WeTried Translations
Translator/Editor: Irevi
Discord: https://dsc.gg/wetried
◈ I Unleashed a Gossip Gallery in Another World ◈
Chapter 53: A Reunion Beyond Time (3)
──────
After the sudden reunion that had left us all a little embarrassed.
“Greetings, beings from outside.”
Sigria had changed into the queenly garments from the wardrobe and was now sitting before us, addressing us with a gentle expression.
“I am Sigria, representative of the high elves and former ruler of the Great Forest.”
A brief silence followed.
“I never expected anyone to reach this place.”
“....”
“As the leader of the high elves, I offer you my respect.”
Sigria continued speaking calmly to us as we watched in silence.
“By the way, are you Gossip Gallery Eraser?”
She suddenly turned her gaze toward me.
“I have found your exploits quite interesting as well.”
“Uh, well....”
“You remind me of someone from the past. Hehe....”
As I scratched my head, unsure how to respond, Azrakan, who had been sulking beside me, whispered in my ear.
“Why is that one pretending to be mysterious now?”
“I don’t know.”
“Is that so? What a strange elf....”
The next moment, Sigria cleared her throat.
“Ahem, ahem.”
She still maintained a terrifying poker face and mysterious demeanor, but her pointed ears had turned bright red.
“I had no choice....”
She soon began making excuses.
“For five hundred years, all I could do was boring gallery browsing before the Gossip Gallery appeared, and....”
Sigria trailed off, gave an awkward smile, and looked away.
“...Meditate.”
If the former leader of the high elves, who stood at the pinnacle of nobility, admitted that much, most reasonably perceptive people would have pretended not to notice.
“You meditate in a truly bizarre position.”
“...That is.”
“Do elves normally meditate like that?”
Unfortunately, most of the Eraser Expedition, including Azrakan beside me, was made up of people who were difficult to call normal.
“Sounds like you had plenty of fun despite what you said.”
“Ah....”
“Look at this. You even have relics from the previous Hero. What was it called.... Some kind of video game thing?”
The Witch of the West tapped the video game console I had made as a hobby in the past with her staff, muttering with interest.
“I have a few of these as collectibles too....”
“D-Don’t turn it on!”
“Why? I play this often when I’m bored....”
Then, the next moment.
“Oh dear.”
“Error! Error!”
When I spotted the explicit game screen displayed on the console, I had to cover Sepi’s eyes again.
“Uh.... For the record, I usually play fighting games.”
“....”
“I’ve never played.... games like this....”
The Witch of the West blankly stared at the flesh-filled screen before hurriedly turning it off, but it was already too late.
“Everyone, look at this! There are so many books!”
“Wait....”
“But I think the women in these books are really warm! They’re barely wearing anything!”
On top of that, the Saintess, who had been looking through red-covered books in the back, began putting Sigria on blast in a bright voice.
“The title is.... A Night Between the Hero and the Thief?”
“....”
“The Hero and the Witch’s Private Circumstances, The Hero and the Saintess’s Secret Tryst.... The Hero and the Elf’s Heated Conversation....”
Ciel, who had become slightly interested and started looking through the books alongside the Saintess, soon spoke with a disgusted expression.
“These are Hero fan comics that have been designated continental taboos.”
Cracks were beginning to form in Sigria’s mysterious expression as she began tremblingly defending herself.
“Those are.... merely for the pursuit of knowledge.... I wanted inspiration for meditation....”
However, Nienie, whose eyes were sparkling as she flipped through a book, cut off that excuse with a decisive remark.
“The elf volume is the most worn-out, nya.”
“Wow.... Incredible.”
“The Hero.... Was he a Hero in size too?”
“I can see why they were banned....”
Before long, most of the Erasers had gathered around the books, covering their mouths while eagerly examining their contents.
Shiver....
By then, Sigria’s face had turned completely red, and her whole body was trembling.
“But this is strange. Aren’t high elves asexual?”
“Stop....”
“Minerva is the unusual one. Ordinary queens probably don’t engage in reproductive activity either....”
Unfortunately for Sigria, the expedition continued its heedless campaign to destroy her dignity.
“That’s enough, everyone.”
Worried that Sigria’s mind might break from humiliation, I stopped them and calmly turned toward her.
“Former Elf Queen Sigria.”
“Y-Yes.... Speak.”
Fortunately, though her face was bright red, Sigria barely retained enough composure to listen.
“I took care of Minerva a little while ago.”
“I-Is that true?”
“Yes. This child behind me is proof.”
Only then did I introduce Sepi, whom I had been hiding behind my back.
“Mom!”
“S-Sepi!?”
“I found Mother!”
At the same time, Sepi ran into Sigria’s arms as her eyes widened.
“There, there, our Sepi....”
Seeing that scene moved me again, despite the embarrassing situation from moments ago.
“Mother, I handed the final code left by the previous Hero to Gossip Gallery Eraser over there.”
“I see....”
“Thanks to that, the bad Minerva volunteered to become a battery for restoring the Great Forest!”
Sigria learned through Sepi once more that the evil within the Great Forest had been eradicated.
“Hehe! Did I do well?”
“Yes, yes.... You did well....”
Then she turned toward me again and lowered her head.
“As the former Queen of the Great Forest, I am ashamed.”
“It wasn’t your fault, so don’t worry about it.”
“Once everything is revealed, I will make certain that your heroic deeds are known throughout the world for generations.”
With those words, the Eraser Expedition’s duty finally came to an end.
“Good work, everyone.”
Realizing that, I turned around and addressed the Erasers, who were still reading Hero fan comics.
“The Eraser Expedition is now disbanded.”
The exclusive Erasers’ eyes widened as they began making a fuss.
“W-We’re getting vacation time, right?”
“One week off.... You promised that?”
“Make sure you keep your promise.”
With that, the Erasers began logging out of virtual reality one by one.
“I don’t need vacation time, though?”
“Then do your managing properly.”
“Pout.... Okay.”
As I gave a halfhearted response to the Saintess’s silly remark and started walking away.
“...?”
The Saintess suddenly hugged me from behind.
“Hehe....”
She gave a laugh that somehow felt familiar, then logged out.
‘Was that the Goddess just now...?’
Was it really okay for her to possess people whenever she pleased without even saying anything? What was she, some wandering spirit?
“Seriously....”
Thinking I should make an exorcism device later, I stepped aside again.
“Nienie, here’s an Escape Scroll.”
“Nya?”
“You entered physically rather than as a mental body.... Use this to get out.”
Unlike the other Erasers, Nienie had entered with her actual body. When I handed her the Escape Scroll, she stared blankly for a moment.
“Gossip Gallery Eraser.”
“...?”
“I never thought I’d say this to a human, but....”
She suddenly looked at me seriously.
“You.... You’re a hero, nya.”
I frowned without realizing it.
“The Goddess must have sent a second Hero into the world, nya.”
Just as during my days as the previous Hero, I could never get used to words that made my face burn.
“...Thank you for saving the adventurers and the Southern Continent, nya.”
Still, it was rewarding, so I didn’t mind.
“And Beastkin Warrior Nienie will never forget this favor, nya!”
Besides, I hadn’t saved her for nothing.
“Right.... You shouldn’t forget.”
“Nya?”
“So take good care of me from now on.”
When I whispered that with a smile in my eyes, question marks seemed to appear on Nienie’s face.
“Nyaa?”
She scratched her head and asked.
“We probably won’t meet again, so why are you saying to take good care of you from now on, nya?”
I merely smiled without answering.
“You really are a strange human, nya!”
After staring at me for a long while, Nienie shrugged and escaped the dungeon through the Escape Scroll.
[The block has been completed.]
At the exact same time, I blocked Nienie from every Gossip Gallery for 72,000 hours.
“...You said you were joining us, didn’t you?”
I was very curious to see whether Nienie, after leaving and opening the Gossip Gallery, would still act so favorably toward me.
Of course, it was probably too late either way.
“Wow....”
In any case, right after the Eraser Expedition had completely disbanded.
“So this is how you recruit people...?”
Sigria, who was still holding Sepi in her arms behind me, narrowed her eyes and began muttering to herself.
“More importantly, I need to change the tier list....”
“....”
“Beastkin Warrior Nienie.... Incredible contribution during the Dungeon Demonic Realm crisis.... Tier 2? No, Tier 1.5 wouldn’t be bad....”
It seemed that being trapped here for ages had given her a habit of talking to herself.
“High Elf Sigria.”
“Hm?”
“Is this really the time to be leisurely browsing galleries?”
However, I had no intention of leaving her alone either.
“W-What is this?”
“An Escape Scroll.”
I took another Escape Scroll from my pocket and placed it in her hand.
“You should go back outside too and lead the Great Forest again in Minerva’s place.”
At that moment, cold sweat began running down Sigria’s forehead.
“Um.... Can’t I just stay here?”
“What?”
“No, it’s just.... You see....”
Her voice soon became rather foolish.
“At first, it was terribly painful.... B-But it isn’t so bad here, you know?”
Sigria rolled her eyes and took a cautious step backward while watching me.
“I-I don’t have to worry about being crushed by all the terrifying work in the Great Forest.... There are lots of relics from the previous Hero too....”
“....”
“A-And.... I can browse galleries.... So maybe this place suits me better than I thought...?”
I had never imagined that the noble, perfectionist high elf from the Hero’s party would say such a thing.
“I-Isn’t there at least one promising elf besides me? Why not just make them queen....”
And Sepi, who had been apart from her for a long time, seemed to feel the same way.
“Mother has become a shut-in unemployed woman....”
“S-Sepi. What are you saying....”
“Disappointed. Daughter is disappointed in Mother.”
The next moment, Sigria suddenly flopped onto her back on the floor, belly exposed.
“I-I don’t know! I’m not going out!”
“....”
“Outside the blanket is dangerous.... I’m scared....”
As she kicked and whined, Sepi looked at me blankly and asked.
“Mother has abandoned her mysterious persona.”
“Uh, I can see that.”
“What should we do?”
Naturally, I had no good solution either.
“Seriously....”
I sighed and looked down in dismay at what had once been the only normal member of the Hero’s party.
“Ah, Master.”
“...?”
“I feel sleepy for some reason....”
Sepi suddenly began nodding off, and her eyes slowly started closing.
[Warning!]
[Emergency power below 1%.]
At the same time, a warning message appeared on my terminal.
“It seems.... the final moment has come.”
“S-Sepi!?”
“Hehe.... Still.... I am satisfied.”
Hearing that, Sigria sprang to her feet and urgently hugged Sepi.
“I saw two faces I wanted to see again....”
“Uh, um?”
“I am the happiest android in the world.”
Sigria began frantically shaking Sepi, her face stricken.
“O-Open your eyes!”
“Mother....”
“SEPI!!!”
But Sepi was already leaving something like a final message for her.
“If there is a next life, and if it is allowed even for an artificial construct like me....”
“Sepi....”
“In my next life, I want to be born as the biological daughter of the two of you....”
Hearing that, Sigria opened her eyes wide as though she had realized something.
“Ah....”
She soon lowered her head weakly.
“I-I see....”
“....”
“You used your last strength.... to come see me again....”
Tears began falling from Sigria’s eyes.
“S-Sob....”
Having silently watched that scene, I finally stepped forward.
“Sepi, don’t worry.”
“...?”
“I’ll never leave you lonely again.”
As I stroked Sepi’s head just before her eyes closed and whispered softly.
“Emotion circuit.... Happiness.”
The corners of Sepi’s mouth slowly rose.
“The last emotion I output is happiness....”
“....”
“Then I truly am the happiest android in the world.”
After those words, silence filled the room for a moment.
“...High Elf Sigria.”
I quietly laid Sepi on the floor, then stood and broke that silence.
“Let’s make a deal.”
Sigria raised her bloodshot eyes and looked up at me.
“If you return as queen, I’ll bring Sepi back to life.”
“W-What did you say?”
She staggered to her feet, her face full of shock.
“I have already finished preparing. Thanks to the emergency power network you prepared, I was able to buy time.”
Sigria began crying again as she muttered.
“T-Thank goodness....”
From then on, I began explaining what she would have to do.
“In return, the Great Forest will become bound to the same fate as the Gossip Gallery from now on.”
“Wait, what did you say...?”
“Form an alliance with the Gossip Gallery and cooperate fully with my plans from now on.”
Sigria’s expression stiffened slightly.
“Ahem....”
After clearing her throat for a moment, she surprisingly wore the elegant expression she had possessed during the Hero’s party days.
“Then I will ask as the Queen of the Great Forest.”
Her eyes curved narrowly.
“What are you planning this time, administrator of the Unauthorized Gallery?”
The presence she gave off then was strong enough to make her pathetic behavior from just moments ago entirely forgettable.
It was an imposing appearance worthy of the true Queen of the Great Forest, incomparable to Minerva.
“I intend to make the entire Great Forest part of my plan.”
“....”
“Since there is no longer any need to maintain the dungeon system, I will completely change the purpose of the World Tree system.”
Accordingly, I stopped speaking in commands and began explaining my plan in earnest.
“That is exactly what I am asking you to explain.”
“I’ll.... explain that later.”
“Hm, I see....”
Then Sigria’s presence grew even stronger.
“In that case, I refuse.”
My eyebrow twitched, and Sigria spoke with a resolute expression.
“Gossip Gallery Eraser. Of course, I’ve seen all along that you’re on the world’s side for now.”
Her point was entirely reasonable.
“But.... no one knows what your true purpose is.”
“....”
“You may someday reveal the dark intentions you have been hiding.”
Even if the Gossip Gallery stood with the weak, it was still an organization of the shadows.
And as its administrator, I too was always cloaked in secrecy.
“I have experienced this once already, so I hope you understand why I cannot easily agree.”
As someone who had decided to return as Queen of the Great Forest rather than remain an ordinary unemployed shut-in, Sigria naturally could not trust me.
Especially since, however it had happened, she had been betrayed by people of her own kind whom she had trusted.
“Even though Sepi’s life is in my hands?”
I raised my evaluation of Sigria a little, then took the opportunity to provoke her.
“....”
Sigria stared at me with gritted teeth for a moment.
“Even if.... sacrifices are required.”
She lowered her head with a conflicted expression.
“...This must be the right answer.”
After gazing at Sepi lying on the floor for a long time, she finally gave that response.
“Your attitude is different from before.”
“Of course, compared to the past, I have become quite pathetic.”
As the corners of my mouth rose further, Sigria declared in a firm tone.
“However, I have not fallen so far that I would hand over the World Tree system, which can delay the destined end even a little, without knowing what I am doing.”
“....”
“So unless you share your exact plans and progress with me, I too will resist as much as I can.”
Then.
“Haha....”
I finally laughed heartily and changed my tone.
“As expected, Sigria. That’s just like you.”
“Pardon?”
“No matter how pathetic you became.... You never lost your nobility in the end.”
Sigria seemed to sense something strange, but her face remained full of caution.
“Do you know me?”
“Yes, very well.”
“Then show me proof.”
As I stepped toward her, I muttered quietly.
“Silhouette release.”
A brief silence followed.
“Huh?”
In that silence, Sigria opened her eyes wide and studied my face closely.
“Change avatar to my active Hero’s party days.”
So that Sigria could understand more quickly, I transformed into the appearance she would know best.
“H-Hero?”
“It’s been a long time, Sigria.”
Only then did Sigria’s pupils widen as she stepped toward me.
“Y-You!?”
“....”
“Gossip Gallery Eraser.... was you!?”
Her face showed that she finally understood the entire situation.
“Can’t you tell?”
I had hidden the identity of the previous Hero, which was closer to a false identity than my current true identity as Elrod, precisely to use it at times like this.
Especially when it was the only way to convince someone I absolutely needed to recruit for my future plans, there was no need to hide it anymore.
And since she had been part of the previous Hero’s party and was one of the most trustworthy allies, there was no concern about the information leaking.
“Of course, this is a secret between you and me.”
“Ha....”
“I revealed myself because I can trust you not to tell anyone....”
Just as I began walking after revealing my past-life identity to the only person besides Minerva.
“I knew it!!!”
Sigria suddenly rushed at me, threw an arm around my shoulders, and began speaking in an incredibly familiar tone.
“Of course it was you! Who else would pull something like this!?”
“You bastard! Big Sister missed you so much!!!”
As I frowned and tried to push her away, I soon sighed inwardly.
‘Right. This was how she spoke once we got close.’
And now seemed like the time to settle some old grievances from my days as the previous Hero.
“I missed you too, you asexual high elf.”
“Ah.”
“Where on earth did you get those Hero fan comics?”
As soon as I finished speaking, Sigria froze in place with her arm around my shoulder and began trembling.
“A-Ah.... Aaaaaah....”
She hurriedly sprang away from me and began scooping up the tissues, books, and scattered underwear lying on the floor, stuffing them into the wardrobe.
“I’m taking Sepi.”
“W-Wait!”
“You should return as queen as soon as possible too.”
I snickered at her back, then turned around and took out my logout scroll.
“You will also cooperate fully with my plan, which will begin soon.”
“W-Wait....”
“Of course, don’t tell anyone my identity. I trust you, but I’m still watching everything.”
Then I looked back briefly.
“Oh, right....”
Having finished my little revenge against the disciplinarian of the Hero’s party, who always acted like my big sister and lectured me endlessly, I activated the scroll.
“When you return as queen, refrain from elven meditation.”
“Aaaaah....”
“You’ll wear your bones down, you perv-elf.”
The high elf who had monitored my every movement at night and preached abstinence and meditation had quite a sight of an expression until the end.
“Don’t call me thatttt....”
* * *
“Phew....”
When I opened my eyes again, the familiar structure of my room filled my vision.
‘It feels strange to be back in Elrod’s body.’
Returning from that nostalgic, masculine body that vastly surpassed Awakened Elrod to this pathetic, frail body left me with a tremendous sense of loss.
‘Let’s see.’
But what could I do? Whenever an incident seemed to be wrapping up, it was time to do what I always did.
[Adventurer Gossip Gallery]
[✪(Breaking) The dungeon is returning to normal, holy shit]
[✪Did the Dungeon Master really get taken down???]
[✪Eraser Expedition <<< If we have to worship them forever, upvote lol]
[✪Knife-ears <<< They’re all withdrawing lmao]
[✪Gossip Gallery Eraser <<< God of continental restoration who punishes people through the Gossip Gallery lmaoooooooo]
The Adventurer Gossip Gallery I started lurking in was filled with stories about the dungeon finally beginning to return to normal.
[Mage Gallery Eraser: Eraser Expedition Review]
ㄴAnonymous1: So did you see Gossip Gallery Eraser’s face?
ㄴAnonymous2: Hm, the mods are openly hanging out together here....
ㄴAnonymous3: So did you have an after-party meetup?
Most users seemed extremely curious about exactly how the Eraser Expedition had been formed and what it had accomplished.
‘Not everything is over yet....’
But it was still too early to celebrate.
Until Minerva was removed as a result of this incident and Sigria reclaimed power, it would be premature to relax.
[Other Races Gossip Gallery]
[Anonymous: Holy shit, am I dreaming right now???]
[Anonymous: Looks like there’ll be a major announcement in the Great Forest soon? Hehe]
[Anonymous: If you’re an elf feeling excited for unknown reasons right now, upvote lmaoooooooo]
[Anonymous: High-ranking elf sisters^^ We know you’re all hiding inside, so if you see this, quit your bullshit and open the gates lol]
[Anonymous: THE KNIFE-EAR REVOLUTION!!!!!!!!!!!!]
Of course, judging from the meaningful posts being uploaded to the Other Races Gossip Gallery, it did not seem far off.
‘You need to work hard now that you’re going to crush the ruling class in earnest.’
The moment Sigria reclaimed power would be the beginning.
The other three continental rulers, who had caused this despite being given chance after chance, would experience hell in earnest.
‘But.... There’s something I need to do first.’
Before publicly announcing the Eraser Expedition’s achievements and punishing the ruling class, there was something that had to come first.
‘Because I have to keep my promise....’
It was time to keep my promise to Sepi.
“Eirin, Mana Stones....”
So I went to the pink-haired monster living in the next room to mooch Mana Stones as usual.
“No!!!”
Eirin suddenly jumped up, trembling as she frantically ran around.
“Absolutely not this time!”
She quickly gathered every Mana Stone scattered around the room into her arms and screamed.
“I told you, your big brother has a use for all of them.”
“You fucking bastard.... You piece of shit....”
“Is that how you speak to your great and noble big brother?”
I muttered in slight disbelief, then covered my ears at the shout that rang through the room.
“I’m not giving you a single one of my babies, so get out!!!”
“Ha....”
“Parasite! Trash! You useless social reject bastard!!!”
Eirin was being especially outrageous today.
“Why are you making such a fuss?”
“A fuss? You crazy bastard, did you just call this a fuss!?”
I narrowed my eyes and muttered, and she suddenly strode right up to me.
“Last time you took all my Mana Stones, so my research funding ran dry....”
“....”
“So I spent all my allowance buying these again....”
Tears had gathered in her eyes.
“I don’t have enough allowance.... Starting tomorrow, I have to get a part-time job too....”
“D-Do you even know that? Y-You bastard....”
A brief silence followed.
“Am I your wife or something?”
“Haha....”
“You’re not even a kept man.... What the fuck are you doing....”
Eirin’s tearful voice echoed through the silence, and I felt slightly guilty.
“Well, I guess I can’t help it....”
No matter how rude Eirin was, squeezing more Mana Stones out of her no longer seemed ethically right.
“I’ll have to ask Lady Yurian....”
“What?”
“I’m sorry your big brother is a parasite, trash, and useless social reject.”
With a slight curve to my eyebrows, I sincerely reflected on my actions, turned around, and began walking away.
“G-Go, then. Good.”
“...?”
“Why are you muttering to yourself, anyway? A-Are you an idiot?”
For some reason, Eirin’s voice behind me sounded more hesitant.
“Hey, are you really leaving?”
“....”
“A-Are you really going to House Agnail?”
This was far from the first time something like this had happened, so I ignored her and kept walking.
“Hey, you bastard!”
Then Eirin suddenly screamed loud enough to rupture my eardrums.
“W-Wait....”
When I turned around, Eirin was standing behind me with the Mana Stones clutched in her arms.
“I-If I give you these, you don’t need to go to the ducal house, right?”
“Uh.... Right?”
“Ugh.... Ugh....”
She agonized over it for a long moment.
“H-House Agnail is one of House Durgel’s hostile factions....”
Avoiding my gaze, she held the bundle of Mana Stones out to me.
“I-I can’t just stand by and watch someone as pathetic as you owe them a debt....”
She forced a cold smile as she held the Mana Stones out for a long time.
“A-Aren’t you taking them?”
“....”
“M-My arms hurt, idiot....”
As I watched her, I revised the title I held for her in my heart from pink-haired monster to collateral relative and accepted the Mana Stones.
“Thanks, Eirin.”
When I spoke quietly, Eirin widened her eyes and began threatening me.
“Y-You have to pay me back, okay?”
“Yeah.”
“I-If you don’t, I’ll turn you into a practice dummy for my eighth-circle Duel Magic. Y-You bastard.”
As I stared at Eirin, I carefully extended my hand toward her head while holding the Mana Stones.
Rustle, rustle....
When I patted her head, Eirin stared blankly, unable to process what had just happened.
“W-What are you doing?”
She looked up at me with a dazed expression, so I gave her a gentle smile and whispered.
“Good girl, my little sister.”
The next moment, Eirin’s pupils widened, and her entire body began trembling.
“U-Ugh!”
She suddenly convulsed, knocked my hand away like a cat, and ran to her bed.
“Ugh! Uweeeeegh!!!”
She buried her face in her pillow and began dry-heaving as though she had heard something unbearable.
“....”
Then she suddenly lifted her head, her face bright red as she glared at me for a long time.
“G-Get out....”
Eirin buried her face in the pillow again and muttered in a weak voice, so I left her room with a baffled expression.
‘What the fuck am I supposed to make of this?’
As I walked back toward my room, wondering what I had done wrong, I checked the Gossip Gallery.
(Author: Mage Tower Top Disciple Eirin)
[Anonymous: It’s not normal for siblings to just pat each other’s heads, right?]
(Author: Mage Tower Top Disciple Eirin)
[Anonymous: Noble Lady Gallery users, when a man pats a woman’s head, it usually means he likes her, right?]
(Author: Mage Tower Top Disciple Eirin)
[Anonymous: Anyone with incest experience, quietly come in here.]
Suppressing the urge to return the Mana Stones in my arms, I kept walking.
‘Sepi, your dad lives like this because of you.’
Such a price was necessary for the miracle I had to achieve.
* * *
“Let’s see....”
After time passed, the following morning.
Creaaak....
Having stayed up all night, I tightened the final screw with bloodshot eyes, took a deep breath, and connected the Mana Stone supply device’s line to the apparatus.
“Now, if I connect this here....”
Then.
[Database upload complete.]
The message I had been waiting for appeared on the small device I had spent the entire day painstakingly creating.
“Phew....”
What I had created was a virtual ecosystem, a miniature implementation of the World Tree corridors in the Great Forest.
And I had just uploaded Sepi’s personality module, retrieved from the virtual dimension, into that virtual ecosystem.
Naturally, this would have been impossible if Sepi had not opened her eyes again.
Otherwise, due to Sepi arbitrarily suspending most of her functions, there would have been no way to awaken the personality module that would have slept forever.
‘It’s a little worrying, though....’
Of course, the working environment was so crude that I could not be certain it would function properly.
‘A miracle that happened twice has no reason not to happen a third time.’
Still, if it failed, I would try again as many times as necessary.
That was how miracles were made.
“....”
After steadying myself, I silently waited for the results.
[Power supply confirmed.]
[Restarting Project Sephiroth system.]
Then, the third miracle unfolded before me.
“Ha!”
I had not expected it to succeed immediately, so I let out a cheer without realizing it.
Whirr...?
The miniature World Tree’s shrubbery before me began to move.
“...?”
Then, a familiar face peeked out from the bushes.
“Error. Visual information is abnormal.”
That face looked around busily, then began muttering with a slightly flustered expression.
“Location information module. Error detected.”
“Hm.”
“Displayed as the Empire rather than the Great Forest....”
The tiny android hurried out of the bushes and sat down, hugging her knees.
“Entering debugging mode....”
Watching her with a fatherly smile, I spoke softly.
“Hello, Sepi?”
A brief silence followed.
“Error.”
The tiny android startled and raised her head, then tilted it.
“Target’s face cannot be properly recognized.”
“Haha....”
“Covered in black paint. Identity cannot be confirmed....”
It was a measure I had taken because it was still too early to reveal my identity as Elrod.
As a result, she could not know who I was for the time being.
Naturally, she also had no way of knowing that I was the same person as the previous Hero.
“Who are youuu?”
Perhaps as a result, I might be imprinted into Sepi’s logic circuit as a new master and an unfamiliar being.
In the worst case, there was even a chance that she might become hostile toward me.
“Sepi.”
“...!”
“Don’t you remember when you first opened your eyes?”
But I had never worried about that from the beginning.
“The earliest version of Project Sephiroth was made as a miniature like this.”
No matter if my face was painted black, our memories would never be painted black.
“Master....?”
As expected, after blankly staring at me for a long time, Sepi began to mutter in a trembling voice.
“Is it really you, Master...?”
At that familiar way of speaking, I finally smiled fully and whispered softly.
“I told you.”
“...!”
“I said I would never leave you lonely again.”
Mini Sepi looked up at me with wide eyes, her shoulders shaking as she began to tear up.
“...From today onward, we’ll always be together, Sepi.”
After sobbing for a long time, Mini Sepi shed tears as she formed a bright smile.
“Project.... Sephiroth system.”
“Redefining Master’s information....”
Thus, the reunion between Sepi and me, transcending countless ages, came to a happy ending.
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