It was a long, long line.

These are all dead people, huh… that’s incredible, Hikaru thought.

Tall buildings like skyscrapers reared alongside each other, though devoid of any human presence. There was only the long line of the departed, wearing the same outfit; white summer clothes.

Only one thought raced in their minds: that up ahead they will be judged whether they’ll go to heaven or hell.

Like Hikaru, not everyone just stood in line blankly. Some screamed, and some were hitting on the people in line. There were even those that proposed money-making schemes to them. Hikaru was unlike the other departed. He stepped out of the line and went around to the back of a building.

(Who would’ve thought I’d die like this?)

Hikaru met his end at age fifteen. His name meant “to shine”; he was named as such with the hopes that he would grow up to be a bright young man. But he lived all his life staying in the shadows. He chose to. It was much easier to not interact with people. He couldn’t keep up with the boys and girls his age either.

A traffic accident was the cause of his death. Going to the convenience store at night is not a good idea. One could say he was at fault for being deep in thought, but the driver was to blame as well. Hikaru crossed the street when the lights were green, after all.

(Not like there’s any point in lamenting over it now. The only takeaway I got is that humans die easily. Something I learned personally… Hmm?)

Hikaru felt the presence of people behind the building. Dead people.

「Come on, move!」

「Hahahaha! We died too because of you! Hahaha!」

「You freakin’ idiot! You just had to do it, didn’t you? Well, we’re gonna keep on bullying you forever.」

Three boys kicked a scrunching kid, sending him flying. Bullying.

(Bullying even in this place, huh? These kids are beyond redemption. I don’t like it. But then again, it’s none of my business.)

It’s best if I don’t get involved… Hikaru started backing away when his eyes met those of the cowering kid.

!

The boy looked at Hikaru and quickly averted his gaze. Something was on the ground behind the boys. A bag. Faint light spilled from within.

Now that he thought about it, Hikaru saw some of the dead carrying the same kind of light as well. A few had it in their hands, some in bags. He understood that it was something very important.

Take it.

Hikaru thought the boy on the ground mouthed the words at him. Take it. In other words, steal it.

「…」

Ignoring him would be easy. But Hikaru’s bad habit got the better of him. His curiosity. He held interest in the “light” that the other dead people possessed. There were those that had one, and those that didn’t; Hikaru belonged to the latter. What would it mean for the boy if he took the bag?

(Does me taking it constitute an act of revenge against the ones that are bullying you? Fine. I’ll do it. I’m curious as well.)

Slowly, Hikaru inched closer. The three boys had their backs turned to him, so they didn’t notice him approaching.

Hikaru always refrained from doing anything dangerous, but right now he was trying to brave the risk. The reason for his actions was simple. Humans die easily. And he was already dead. In that case, shouldn’t he at least satisfy his curiosity?

Hikaru was surprisingly calm. He approached slowly. All he had to do was not get noticed and it would be all right.

The boys were in their early teens; the same age as Hikaru or perhaps younger. They kicked the kid with faces full of spite.

Hikaru reached for the bag. Just a little more. Only ten centimetres. Got it—

「Ah.」

One of the three boys turned around to look. His eyes met that of Hikaru’s.

「What the hell are you doing?!」

Grabbing the bag, Hikaru made a run for it.

「You bastard!」

「We’ll be in deep trouble without that!」

「Stop!」

They’ll be in trouble without it? What does that mean?

「…What the?!」

Something occurred behind him. He looked over his shoulder for a second to see the bullied kid standing up, lunging himself at the three boys. When Hikaru turned at a corner of the building, he could no longer see his pursuers. They were probably caught off-guard by the kid’s sudden actions.

Hikaru ran, and ran, and ran. He dashed through the forest of high-rise buildings.

「Haa… haa… haaa…」

Eventually, his legs gave up. Exhausted, he propped his hands on a wall, panting, and sat down on the ground.

「Did I lose them?」

There were no sounds of footsteps approaching. It was safe to assume he lost the boys.

「Hmm… this kind of adrenaline-pumping action isn’t so bad… So what’s this thing?」

In his hand was a bag that was made by randomly stitching rags together. Light spilled from within it.

Was it owned by the bullied kid? Or the three boys? They mentioned something about being in trouble if they didn’t have it.

「That was some great stealing.」

「Wha?!」

A voice came from behind, startling Hikaru, and he turned around.

「Who are you?!」

「I don’t have much time. I want you to listen to what I have to say. All right?」

The one who spoke was a boy around Hikaru’s age. But he had blonde hair and blue eyes.

A foreigner? Hikaru thought.

The boy wore rich velvet clothes that looked to be outdated with a corsage on his collar. He looked like a noble in oil paintings found in art books.

(That’s strange. I thought everyone here was Japanese.)

The dead people in line had black hair and black eyes. The same was true for the three bullies and the kid they were bullying. Then there was the outfit. The boy wasn’t wearing the same white summer clothes.

「You’re coming with me to my world. I want to you to live in my stead.」

「I’m not sure I follow.」

「I will die soon.」

The boy lifted his shirt. His belly was stained a deep red.

「…Looks serious」

「I was assassinated. Stabbed by a knife.」

Assassinated. Now there’s a disturbing word.

「At the brink of death, I sent my soul alone all the way here. You know where you are, correct?」

「The place between death and the afterlife… I think.」

「That’s right. This is the entrance to paradise where souls receive their judgment. My world has one too. I desperately needed immense power for my own goal. So I researched about the art of crossing worlds. Unfortunately, I could only go to another world’s heaven. Before I could accomplish my long-cherished goal, I was assassinated and am now dying.」

「You’re going too fast. Give your story in order. I didn’t understand half the things you just said.」

「I don’t have time to talk about the details. Come to my world and grant my one wish. Then you will be revived once more. Or to be more accurate, reincarnated.」

「—————–」

Revived? Did he just say revived?

「You can do whatever you want once you’re revived. What do you say?」

「…Okay.」

Hikaru nodded in agreement. He can be alive once more. That brought him joy more than anything. He couldn’t bear having his amassed knowledge and all his thoughts wiped clean from having his soul judged.

「Well then. I’m now going to perform the world-crossing spell. My name is Roland. Roland N. Zaracia. I’m giving you my body.」

White light burst and blurred his vision. And just like that, Hikaru’s soul left the place.

Hikaru took a deep breath. He was astonished by the sensation of having a living body. It seemed as though everything he felt until now was simply a product of his own imagination. His stomach felt sticky from something. He checked to find it wet with blood.

(Can you tell? It’s me. Roland.)

Hikaru heard a voice come from within him and he nodded. Feeling his clothes, he knew they were what Roland wore earlier. The room was dark, though he could tell it was properly furnished. Its interior design was just like the European high class hotel rooms he saw on television.

(With your soul transferred into my body, anything wrong with it should be fixed. My body will gradually get used to you. Take a look at the mirror.)

A mirror…

Hikaru stood in front of a huge mirror on the wall and saw Roland’s face. Except it had black hair.

(Please grant my wish.)

「Your wish…」

(You should know what it is by now. After all, you have access to my memories.)

It was just like Roland said. Hikaru’s mind was a jumbled mess right now. He had both memories of his life in Japan and Roland’s memories of his life in this world – a world with dragons and magic.

「Vengeance against Count Morgstad…」

Roland was born from a viscount family. Count Morgstad framed his parents for an evil deed resulting in both being sentenced to death. His family’s land and assets were expropriated and Roland himself was supposed to be sent to the sticks; the parents may be guilty but the child is innocent is what they said.

But Roland was a gifted sorcerer. One could say that Morgstad wanted to destroy his whole family for fear of his gifts. And so even though there was no threat to his life anymore, Roland swore to exact revenge on the Count.

(You just have to kill Count Morgstad.)

「…Hmm, yes.」

(Your stealing skills were splendid. You may have a knack for such things.)

A compliment? Not sure if I should be happy about that.

(I only have about an hour left. Kill him before them.)

「An hour?!」

(If you fail, I’ll kill you.)

「Wha-?!」

(I’ll soon be summoned to heaven and I’ll either be reincarnated or enter paradise. But you will be destroyed, soul and all.)

Hikaru knew he was telling the truth. After all, he had Roland’s memories. There’s no saving once the soul is destroyed. He never really believed in life after death. He didn’t think it existed. But now that he knew it did, being “destroyed” didn’t sound so good.

「You tricked me. That kinda pisses me off.」

(I’m sorry for threatening you. There was just no other way.)

Having inherited Roland’s memories, Hikaru understood his thirst for revenge. Roland’s parents were honest, just, and upright – loved by everyone, and they were taken from him unreasonably. Sentenced to death, they were crucified, their bodies left abandoned in the royal capital.

Perhaps because he shared Roland’s memories, Hikaru didn’t feel much resistance in having to kill someone. Roland firmly believed that Count Morgstad was someone who deserved to die.

「Kill someone… We haven’t even prepared for it or anything.」

(You have your “gift” for that, don’t you?)

「…Gift?」

(You can call it God’s blessing. You stole one, didn’t you? Something that shone bright.)

Oh, that thing…

(You’ll know if you check my memories. It’s like an ability that one can use once his soul is reincarnated. In this world, it should manifest into a Skill, or some magic or special art that only you can… use.)

Roland’s voice grew fainter.

(I can’t speak any more than this… I can only remind you of your remaining time from here on out.)

Magic… Special art… Skill.

Do I really have any of those?

「!」

Then suddenly, Hikaru felt something inside him. He focused his mind to it, and…

A board the size of an A4 paper, radiating pale green light, emerged before him.

【Soul Board】Hikaru

Age: 15 Rank: 0

(55 minutes left…)

Hikaru knew Roland was serious.

Maybe this thing is some kind of a Skill?

On the board was a huge circle. Its surface was smooth like some sort of a tablet.

「What’s this…?」

He touched it and a robotic voice rang inside his head.

【Unlock Soul Board? 1 point required.】

Unlock? Point required? I have no idea what those mean, but there’s no point in not using it.

「Unlock.」

Words appeared on the screen.

【Vitality】

..【Natural Recovery】0

..【Stamina】0

..【Immunity】

..【Perception】

Vitality was written at the center and branched out.

「A Skill Tree?」

It was the same system as the solo RPGs and MMORPGs he’d played before. You tend to have more free time when you’re good at academics. So Hikaru played games. Though his playstyle involved being extremely efficient.

A Skill Tree’s effects were manifested once it’s unlocked by consuming a Skill Point. In fact, the number 15 on top changed to a 14.

「15 points because I’m 15 years old? So what, I get one point per year? That sucks.」

Hikaru mulled things over. What do I do? He had to kill someone and in order to do that, there were crucial steps he had to go through first. Like getting close to someone of noble status. Can I do it? They must be on guard. So how do I allocate my Skill Points to help me get the job done?

…No, before that. Can I even kill someone?

「Now is not the time to think about that.」

He had to do it, or he’s dead. Hikaru was a sore loser. He’s made it this far and he wasn’t going to just die here without having done anything.

(50 minutes.)

He could hear Roland’s faint voice.

Should I spend points on Natural Recovery? Nah. It’s not going to be a fight of endurance. Which means Stamina and Immunity are both out of the question as well. That leaves only Perception.

「But that would result in too much imbalance. Actually, it was already imbalanced the moment only these Skills were available. Normally, there’d be Weapon or Magic Skills as well.」

Hikaru examined the board.

「A tablet… in that case…」

With his finger on the screen, he flicked to the left. The ○ screen swiped past and changed into a ◎.

「I knew it. So the circle is the Vitality Skill Tree window.」

He swiped and swiped. Next was a triangle, then a diamond, a pentagon, a hexagon, and the last was blank. After that, it came back to the circle window. Seven windows in total.

「So if one point is needed to unlock a Skill Tree, I’ll have to use seven points just to find something useful.」

(45 minutes.)

Time was running out.

Hikaru dug through Roland’s memories. Right now, he was in a high class hotel in a town called Pond. Count Morgstad was in his villa. He could run there in less than five minutes if he used the shortest route. The Count’s room was most likely on the third floor. I need fifteen… no, twenty minutes to get close to him.

「I don’t have much information to think of something. I’ll just have to unlock everything and find a useful Skill.」

【Unlock Soul Board? 1 point required.】

「Yes.」

The ◎ window opened.

【Magical Power】

..【Mana】0

..【Spirit Affinity】

「Magic, huh… Can I even use magic?」

It’s something I’ve never used before. I have Roland’s memories, but not his intellect. I recall Roland doing magical experiments in the past, but I don’t have the details and there’s just no time to go over them. Moreover, Roland’s magical abilities leaned towards the art of crossing worlds.

【Unlock Soul Board? 1 point required.】

「Unlock.」

The △ window opened.

【Physical Strength】

..【Strength】0

..【Weapon Mastery】

Weapons. Things that are indispensable in killing someone…

「Are there even weapons around here?」

He surveyed the room. A dagger of plain make but with a sharp blade lay on the floor. The weapon used to stab Roland. It was enough for his purpose.

「…Still, my biggest problem is whether I can get to Count Morgstad or not.」

Nobles of this world didn’t normally receive guests at night and based on Roland’s memories, it was already nearing midnight. Wind rattled a closed window. Faint light streamed in through the coarse glass window, but the continuous downpour made it all but dark outside.

「Strong weapons mean nothing if I don’t make it to the man. I could kill everyone who gets in my way…」

「Yeah, no.」Hikaru muttered under his breath.

He wasn’t sure he could get away with mass murder without being found out.

(40 minutes.)

On to the next board.

【Unlock Soul Board? 1 point required.】

「Yes.」

The ◇ window opened.

【Agility】

..【Instantaneous Power Burst】0

..【Flexibility】0

..【Balance】0

..【Stealth】

Hikaru’s intuition screamed “This is it”. Stealth. With this, I can get close to Count Morgstad unnoticed.

【Unlock Stealth? 1 point required.】

「Yes.」

【Stealth】

..【Life Obfuscation】0

..【Mana Obfuscation】0

..【Imperceptibility】0

「…I see. So the ones without the zeroes have to be unlocked.」

In order to see the Skills available, you have to first spend a point to unlock a field. Otherwise, it would be useless. It all sounds absurd, but I don’t have time to complain about this Skill Tree.

「What’s this Life Obfuscation thing anyway⁠—」

The instant he raised the question, every Skill’s definition sprang up in his mind.

【Life Obfuscation】Hide yourself from Life force detection Skills. Max:5.

【Mana Obfuscation】Hide yourself from mana detection Skills. Max:5.

【Imperceptibility】User can’t be detected by scent, hearing, or sight. Max:5.

Huh, so there are detection Skills. I have ten points left. Should I allocate them equally or no?

「Detection using the senses would normally be the most troublesome. They might have guard dogs, after all.」

Some people say dogs have a million to a hundred million times more powerful sense of smell than humans. They should have excellent hearing as well. I already know that this world have dogs.

So what about the other two detection Skills? Based off Roland’s memories, not a lot of people have these sorts of abilities.

「For now I’ll put a point in Life Obfuscation, one point in Mana Obfuscation, and five points in Imperceptibility.」

Hikaru entered the numbers.

【Stealth】

..【Life Obfuscation】1

..【Mana Obfuscation】1

..【Imperceptibility】5 (MAX)

….【Assassination】0

「…Assassination.」

Hikaru shivered from the coldness of the word. The Skill appeared after he put five points into Imperceptibility.

【Assassination】When the user attacks without the target noticing, the attack will have a fatal effect. Max: 3.

It was the perfect Skill for Hikaru’s purpose. He had three points left as well.

「Man, this is too good to be true.」

It felt like someone was watching him from the sidelines, setting things up for him.

「35 minutes… Hurry…」

Can I quietly close in on my target and kill him? He may be vulnerable but I haven’t killed anyone before. Neither have I stabbed someone in the heart. But if killing him will guarantee my life in this world…

Hikaru put the rest of his points on Assassination.

【Stealth】

..【Life Obfuscation】1

..【Mana Obfuscation】1

..【Imperceptibility】5 (MAX)

….【Assassination】3 (MAX)

……【Snipe】0

Another Skill popped up. This one will allow me to kill a target from long-range. If I had to choose, I’d pick this one. It’s not like I actually want to kill the Count from point-blank.

「…Let’s do this.」

With Roland’s body, and the knife used to stab Roland in hand, Hikaru stepped out into the pouring rain. He strode through the front lobby, but the staff on duty failed to notice that someone went past him.

Thunder rumbled and lightning crackled with the pouring rain. Each drop made white splashes as it hit the cobblestones. Hikaru was out in the cold without a coat, soaking wet. Soon he arrived at his destination: Count Morgstad’s villa.

(25 minutes.)

He thought about going through the back, but the entrance was locked, wasting five minutes of his precious time. So Hikaru opted to sneak in through the front. The front entrance wasn’t locked for the night guards to go in and out.

Under some eaves, Hikaru squeezed the water out of his cuffs then opened the door.

「The guest the other day was filthy rich…」

「Oh, the day I took a leave…」

Talk about bad luck. Two servants passed by.

But they simply went on without stopping. Hikaru was inside, but the two didn’t notice him at all. Unbelievable. Here I am, striding in boldly and they didn’t even notice. He now realised that the three Skills he learned under “Stealth” were more incredible than he imagined. Turning the Skill on and off was possible. It was an odd way to put it but Stealth would activate when Hikaru was fired up. He felt an odd sensation, like his body was dissolving into thin air.

The inside of the mansion was dark. There didn’t seem to be any night-light. Even with his Skill, Hikaru elected to creep in through the shadows. He climbed the stairs to the third floor.

Two men – who looked like guards – were walking towards him. They were knights in plain clothes, swords hanging from their waists. Count Morgstad was a noble with considerable influence in the kingdom so it wasn’t surprising for him to have knights as guards.

「Hmm?」

「What’s wrong?」

One of the men stopped.

「…Something’s off.」

「What is it? I can’t really tell.」

「It could be an intruder.」

「!」

The other knight reached for his sword.

「…There’s no one around, though.」

「Yeah…」

One of them crouched down and touched the floor.

「…It’s wet.」

「Of course it is. It’s pouring out there.」

「Did someone return from outside?」

「Well someone went out for an errand to the Alchemists Guild for that girl’s examination.」

「Ah, yes. Now that you mention it.」

The man got up with a sour look on his face.

「Let’s go.」

「Are you sure?」

「I was just imagining things. Anyway, that Count pisses me off so much, I don’t even feel like doing my job properly.」

「Come on, don’t say that…」

Both men left.

Standing in the shadows of a pillar, Hikaru drew a long, deep breath. I thought I was done for. But his Skill seemed to be doing a very good job. He was right in choosing “Imperceptibility”. It wasn’t a detection type Skill that set the guard off, but his experience. Hikaru was certain of that now. The man simply relied on his scent and sensed something in the air.

Hikaru was lucky about one more thing. When the guard practically spat out the word “Count”, he shot a glance behind him. That meant the Count’s room was in that direction

(15 minutes.)

There was still time. Hikaru was startled when he heard Roland say “20 minutes”. He was worried the guards might’ve heard the voice while they were getting closer.

「…Let’s go.」

Hikaru continued on. The knights did not turn to look back. As soon as the lamps they carried were far enough, darkness settled once more around Hikaru. Windows for lighting were set on the ceiling that gave a bit of illumination each time lightning flashed across the sky.

It would be great to have a “Night Vision” Skill, but alas, I’m out of Skill points. He was fortunate that it was dark. It was easy to tell which rooms were occupied from the faint light that came from within. And there was only one such room up ahead.

Hikaru strained his ears just right outside the door. The sound of the rain made it difficult to hear anything, but…

「That stupid, pigheaded baron…」

The voice belonged to an elderly man. The Count Morgstad in Roland’s memories had white hair all over his head. My target’s in here. Hikaru’s hand was shaking as he reached for the doorknob.

Quickly, he grasped his trembling hand tight. It’s okay. It’s okay. I can do it. After getting this far, fear gripped his heart.

You’re gonna do it. You’re gonna kill him so you can live on, Hikaru desperately tried to tell himself. Soon enough, he gradually grew calm.

He felt sorry for Roland. He was interested in this new world. His whole being ached from his thirst for knowledge.

But it was his death in his previous life that finally drove him to commit murder. Humans die easily. What’s more, this world was different from modern Japan. It was a world where one had to kill in order to live on.

(10 minutes.)

The moment he heard Roland’s countdown, Hikaru opened the door. Count Morgstad, with his body facing the entrance to his room, sat at his office desk, reading something under a lamp.

「Hmm?」

He shot a glance at the door. I thought I heard the door open, the Count thought.

「Who’s there? A guard?」

Or perhaps the butler? he thought. But he wouldn’t come to his room this late at night unless he was called. He certainly wouldn’t invite himself in without knocking first either.

The door closed.

「…I guess I’m just hearing things.」

He turned his eyes back to his hands holding a bunch of written reports. When he skimmed through the last piece of paper…

「So they succeeded.」

On it was a coded message that read “I’ve put out the fire on your land”. But its actual contents meant “I’ve killed Viscount Zaracia’s son”.

「…He surprised me for a while there. I didn’t expect him to be in Pond.」

The Count received word that Viscount Zaracia’s son was in town. He suspected he might’ve come to kill him. He was fortunate to have located the boy first and send his guy to end him.

「Like parents, like son. They all have to be so annoying. But now the Zaracia family is gone and my era will soon come.」

Wrong.

Morgstad was caught dumbfounded by the sudden voice. But there was nobody else in the room.

「Who’s there?!」

Opening his table’s drawer, he reached for the bell inside. Once rang, every guard in the mansion would be alerted by the sound.

「Ahhhhhh!」

But his hand stopped just on top of the drawer. Someone had stabbed his palm.

「I-I-I-It’s you…!」

Pain and fear seized him. By his side was someone who was supposed to be dead.

「It’s Roland N. Zaracia… Well actually, I’m his stand-in. I’m taking your life.」

「H-How?!」

「Die.」

Blood dripped from the dagger as Hikaru pulled it from the Count’s hand. The blade pierced flesh almost too easily, but he ****** it into Morgstad’s heart without any hesitation.

「Guh…」

With a twist of the dagger, Morgstad coughed up blood before collapsing on the floor.

「Ha… haa…」

Count Morgstad’s lifeless body lay before Hikaru’s eyes. His whole body felt as if it were aflame. He wanted to run and scream.

For a moment, just a split second, Hikaru’s body froze. Roland wanted to take over. He used up the ten minutes he had left to contain Hikaru’s will and kill the Count himself.

(…You just had to stop me.)

Roland sounded exasperated.

「I wasn’t gonna let you do it. I decided that I would do it.」

Hikaru made up his mind. He made his decision to live on. If he had to murder someone to do so, so be it. He had no other choice.

And yet he was surprisingly calm.

(Thank you…)

It was the warmest of Roland’s voice Hikaru had heard so far; a mix of deep regret and satisfaction.

「…I’ll disappear soon. I can’t give you money or honor, but you may have my body…」

Hikaru felt Roland’s soul leaving his body.

「…What’s your name?」

「Hikaru.」

「…Thank you, Hikaru. My… The Zaracia family’s redeemer. I’ll keep on praying for your bright future.」

With that, the last piece of Roland’s soul disappeared.

「…He’s gone.」

Hikaru didn’t feel much accomplishment in keeping his promise. The grim feeling that he killed someone was too overwhelming. He wanted to sit down right then and there.

「Did you kill him?!」

「?!」

In that moment, he realized the door was open. A girl with silver hair, pale skin, and blue eyes stood there. Her beauty was out of this world.

Did she see me? No, not exactly. What now? I can’t talk my way out of this.

「The bell has been rung. Knights will be here soon.」

「!!」

Hikaru failed to notice the Count’s finger touching the bell as he pulled the dagger out of his hand. The bell rolled and made a faint sound inside the drawer. He could hear footsteps approaching the room. What do I do? What do I do? What do I do? Can I escape with my Stealth Skill?

The girl raised her fingers and pointed outside.

「There’s a rope ladder on the balcony. You can get down to the first floor from there.」

For real? Why is she telling me this?

「Hurry.」

I can’t afford to hesitate right now. Hikaru dashed to the door leading to the balcony and opened it. The rain had stopped and only the wind blew hard. Are the rain clouds gone? There was indeed a rope ladder that was most likely for emergency use. He threw it outside over the balcony and started climbing down. His hands were trembling and he had a hard time descending. Loud voices came from beyond the closed door.

「Miss Lavia, what are you doing here?」

「Did you come here after hearing the bell?」

「H-Hey! The Count is down on the floor!」

The noise turned into an uproar.

「An assassin.」

The moment they arrived at that conclusion and opened the door that led to the balcony, all that was left was a rope ladder swinging in the wind.

「I should be… fine here.」

He was completely exhausted. Hikaru couldn’t return to the hotel for two reasons: One, there was nothing left in the hotel room. Anything valuable was taken by the assassin to make the assassination look like a robbery. So there was no point in going back there. The other reason was… his face.

「…This is my body…」

It was around four in the morning. During summer, dawn would start lighting up the sky past four. Hikaru stared at the face reflected on a water puddle. It had dark brown hair and equally dark brown eyes. There wasn’t much left of Roland’s features. The face gradually changed into that of Hikaru’s. Brown slowly turned to black. His soul was adapting to the body.

「…Man, I’m beat.」

Hikaru was in a particularly deserted part of town. A graveyard. Leaning back on a big tree that stood on the cemetery grounds, Hikaru closed his eyes.

…That’s right. Why did that girl let me escape?

It was his first sleep in another world and he didn’t dream of anything.