[Cia's POV]
When I arrived in this world, I woke up in an unfamiliar room.
Inside were two shelves filled with books, and papers scattered across the floor. I walked to the desk beside the bed and picked up a small mirror sitting on top of it.
Brown eyes, with a mole beneath the left one. Soft, wavy hair falling past my waist.
A face and appearance clearly different from my previous one.
A priest's robe hung on the wall, and beside it leaned a staff with a gemstone set in the middle.
I put on the robe as naturally as if it had always been a habit. Then I wondered — could I still use the magic I had used before? I raised the staff and cast a healing spell.
Low-Tier Magic: Small Healing.
I could still use it. This body also seemed to have a considerable amount of mana — enough to cast multiple times. And sitting in the back of my mind were several incantations I had never used before. Probably spells belonging to the original owner of this body. It will definitely be useful for me to help Satou.
Ah, right! Where is Satou? Is he somewhere nearby? I need to find him quickly!
I hurried outside.
I looked around and approached a few people sitting in a small garden nearby, and asked them few questions.
Apparently I was in a small village south of the capital.
When I asked about Satou, no one recognized the name. Not one person had heard it.
It kinda made me sad that Satou wasn't here. But I couldn't give up. I decided to head for the capital by carriage to find more information about him
---
The journey took about a month.
When I arrived, I booked a room at an inn and fell asleep almost immediately from exhaustion.
The next morning, I woke to a voice in my head.
Find Sibel and Libel. Form a party with them.
Sibel and Libel — who were they?
No, that doesn't matter right now. Finding Satou came first. And maybe this message was a clue meant for me.
I asked the locals about Sibel and Libel. Apparently they were fairly well-known mercenaries — their quest completion rate was one hundred percent, and it's rare to see mercenaries that never fails a quest. They also said that they were usually at the guild in the mornings to pick up quests.
I went to the guild right after.
A man with red hair and a girl with darker red hair. Ah, I found them.
I walked over to where they were sitting.
"Hello, do you have a moment?"
I introduced myself and explained my situation — that I was looking for someone, and that I could fill the role of healer in their party. To my surprise, they were willing to help and accepted me right away.
They explained that mercenaries across the guild were currently gathering and preparing for a raid on the Demon King's castle in the north. Their party also joining the effort as well. We all decided to leave the next morning.
It took us two months to reach the city of Anvil.
Monsters attacked us regularly throughout the journey, and the northern roads were not kind. But Sibel and Libel handled everything steadily, and we made it through each time.
Sibel chose a tavern that the locals had recommended for dinner.
The place was packed — we almost doubted we could find a table. But there was one open, and we sat down.
Not long after, a server came to take our order.
"Welcome. What can I get for you?"
The moment I heard his voice, my feelings stirred all at once.
Something familiar in the sound of it made my heart tremble. I turned to look at his face — but I still wasn't certain it was Satou. His face was different from before.
Later, as we were getting up to leave, that person asked Sibel to let him join the party. Sibel listened and we returned to the table.
"My name is Satou…"
When he introduced himself, something in my chest settled.
Ahh… now I'm certain. That person is Satou.
We finally meet again, Satou~.
---
When I opened my eyes, Satou was on the floor.
Blood — too much of it — spreading dark and fast beneath him.
I ran before I had finished processing what I was seeing.
"Satou! SATOU!"
No, no — he had lost too much blood already. I needed to start healing immediately. I gripped my staff and began drawing the incantation together, hands already moving—
His hand found my cheek.
Covered in blood. Trembling slightly. But it found my cheek and stayed there.
"Thank god… I could protect… you this time… too…"
"Satou, please stay strong! I'm going to start healing you right now—"
Then I heard it.
"D — Dia…"
My hands went still.
That name.
My real name — the name I had carried in my previous life, in my previous body. The name that existed nowhere in this world. No one here knew it.
No one could have known it.
My eyes burned. Then the tears came — quiet and unstoppable, the way they do when you've been holding something for so long that the moment it finally breaks, you don't even feel it go.
It really is you.
There's no way I'm wrong.
"Mou — stupid Satou!" My voice cracked somewhere in the middle of it. "Why do you keep risking your life to protect me?! What would I do if I lost you again?!"
A sob slipped through before I could stop it.
Sniff.
"But — this time, I won't let you die."
I pressed both hands to his wounds and poured everything I had into the incantation.
"So don't worry. I will definitely save you."
No matter what.