The New Gate

Book 21: Chapter 1 (1)

Shin and his friends once headed for Bayreuth Kingdom to meet Hades, the being who was said to be half of Origin I.

There, they heard that something strange was happening in the Wraith Plain, where Hades was supposed to be.

In the process of investigating, Shin and his friends rushed into the dungeon to find Hades. However, as they progressed through the dungeon, the party was divided and Shin was separated from his support characters, Schnee and the others.

Those who were sent further into the final area of the dungeon were Shin, former player Milt, and Element Tail Yuzuha. There, they met Hades. Shin then learned from her the secrets of this world and what happened to Shin himself.

Meanwhile, Schnee and the others were attacked by monsters that were modeled after members of the once powerful guild “Rokuten”.

After safely joining the fight and defeating the monster, Shin and his group returned to the Moon Shrine to rest for a while. Shin told Schnee about his conversation with Hades and his plans for the future.

??

After spending two hours with Schnee, Shin sneaked out of her room.

It would have taken too long to explain everything Hades had told him, so he only told her the parts that pertained to her and planned to go back to his room, but… the mood between them made him change his plan.

However, there was nothing suspicious about the two of them spending time together, just sleeping together. Even so, Shin was a timid person who couldn’t help but be mindful.

Schnee called out to him from behind.

“Isn’t it fine if you just go out in a dignified manner?”

“No, I felt a little guilty because I said I was going to take a break.”

He couldn’t help but feel that he pushed through his own convenience by saying he would be taking a break.

“I think they already noticed your presence.”

“…Right.”

Inside the Moon Shrine, where Shin and his friends were based, there were no restrictions on the ability to use detection skills or map functions to find out where people were.

The wall was fairly airtight and the material was high-quality, so there was no need to worry about any sounds leaking out, but if you were inside the Moon Shrine, you could easily tell where and who they were.

Shin’s actions had no effect other than convincing himself.

He left the room with resolve and returned to his own room.

When he entered the room, Yuzuha was sitting on the bed. She was in the same posture as when she sent Shin away.

“Welcome back.”

“I’m back. Could it be that you’ve been waiting for this long?”

“I just woke up.”

Yuzuha was asleep in bed, and woke up when she heard Shin’s presence approaching. She was now in the form of a little fox, but inside she seemed to be in adult mode.

“You have made a new connection… With Schnee?”

“You can tell? The integration with the Origin drop item went well. It seems like we were connected at that time.”

“She can rest easy now.”

Yuzuha nodded in the direction of Schnee’s room.

“When I disappeared, I made her worried.”

“That’s not it.”

Yuzuha shook her head.

“No?”

According to Yuzuha, Schnee was apparently concerned about the lack of a special connection between her and Shin.

“But I chose Schnee, and I’m almost finished with the ring.”

Shin thought it didn’t matter even if there wasn’t a special connection, but Yuzuha was in lecture mode, saying that wasn’t the case.

“I, Yuzuha, have a contract with Shin. This is a connection that only I have. Tiera also has a connection through her presence, which is not here. But Schnee doesn’t have that. The connection with you as a support character isn’t unique to her.”

As Yuzuha pointed out, the elf Tiera had a special connection in a sense, since she was imbued with the abilities of Shin’s former lover, Marino.

Of course, Schnee was happy that Shin had chosen her.

But that was why she sought her own special connection. A one-of-a-kind connection that others could not replace.

“You should be more loving toward Schnee.”

Apparently, Schnee had been consulting Yuzuha from time to time. She asked Yuzuha, who had grown internally and could now be said to be the oldest in a sense, for her opinion.

“Seriously, I didn’t notice it at all…”

Yuzuha sometimes went somewhere during the night. They must have been talking at that time.

“But I can’t do anything about that even if you tell me.”

He could say that he’d be happy to go along with her in terms of loving her, but as for the special connection, Shin had no way of dealing with it.

In the case of Yuzuha, because she was treated as a monster, there was a systematic connection that made it possible for her to connect with him. The connection with Tiera was never Shin’s intention in the first place.

“It’s a man’s duty to deal with that.”

Even so, Yuzuha’s words had such a different mood and sound that it was easy to tell that she was joking.

Shin replied with a sigh.

“Don’t be so unreasonable… Well, I guess this time she could lessen her anxiety a little.”

“Kuh~”

While Shin was relieved to see Yuzuha exaggeratedly nodding her head, he also thought he needed to be a little more perceptive.

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