"The Reaper": Part 4
update icon Updated at 2023/7/15 18:10:11

Hello everyone, I'm Rip. Speaking of which, I'm a bit confused about my current situation. After passing through the fog gate and regaining my vision, I found myself kneeling on one knee on a hard ground. This feeling...is it concrete? I lifted my head to observe the surroundings, and the road behind the fence in front of me looked like it was paved with finely crushed stones and asphalt. Was I summoned to the Federation? But the red sports car roaring by on the road immediately denied my speculation. Even if there were many people from another world on Varola Mainland, I didn't think anyone would make a Lamborghini... The fence made of red bricks and iron railings, the touch of concrete beneath my feet, and the small cars and trucks coming and going on the road behind the railings. This all looked like the world I was in before I passed away. I checked my current condition and realized that I didn't bring any equipment with me when I was summoned. However, unexpectedly, even though I was lying on the sofa reading a book when I was summoned, my body was now fully equipped as I stood on the ground. Two swords hung from my waist, and my waist bag, used to carry consumables such as magic crystals and potions, was also full. Not only my breastplate and shoulder armor were still there, but the arm armor on my hands was also worn. What made me the happiest was even my infinite pocket was still there, but after searching my entire body for a long time, I still couldn't find any traces of money bags or coins... Oh well, even if I had them with me, I didn't think I could use them anyways... I scratched my head and thought that I probably knew I was in the world I used to be in, but I had no idea where I was specifically. As I turned my head, I saw rows and rows of graves. Is this place...a cemetery? I glanced at the words on the tombstone behind me and wait, this is my grave! I immediately got closer to the tombstone, and my name was written all over it no matter how I looked at it. The bricks used to construct the tomb were covered with moss and looked like they had been there for quite some time. So...this must be my hometown, and it should be the cemetery near my home too. I looked back at my grave and realized that the place where I was summoned was actually in front of my own grave. How sadistic the mist wall was. Anyway, since I had come back, I might as well go home and take a look... Strolling on the long-lost sidewalk, I felt quite good. There is no brick specifically used for sidewalks in the other world, and the ones they use have strong friction and good water permeability. Just stepping on them can produce a special feeling from the soles of my feet. "Should we go eat at the coffee shop in front of the train station next time?" "Sure, I heard there is a special event there next Sunday." "Yeah, we must go then." "Of course~" Two high school girls wearing suits and plaid skirts walked towards me, seemingly having a heated conversation unique to adolescent girls. Ah...JK is really good. High school students, girls, high school girls wearing school uniforms... It's just too fantastic. That guy Rina only attracts high school girls with a certain attitude, and her clothes over the years have completely turned into those of court poets in fantasy novels. Not to mention other females, either showing off exceptionally revealing robes or increasingly thick armor over the years. Alas...it's best to have the revealing degrees of high school girls, neither too high nor too low. Especially the feeling of knee-high socks wrapped around the thighs, it's really irresistible. "..." "..." I don't know if my gaze scared the two high school girls, but they looked a little frightened, and they quickly hastened their steps and walked past me. Well, some might say "You're wearing adventurer equipment, of course you'll scare these little girls who haven't even seen goblins or slimes!" But they are wrong. When I left the cemetery earlier, I had already taken off all the equipment off my body and put them into my dimensional pocket. The only thing left on my body was the arm armor on my left hand, which easily couldn't be taken off. Even so, would it be enough to scare high school girls? Or is it purely because of my appearance?No, thinking more will only harm yourself.

After walking around the street corner, I arrived at a familiar place.

It was a normal-looking residential building located at the corner of the neighborhood.

While the term "corner" might sound troublesome, it was actually conveniently located near a nearby convenience store.

"Oh, Xiaoxin."

A middle-aged woman carrying a basket of vegetables called out my name. I remembered her as the wife of one of the neighbors, but couldn't recall her name.

"Long time no see."

I took a step back and bowed as the woman smiled with nostalgia.

"It's been years, right? Three years?"

"Uh...something like that."

Being unable to keep track of time in this world, I could only give a vague answer.

"What have you been up to? Going to college?"

"I started working."

Being an adventurer is an excellent job! I wasn't lying.

Come to think of it, did this woman not know that I had already died? Or had she just forgotten after all these years?

"I need to go home now, so excuse me."

"No problem. Remember to come visit me, and haven't you seen Ah Xiang in years? He's back from college vacation."

"Okay, if I have time."

I nodded and walked past the woman towards my home. After taking a few steps, I heard the sound of the woman walking away quickly in her short heels.

It seems she realized that I had died after all...

I hesitated and turned back to look at her retreating form. As soon as she noticed me staring at her, she hurried away even faster.

I guess it's understandable...a person who died several years ago returning would only cause trouble for others, right?

As I thought about this, I began to wonder if I shouldn't have come back home at all.

Come to think of it, why was I summoned to this world again? As someone who had already died once and lived in other worlds for several years, what was I here for?

It all felt so hazy...I scratched my head and looked around.

"Ah."

As soon as I looked up, I saw a strange phenomenon in the sky to the south.

At sunset, white runes were floating in the distant southern sky.

They were the same sharp and compact runes I had seen in the castle's study, completely unreadable.

I suppose I have to go there? But then again, I don't have a single penny on me, and going to a place that is unknown and far away would be foolish, wouldn't it?

But I still have to go and see...even though I have considered staying here.

This world is no longer the only world that needs me.

"Big brother?"

"Hm?"

I heard a voice I haven't heard in a long time behind me and instinctively turned around.

But I immediately regretted it. It was probably my younger sister, Luli.

As I caught a glimpse of the girl standing behind me, her face imbued with spirit but not particularly cute, I remembered that she had matured a lot since the last time I saw her.

She no longer had her hair tied up like before and instead let it hang down like Jingjie.

I immediately turned my head back, pretending not to recognize her.

"You've got the wrong person--"

"It's big brother, isn't it?!"

This girl just won't listen...

"I said it wasn't me."

As soon as I said that, I heard the sound of her shoes tapping on the ground as she ran up to me. When she got close, she spread her arms and hugged me.

Her long, black hair fell on my chest, and her hands around my waist exerted a lot of force on me, along with the scent of shampoo from home that I was used to smelling.

"Ah..."

I sighed and reached out to pat my sister's head resting on my chest.

"I'm back for the time being."

Later, my sister led me inside. Even though it was our own home, after being away for four years, it felt pretty fresh.

The room was now different from what it used to be. My old room had been converted into a study.

Come to think of it, the size of this room is about the same as the one in my current castle..."My brother got used to living in a castle, so he might find our hometown house too small, right?"

Ruri, who changed into a short skirt and a white short-sleeved shirt, walked over with two bottles of mineral water in her hands. She threw one of them to me and then opened the bottle cap, drinking it in big gulps.

This guy became rougher in the past four years...

"Well, I find it a bit small." I opened the bottle cap of the mineral water and took a sip, but then "puh!" I sprayed it out when I noticed something.

"How do you know I live in a castle?!"

"Hehe." My sister showed a very proud expression.

"Not only do I know that my brother lives in a castle, but also that he has become an adventurer, fought against many dangerous monsters, and has two beautiful sisters by his side, one very flirtatious and the other very spoiled. "

"Eh?!" She's talking about Miss Aige and Miss Anna, right?! Definitely, right?!

"Now you can watch Brother's animation every Saturday night."

"What?!"

"Just kidding."

My sister sat cross-legged next to me, showing a cute smile, and then inexplicably lifted her shirt.

"See, this."

"What? When did you become a girl who casually lifts her shirt to show her body to a man?!"

I slapped my sister's head with my palm.

"Be modest!"

"Ah! It hurts! Brother is not a man!"

After being hit by me, my angry sister twisted my arm and began to move it back and forth.

"I just wanted you to see the surgical suture on my stomach!"

It's true that there is a surgical suture line on my sister's belly...

"Brother's internal organs were only their kidneys that were not crushed, so they were transplanted into me."

Ah... after hearing this, I kind of forgot. My sister had trouble with her kidneys before.

"I can see what Brother is doing in another world through my dreams!"

"Really?!"

"Yes, I followed Brother and spied on him..."

"That's inevitable!"

Faced with my sister's sudden criticism, I turned my head without hesitation and avoided the topic.

At this moment, the sound of the door opening came from outside, and my sister stood up and walked towards the entrance.

"Oh? Are you coming back together today?" (My sister's voice)

"No, we met outside with Kiri." (Jing's voice)

"Oh, come in quickly." (My sister's voice)

Then my sister followed Jing and Kiri into the living room.

"Ah, hello."

"Welcome."

Jing, carrying a bag of vegetables, and Kiri, looking very tired, nodded at me separately after seeing me, and then went to the bedroom and the kitchen.

Huh? These two people couldn't recognize me right away?

Wait a minute, didn't Ruri say she could see me in another world?

Thinking this, there were banging sounds coming from both the kitchen and the bedroom.

"Shin!"

"Shin!"

The two of them rushed towards me, sitting cross-legged on the floor.