impressive."

"Ahem, hem... though we'd appreciate if you'd refrain from public displays of affection..."

Her actions had been too suspicious, leading to unnecessary misunderstandings.

"No, that's not what-!"

"Well then, have a good day. Thank you for cooperating with our inspection."

Ha-neul tried desperately to deny it, but the guards had already left.

All that remained were two people standing awkwardly.

A strange silence enveloped them for a moment. She tried to explain while cooling her burning face.

"Th-that was just because of the magic, I had no choice... Anyway, it wasn't intentional... you know that, right?"

It's not like she could just materialize an adventurer's badge out of thin air, right?

In other words, it was force majeure. How could she have known he'd have something so massive down there?

Anyway, Ha-neul felt wronged.

Yor stared at her with a blank expression. Though his usual poker face, something about his fierce features made it feel like he was glaring.

After a moment, Yor grinned and said:

"...So you've got a naughty side too, huh?"

"No...!"

She could only desperately protest her innocence.

*

Despite the slight(?) incident.

The city exploration continued smoothly.

While I was briefly startled too, I knew she had acted to save me.

I'm not enough of a jerk to get angry over something like that.

'And...'

Honestly, how could something like this make me feel bad?

While I don't know how the "men" here would take it, as a sigma chad it was just amusing to me.

If anything, watching her squirm in discomfort awakened a slight sadistic pleasure.

While I didn't know much, such incidents seemed to be legally serious matters for "women" here.

I couldn't help teasing her a few times.

Saying things like "If you wanted to touch it that badly, you could have just asked."

Or "If you want to see it, I can show you right now."

I threw out perfectly in-character lines one after another. Each time, the timid girl could only blush, unable to respond.

"...ugh."

This was the result.

She was walking beside me, red as a tomato and in a daze.

Since she barely responded when spoken to, she seemed half-broken. Only then could I stop teasing her.

Honestly, I wanted to hit her with "Well if I get to touch your chest too, we'll be even, right?"... but I held back for now.

It felt like throwing around too much authority.

Truth is, I wouldn't be able to control myself if I went that far.

While she knows my secret, she's still an Otherworlder.

To her, this world is ultimately just a game. Though I trust her, I wanted to maintain some boundaries.

Being in the city was also a major factor.

I didn't want to cause a scene in a place that could turn hostile at any moment.

Of course, it might be different if my Rage Mode B triggered, but that wasn't the case now.

"......"

"......"

Anyway, thanks to all the teasing, we were now in a temporary lull.

While the streets remained bustling, an awkward silence hung between us.

I considered saying something, but she was probably busy recovering her mental state.

'Well, can't be helped.'

So I decided to walk around alone for a bit.

"Should we split up for a while?"

"Huh, suddenly? Why...?"

"Don't worry, it's nothing major. Just somewhere I want to visit briefly."

I have two sources of nostalgia.

One is the acrid smell of exhaust from my previous life.

The other is the human scent from before I turned 10 in this world.

These two nostalgias would occasionally surface in my mind, tormenting me.

The torment that goes by the name of longing.

Having come to the city today, I planned to indulge in one of those nostalgias.

"Let's go together partway. Sorry for splitting up after coming all this way. Ah, just checking, but will this disguise hold even if we're briefly separated?"

"Oh, yes it will..."

Though she showed brief unease, she eventually nodded at my request.

She must have sensed my tone was more serious than usual.

Feeling grateful, I started walking with her.

Past the bustling city center, toward the outskirts where even guards rarely ventured.

Trash littered the streets, and beggars far removed from wealth became more common.

Not everyone in a big city lives well.

Where there is light, there must be darkness, and where there are prosperous districts, there must be slums.

And this was my hometown.

Though I was driven out at age 10, memories from that time remained scattered everywhere.

"Let's split up here for now. We'll meet again soon."

After going some distance, I parted ways with Ha-neul.

Then I went a bit deeper inside alone.

Deep inside this area, there's an alley full of criminals, and halfway there is where I used to live.

A small, shabby orphanage.

The place I lived before being driven out was still operating.

Though vines had grown on the building and facilities were outdated.

It seemed to be running, as the savory smell of soup wafted from behind the building.

I was overcome with strange emotions.

Various questions arose in my mind.

Was the nun who cared for us kids when I lived here still around?

If she's still working, she must be passing from middle age into her elderly years by now.

What about the kind uncle who ran the bakery nearby?

Come to think of it, I haven't seen him on the way here, so he must have closed shop.

Well, he did sell bread cheap enough for orphanage kids to afford, so he might have had financial troubles.

I prayed he'd moved to the prosperous district and was making good money now.

What about those little kids I used to play with?

After 12 years, they must have graduated from the orphanage.

Now proper adults, they might be working somewhere in this city.

Come to think of it, there was this one girl who particularly liked me back then, I wonder what she's doing now. Though I can barely remember her face anymore.

"......"

And so I stood in front of the orphanage for a long while, indulging in nostalgia.

I didn't actually go inside the orphanage. Being driven from civilization, all I was allowed was to watch from afar.

Though thinking about it now.

That childhood I thought was just boring seems to have had its share of happiness too.