A year had passed since those dreamlike but undoubtedly real events. Ruby had turned eighteen and spent her days studying in order to fulfill her dreams of becoming a police officer. She wasn't an officer yet though. She wasn't even old enough to take the public servant employment examination she needed to be able to become one. However, she was rather well-known these days.
During the course of the year, she'd ended up solving three cases that she happened to have stumbled upon, which was enough for her to be sent a letter of appreciation from the police.
The first incident had happened when she was walking through town with her friend. A man was assaulting people on the street with a blade while screaming, so Ruby stopped him.
The second had happened at night while she was walking her dog. She happened upon a fire and saved a child and an elderly person who'd failed to escape.
The third had happened when she went to the bank in order to withdraw some money. As if some higher power were waiting for just this moment, the bank was occupied by armed robbers, so she knocked them all out and handed them to the police.
I don't know if my luck is good or bad… I'm sure this is what people refer to as the devil's luck.
By some definitions, Roselia Ruby attracted trouble. There was no way the world would let her achievements go, and she was forced into giving interviews all while being lauded on television as a super high-schooler. There was even a high-ranking police officer who had given her a push, saying that she should become a policewoman in the future.
In any case, her year had been all but average. Given the attention she was getting at a young age, she was a prime target for adulation and applause. At the same time, she'd become a target of envy from her peers. There were those who thought she'd somehow cheated those results, but in the end, she was simply working under different conditions from everyone else.
There was no need for her to fear the weapons of criminals, and they seemed to be standing still to her. Even though the fire she had jumped into had been hot, it hadn't exactly been unbearable in the end. Ruby had actually taken a bullet to the arm during the bank robbery, but all that resulted in was a bruise. All humans felt the need to protect themselves to some extent. However, Ruby was the only one who could completely ignore all of that.
When she charged into the fire to save the child, she was praised as a brave young woman.
That's wrong, she thought. It just didn't seem much like a threat compared to those fires in the other world that could scorch away the face of the planet.
When she had faced down the bank robbers who had holed up with their guns by herself, she was lauded as a young woman with a great sense of justice.
That's wrong, she thought. It's just that guns only look like toys to me. It wasn't like I threw caution to the wind in order to calm them down.
"Something is… wrong," Ruby muttered to herself as she walked down the road in her street clothes, holding a shopping bag.
She didn't have school today, so she'd gone out shopping and was just returning. Since she lived with her uncle, she always went out grocery shopping like this on days off, so she didn't have to.
Currently, she was worried about the power she'd gained in the other world.
I don't regret what I did. I'm glad I helped someone, I really am. But something is wrong. Was the future I wanted really supposed to be like this? This is basically like I'm the only one constantly up in some safe area as I do things. All my accomplishments are only because of the power I gained on the other side.
So what if I didn't have it? Would I have been able to do the same things without this power? Would I have been able to jump into a raging fire to save a child? Would I have been able to step in front of a bunch of criminals with guns? Aren't I just a shameful person who's cheating by using power she lucked into while feeling proud of it?
I rejected Yggdra, but in the end, I'm still just taking advantage of this power. It's only the scale that's different. Isn't that something I should be really ashamed of…?
Ruby paused. "I wonder what they would say?"
Having power also means having great responsibility. Power without responsibility is just a deadly weapon. Just like that certain heroic spider's uncle had said.
On the other hand, Ruby had never thought much about this power she'd gained without much effort. After all, this much power was almost nothing over there. Compared to the likes of Lunaru and Yggdra, Ruby was basically just a villager. Both Yggdra and Lunaru could have squashed her with barely a thought. That was why she hadn't been able to gain an accurate grip on things and couldn't understand the incredible power she'd returned with.
Ruby finally understood after returning, however, and with that understanding came the feeling that she was a huge cheater.
"If it was her…"
Ruby thought of a certain white angel.
I was young back then too. Well, that hasn't actually changed. Now that I think back on it, I probably should have talked more about things. I ran away like I was trying to cut off any lingering attachments, but all I did was not say things that should have been said.
Ruby was constantly rolling a certain question around in her mind. If she saw me like this, what would she say?
I think she'd say something like, "You're worrying as much as always, aren't you?"
At first, Ruby thought she was hearing things. After all, there was no way she should be hearing that voice on Earth. You're just hearing things, she told herself. It's just a convenient figment of your imagination.
Despite thinking this, she couldn't help but turn around. What she saw was just as she'd hoped… The white haired girl she'd most wanted to see was standing there, still looking the same as when she'd left.
Seeing Ruby stunned, the white haired girl in front of her spoke somehow bashfully, but also like a child who'd had her prank found out.
"I wanted to see you, so I came."