"This is the living room. The washroom and the toilet are over there inside the hallway."
The slender finger pointed towards a dark room.
'I can't see anything…"
After convincing her that I could walk, she said that it would be a good time for a house tour. And a house tour is what we're doing right now.
Though unfortunately, there's no such thing as lighting here. Perhaps due to the fact that the owner herself is blind, it feels like I am also blind.
Luckily, there are windows here and there to give me an idea of where the furniture is. I no longer have to worry about running into one.
"So um… How do you see?"
I expressed a question that had lingered in my mind for a while.
Seemingly used to the question, she answered.
"I condense my mana and occasionally flickered them around. You could treat it the same way as the way bats use echolocation."
"I see…?"
"It seems that you still have questions that require an answer. Do express them, I won't judge nor would I lie."
She placed her palms together in front of her chest while saying so.
"Ehe… What is mana?"
It felt embarrassing to ask since the way she's talking about it made it seem like it was common knowledge. Though it felt like I already knew the answer, I do want to confirm them.
Without missing a beat, the sister opened her mouth.
"Mana is the embodiment of every existence. Similar to oxygen, mana exists in our bloodstream which in turn allows us to cast magical spells and such. People of the ancient era used to call them 'Miracles', if that makes any sense."
I nodded my head while trying to make sense of such an analogy.
From what I could make out of her explanation… This is not my world– no, this is not my universe.
It would've been simple enough if the law of the universe existed in this place but it appears this world has its own entirely independent law in comparison to earth?
Simply put, aren't I quite far away from home?
…with laws that would be hard to get used to.
Ah, shit. I'm fucked.
—
"Excuse my rudeness, but what were you doing there?" The blind nun asked.
Not knowing what she meant, I asked. "What do you mean?"
In return, she responded. "At the place I found you, the ruins."
"Ah, you mean the place that I woke up from?"
"That's right."
I didn't know how to explain how I got there, so I simply told her the whole story from the moment I opened my eyes in this world.
Although it was far-fetched to think she'd believe me immediately, she doesn't seem like a person who'd expose another's secret out of convenience.
Though I don't know if my story could even be called a secret. It doesn't really hold any significance to me other than the fact that I don't know whose body it was I was borrowing.
Does amnesia count as a weakness?
Perhaps not.
"...after that I woke up and heard a voice. Then you arrived. You should know how the rest goes."
Finishing my story, it felt quite embarrassing how serious the nun's face looked while listening.
Though it was blank all the way through, the way her ears perked up while I was speaking proved that she was listening.
Perhaps that's her default expression? Speaking of which, she never showed emotion on her face once, did she?
I know I've barely met her for a few hours at most but who wouldn't want to see a beautiful person smile?
Even a frown might look enticing on a pretty face, you know?
But I'm not degenerate enough to disturb her during our very first meeting.
"Ah, so that's how it was. I'm sorry for doubting you for a second. It's just that, the place in which I found you was quite special. It's not really a place you could access easily."
She responded after hearing my story.
"From my experience, it appears you've been a victim of the phenomenon [World's Ravine]."
A sudden unusual term was uttered and before I could question what it meant, she continued.
"[World's Ravine] is an unknown phenomenon in which the victim would be randomly teleported to a place in the world. Although the phenomenon was quite rare in and of itself, to also induce memory loss was probably a first with you."
I could physically feel my jaw drop at this revelation.
Knowing how weird it was to mention that I was a man before, I did tell her that I had lost my memories in place of suddenly entering this body. But isn't that also true?
I mean, I don't really have this body's previous memories.
With that in mind, I asked another question.
"So, um, was there ever a case where the victim also changed… gender?"
Along with my question, I noticed how her eyebrows got raised.
"Is that also part of your experience?"
"What!? No! Of course not…! It was just, you know, hypothetical!"
"Is that so? Hm, so far, there's never been a case of gender change being a side effect of [World's Ravine]."
So I was also a first in this case too?!
After talking to her for a bit, we finally reached the topic of names.
"Speaking of which, what should I call you? I mean, I can't really call you 'The Blind Nun' or 'That Pretty Blondie' all the time, right?"
"You've never called me that before, though. Did your thoughts get leaked?"
"Ah, my apologies…"
Damn, accidentally confusing my thoughts for the things I'm about to say felt really embarrassing.
"Thank you very much for the compliment. In any case, you can call me 'Rachel'."
Mentioning my mistake, she told me her name.
Rachel… sounds familiar.
Who am I kidding? There's many Rachels back on earth too.
"So, Rachel?"
"That's right, I am Rachel."
"My name is… ah."
Realizing my mistake, I forgot that my current setting is that I'm a girl with amnesia. So what should I tell her as my name?
My previous male name was already out of the picture.
While thinking of a name, an old memory told itself in my head.
—
"Hey XXXX, why don't you eat your food? It would be such a waste, you know? I've practically poured my heart and soul into the dish~"
A female voice called out to me. Glancing away from the food, my eyes met hers.
With black hair and a childish structure of a body, she basically looked like a smaller version of me.
Except, she's more slim and has a higher pitched voice.
Feeling annoyed, I answered her. "You liar, I know this was a microwaved food mother left us."
Seemingly not bothered, she simply said.
"Ah, I've been found out~ Too bad~!"
"What are you even doing here? Shouldn't you be at school?"
"Ah, you don't know? School closed down today."
Her school closed down?
"Why?"
"There's been a massive case of kidnapping these days. Isn't it only right for the school to close down for the sake of the students? We're just kids, you know?"
What the hell? Massive case of kidnapping? How come I never came across this knowledge?
"It's fine, by the time the school opens up again, the case should've closed. No need to worry~"
Seeing the confident way she's talking, I suddenly felt relieved.
And so, I called out to her…
—
"...Aria. You may call me Aria."
Along with a solemn smile, I spoke of my sister's name.