Hello there! Thanks for checking out this chapter!
Sorry for going missing for another week! It seems that some sort of fate is tying me and expired milk together… So yeah, I ended up going to the hospital again. This time, I thought it would expire next month. All those 5’s looking like 6’s man! I’m never drinking milk from that brand again.
But eh, I’ve recovered since, and I used a rest day to write another chapter (side chapter though, haven’t had those in a while!) after I completed this one. So it’s a rare double release today for you guys!
Also, I wonder if you guys want me to have chapter titles instead of just “Chapter X” or something. Of course, that would mean someone needs to tell me how to edit the thread titles too. I’ll have a poll up on another thread later.
Anyways, be sure to enjoy the chapter!
Chapter 20
It was morning when Lemir woke up. As today was a rest day as well as being the day after his birthday, he didn’t set an alarm to wake himself up and nobody came to wake him up either. Thus, it was already 10am when he woke up. Otherwise, he would have gotten up at 5am and went for a jog.
When Lemir woke up, he didn’t get up immediately. He just thought back to how Kenji acted. It was exactly what Acedia did to him 7 years ago, by sending him back the moment he was done with him. He sighed, and made a mental note to complain to both of them if possible in 7 years.
Lemir got up, and started thinking about this current life he had; something which he had not done for a while.
Lemir [Japanese] : “So starting today, it would be my 15th year in this world and life…”
He recalled his previous life. The fight with the demon lord that ended both their lives when he was about 30 or 31 years old. This would mean that starting today; he would have reached almost half his previous life’s age.
Lemir [Japanese] : “It’s the halfway point. I intend for a long time though.”
When Lemir was done comparing his previous life with his current life, he finally got off his bed and went to brush his teeth. He also had breakfast that his mother prepared for him before she went off to work. Upon finishing his breakfast, he started thinking about how he should make use of this rest day.
Lemir [Japanese] : “Hmm, I guess I can invite Luke and the others to hang out again. Let’s call them.”
Lemir retrieved his smartphone from his pocket, and decided to call Luke, Arata, Malaixa and Chihiro, whom they got close to after helping her with DC matters. Lemir had long gotten used to using a smartphone, though he wasn’t as proficient at it as Luke was. First off, he called Luke.
Luke [Japanese] : “Woah, this is Lemir, right? You rarely make a call to me. What’s up?”
Lemir [Japanese] : “Oh, I was thinking that maybe we can hang out today, as I don’t plan on training today.”
The line went silent for a few seconds, and Lemir found it strange. Thus, he spoke again.
Lemir [Japanese] : “Hello? Luke? Are you there?”
Luke [Japanese] : “Ah, I must still be dreaming. To think that the muscle-head of our group decided not to do any training today, and wanted to hang out instead. I’ll be going back to bed now. Maybe I’ll wake up.”
Lemir immediately understood that Luke was teasing him again, and spoke again.
Lemir [Japanese] : “Well, that’s too bad. I’ll be inviting Chihiro-senpai too. I’ll just tell her you couldn’t make it, so see ya.”
Luke [Japanese] : “What?! Where are we meeting up?! At what time?! I’ll be there early!”
Lemir laughed in his heart. Who among his group of friends had not noticed that Luke was currently wooing Chihiro? The only person who hasn’t noticed was the person being wooed. Chihiro was too busy with the DC matters to notice, even after Lemir and his friends helped her out.
Lemir told Luke to meet up at the same street they went to yesterday, at around 1pm. Luke immediately hung up after getting the details, so Lemir went on to call Arata next.
Arata [Japanese] : “Woah, this is Lemir, right? You rarely make a call to me. What’s up?”
It seems that Arata had the exact same response as Luke did earlier. Lemir decided not to pay any attention to it, and continued speaking.
Lemir [Japanese] : “Oh, I was thinking that maybe we can hang out today, as I don’t plan on training today.”
Arata [Japanese] : “Oh, okay. Time and destination?”
Lemir [Japanese] : “The same place we went to yesterday, at 1pm. I’ll need to call the others too, so see ya.”
Arata [Japanese] : “Alright, see ya.”
Lemir hung up, and decided not to call Malaixa first. He thought that maybe Malaixa is sleeping in today, as yesterday was also her birthday. Thus, he made a call to Chihiro first. She picked up after a while.
Chihiro [Japanese] : “Oh, this is rare. I didn’t expect a call from you, Lemir.”
Lemir [Japanese] : “Ah, I apologise. Were you busy or something, senpai? It sounded like you took a while to pick up the call.”
Chihiro [Japanese] : “Oh, I wasn’t really busy. I was charging my phone in my room while I was eating breakfast, so I took a while. So, why did you call me?”
Lemir [Japanese] : “I see. Well, I was thinking of hanging out today, since you couldn’t make it yesterday for our party.”
Chihiro [Japanese] : “That’s a wonderful idea! When are we meeting up at?”
Lemir [Japanese] : “You know where we went to yesterday right? You were originally going to go too, but you were too busy. It’s that place, and we’ll meet up at 1pm.”
Chihiro [Japanese] : “Oh, okay! I’ll be there. Don’t leave me behind this time, okay?”
Chihiro hung up after saying so. Looking at the time now, Lemir thought that Malaixa should have gotten up as well. Thus he made a call to Malaixa’s number. However, it took quite a while before the call made it through.
Malaixa [Japanese] : “H… Hello… Lemir…”
Lemir [Japanese] : “Hello, Malaixa. Did I wake you up or something? Sorry about that.”
Malaixa [Japanese] : “N… no! You don’t have to apologise! Erm… I wasn’t woken up by your call… But… what is it?”
For some reason, Lemir felt that Malaixa was somewhat different from usual. However, he thought nothing of it, and continued speaking.
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Lemir [Japanese] : “Oh, I was thinking of asking you out.”
Malaixa [Japanese] : “A… Asking me out?!”
For some reason, Malaixa raised her voice, a rare thing. Lemir could count the number of occasions he remembered she raised her voice on one hand. But, like earlier, he thought nothing of it, even though he was a little surprised.
Lemir [Japanese] : “Yeah. Later, at the same street we went to yesterday, at 1pm. I’ve already contacted Luke, Arata and Chihiro-senpai. They are all coming too.”
Malaixa [Japanese] : “Eh… So there will be other people too…”
This time, Malaixa spoke in a monotone voice. This time, Lemir could not just ignore it. He thought about it for a bit, and felt that maybe it was because she had just woken up, and that’s why all these things are happening.
Lemir [Japanese] : “Yeah, so are you coming?”
Malaixa [Japanese] : “Ah, sure… I’m hanging up now…”
Like she said, Malaixa hung up after saying so. Lemir was still a little surprised at how Malaixa spoke earlier. “It must be that time of the month for her, I suppose…”, Lemir thought. Lemir then immediately shook that rude thought out of his mind, and got ready for the gathering.
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Malaixa had woken up in her bed. She could feel a change in her, although she could not tell what changed. She also didn’t really care, and looked at the time. It was 10.30am. It was a rare day where she overslept, as she usually woke up at the same time Lemir usually did, at 5am every morning.
She also tried to recall what happened with Acedia last night, and it was things as usual. She did not realise those memories were fake. After all, Kenji did not just seal her memories; he also created false memories to replace them so that she would not suspect anything.
Suddenly, her phone by her bed rang. It was rare for her phone to ring, as she only ever gave her number to Lemir and his group of friends, out of necessity. They also rarely called her, unless they were inviting her out for a gathering. However, when she saw that the caller was Lemir, she froze.
“Eh? Why is he calling me? Eh? But he rarely called me? Eh? Why am I acting like this?” were Malaixa’s thoughts. At the same time, she was blushing furiously for some reason. She was getting flustered, and did not know how to react. Normally, she would have answered immediately with her usual cold demeanour, but she was acting like a normal girl getting a phone call from her crush.
Yes, Malaixa was acting like a normal girl getting a phone call from her crush. Zahhak, who had been watching by the side the entire time, was actually enjoying this scene. If Zahhak had a body, it would be trying very, very hard to hold in its laughter. Fortunately, it muted itself, and laughed like a mad person. After it was done laughing, it realised that its master still has yet to answer her phone. Thus, it decided to finally help its master out.
Zahhak [Japanese] : “Master, are you not going to answer the call? It’s probably going to get cut off soon.”
Malaixa just let out an “Ah” sound, and finally connected the call to Lemir.
Malaixa [Japanese] : “H… Hello… Lemir…”
Lemir [Japanese] : “Hello, Malaixa. Did I wake you up or something? Sorry about that.”
Hearing Lemir’s voice and concern had, for some reason, made Malaixa blush even harder.
Malaixa [Japanese] : “N… no! You don’t have to apologise! Erm… I wasn’t woken up by your call… But… what is it?”
Lemir [Japanese] : “Oh, I was thinking of asking you out.”
Malaixa [Japanese] : “A… Asking me out?!”
Malaixa raised her voice when she realised Lemir was trying to ask her out. The words “It’s a date!” appeared in her mind, and she had a huge smile on her face.
Lemir [Japanese] : “Yeah. Later, at the same street we went to yesterday, at 1pm. I’ve already contacted Luke, Arata and Chihiro-senpai. They are all coming too.”
Malaixa [Japanese] : “Eh… So there will be other people too…”
Hearing that it won’t just be Lemir and her alone, Malaixa got dejected. The words “It’s better than nothing” appeared in her mind this time, and she had a wry smile this time.
Lemir [Japanese] : “Yeah, so are you coming?”
Malaixa [Japanese] : “Ah, sure… I’m hanging up now…”
As she said so, she pressed the “Hang Up” button. She released a sigh, and realised that Zahhak had muted itself. For some reason, she felt that it was odd that Zahhak had muted itself, and proceeded to unmute it.
Zahhak [Japanese] : “… ahahahahahaha... ha… ha…”
Zahhak’s laughter slowly died down when it realised that its master had unmuted it. Right now, it was feeling a little terrified, as this was the first time Malaixa had ever discovered it laughing at her. All the previous times, it muted itself before laughing and Malaixa had never noticed. It couldn’t make copies of itself, as its own size was pretty big. It feared that Malaixa might finally decide to delete it this time, but when it saw Malaixa’s face…
She had a teary face. Anyone who sees such a face would immediately feel apologetic, and thus Zahhak did what was only natural.
Zahhak [Japanese] : “Erm, how do I put this… Sorry!”
Malaixa didn’t understand why Zahhak would apologise suddenly, until she saw her own reflection on the computer’s screen. “I’m crying…?”, she thought. It was not just rare; it was the first time she ever cried in this life. She did not understand why she was crying, and she was also not in the mood to find out. She just sat on her bed, dumbfounded until after about 30 minutes had past, when Zahhak spoke again.
Zahhak [Japanese] : “Er, master. If you plan on going out with your friends, it would be best to get ready now.”
Malaixa immediately snapped out of it, letting out an “Ah” sound, and got off her bed. She did not wonder why she was crying because Zahhak made fun of her. She just felt it was only natural. Why it was natural, she never thought about it. Very quickly, she forgot all about it, and got ready for breakfast.
End Chapter 20