Re:Zero: Starting from the Great Transformation

But she soon returned to normal.

"I already knew about that kind of thing. You don't have to tell me again."

"Is this okay? Sarah, I really want to know your true thoughts right now. Not that despicable excuse, but the real reason why you rejected me!"

I couldn't help but raise my voice so that more people would notice our quarrel.

So more people looked over.

However, even so.

Sarah's attitude didn't change at all.

"I've already said it, it's just my own unfulfilled desires."

"Why...why do you still say such things?"

"I'm not kidding, Ron. Even you said you couldn't make any promises, so what happened between us can only be defined as 'two unsatisfied people comforting each other'? If you insist, it's also about repaying you for saving me."

"..."

silence.

Silence is Cambridge tonight.

I was speechless in response to Sarah's question.

That's right.

I cannot make any promises, so even if I ask countless times, I will only get one answer.

In other words, Sarah's attitude was very clear from the very beginning.

She couldn't accept me not being able to make any promises.

Everything that happened that night.

It can only be defined as some kind of inexplicable statement of unsatisfied people comforting each other.

I'm so...

……

……

By the time I came to my senses, Sarah and the others had already left the union.

Someone seemed to come up and try to say something comforting to me.

But I couldn't hear it at all.

I only know one thing.

ended.

This is the first true and genuine love I have had since I came into this world.

It ended so inexplicably.

"……Let's go back."

I muttered to myself as I left the union and returned to the hotel where I was staying.

Just as I was about to go back to my room.

Suddenly I noticed a black package on the corridor in front of the room.

There was a note attached to the package.

On the note was written a line of small words in beautiful handwriting:

"A parting gift."

There was no doubt that this was Sarah's handwriting.

With trepidation, I opened the package.

I never expected it.

The package contained a pair of white silk over-the-knee socks!

And the familiar feel was undoubtedly the same pair Sarah wore that night.

"..."

It’s more like a breakup gift than a farewell gift.

but……

Never mind, it doesn’t matter.

I put the pair of white knee-high socks Sarah had worn to my nose and inhaled deeply, engraving her scent firmly into my lungs.

Then I folded it carefully and put it in the deepest part of my pocket.

Regardless, I'll keep it safe.

If there is still a chance...

I'll give it back to her in person next time we meet.

Adventurer: 45, Half a Year

That evening.

I received a parting gift from Sarah.

Although it felt more like a breakup souvenir, I still accepted it with gratitude.

The relationship is over, but Sarah and I haven't become strangers. We may meet again in the future.

By then, I plan to return this pair of sentimental socks to her. If I add some lines expressing the passing of time, that would definitely be cool, and maybe there would be a chance for our old love to rekindle.

But until then.

Let me cherish it.

I carefully put my knee-high socks into the deepest part of my luggage and left this sentimental city.

I followed Zoldat's group northward.

Started wandering around the northern continent.

……

……

Since then.

Almost half a year passed.

During the past six months, I have spent part of my time following Zoldat's team around to carry out commissions, but more of the time I have left the team to challenge large monsters on my own to test my skills and consolidate my strength.

Rudeus acts similarly to me, somewhere between working alone and in a group.

Of course, there is an essential difference between the purpose of his actions and mine.

I want to improve my strength by challenging monsters.

Rudeus wanted to spread his fame and find his lost mother.

I also considered whether to team up with two people.

After all, ever since I entered the ranks of Saint-level swordsmen, there has been basically no adventurer who can keep up with me. Rudeus is one of the few adventurers who can do this.

However, if Rudeus wants to spread his reputation, I can't do it alone.

Rudeus is strong enough to defeat the Red Dragon alone. If I team up with him, I won't even have much chance to take action.

Neither meets the needs of the other.

So in the end we just ended up operating in similar areas.

Occasionally, we would separate for a while in a town and act on our own.

Then meet again in the next town.

Just walk and stop like this.

Half a year passed quietly.

……

……

"You said you were planning to defeat the Red Dragon?"

"Hey, hey, hey, don't overestimate your abilities."

"Newborn calves are not afraid of tigers."

"That's impossible, even for an S-rank adventurer..."

"You're drunk and talking nonsense, right?"

After hearing my plan.

Many people raised their voices of opposition.

I put down my glass with a smile and took out the order I had already accepted from my pocket.

[Commission Content: Defeat the stray dragon in the southern forest area]

[Commission Level: S]

It is recommended on the order form to accept the order in a team.

However, under my strong request, the staff agreed.

Half a year ago, I left Rosenburg to attempt to defeat the Red Dragon, traveling with Zoldat's team. Recently, we finally arrived at our destination and confirmed the Red Dragon's location.

It has always been my dream to defeat the red dragon.

As a powerful S-class monster, it has a huge and strong body, can breathe, and the scales on its body are also very hard.

Even an S-rank adventurer team cannot easily attempt to conquer it.

That's right.

According to the Adventurer's Guild, the Red Dragon is a creature that requires at least thirty S-level adventurers to defeat.

My current rank is still A-rank...but it doesn't matter at all.

For me, this is not about challenging myself or breaking through my limits.

I think I can win.

It's that simple.

"But you can't do it by yourself, right?"

Someone said this, approaching from behind.

A tall young man with brown hair holding a magic wand.

"Yo, Rudeus."

"Long time no see, Ron."

Rudeus sat down in front of me and glanced at the order in my hand.

"The Red Dragon's haunt is located deep in the forest near the Red Dragon Mountains. Besides the Red Dragon, there are also monsters like Rasta Bears. To defeat the Red Dragon alone means dealing with all these monsters at the same time, but you're not good at continuous fighting, right?"

“…That’s right.”

There's no way to argue with that.

I have a special physique and cannot maintain full power for too long.

And physical exertion is also a problem.

Even if they were saint-level swordsmen, the physical strength of the human race could not be compared with that of the beastmen and demons, otherwise there wouldn't be so many people willing to form a team.

"Then I'll go with you."