Volume 3 - CH 16

The next day after I got the elixirs, I learned the truth about my sword.

There’s nothing much left for me to do in order to deal with my parallel world self. She could be here tomorrow or a year from now.

I will spend the rest of the day normally organizing various documents and checking on the construction progress in the village.

But today, I’m going to take it easy. Many things have happened in the last few days, making me a little tired. It has been a while since I read a book.

I thought it might be good to purchase some new books while I reorganized the library. A relaxing and peaceful day filled with leisure.

Maybe Remn’s fear was unfounded. The day was peaceful enough to make me feel that way.

It was already evening. It would seem that we can end this day uneventfully. ……Then, just as I was thinking, a voice came from the shadow.

“Onee-san! I’ve identified a dimensional warp! Come now!”

The black-haired God, Remn, appears from my shadow.

Eh, she’s here already?

◆　◆　◆

I called Patrick before leaving the house.

Since I had prepared for it, we could leave immediately in full gear.

Eleanora is staying behind. Or rather, I kept the whole parallel world thing a secret because if I explained the situation to her, she might insist on following me.

“Where? Where’s the location?”

“It’s nearby.”

“You’ll have to stay with Ryuu.”

“Why? The dragon would be useful, though.”

“Ha?! Are you asking me to bring Ryuu to a dangerous place?!”

“Ah, um, sorry.”

We followed Remn’s instructions from within the shadows and ran.

Later, Patrick caught up to us.

“We have no time to stop.”

“I know.”

“Are we there yet?”

“You said it’s not that far away. Where is it?”

Remn replied that we would be there in a few minutes.

The place is not too far from the local town. At this pace, it probably was around the area where Duke Hillrose had ambushed us before.

Should I be happy or sad that we are so close to the town? We were lucky the last time we managed to avoid causing any damage to the town.

I immediately knew where it was when I saw it.

It was exactly what Remn had described as a dimensional warp.

The space was warped. The view beyond the dimensional warp looks twisted.

“Here.”

“We arrived.”

We stopped a short distance away. Remn has yet to emerge from the shadows. I would like to observe the twisted space… closer. Wonder what would happen if I touched it.

My intellectual curiosity was piqued and when I started to run, Patrick grabbed me by the shoulders.

“Hey, what are you trying to do?”

“I was just going to touch it.”

“That thing looks dangerous.”

“Our insatiable quest for knowledge has led us to this point in evolution. A little touch wouldn’t hurt, right?”

He tightened his grip on my shoulder.

It is not as if a death ray would be emitted the moment I touched it. However, I believe I can touch the dimensional warp, which is safer than the demon core.

“I understand. Then, throwing rocks should be fine, right?”

“Maa, what do you think?”

Patrick cast his voice at my feet.

The response came back thrown offhandedly.

“Why not?”

Alright, now that Remn has given his approval, let’s throw the rocks.

Will it vanish into the connected parallel world, will it change its trajectory according to the warped space, or will it have no effect? I can’t help wondering.

Picking up a small pebble under my feet, I lightly threw it toward the dimensional warp.

As soon as the stone left my hand, the warped space began to shake. The shaking gradually became larger and larger and from the warped space… I emerge.

She is Yumiela from the parallel world. The pebble hits her in the face.

“Ouch.”

“…That’s a rough welcome.”

I’m sorry, it wasn’t on purpose. Please don’t get angry.

As expected of Yumiela, she didn’t show any signs of pain.

The other me naturally looked just like me. The only difference was our hair length. Her overgrown black hair completely hides her right eye.

Also, her clothes are different. I recall seeing the pitch black gothic lolita style dress worn by Yumiela in the game. Where did she get that from?

She looked at Patrick and me in turn, then mumbled.

“Hmm, so it’s like this. I see what you mean, and I don’t like it.”

“Excuse me, um… what should I call you?”

Maintaining some distance between us, I call out to her.

There’s a possibility that we might not even be able to have a conversation, but she responded honestly.

“There’s no way you don’t know my name, it’s Yumiela Dolknes. You can call me whatever you like.”

“My name is Yumiela, too. Doesn’t that make things inconvenient?”

“Yeah, why don’t you change your name to Dumbass? You look like one.”

“Don’t we have the same face?”

She gave me that look. Maybe she’s the one being stupid.

Seriously, let’s figure out a way to name us apart. Alter Yumiela, Black Yumiela, Another Yumiela… hmm, if anything, I’m more of those things.

Since she’s the closest to the original, should I change my name? If I change my name, I’ll be treated as the second best, which I don’t like.

Shall we keep it simple and go with numbering system?

“Alright, #1 and #2. I’ll be the #1, and you’ll be the #2.”

“Ha? Why do I have to be the second?”

“Fine. Then you’re #1 and I’m V3.”

“Why are you skipping the number two?! And where did the V’s come from?!”

Eeeeh. She’s so selfish.

Since she doesn’t like the numbering, I gave her V3 as an alternative. But it does bother me that we skipped numbers. Plus, I don’t want to foreshadow if there’s another me that will appear.

She can be the No. 1. We could make it a sequential number….

“If you dislike skipping numbers, maybe we should make it 0 and 1. You’re 1 and I’m Zeronos.”

“What’s with you and all the numbers?!”

“Zeronos? What the… for some reason, it makes me sad despite not remembering anything.”

“You’re the one that brought that up!”

After a bit of joking around and probing, I was convinced. She is definitely not me. She has no memories of Japan at all, she is an entirely different person.

If she had been me with memories from my previous life, we would be fighting over Zeronos right now.

“We should both be named after our favorite Rider. You can choose Amazon, Kick Hopper, or whichever you like.”

“…I’ll stick with No. 2. You can be No. 1.”

“Eh, as long as you’re okay I guess….”

It’s disappointing. But for simplicity’s sake, I guess #1 and #2 aren’t so bad.

With my right hand on my hip and my left hand extended upward, I shouted.

“Transform!”

“…What are you doing?”

Yumiela #2 gave me a blank stare.

Unable to stand her gaze, I sought help from Patrick but he had a similar look in his eyes.

No, I can do this. I’m Yumiela #1, remember?

Embarrassed by my childishness, I coughed deliberately and said.

“Now that we’ve got that out of the way, am I right to assume you’re here for me?”

“Yeah, you’re my target.”

She’s really after me. Her goal is to defeat me and unlock the level cap.

Yumiela #2, who had been in a foul mood the whole time, pointed at Patrick.

“Huh? What is he doing here?”

“I’m—”

Patrick was about to introduce himself when I noticed a startling revelation.

The way Yumiela #2 looked at him was different from how she looked at me. When I was in her line of sight, she seemed unpleasant but now she looks happy.

This means that even though we aren’t the same person truly happy people inside, we share the same preferences for the opposite sex that we like.

That’s not good. We have the exact same face. Patrick, who is enthralled by my beauty, might fall for her.

Someone who would destroy the world must have no qualms about using her sex appeal on other people’s lovers.

Everything happens in under 0.2 seconds.

To prevent unnecessary flags from being raised, I have to interrupt the conversation before it begins.

I jump to his side to cling to his arm.

My elbow jabbed into his side from sheer momentum. Patrick moaned in pain softly but I was able to interrupt the conversation.

Patrick’s arms were wrapped around me when I nestled into his side, looking lovey-dovey.

“He’s my boyfriend and we’re engaged. We’re getting married in a few months.”

“Oww… Yumiela, what’s this all about?”

“Come on! Whisper your love to me like you always do!”

“Always?”

I pleaded to Patrick to keep quiet with my gaze. She must not realize that this is the first time I’ve done something like this.

When I looked at her, she was glaring at me with a sharp look in her eyes. Yosh, it’s working. Then in a chilly voice, she said.

“Stop flirting with each other.”

“Huh? Are we looking like we’re flirting? This is normal for us. Oh… you don’t know because you have no lover, am I right, #2-san? Also, I’m stronger than you.”

The battle has already begun. This should give me the upper hand in the beginning.

I know how hurtful and sharp my words are. It hurts, even more, when they ask in a serious and curious manner. It still hurt even after they apologized.

It’s time to suffer, #2! We may know the same pain, but we’re enemies now. No mercy.

She clenched her fists and lowered her head. Feeling embarrassed, I moved away from Patrick and approached #2. I peeked at her face from below.

“Are you crying? Don’t be too sad, you seem lonely. Also, I’m stronger than you.”

“…Look over there.”

She then pointed directly below.

Eh? Is there something on the ground? I looked down and shifted my gaze, but couldn’t find anything.

When I was about to ask her what she wanted to show me, I felt an impact from directly above me. The pain in the back of my head was felt shortly afterward.

It was when my face slammed into the ground that I realized I had been axe kicked in the head. It knocked me down on my face.

“That’s not fair—”

“Look, aren’t you the stronger one? Why don’t you get up?”

As soon as I began to get up to protest, I received another impact from above my head. Again and again.

The back of my head was being stomped on relentlessly. My head sinks deeper and deeper into the earth.

#2 stopped her stomping and started trampling on my head.

“Did you faint? You’re all talk—”

“You were the one who put your hands on me first.”

I wrapped my hands behind my head and grabbed #2’s ankles. Even though I’m lying down, I can at least fight back.

She tried to pull her legs back to break free from my restraints… but I wouldn’t let go.

“What? Get off of me. Why don’t you just roll over on the ground?”

“Roll over? All right.”

“Ouch!”

Grabbing her ankles, I rolled on the ground. The timing was perfect for me to roll on my back and use both of my hands to tighten the restraints and roll further.

Yumiela #2 couldn’t hold on and lost her balance. I kept spinning, making myself the center.

The mekakure gothic lolita Yumiela then fell forward and hit the ground.

I let out a triumphant cheer.

“Yoshhhhh!”

This is where it begins. Quickly, I stood up and grabbed one of her ankles again.

Then, I lifted and swung her down repeatedly. I swung Yumiela #2 like a hammer hitting the ground. Over and over again.

Of course, I tweak the angle so that she’s plunging face-first into the dirt. It’s an eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth kind of situation.

Then Patrick stops me.

“That’s enough.”

He had this really sad look on his face.

I stopped my hand from slamming #2 on the ground and looked at her. The girl lying slumped with her whole body slackened looks just like me, no matter how many times I see her….

I look back at Patrick in disbelief.

“Watching Yumiela fistfight with each other is more painful than I thought it would be….”

“Patrick….”

I guess I can understand how he feels?

If I witnessed Patrick and someone with Patrick’s face in a physical fight in the dirt, I’d be… hmm? If it were me, I’d join Patrick’s side. Because even though they have the same face, they’re different people.

“Eh? Are you telling me that you’re siding with her? Does it matter who it is as long as they have the same face?”

“No, it was just unbearable to watch….”

“Hmm, you’re siding with her. She’s the one who started it.”

“You were also at fault. You are stirring things up needlessly.”

I didn’t stir things up. I was only trying to gain some mental advantage over my opponent. Not stirring things up but asserting my dominance. Which one is worse is a matter of judgment.

Well, my bad. I might have been the one who went to pick a fight. But I won’t apologize.

When I looked away from Patrick in disbelief, #2 was about to get up.

She glared at me, lightly adjusting her disheveled clothes.

“Do you think it’s special that you have a lover?”

“What?”

“The average person in this world has friends and lovers. And they get married and have children like normal.”

“Eh… yeah….”

“Isn’t it pathetic that you try to use that normality as a shield to gain an advantage? You sound like a child who is boasting about their ability to go shopping by themselves. However, this is only allowed because they are children, and if grown-ups start bragging about things that anyone can do, it’s over.”

“…I agree with you.”

I feel like crying. It was even more painful to be told this by someone who looked just like me. Somewhere in the back of my mind, I was probably thinking the same thing myself.

I was just trying to stir things up, and when Patrick stopped me from doing so, I sulked. When I felt like I would cry, Yumiela #2 continued.

“Also, people who are truly happy don’t show off that they are happy. When I saw you deliberately flirting with your boyfriend, I thought. Ah, I guess their relationship isn’t going so well….”

“……It’s been smooth sailing. We’ve even set a date for the wedding.”

“Wow, get married… so? Do you think that your relationship will automatically progress when you get married, and things will go in the right direction? Marriage is not some magical ritual or a goal in life, okay?”

Someone who’s never been married shouldn’t criticize marriage. You have no boyfriend, and yet… nope, the advantage of having a boyfriend or not has already been lost. Ughh… I can’t say anything back.

Using that as a good opportunity, #2 pressed further.

“I knew there was something wrong in the first place. Although you are not the same person, me? Yumiela Dolknes? There is no way I could fall in love properly. He is deceiving you.”

I was almost tempted to look at Patrick’s face. Trying to make sure I wasn’t being deceived.

But I couldn’t. That would make it look like I didn’t trust him.

We have the same face, but now it’s Yumiela #2 over Patrick. Even though it’s the same face, I’d rather punch it than look at it now.

“Don’t you dare to say anything bad about Patrick!”

I pounced on Yumiela #2 and punched her in the face. Pushing her down, I straddled her and continued to hit her with both hands.

She also punches me in the face. However, her punches aren’t strong enough to cause damage and not effective at all. It’s useless.

“Stop it, Yumiela! Don’t you feel sorry for Yumiela?”

This time the stop was quicker. Patrick caught me by the shoulders and pulled me backward.

The reason I said not to speak ill of Patrick was partly to stall him. But apparently, it didn’t do much good. He might have read my thoughts that I couldn’t win in a verbal argument, so I brought her into a fistfight.

I have pulled completely away from #2. She was lying on the floor, and Patrick was holding my shoulders as we stared at each other.

Patrick sighs heavily when he notices that I’ve loosened up.

“Why do you guys keep going after each other’s faces so relentlessly?”

““Because I don’t like her face.””

t/n: apparently I’m a dumbdumb bc it’s been weeks and I just realized i haven’t hit the send button, so… [checks calendar] see you on Tuesday i guess (maybe)