I smacked Yggdrasil-san’s beautiful face with a piece of rye bread.
Thanks to that, the dangerous word “previous life” that was about to slip out of Yggdrasil-san’s mouth was successfully swept under the rug.
However, since I used my mother’s handmade rye bread as a weapon, I ended up getting a thorough scolding from her.
Partway through, Yggdrasil-san suddenly seemed to remember that talk of “previous lives” was forbidden and tried to mediate with a hesitant “W-well now…”, but Mother completely ignored her and kept lecturing me.
As an extra punishment, the pudding ended up being given to my father instead of me. …Well, to be honest, that actually worked out perfectly for me.
「S-sorry about that. It slipped my mind…」
「No, I’m the one who smacked your face with rye bread…」
「Oh, don’t worry about that. …Come to think of it, I grabbed your face in anger too. My apologies for that as well.」
For the record, the rye bread was later eaten properly. The bread that had smacked a god in the face… it almost felt like it carried some kind of divine blessing.
So after a few bumps in the road, the dinner with Yggdrasil-san somehow came to an end, and I headed back to my room.
Yggdrasil-san followed behind me, and the two of us ended up holding a little reflection meeting together.
「By the way, Yggdrasil-san…」
I want to ask how long she’s planning to stay… but that’s kind of hard to say out loud.
Still, it really feels like she’s just… always here now.
It’s only been half a day since I met Yggdrasil-san, but for some reason, it feels like I’ve spent more time with her than with my childhood friend Jered-kun…
「What is it?」
「Uh, well… did you enjoy dinner?」
「Mm. Your mother is quite the cook. And that pudding was delicious as well.」
「I’m glad to hear that.」
At least dinner was a success. That much was a relief.
「Now then, there’s something I wish to ask you as well.」
「Huh? What is it?」
「As I mentioned briefly before dinner… you are not an apostle of Deis, are you?」
I guess I didn’t manage to fool her after all…
That said, there’s no way she’s suddenly going to say something like, 『If you’re not an apostle, then I shall punish you now!』… right?
「Yes, well, that’s correct. I’m not some apostle or anything like that. I don’t have any grand mission either. I’m just living freely.」
「Hmm, I see…」
After muttering that, Yggdrasil-san sat on the bed deep in thought.
「Um…?」
「…You have knowledge from your previous life and created things that didn’t exist in this world. That lottery thing as well. You acquired special skills and tools that this world had never seen before.」
I honestly didn’t think I had done anything that big…
But since things like Reversi and scrubbing brush are apparently selling well, maybe I really did have some impact on this world?
「And yet you remain free. You are not bound by the chains of the gods.」
「Uh-huh…」
「Deis must have decided that was fine. I was only given the role of a god by that Deis… but even so, I am still a god of this world.」
「Um…」
「――So I must ask. What is it that you aim to do in this world? What do you intend to accomplish?」
「…………」
Whoa… this is getting way too serious all of a sudden…
And yet, despite the most serious scene so far, what popped into my mind was the memory of my job hunting back in my previous life. Somehow, this felt exactly like an interview.
Like being asked why I wanted the job, or what I planned to do after joining the company. That kind of vibe.
As someone who failed job hunting and ended up unemployed, it’s not exactly a pleasant memory…
「…Well, I honestly haven’t thought about anything in particular.」
「…………」
Yeah. If you said that in a real interview, you’d be rejected on the spot…
『After joining the company, what would you like to do?』
『Nothing in particular.』
Nope. That’s instant death…
「Uh, well, at the very least, if I can live happily together with everyone in the village, then that’s enough for me…」
Before the imaginary interviewer could write me off completely, I quickly added something to my answer.
「Hmm… Well, yes. It’s true that you don’t seem like someone with any grand ambitions.」
Is that supposed to be a compliment? No, probably not, right?
「Well, before I reincarnated, I told Deis-san that I just wanted a ‘quiet and ordinary life’. So I plan to keep living as a harmless elf, just like before…」
「You’ve already caused me some trouble though」
「Ah, s-sorry. Basically… basically, I think I’m a harmless elf. I just make little things using my previous life’s knowledge sometimes…」
「Speaking of which, there are a lot of things in this room I’ve never seen before」
Yggdrasil-san looked around my room curiously.
…This feels familiar. Wasn’t it Ralina-chan last time? That was when I saw her dark side…
「I’ve been wondering for a while now, what is this?」
「That’s a Sergent Drop」
Almost everyone who comes into my room can’t help but notice it. It’s a very eye-catching item.
It’s eye-catching, but it also makes me worry someone might start keeping their distance from me because of it.
「So it really was your father… But this is…」
「You hit the body with this wooden mallet like this. It’s a toy」
I demonstrated by hitting Father’s body.
「……….This is also from your previous life?」
「Yes」
「What kind of world did you come from…」
「It was a pretty common toy」
「A terrifying world…」
I see. Since I can explain that it’s a toy from Earth, Yggdrasil-san doesn’t see me as the weird one. That’s good.
Although, it feels like I’ve made her misunderstand Earth a lot.
「Ah」
「Hm?」
「If you want, I could make a version with Yggdrasil-san instead of my father」
「Absolutely not」
「I see…」
Well, I guess that makes sense… I thought Father might finally be retired from his long role as the stand-in for the daruma, but it looks like he’ll stay active for a while longer.
「Is there anything else interesting… Oh, this is Reversi, right?」
「Yes」
「I know the rules, but I’ve never actually played it. Will you play a round with me?」
「No」
「I see, thank you. Then let’s begin――――what?」
She probably never expected me to refuse. In the end, I ended up making Yggdrasil-san do a double take.
「Um, sorry. The truth is, I’m really bad at Reversi. I’ve never once won a game in this world…」
「Really? But Reversi is from your previous world, right?」
「Yes」
「And yet you’re bad at it?」
「I only knew the rules. I hardly ever played it」
If it were shogi… yeah, I actually played shogi…
「I see. Then we’re on equal footing. Let’s play」
「Eh…」
…Well, why not. I’ve caused Yggdrasil-san plenty of trouble. Yet she’s gone out of her way to help me. If this can be a small way of repaying her, then I’ll gladly play.
And maybe… maybe I can actually win. My first victory in this world. Beating a god at that? That would be amazing. History-making, even.
「Alright. Let’s play then」
「Good, good」
She looks so happy. Yggdrasil-san really seems like an ordinary little girl right now…
Still, I’m not holding back. She’s not asking for me to throw the game either. I’ll give it my all. And I’ll win. My first victory.
――And so, Yggdrasil-san and I ended up playing with toys from Earth late into the night.
After I extended my losing streak in Reversi, we pulled out the yo-yo, kendama, spinning tops, and played together.
…That was fine and all, but seriously, how long is she planning to stay here? Could this really turn into a surprise cohabitation situation…?
Next chapter: Morning Chun*
TN: Direct translation is “Morning Chirp” as in the chirp of birds. It is a usual trope in anime that used to signal a specific event. The scene abruptly cuts to the morning after a major, often romantic or intimate, event where camera often focuses on two characters waking up, and the only sound is the peaceful chirping of birds outside the window.
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