The World Is Overflowing with Monster, I’m Taking a Liking to This Life

Chapter 88: Reunion

A faint ray of light that is coming in from a broken window illuminates Rikka-chan. With Night Vision, I can see her clearly even without the light, but this is not the case for Ichinose-san. The moment she sees Rikka-chan who is covered in blood, her expression changes.

This cant be true Ricchan RICCHmugu

You shouldnt scream so loudly. Even with all our skills, we should still be careful of our surroundings.

(nod)

Ichinose-san who is depressed eventually calms down after I cover her mouth with some shadows. Even though we have Cognitive Impediment and Attention Cutoff, there are no absolutes in this world. Ive already confirmed with Enemy Detection that there arent any humans or monsters nearby, but its better to be safe than sorry. Along with Ichinose-san (or rather with her on my back), I quickly approach Rikka-chan who has fallen down.

Wan!

Momo barks besides Rikka-chan, telling us to be faster. Having met her before, Momo must have remembered Rikka-chans smell. Then again, Momo seems to display terrific judgment abilities under situations like this. Is it her instinct?

Urgh

Rikka-chan shows a reaction when I nudge her. Good. Shes alive. But shes barely holding on. Shes in a terrible condition. There are cuts all around her body, and a chunk of flesh is missing on one of her sides. Under normal circumstances, it wouldnt have been weird if she died.

For her to still be alive, she must possess some life-saving skills. Is it a skill that heightens the users recovery? Is it Self-Recovery? Regeneration? When we saved her a while back, she also seemed to have recovered swiftly. Regardless, something has to be done quickly. Wheres Nishino-kun? Werent they together? Were they separated? Or perhaps Nonono, this isnt the time to have my thoughts wander.

Ichinose-san, do you have any recovery medicine?

No I dont. I have to get them again through Gatcha

How many SP do you have left?

.1.

So theres only one chance. If transferring SP is possible, she can use mine, but

Gatcha!

Ichinose-san activates the skill without hesitation. This is the first time witnessing the Gatcha skill in action. So this is how it works In front of my eyes, a retro box with a lever appears out of nowhere. Its like the ones in candy shops. What is that black band on top of the lever? It kind of looks like a slot?

Please! Come out!

Slowly, Ichinose-san pulls the lever. The prize that comes out is

Why did this happen? As her consciousness slowly faded, Rikka asked herself such a question. An unknown howl resonated throughout the cafeteria while she was fighting the monsters. The monsters, especially the lesser wolves that Rikka was facing, abruptly stopped moving in fear. No, they appeared to be in awe. Anyway, the truth did not matter as the situation was to her advantage.

Shaking off Nishino who tried to stop her, she left the cafeteria after passing through the waves of monsters. Unknowingly, she headed towards the direction of the howl. There wasnt any basis for her actions, but something compelled her to do so. For some reason, she felt like she could meet the person she was looking for if she went in that direction.

That girl.

Ichinose Natsu.

A girl who was her best friend.

Was. In the past.

More than a year has passed since her best friend dropped out of school. The cause was bullying. Refusing to attend school after constantly receiving insidious harassment from her classmates, Ichinose dropped out. The leader behind it all was Rikka or so everyone in school believed. However, reality was different. She was oblivious to the situation. The fact that her best friend was getting bullied. The fact that the bullies were the people in her group. And the fact that she was the reason behind it all.

When she entered high school, Rikka had completely changed her appearance. It was the so-called high school debut. With her appearance and amiable personality, she soon became the center of the class. Even beyond the confinements of the class, she had close friends in other classes. Nevertheless, even when she changed her appearance and class, she continued to interact with her best friend. But some people found this uninteresting. Rikka was someone at the top of the schools caste system. On the other hand, the bland girl was someone at the bottom of the pyramid.

Unfit. Repulsive. Such thoughts were present. Jealousy. Feelings of inferiority. Among the people that Rikka hung out with, there were also some that had similar thoughts. Unknown to Rikka, their hatred turned into fangs, preying on her best friend. By the time she was noticed of the situation, everything was too late. Not only did her best friend leave school, she was framed as the culprit under a careful planned ploy. She was unable to meet or communicate with her as Ichinoses parents and the school did not allow them. In this fashion, Rikka lost her close friend.

Despite having a hole in her heart, she tried to act like she was fine, pretending as if nothing had happened. Yet they met again. In this world filled to the brim with monsters. Upon seeing her face, she felt like her emotions would explode. She wanted to play with her. Talk with her. She wanted to go shopping with her, choose clothes with her, play games with her, and live a normal life with her.

(But I guess it wont be possible anymore)

She had to fight a series of battles even after leaving the cafeteria. There were more monsters than she expected within the school premise. Fight. Search. Fight. Search. Fight. Search. Now, Rikka was burnt out. She couldnt feel her limbs anymore. She knew that she was slumped against a wall, but even breathing in and out pained her body. She was about to die. Even knowing so, all she could envision was her friends face.

(I wanted to apologize)

Before she breathed her last. She wanted to apologize. And if possible, she wanted to protect her friend this time around.

(I dont want to die)

If she died, she wouldnt be able to apologize. If she died, she wouldnt be able to protect her. Thats why she didnt want to die. Suddenly, she heard footsteps. What were they?

Wan!

It was a bark from a dog. Following that, she also heard the sound of someone running towards her. Who are they? Two people? She couldnt see clearly. She couldnt see clearly either. She felt like she heard someone shouting something. It was a voice she remembered hearing somewhere. It was like the voice of a very important Yes, it sounded like the voice of the person she had searched for so desperately Ah she was becoming more and more drowsy. She was about to lose her consciousness.

Something went into her mouth. Liquid? No, it was more like a jelly. She swallowed it. At that moment, she felt like her body was being pulled out from the bottom of a dark and cold lake. She felt like her body was burning from the inside. The blood which had refused to flow circulated throughout her body, and her heart started to pump repetitively. At the same time, she felt an excruciating pain. It was evidence that her limbs had recovered their senses.

Gagha!?

Her mind was hazy. Her body felt powerless. Exhaustion flooded her body. Nevertheless, she heard the voice. The voice calling for her name was Ah.

She slowly opened her eyes. Just opening her eyes was exhausting for her current state. Although it was blurry, reflected on her eyes which were covered in blood was the figure of an individual.

What?

She couldnt voice her words properly. It was unbelievable. She saw the girl that she had wanted to meet in front of her.

Thank god Ricchan Thank god

She was hugged. It felt warm. The face of her best friend who she had finally met after one year of separation looked terrible. Not only was she wet with tears, she wasnt wearing makeup either. It was a pity despite her outstanding features.

NatsunIm sorry that I didnt notice Im sorry Because of me you werent able to attend school !?

Im sorry Even if you cant forgive me I wanted to apologize

She wanted to apologize. For a long, long time, she had wanted to apologize. It might have been too late to do so. It might have not changed anything. However, she, Ichinose Natsu, smiled at her.

Its okay As long as Ricchan is alive and I could meet with you again, its okay

Natsun

For a long time, I wanted to see you

Yeah I wanted to see you too

On this day, the two girls finally reunited.