房客(糙汉)何璐程曜坤

...she also didn't seem to be convinced about everything that Zoemi told her...

...which honestly was just an abridged version of everything that happened to him up until that point

"Seriously...? But aren't you alive right here and now? You even had the first-hand experience of how an actual hierarchical society would treat a low-barn commoner. If this is a game, where is your plot armor? From what I've seen, you have been doing a great job of playing the empty-headed heroine from the game and got kicked in the gut for doing so."

The black-haired bo who spent almost an hour putting himself in the best light to convince the heroine that it would be best to join him, just to be treated as an NPC with a slightly more advanced AI and fleshed out backstory, honestly felt a little bit offended.

"Yeah... easy for you to say that – you went and killed me the other day and the save state was loaded, bringing me back to life..."

"I did a WHAT now?! Impossible!"

Burushi murmured looking away, too anxious to make eye contact with Zoemi – and the black-haired-bo who definitely heard her, raised his voice and straightened his back, staring at the blond heroine in disbelief.

"That's what I am talking about! If this world wasn't a game then I wouldn't be alive anymore!"

Interestingly, Burushi clearly took his reaction for confirmation of her viewpoint – which it most definitely wasn't.

"What do you mean I killed you?! When?!"

Zoemi shook his head and asked in an urgent voice.

"When you ask... on the same day that you told me that you will visit me because you wanted to talk! And sure you did! You were late, I opened the door and then you said that I should have conquered Xeonith and KILLED ME with your stupid dagger spell!"

The blond girl crossed her arms and cowered defensively, looking at the black-haired attendant with part-sulking and part-fearful expression.

"...!"

|...what...? wait.. what...? No way, but that was...!|

Zoemi leaned back into the chair, completely taken aback by the declaration.

Although... it wasn't like he was so bewildered by the accusation – on, no – it was just that the timing of the supposed murder and the extreme deja vu marathon seemed to match...

"Hah...! Look at how shocked you are!"

Burushi scoffed, raising her feet off of the floor and moving them onto the bed so that she could rest her chin on her knees.

*thump*

"Of course, I am shocked – in what stupid reality I would want you to go to that creepy pervert?! I didn't help you out twice just to push you onto that scum!"

"!!!"

Zoemi actually got really angry about that accusation too.

Whether it was because of the environment he was forced to live in after his mother – in his current world – died, or was it because of some other, deep-seated hatred that he couldn't quite explain, the black-haired attendant would lose his temper if he encountered a pervert.

Even the thought of being someone who forces someone else to stay around a deprived person without any respect and morals when it came to others was enough to make his blood boil – so he smacked his fist against the heroine's desk, making the girl flinch and shudder, as the stuff she left on the desk rustled because of the vibration caused by the hit.

"...sorry for that..."

Zoemi bowed his head apologetically because of his outburst and breathed out.

"Listen – Do you remember at what time it was exactly?"

He asked, still sounding apologetic – because he was very much so...

"...why would you care to know...? The save file was loaded anyway and you showed up looking scary when I was with Xeonith!"

Burushi hugged her knees and mumbled, making a pitiful expression.

"I know for sure that I didn't kill you – this might sound crazy, but I think I remember what happened before the save file loaded – though I don't think that it was exactly what you think it was."

"...?"

The black-haired boy raised his head and explained while biting his lips – causing the blond girl to squint her eyes suspiciously.

"...what do you mean...?"

She asked fidgeting nervously.

"Well... I thought that I was just having a huge deja vu, but if you also experienced two versions of the same day..."

Zoemi furrowed his brows deep in thoughts and tilted his head.

"I made supper for Miriette and was going to see you – like I said I would - but then the headmaster wanted to talk to me and took me to he... his office. Then I clearly remember going back to the dormitory and accidentally scaring teacher Rokiana, making her drop the very expensive communication crystal and broke it.. and I took her to Miriette so that she could at least contact the person she was talking to and say what happened."

The boy explained forcing himself to recall the memories which his brain had already classified as a random mistake.

"Communication crystal...?"

Burushi furrowed her brows and murmured in confusion.

"A piece of mana crystal inscribed with runes and filled with the wind attribute mana – it basically is like the very basic voice-operated smartphone that can only be used to connect to another crystal that was connected by the wind magician,"

The by explained with a smirk – finding the situation oddly funny – he was talking about smartphones in the world of magic and he actually felt that he was so out of place because of doing that...!

"...so what... You went cooking and help out teachers and then you walked here and killed me like it was nothing...?"

Burushi who didn't seem to share his nostalgia about the idea of the smartphone mumbled, hugging her knees ever so stronger.

"No! That's the thing – when Miriette and teacher Rokiana were talking, I suddenly experienced this horrible pain as if my body was breaking and the n to make things weirder, it felt like I was at two places at once – from one point of view I saw the everything playing out in reverse, while on the other I was in this creepy room – I think a treasury or something - and I was sitting on a crystal box with a severed arm inside of it... And then I suddenly was back to my own body making the supper a few hours earlier! I am not making this up – I swear."

The black-haired boy declared with a serious expression.

"...you do sound like you are making it up though..."

The blond heroine muttered in complaint looking to the side.

"After that, it was like I said earlier – I went basically straight to you, but you weren't in your room and Ehmi..."

Zoemi raised his hands and waved them in denial before she suddenly froze in place after speaking the name of the small, platinum-haired girl.

"...Ehmi...? Grazio's older sister? What about her?"

Burushi got surprised by Zoemi's sudden lack of movements and asked.

"Ehmi has time magic! Why didn't I realize it sooner! We can go to her and ask whether she noticed something!"

"...!"

The black-haired boy jumped up from his chair and declared, startling the blond-haired heroine.

"What? Listen – as I explained to you before – I didn't manage to play through Grazio's route – but you are not going to tell me now that Ehmi was a character that was breaking the fourth wall, right? If she knows something then that confirms my version!"

He declared walking towards the door, stopping only to wait for the hesitant heroine.

"...but... but I saw you. You killed me with that dark dagger..."

But instead of following him, Burushiitto slid farther away on the mattress and tapped the top of her wrist to show where the darkness blade that killed her appeared from...

"...huh...?"

Zoemi blinked in confusion, staring at her hand.

"....wait – the guy who killed you looked like me but his darkness blade showed up from here...?"

He asked to make sure, taping the top of his wrist just like the heroine did a moment earlier.

"Not just some guy! It was you!"

Burushitto cried out in anger.

"No... no – look – and don't be afraid -this is just a demonstration."

Zoemi shook his head and raised one arm while extending the other one to calm down the girl on the verge of panicking.

"Darkness blade."

He chanted and the murky black blade sprouted up...

...from the base of his wrist – NOT from the top...!

"...!"

...which made the heroine's eyes widen in shock – clearly throwing her off so much that she forgot to be scared and got out of her bed and approached the black-haired boy on her own – she even reached out and grabbed Zoemi's hand and moved it closer to her face!

"...this... this is different..."

Burushi gasped in realization and looked up at the black-haired boy smiling at her with satisfaction.

"See? Now – I still want to talk to Ehmi about that time travel stuff or whatever just in case – are you coming too?"

Zoemi asked, releasing his spell, making the dagger-like blade disappear into the air.

"Alright."

The blond heroine gulped down her saliva and nodded.