The 'Them' Encountered Before Exiting Floor 21
This chapter is from the POV of Hero who was time leaped into the future.
There is nothing here.
There's nobody around either.
I can't even find a single grass growing on Map Screen.
No matter how many times I checked and rechecked. The result stayed the same. The only object here is a wasteland of a dead planet.
...Or so it should be but then a reading blipped up on my Map Screen without warning.
It's someone I know.
Fearing the reading would soon disappear, I ran toward it at with all my might.
The other party seemed to have noticed us and started approaching as well.
I almost burst into tears once we got close enough to make out each other's figure.
"Oo--------yy!!"
I shouted with all the breath in my lungs. I wanted a respond, I didn't care if it was just a dream or an illusion.
The other party seemingly responded in kind, waving their hands at us.
By the time we got close enough to touch, I was on the verge of crying.
All I do is crying lately. But I bet anybody would if they were in my shoes.
The reading shown on my Map is none other than my Japan-born acquaintance, Kajikawa Hikaru in person.
...No really, how'd he even get here anyway?
"Haa, haa, haa, Kajikawa, san, how, are, you here...?"
"O, ou? No uh, I should be the one asking that, why are you all here?"
"D-Demon King abducted us right after we beat the Demon Chief during the war, then we got thrown here."
"Wha? Wait, eh? H, hold on a minute. That's way too much information. Did a big battle break out somewhere? And what do you mean Demon King abducted you!? What's going on!?"
...? Something doesn't feel right.
I get that my wording could have been better but his reaction is just all kind of wrong.
It's as if he doesn't know about the war on Continent 3 like he didn't go on a huge rampage all over the place himself.
"Heck, weren't you supposed to be busy doing that Hero's Trial thingy to get your Job Change? Why are you even taking part in a war."
"Wha? Uh I'm already way done with Hero's Trial. I mean, you broke through the ruins straight to the innermost--"
<<Stoop! ...Hello Kajikawa-san, may I ask some questions?>>
Menu's display interrupted me.
Kajikawa-san's eyes popped wide at the sudden display screen.
"Uwaah, that startled me. Err, is that your Menu-san? What's up?"
<<Kajikawa-san, what are your immediate goal right now?>>
"Eh? What do you mean? ...Err, I'm trying to find a way out of Floor 21 and stumbled upon a door that connects to this place by chance."
"...Floor 21?"
Hold it, I'm getting confused here.
What's going on?
"Menu-san told me this is the dead Parallecia hundreds of millions years in the future. I was glancing at my Map thinking there shouldn't be anything alive anymore when I found you guys' readings here."
<<...I see. This is quite a convoluted situation we found ourselves in... But it seems we can avoid the worst case scenario. Phew, I thought we were done for good...>>
Oh come on! Don't just get it all by your own!
I'm utterly baffled here! I demand an explanation!
<<Okay okay, I'll explain from start to end, don't get all prickly on me now. On your period today?>>
Hell if I got one. Just give it to me straight.
<TLN: Catch the latest updates and edits at Sousetsuka .com >
....
The result of Menu's analysis by cross referencing with the Kajikawa-san here is both understandable and hard to understand.
The gist of it would be like so.
① I fell for Demon King's trap and time slipped hundreds of millions into the future.
② I can't get revived anymore now that I'm cut off from the Hero Summoning Magic Formula. There is no going back unless I know a way to go back in time. AKA checkmate. It's all over for us.
③ ...Or so we thought but then the 'Past Kajikawa-san' who was trying to get out of Floor 21 opened a door that connects to this era and found us. And here we are.
Floor 21 is where spaces and times are completely out of whack. It's connected to any eras in the past or future. Even parallel worlds altogether.
One of those doors is 'Parallecia hundreds of millions years in the future' in almost the exact time period as the one Demon King threw me to.
...Uh no, that's way beyond plot convenient. What kind of miraculous RNG did this guy just pull.
"...I'm scared of my Luckiness myself. Luck Attribute-sensei is way too overpowered."
"Demon King's Luck being 0 might play a part too here."
"At any rate, we can go back to our time period as long as we follow this past Kajikawa-san back right."
"T-thank goodness... I, thought we can't go back anymore...!"
Levia and Olivie expressed their relief.
...Yup, I'm just as glad. I was about to seriously believe Kajikawa-san betrayed us and we'd have to spend the rest of our life here.
When in fact he's the key person that's gonna get us out of this pinch... Uwaah, I feel so bad about it now.
"...Err, I'm still trying to find the door that's connected to real time Parallecia myself and it's prolly gonna take a while. Just keep that in mind while you follow me okay."
"We'll wait forever if we have to. So long as that can bring us back home... Really, thank you so much."
I feel guilty about doubting him but telling this past Kajikawa-san about it is only gonna confuse him so I'm just gonna say my thanks.
'Oh don't worry about it', he said as he led us to Floor 21.
There's doors everywhere in Floor 21, top bottom left right it doesn't matter. It's making my sense of directions awry, so eerie.
The door exteriors are all over the place too. I'm not even sure if some of those designs fit to be called doors.
"Hmm, wonder which door is it. Here maybe?"
Kajikawa-san opened an iron door. Inside is a silver haired woman with a black colored forelock crouching, bound by chains.
She's paying us no heed, muttering to herself in her position instead.
"Ah, got it wrong. Excuse me."
BAM he slammed the door shut.
...Wait wait wait, what was that. I mean, who.
"...You sure we can leave her alone?"
"We ain't going back for years if we keep playing along with every one of these. We don't know her situation and my intuition is telling me getting involved won't do us any good anyway."
Hmm, I only saw a glimpse but she was quite a cutie. Her body was quite bombastic too.
"Quit making a lecherous look, you!"
"Ooow!"
Levia kicked my delusion away... Okay okay, let's keep going.
Kerclack
"Hey you, do you know, where my eye is. I dropp--"
SLAM
"Next one."
"...What the hell was that..."
"This place is chock full of doors housing that kinda stuff. You mind, you lose."
Kajikawa-san spoke with vacant eyes... He must be speaking from experience.
...We opened tens of doors afterward trying to find the door to our world.
All while exchanging information and planning out our next move.
"Knowing the future in detail might get me make a different decision than I should which could bring about unforeseen consequences. Just tell me the general gist of things."
"Ah, you mean like, Time Paradox?"
"Yup. Menu-san said the world itself could wholly reset worst comes to worst. Please keep risque intel to yourself."
"What the, that's scary..."
With that in mind, I only told this Kajikawa-san vague details such as 'Things will happen in around a week' and so on.
This should afford him to take actions that are advantageous to humanity once he gets back.
"But did you really go up against Demon King with just the three of you?"
"They got us good before we sorted out all our party members. Future Kajikawa-san told me, 'Fuse with Alma and Reina then defeat Demon King with a combo of Shadow Dive and Magic Swords'."
"Hmm, that's not a bad plan but your stats are still way below Demon King in his Final Form, so I dunno... Hm, Menu-san, what's up?"
Kajikawa-san's Menu displayed a Screen while we were discussing which members to put in my hero party.
<<Suggestion for the two renaming members. First one is Almatina. The other one is...>>
....
Umm, yeah.
Honestly, that thought did cross my mind, but I wonder about that...
"...Eh. But won't that erase most of Hero's advantages."
<<It is estimated that the acquired merit will more than make up for the demerit. Those who join 'True Hero' Party Member gain a big boost in Status Values. By making a good use of Energy Control after Fusion, these members have the best chance at triumphing over Demon King.>>
"...What's it like in percentage?"
<<...Estimated to be around 50%.>>
"Best chance and it's only 50%..."
...Both Kajikawa-san and I would rather not if we could help it but we can't help it in our situation.
We can't come up with a better person in the end and so the plan is to fuse with Alma first before the last person. Then we fight Demon King.
...Oh man, I was hoping everybody besides me would be girls. Well since Alma is joining, I might as well include her in my harem ah, Kajikawa-san, I'm sorry please don't make that if-glare-can-kill look and point that at me, I'm real sorry, forgive me!
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