The shining gem lit up the surroundings.
Around it was my annihilated party, just like in the 『first time』 around.
“Hmmmm… What am I supposed to do…?”
Do I take the gem, or do I not?
I have two options to choose from.
“But well… that really wouldn’t happen again, right?”
Looking up towards the heavens, I directed my question at a G.o.d that wouldn’t be here to begin with.
After making up my mind and taking the gem, just like the 『first time』, my body was engulfed in light.
And then, I lost consciousness.
I hope that this time I’ll be able to return to the 『world』 that I came from―――
…It was no good.
I woke up once again on my bed in the starting town 《Azerleims》.
“AHHHHHHHHHHHHH!! DAMMIT! HOW MANY TIMES DO I HAVE TO b.l.o.o.d.y CLEAR IT BEFORE I CAN GO HOOOOOOOOOOMEE!?!?”
I got up while screaming.
“Oh my, why so loud in the morning…? And Kazuha, you’re a 『girl』 so you musn’t use words like 『b.l.o.o.d.y』, you know?”
Saying that was my mother in this world, who was beginning to prepare food.
…Mn?
“…Okaasan? Just now, what did you say?”
Things feel kind of, wrong in various ways…
“My, my, are you still half-asleep? Honestly, isn’t today the important day that you’ll be having an audience with His Majesty? Wake up properly, and go wash your face.”
No, no, no. Not that.
“Just now, you called me a 『girl』 and… also, who’s 『Kazuha』?”
“My, my, has this child forgotten not only their s.e.x, but their name as well, I wonder? Perhaps it might be for the best if I stop today’s audience.”
Saying that, Okaasan handed me a hand mirror.
“Just loook at how messy your hair has gotten. Fix it up properly. That’s improper.”
I received the hand mirror.
And then I looked into it.
What was reflected there was a girl.
Wait, is that me?
“Hahhh… Had you been born a boy instead, you might have even been able to become a fine Hero-sama, huh…”
Leaving me “Make sure you wash your face properly.” as a final remark, Okaasan left the room.
“…I, seriously…?”
Getting down from bed, I began investigating my own body.
Although it was small, I certainly could feel the swells on my chest.
I reached my hand downwards.
The thing that should have been there, wasn’t.
“…Gone.”
I checked it once more.
“…Isn’t it gone?”
No matter how many times I touched it to check, what wasn’t there, just wasn’t there.
“…Seriously?”
My third reincarnation. Or rather, I should call it my 『third time』.
“…I, became a woman…?”
I was dumbfounded.
But compared to my 『second time』, the shock might have been smaller.
At that time, the shock was proportional to the belief that I had that I’d be able to return home.
But since I was prepared to a certain extent this time, I was able to mentally prepare myself.
“For now, what I need to be doing is…”
There’s only one thing it could be.
On the spot, without any hesitation――――
…*
I got naked.
“It’s impossible to become the Heroo!?”
The place was the audience room.
Since it was my 『third time』 now, I knew quite clearly what the future events were.
But I suddenly had the wind taken out of my sails.
“My apologies. The Hero candidates are for boys only. As a woman, you are not allowed to become the Hero.”
Speaking of which, I get the feeling that Okaasan said something like that earlier, but…
“B-, But I(ore)… I mean, I(watashi)…! It’s just a guess, but I think I’m actually stronger than anybody else, you know!”
Uwahhh, gross. I used ‘watashi’…
All I feel is nausea.
“What are you saying? For a 『Subst.i.tute Candidate』 who might not even be able to become a party member of the 『Hero Candidate』 to…”
Uwah… If you’re a woman, do you have no choice but to start off in such a lowly position?
Speaking of which, wasn’t this world a super 『patriarchal』 society?
So tough…
“I don’t wanna…! If you would just look at my real strength…!”
I gave it my all trying to persuade him.
If only he knew my strength, then even the king should immediately agree.
“Enough! For a mere woman to oppose my opinion as the king is…! I do not wish to even see your face! You may leave!”
Ehhhhhh, seriouslyyyy?
His Majesty didn’t seem to have any intent of listening to me any further.
Or rather, if I do anything more, I might be going to jail.
Having given up, I went back to my room.
“Ahh~hh. What am I s’posed to do~”
To think that by being born a woman, I’d end up in such a bad spot…
I may be somebody who’s lived through this world 2 times already, but I never even noticed that discrimination was this huge.
“There sure are lots of things I don’t know, huhhh…”
Now that I suddenly had a lot of free time, for now, I decided to check my status and belongings.
Having defeated the hidden boss in the end during my 『second time』 around, I’ve already hit level 99. In other words, I’m the highest level.
Both of the strongest weapons, the 《Criminal Darkness》 and the 《Angel’s Blamer》 are still in my bag as well.
Having already mastered the dual-handed style, no matter how I think about it, I’m probably the strongest swordsman in the world.
And then, there’s the money that I own.
185743040G
There were so many numbers that I couldn’t immediately tell how much I had.
Having basically completed my item collection halfway through my 『second time』, to me, there shouldn’t have been a way to use this money to begin with.
Or rather, how much do I have anyway?
“One, two, three…”
I gave counting it a go.
…
Approximately 200 million gold.
Is there even anything to use this on?
Once again, I lay down on my bed.