From that day, Ichigo became aware of his feeling for Satou.
The dazzling Mobius life of love had begun.
Specifically, he began to accompany seven as Framboise I wherever they went and whatever they did, as long as they had time to do so.
Ichigo's purpose in life had shifted from secret observation to open observation within Mobius.
Meanwhile, in the real world, he was still sneaking and observing. Shichirou Satou had no way of knowing that Framboise I, who was always next to him, was also the resident of the neighboring apartment.
Ichigo couldn't help but enjoy every day of his life.
Whether it was during the train ride to school, during the lectures at university, and even during the ten seconds he spent gripping and drinking an "Energy Supplement MAX!" at lunch, all he could think about was Satou.
His daily life, which until now had felt empty, had become brighter as if it had been splashed with rainbow paint.
In front of senpai, in front of seven, he could be his true self. No matter if he was an old bald man speaking with a woman's tone, he would never be looked down on or avoided. That sense of security was priceless.
Ichigo realized at some point that up until now he had been "acting". The character of Framboise I, whom he thought had become his true self, the very image of a manly man who he thought was closer to his real self, was merely an aspiration.
"A troublesome one, indeed."
Ichigo sighed at his own utterly difficult personality.
Ichigo wanted Satou to see his true self, and he wanted Satou to accept him.
The relationship between seven and Framboise I alone did not mean that they have been truly accepted for who they really are.
That was a greedy idea, he knew.
But even so, he had grown inexplicably fond of Satou to the point that he could no longer contain himself.
...Still, Ichigo didn't dare to reveal his real identity.
There's no way he could do that, much less confess.
Satou will be troubled if a man confesses his feelings for him. Ichigo knows this because he has been observing him day after day.
――Then, at least.
If it's inside the virtual world――
"P-Pretty much identical, huh...?"
He tried creating an alternate character.
Using a premium avatar ticket, he tried to make the character have his original appearance, Suzuki Ichigo's appearance.
For the name he used Kiichigo, which in English translates to Raspberry, and also Suzu, which means Bell――Raspberry Bell.
Raspberry (Kiichigo) and Bell (Suzu). A play on his name, Suzuki Ichigo.
That was the most courage Ichigo could muster.
The nameplate outside of his apartments read "Suzuki Ichigo". A person with keen intuition would notice it.
"Well, I doubt he'll notice."
Smiling lovingly, he stared at his alter ego.
Let's secretly grow. And then, someday, in the future...
Ichigo made up his mind to do so.
Then, a few days later.
Ichigo found herself inside Mobius Online.
Her memories of the past few days were suddenly missing. It took her a few seconds to realize this.
And there, in front of Ichigo――A huge religious idol of the Kamel faith stood.
This was the center of Old Joh, inside the Holy Temple. This was where the alt character 『Raspberry Bell』 had last logged out. Having brought her here intending to learn [Healing Magic] one by one. She was left in this place.
In other words, this means I logged into Mobius as Raspberry Bell at some point.
It was too sudden. "Maybe I've been tired lately," Ichigo thought. Tilting her head at the strange situation. Then.
"Ohh...OOHHHH!!"
Behind Ichigo, a man exclaimed with admiration.
"...What the heck?"
Ichigo turned around, to confirm who the voice belonged to.
There was the figure of a man, eyes wide open, ready to worship Ichigo. He was Pope Black, the dictator of the Sacred Country of Kamel.
Ichigo then tried to recall. I don't remember this guy being an NPC who spoke like that――?
"The S-Saint has descended! Everyone, offer your prayers...!"
The next moment, Pope Black shouted loudly and bowed to Ichigo.
Then, the Kamel devotees, numbering well over several hundred, who had gathered in the back of the room, prayed to Ichigo all at once.
"What? A Saint? Me? ...Haa?"
Ichigo was confused. And rightly so. In Mobius, there was no such title as Saint. The most likely explanation was that this was part of some strange story event that may have been implemented in the most recent update.
"...Geez, it can't be helped. I'll go along with you, so get on with it."
With a sigh, Ichigo spoke softly.
If it's a forced event, then let's finish it quickly. After that, I'll let Raspberry Bell learn [Healing Magic] and [Compounding], and then let's train her in earnest as a support character...
...At that time, Ichigo still didn't know.
A few hours later, she was shocked when she realized three facts.
First. Suzuki Ichigo had committed suicide. That's what she remembered. From the hacking incident to Shichirou Satou's death, the reality was so unacceptable, the shock was so extreme, that Ichigo's brain couldn't withstand the extremely strong stress and mental pain, and to protect itself, it had blocked its perception of reality, and as a result, all memories had been disconnected.
Second. This was undeniable the real world. She couldn't log out, she got hungry after a while, she wanted to use the restroom, and it hurt when she pinched her cheek. The subconsciousness of the human named Suzuki Ichigo obtained a vessel called Raspberry Bell and was reincarnated in a world that looked exactly like Mobius.
Third. He was no longer a "he". Raspberry Bell was a female character. Ichigo, noticing that the thing that should be between her legs wasn't there anymore, wetted her pillow that night.
...Everything was a horrible mess.
When Ichigo appeared before the statue of Kamel, Pope Black and his many followers were in the middle of their prayers. Unfortunately, many people witnessed it. That "divine power".
Old Joh, the Holy Land, is the most heavily monitored place in the Sacred Country of Kamel. In such a space where nothing is supposed to happen, a beautiful woman suddenly appeared. It was a phenomenon that couldn't be mistaken for anything else. There was no trick to it, no gimmick, it was simply an act of what one could only call divine power. The Pope, who was convinced at that moment that she was a saint, shouted: "The saint has descended," and this was one of the major factors that led to his followers believing that Ichigo was a saint.
She logged in right there...right in the middle of their prayers. This was all it took for Raspberry Bell to be recognized by many believers as a saint.
As a result, Raspberry Bell, the saint of the Kamel Church, was imprisoned by the Kamel religion.
And, this wasn't the only problem.
Raspberry Bell was thought of as a support character, and obviously, she had the "support" growth type. Her status were just like a drop in a bucket.
She hadn't raised any combat-related skills and hadn't earned any more experience points other than the minimum needed to learn [Healing Magic] and [Compounding]. Ichigo's systematic nature of planning to avoid waste had backfired.
Therefore, she couldn't gain the "power" needed to defy Pope Black. Naturally, she was forbidden from going outside, which meant that she couldn't even read skill books, let alone earn experience. The only skills she could learn while confined in Old Joh were support skills such as [Healing Magic] or [Compounding], which did not require combat.
Furthermore, that [Healing Magic] and [Compounding] would add another blow to Ichigo.
For Ichigo, the conditions to learn "Cure Status Effect" and "Cure All" were simply common knowledge, but in the Kamel religion, those were some of the best-kept secrets. It was no wonder that Raspberry Bell, who had learned them so easily, was thought to have the power to communicate with God. This led the people around her to believe that Raspberry Bell was truly a saint.
In addition, her kansai dialect also worked in the wrong direction. To the people of the Sacred Country of Kamel, Raspberry Bell's thick kansai dialect sounded something like an "archaic" language.
Thus, Raspberry Bell became a saint recognized by all.
Praying, gathering faith, casting healing magic, compounding medicine, and saving people. Her life was not bad by any means.
However...Living as a saint. For Ichigo, it was a step backward, back to a life of emptiness.
Ichigo could no longer imagine a life without seven, without Satou.
"I'm sure senpai was also reincarnated in this world..."
While puzzled by this exquisitely strange world, Ichigo did not despair at the last minute.
Spending every day betting on that ray of hope. In pursuit of Shichirou Satou's shadow. This was her only hope.
However, there was still a limit to what one person could accomplish alone. If she couldn't go outside, she couldn't even get in touch with the outside world. There's no way she could find him.
Then one day, another turning point came for Ichigo.
A pilgrimage, an opportunity to visit the churches in the Sacred Country of Kamel in order to gather faith and increase the pope's prestige and authority. During that, they stopped by a city in the southern part of the Sacred Country.
A carriage suspected of having invaded from the Castall Kingdom rushed into the city, pursued by the Sacred Country's soldiers.
A woman jumped out of the carriage that had been overturned by the ambushing soldiers.
I can use her――Ichigo immediately calculated.
"Wait a minute. Isn't it wrong to kill a person in front of the saint?"
Ichigo's words as a saint stopped the soldier right before he swung his sword at the dying woman who had already received over two digits of arrows in her back.
"I'll take care of this child. What do you think?"
"...Do as you like. This is not the first time the Saint-sama has been so benevolent."
In front of the public gathered, she approached Pope Black.
Needless to say, it was a deliberate question, anticipating the difficulty of refusing.
"Stay put for a moment."
After pulling out each of the arrows stuck in the woman's back, Ichigo then used "Recovery・Large" to restore her HP.
The woman's complexion improved as it happened, and she then regained her faint consciousness.
With the arrows gone from her back, there were several holes in her clothes, just like the cross-section of a lotus root.
"Hey, tell me your name."
"...I, am..."
"What? You can't say your own name? Alright, from today onwards you're Renko. You'll take care of my personal belongings. Come with me."
Thus, Ichigo saved Renko, to use her.
She taught her how to learn skills, how to gain experience, about covert actions, and about how to acquire information about the outside world.
All in order to reunite with Shichirou Satou. To accumulate power to fight against Pope Black.
In preparation for the times to come, Ichigo made Renko into her weapon.
"...For real?"
"Yes. A man named Second Firstest won the triple crown of Issenza, Eishou, and Reiou in the winter title games――"
"That!! Are you sure...!?"
"Y-Yes. It's 100% true. Raspberry Bell-sama...?"
"...～～～!!!!"
――The sense of humor in naming his extra character 『Second』. The even more ludicrous sense of naming his household 『Firstest』. "I'm sure of it," Ichigo was convinced.
This was the happiest moment (tentative first place) in Suzuki Ichigo's 21 years of life.
"A le-le-le-letter! No, no, wrong. Maybe I should ask Renko to go directly? No, but still, a letter! What should I write? ...Ahh, senpai, you're alive...thank god, thank god..."
With a mixture of emotions, such as happiness, relief, excitement, and concern about how to make contact, Ichigo turned over the contents of her drawer with a tearful smile, looking for a pen and paper. However, there was no way she could find a pen and paper in the saint's room, where contact with the outside world was forbidden. Ichigo was so agitated that she had forgotten that basic fact.
It was like a maiden in love worried about the contents of her love letter.
Renko gazed at Raspberry Bell with a somewhat lonely expression.
In the end, Ichigo spent the whole day thinking about the contents of the letter to Second so that the Kamel church would not be aware of its contents, and Renko, who had memorized it, sent it with great care.
A few days later, Second came in contact with Renko with terrifying speed.
Carrying a huge bomb called revolution.
And the time for their reunion was getting closer and closer...