Third Persion View
"Ka, ka, ka, Kaoru-channnnnnn!!" (Celes)
"I knew you would come, Celes! Because I believed that, at that moment when I had no time to think of any other measures, in the space of a few milliseconds, I was able to choose to retreat to the item box without any hesitation or doubt. Time had stopped, and I would never be able to get out of the item box by myself..." (Kaoru)
Yes, the fact that Kaoru's item box could also store living things was proven when it contained Bell, who jumped into a well during the invasion of the Alligot Empire.
Hearing this, a drop of sweat ran down Celestine's cheek as she hugged Kaoru and screamed with joy.
...Although her body was probably not constructed to sweat, perhaps this function was provided for the purpose of expressing emotions...
"O-o-of, of course! I-I-I wouldn't give up on Kaoru so easily and h-ho-ho-leave her like that..." (Celes)
It was clear to Celestine's eyes as she gave a forced smile.
The girl standing behind Kaoru slowly moved her mouth...
"This... debt... is... big...you... know" (Reiko)
(Ahhhhhhh~~!!) (Celes)
She ended up owing a huge debt to this brazen girl who had bluntly asked for such an unreasonable privilege...
However, she couldn't let Kaoru knew that "Actually, I gave up too easily and left her alone. In reality, Kaoru was supposed to stay in the item box forever." Never!!
So, although she felt that this debt would be very costly, she had no choice but to cling to the kindness of the girl, who seemed to be trying to make amends for the situation.
"First of all, I need to do something about these burnt, tattered, and soaked clothes..." (Kaoru)
The bruises from falling into the hole and the burns from being engulfed in flames have already been healed with potions. Of course, the hair, which was quite burned and scorched, has also been repaired.
In reality, she would have suffered much more severe burns and almost died, but thanks to the automatic defense mechanism (shield) that Celestine had put in place, she only suffered minor burns.
And here, Kaoru finally noticed the presence of another person.
"...Huh..." (Kaoru)
A girl who looked familiar.
It had been just under five years since she left Earth, but it felt like it had been much longer, at least ten years.
But no matter how many years passed, she would never forget.
She only had two friends.
There was no way she could have mistaken that sight.
"...Rei...ko... high school version..." (Kaoru)
Yes, that was Reiko Kuon, who had the same body as her when she was 15 years old. She was one of my only two best friends.
Reiko was more developed than Kaoru. ...especially, in certain parts of her body.
So, Kaoru thought that Reiko was the "high school version", but in reality, just like Kaoru, her body was that of a middle school student when she turns 15...
"...Hehe, here you come..." (Reiko)
"Reikooooooo!!" (Kaoru)
Unlike Reiko, who believed she would meet Kaoru, or rather, knew she would meet her, this was a sudden event for KAORU. Even if she screamed and hugged her, there was nothing she could do.
Then, when Kaoru, who was also soaking wet, hugged Reiko, she also became soaking wet.
"I’m sure you two have a lot to discuss, but let’s move to another location for now. A lot of people are coming." (Reiko)
"Ah……" (Kaoru + Celes)
Surely, the guards would notice something was wrong and rush over, since a huge amount of water had overflowed from the building...
"Repair, clean, dry!" (Celes)
Celestine repaired the damage caused by the water flow, cleaned the dirt, dried it, and completely erased all traces of the damage. Kaoru's clothes also benefited from this, being repaired, washed, and dried.
However, it was too late to treat the large amount of water that had flowed out of the building earlier, so the building was left as it was.
"Teleport!"
And then there was no one there.
The guards who rushed to the scene were perplexed to see that nothing had changed in the holy place and that the large amount of water was flowing around it, but everyone was convinced when the priests later commented that "These were surely tears shed by Celestine-sama, who has not been seen since that incident, in mourning for KAORUSAMA."
"Well then, I will go and report to that person right away!" (Celes)
After teleporting Kaoru and Reiko out of town, Celestine teleported them back to the inn at Reiko's request, and then immediately disappeared after saying that.
For Kaoru, the time that had passed since then was zero, and for Celestine, what happened while Kaoru was away, was not something to talk about. So, the most important thing for SERESUTIINE now was to convey this news and resume visiting that person.
And now Kaoru and Reiko were left alone.
Reiko had reserved a room for two people in preparation for this, so there was no problem if they continued talking until the morning.
"So, Reiko, why on earth did you come here? And what about that appearance..." (Kaoru)
When Kaoru asked that question, Reiko answered simply.
"Just like you. I died and was reincarnated by a god-like being who is the caretaker of that Earth." (Reiko)
"Eh……" (Kaoru)
Kaoru had suspected this to be the case ever since she saw Reiko when she was young. She couldn't think of any other explanation for the situation.
But that's too much...
"That bastard, he always said that failure only happens once in several thousand years, yet in such a short time, and on top of that, he picked my friend..." (Kaoru)
Saying this, Kaoru gritted her teeth.
"Oh, no, no! It wasn't God's mistake. I lived out my natural lifespan!" (Reiko)
"Eh? But dying so soon... Was it an accident or something?" (Kaoru)
"No, old age." (Reiko)
"...Eh? Huh? Whaaaaat?!" (Kaoru)
"...So then, that much time has already passed on Earth... I wonder if the flow of time is different to that in this world..." (Kaoru)
"Huh? No, the Earth God said that the time course was the same." (Reiko)
"Eh?" (Kaoru)
"Therefore, the same amount of time should have passed in this world since Kaoru was reincarnated..." (Reiko)
"Whaat?" (Kaoru)
"Celestine-sama also said that it's been nearly 70 years since Kaoru disappeared..." (Reiko)
"Whaaaaaaaat?!" (Kaoru)
Kaoru was stunned.
"Wh-w-w-how did that happen... Celes should have rescued me from the item box right away... Ah. When I was rescued, Reiko was there. And decades have passed. ...Celes. Celeeesss!!" (Kaoru)
It was found out.
Everything had been revealed.
It couldn't be helped. After all, it was an impossible matter to keep secret...
Translator's Comment
Beyond this point is like a whole new story.