Lisette hadn’t shown any particular reaction when she’d seen Allen. That alone confirmed that she didn’t know him either, which meant he’d accomplished one of his goals.
Now, then. “Oh, right. It’s not exactly related to that, but can you tell me if this works?”
Allen pulled out his guild card and handed it over. It was his own, of course, but he wanted to check whether it would actually be valid here. At the moment, he hadn’t found anyone he could really rely on, and he didn’t have much money on hand either. He needed some way to earn a living, and the first option that came to mind was taking on quests as an adventurer.
Of course, there was a huge difference in the quality of quests—and thus the rewards—depending on whether someone was registered as a rookie or an experienced adventurer. Worst-case scenario, he could go hunt monsters and sell their materials. But if he could take on guild commissions, that would obviously be better. That said, there was a chance his card wouldn’t work at all.
Let’s see how this plays out.
“This looks like a normal guild card to me. But is there something special about it?”
“Ah, yeah, well...kinda. A little.”
Allen gave a vague nod as Lisette tilted her head, looking puzzled. Naturally, she’d be curious. If it was just an ordinary card, there’d be no reason to ask whether it could be used. Of course, he couldn’t tell her the truth, so he’d have to play it off.
Whether she sensed something odd about it or this sort of thing wasn’t too unusual in her experience, Lisette didn’t press any further. She simply accepted the card and began giving it a light once-over.
“Hm...doesn’t look like there’s anything unusual about it,” she stated as she began fiddling with something at her side. Allen couldn’t quite see what she was doing, but it looked like she was verifying the card. After a brief moment, she raised her head. “Yep, looks like there’s no issue at all. Allen, right?”
“Yeah, that’s me. Good to know. Thanks.”
“No problem at all!”
Taking the card back, Allen let out a quiet sigh of relief. A lot of things may have changed, but there were still things that hadn’t. It wasn’t anything worth making a big deal over, but maybe, deep down, he’d been more shaken than he’d realized.
Well, I guess that makes sense.
People he thought he knew were suddenly acting like they’d never met him. That was a hard hit to take, even for someone like Allen, who’d been through a lot. In fact, if he’d been sent to a completely unknown world, it might have been less of a shock. It was because the places and faces were so familiar that the impact had hit so deeply.
Even so, it wasn’t like everything had been taken from him. As he looked down at his guild card—proof of his identity—he found himself thinking. No...that wasn’t quite right. It wasn’t that they had forgotten him. They’d simply never known him in the first place. He’d only felt like something had been lost because the people in this world looked and acted so much like the ones he knew.
But that line of thinking was disrespectful to both the people of his world and this one. The truth was, Allen hadn’t lost anything. If anything, depending on how you looked at it, this might actually be an opportunity. If nobody here knew who he was, it meant he could truly live as he pleased. He could live the life he had always wanted.
“Thinking about it that way, maybe this isn’t such a bad situation after all.”
“Huh? Something on your mind?” Lisette asked.
“Oh, I was just thinking...now that I know my card works, maybe I’ll take on a request or two.”
“Ohhh, I see! You seem like someone who can really handle himself, so I’m looking forward to seeing what you can do!”
He laughed. “I wouldn’t go that far.”
Of course, he didn’t plan to stay here forever. But maybe, just for a while, it wouldn’t hurt to enjoy himself, take it easy, and live on his own terms. And that included interacting with the versions of his friends who lived in this world.
He’d been unsure of how to approach them, but maybe there was no need to overthink it. After all, in life, meetings and partings were always fleeting. Ships that pass in the night. There was no need to make it complicated. He just had to be himself. That didn’t mean being irresponsible. If anything, it meant the opposite. It wasn’t because he intended to leave that he’d live how he wanted, it was because he wanted to treasure the present moment. Since he knew that these relationships would eventually end, he didn’t need to hold back and could just let things happen naturally.
That thought settled warmly in his chest. And with it came another realization. He had changed. His old self never would have thought this way. If he’d known something would one day be lost, he would’ve said, “Then I’ll live freely, while still avoiding any real bonds.” That was the kind of person he had been. And he knew exactly why that had changed.
It was because of them. Thanks to them, Allen had changed. He was able to change. So even reaching out to the versions of his friends in this world wasn’t a mistake. There was something here, something valuable, waiting to be found.
Believing that, Allen turned to face the girl in front of him once more. Gathering information was important, but stopping at that would be a waste. So this time, to really start a proper conversation, he looked Lisette in the eyes and spoke.