Becoming a Shadow in the New World

"Oh, by the way, if you'd like some milk too, here's a bottle for you. It's a special one from my friend. It's so refreshing to drink milk after a shower."

Asia wanted to say something, but shyness and nervousness made her mind go blank, and she had no idea what to say. Sid ignored Asia's words, put a bottle of milk in her hand, and walked past her.

Before leaving, he reached out and touched Asia's shoulder from behind, as if he understood.

“No, no, Mr. Sid, that’s not what I meant. I meant, yes, yes…”

Sid didn't know what Asia was thinking, but he figured that given Asia's good-natured nature, she would eventually pretend she hadn't seen anything, and he didn't need to worry at all.

Back in his room, after getting dressed, Sid suddenly remembered something as he was about to open the door and turned to shout into the empty living room.

"Asia, someone will come to deliver your enrollment certificate and school uniform later. The person delivering the items should be the same as the person from the day before yesterday, it's New. Keep an eye out for them."

"Understood, Mr. Sid, I will be careful."

Sid nodded upon hearing Asia's reply. Judging from Asia's tone, she seemed to have calmed down.

As I closed the door, coincidentally, I heard the sound of a door closing next door as well.

Following the sound, Sid and the girl locked eyes. Oh, it's that pre-existing female lead who's already left the stage. I remember her name was...Hime...Hime something...?

forget.

There's nothing he can do. This kind of character, who seems to have lost her original leading lady status for some reason, really doesn't pique his interest at all. He can't be a viewer with the strength of a shadow, nor can he be a friend who's just a supporting character. He's basically stuck in the middle, neither here nor there.

"Senior!"

As Sid was looking down, trying to remember the girl's name, the girl standing opposite him realized what was happening and exclaimed in surprise.

"Senior, how are you feeling? Are you alright?"

The girl leaned forward and looked Sid up and down with a worried gaze.

"what?"

The girl's clear voice interrupted his thoughts. Sid looked up and saw her walking towards him. Her posture, as if she wanted to tear off his clothes and examine his body, made Sid forget to think carefully. He just blurted out the name that sounded most like her.

"Ji Chun, don't be like this. My injuries have almost healed. You don't need to worry about me so much."

The girl stopped moving, raised her head which had been lowered, pointed a finger at herself, and looked at Sid in disbelief, her voice trembling slightly.

"Senior, did I hear that right? You called me Ji... Ji Chun?"

As she said this, the girl turned to look behind her. Rather than believing that her senior didn't remember her name, the girl preferred to believe that she, a priestess trained since childhood, had been approached without her knowledge, and that Himeharu was the one Sid was calling.

No matter how you look at it, the latter possibility is lower.

As it turned out, the girl's trained senses were working properly; there was no one behind her.

"Huh? Ji Xia, what are you saying? What Ji Chun? I just called you Ji Chun."

Realizing he might have mispronounced the name, Sid reacted quickly and corrected himself in a flash.

"Ji Xia!?"

The girl's voice grew louder, her face filled with shock.

"Your mouth is slippery, your mouth is slippery, it's Ji Qiu."

Sid refused to believe that he could guess wrong with a one-in-five chance.

The girl was silent.

After a long while, the girl stared intently at Sid's face, pointed at herself, and spoke in a very serious tone.

"Hime, senior, my name is Hime, Hime Yukina. Please remember this name this time, and don't call me by the wrong name again."

In the end, the girl's voice inevitably carried a hint of pleading.

"Okay, Setsuna, I'll remember this time."

Sid said this, but he didn't give any guarantee that he would remember it. He said the same thing again: he wasn't interested in someone who had lost her leading lady position. It would be more like Akatsuki Kojou instead.

Although his interest in Kojou Akatsuki plummeted after he was proven not to be a Kage-level user, Kojou Akatsuki's fully-equipped physique and the seemingly protagonist-like storyline still kept him somewhat interested.

Chapter 90 Sid's Morning (Part 2)

"What a coincidence? You have a friend coming over today too?"

"also?"

On the way, Yukina Himeragi stopped and looked at Sid with a puzzled expression.

Feeling Yukina Himeragi's gaze, Sid nodded.

"Yes, I also have friends who are visiting Itogami Island today."

"Hey! Since it's such a coincidence, then I'll go with you to pick up your friend."

"My friend, I'm really curious about what kind of person could be friends with someone as kind as you. They must be a wonderful person, just like you."

"Good...good? Ha, ha, haha, I think Setsuna, you shouldn't have too high expectations of my friend. I'm not as good as you say, Setsuna. Someone who can be friends with someone like me can't be called evil, but they can't be called kind either."

"Senior, you are too modest."

Is he humble?

He recalled how Netheril, in order to play the role of a Shadow Power, had made grand promises and boasted to the witches, leading to his international behavior after transforming from a terrorist organization into a nation, which could be described as "America-like."

And yesterday, when I was discussing with Uncle Li Zeweim about how to be evil, I roughly explained to him how to be a villain who makes the protagonist question his values, is despised by the people, and is impossible to beat or reason with, and he looked at Li Zeweim with an expression that seemed to want to personally take the lead.

Uncle Li Zevme was even excited by his words, saying that after he killed the current four great demons and obtained the title of Lucifer, he would appoint him as Beelzebub.

After considering his status as a wanted man worldwide and his position as the ruler of a country, which is practically a carbon copy of "America," let's put our kindness aside... Instead, let's look at his friends and family who are coming to visit this time.

...She doesn't seem like a good person either.

After reviewing the actions of the silver-haired, blue-eyed, and cunning giant slime elf with a beauty mark, Sid realized that his friend wasn't exactly a kind person either.

To put it more recently, he had witnessed his friend committing murder more than once or twice. To put it further back, his friend had plagiarized various world-famous works from his previous life, and these works were even written by him and his friend.

"Um... Senior, are you alright? Is it possible that some of the wounds you sustained at the Foundation Gate went undetected by the doctors, causing them to recur and affect you now?"

"Thinking about it carefully, senior, the reason you forgot my name might be because of this injury. Senior, let's go to the hospital now."

Sid's sudden lapse in concentration was immediately noticed by Himeragi Yukina, who had been paying attention to Sid the whole way and was worried about his health.

Yukina Himeragi, already quite frightened by the fact that Sid had forgotten her name, became so concerned that she even suspected Sid had injured his head at the Keystone Gate and hadn't been discovered yet. She wanted to drag Sid to get him checked out, but fortunately Sid stopped her in time.

"Stop, stop, stop, Setsuna, I already said that I wasn't injured at the Keystone Gate. No matter how much I pull, there's no way I could be hit by the collapsing rocks."

Himeragi Yukina didn't believe what Sid said, since he had carried someone to save them from the Foundation Gate, which was hundreds of meters underground and already in a state of collapse.

Even if she were at full strength, she wouldn't be able to save people while remaining completely unharmed. This is because during the rescue, the opposite side she was standing on might suddenly collapse, disrupting her balance. In addition, there might be falling boulders. Being hit by a boulder and suffering minor injuries would be the best-case scenario.

If you're unlucky enough to encounter the worst-case scenario, it's that deep within the Foundation Gate, the Foundation Gate completely collapses, and you're crushed by the pressure of the entire Foundation Gate, leaving no trace of your body.

Breaking the boulder was out of the question. Putting aside the consumption of spiritual energy, the mere act of breaking the boulder would make her lose her balance while running in the air, which would make her abandon the idea. Once she was slowed down, she would surely die when the foundation gate collapsed.

Therefore, in Yukina Himeragi's opinion, her senior, Shido, was completely lying to her and didn't want her to worry about his health.

Moreover, with just over two days, given Sid's physique as a magic swordsman and his deliberate attempt to conceal his injuries, hiding them would be incredibly easy.

Thinking back to the scene two days ago where she wanted to go to Sid to check on the situation, but waited for a long time without anyone opening the door, and then being delayed for some reason yesterday, Yukina Himeragi became more and more convinced of her guess.

Her senior must have suffered a serious injury, but he didn't want her to worry so he didn't tell her.

He wanted to say something, but seeing that Sid was stubbornly refusing to admit it and refused to go to the hospital, he could only sigh helplessly.

"I've pretty much finished talking about my friends. Now, Yukina, since I'm your friend, I must be a very powerful magic user, just like you."

Upon hearing Sid talk about his good friend, Himeragi Yukina immediately became interested and nodded repeatedly.

"Yes, Saya-chan is a more powerful magic user than me. She took care of me when we were in Takagami Forest."

Ah… Sayaka is her name, her full name is Kirasaka Sayaka. She is my roommate in Takamori no Mori. Today, I will introduce you and Sayaka-chan so that you can get to know each other.

"Well...Saya Hana has a tiny bit of a personality problem, but it's not a big deal..."

As Hiiragi Yukina explained, Sid kept the information going in one ear and out the other, while simultaneously recalling the map of Itogami Island in his mind.

If he remembers correctly, the port is just a left turn at the next intersection and then straight ahead.

After confirming everything, Sid randomly responded to Yukina Himeragi, who was talking incessantly beside him, and then turned right. A few seconds later...

"Hmm?"

He turned his head to look behind him and met the gaze of Himeragi Yukina.

Contrary to the direction he had just walked, Himeragi Yukina walked on the left.

He stroked his chin, compared the approximate direction of turning left at this intersection with the map of Itogami Island he had memorized, and came to an answer.

"Hmm... Yukina, did your friend come to Itogami Island by plane?"

"Yes, yes. I don't know why Saya-chan was in such a hurry, she just booked a plane ticket to Itogami Island."

“Oh, that’s great… cough cough, it’s really unfortunate, my friend came by boat.”

With his hands outstretched in a helpless manner, Sid spoke in a regretful tone.

"It looks like I'm about to part ways with Setsuna. I was actually looking forward to meeting your friends."

"Yes, yes, it's such a coincidence. I thought I could spend some time with you, senior, and introduce you and Sayaka to each other."

Himeragi Yukina's mood visibly sombered. She wore a smile, but it was clearly a forced one. Combined with the reluctance, regret, and disappointment emanating from her, she was truly pitiful to behold.