Reborn Into A Dark Social Game World With Completely Loyal Friends. - Chapter 7: Mia.

Mia.

“Commander… it’s you!!”

“W-Wait a moment…”

“….So, it turns out Mia also has memories, huh?”

In the center of the crumbling castle, under the blazing sun—Minato was being pinned down by Mia.

His back wasn’t against the hard ground; Thanatos seemed to have instantly slipped a wing beneath him, making it soft and painless… but given the situation, it was understandable that Minato was frozen in place.

After all, the girl he thought he’d said goodbye to—Mia—was here.

“Mia… huh? But… um…”

“Commander! Why didn’t you tell me when we met!? If I hadn’t given you the listening device, we would’ve kept missing each other! We finally met again… after all this time!”

“Mia…? listening device?”

Minato didn’t understand what was happening, but the atmosphere was undeniably pleasant.

His idol, the Mia he admired and loved, was hugging him.

She was soft, warm, and smelled wonderful… like flowers, making his head feel light and fuzzy.

But the word “listening device” ruined everything.

“Mia… what do you mean by ‘listening device’?”

“…Huh!? I didn’t say anything about a listening device!”

“You just did. Thanatos, you heard it too, right?”

“Indeed, I heard it clearly.”

“Even Thanatos… um… well…”

The warm atmosphere vanished. Mia was flustered, but tearful and happy, she explained.

“Well… it has a listening device feature.”

“…The entry permit?”

“Well, you see… I couldn’t help but be curious about you! So… I ended up wanting to eavesdrop♪”

“Eavesdrop…?”

“But I couldn’t help it! When I saw you in the city, Commander, I felt so nostalgic that I had to chase after you! And when we talked, I couldn’t hold back my feelings… I started to wonder if you weren’t the Commander after all, just pretending to forget!”

“I thought I misheard, but didn’t she say something about cheating?”

“I wouldn’t cheat! This conniving dragon! Slandering someone like that is defamation!”

“…She’s a loud one.”

Watching Mia and Thanatos argue, Minato finally managed a relieved chuckle. Having Thanatos nearby was reassuring, but with Mia joining them, he felt a lot more at ease. Sure, confusion still loomed large, but for Minato, this space felt warmer than Dakurezo’s world.

“…Sigh. Ah, sorry. That was a sigh of relief.”

“Really?”

“Finally, I feel like I can relax a bit, Master.”

“Yeah.”

“By the way, I was curious about something. Have you always been with Thanatos, Commander?”

Minato nodded, and Mia grinned mischievously.

“Thank you, Thanatos. Your role is over now. From here on, I’ll protect the Commander.”

“What nonsense are you spouting, little girl? That task must be quite burdensome for you.”

“Huh?”

“Oh?”

In the midst of the sparking clashes, Minato, at the center, could only smile wryly. In fact, he was somewhat impressed to witness firsthand the mismatched banter between Mia and Thanatos. However, only Minato could bring order to this situation.

“I haven’t fully sorted out everything that happened suddenly, but thank you, Mia… But I’m not the Commander. I’m just an ordinary person.”

“Commander…”

Minato spoke. What he thought after coming to this world… he didn’t intend to directly involve himself in the story, nor did he have the courage to do so. Because he was weak.

“I’m weak… I was able to give orders, to survive many battles, because of the environment I was in.”

“…”

“…Indeed.”

Yes, he had only given orders as a player. If he couldn’t win, he would look at strategy guides or recommendations for optimal characters and breakthroughs on social media… and then he would manipulate the game to claim victory. After all, it was just a game, so there was no real danger to his life. But now things were different.

“I’m… scared.”

Yes… Minato was scared. He had already told Thanatos, but Mia, hearing this for the first time, didn’t say anything in particular. She didn’t express surprise or disappointment… she just looked straight at Minato.

“This world… is cruel. People are dying at this very moment, by murder, suicide, natural causes… In this pitch-black world, I find myself longing for it hopelessly, and I’m scared beyond measure.”

Longing for the game was one thing, but fear of reality was another. Even in Minato’s original world, many people whispered love to certain characters, longing for the dark and heavy stories, feeling excited and moved by the lives of the people there, and watching the characters from the perspective of spectators. Minato was one of them.

“So, I can’t be the Commander.”

However, Minato continued.

“Yes, I can’t be the Commander… that’s the duty of the Commander in this world. But… when I saw that mother and child whose fate changed earlier, when I saw their smiles, I thought about something.”

Yes, this was Minato’s own thought.

He had conveyed to Thanatos that there was something he wanted to talk about when they returned.

“It’s true, it’s scary… I can’t do anything alone. If I were to move around in this world, I probably wouldn’t survive even a day… But even in such a harsh world, when I saw that mother and child smiling, I thought that I wanted to increase smiles like theirs, even just a little… Well, it’s a judgment based solely on what I saw, so there’s probably some impulsiveness in there.”

Wanting to increase smiles… it was a kind of salvation.

More happiness than unhappiness, more joy than sorrow… not only Minato, but many people would surely think that such a world is definitely better.

But wanting to do that is both kindness and arrogance… but Minato wanted to try it nonetheless.

“I don’t know what will happen if I get involved in the main story… There’s also the risk of even worse things happening. It’s a bit reckless to say this while Mia and Thanatos are here, but that’s why I want to try my best from a place out of sight… That’s what I thought about, Thanatos.”

This was what Minato had thought and wanted to talk about.

However, does Minato realize…? The reason Mia and Thanatos didn’t interrupt was because his reckless yet dreamy expression was reminiscent of a commander.

“I know that my own thoughts are rather naive compared to the problems this world faces. I do intend to think about the consequences, but I don’t even know how this will turn out… Still, there are things I can do, and for that… What am I?”

Mia and Thanatos both looked at Minato with wide eyes.

In the midst of this, Thanatos was the first to act.

“It’s not necessary to ask for permission. I am merely a dragon who serves you. Although there are various things to consider as you say, I find it rewarding to be by your side.”

She lowered her large body as much as possible to show her submissive intent.

Like a loyal subject swearing allegiance to a great king, Thanatos once again pledged her loyalty to Minato.

And unable to remain silent after witnessing such an exchange, Mia spoke up.

“Hey, don’t leave me out of it, okay? Hey Commander, I’ll help too, you know? Well, there are some difficult parts due to our positions, but…”

“Thank you, Mia.”

Indeed, having Mia’s cooperation was overwhelmingly heartening.

However, considering Mia’s position, she couldn’t just do as she pleased, and if Mia were to leave, it would surely unsettle Nevaeh. Moreover, the potential impact of her departure was unimaginable.

In conclusion… That area of ​​concern was quite complicated.

“When I think about it, meeting Thanatos first and then Mia… I wonder if there are other Memory Keepers out there.”

“At this point, that possibility seems likely… but acting recklessly would be difficult.”

“Hmm… it’s a tough issue, isn’t it? But at least among the people I personally met, there was no one who remembered the Commander. I tried to bring it up indirectly, but there wasn’t any significant reaction.”

So, that meant there weren’t any in Nevalis.

Well, for now, Minato had only considered the comrades with a trust level of 100, but there could be others, or there might not be anymore.

“Well, I’ve talked about various things, but I want to do this in this world. Will you lend me your strength…?”

To Minato’s question, Mia and Thanatos nodded.

Thus, the sharing of Minato’s desires and intentions had been fulfilled… However, Minato had yet to see the true cruelty with his own eyes.

When he witnessed it, what would he think then…?

And so, the way of life of Minato, who was not a commander, began.