Chapter 3: A childhood friend without two (2)

Eliya actively nursed me in the room for a whole week after that.

Whether it was cleaning or cooking, Eliya handled everything perfectly, making me feel truly amazed by her.

“In contrast, I… am just a good-for-nothing who only lies around…”

– You’re just a machine that makes poop every day.

I felt as if a grandfather somewhere was scolding me with those words.

Those words, they must be true. My situation is already bad, and all I do is lie around and sleep.

“…… If I overexert myself and collapse again, her protection will only intensify.”

Eliya’s protection, to put it nicely, was utmost devotion. To put it badly, it was obsession. She always showed an obsessive side when it came to my safety or anything related to me.

Three days ago, when she found me getting up and walking around, she was startled and practically forced me back onto the bed.

Her tone was only gentle and kind. But beneath her words was the pressure of, ‘You have to listen to me, right?’

I could feel her willingness to use force if I refused.

Because of that, even when getting along well with Eliya, I’ve felt a shiver down my spine more than once. Especially when her true intentions, hidden deep in her heart, sometimes emerged.

Such things are burdensome and disconcerting. But then I think, ‘She’s a 12-year-old girl, so it’s understandable given her young age…’

Surely she wouldn’t be like this until she becomes an adult?

Come to think of it, she did deliver a major betrayal after becoming an adult. As expected, Eliya is dangerous.

It was already clear that Eliya was Serah, the heroine of ‘The Holy Knight Who Couldn’t Save the World.’ Platinum blonde hair, platinum eyes.

Moreover, there was only one person who could use powerful healing magic.

But I had no idea that such an Eliya had a childhood friend.

I had never known this while reading the novel. Although it was mentioned that she had a precious person in the past, it wasn’t even revealed if it was her parents or an old teacher, so I just overlooked it.

That plot point is now being resolved as I’ve transmigrated into the childhood friend.

But here, another question arises.

– Then why did the childhood friend never appear in the novel?

The answer is simple.

They are already dead.

So, when and why did I die? The point at which I transmigrated was after slitting my throat. This means that even in the original work, Eliya must have awakened her abilities to save me after I slit my throat.

So then, why did I die?

I stroked my now smooth neck. What kind of personality did Tere have before I transmigrated? What kind of child was she?

“I’m back~.”

Today, too, Eliya returned as the sun began to set before evening.

I don’t know what she does outside, but Eliya always brought back bread or dried meat whenever she went out and returned.

The fact that the things she brought back have become more abundant recently was a bonus.

This time, Eliya held two loaves of bread, two pieces of dried meat, and a fresh bottle of water.

“Eli, your face has a cut… Are you okay?”

The nickname Eli, like Tere, is a shortened version of her name. I call her that because they used to call each other that in the past.

“Huh? Oh. This, I had something to do for a moment. It’s fine.”

Her face had small cuts and dirt that weren’t there before. It pained my heart to see that beautiful face wounded.

No, it shouldn’t pain me. That child was the crazy mastermind of the original novel. Because we keep living together and she treats me well, my heart is weakening.

But I am not such an easy person.

I will never be conquered.

“Here’s the bread and meat. And fresh, delicious water too~.”

“Eli, aren’t you eating?”

“I ate outside, so I’m fine.”

“Really?”

I was a bit skeptical. Is she just lying to feed me? I glared at Eli with suspicious eyes, but she just smiled cunningly.

It was a humiliation for me to keep owing such a debt to a girl the age of my niece. Once my body recovers, I will repay this debt with all my heart and soul.

Making that vow, I nibbled on the bread, meat, and water Eli gave me.

When I occasionally offered Eli a bite, telling her to say ‘Ah~’, she would take a bite then. She must be hungry. Or perhaps she likes me feeding her.

And after I finished eating, Eli even took me to the well and personally washed me.

And after washing, we sleep in the same bed.

It’s absolutely not in a strange way.

There is only one bed in this cramped wooden house.

The ground is uneven and cold, making it unsuitable for sleeping, and there are no extra blankets, plus it gets cold at night, so sharing warmth in one bed is efficient.

Therefore, it’s not strange at all for Eli and me to hug each other while sleeping.

For these reasons, I can assert that I didn’t have any strange thoughts while hugging Eli.

Though Eli is beautiful enough to make all the foreigners and celebrities I’ve seen before seem insignificant, and she somehow has a subtly pleasant scent despite not washing thoroughly.

Anyway, I absolutely did not harbor any strange thoughts.

“Hey, this is the seventh time I’m asking, but?”

“Yes. Yes. Ask me anything~.”

Eli was lying pressed close to me, holding my waist as I lay on my side. Covered by a worn blanket, Eli and I were in complete contact.

“Did we always sleep like this?”

“Of course. Back then, you, Tere, used to ask me to hug you, how disappointing~.”

As I asked that, Eli tightened her embrace around me.

I wasn’t used to such intense affection from another person, something I felt for the very first time. Perhaps I had received such affection from someone when I was young, but I couldn’t remember it at all now.

“I might not be the Tere you knew. Is that still okay?”

The fact that I had transmigrated into Tere meant that the original Tere, whom Eli knew, had ultimately disappeared, didn’t it?

Every time Eli showed me affection, this point felt burdensome. I was afraid she might get tired of me, who was different from the original Tere… things like that.

But every time I asked such a question, Eli would tell me without a hint of hesitation:

“What are you talking about? Whether you have memories or not, you are Tere.”

Eli, looking at me, had not a single tremor in her eyes.

“Your every action and mannerism exudes ‘Tereness’, so how can you say you’re not Tere?”

“…….”

“No matter what anyone says, you are Tere. Don’t say such things again.”

Her firm yet gentle voice carried a slight hint of hurt.

“…Yeah. Sorry.”

It was my slip of the tongue. I knew better than anyone how much Eli was obsessed with me right now, yet I carelessly blurted out such words.

“Really, are you going to keep talking about dark things? I’ve gained abilities, and if things go well, I might even be able to enter the Academy, you know? With you, Tere, of course.”

The Academy.

It refers to the central educational institution located in the capital of the kingdom. A place where the elite of the elite from across the entire kingdom gather.

In the past, admission was impossible for anyone who wasn’t a noble, but now, with the increasing conflict with demonkind, they reportedly admit students regardless of birth.

That was the setting of the Academy in the novel.

‘And if the original plot hasn’t twisted…’

Eliya will enter the Academy as the second-ranked student in three years. For reference, the top student is our protagonist Chris, but I wonder if Eliya will even spare Chris a glance now.

I was a supporter of Chris & Serah… Eliya’s pure love. However, I suddenly had a premonition that I might become a yuri NTR villain.

‘I’m sorry… Chris.’

Right now, I’m starring in a pure love captivity scenario with your future heroine.

“Anyway, I want to go outside soon. My body feels much better too.”

“…Isn’t it still too early?”

I’ve been transmigrated into this other world and stuck in this cramped wooden house for a week now.

Since it was the world of a novel I liked, I had some expectations, but not being able to go outside at all felt honestly a bit harsh.

Of course, I think it’s understandable for someone to develop trauma after seeing their childhood friend of many years suddenly slit their throat.

That’s why I stayed quietly for a week, but now it’s about time I went outside.

After all, I can’t do anything unless I go outside, can I?

I pouted my lips playfully and argued with Eli.

“I don’t think that’s something someone who’s kept me confined for a week should say~.”

“Co-co-co-co-co-confinement? Wh-what are you talking about? There’s no way I would do such a thing to Tere!”

‘She’s totally guilty.’

Seeing her flustered face turn bright red, she seems to have some self-awareness.

At first, I thought I’d be trapped and unable to do anything like in a yandere novel, but perhaps because she’s a child, she also had an easy-to-handle side.

“Then let me out. I’m so bored I feel like I’m going to die.”

“…….”

“……?”

When there was no response, I turned around to see Eli staring at me with a blank expression.

Those dead eyes, which I had only seen in comics, were actually right before me.

I thought for a moment why, and realized I had said ‘I feel like I’m going to die.’ Surely not because of that?

Feeling a chill run down my spine, I quickly protested.

“Oh, no. ‘Feel like I’m going to die’ was meant metaphorically…”

“Uh-huh. No. Let’s go out. If Tere wants to go out, we should go out. I did something unnecessarily regrettable.”

Eli said that and then turned her body away from me.

Ah, she’s sulking.