Everything in front of me is too familiar.
This door, this lamp, this decoration, these tables and chairs, these dishes, and even the entire store are so familiar. Even the only sense of incongruity and the person sitting in front of me are becoming more and more familiar.
It was as if he had returned to the past, and he had not traveled through time. Every day, he would go to get off work and come home to play games and catch up on anime, and from time to time he would go online to brag and quarrel. When he was hungry, he would pick up his wallet and go to a nearby restaurant to have a bottle of beer and a midnight snack.
"Don't be in a daze. This is the best Wuliangye that you can't buy on the market. I managed to save it from Semiramis. If you don't drink it, it's all mine."
A hand reached out, and Shinji instinctively picked up the wine glass and drank it all in one gulp. He looked so skilled as if he had experienced this many times.
"I drink. I drink."
"That's right."
As the mellow wine went down his throat, Shinji's mood calmed down a lot. Although it was still complicated, he was not as stupid as before.
"Is this an illusion?"
"No, everything here is real."
"Real? But this store—"
"It's impossible to be here, right?"
Shirou took a bite of food and refilled their glasses with wine before speaking.
"Nothing is impossible. I own the store, so I can open it wherever I want."
"You drove it?—You!!!"
Shinji looked up suddenly, only to find that the boy in front of him had turned into a man in his mid-thirties. The kind smile with squinting eyes was the most familiar memory of the old customers in the store.
"This is the image I use most often. Previously, I always appeared with the spirit base of Amakusa Shiro Tokisada. It is not the same system as yours."
"Do you know why I traveled through time?"
Although Shinji knew that it was related to "Jewel Old Man", the old man refused to reveal any further information.
"Of course, I gave your soul to the old man Gem."
"You? What's going on?"
"Don't be anxious. Let's start from the beginning. First of all, I'm not that bored. I wouldn't have nothing better to do than to throw someone who lives well in a peaceful world, has both parents, is healthy, has no dark history, has some achievements in his career, and is a perfect person except for not having a girlfriend, into a world like Type-Moon that is definitely not beautiful."
"Well, then why did I travel through time?"
"Because, you—have already died once!"
"I... died? Don't joke about this kind of thing. How could I die? You said I was fine, how could I suddenly..."
The more he went on, the less he could say, because Shirou's expression told him that it was definitely not a joke, and there was no need for Shirou to make such a joke.
"I... am I dead... am I really dead?"
"real."
"How did he die? Why don't I have any memory of this?"
"Because you drank too much that day, do you remember what happened on the last day before you crossed over?"
"Remember."
How could Shinji forget it? It was one of the few highlights in his ordinary life of more than 20 years.
After a year of review, his second postgraduate entrance examination results were quite good, and he was basically sure to be admitted to his favorite major and favorite tutor. In the project team that he was about to leave, he also made outstanding achievements. When the two most important backbones had to be absent for various reasons, he successfully completed the final acceptance of the project with a group of newcomers, which was well received by the client.
For this, the boss gave the project team a big red envelope, increased his salary by a considerable amount and approved a few days of paid vacation. He was so ready to give up his postgraduate studies and continue working for his boss. It can be said that he had a double harvest in the exam and in the workplace.
On the night when the salary arrived, the team members urged him, who earned the most, to treat them to a meal. He did not refuse and took everyone to the restaurant he frequented most often, which had a sled dog sign on the door.
Everyone was very happy, eating and drinking, making a fuss, from six to nine o'clock before some people started to leave because they couldn't handle the alcohol. After sending everyone to the taxi, he took advantage of the drunkenness to return to the store, and after drinking two bottles of beer with the owner who finally came to have some free time, the memory ended here -
"I don't remember what happened after that very clearly. I seemed to have left, but it also seemed that I hadn't..."
"You did leave. If you had stayed longer, you might not have died."
Shirou, who had turned into an uncle, raised his glass and clinked it with Shinji's before continuing the conversation.
"What's the meaning?"
"You know the road outside the door. Dump trucks pass by every day. They often speed and run red lights. There is no crosswalk at the intersection."
"So, I was hit and killed by a dump truck?"
If you think about it carefully, it's not impossible. Shirou was telling the truth. The garbage trucks on the street in front of the door are indeed a big problem that has not been solved for many years. Every time I walk, I have to keep my eyes open and my ears pricked up to observe carefully to make sure there is nothing wrong before crossing the street. But that day I drank too much and my reaction was not fast enough. It was reasonable for me to be accidentally hit and killed.
However, Shirou's reaction was a little strange, he nodded first and then shook his head.
"Yes, you were hit by a dump truck, but the dump truck didn't hit you."
"What?"
"You were killed while trying to save someone. It was around 10:20 pm when you left, and the evening self-study session at a nearby high school had just ended. Maybe because you were too tired, you didn't notice a female student crossing the road. At this time, a dump truck came by, and you rushed over, pushed the girl away, but you were run over by the dump truck. When I heard the girl screaming, half of your body had turned into pulp. It was that girl who told me about your saving someone."
"... "
"... "
"... "
Silence. If he hadn't experienced so much in the Type-Moon world, Shinji would have definitely vomited it out. But now, he just felt a little lost.
I died, I was really dead, just like that, at the highlight moment of my life.
"Haha." He smiled bitterly, "It really proves the old saying, too much happiness leads to sorrow."
"Do you regret it?" Shirou patted Shinji's shoulder.
"One thing is that you sacrifice your life. It's different from saving people in the river, donating some money, or teaching in the mountains."
Shinji is not a saint, not from the beginning to the end. Sacrificing himself to save others is just something he can think about, but he can't really do it. Of course, having already done it is another matter.
"What happened to that girl? If the person I saved with my life is a bad person, I will really regret it."
"She is very good, hardworking, and grateful. She said that you gave her life, and now that you are gone, she will take on your responsibilities and obligations. She visits your parents every week, and works in my store during her free time from studying, sending all the money she earns to your parents. When your mother was sick and hospitalized, she stayed with her the whole time. When I left, she was already the acting store manager."
"Is that so? That's good. Then I have nothing to regret."
Shinji picked up the wine jar and poured the wine into his mouth desperately, as if he was using this method to swallow all the bitterness in his past life and heart.
PS: From childhood to adulthood, from junior high school to graduation, after so many years, Jian Shao still feels that he should be a good person. Jian Shao himself did the same. When he was not busy, he worked as a volunteer and sponsored poor students in Yunnan. He never stopped after he started working. He didn't spend much money a year, but he could allow a child to continue studying. When I was in college, I went there to see it in person. Really, there are some things that you can only know how happy you are if you see them with your own eyes.