Unease and Truth 3

“Eh? If it was five generations ago, it must have been quite a long time ago….”

I was summoned as a heroine in “Adolescence of Swords and Magic” ──In other words, the first version, and Erica was summoned as a heroine in the sequel.

That’s why I thought there was no way there could be any “Adolescence of Swords and Magic” players in the past saintess.

“Nina-san, you haven’t played the third version?”

“Yes. I only played up to version two….”

The latest installments in the series “Adolescence of Swords and Magic 3” would have been released about four months before I was sent back into this world. I had just been busy with schoolwork and hadn’t been able to play.

I wasn’t really interested in the game in the first place, since it seemed to be set in a different era than the previous series, and because Alvin-sama and the others didn’t appear in it.

“I played it just before coming to this world, and it’s a story about transmigration to the past world.”

“What?”

“So, even if she was teleported after us, it would still make sense because the timeline she was teleported to is in the past.”

Erica was right, everything made sense with that theory, and the name Luna could well be Japanese. As I was unable to hide my surprise, Erica continued.

“And in Luna-sama’s diary, there was something written about that man…. Actually, in the third version, there was a rumor that there was a bug.”

“What’s a bug?”

“Uhm, a bug is──….”

I listened to Erica as she explained the terminology to Theo and the others. It was the first time I had heard that a bug had occurred.

“In the bonus combat mini-game, a character similar to that man appears. If you beat him three times, you get a reward item that grants you a wish. But there was a rumor that if a bug occurred, the character would appear in the main game as well…. I had only seen the rumor on SNS, but it was treated as an urban legend and I didn’t believe it.”

“In the main story?”

“Yes. But in Luna-sama’s diary, she called that man ‘a bug,’ and she wrote that she would return to her original world with the power she gained after killing him three times.”

I couldn’t hide my bewilderment at this unbelievable story. But there were indeed many things in this world that weren’t as they appeared in the game.

The order of events changed, and even now, this world was confused as to who was the heroine, me or Erica, and we had both been summoned to event sites.

Moreover, our statuses in the game were also strange. It wouldn’t be out of the ordinary if there were irregularities where bugs were reflected in the world itself.

“But why did he reappear? It’s strange if the previous saintess had killed him.”

“…. Maybe, every time the heroine changes, it’s treated as a new game and he would reappear again.”

It was a bug in the first place, so it wasn’t surprising that anything could happen.

I like this world, but I also think it’s really distorted.

“If that’s true, one more kill and he’ll die this time, right?”

“I think so. But in the game, his strength increases each time, so I’m sure that next time he will be much more powerful….”

Even this time, Alvin-sama and Owen suffered such injuries.

When I thought about the next time we would fight, I was almost overwhelmed with anxiety.

“But why doesn’t anyone know about it? It’s strange that such an important story hasn’t been passed down.”

“…. It seems that she was trying to escape from the King at that time.”

“What do you mean?”

Erica lowered her eyes sadly and quietly explained.

──Luna-sama had a lover in her former world whom she had vowed to marry, and she had always wanted to return to her original world.

She was bewildered by the unusual favors from the King at the time and was almost forcibly married to him.

When she encountered a bug, she had hope in the reward item, and together with her trusted friends, she defeated the man.

“On the surface, she pretended to exterminate other demons. In the end, she used the item and returned to her original world…. I’m sure her friends kept quiet about it until the end.”

She wasn’t sure if she would be able to return to her original world unless she died once, as I did. That was why she desperately searched for a way to return to her world.

“It was written at the end that she hoped one day this diary will be found by a saintess who has the same ability as herself.”

“…. I see.”

I couldn’t help but pray that Luna-sama had returned safely to her world and was living happily ever after.

“Thank you for telling us, Erica. I’m pretty sure that the man in Luna-sama’s diary is the same one who attacked us.”

“Right. I think so, too.”

Everyone seemed to have the same opinion and nodded in agreement. That man was acting as an enemy of the heroine──the Saintess, just like in the game. He would definitely come after Erica and me again.

“But you were lucky. You found out who he really is. Moreover, if you defeat him, you’ll get an amazing item that will make your wish come true, right? It’s like killing two birds with one stone.”

Theo’s carefree words lightened my heart a little.

“I know I was a liability the other day, but next time I’ll be your strength.”

“Right. Alvin and Owen got beat up this time, but next time we’ll fight together. We’ll be fine.”

“Yeah. You can count on me.”

“That’s right. We’ve been underestimated.”

Everyone’s words were reassuring, and I clenched my hands to keep myself from being too frightened.

At any rate, while waiting for Alvin-sama and Owen to recover, we should come up with new countermeasures.

As I was about to go check on Alvin-sama again, a knock sounded unexpectedly.

“His Highness Alvin has woken up.”

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