Hello there! Thanks for checking out this chapter!
Also, seeing as Malaixa was much more popular than I expected, I gave her a bit more "screen time". Maybe I should start a character poll soon? Let me know if you guys are interested in one!
Enjoy the chapter, and remember to leave some comments!
Chapter 10
In the blink of an eye, Christmas and the New Year’s Party go by. Exams also ended, and the holidays also flew by. Soon, Lemir and his sisters had to go back to school. And on the morning of the first day of school…
Lemir [Japanese] : “So it’s been a year, huh…”
Indeed, it has been a year since Lemir entered elementary school. Making a bunch of new friends, learning of the “devil” called Math, the progress made in his training, and meeting a girl whom he thought to be Emily. It was a year full of events.
He hadn’t been able to approach Emiri the past year. In fact, he felt as though she was avoiding him. Ever since realising this, he stopped trying to approach her. “A chance will naturally come one day.”, he thought.
Lemir [Japanese] : “Well then, better get ready for school.”
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Principal [Japanese] : “So once again, welcome back to school. Also, I welcome our new students who will be learning here starting this year.”
Everyone started clapping, as it was customary to clap after a speech. The one who made the speech was an old man who was also the school principal. He did not make the speech last year due to an illness. Lemir later learns from Kiiromi that the speech has the exact same lines ever since he became principal during Aomi’s generation.
In the assembly hall, Lemir especially stood out among the second graders. It was due to his height, as he was much taller than the other students of his grade. But nobody made any noise, due to the fear that they might be scolded by the teachers.
Soon, it was time to leave and the students headed back to their classrooms. Back in the new classroom that Lemir now goes to since he went up a grade, their homeroom teacher had something to announce.
Teacher [Japanese] : “Alright, normally it would be time for the break between lessons, but there is still another matter to settle.”
The class got a bit noisy as everyone started discussing about what it could be, albeit in whispers.
Arata [Japanese] : “Hey, Lemir. What do you think the teacher wants to say?”
Lemir [Japanese] : “No idea. But if I had to take a guess, maybe we are getting a change of homeroom teacher?”
Arata [Japanese] : “Nah, no way! If we were getting a change of homeroom teacher, she would have announced it earlier when she was taking attendance, right?”
As time went by, the noise died down. It wasn’t even a minute, but still time nonetheless.
Teacher [Japanese] : “Alright, now that you kids have quiet down, I’ll say what I need to say. Our class is getting a new student.”
“A transfer student?”, this question was in everyone’s mind. But soon, it was replaced by new questions, such as “Is it a girl?” or “Is it a guy?”
Teacher [Japanese] : “Alright, come in, Luke-kun.”
Familiar Cheerful Voice [Japanese] : “Yes!”
“Luke?”, Lemir thought. Hearing this familiar name and the familiar voice, he thought it just might be what he thought. However, part of him did not want to believe it, as he thought the Gods were actually playing a trick on him.
The transfer student soon walked in, and Lemir could not believe his eyes. The same orange hair he had. The same smile he always used to hit on girls. The same confident look on his face. It looked exactly like the Luke he knew, except much younger.
Teacher [Japanese] : “Okay, Luke-kun. Introduce yourself to your new classmates.”
Luke [Japanese] : “Hello there! My name is Luke Velmont! Luke is my first name, Velmont is my last name! I come from the United States! My father was transferred here for work, so my family moved here as well! Nice to meet you!”
Teacher [Japanese] : “Alright, Luke-kun. You can take the empty seat next to Lemir, since you are rather tall as well.”
Luke [Japanese] : “Okay!”
Luke quickly made his way to the seat next to Lemir. It had always been empty, so Mei Lang and Shuai Lang usually used it during breaks. Upon sitting down, he turned to Lemir and spoke to him.
Luke [Japanese] : “Hello! Nice to meet you! My name is Luke Velmont, as I had said just now. What’s yours?”
Lemir had recovered from his shock, as he had previous experience with Emiri.
Lemir [Japanese] : “My name is Nikado Lemir, nice to meet you too, Velmont-kun.”
Luke [Japanese] : “Nikado Lemir, is it! You can just call me Luke! Can I just call you Lemir too? Japanese customs are a bit troublesome.”
Lemir [Japanese] : “Erm, sure, Luke.”
Arata [Japanese] : “Hello Luke! My name is Jasaki Arata! You can call me Arata! Nice to meet you!”
Arata immediately came in to make friends with Luke, as he was sitting just in front of Lemir again this year.
Luke [Japanese] : “Oh, another friend! Nice to meet you too, Arata!”
Despite having recovered from his shock, Lemir was still a little shaken. Malaixa had noticed this, and noted it down in her mind. She had noticed it was the same face he had when he met Emiri. She immediately knew it had something to do with their past lives, as Lemir had spoken in the language of the old world when he met Emiri. However, she did not think much of it at that time.
Seeing as this is his second time making this face, he had enough composure to not have an outburst again, Malaixa noted. Soon, the teacher started speaking again.
Teacher [Japanese] : “Alright, I’m gonna go now. Don’t trouble Luke-kun too much during the break! It’s his first time in Japan.”
Class [Japanese] : “Okay!”
The teacher left, and the bell soon rang which signified the start of the next lesson.
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Lemir [Japanese] : “I can’t believe Math got harder…”
Lessons have ended, and once again, Lemir was struggling with Math. Seeing this, Luke couldn’t help but laugh out loud.
Luke [Japanese] : “Hahaha, I thought all Japanese people were good at Math! That’s what dad says! To think he would be wrong! Lemir, you are such a funny person!”
Lemir couldn’t find a retort to that, as he couldn’t just say he had his memories of his previous life and wasn’t completely a Japanese person. Arata spoke out at this point.
Arata [Japanese] : “Give him a break, Luke. Lemir has always been bad at Math for some reason. Heck, even I am not perfect at Math! You should throw away that notion about all Japanese being good at Math.”
Luke [Japanese] : “Alright, alright. Anyway…”
Luke couldn’t continue, as he saw his other classmates coming over to his table. They were actually all girls.
One of the girls [Japanese] : “Erm, Luke-kun… Can we be your friends?”
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Luke [Japanese] : “Sure! You can just call me Luke! What’s yours?”
Seeing this familiar scene, Lemir couldn’t help but smile a little. It doesn’t matter which world he was in, Luke seemed to always attract girls to himself. He did not pay attention as Luke made friends with almost all the girls in class.
“Could it really be Luke? He looks so similar, and there was the case with Emiri as well. Acedia, are you and other Gods playing a trick on me?”, Lemir thought while looking at the scene. It was so familiar to him; the scene of Luke with several girls at the same time. Except this time, all of them were children. Arata, on the other hand, seemed to be glaring at Luke.
Arata [Japanese] : “How do I explain this… for some reason, I get really mad when I see Luke like that.”
Being just an eight year old child, Arata couldn’t explain the feeling he has when looking at Luke, who is as popular with the girls as he was in Lemir’s previous life. He would not understand this until a few years later, after his oldest brother shows him the content of the box of CDs.
Hearing Arata’s statement, Lemir immediately understood how he felt, as he felt the same way before becoming extremely good friends with Luke. He put a hand on Arata’s shoulder and spoke.
Lemir [Japanese] : “You’ll understand one day. For now, let’s not think about it too much.”
Arata [Japanese] : “Hmm, I guess so. Ah, lunch is here.”
Hearing this, the group of girls went back to their seats. Everyone started eating their meals, before the end of school.
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Lemir’s Classmates [Japanese] : “See ya!”
Lemir & Luke [Japanese] : “See ya!”
School has ended, and right now Lemir and Luke were going home together. It was a rare day where Lemir would not be jogging home. This was because earlier, Luke had mentioned where he lived. It was actually very close by to Lemir’s home, so they went home together. Luke was currently talking about his father’s work.
Luke [Japanese] : “So you see, my father works at a company that develops virtual reality games. Seeing as virtual reality was not blooming as much as expected in Japan, his company sent him here to promote it.”
Lemir [Japanese] : “Virtual reality?”
Luke [Japanese] : “See! This is why my father was sent here! Back in the United States, even the kindergarteners knew about VR! Let me explain what VR is!”
Lemir actually knew of the term virtual reality from his grandfather, but he had never explained fully as to what virtual reality means.
Luke went on to explain the term Virtual Reality to Lemir, and then speak about VR Games. Lemir actually did not manage to process all that information, as it was too much to him. Luke seemed very proud of his father’s work.
Luke [Japanese] : “So, do you understand the magnificence of virtual reality games?”
Lemir [Japanese] : “Erm, yeah…”
“Despite having the same name, face and mannerisms, it’s a different person after all.”, Lemir thought, as he compared the Luke of this world to the Luke he knew in his previous life. Soon, Luke mentioned that they’ve arrived at his house, so they separated. It was indeed not very far from Lemir’s home.
Lemir [OWL] : “Maybe they are different people? Or rather, different souls… But the similarities are uncanny…”
Unknown to Lemir, a metal ball had been watching him the entire time, and his voice was naturally caught by it.
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Watching the video of Lemir and Luke in her room, she heard the line Lemir spoke hours ago.
Lemir [OWL] : “Maybe they are different people? Or rather, different souls… But the similarities are uncanny…”
Hearing this, Malaixa immediately made the connection between Lemir and Luke.
Malaixa [OWL] : “So that new kid could be a friend from his previous life… And that would mean that Emiri girl was also one… What a miraculous coincidence.”
It would be a coincidence to see someone you remember in your previous life, but it would be a miracle to meet more than one of them in a different world. Either the Gods are messing with them, or the ones above the Gods are doing so.
Malaixa [OWL] : “The High Beings… Always messing around with the Gods, fate and destiny…”
The High Beings Malaixa spoke of were exactly the ones above Gods. According to one of them, whom Malaixa had actually met once after accumulating the highest amount of merit she ever had, they created the multiverse that this world was a part of. But that’s a story for another time.
Zahhak [OWL] : “Hey, master. What’s this “High Beings” you speak of?”
Malaixa being lost in her thoughts had actually forgotten about the existence of Zahhak. A few months ago, she had completed this self-aware artificial intelligence after several months of work. She had taught it the OWL, so that if she needs to, she can speak with it in public without others understanding what she says.
Malaixa [OWL] : “Nothing, you don’t need to know. Send a drone to watch the other child in this video. Also, send another drone to watch the girl from this video.”
Malaixa had long saved the video of Lemir being thrown on the ground by Emiri as a favourite. Seeing his suffering was a great pleasure to her. Zahhak, instead of immediately carrying out her orders, questioned it instead.
Zahhak [OWL] : “Eh, master, I thought you liked the first boy? How come you suddenly go after another boy? And a girl too? Master, I didn’t know you had such tastes at such a young age. That’s not very healthy for a girl of your age…”
Malaixa [OWL] : “THAT’S NOT IT! I… Ah…”
Unexpectedly, Malaixa had an outburst. It was the first time ever since she came into this world. “I must really be starting to get affected by this human body.”, she thought. It was the first time she had ever stayed in a human body for over a month. Even she does not know of the effects it would have on her demon soul. Zahhak would probably be trying very hard to hold back its laughter, had it have a human body.
Malaixa [OWL] : “ *Cough* You better get to work before I rewrite your entire code.”
Zahhak [OWL] : “Yes, yes. As you wish, my master.”
Immediately, two drones were sent to Emiri’s and Luke’s house. All drones were connected to Zahhak, and Zahhak had main control over most of Malaixa’s secretly built machines. Soon, images showing Luke’s and Emiri’s faces popped up on a computer screen.
Malaixa [OWL] : “Good, keep watch on them just like with Lemir.”
Zahhak [OWL] : “Roger! I’ll notify you if any of them show signs of liking another person!”
Malaixa [OWL] : “Like I said, that’s not it! I’ll delete you!”
Zahhak [OWL] : “Yes, yes.”
As this matter had been settled, she went ahead to quickly finish her homework for the day, which was not hard for her at all.
End Chapter 10