I came to my senses.
More accurately, it would be right to say that I was brought back to my senses.
Someone was shaking my body and waking me up.
"Hey. You. Wake up."
"...Who?"
"That's what I should be asking. Why were you passed out in front of our shop? This is deep in the back alleys—sometimes even regular customers get lost trying to come here, you know?"
"I don't know... I don't remember... Where am I? Who am I?"
"Huh? What? Don't tell me you've got amnesia? This is getting troublesome..."
"Just kidding."
"Don't joke about something like that!"
"Sorry."
"That was a quick apology!"
What was this? Why did I get along with this guy so well?
"Anyway, since meeting like this must be fate, let's introduce ourselves. My name is Limus. I'm an ordinary Pallum who runs a potion shop in Daedalus Street."
No wonder he was so short... More importantly, was it my turn now?
"I came to Orario to join the Hephaestus Familia... I'm Smith. Smith. I'm an ordinary Human too."
"Is that so? But why were you passed out in front of our shop?"
"I really don't remember that part... I remember coming to Orario to join the Hephaestus Familia, but nothing after that."
"Hmm..."
Damn it, that god sure wasn't very meticulous about this sort of thing. No, I should be grateful just for sending me here... Come to think of it, he sent me here as repayment for saving his life, didn't he? His after-sales service is terrible!
"...S-Smith!"
"Ah, yeah. Sorry, I didn't hear you. What did you say?"
"If you don't have anywhere to go, stay at our shop for the time being."
"...Are you a sucker?"
"...Goodbye."
"Hey, why are you like this, boss? Of course I'm joking! I'll shamelessly impose on you for a while!"
"Only until you join a Familia. Once you're officially accepted, move out."
"Thanks! My overwhelming thanks!"
Just like that, I found myself a nice sucker and solved my lodging and meals problem at the same time. What a joyous occasion!
"Ah, I don't know about anything else, but I'm putting your meal expenses on your tab. If you don't pay me back later, I'll come looking for your Familia."
"Yes..."
The meals had been excluded from room and board... Damn it.
"But why are you being so nice to me? We only met today, didn't we?"
Come to think of it, that was true. Even if we got along well, and even if I seemed to have partial amnesia, there was no reason Limus had to let me stay at his shop. Even if he had simply shut the door and told me to get lost, I wouldn't have had anything to say.
"...Like you, I left my hometown and came to Orario. Was it about five years ago? My parents had passed away, and I wasn't particularly attached to my hometown, so I came to Orario all alone. Then, as soon as I arrived, those Evilus bastards robbed me of everything I had—my starting funds, my food, even my emergency money."
"...And?"
"There was someone who helped me when I was abandoned in the back alleys with nothing left. They took me in, and I learned how to make potions under that old man... But he was already quite elderly when he saved me. He lived out his natural lifespan and passed away three years ago."
"..."
"There's something he left behind as his last words. 'If there is someone within your reach whom you can help, help them as much as you can. All of it will return to you someday.'"
"...He sounds like he was a good man."
"Yeah, he was a good man. I'm only helping because I can help. If you're grateful, pay it forward from now on. Got it?"
Limus grinned as he headed into the shop, and he looked remarkably cheerful.
"...Hey, so what's for dinner today? My stomach and back are about to have a passionate deep kiss~"
"I'll just make some soup. I'll make it assuming there's nothing you won't eat, so finish every last bit."
...I think I made a good friend.
"...Look... Smi... Wake up!"
"Five more minutes..."
"If you don't get up now, there's no food."
"I'm up!"
It was my second day in Orario. I woke up in [Azure Wind], the shop run by Limus, where I was currently staying.
"...So it wasn't a dream."
Saving someone and dying, that person being an avatar of a god, and finally being allowed by that god's favor to live again in another world...
"It was all... real."
My family too...
"...I'll never see them again."
All alone...
"...Do I have to keep moving forward by myself?"
I felt something running down my cheek. It was probably tears.
I would never be able to see my family again.
Not my father, who had been strict but gave me so much advice as I worked as a blacksmith.
Not my mother, who would make sure I had pain-relief patches when I returned from work, saying that the body was important for someone who labored with his strength.
Not my younger sibling, who always teased me but was there to help whenever I needed them.
I could see none of them again.
Now, I was all alone.
"Ah... Aah..."
I was falling apart.
With every bond forcibly severed, I was about to collapse.
I knew that if I fell apart now, I would never be able to stand again, but I had no desire to stop it.
There was no one here anyway. Was there any reason not to fall apart...?
"You bastard!"
A sharp pain shook my head, barely holding together my collapsing mind.
"What do you mean, you're just going to fall apart on your own?! Get a grip!"
"There's no one..."
"What?"
"There's no one who would care even if I fell apart..."
"..."
My friends, my family, even people whose names I only knew—they were all gone.
There was no one left who remembered me.
There was no one left whom I remembered.
I was alo...
"I'm here!"
"...What?"
"Where do you think you're running off to?! You haven't even paid me back for last night's dinner yet! I told you, no matter what happens, I'm getting that money from you! You say you have no reason to live? Then live if only to pay back my debt!"
"Ha... Hahahahaha...!"
That's right. You were here.
Limus—the first person I met and the first friend I made after coming to this city.
A good man who helped those within his reach simply because he could.
I couldn't fall apart while a friend like this still remembered me...
More than anything...
"Debts exist to be repaid...!"
"...Have you come to your senses?"
"Thanks, Limus. I'll definitely repay my debt."
"...Forget it. Come out already. The soup's getting cold."
...Thank you, my friend.