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Before I reincarnated as Stella, a girl,

I was stronger than anyone else. No matter which world I fell into,

regardless of what enemy appeared or what crisis I faced,

I never felt a hint of fear.

It was thanks to my endless opportunities and vast battle experience,

but the biggest reason was my previous life’s body.

Even if I reincarnated into another world,

the strength I built up and my physicality weren’t reset.

It was as if I, as a human, always existed in that world.

As a result, every time I saved the world,

my power grew exponentially.

Within the accumulating experience,

at some point,

I could perfectly copy my opponent’s movements just by watching them

and even learn techniques that surpassed those.

Through that ability, I mastered various skills and martial arts, but

that power was entirely taken from me, along with my body, by that damn god.

To exact revenge on that bastard

and reach that level again

would require thousands of years’ worth of experience and training.

On top of that, my second body is inherently weak.

While I have outstanding magical talent and inherent mana,

fundamentally, my physical limits are evident compared to men.

That bastard definitely gave me this body on purpose.

I thought I’d never see him again until I regained my strength,

but—

“Why do you have that power?”

I couldn’t comprehend why you, Nova, possess my strength.

It couldn’t possibly be a coincidence. Could it be that a god sent you?

To hinder me as a potential threat?

I grabbed Nova by the collar and said,

“Nova… what is your relationship with the gods?”

“God? What do you mean by that…?”

I didn’t want to suspect him, but…

If you’re sent by that bastard—

“Look me in the eye.”

“Th… Stella? Why are you acting like this all of a sudden?”

“Do you really know nothing about the gods?”

“God? The one worshipped by the Holy Kingdom? I’m an atheist.”

…Is he truly that clueless?

At least he’s not lying.

Then what is this joke about?

What is the god’s objective?

Is this ability something the god gave to Nova?

What on earth is that bastard thinking

to mock me like this? Ah…

I can’t take it anymore; I want to stop. My head hurts.

“I don’t want to… I don’t want to do this anymore…”

“Stella?”

“I’m fed up! When is this going to end?

When will I finally be able to rest?

Please, I want it to stop…”

An indescribable headache consumed my mind.

I was in pain, struggling, alone, and I wanted to die.

I didn’t want to do anything anymore.

I wished I could die and never open my eyes again.

“Ah… Ah… Aaaah!!”

“Stella!”

No matter how much I clutched my head, the pain wouldn’t subside.

My thoughts were a chaotic mess.

Everything in front of me was blurred in crimson, and I couldn’t see anything.

Just as I felt myself slipping into unconsciousness,

a warm sensation enveloped me.

“It’s okay, Stella, I’m here.”

“…Nova?”

“You’ve been through so much, haven’t you? You’ve struggled a lot.

But now that I’m here, it’s okay.”

“…That’s a lie…”

“Eh?”

“You’ll leave me just like everyone else…”

No one stays by my side.

Everyone ends up living happily without me,

leaving me all alone. I don’t want to break

the connections I’ve worked so hard to build.

You’re the same.

“Let go of me; I don’t need this. I’ll be on my own…”

Just as I tried to push Nova away,

he embraced me even tighter.

“Let go of me! You’re going to…”

“I will absolutely never leave you.”

“What?”

“I will never leave your side.”

“That’s a lie! Everyone who was by my side said the same!

They promised not to leave me alone!

But they all ditched me!

Am I not to be believed anymore…? ”

Crack!

Suddenly, I found it hard to speak as I felt a strong grip around my waist.

“What will you do alone?”

“I will… alone…”

“What can you accomplish on your own?

Will you somehow take down the Demon King alone?”

I’ve never seen this before… You’ve always shown me

that smiling face, but now you look so angry and sad.

“Why do you always try to solve things on your own?

You’ve done that from the beginning, shouldering everything

and taking everything on your own?”

“Ruto? What does that even mean?

I don’t even understand what you’re talking about…”

“If you’re struggling, just say so, idiot. Don’t carry everything by yourself!

What do you think you are?

Just because people around you say you’re a genius

you think you can do anything?”

“…”

“Regardless of what others say, you’re still you.

Just a single human.”

“…A human?”

“Yeah! If you’re struggling, rest.

When you’re in pain, talk to someone.

Don’t just suffer alone like a fool.

You might actually die!”

“What do you know…?”

You have no idea what you’re talking about.

Even if I said so, what could you do?

Like any ordinary human,

I want to talk about my trivial worries and the things that bother me.

“You think you know anything about me to say such things?

Forget it! Just leave me alone!”

Smack!

…That hurt. What just happened? Did I just get slapped?

“What the hell was that?!”

“Right, I know nothing! I don’t know anything!

But then why are you crying like that if you don’t need anything!”

…Am I crying? Now that I think about it,

I hadn’t seen anything for a while,

but when I wiped my face with my hand,

it was wet enough from tears.

“If you’re going to act tough, then stop whining like a child.”

“…”

“I don’t care what you say. I’ll figure it out.”

“…What?”

“I’ll find out why you’re suffering,

even if you don’t tell me.”

The one saying that smiled again.

“And you, what do you know about me?”

“…”

“How do you think you can judge what I’m like?

I will never leave your side.”

“…Nova…”

“I told you before, didn’t I?

Wherever you go, I will follow.”

Saying that, he held me tightly.

“This time, I won’t let go, even if a god comes.”

“…Really?”

“Yeah.”

“Are you really not going to leave me? You won’t abandon me?”

“Yeah, even if a god blocks us, I’ll follow you.”

…It’s warm. The relentless headache in my head began to fade.

And being with you feels strange, so comfortable

that for a moment I can forget all my worries and troubles.

“Is that a promise?”

At my trembling question, he smiled and

patted my head gently.

“Yeah, a promise. Finally listening to me, you rascal.”

“Don’t… don’t do that…”

My lips couldn’t stop curling upwards.

With a pleasant warmth enveloping me, I wanted to stay like this a bit longer.

“Hehe…”

*

Finally calmed down.

Honestly, I felt frustrated. I was terrified for a moment

when my hand slipped out.

If I acted carelessly, I would’ve ended up smashed into the ground

and that would be the end.

But thankfully, I managed to get through it.

‘Still, it seems like I’ve learned something about Stella this time.’

That ‘god’ indeed said such a thing.

Why does the word “god” provoke such a strong reaction in Stella?

This isn’t the first time.

The last time we were talking about the theology department,

she reacted fiercely when the topic of gods came up.

I don’t know the details, but it’s highly likely that

her constant choice of death is related to that ‘god’.

Some time passed, and when Stella finally calmed down,

I asked her again.

“So… are you still not willing to tell me?”

“…Yeah, I’m just not sorted out yet.

I’ll slowly tell you later.”

Saying that, Stella smiled brightly unlike before.

“But hey…”

“Yeah?”

“Could you let go of me…? ”

“Ah… s-sorry!”

I forgot that I had been holding onto her tightly in the heat of the moment.

With Stella sitting on my lap,

it was an undeniably embarrassing position. Ugh, so awkward!

“I-I’m okay! I got a bit carried away with my emotions too…”

Saying this, Stella’s face was flushed, and she was covering it… Should I confess?

“Shall we head back?”

“…Yes!”

We passed through the corridor and returned to the audience seats.

The match was still in full swing.

When Shia saw us, she greeted us and asked,

“Oh, you two are here! …Stella, have you been crying?”

“W-what! Who’s crying? Not me!”

“Hmm? Well, if that’s the case,

Ah, it’s just about to reach the final battle now.”

Thud.

Looking at the sparring hall, I saw Lucid holding a bloody scythe,

aiming it at his opponent’s throat.

“This doesn’t even count as a warm-up.”

“Winner! Lucid!”

Just as I thought the practice duel was coming to an end,

Amelia’s surprised voice reached my ears.

Why was that? Following her gaze,

I noticed someone standing at the very end of the sparring hall.

A figure with black hair and ragged clothes,

and a mask resembling a dragon… huh?

“…Who are you?”

At Amelia’s question, everyone stared at the masked figure.

“…Who is Stella?”

Suddenly, Stella cried out frantically at Amelia.

“Teacher…!”

But Stella’s urgent voice couldn’t finish.

Tap.

Out of nowhere, the masked figure appeared in front of Amelia,

and lightly pressed their index finger against her chest.

It was just a simple action of placing a finger.

However, what happened next was anything but light.

Bang!

Amelia was flung away as if she were a Go stone launched from a capsule.

Her body shattered through the wall of the sparring hall

and disappeared in an instant.

“I’ll ask again. Where is the star?”

“What are you?!”

Lucid charged forward, wielding his bloody scythe.

“Lucid!”

At that moment, Anubis shot out from the audience as fast as a bullet,

and hurtled towards him.

Bang!

But his head was caught in the figure’s palm,

slammed into the ground with such force it cracked the floor.

“Anubis!”

“Ugh… Lucid, you can’t come…”

Before he could finish his cry, the figure raised their arm from below to above.

Simply waving their arm up and down,

that alone was enough.

The worst.

The body of the girl who had been soaring through the air

was cut into two and fell to the ground.

 

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