Game from Earth

 

“You came back earlier than expected."

 

“Are you fucking kidding me?!!!!"

 

I howled at Oscar, who said that nonchalantly with a grin on his face. What's more irritating is that he never tears his eyes off the screen.

 

“Hahaha, sorry, sorry, I’m just kidding." Without even taking a glance at me, he apologized without a hint of remorse.

 

"This bastar..." Holding myself back, I blurted the quarry in my head. "You know that'll happen, don't you?"

 

This time Oscar grins again, though; it's not to irritate me but seems to be more to ascertain.

 

"Mhm, just like you said, I already expected this to happen." He sighs, laughing drily. "Even I barely see her; to be exact, I've only seen her twice. What's more, it was the days when the orphanage conducted the appraisal of children's abilities; you should know that one, right?"

 

After Oscar explained, he turned his focus back on the game, leaving me awestruck. Wha..... I didn't even see her in those days! Euvialin was really a seldom moon.

 

Another week has passed since the day I asked Oscar about friendship. Yes, another fruitless week of searching for Euvialin has been wasted; thus, I end up here, in Oscar's place, on the same sofa as a week ago, letting out my frustration. If I bring home my frustration about Euvialin, without a doubt, Lhina will tease me.

 

Stretching my back on the sofa, I turn to my right, casting my eyes on the sky through the window, recalling what transpired in the past few days.

 

On the first day, it was normal to search for her without a lead; I went home empty-handed. The day after I realized there was no lead to begin with, whatever I searched for or asked around for her whereabouts, there was no single clue.

 

I grew frustrated and used my extraordinary sensitivity to mana to search for her. Though there was not a single trace of her mana around, I searched the entire forest, exerting my maximum sense of mana, hoping to find her there one more time. But it's useless, as I can't find a single trace of her mana.

 

I even try my luck at the orphanage but go home empty-handed. Despite searching the whole goddamn place while exhausting my senses, it's all futile in the end. Is this what she meant when she said that? I even got the feeling my proficiency on mana increased considerably just looking for her.

 

"Argh, dammit, where the fuck should I look for her?!!!" I exclaim, sighing heavily.

                                                                                          

“Have you tried on the dormitory where she lived?" Oscar dispassionately asked.

 

"I already tried there; they either said they don't know her or haven’t seen her."

 

“You really have done it?!" Oscar widens his eyes, then coughs. “Either way, cheer up; here, wanna play?"

 

"I appreciate it, but I’m not in the mood right now."

 

“It can’t be helped then." Oscar turns back to his game before adding something. “I even bid you luck; I guess looking for that solemn moon was really tough."

 

Ignoring Oscar's side remark, I cast my eyes on the ceiling, contemplating so-called life. What the hell am I doing in my second life? I don't remember any value in anything I’ve done in this life. Man, it's tough to find a purpose in life, especially when the world itself has already counted down for its doom.

 

I can’t say if that time is near, but it's running... Who knows when it’ll run out? I die with regrets from my past life. I doubt it'll be different this time, but I hope I'll be able to do and accomplish what I couldn't reach in my past life.

 

However, what can I do? If merely finding eucalyptus I can’t do, how'll I change the fate? If it is possible, I want to borrow the almighty plot armor from the two protagonists. If I just have what it takes, I want to turn the world upside down.

 

At that moment, my eyes caught a glimpse of the monitor displaying the game that Oscar was currently playing. A typical high-graphic game that is only playable on high-end devices.

 

It seems to be an open-world RPG that I like to play, though. Why is it strangely familiar? A hero clad in golden armor fights a monster accompanied by silver-haired beauty.

 

"Hehhhh...hey, old man, is this the sequel to the sexy angel conquest?"

 

Getting asked out of the blue like that, Oscar reacts exaggeratedly, coughing heavily. However, because of that, he didn't notice his characters were slowly dying one by one. "It’s not!!! And why do you still remember that?

 

Reincarnator has a good memory, perhaps? My memory of my past life is bad, at least.

 

I tilt my head in confusion. "It's not? But the art style is similar."

 

Oscar pressed his hand on his temple, proceeding to explain. "The art style might be similar, but it's different. In this game, you will save the world from the hand of the chaos angel, who becomes the demon queen."

 

What’s the difference again?

 

"Don't give me that look that says, what’s the difference again?" Oscar affirmed, breathing a sigh.

 

"How did you know? Teach me that?" I ask, simply amazed. It might be useful in the future.

 

Shrugging off, he adds. "When the vice head found out that I made you watch that kind of thing again, she might decapitate me for real."

 

Lhifhina will? Nah, I don’t think she will do something like that, to me at least.

 

"If I can't watch it, then let me play it."

 

This time, Oscar's reaction is quite different. He became flustered and frightened at the same time. "If I do that, she will torture me to death!!!"

 

Now that's an interesting thing to see.

 

Oscar seems to read my mind, lashing at me. "Stop!!! Whatever you're thinking, stop it!! It's giving me a shiver!!!"

 

Seriously, how are you doing that? Can he read minds?

 

“Fine, fine, so what’s this game called?" I inquired. Causing him to shut up,

 

"Chaos angel," he said, slamming his shoulder as if to give up.

 

"Chaos angel?" suspicious, I raise one of my brows. "Are you sure it's not the sequel?"

 

"It's not; why do you insist on that?" he pronounced. Not wanting to deal with me anymore, he returned to the game just to notice a text on the monitor saying, [You died]. "urg”

 

Now that I think about it, does he still have that game? I bet he still has it; he likes it very much after all. So where does he put it? As I was thinking, an idea hit my head.

 

With a normal face and casual tone, I inquire. As if it were a natural thing to ask. "Old man, where do you put the sexy angel conquest?"

 

"Ahh, I hid it underneath my bed with other eroges," he said bluntly, absorbed in his game.

 

The corner of my mouth curled upward in a satisfied grin. Heh, it worked as always. So he really still has it. Did Lhifhina miss it?

 

While I was thinking, Oscar turned to face me with a cramped expression. Letting his character die again in the process... realizing it at the very last moment. "You, how the heck have you always got me with those casual-tone questions?"

 

I also want to know how you can read my mind accurately.

 

Instead of answering him, I gave him an obnoxious grin. Well, I don't know the answer to his question either. Why does it work on him every time? While I'm thinking that, he rejects a deal that I'm about to propose.

 

“I wouldn’t let you play eroge.”

 

“Why? Let me play it!!!”

 

"I'd get killed!! Please understand it!!" he pleads as if a knife were pointed at him.

 

Hmm. After a short contemplation, I decided to give up. I don't want to lose my sole gaming buddy after all.

 

"Fine, I wouldn’t press on that anymore.”

 

Oscar breathes a sigh of relief.

 

Man, you're overreacting.

 

To erase the awkward atmosphere, I ask a related question.

 

"The girls in this game are also silver-haired."

 

"Yeah,"

 

“Such a fine taste, as expected of my comrade.”

 

“Right”

 

We crack a smile together.

 

                                                            ***

 

Oscar is still playing while I'm watching. Since it's rather quiet and Oscar seems sleepy, I decide to start a conversation.

 

I start with a query that I don't need to ask. Hence, I already have an idea for an answer, merely out of whim, seeing that there's a game in front of me.

 

"Hey," I called.

 

“Mhm?" Oscar slightly responded, still in a state of drowsiness.

 

When did this guy last sleep? His eyes are visibly heavy.

 

“I wonder why games are unpopular in this world," I asked dispassionately, expecting what was coming.

 

Oscar strangely eyed me, then turned back to the screen. "The inhabitants of this world are simply uninterested in it."

 

That's surprising; he gave a safe answer. Just like I said before, common entertainment on earth was not a thing here. Why would they play an RPG like this? When they can literally go on a real adventure and kill monsters. It's a waste of time for them to play something like this. Dangerous, that's true, but that's the real entertainment here. A lot of people enjoy fighting and magic. That's just how vast the difference in culture is.

 

But that's not the sole reason why it's unpopular and hated by some—mostly by demons since they are often depicted as villains on it...

 

I thought Oscar didn't have anything to say anymore. But he suddenly interrupts my rumination.

 

"But I'm sure that's not the answer you expected," Oscar said, sparing me a quick glance. "The reason it's unpopular and hated by few... knowing you, I bet a smart kid like you already knows it."

 

"The world where this kind of thing originated" Oscar gawked at me with seriousness. “The unwritten history—the source of discrepancies of opinion regarding the dwellers of that world. “

 

Well, well, he said it. It’s not a surprise that Oscar had knowledge of that. I knew for a while now that Oscar was not just a mob in this world. But that's all I know; I'm a person who respects my friend’s privacy after all. I'd never force his secrets out of him, but I can't promise I'll not drag him into my problem.

 

Friends are made to help each other, right? Kukuku~

 

The corner of my mouth curled upwards to a grin.

 

Although it's not recorded in history, it's something known to few and a source of jeopardy to most. It's something to mention in the novel. There are actually a bunch of hints, but somehow the dense Mc missed every single one.

 

One of the heroines knew about it; she hid it till the last minute. I remember snorting when the Mc finally grasped the truth. That shit came as a shocker to him. 

 

Unlike that dense idiot, I only view it as an overly used plot twist.

 

The world where a fool that caused massive devastation came from—the very same world that dealt a great deal of trouble in Araeh.

 

The world that I know very well—that world—there's no way I wouldn't know it.

 

It was you, wasn't it? My old friend.

 

‘Earth’

 

Indeed, neither I nor the Mc were the first Earthlings to set foot in Araeh. This world only has terrible things stored for us. Sure it is, HAHA~

 

Oscar breathed an exaggerated sigh that woke me from reverie.

 

"Kid, I'm sure you know your thing, but don't go around advertising it." 

 

"Whatever you mean by that?" Tilting my head, my lips bend like a crescent moon. "I'm a mere kid led by his curiosity alone."