The World Is Mine For The Taking-Chapter 1182: Epilogue 22 - An End And A New Beginning (3)

Chapter 1182: Epilogue 22 - An End And A New Beginning (3)

Ayaka and I decided to approach Princess Myrcella.

It wasn’t some grand decision or anything dramatic like that. It was simply something that felt necessary and something that had been sitting in the back of my mind ever since that day. Since her boyfriend was the one who saved me, it was only natural that I thanked him properly. Back then, when he rescued me, I had already lost consciousness. Everything after that had been a blur. It was also darkness, pain, then waking up somewhere safe.

I never had the chance to say thank you.

And that fact lingered.

That was only natural. I had to thank him.

But the moment I started walking toward him, something strange happened.

As I got closer, a sensation crept up on me.

It was something unfamiliar. It was something that didn’t have a name. It wasn’t pain. It wasn’t fear. It was... odd. Like a faint pressure in my chest, subtle but persistent, as if something inside me was stirring without my permission.

It was weird.

For some reason, even though I had never seen this person in my entire life before, I felt like I had known him for a very long time. Not in a vague, passing way either. It was deeper than that. Like the kind of familiarity that comes from years, not moments.

It didn’t make sense.

And yet, it felt real.

That sensation... it reminded me of something.

No—someone.

It was the same feeling I had when I was with Tsubasa.

That realization alone made my heart tighten slightly. The resemblance wasn’t physical. It wasn’t logical. It was something quieter and something instinctive. The kind of thing you couldn’t explain even if you tried.

As I kept looking at him, I noticed something else.

I couldn’t move.

At first, I thought I was just hesitating. Maybe I was nervous. Maybe I was overthinking things. But no matter how much I tried to step forward, my body refused to respond.

It was strange. Why couldn’t I move?

It should have been easy.

Princess Myrcella was right there beside him, and since I already knew her, approaching them should have been simple. Natural, even. I’d done it before. There was no reason for me to freeze like this.

Sure, it would’ve been a little rude to interrupt their conversation, but it wasn’t anything that couldn’t be fixed with a quick apology. If I just asked them to excuse me for a moment, thanked him properly, and stepped back, that would have been the end of it.

That was all it would’ve taken.

Right? 𝑓𝘳𝑒𝑒𝓌𝘦𝘣𝘯ℴ𝑣𝘦𝑙.𝘤𝑜𝑚

But for whatever reason, my feet refused to move.

It felt like they were firmly planted to the ground, as if something invisible was holding me there. No matter how much I tried to will myself forward, nothing happened.

At the sight of him, I couldn’t look away.

My eyes stayed locked on him, and it wasn’t because I wanted to stare. It was as if my gaze had a mind of its own.

It felt like I was trying to see someone else through him.

Even though that wasn’t possible.

Even though it shouldn’t have been possible.

Still, I couldn’t stop myself. I wanted to look past him—through him—like there was something hidden just beneath the surface and something I was missing but desperately trying to grasp.

"Kaori?" Ayaka’s voice came from beside me.

I barely reacted at first.

When I finally turned my head slightly, I saw the confusion on her face. She was looking at me like I’d just seen a ghost—or maybe like I’d frozen in the middle of a bad dream.

"You’re feeling it too, aren’t you?" she asked.

That question caught me off guard.

It wasn’t the kind of thing someone just said casually. The way she said it made it sound like she already knew the answer, like she was confirming something rather than asking.

Naturally, I frowned.

"What do you mean?" I asked.

"Ichinose-kun," she said.

Just hearing that name made my heart jolt.

My eyes widened before I could stop myself, and for a split second, it felt like something screamed inside my chest.

"W–What...?"

"We felt it too. Me and Sensei, I mean," Ayaka continued. Her voice was calm, but there was an underlying seriousness to it. "Although, it might just be because he has a similar aura to him. That’s probably it. It could also be the same reason we feel like Miss Shredica is Chihara Akane from back on Earth, even though that should be impossible."

She paused briefly, as if choosing her words carefully.

"We don’t really have any basis for it," she admitted. "But I don’t think this is just some coincidence. It’s possible... that they might be the same person. You know... reincarnation was a popular genre back home, right? Maybe something like that is actually happening. Well, it’s still just a theory without proof. It could all just be a random coincidence."

I listened to her, every word sinking in slowly.

It sounded absurd. Even I knew that.

And yet, the coincidence was starting to feel eerie.

Still, I couldn’t help but think she was overthinking it. Reincarnation? Really? That was the kind of idea you joked about, not something you seriously considered.

And yet...

The thought scared me.

If it really was him—if that impossible theory was somehow true—what would I even say?

No. I shouldn’t think about that.

What Ayaka was suggesting was impossible. It was too much, even for her. I knew she liked theorizing, liked connecting dots that might not even exist, but this felt like a stretch.

I took a deep breath.

Then, without thinking too hard about it, I slapped my cheeks lightly. The sharp sensation snapped me back into the moment.

Now wasn’t the time to chicken out.

This person had saved me from the brink of death. That alone mattered. Whatever strange feelings I had, whatever thoughts were spiraling in my head, none of that changed the fact that I owed him my thanks.

I couldn’t just brush that aside.

So I walked toward them.

Each step felt heavier than it should have, but I forced myself forward anyway.

"Um, excuse me."

When I spoke, both of them turned to look at me. As well as the two people beside them.

His gaze met mine.

His eyes weren’t kind. There was no hostility there but there was a cold distance. And yet, there was something about them that made my chest tighten again. It was not because they were intimidating, but because they felt... familiar in a way I couldn’t explain.

"You’re the one who saved me back then, right?" I said. "I realized I never got the chance to thank you, so... since I have the opportunity now, thank you."

My voice trembled slightly, betraying more emotion than I wanted to show.

"It’s fine. You didn’t have to worry about it," he replied. His tone was calm, almost casual. "Myrcella called me in to help with the rescue, so I just did what I was asked to do."

"I... I see..."

The words left my mouth automatically.

I didn’t know why, but hearing him say that—hearing that he only did it because Princess Myrcella asked him to—made my chest ache.

It was a small thing. A logical thing.

And yet, it hurt.

For reasons I didn’t understand, disappointment settled quietly in my heart, heavier than it had any right to be.