I’d definitely seen this house somewhere before. Not in this life, of course, but in my previous one. I was certain it wasn't my own home, though.
……Ah, right.
This was Ren-kun’s house—the home of Rentaro Kitamachi, one of my few friends.
In my past life, I was constantly ill and couldn't attend school very often. There were years where I spent nearly half my time living in a hospital. Because of that, I never really made many friends. But Ren-kun and I played together all the time. He would even visit my hospital room just to chat. We used to talk about all sorts of things—even dream-like stories about traveling through another world.
Even so, why was Ren-kun’s house here? Feeling utterly perplexed, I pressed the button on the intercom. A voice called out, "Coming~!"
It was a voice I missed dearly.
A drop of water splashed onto the stone tiles in front of the entrance. When I wondered what it was... I realized they were my own tears. It seemed I’d started crying without even noticing. I tried desperately to wipe them away with my coat sleeve, but it was useless; the tears just kept overflowing. While I was struggling to compose myself, the door clicked open.
"Hey, welcome, Ruto. Oh boy, your eyes are bright red. Well, don't just stand there, come on in."
There stood Ren-kun, looking exactly as he had back then. The tears came even faster now. My sleeves were already soaking wet. Yet, for some reason, I couldn't stop myself from smiling.
"It’s been so long! Have you been well... or is that a weird thing to ask? Things must have been tough."
"W-wait, hold on a second. More importantly, Ren-kun, why are you here?"
After he ushered me inside and my tears finally subsided, Ren-kun began to explain. But before that, there was something I had to confirm—even though I was already almost certain.
"Hmm? Oh, that. Yeah, man. It was a real pain. When I reincarnated, I was told I had to work as a God and got tossed into this world. It’s been a nightmare, honestly."
"So... you really are the Destiny God, Ren-kun?"
"That’s right. Surprised?"
"Of course I am!"
At my blunt response, Ren-kun let out an "Ishishi" laugh, looking like a prankster who had successfully pulled off a surprise. Even the way he laughed was exactly the same as it used to be.
"How long have you been a God?"
"About a thousand years, I think? I’m still a newcomer among the Gods, though."
A thousand years...!?
And even after all that time, he was still considered a "newcomer." What a ridiculous scale this world operated on.
"Wait, but if it's been that long... I should have..."
My sickly body in my previous life hadn't even lasted until I was twenty. I had died, leaving behind my family and Ren-kun. I still remembered how desperately Ren-kun had begged me not to die right at the end.
"Ah, yeah, that. I lived for about sixty years after you passed, Ruto. I’d like to think it wasn't a bad life."
I see. I was glad to hear that.
I had always hoped that Ren-kun would live a long, happy life for both of our sakes.
"But if that's the case, why did you reincarnate so much earlier than me?"
"That, huh? I don't know the specifics, but it turns out reincarnation takes a staggering amount of time. An unfathomable period has passed since we died. A span of time so vast that a thousand years is basically just a margin of error."
"I see... so that's how it is."
"Yeah."
The scale of it was so massive I couldn't quite grasp it. If a thousand years was just a margin of error... did that mean a hundred thousand years? A hundred million? Either way, I had no way of knowing if civilization even still existed on Earth.
I felt a bit solemn for a moment... but then again, from the moment I accepted my life as Tort, I’d had no intention of trying to go back. So, it wasn't that much of a shock.
Eventually, the conversation turned to how Ren-kun had found me.
"My Maiden—Halfa—was kidnapped, so I sent out an Apostle to deal with it. I ended up finding you during the search."
"But how did you recognize me? I look completely different now."
"Hey, I am a God, you know! I can recognize the glow of a soul."
It turned out that his Apostle had found me right when I was on the verge of death after escaping from Ludovis. Ren-kun had apparently instructed the Apostle to provide the bare minimum of first aid and then leave me in the custody of a slave trader.
"Why would you do that?"
"Gods actually don't have much freedom. We can only interfere in very limited ways with people who aren't the Maiden or an Apostle. So, I figured I’d force you into becoming an involved party."
It seemed he had been pulling strings through his Apostle to make sure I was the one who opened the Pandora Gifts and to ensure I crossed paths with Halfa. I felt a bit bad for the Apostle who had to do all that legwork...
"So that was the plan. But why didn't you just make me an Apostle from the start?"
"……Because you couldn't live freely in your last life, Ruto. If I made you an Apostle, you’d be bound by a mission. I didn't want to put chains on your life. Though I guess I ended up dragging you into it anyway..."
"I see..."
I understood Ren-kun's reasoning. However—
"Halfa receives oracles from you, right?"
"She does. I feel bad for her, but there are certain problems I just can't afford to ignore."
"In that case, make me an Apostle too. I think of Halfa as family. No matter what happens, I'm going to protect her. This isn't me being bound by a mission. This is my own will."
I stared straight into Ren-kun's eyes. He met my gaze head-on, accepting my resolve. I knew my feelings were getting through to him.
"……You’re sure about this?"
"Of course. Besides, if I become an Apostle, it means I’ll be able to see you again like this, right?"
"Ahaha, I guess you're right. Yeah, okay. I get it."
In the end, Ren-kun gave me a cheerful nod of approval.
"By the way, if you're 'family,' what's Halfa’s position exactly?"
Ren-kun asked with a mischievous "Nishishi" grin. I didn't know what he found so amusing, but my answer had been decided since the day we met.
"She’s my sister."
"Hmm, I see. Still the 'sister' card, huh? Well, there are still plenty of chances left. Do your best, Halfa!"
"……? What are you talking about?"
"No, no, nothing at all."
Ren-kun started whistling a terrible, breathy tune. It seemed that even after becoming a God, his whistling was as awful as ever.