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Translator: uly
Chapter: 4
Chapter Title: The Wish Spirit's Revelation
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He patted the back of my hand soothingly and added,
"I came out because I figured you'd need an explanation, so I wanted to talk to you face-to-face."
"No, I don't need an explanation. You're some super-powered alien who can cast spells with a flick of your wrist, so just turn me back into my original body right now. Please. If you need compensation, I'll give it."
He fell silent for a long moment at my demand, then bit his lip like it pained him to say it, averted his gaze, and spoke.
"That's not possible."
"Why?"
"…You can no longer live as Juliet Karena."
The alien spoke in a cold voice. That resolve felt like it nailed down the fact that no matter how much of a tantrum I threw, this reality couldn't be undone.
The strength slowly drained from my hands gripping his collar.
"I get that you're confused, but calm down first and hear me out."
"…"
I walked dazedly and sank onto the edge of the bed.
The alien followed and stood before me, silent for a long while before finally speaking.
"My name is Wishit. I'm a spirit."
"…"
"The Decard Empire is a nation protected by spirits, and most of those in power are spirit users who command them. The Diorus Ducal House that Rubette belongs to is an ancient spirit user family, and I was her familial spirit."
I had no idea if it was nonsense or not, but it felt like cracking open a fantasy novel, so I nodded.
There were only two pieces of info I'd grasped.
This wasn't Earth—aliens here pulled off bizarre magic tricks—and the one in front of me was named Wishit.
"Spirits have all sorts of abilities, but to put it simply, I'm a 'Wish Spirit.'"
"An alien that grants wishes?"
"Something like that."
"Wait. Don't tell me the original owner of this body—Rubette—her wish was…"
I asked, desperately hoping it wasn't true.
"…to swap bodies with me?"
"…"
The alien went quiet. It was as good as confirmation.
"Damn! Are you kidding me?"
"Calm down."
"Would you be calm? Without even asking my opinion? Suddenly shoved into some stranger girl's body, and the moment I wake up, I'm getting mocked by a bunch of kids…"
"You're right. It must've been a shock, so let me apologize first. But as Rubette's familial spirit, I had no choice—I had to obey her command absolutely."
"Is that my problem? Can you believe this—I'm living my life and end up in this absurd mess. No conscience at all. You're basically saying steal my life and live it yourself."
Tears of injustice welled up. I tore at my hair and gnashed my teeth.
"Why me? How the hell did you even know about me in this freaky place that's not Earth?"
Right then, a memory flashed through my mind.
"Pig, Rubette…"
That mystery fan leaving weird comments on my SNS. Her username was Rubette too.
I recalled the last comment—the one about feeling down and planning to die today—and certainty hit me that it was no coincidence.
Wishit nodded, catching the realization on my face.
"Rubette wished for me to show her the life of a 'perfect and awesome' human. She knew not just this world but countless others existed, and fed up with this one, she wanted to peep into a human's life from a totally different world."
"So you picked mine and showed her?"
"Yes. It seemed the closest match to the kind of life she always longed for."
"Haha… This situation is just total crap. If I'd committed some crime and gotten caught, I wouldn't even feel hard done by. It's just pure, rotten luck, isn't it?"
Wishit fell silent again.
This Rubette girl hadn't just secretly spied on other people's lives—she'd used alien powers to outright steal my body.
Rage made my heart pound wildly.
"Is she an idiot? With a wish-granting alien on hand, why covet my life? She could've wished to be slim, to be pretty, to get revenge on her bullies—something useful."
"You can only make three wishes."
"Wow, lame."
Wishit swallowed a groan at my instant reaction, his face turning pitiful as he added,
"Hear me out to the end, at least. To explain this mess, I have to start with Rubette. So, Rubette was… a truly pitiful child."
"I don't want to hear it."
I crossed my arms and snarked.
"No matter how pitiful she was, could she top me—someone who lost everything overnight?"
"Rubette endured exactly forty-five years of torment and made her first wish to me right before she died."
"I said I don't want to hear it…"
I was grinding my teeth when something odd hit me, and I asked,
"Forty-five years? This girl looks like a middle schooler at most, even being generous."
"At forty-five, she got a terminal diagnosis from the doctor. That's when Rubette made the first wish she'd saved her whole life. She wanted to relive her tragic life from the start."
"Ah, okay, I get it. So she used a wish to rewind time? Back to this state?"
"Yes. She's fifteen now. I sent her back thirty years—to when we first met."
"Then she should've toughed it out and lived right, instead of getting stupidly bullied again? Hell, why not wish to be slim from the start? Those comments on my SNS—she was going on about envying my pretty, skinny self."
"With only three wishes, she didn't want to waste one on slimming down. And in truth, Rubette tried losing weight on her own without any wish help, but… well… she kept eating…"
Wishit trailed off, snapped his fingers, and something materialized in the air before plopping onto my lap.
A worn-out diary. I flipped it open right away.
[Imperial Year 1519, January 1.
New year's here. Starting today, one meal a day. This year, I'll definitely get slim. I want Cedric to ask me to dance too.]
[Imperial Year 1519, March 24.
I ate again. But the macarons at Francois Dessert Shop are just too good. Only until today, though.]
[Imperial Year 1519, April 4.
Why won't the weight come off? I ran for thirty minutes yesterday…]
[Imperial Year 1519, May 6.
This has to be the last time I eat. If I eat again tomorrow, I'm not human.]
[Imperial Year 1519, May 7.
I'm not human.]
[Imperial Year 1519, May 31.
Can't give up. I'll eat only until the end of this month, then no eating next month—just hardcore exercise.]
[Imperial Year 1519, June 1.
Feels like someone's controlling my body. Came to, and I'd eaten it all. There are too many delicious things in the world. But starting tomorrow, for real…]
"Ugh."
I couldn't stomach reading more and chucked Rubette's diary into the corner of the bed.
"Yeah. So she wished to relive her life awesomely, rewound time and everything, but being such a weak-willed mess, she couldn't slim down—so for some vicarious thrill, her second wish was to peep into someone else's life?"
"Spot on."
"What do you mean spot on!"
I snapped in irritation, and Wishit slyly looked away.
I couldn't find a single pitiful thing about the life of some stranger who was weak-willed and voyeuristic to boot.
And here I was, body snatched by her out of nowhere.
Emotion surged, and I lunged at Wishit like a madwoman, grabbing his collar.
"Her life was pitiful? And that justifies stealing mine? You pull off something this shameless, then dare try to tug at my sympathy with sob stories?"
"…"
"You idiot! Say something! Whatever kind of life she lived, it's got nothing to do with me! To me, she's nothing but a thief!"
In that instant, Wishit's eyes flashed ferociously as he shook off my hand and barked,
"Watch your mouth."
"Ha."
"You guessed right. Rubette used her very last wish to ask me to swap your bodies."
For some reason, I couldn't read the sad, trembling look in Wishit's eyes. He went on, his gaze blaming me more than Rubette.
"With your body—the one that had only ten minutes left to live."
"…What?"
"Did you forget? Your final memory as Juliet Karena, right before you opened your eyes in Rubette's body."
"…"
"You really don't remember how you ended?"
"How I ended? What are you…"
I'd finished my schedule, gone home, and peacefully fallen asleep, hadn't I?
Right then, a sharp pain stabbed through my head.
'Ah, that's right.'
But that memory wasn't the end.
'I woke up. Someone was… strangling me…'
The memory I'd completely blanked on started creeping back.