He had made a hypothesis based on what Aishia had told him after obtaining the powers of the Dragon King, but hearing it from Lina herself was affirming.
“There was a necessity for all of it. But don’t get the wrong idea—even if the Dragon King and I hadn’t reincarnated, Amakawa Haruto and Ayase Miharu would have been born anyway. And in every single future, Ayase Miharu would have arrived in this world through the hero summoning. The same goes for Amakawa Haruto dying in a traffic accident at the age of twenty. That future was fixed all along... You could even call it fate,” Lina explained. Their fates were decided regardless of the reincarnations.
“You’ve already figured it out, right? Through our reincarnations, the futures of Amakawa Haruto and Ayase Miharu have been changed. If the Dragon King hadn’t reincarnated, Amakawa Haruto’s life would have ended with the bus crash. If Aishia hadn’t been left as a guide, Rio would have died to thugs in the slums. Amakawa Haruto’s knowledge of martial arts was helpful to Rio. Ayase Miharu would have ended her life as a slave in this world without any intervention.”
“Ah...”
Lina spoke in more detail about the original fates of Amakawa Haruto, Rio, and Ayase Miharu. It was so shocking, Rio was left wide-eyed.
“I’m sure you know already, but the people from Earth have far more magic essence than those born here. That’s why Ayase Miharu was very convenient for me to reincarnate as. However, she’s still very weak in this state. Without someone to protect her, she would have been caught and enslaved, so she needed someone to protect her. That someone was you, Rio, with Amakawa Haruto’s memories. If you didn’t have those memories, the future would have been vastly different.”
It was more favorable for Rio to have Amakawa Haruto’s memories when taking Ayase Miharu into his protection.
Every single detail leading up to now was exactly as Lina pictured a thousand years ago. Rio was speechless.
“Also, the logic behind the reversed timelines is simply the difference between rebirth and teleportation. It’s easier to adjust the timeline in reincarnation, which only moves the soul. But what you want to know is why I chose to reverse the timelines, right?”
“Yes,” Rio replied in a dry voice.
“It’s simple: It was all in order to protect Ayase Miharu after she was sent here. If you were reborn after she arrived, it would have been too late to save her, no? I had no choice but to choose someone born before she arrived here. You fit those requirements perfectly, Rio.”
Rio was silent.
“Well? Did that answer what you wanted to know?”
“Yes. But there’s one last thing...”
“What?”
“Regarding Latifa and Liselotte... They reincarnated along with Amakawa Haruto. Was there a reason for that?”
Endo Suzune and Minamoto Rikka—was there any significance in why the two who had died with Amakawa Haruto in the bus crash had also reincarnated as Latifa and Liselotte?
“Who knows?” Lina smiled suggestively.
If she’s dodging this question, then it means it must involve an uncertain future, right? Rio theorized to himself. But he’d probably know in due time.
“I understand. That’s all I have to ask.” He obediently stopped questioning it.
“Good boy,” Lina said, praising him with a satisfied look.
“It’s only because you’ve answered a lot of my other questions. I’ve always wondered why I had Amakawa Haruto’s memories...”
The presence of another person’s memories existed within him. The fact she had answered his long-standing question about his identity was enough.
“You say that, but you still don’t look entirely satisfied.”
Lina didn’t miss the slight hesitation in Rio’s eyes.
“That’s...not entirely untrue. But I think the question of who I am should be something for me to answer myself. And I’ve already reached an answer anyway.”
In other words, was Rio still Rio despite having Amakawa Haruto’s memories, or was he Amakawa Haruto? At the Galarc Kingdom’s banquet, his answer was that he was still Rio. He had told Miharu that he couldn’t interact with her as Amakawa Haruto.
Memories of that time resurfaced in his mind, making him look conflicted.
“Are you feeling hesitant over an answer you’ve already reached because you think that answer was wrong?”
Rio paused for a beat, then shook his head. “No, I don’t think I’m wrong. I’m Rio, not Amakawa Haruto,” he said firmly.
After all, he had lived all this time as Rio. He had consistently lived as Rio before and after regaining Amakawa Haruto’s memories, successfully carrying out his vengeance.
He had made many decisions until now that Amakawa Haruto would never have taken. He had dirtied his hands when necessary. That’s why he had tried to distance himself from Miharu during the banquet. Rio himself refused to become Amakawa Haruto.
And so, he wasn’t wrong. After succeeding in his revenge and returning to peace, his Amakawa Haruto side had more opportunities to show itself, but...
It’s too late to change my mind now. I am me. I cannot become Amakawa Haruto. Rio admonished his swaying heart.
“Indeed. You are Rio, not Amakawa Haruto,” Lina said in a gentle tone.
“Right.” Rio looked relieved to hear her support.
“However...”
“Huh?”
“No, it’s nothing,” Lina said, retracting her words.
“How curious,” he said with a wry smile, hoping for her to continue.
“Like I said, the Goddess Lina dislikes causing change. And I’m mean,” Lina deflected with a mischievous smirk.
“That’s right,” Rio agreed, staring closely at her.
It’s true that you may not be able to become Amakawa Haruto. But there’s no doubt that Amakawa Haruto’s memories have had an influence on Rio. That’s why you’re allowed to accept Amakawa Haruto as a part of yourself. If you’re able to forgive yourself and wish for it, that is.
In other words, it all depended on whether Rio could go easy on himself or not. The look in Lina’s eyes softened kindly.
Well, if that were so easy, he wouldn’t have grown up into this stubborn person...
He was a man with self-restraint harder than steel. It wouldn’t be easy for him to change, but...
Humans can change. They have that potential within them. They can also cause other people to change. They all have that potential. But telling him that much would be too generous. I don’t want to go that far to help that unreliable girl, and he’ll have a similar realization soon enough.
She was a mean goddess that disliked causing change. Lina chuckled with glee.
“What is it?” Rio asked, confused by the few seconds of silence.
“Nothing. I’m going to let you off for today.”
“Okay...” Rio nodded with a puzzled look.
“I’m going to leave this girl behind, so good luck resting.”
Lina gave her short farewell to Rio. In doing so, Rio felt like he had heard something that couldn’t be ignored.
“Huh?” While Rio was busy being bewildered, Lina touched the earring-style magic artifact on her ear. Her face blurred like a static TV screen and changed to Miharu’s face. Then, the unconscious Miharu fell forward and onto Rio.
“Hey?!” Rio startled, hurrying to catch Miharu’s body in his arms.
Sh-She couldn’t bring her back to her room?
What a treat. The teenage girl left behind in his bedroom made Rio flustered. The nice scent of shampoo wafting from Miharu’s hair only furthered his uneasiness.
He couldn’t just leave her sleeping here. Would it be better to send her back to her room before she woke up? For now, this position of them embracing on his bed was very inappropriate, so it was probably best to move her off of him first. However...
“Mm...” Miharu was starting to wake up.
Oh no!
Rio noticed Miharu’s breathing had changed. His body stiffened—he knew he had to roll her onto the bed as soon as possible, but doing so in this situation would result in misunderstandings no matter what.
Rio gave up and lay back weakly, continuing to hold Miharu’s body.
“Haruto...?” Miharu opened her eyes and gazed into Rio’s face from close up.
“Good morning,” Rio said, voice cracking awkwardly as he avoided her sleepy gaze.
“Huh? Um. Uh...” Miharu was bewildered, as though her brain was moving too slow to comprehend the situation properly. But after a quick glance around the room, she realized the position she was in on Rio’s bed.
“Wha—?!” She turned so red, it was like her face had been painted. She tried to jump up out of surprise and nearly fell off Rio’s body.