When I opened my eyes again, I was surprised to see what greeted me.
Instead of the familiar meadow, the scenery that could be seen from the hill, and Fenrirâs figure, what entered my vision was the beautiful vast blue sky. To my left, right, and every angle showed the skyâ¦
Before I could comprehend this weird phenomenon, a strong gust of wind came out of nowhere and I was forced to close my eyes and covered my head with my arms.
As I felt that the wind subsided, I put down my arms and opened my eyes again. The scenery was still the same, but suddenly, a familiar spectre of light swooped its way right in front of me and stopped there!
âAh⦠Youâreâ¦,â my voice shook a bit.
A gentle and softer light enveloped that spectre of light and gradually, the figure of a child could be seen. It was a small girl with a very long and wavy white hairâa rainbow spectrum shining on it. As she opened her eyes, I could see that her eyes resembled a kaleidoscopeâwaitâ¦
âYouâre⦠Noia?â I asked as I pointed my trembling finger at her.
Because she was a very remarkable girl with her features of a living angel, even if we only met once and it was such a brief meeting, Iâd never forget a girl like her.
But why did Noia appear from the spectre ofâ¦
The mysterious girl smiled softly before yet another soft light enveloped her as her appearance changed again. This time, she simply became the male counterpart of her female self. Still in the form of a small child, with the same kaleidoscope-like eyes, and silky white hair with a rainbow spectrum. However, his hair was short, and his attire was that of a boy, and he showed a cheeky smile that fitted this appearance of his better than before.
âNoia⦠You⦠are the god that reincarnated meâ¦?â I asked before I recalled something important.
â
.â
Was there a reason for it?
Could it be that Aion-sama simply could turn into a male and female, and thus�
Alsoâ¦
â
â
If that was the case, then the spectre of light god who reincarnated me⦠Noia⦠Could they be�
The boy smiled as he looked at me and then said with an otherworldly voice.
âCorrect.â
ââ¦!!â This gave me a dejavuâ¦
âYou can read what I just thought, right?â I asked for a confirmation.
The boyâs eyes closed in a smile, âYup!â
The identity of the god who reincarnated me finally came to light! They were none other than Aion-sama, the Alpha, the god of beginning and the god of lifeâ¦
If that was the case, then what were they planning?
Also⦠The thing about my death being an accident and the offer of my reincarnationâ¦
âAs you already guessed. That was all a lie. Your death as Reinst wasnât something I accidentally did. I thought youâd accept my âcompensationâ of reincarnation if I were to tell you that, butâ¦,â Aion-sama shrugged and shook his head.
âAhâ¦â
âIn the end, I forcefully reincarnated you in a hurry. I apologize for that,â Aion-sama apologized.
â¦Did I seriously make a god apologize to me?!
I quickly waved my hands and said with a troubled expression, âNo, I apologize for my rudeness and bad attitude towards you, too⦠Indeed, with such a circumstance, I wouldnât agree. But now Iâm thankful that you did what you did.â
âIâm glad to hear that!â Aion-sama chuckled.
âUhm⦠Soâ¦,â I hesitantly asked, âIâm sure thereâs a reason why you reincarnated me as Lyra, right? Itâs not simply because you took a pity to my life, right? I am really thankful that you gave me this life that I wanted, so⦠Iâd do my best to repay you!â
Aion-sama showed an evident surprise on his face before his expression softened. He floated on the ground as he laughed.
âThat is so you! Hahaha!â
âW-well, but Iâm correct, right? Iâm sure you want me to do something as Lyra.â
âHmm⦠Is it correct? Is it wrong? I wonderâ¦,â Aion-sama said in a teasing tone.
âHeyâ¦,â I wanted to scold him for not being serious, but my opponent was Aion-sama, a godâ¦!
âNah, donât worry about it. I just want you to do what you want and what you feel like the right thing to do,â Aion-sama suddenly said.
âEh? Is that it?â I blinked in my disbelief.
âBut Iâm asking about what you want me to doâ¦,â I muttered.
âYeah, I believe that if you do that, then youâre doing what I want you to do already.â
âHow are you so sure?â
âI believe in you,â Aion-sama said.
I was surprised to hear that.
A god believed that I would choose to do what they wanted me to do⦠Isnât that such an enormous trust?!
But if they dared to believe in meâ¦
âThank you very much. I promise I wonât let you down,â I said with a determination in my eyes.
âDonât be too uptight. Just be happy and thankful of me, thatâs good enough,â Aion-sama said as he waved his hand around.
âI will!â
As soon as I answered, another gust of wind blew past me, and my reflexes got the better of me again.
But when I opened my eyes, I saw the familiar meadow and felt like my posture was changed.
I remembered I was standing when I was talking to Aion-sama, but I felt like I was sitting and leaning⦠on something warm, fluffyâ¦
âFenrir?â I called out to the one I was leaning my back to.
âLyra, are you alright? I sensed a disturbance for a moment before you returned to consciousness,â Fenrirâs face appeared before my eyes as he asked me in worry.
âMm, yeah⦠Iâm fine. As for that disturbance, I was just talking to an old friend,â I answered as I slowly got up and patted my pants, clearing away any dirt from it.
âAn old friend? What kind of person are they that they can cause a disturbance to my technique?â Fenrir was puzzled.
âHmmm⦠They are an otherworldly beingâ¦,â I answered vaguely. I didnât really want to tell that Aion-sama, a god, had seen me and talked with me several times already.
One, I didnât want anyone to see me differently, even if it was Fenrir.
Two, if for some reason this fact was spread out, would they think I was a saint and then Iâd get taken to the temple or church and thenâ¦
âOtherworldly being⦠They must be extraordinary.â
As if sensing my reluctance to reveal the whole truth at this moment, Fenrir muttered those words as he nodded.
âYeah, they are,â I smiled.
âAnd you⦠look a bit different. How do I say it, you seem more⦠fresh? Happy? I guess,â Fenrir had a difficulty in describing the change he felt in me.
Even I wasnât sure what exactly had changed, but I could feel that I had changed.
I felt⦠lighter, for some reason?
âMhm~!â In any case, I nodded and smiled at Fenrir.
âIt seems to be a success. Iâm glad, then,â Fenrir said.
âShall we return now, Fenrir?â I asked.
âThen, itâll be faster this way,â Fenrir said.
âHm? Whaââ
Before I could finish my sentence, Fenrir already grabbed my collar with his snout as he flung me to his back.
âHold on tight,â Fenrir said and my hands reflexively hung on to his mane.
âWait, what are youââ
Again, Fenrir didnât wait for my words to be finished as he quickly dashed, bringing me on his back.
âSlow dooowwwnnn!â I said in the middle of our journey.
âEnjoy the ride,â Fenrir said without slowing down.
âHeyyy, the wind is ticklish, hahaa!â I couldnât resist the urge to laugh at the ticklish wind caused by Fenrirâs speed.
I turned around to look at the fast-changing scenery. It was beautiful.
Then, I laughed out loud without caring about etiquette and mannerism. Just a carefree laugh, to express how happy and peaceful I felt.
Arriving at the front of my residence, Fenrir stopped, allowing me to dismount from his back.
âIâm home!â
I said as the maid opened the door for me.
She then helped me change into the indoor slippers.
âWhereâs Mom?â I asked her.
âShe is in her study,â the maid answered.
Off to the study I went, then.
I knocked the door to Momâs study room lightly.
âWho is it?â Momâs voice could be heard.
âMom, itâs me. Iâm home,â I announced.
The sound of footsteps was heard before the door was opened. And what greeted me when it was opened wasâ¦
âWelcome home, dear.â
Momâs warm smile and words.
I felt a warmth surging from deep within my heart as my face broke into a smile. Then, I just let my heart get the best of me as I proceeded to hug Mom.
âDid you have fun?â Mom hugged me back as she asked me.
âI did!â
For some reason, although we were communicating like usual, I felt like it was different somehow. Perhaps⦠because I felt like I was just Lyra now?
I still remembered vividly the memories of the time when I was as Reinst, but I didnât feel as attached. It was like browsing an old photo album.
âYou seem more cheerful. Did something good happen?â Mom asked.
As expected of Mom! Or was it a motherâs instinct? She was so on point!
âHmm, yeah, something like that.â
âThatâs good then,â Mom said as she patted my head, not prying further.
Mom was always like this. She knew that I didnât intend to tell her the full story, so she didnât pry, too.
I was lucky to be blessed with a mother like her.
âMom, are you busy?â I asked.
âNot really, why?â
âI feel really motivated right now. Can you teach me more about magic? Oh, maybe about dark magic? I feel like I can do it better now!â I said in a high spirit.
âYou know I canât say ânoâ to that request, right?â Mom asked with a smile.
âHehe, of course!â I happily clung to Mom as she let me enter her study room.
Of course, Fenrir followed suit after me.
Thus, it marked the end of my attachment to my past life as âReinstâ.
From now on, I am and I will always be just Lyra.
Alrescha Lyra Hartmann.
And no matter what kind of difficulty I may face in the future, I believe I can overcome them in order to live my life to the fullest!