Chapter 23: Even if Told to Return to Being a Tool, I Won’t Obey Anymore

A dim back alley.

The stench of rot drifting from the garbage dump mixed with the scent of blood radiating from the man standing before me, creating a terribly suffocating space.

“Don’t go feeding that kid unnecessary ideas.”

The stubbled man threatened in a low voice, flicking the flat of his knife with his finger.

His eyes were characteristic of the underworld — eyes that viewed lives merely as numbers and tools.

“That kid, see, is the ultimate ‘pawn’ who’ll flawlessly pull off any dirty job once night falls. But lately, the nighttime one has started turning down requests. Rumor has it a guild receptionist is planting ideas in her head about boring lifestyle rules.”

I never thought the results of the handover notebook would end up irritating underworld bosses like this.

Luna must have been following my suggestion to “stay away from dangerous places” and was trying to cut off contact with them.

“She is a registered member of the Adventurer’s Guild. Not your tool.”

When I quietly talked back, the man snorted.

“She’s a tool. That kid is nothing more than a ‘vessel.'”

Right after those words echoed through the alleyway, I heard a small gasp from the corner behind me — like someone catching their breath in shock.

“…Nagi-onii-san?”

Flaxen hair swaying, the one who timidly poked her head out was the daytime girl — Roux.

She must have gotten worried when I didn’t come back to the guild and came looking for me.

However, the moment her gaze landed on the man, the color completely drained from her face.

“Ga, Garud…”

“What’s this — the useless daytime one. You’re an eyesore.”

The man called Garud clicked his tongue, looking thoroughly bored.

“We don’t need a naive crybaby like you. Do you know how convenient it would be if only the nighttime one remained? I wish you’d just hurry up and disappear.”

“…!”

Roux’s shoulders jumped with a flinch.

Those were the cursed words she had feared in the very depths of her heart.

I am incompetent, only dragging down my nighttime self. Wouldn’t it be better for everyone if I just disappeared?

The light vanished from Roux’s eyes, and tears looked ready to spill over.

“Don’t screw around.”

I stepped squarely in front of Garud, shielding Roux behind my back.

“What was that? Don’t get cocky just because you’re a receptionist.”

“I’m not getting cocky. This is practical business. Besides, the idea that only the nighttime her needs to exist is completely idiotic.”

Swallowing my anger, I declared in a cold voice.

“Because the daytime her is living and smiling, the nighttime her is able to move too. They are using one body together, desperately trying to make it to tomorrow. The ‘useful’ one isn’t the only one with value. The idea of cutting one of them off is nothing but exploitation.”

“…Nagi-onii-san…”

Behind me, I heard Roux whisper softly.

“Tch… Spouting a bunch of nonsense. Fine then — I’ll shut that mouth of yours first!”

Garud lost his temper, readied his knife, and lunged at me.

The dully gleaming blade closed in.

To be completely honest, my capacity had exceeded its limits a long time ago.

A swordswoman with abandonment anxiety, a magic-user dependent on logical management, and a thief running on a two-shift day-night system. With the daily pandemonium, both my mental energy and physical stamina were scraping the bottom of the barrel.

If I were to prioritize my own safety and health as a mere guild receptionist, running away right here would be the most “efficient” and “practical” correct answer.

But in that moment, a memory from my previous life suddenly flashed through my mind.

— Sensei. I think… I can’t do this anymore.

A terribly hollow voice I had heard over the phone once upon a time.

In my previous life, in order to protect my own capacity and my boundaries as a clinical psychologist, I had stubbornly restricted myself to a “practical” response. Fearing I would wear myself down, I hesitated to step beyond the scope of my duties. As a result, I failed to save one of the clients I was in charge of, and her mind completely broke.

What happens when you draw a line, using your own limits as an excuse?

I know all too painfully how much despair a person who is overlooked can feel.

The regret of that time is still burned into the foundation of my soul, never to fade.

Right now, my combat power is zero. If I get stabbed with that knife, I might die.

My legs are trembling from consecutive days of fatigue, and I’m panting for breath.

But so what.

If I have to use my own limits as an excuse to run away and watch someone break in front of my eyes again, I’d rather get stabbed right here.

I have no intention of taking a single step back.

That is the sole pride and atonement of my do-over in this different world.

I braced myself, preparing for the pain.

However, before the blade could reach me —

“Don’t touch Nagi-onii-san!!”

Roux leaped out from behind me, drawing the dagger from her waist, and sent Garud’s knife flying with a clang!

That single strike was the full-bodied resistance of a girl who was supposed to be trembling in fear.

“You bitch…!”

“I’m not just a crying coward anymore…! Because Onii-san told me that I’m also someone who makes tomorrow happen!”

Roux glared straight at Garud.

Then, taking a deep breath, she closed her eyes of her own volition.

“— Luna! I leave the rest to you!”

It wasn’t a personality switch brought on merely by the passage of time — it was their own form of “cooperation,” cultivated little by little through the handover notebook.

Whoosh.

The air in the alleyway froze in an instant.

The eyes of the girl who reopened them had changed from the color of a daytime sunbeam to the color of a black panther lurking in the dark night, carrying a glacial coldness.

“…Good work on the handover.”

It was Luna.

The moment she muttered that in a low voice, she kicked off the ground with an overwhelming speed that ordinary eyes couldn’t track.

“Wha—!?”

“The sin of trying to lay a hand on my daytime and my manager is heavy.”

A dull thud!

Luna’s backfist sank deeply into Garud’s solar plexus, and the large man’s body folded into a V-shape, sinking to the alley floor. Furthermore, Luna pressed the cold blade of her dagger perfectly against the throat of the crouching Garud.

“We have no intention of returning to being your convenient tools ever again. Don’t ever show your face in front of us. …Next time, I’ll take your head.”

“Hiiie…! I-I get it…!”

His face twitching with terror, Garud scrambled away into the depths of the alley for dear life.

Silence returned to the back alley.

Luna sheathed her dagger with a motion like shaking off blood, then slowly turned back toward me.

“…Honestly. You’re reckless, Nagi.”

“Are you hurt, Luna-san? And Roux, too.”

“We share one body. There’s no problem.”

Luna sighed, looking just a little bit exasperated.

“There was no reason for you to step forward. If you got hurt protecting that daytime idiot, the shift roster would collapse, wouldn’t it.”

“This isn’t a problem about the shift roster. I just couldn’t run away.”

“…”

“Because both she, and you, are important clients at my window.”

When I said that, Luna fell silent for a while.

Eventually, she averted her gaze slightly and let the words spill out softly.

“…When he said that the daytime me wasn’t needed — you got genuinely angry for her, didn’t you.”

“Of course I did. It’s one life shared by two.”

“…If you only thought about efficiency, it would have been easier to manage things by just keeping the useful one around.”

“I don’t do my job for the sake of efficiency.”

Luna let out a small, self-deprecating laugh.

But deep within her cold eyes, I could see a terribly heated emotion swirling — something I had never seen before.

“…You really have strange tastes.”

It was the beginning of a deep, heavy obsession from a human who was now convinced she would never be abandoned.

＊　＊　＊

The next day.

What awaited me as I arrived at the Guild counter was the usual pandemonium.

“Nagi-onii-san! Thank you sooo much for yesterday!”

“Roux, please don’t cling to me. I can’t get any work done.”

Roux was stuck to my right arm like a cicada.

Behind her, Lise was yelling, “I’m going to hug him too!” while Fran hovered like a tiger plotting to slip around back, declaring, “I demand an equitable distribution of resources.”

“You see, Luna and I made a decision!”

Roux peered into my face and said with a massive smile.

“From now on, the two of us are going to protect Onii-san with everything we have! We’re thinking up a super special plan just for that!”

A plan. I had a terribly bad feeling about this.

Looking solely at the conclusion, it meant “I now have two personalities deeply attached to me” — but their capacity to take action completely defied common sense.

“…Just for reference, may I ask what kind of plan?”

“Ehehe, it’s a secret for now! Look forward to it!”

Right after Roux tilted her head and smiled adorably —

Sliiiip.

The air around her shifted, and the color of her eyes changed to something as cold and sharp as ice.

“…That’s how it is. Tremble and wait, Nagi.”

It was Luna.

Despite it being daytime, she briefly surfaced, whispering low directly into my ear. Then she threw a provocative glare at Lise and Fran, who were making a racket behind me — as if to say, I’ll drag you lot into this too.

“A fight? You’d better not, you’ll get hurt!”

“How disturbing. I sense an impending, critical protocol change regarding Nagi’s management.”

(…They are absolutely plotting something terrible.)

Holding my stomach, I let out a deep sigh — I didn’t even know how many times that made it today — at the endlessly continuing pandemonium of my daily life and the announced, unknown threat ahead.