Chapter 15: The Things in Her Room

“My deepest condolences. Please accept my sympathies. It isn’t much, but I’d like to offer this.”

Using the prayer beads I had prepared, I offered incense and handed some sweets to her mother.

There was a memorial photograph of Aoi from her previous life, wearing glasses, on the family altar.

Seeing no portrait of her father brought me a sense of relief.

The atmosphere in the living room clearly suggested that two people still lived here, so at least I was able to confirm that both of her parents were safe.

If a suspect dies while a trial for embezzlement or a similar crime is underway, the case is dismissed without a verdict of guilty or innocent.

In cases such as embezzlement, the company can apparently sue the deceased person’s heirs—in this case, her parents—for damages.

However, from what I had researched earlier, Aoi’s company had chosen not to do so.

Considering everything else, it was fortunate that her parents had not been burdened financially.

“Thank you for being so considerate. I always thought Aoi was a quiet girl who didn’t have many friends, so I’m surprised to learn she had a foreign friend like you. Your Japanese is remarkably good.”

“I’m half Japanese, so actually Japanese is the only language I can speak. To tell the truth, I’ve never even been abroad.”

I gave what seemed like the most convincing explanation.

…Well, I had never been abroad.

But I did travel back and forth to another world every day.

“My connection with Aoi-san was only through games. We never met in person, so I sincerely apologize for taking so long to come and pay my respects.”

“I see. Even after becoming an adult, that girl cared about nothing except that game… But she always talked so happily about it to me and my husband…”

Tears welled up in Aoi’s mother’s eyes.

She was probably remembering the happier times.

Aoi had asked me not to tell her parents that she had been reincarnated into another world.

I understood completely.

After all, from the perspective of official records, the original Aoi no longer existed.

Her body was different, her identity was gone—she had become someone entirely new.

I felt the same way.

I couldn’t bring myself to tell my own parents, either.

…And although it felt terrible to bring this up in such an atmosphere, it was something I absolutely had to confirm.

“Personally, I don’t believe it for a second, but online there are claims that Aoi-san embezzled money from her company…”

“My daughter would never do such a thing!”

For the first time, Aoi’s mother raised her voice.

“It’s true that she wasn’t very good with people, but she was never the kind of person who would steal from others!”

Perhaps countless people had already questioned her and said cruel things.

“Aoi worked late every night. She always said that even though her job was difficult, she could endure it for the sake of the games she loved. I firmly believe she would never commit embezzlement or take her own life. That’s why I simply can’t understand how these rumors even began…”

“Ah… My apologies. That’s right—the hospital and police told us that the cause was acute myocardial infarction, a condition caused by blocked blood vessels. Yet somehow, stories about suicide began spreading…”

“I see.”

If that was the case, then it seemed unlikely that either the police or the hospital had been involved.

I had looked into the matter more thoroughly during my trip.

The police had indeed originally announced that she died of natural causes.

The narrative changing into suicide must have been the result of deliberate misinformation or false rumors originating somewhere else.

“I’m sorry for making you remember such painful things. Would it be possible for me to see Aoi-san’s room for a little while?”

“Yes, of course.”

After asking her mother, she guided me upstairs to Aoi’s room.

“…I’m sorry. I did clean it up, at least a little.”

“N-No, it’s fine. My room isn’t much different…”

I answered politely for her mother’s sake.

But honestly, my room had never been this cluttered.

Her bed, work desk, and bookshelves remained exactly as they had been.

The other shelves and even the walls were overflowing with merchandise from KenSta—figures, acrylic stands, posters, and countless other collectibles.

Apparently, Aoi had been quite the gaming otaku.

So that was why she had looked so uncomfortable when we discussed retrieving something from her room.

…My own room after reincarnation was probably fine.

Anything truly embarrassing had been hidden inside disguised folders on my computer.

As long as nobody had thoroughly searched through my hard drive, I wanted to believe everything was safe!

Whether through transportation or reincarnation, dealing with the things left behind in the old world was always troublesome.

I could only hope that Aoi’s parents had never discovered whatever she most desperately wanted to keep hidden.

“Ah!”

The sound escaped my lips before I realized it.

My eyes had landed on a sticky note attached to the laptop sitting atop her work desk.

More precisely, on the series of letters and numbers written on that note.

This—

This was exactly what I had come all the way to Aoi’s family home to obtain.