Chapter 5: Why are you here?

Firmly held in Ria’s arms, I desperately wriggled.

“Uv-v-v-bup—!”

“Senior♡ Senior♡ Seniorrrrrrr♡!”

Suffocating! I’m suffocating!

I urgently tried to tap, but Ria didn’t budge.

Instead, her hug got stronger and stronger.

“I found you not even a day after I started looking for you. Isn’t this fate? Yes?”

“Ugh…”

Yes. Thanks to you, it seems I’m going to be fated to die a day after I’ve come back to life.

I’m really suffocating!

“Uryaaaaaa!”

“Kyaa♡”

Feeling the threat to my life, I threw Ria to the ground.

At that moment, Ria’s body was supposed to fly and hit the ground…

Ria touched the ground with one hand, landing perfectly, and looked at me with shining eyes.

“As expected, it is Senior. So strong, even when you are that small♡”

…Is that a compliment or an insult?

I tilted my head, feeling puzzled,

Ria quickly grabbed me up as if she was capturing a fleeing chicken.

“Kyaaaaaaaaaak—?!”

“Ah, Senior is smaller than me. I wished for the day Senior grabs me and smashes my internal organs with that huge size. This side is not bad♡”

“…What?”

…What did I just hear?

What about my internal organs?

Moreover, her eyes, her gaze is strange!

My whole body shuddered and I struggled.

The more I struggled, the more Ria’s eyes sparkled in a strange way,

And her embrace was so strong, my ribs cried out.

“Senior.”

“…Wh, what?!”

“Can I bury my nose into Senior’s crown and sniff it?”

“No… kiyayaaaaaaaaang—!”

My body shuddered at the ticklish sensation in my crown.

I desperately tried to push Ria away, but

She didn’t budge and buried her nose even deeper, smiling with satisfaction.

“Ah, Senior is in my arms. The best♡”

“Stop! Get away—!”

Only then did Ria sigh and get away from me.

No, to be exact…

She started to play a joke, throwing me up into the sky and catching me.

“Wow, fly. Fly.”

“Kiyaaa—. …Oh, it’s fun? Do it more!”

“Yes♡”

Ria laughed happily, throwing and catching me lightly.

This is surprisingly fun, right?

I will have to make this kind of ride later…

…No, why is she here?!

I waved my hand frantically and told her to stop.

Ria, who stopped her action immediately, held me tightly and tilted her head in regret.

“You’re already bored, Senior? Then, what should we do next…?”

“No, it’s not that!”

I waved my hand and shouted.

“Why are you here?!”

“Ah, a goddess who looks like she’s good at cleaning the floor with her hair told me. That Senior is here.”

You thought so too?

Somehow, I felt a strange sense of solidarity… not!

“Noooo—! That’s not it! Why did you die?!”

“Of course, I followed Senior.”

…What?”

As I was bewildered, Ria widened her eyes and smiled.

“Huh? Didn’t Senior grab my hand and tell me to follow?”

“I never did that—!”

It is a water ghost, why am I looking for a companion to go to hell!

Ria, who stared at me intently, burst into laughter.

“Aha, it’s a joke. Actually, I died soon after Senior passed away.”

“…What?”

I was stunned at the shocking words that came out of Ria’s mouth.

It was as if my brain had stopped for a moment and I couldn’t think of anything.

At that moment, a sudden and ominous thought flashed through my mind.

…Did the Gate open again? Or did I make a mistake? No, that can’t be. But… if not, there is no reason for Ria to die?’

I swallowed dry saliva and stared at Ria intently.

Then, I brought out the most frightening possibility.

“Could it be…the Gate opened again…?”

“No, no. The Gate closed properly. I died…”

After hesitating for a moment, Ria lowered her gaze and murmured.

“……I was crying so much because Senior was gone, that I didn’t see the open manhole cover and I accidentally stumbled and.”

…What can I say. I know I shouldn’t think like this.

Isn’t this death of the highest level Hunter quite mediocre……?

More than that, the top Hunter…

Did she die by falling into the sewer?

…Suspicious.’

As I narrowed my eyes, Ria pouted her cheeks and grumbled.

“I didn’t know I was going to die like that! I’m the most absurd one!”

“…Uung, is that so?”

“Senior closed the gate with your life, so you got hero treatment and also full-fledged treatment. I’m not sure if they will even give me honor and bravery since I died after the situation has ended!”

I was speechless at Ria’s words.

Then, Ria, who let me go from her arms, sat down on the ground and began to sob.

“…My life is ruined. Senior is treated like a hero, but I’m going to be treated like a hunter who died falling into the sewer.”

…Hey.”

“And I died after the disaster ended, so they can’t laugh at me any way!”

Ria kept hitting the ground, crying.

I sighed and sat down beside her.

“Stop it, stop it. Be good.”

“…Kunkakungka.”

“Uung… just once…”

“Yes♡”

Ria, who became cheerful as if she hadn’t cried, hugged me tightly.

“Hyaaa, Senior’s scent♡”

“…Uuugh.”

Ria buried her face in my neck and started sniffing, as if she was happy.

She does this all the time,

Is my body small and cute? It feels much more difficult to resist.

…Anyway, no matter how I think about it, it’s a lie.’

I sighed and gently pulled Ria’s hair.

“Ria.”

“Yes? Senior?”

“Why did you really die?”

Ria, who stared at me, blinked, and then smiled.

“Senior, you know. I told you earlier. Because I didn’t know the open manhole cover…”

“Lies. You can’t die that easily.”

“…Senior.”

Ria sighed and tilted her head.

Then, she muttered with a murderous smile.

“Did you want me to say that…”

“…S, Senior… I am sorry.”

Ria glared at me fiercely, and then suddenly pouted her mouth.

“I was so sad after Senior died… I was exhausted from dehydration.”

“….”

“And I fell near an open manhole, and then…”

Ria blushed slightly, trailing her words.

“…I got pricked by something while falling, got infected, and finally… that’s how it ended♡”

“…Haaa. Whether I should believe it or not.”

“Hey, what does the cause of death matter? I’m already dead♡”

Humming a tune, Ria threw me up high again.

“Anyway, I died and met Senior again. Isn’t this the fortune of life, it’s a blessing in disguise?”

“…Is that right?”

I could only sigh at Ria’s optimistic attitude.

‘I tried so hard to protect it, but Ria died in the end.’

If we could meet again by death…

I wanted to ask if she made her wish come true,

and how the world changed after the Gate disappeared, but…

…Could this happen so fast?

At that moment, Ria’s hand gently came down to my head.

She stroked my hair softly and said.

“Why do you look so sad, Senior?”

“…I can’t help it.”

“What’s the matter?”

I couldn’t speak for a while.

Hesitating, I didn’t know what to say and I quietly muttered.

“I wanted you to live happily too…”

“Senior…”

“…And you said you had to go to your original place and had something to do.”

Ria stared at me for a moment.

Then, she smiled, stroking me.

“Well, what can I do. I am already dead.”

“…Uung.”

“And, Senior’s wish can’t be fulfilled from the start.”

Ria’s hand left my head and gently covered my face.

She looked down at me with gentle but firm eyes.

“You can’t live happily in a world without Senior.”

“Ria.”

“…So, don’t leave me again.”

Her voice was about to burst into tears.

I carefully stroked Ria’s hair.

“…I know. Don’t cry.”

“Uhu, you promised, right?”

At that moment, something cold metal touched my arm, and a ‘Clang’ sound rang out.

I slowly looked down at my arm.

A purple bracelet is faintly shining and tightly enveloping my wrist.

“What is this?!”

“A perk I got from the goddess♡”

Ria rolled up her sleeve.

The same bracelet shone on her wrist as well.

“A perk?”

“Yes! It’s a bracelet of fate that allows Senior and me to be together always.”

…Always together?”

“Yes♡ Even if Senior goes far away or leaves me, this bracelet will lead me to Senior!”

I hurriedly pulled on the bracelet, but it wouldn’t break no matter how hard I tried.

The magic to cancel didn’t work.

“What? How do I take this off?!”

“You can’t. The goddess said ‘absolutely impossible’♡”

“…Wh, what the heck!”

Ria looked proudly at the bracelet and said.

“It’s really fortunate. Heaven treats those who died by falling into a manhole as honorably dead. This makes Senior and me more intimate!”

I stared blankly at the bracelet and eventually dropped my head.