Chapter 2: The Beginning of a Grudge

At first, because of my past-life memories, everything felt confusing, but several years have passed since then, and I’ve completely gotten used to living as a girl.

My body’s hit puberty too—my chest and hips have grown, and my hair, which used to be a short bob back when I regained my memories, has grown into a shoulder-length semi-long style.

It’s not like I had a cross-dressing hobby in my previous life or anything, but these days I just can’t get enough of wearing cute, girly outfits. Living in the countryside and having wings on my back makes clothing choices a bit tricky, but honestly, that’s only a small inconvenience now.

I also recently started taking piano lessons. When my parents asked what kind of extracurricular activity I wanted, I immediately ruled out sports like swimming or gymnastics and chose piano. I’d never played in my previous life—total beginner—but this body learns fast, and I picked up the basics quickly. My parents even bought me an upright piano for practice at home, and I play whenever I have time.

Another thing I started recently is sewing. This one isn’t a formal class—Mom teaches me herself. I’ve always liked plushies… honestly, even since my previous life. Seeing that, my parents encouraged me to learn how to repair them. I enjoy learning new skills, and the other day, even though it was still rough, I managed to make a doll from scratch. I hope I can keep improving.

…Of course, life isn’t all fun and hobbies. Because I have a halo, I’m physically stronger than average, so I help out with farm work from time to time.

"Aika, put this one away in the shed next."

I’m still only in elementary school, so they don’t give me the really tough chores yet, but eventually I’ll probably have to handle the heavy work too.

"Okay, got it. I just carry this, right? Heave… up we go."

And for some reason, whenever I speak, it comes out in the local dialect. I’ve always spoken like this, even before regaining my memories, so maybe my body is dragging my speech along with it. I tried correcting myself, but it never stuck. My parents didn’t mind, so I just left it as-is.

While I’m practicing the piano as usual, I hear a loud, rapid pounding on the door—bang bang bang—far rougher than how any of our neighbors would knock. Someone from outside the area, then.

"Excuse me, we’re from Kaiser Loan."

—Kaiser Corporation. One of the biggest corporate groups in all of Kivotos: finance, retail, manufacturing… even private military services.

In the Blue Archive knowledge from my past life, they were a shady corporation that operated right on—and sometimes beyond—the legal gray zone. But since we live in the Trinity Autonomous Region, in a rural area far from their influence, their name was something I knew only in passing, not something with any real presence in our lives.

"I see… so what about the interest rate?"

"For your case, it would be 5 million at 40 percent. And if you require a further extension of the loan, in the event that bankruptcy during repayment makes collection impossible, we would raise it to 50 or 60 percent…"

"That’s… a bit difficult."

"However, considering the amount for an independently operated farm, this is unavoidable."

We had gone to a nearby bank to discuss replacing our worn-out tiller and combine harvester, but their response wasn’t encouraging. That’s when this Kaiser Loan employee showed up, and we heard him out. But even to an amateur, the interest rate he quoted was outrageously high.

"Isn’t there anything you can do?"

"…Sigh. Sir, we are not a charity. If this conversation is going nowhere, we will return another day."

"Wait, hey—"

"Then, if you’ll excuse me."

The loan officer snapped the door shut and left. For someone who barged in uninvited, he had a lot of nerve. I kept my expression blank, pretending not to understand the situation, and asked my dad:

"What’s wrong?"

"We talked about replacing the combine, right? But we don’t have enough money, and the bank didn’t give us a good answer. And that guy earlier… well, he’s not going to work out either."

"I dunno all the details, but… that’s rough."

"And with Aika starting middle school soon…"

That’s right—I’ll be entering junior high next year. Tuition, uniforms, school bags—everything costs money. With last year’s poor harvest, things are even tighter than usual.

"You okay?"

"Yeah. I’ll figure something out. For your sake too, Aika."

"…Okay."

Moments like this make me frustrated at how powerless I still am. If only I were a little older, I could at least help by working part-time.

"Thank you so much…! This really saves us."

"Think nothing of it."

In the end, we secured the loan from the local credit union—the one we originally ruled out because the amount was too large for them to approve. But thanks to our neighbors vouching for us, we somehow made it through. I can’t thank them enough.

"I’m glad. Looks like we’ll manage now."

"Yeah. Aika, you don’t need to worry anymore."

"Okay. I’m glad too."

While I was reminded of how precious community bonds are, deep in my heart, my distrust toward Kaiser only grew. Around this time in the original timeline, Kaiser’s takeover of Abydos should already be underway. I’m not even in middle school yet, so I can’t do anything now—but someday, in the near future, I’m going to make Kaiser pay. That much, I silently swore.