"This curry dish has a very exotic aroma and taste, but I don't dislike it at all."
"In fact, the more I eat, the more I want..."
A nod.
Fortunately, the curry was well-received by everyone.
"...Mr. Kai."
"Yes?"
"Please, won't you work as a cook for our Familia? I'll pay you more than enough."
"...A cook?"
Just like that, after the meal, Amid suddenly offered me a part-time job as a cook.
"Yes. Lunch... no, even just dinner would be fine."
Unlike a moment ago, when she was quietly savoring the food, she was now serious and quite talkative. It was a side of her I hadn't seen before, which was rather surprising.
"I appreciate the offer, but... with what I'm doing now, it's already a bit overwhelming."
'Did I put some truth serum in the curry or something?' I wondered, as she visibly became sullen.
"Is that so..."
Seeing Amid's sullen expression, I remembered what had happened earlier in the room, and the guilt I had temporarily forgotten resurfaced.
"...Weekends might be possible."
"Really?!"
I once heard from an adventurer at the shop that those who receive Falna sometimes start to resemble their god. It seems I've inherited some of Miach-sama's soft-heartedness.
.
.
.
"Hmm~ It looks good."
"...Miach-sama, if I'm not mistaken, isn't the problem that you're letting her poach our member without permission?"
"Ahaha, it just shows how delicious Kai's cooking is, right?"
"Well, that's true, but... sigh... talking about this any further is just exhausting."
.
.
.
In my spare time, I conducted various investigations with the god regarding my "madness."
"Based on the information gathered so far, let's draw a conclusion..."
Today, Miach-sama called for me, having seemingly reached a conclusion.
"...Draw a conclusion?"
"First of all, it's not confirmed, but there's a high probability that it's a personality created by your own protective instincts."
But that conclusion was too unexpected.
"Huh? Protective instinct? This guy who enjoys slaughter?"
Seeing my confusion, Miach-sama immediately began to explain, as if he had anticipated this reaction.
"Kai, do you remember saying before that you came back to life because of your ability?"
"Ah, yes..."
"From what I can tell, that death might have been the trigger. To protect itself, your mind created a new personality... that's the most plausible hypothesis I've come up with so far."
Hearing that, I was reminded of stories I'd seen on YouTube about criminals with multiple personalities and soldiers suffering from PTSD.
"Come to think of it, I think I've heard similar stories before..."
There were stories of how childhood abuse and neglect led to alternate personalities that committed crimes while the original was "asleep," or of soldiers who watched their comrades die in battle.
"...But I think my case is different. Usually, those mental issues are a way to escape fear or its source, right?"
"Ordinary people don't get the chance to experience death and return to life, so I believe the difference stems from that."
"Hmm... that does seem plausible."
"So, your case is unique. You are living proof that the human mind can remain intact even after experiencing death... so to speak."
"...Is it really that significant?"
"It is."
The more I spoke with him, the more I realized how amazing—and absurd—my ability truly was.
"So, is there a way to fix it?"
I felt like I finally had a lead on my "madness," even if it wasn't a complete answer.
"No, I probably can't fix it."
"...Huh?"
The god gave an unexpected answer again.
"Since this madness was born from the memory of being attacked by monsters, there is a high probability that it won't harm humans."
"Even so, there's always a 'what if'..."
"Even in that 'what if' scenario, it would likely only happen if the other person attacked first."
"How can you be sure of that..."
"Haha, it's the intuition of a medical god."
"...Usually, that kind of intuition is wrong, isn't it?"
And so, my dungeon exploration began again.
.
.
.
The day after talking with the god about my madness, I headed to the dungeon.
"No way, so it was actually true..."
I was slightly dazed by the fact that the god's intuition was correct.
"...Well, at least I have an additional source of income again, so that's good, right?"
The shadow over the Familia had lifted slightly. Knowing that this madness wouldn't target people unprovoked made the situation much better.
"But why do I feel like I've lost something..."
Perhaps as a reaction to being away for so long, I decided to push as deep into the floors as possible today...
"For some reason... there aren't many monsters..."
Indeed, monsters were strangely scarce.
"Already on the fifth floor... and I haven't even had a chance to use this..."
Since it was my first time back in a while, I'd even made my own push dagger, but I'd spent more time walking than fighting. I felt deflated.
"Come to think of it, I think I've seen a scene like this in a manga..."
'Thud! Thud! Thud! Thud!'
'@#$!$@@!$'
"...Huh?"
As if to mock my disappointment, the dungeon slapped me right in the face.
"Moooooo!!!!"
"Whaaaaaaaah!?"
Specifically, it was the scene of the protagonist being chased by a Minotaur—the very first scene of the manga.
"Heh, hehe hehehehe... what the fuck..."
Sure enough, even though the opponent was a powerful Minotaur, the fact that it was a monster caused my mind to blur.
"Hey, you up ahead!! Run, quickly!!"
"...Move aside."
"...Huh?"
"If you don't want to get hurt, move aside!!"
I snapped at the poor protagonist, who was worrying about me unnecessarily.
'Tap! Tap! Tap!'
As I stepped forward, Bell Cranel realized I intended to fight. He scrambled past me and watched, trembling, his hand gripping his weapon.
"Moooooo!!!"
Based on my conversation with Miach-sama, my current state was like something out of a manga: my mind was awake, but control of my body had been seized by another personality.
"Ahahahahaha!!!"
'What are you, Bleach's Zanpakuto?! Please don't laugh like that!!'
It's truly an evil-sounding laugh, no matter when you hear it.
"Come at me, you third-grade beef bastard!!!"
"Moooooo!!!"
Insulted by the weakling facing him without fear, the Minotaur roared and raised a massive arm.
'Boom!!!'
It slammed down on the spot where I'd been standing, shattering the ground, but—
"Moo?!"
I was no longer there.
"Boo!!"
"Moo?!!"
I had somehow grabbed the creature's horn and climbed onto its head.
"I'm here, you bastard!!!"
I plunged the push dagger into its crown, but—
'Clang!!!'
The shoddy, poorly forged dagger couldn't pierce the thick hide. It shattered into nothing but iron fragments, and—
"Ugh?!"
To make matters worse, the shards embedded themselves in my right hand, and blood began to flow.
"Moooooo!!!"
Enraged by the near-miss, the Minotaur lunged toward the ceiling, and—
"Gah?!!!"
I was slammed into the ceiling. Bleeding and breathless, I lost consciousness.
"...Huh?"
Bell Cranel, having witnessed the whole thing—
"Moooooo!!!"
"Whaaaaaaah!!"
became the angry Minotaur's next target.
"Ugh... my neck..."
By the time I regained consciousness, still wedged in the ceiling, the Minotaur was gone. A golden-haired woman was approaching the protagonist.
"Hey... are you okay? Can you stand?"
"I'm...!"
Our protagonist—
"Waaaaaaaaah!!"
briefly bowed his head and then ran away screaming.
"...To think that's the protagonist."
As I wondered how my middle-school self could have enjoyed a manga with such a protagonist, someone appeared, laughing loudly.
"Uhuhuhu! Uahahaha!! Ahahahahaha!!!"
'Ah... now I remember. The names of that golden-haired girl and wolf guy were definitely Ais and Bete, right?'
Due to the situation, their names hadn't come to mind immediately.
"He ran away, Ais...!"
The wolf-man, seemingly unaware I was stuck in the ceiling, clutched his stomach and laughed, teasing Ais.
"That kid is something else...! He turned into a total tomato!"
"..."
Ais, looking slightly annoyed by Bete's laughter, turned away and puffed out her cheeks.
'I want to come down now...'
My neck, which had been forcibly twisted, was starting to throb, and I desperately wanted to get down. I managed to squeeze out a sound.
"Hey..."
"?!!"
At the sound of my voice, the two of them startled and looked up.
"...Could you help me down?"
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