Shi ni Modori, Subete wo Sukuu Tame ni Saikyou He to Itaru

"Happy Birthday, Eric!

"Congratulations, Eric!

- Thank you, Mother, Sister Tina.

Today, I'm finally sixteen.

I never forgot it in my previous life - this year.

Now I am being celebrated at home by my mother, father, and Tina in a way that is a surprise to Tina's parents.

"It's Eric! Because I've been hunting for you in the woods! You can have some meat today!!

"Eric, the meat is good, but you can also eat the cake that me and Tina made together ~"

"I think it was delicious, so eat if you like"

"Yeah, thanks to my dad, too. Tina, I'd be delighted to eat what my sister made."

My father is noisier than usual, too, and my mother is laughing at it and looking at it with a sneer, but there is no stopping it today.

Tina's parents celebrate me like their own son.

Tina would love my sixteenth birthday as much as she did about herself.

I was more than happy - in my head I was thinking calmly about tomorrow.

Tomorrow - it is no exaggeration to say that I am the most power-craving and repentant day of my previous life.

The day I lost everything. That was literally the day after my sixteenth birthday, 'I haven't forgotten if I'm dead'.

I've worked hard for tomorrow since I was born.

When you decide to save everything, it doesn't start with not saving the incident that happened when you were sixteen years old.

I'm fine...... I'm just getting ready for tomorrow.

I felt like hell the day after my birthday in my previous life... but maybe it was easier to remember than a day without anything to think I remembered it well because it was the next day.

"Eric? What's wrong?

"... hmm? Oh, no, nothing."

Tina talked to me wondering how I was doing when I was thinking about tomorrow.

We have to be careful...... I don't want to worry about Tina or her mothers.

If I tell anybody here about tomorrow, it's hard to believe. And even if this number believes, not everyone in the village will believe and act.

So I wanted to end things in secret if I could, without telling anyone about tomorrow... but I just decided to take a different way to protect the village thinking I couldn't do that.

Thank you, everyone.

I had this happy time with a smile so I wouldn't worry about everyone celebrating my birthday...

That night...

I was in the woods alone.

Tomorrow - this village will be attacked by a large group of demons.

Around noon tomorrow, hundreds of demons will come to the village as they step down the shabby fence surrounding the village.

I've known it since before I was born. That's why I've trained and built my strength...

"Weird......"

For tomorrow's sake, I was coming all the way to this forest this evening to reduce demons as much as I could.

But - I've been searching for demons for dozens of years now, but I don't see any demons.

Usually you should be able to encounter a few if you've come this far behind the woods.

Besides, demons are more nocturnal. They move quite a bit during the day, but often become more active at night.

Especially at night featherbirds (nightbirds) and others are black birds that work at night, and there are troublesome demons and other things in this forest that move quickly and disperse in the darkness of the night... it's strange not to see one.

"Is this... a precursor to tomorrow's raid?

It's strange to think calmly.

Ever since I was born in this village, there has never been a massive demonic raid or anything like that that that happens tomorrow, either in my previous life or in this world.

Even if there ever was, at best a few demons would come down to the village to vandalize the fields.

Without the demons so far... it's just too weird. Surely, it would have something to do with tomorrow's demonic raid.

"In this forest... what's going on?

I walked a little further through the woods thinking about that... but I still couldn't find a single demon.

I had no choice but to start going back the way I came - but for a moment, I felt my gaze.

Momentum I look back and look around with my hands on the pattern of the sword I'm putting on my hips... but I don't feel any sign of anything.

I did feel my gaze... are you out of your mind?

No, my current gaze wasn't so much about being seen by demons... it was close to the feeling of being seen by people.

I waited on the spot for a while with no distractions in the battle... but I don't feel anything from anywhere, so I let go of my hand from the sword pattern.

Was it still your fault? Maybe I was thinking too much about tomorrow and I was being suspicious.

Let's go back to bed now.

Tomorrow - the first big thing will happen when we are reborn in this world. If you lose strength because of lack of sleep, you will end up falling.

I left the woods in doubt...

――――

"Well, when it comes to perceiving signs to that extent... well, maybe I'll enjoy it."

――――

I go back home and quietly pass in front of my parents' room without any footsteps to keep my mother and father awake, and head to my room.

When I walked into my room and looked at the bed... Tina was already sleeping in my bed.

I've slept in bed with Tina since I was three... but I didn't think I'd still sleep in bed with Tina when I was sixteen or eighteen.

In my last life... you don't remember. I remember sleeping with you, but I don't know if we've been sleeping together this far.

I go into the futon and fall asleep next to Tina, taking care not to wake Tina.

"Mmm... Eriku..."

I heard Tina squeal like that as she entered the futon.

I thought you woke me up, but it just seems like a bedtime speech.

"Eh heh... cute..."

... are you talking about me?

I don't know, but I'm sure Tina is cuter sleeping happily in her dreams.

I smile happily, looking at Tina's face, stroking her head to keep her awake.

I don't tie my hair up when I'm sleeping, so I can stroke my hair longer than when I was a kid so that it's clear without my fingers tangling.

Do you even know if I'm asleep when I stroke it, when I squirm like a tickle, I say "mmm" and fold my body toward me?

I swoop into wonders watching Tina look so cute.

Tomorrow... if I can't prevent the demon from raiding - I'll lose this smile.

No, I lost it once.

Back in my last life, I was powerless. Fearing only the demons attacking the village, he fled.

My father and all the other hunters managed to defeat the demons and let everyone in the village escape, but soon the limit came to the number of demons and one died at a time.

I remember my father fighting without falling to the end.

"Serena!! Get Eric and the others out of here!!

Seeing my father's final back in battle, my mother and Tina took me through the village and ran through the woods.

But sometime, the demon chased me... and my mother ran away from us.

"Eric, Tina... I love you"

I still can't forget my mother screaming from behind me when I was running with Tina... and the woods where it suddenly interrupted and quieted.

And then we both ran away desperately, but they caught up to us right away.

With Tina hunted down to the cliff - she held me and fell to the cliff.

'Eric, I won't let you die... live...!

Tina hugged me hard and fell to the cliff, and I passed out with a strong shock coming.

After that, I was scratched and still alive. The guy who found me said he had to be treated soon. He was dead.

And the biggest reason I lived - even if I died - was because of Tina, who was holding my body.

I was saved. To my father, to my mother, and to Tina.

I had nothing to do with it. I was just saved.

I didn't have the power to defeat demons like my father, I wasn't prepared to sacrifice to protect loved ones like my mother, and I didn't have the courage to protect people even if I died like Tina did.

That's my chance now... to start over.

Do you feel that way already?

Always... help. Everyone in the city, your father, your mother.

And - because I don't want to lose Tina's smile sleeping in front of me.

That's how I swore I slowly closed my eyes as Tina cuddled up to me as usual and started sleeping - feeling Tina's temperature.