"Hmm... This is a bit unexpected..."
Somehow managing to escape Daedalus Street was good up to that point.
"What should I do about this?"
No, it's more accurate to say that escaping from there and coming to Dian Cecht Familia's home was good.
"I never thought no one would believe me when I said I came here for a part-time cooking job, since both Lord Dian Cecht and Miss Amid aren't here..."
Thanks to that, I'm now sitting quietly on a bench in front of Dian Cecht Familia's shop, endlessly waiting for someone to vouch for my identity.
"Sigh... I wish anyone would come, even Lord Dian Cecht..."
After waiting for a long time, finally, someone who could help me appeared.
"...Huh? Why are you sitting here like this?"
Even though I said anyone would do, when Lord Dian Cecht actually arrived first, I felt a bit awkward.
"Ahaha... Well, about that."
Well... Since I've often experienced things I casually said without much thought actually happening, I've reached a point where I just accept it and move on.
"Hmm... It seems our paths crossed..."
"...Huh?"
But the response I got was a bit unexpected.
"Unfortunately, something urgent came up with the Familia this morning, so we'll be busy for a while. I'm sorry, but I came to ask if you could postpone that appointment to later, so Amid went directly to Miach's shop..."
"Ah..."
I'm sorry. That's because I started from Daedalus Street, not the shop.
'Hmm... Is this my fault in a way?'
While I was lost in thought, Dian Cecht had approached nearby and suddenly patted my shoulder.
"..?"
Confused by the unexpected action, I looked at Dian Cecht, and for some reason, he was looking at me with pitying eyes.
"Such a sincere kid losing part of his memory... You must have had a hard time."
It seems he heard from Amid about what I blurted out while drunk last night.
"I'm used to it now, so it's fine..."
That's what I say, but honestly, I was curious too.
Is this body really my own? Did they make me younger when transferring me? Or did they recreate it to fit this world? If not, did they put my soul into a body that coincidentally looks exactly like me? At first, I didn't feel much, but as time passed, more questions arose, and there were actually many suspicious aspects.
'If only I could have another conversation with them someday...'
Perhaps because the situation was frustrating, I unknowingly furrowed my brow a bit.
"Don't force yourself to remember. Sometimes, the human brain can't handle great shocks and forgets memories on its own. I'm not sure if that's your case, but if the memories you force yourself to recall are of that nature, it'll be too much for you to handle alone."
...Seriously, looking at him like this, he has the atmosphere of a cool middle-aged grandfather, but it's amazing how that completely disappears when it comes to money or matters related to Lord Miach.
"Even though you're part of that damn guy's Familia, in a broad sense, you're a patient, so this is advice from me. Take it as words from a doctor and a god who has lived for a long time."
Although it started from a misunderstanding, ironically, Dian Cecht's advice was actually helpful since I have no memory of some parts of past accidents I experienced.
"Thank you for the advice. And I'm sorry for the inconvenience."
Feeling that any more would only build misunderstandings, I quickly expressed my gratitude and left the spot.
.
.
.
"...He's gone."
When I first saw that kid, I didn't feel anything particularly special.
"Living on the surface, everyone has their own life and circumstances, but he's a bit pitiful..."
But as days passed and I encountered him, my evaluation of him in my heart kept rising.
"Tsk... Anyway, that Miach guy has always been lucky with people."
He's a diligent and kind-hearted young man, rare these days. I even acted rudely once to try to peel off that mask, but whether he's inherently good-natured or not, he brushed it off nonchalantly and accepted everything. It just makes me regret why such kids aren't my followers, but I wasn't paying much attention.
"That aside, partial memory loss... Miach picked up a troublesome child."
Last night, when I tried to scold Amid for coming back late, I heard about Kai's partial memory loss. It's a type of mental disorder classified as either a major shock leading to loss of memory of specific events or periods, or neurological damage or psychosis hard to recover with potions or physical treatment.
"Come to think of it, recently, Amid seemed to be subtly concerned about that kid..."
Amid... Although she acts otherwise, I consider her more than anyone like a daughter, so I hoped no strange guy would get involved. But of all people, the person she's interested in is someone with partial memory loss. Even if his nature is good, thinking of the reactions of patients I've seen over the years, worry naturally comes first.
"...I hope nothing happens."
.
.
.
Unfortunately, I didn't run into Amid until I reached the shop.
"We must have crossed paths again."
Just in case, I peeked inside the shop, but Amid didn't seem to be there either.
"Well... We'll meet again when the time comes."
Though I was inwardly disappointed not to meet her, since we aren't close enough to seek her out, I entered the shop, hoping for later.
"Welcome back, Kai..."
"Welcome."
Opening the shop door and entering, I heard the voices of Naza and Lord Miach greeting me as always, and I responded to them in the same tone as usual.
"I'm back."
.
.
.
Perhaps because I experienced various things at once, I was unusually tired and fell asleep earlier than usual. When I opened my eyes, the scenery wasn't the wooden ceiling but a blindingly bright white space.
"...Where is this?"
A place I've only been to once, so it's not familiar, but I could never forget it.
"Long time no see!"
"...Administrator?"
It was the space where I stayed as a soul after dying on Earth and before moving to the Danmachi world, and where I first met the Administrator.
"...Did I die again?"
"...Huh? Ah! No, no, don't worry! It seems we need to talk a bit, so I just extracted your soul."
"...Extracted my soul?"
"I left the minimum amount needed for your body to live, so you can rest assured!"
...As I felt before, this Administrator woman is subtly scatterbrained.
"Hey! Saying such disrespectful things in front of the person, even I would be hurt!"
"...Is there no privacy here?"
"Since it's a space created by notoriously stingy people... Oh right! More importantly, were there any inconveniences while living in that world?"
Normally, when asked such a question, it would be a natural reaction to ponder for a moment, but unfortunately, I've been through so many things lately that questions poured out.
"Can't you make me sleep longer?"
"Ah... Unfortunately, that might be difficult. If it were about retrieving the abilities already granted, maybe, but weakening them isn't as easy as you think. If done carelessly, it could damage the soul."
"Is this body really the one I used on Earth?"
"Hmm... Half right, half wrong."
"So it was recreated after all."
"To be precise, it's not recreation but recombination of your body from Earth to fit this world."
"I thought I looked younger; how old is my body now?"
"Thirteen years old."
Everything else was fine, but the fact that I'm younger than the protagonist made my head go blank for a moment.
"...I'll just live as 14."
"And can you hide that from the gods?"
"Damn..."
"Hey~ You got younger. Cheers~"
The questions I asked earlier were just things I was personally curious about; from here on is the real deal.
"Do I have to hide the fact that I'm from another world?"
As expected, unlike other questions, she couldn't answer immediately and started to ponder.
"Hmm... How should I put this..."
At that moment, a rift-like thing opened right next to her and gradually widened.
"^$%#&*@#$!@#%!"
From that rift, a mysterious being in the form of a man appeared.
"Ghk?!! Gwaaaah!!!!"
His voice—or should I call it a voice?—but as I heard something in the form of a clearly audible language, a pain as if my mind, not my head, was crumbling swept over me.
"Tsk, senior! You need to suppress that unnecessarily powerful power first before speaking!"
As if I were of no concern while writhing in pain, she approached the suddenly appeared being and scolded him by slapping his back.
"...@#!!% A, ah, aah, is this enough?"
"Good~"
Instantly, his voice changed to a similar tone as hers, and he approached me, who was lying on the floor in pain, and lightly flicked my head with his finger.
"...Huh?"
The pain I felt just moments ago disappeared as if it were a lie.
"Sorry. I rarely have conversations with those sent to other worlds, so I forgot I needed to suppress my power."
"Who are you...?"
He had a form like a white mannequin with no distinct features, but he clearly smiled at my question.
"I'm the senior of the one you call the Administrator, and the one who took measures so you wouldn't lose your memory."
Having figured out what kind of being he was, I immediately bowed my head to him and said.
"Thank you."
It was sincere without a hint of falsehood.
"It was an impulsive action after accidentally looking into your life and recalling old memories, so don't thank me too much."
"But... Is there a reason you came suddenly?"
"Nothing major. It's just that this kid would obviously explain your question as if it were no big deal."
"What did I do wrong!!"
Hearing that, the Administrator clenched her fist and rapidly tapped his back, but he, unfazed, explained the reason he came.
"First, according to the original procedure, souls that come here lose their existing memories and are transferred to the world they desire with newly created memories overwritten. But due to my request, you were moved while retaining your memories intact. Originally, in such cases, we should have intervened from here to prevent you from saying you're from another world, but unfortunately, a minor problem arose at that time, so there was no time for that."
As soon as his words ended, the Administrator next to him suddenly approached and showed me a glowing blue orb.
"This is the memory that was originally supposed to be given to you!"
Whether it was because she handed it over too naturally or she used some ability, the orb was now placed on my palm.
"?!!!"
With a headache as if a tsunami had overwhelmed my brain, memories were imprinted as if video tapes from childhood were playing in my head.
"Is this... based on my memories?"
I couldn't help but be surprised, seeing the memories passing by instantly like a sped-up video.
"Correct! To put it simply, it's like video editing? We edited your memories to fit that world. Ah, the family members appearing in the just-imprinted memories are based on people who actually existed in that world, with direct permission, so don't worry about that part~"
It's truly an amazing ability. But...
"But..."
"Yes?"
"But why an orphan of all things..."
"..."
My original setting was that I was the child of a fairly well-off family in the empire, lost my parents in an accident, and became a wandering orphan.
"See, I told you this wasn't right..."
"B, but the recent reincarnation transfer trend is either a noble playboy or an orphan start..."
"You crazy woman..."
The two beings hurriedly moved away from me and talked to each other in the smallest voices, but unfortunately, perhaps due to this place's peculiarity, even their small voices were heard very clearly.
'...I can hear everything; should I pretend not to know?'
The moment I thought that inwardly, the two beings looked at me and returned awkwardly.
'...Ah, they heard everything even when I thought to myself.'
"Ahem! Anyway, all the necessary measures for you have been completed."
It was sudden, but thanks to that, all the things I was curious about were resolved.
"But why only now..."
"Well... I'm sorry about that part, but I've been quite busy... I do check on you whenever I have time, but I couldn't find the right timing to talk to you."
"Moreover, he recently used his power a bit excessively..."
"Power?"
"Yesterday, when you were heavily drunk, the people around you asked where your hometown was, so senior hastily took measures and used a lot of power."
"Honestly, it was a bit dangerous. Thanks to that, I was completely drained from forcibly opening dimensions."
"That's... I'm sorry."
"No, rather, we should apologize. It's an issue we should have resolved immediately back then, but we're only taking measures now."
He had approached right in front of me and patted my shoulder, encouraging me to stay strong.
"Senior! It's almost time!!"
"Ah, my, has it gotten that late already? Since I've done something sorry to you, let me give you a gift."
"A gift?"
He inserted something he was holding into my body.
"Wh, what is it?"
"Well then, I bless your future life! Take care!"
With his last words, I lost consciousness.
.
.
.
"...Is this, ah shit, a dream?"
I regained consciousness in my room's bed.
========================
The website for reading paid chapters is available on my Patreon. The number of chapters on Patreon: 34
Link: patreon.com/UltraMagnus_T