Two to Reincarnate

Luis' murder had soon become the headlines of every news and media. His father had turned the nation upside down to find the killers of his son, but the police couldn't figure out anything.

His father hired the best detectives in the world, but even they couldn't solve the case.

When they checked the CCTV footage of the school, no one was seen entering or leaving the lavatory. According to Mia and Sebastian's testimony and the proof of the footage, it was clear that the door of the lavatory was locked from the inside.

However, no one was there. Even the cubicle's door where Luis' body was found was locked from the inside.

Luis' murder had become a mystery among many paranormal enthusiasts who claimed that he was murdered by a vengeful spirit. Regardless, the case remained unsolved, and the killers were never found.

Luis was a kind person who would never hurt anyone, not even a fly— except Rui. He was adored by everyone at his house and school. But he met a tragic end that was worse than a nightmare, an end that no one deserved.

However, that wasn't the ending. It was a new beginning of Luis' story.

When Luis gained consciousness, he found himself in a strangely familiar yet totally unfamiliar world. He was in the body of a newborn, surrounded by the villagers who were looking at him with varied expressions on their faces.

He was reincarnated into the game he had played a night before, but not as the main character.

He was reincarnated as Loid Becket, the side character who was used as cannon fodder.

'What in the hell is going on?! This sure doesn't look like heaven, and it's not hell either.'

When Luis was reincarnated, the balance of the universe shifted, and it brought an apocalypse.

The portals that were closed opened up and brought monsters. The seals on the gates broke and brought the magic. The tower of the Gods emerged from the ground and brought blessings of the Gods.

Luis was reincarnated in a world where the Gods chose their familiars and gave blessings to them to rise and shine among the horde of countless others.

'Seriously, what the hell is going on?'

Luis asked himself that question numberless times until he realized where and what he was reincarnated into.

Since then, three years passed, and Luis' life had changed entirely as Loid.

It was nighttime, and Loid was sitting at the stairs of the shrine of the Goddess of Love— Aphrodite.

He gazed at the starry sky and the two moons and wondered, "What did I ever do to anyone to deserve this? I was killed in a barbaric way and then reincarnated into a game I had played… that too… as a side character of all characters."

'I can't do anything. Everything has already been decided. My fate was sealed the moment I was reincarnated as Loid. I tried running out of this village and killing the main character of this game, so I wouldn't be killed in the end. But I can't leave this village. It's out of bounds.

This world looks so realistic, and everything is real. But it still has the game mechanism. My growth is restricted by the game. I can't do anything out of character.'

SIGH!

'What am I supposed to do? There is no way I am going to wait and let everything happen as it did in the game. I am not going to die. I refuse to accept that!

But what can I do?

I don't even know that much about the game. Only a few parts since I played the shortest route and skipped most of the dialogues. Moreover, the story was focused on the main character, not on me.'

Loid climbed the stairs as his white hair moved up and down. He reached the statue of the Goddess and stopped to catch his breath. He looked at his hands and then his nails, which had a lightning symbol on all of them.

"Mother asked me to go pray as I skipped the prayer this morning, but it's useless. There is no way my fate will change even if I pray. I never actually prayed to her in the first place."

In the world where humans were given blessings by the Gods and granted them a system to fight evil, the world was divided by many religions differing from the strongest to the weakest god, from majority to minority.

Loid was in a tribe that served the Goddess of Love, who didn't seem strong to Loid as she had the least amount of worshippers.

"It's not like this is going to do anything. But as they say, you lose a hundred percent chance if you don't do it." Loid clapped his hands and said, "O~ Goddess of Love, grant me wisdom or anything that could change my fate."

. . .

Loid was met with silence and disappointment.

SIGH!

"I knew it." He turned around and prepared to leave, but he heard a faint voice calling his name.

He turned around but didn't see anything unusual. Confused, he raised his brow and muttered, "Am I that desperate that I am now hearing things?"

Loid walked down the stairs but soon came rushing up with a baffled look on his face.

'Even if I was hearing things, someone called me by my name. My real name!'

"Who's there?" Loid asked aloud.

A few seconds later, the statue began shining, and a transparent figure appeared before Loid's eyes.

"...!"

The first thought that came to Loid's mind after seeing the figure was, "How… beautiful…"

The figure became less transparent, and she laid her eyes on Loid. However, it was still shining, and Loid couldn't see it directly. He had to lower his gaze to stand before her.

[Why did you call me?] an ethereal voice asked.

"I… are you the Goddess of Love?"

[I am the Goddess of Love and Beauty, Yes.]

"Uhh… are you here to give me blessings?" he asked with a puzzled look on his face.

[Indeed. You begged me for it, did you not?]

"I wouldn't say that, but… yeah. Can you give me blessings?"

Loid was experiencing various emotions at once. Even though it was a game, standing before a divine entity had left Loid overwhelmed.

Aphrodite gazed at the three-year-old Loid and smiled gently at him. She moved her hand forward and calmly uttered, [Come forward and hold my hand.]

Loid did as the Goddess asked him to and held her hand.

'So soft… It feels like I am touching something even softer than cotton…'

[I will grant you three wishes.]

"Wishes…? Not blessings?" he asked with a confused face.

[You can use one wish to get blessings,] she chuckled.

'Wishes, huh?'

"Can I wish for anything?"

[I am the Goddess of Love and Beauty, so I obviously can't grant you unlimited wishes, omnipotency, or any offensive powers.]

Loid gulped down anxiously and asked, "Can you… send me back to my world?"

Aphrodite stared at Loid with a smile on her face and said, [No. I don't possess such powers.]

"Figured. It was worth a try, though." Loid sighed and said, "Alright, give me your strongest blessing and make me a member of your Familia."

[You already have knowledge about this world, so you know how this works, right? You will have to sacrifice one thing to get something better. You give me a silver coin, and I will give you a gold coin. If you want my strongest blessings, you will have to sacrifice something big too.]

Aphrodite stated with a smile.

"I have nothing to lose, so go ahead and take whatever you want from me."

[Very well.] Aphrodite placed her hands on Loid's head and closed her eyes.

"..."

[Done. I gave you a system that will grant you the power to make any girl fall in love with you.]

"...that's your strongest blessing?"

[I am the Goddess of Love. What do you expect? You will be handsome when you reach the age, so the only blessing I could give you was the power of Love.]

"What did you take from me?" he asked with a curious yet calm look on her face.

[The most important thing to you is the love you had for your girlfriend.]

"What?!" Loid exclaimed.

[You are the one who agreed on the terms. But oh, well. It doesn't matter. You have already forgotten everything about her.]

"Err…" Loid raised his hand and said, "No, I clearly remember her. And my love for her is the same as ever. Nothing has changed."

[What?!] the Goddess exclaimed.

Her body suddenly stopped glowing, and she revealed her true form to Loid.

She had white hair, red eyes, and a body like a Goddess. Undoubtedly, she truly justified the beauty of the Goddess of Love and Beauty.

[You still remember her?!]

However, the reaction on her face made Loid question if she was truly a Goddess.

"Yeah?"

[How is that possible!] She shouted. [You weren't even supposed to remember anything when you reincarnated, but you had all your memories. And even now, you remember everything when you clearly shouldn't!

Don't tell me…]

Aphrodite stepped back in shock and muttered, [You love for her is so great that it's working as your strength.]

'That sounds so cringe.' Loid shrugged his shoulders and said, "Too bad. It looks like even the Goddess of 'Love' can't fathom my love for Mia."

[Well, whatever.] Aphrodite returned to her former self and continued, [You have two more wishes.]

"I already got your strongest blessing which is useless for me, no offense intended," Loid remarked. "I don't think there is anything else I can ask you."

[Is that so? I thought you would ask to reincarnate your girlfriend here in this world.]

"Wha…t?" Loid stuttered. "You can do that?!"

Aphrodite once again stared at Loid with a smile on her face and said, [No. I don't possess such powers.]

'Then why did you mention it!'

[Do you want me to tell you something?]

"Sure."

[Hmm~ What should I do~?] she hummed.

"..."

[Instead of telling you, I will show you.]

A screen appeared in front of Loid that showed him the events after his death.

His entire family mourned for his death, including Mia. She was the most affected by Luis' death for obvious reasons.

After his funeral, Mia stopped eating and drinking. She stayed in her room all day and night and never talked to anyone.

Then, a week later, she committed suicide out of desperation. On her suicide note, she wrote a three words sentence.

'Let's Meet Again.'

After watching all that, Loid dropped to his knees and stopped himself from puking in front of the Goddess. His eyes couldn't stop his tears, and his body couldn't contain his despair.

Aphrodite lowered her gaze at Loid and uttered, [Don't me sad. She has also reincarnated into this world. You will eventually meet her.]

"Huh?" Loid looked up at the Goddess with a sign of hope in his eyes and asked, "She is… here?"

[You will meet her at the Academy. I cannot tell you anything more than that.]

'She is here…? Mia is here?!'

"Does she…" He got up and asked, "Will she also have the memories from the past life?"

[The chances are low. You are the anomaly who remembers everything.]

"Even then… It's fine. I will make her remember everything! I will make her fall in love with me again!"

Aphrodite smiled wryly at Loid and hesitantly asked, [Do you remember anything between your death and reincarnation? Did you meet or talk with anyone?]

"No."

"Loid~!" a loud voice echoed around.

"It's my mother. She must be calling me for dinner."

[Then go. We are done.]

"Thank you for everything! Now I have one more reason to live! I will come here and pray every day from now onwards!"

After saying that, Loid rushed down the stairs.

[Two to reincarnate…] Aphrodite watched Loid descend the stairs and saw a shadow overlapping his shadow. [Let's meet again, my Love.]