“…Was that all just a dream?”

  His question hung in the cavern, thin and fragile, as if even the air was afraid to answer.

  For a few seconds, nothing moved.

  Then—

  “That… really did happen,” Hana said softly.

  Silence followed. Heavy. Unavoidable.

  “I see…” Haruto murmured.

  His gaze drifted, unfocused. “I wonder what actually happened…”

  “Lord Haruto.”

  The unfamiliar voice cut gently through the quiet.

  All three of them looked toward the source.

  The little goblin girl stood there, small hands clenched near her chest, eyes lowered in nervous respect.

  “Lord… Haruto…?”

  Even in their minds, the title sounded absurd.

  Haruto blinked. “You… can understand what I’m saying?”

  And more importantly… how am I understanding you?

  The girl bowed quickly, almost too quickly.

  “I… I…”

  Her voice trembled. Words caught in her throat, refusing to come out.

  The atmosphere turned strange. Unnatural.

  Respect was the last thing any of them expected to see directed at him.

  Haruto watched her carefully.

  Her lips moved in a language he didn’t know… yet the meaning reached him clearly, as if translated somewhere inside his thoughts.

  He didn’t understand how.

  But right now, understanding was enough.

  The girl kept her head lowered, gathering what little courage she had.

  “Please…” she whispered.

  “…we need your help, my lord.”

  Again with the lord…

  Did he reincarnate into a king’s body or something?

  Despite the chaos running through his thoughts, his face remained calm.

  Too calm.

  The girl risked a tiny glance upward—

  —and immediately blushed when she met his eyes.

  Haruto ignored it, retreating into thought instead.

  Miss Lina’s farewell party.

  Music. Laughter.

  Then the explosion.

  A terrorist attack… probably.

  The scale of it left little doubt.

  After that—darkness.

  Then awakening… and the monster.

  The crushing weight.

  The desperate escape.

  The unbearable pain.

  And somehow… victory.

  Time slowing.

  His body refusing to move.

  A power he couldn’t explain.

  Then unconsciousness.

  And now—

  Hana, reincarnated as a slime.

  Haruki, existing inside a mask.

  A goblin child calling him lord.

  When he lined it all up, the conclusion was simple.

  Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere.

  Nothing about this was normal.

  Second chances didn’t come for free.

  If people could return after death…

  …then something in this world was deeply wrong.

  And one more problem remained.

  This was clearly a fantasy world.

  The goblin alone proved that.

  By common logic, monsters hated humans.

  So why—

  …was she begging him for help?

  “Hey,” Haruki’s voice cut in, sharp and protective.

  “You’re not seriously going to ignore her, right? She’s my friend. Don’t even think about making her cry.”

  Before he could answer, Hana suddenly wiggled free from his hands and hopped onto his head.

  “We’ll help,” she declared.

  “But first we need to know if helping is even possible.”

  “Hey. I didn’t agree to anything.”

  “You were going to,” Hana replied calmly, already turning back to the girl.

  “What kind of problem are we dealing with… and what do we get in return?”

  “Hana… she’s a kid,” Haruto whispered.

  “Trust the process,” she murmured back.

  The goblin froze between hope and fear.

  Her lips trembled.

  Tears gathered in her eyes, ready to fall at any second.

  “W-wait—no, you don’t have to give us anything,” Haruto said quickly, startled by her reaction.

  But the girl shook her head.

  “Loyalty…” she whispered.

  “…What?”

  She lifted her face.

  Her eyes were no longer trembling.

  They burned.

  “I will pledge my soul to you, my lord!”

  ...

  “I… don’t think that’s necessary—” Haruto tried to protest.

  The girl bowed even lower, humility and desperation woven tightly into the gesture.

  “Please… I beg of you. Accept me as your ever-loyal subordinate and help us through this crisis!”

  Panic stirred inside him.

  This was completely new.

  Nothing in his life had prepared him for something like this—

  not even hiring employees.

  And really…

  Who was to blame for this situation?

  “Hana… what the hell did you drag me into?” he muttered.

  “I didn’t know she’d offer herself, dummy! I thought it’d be like a video-game NPC—our first quest or something. Is it my fault for trying to figure things out?” she shot back.

  “What makes you think this is a video game? This is—”

  “It is a video game. Can’t you see the system window literally hovering above you?” she said, as if it were obvious.

  “W-what? No, I don’t… Are you hallucinating?”

  “Are you blind?”

  “Could you two stop?” Haruki snapped. “You can flirt later. Do something before she starts crying.”

  Haruto fell silent, searching for the right words.

  This felt… strange.

  But he couldn’t just ignore her.

  She seemed kind.

  And for someone to lower herself this much before a stranger…

  Things had to be truly desperate.

  But could they even help?

  They were just normal people.

  Reincarnation might awaken power—

  but there was no guarantee.

  What if he had been reborn with nothing at all?

  The thought tightened in his chest.

  I really hope that’s not the case…

  Then something clicked.

  Wait… didn’t she say…

  He placed a hand on Hana.

  “Hey. You said you could see a system window, right?”

  “Why do you care?” she huffed.

  “C’mon… Sorry, okay?”

  “Saying sorry doesn’t fix anything. You were so mean just now…” she muttered, turning away.

  “Mean? We’ve been way meaner before. What’s different now?” he asked, genuinely confused.

  “That was before. It’s different now. We’re… well…”

  Her voice trailed off.

  She dropped onto his lap, then tried to crawl away.

  “Forget it.”

  Haruto sighed, gently catching her and setting her back on his head.

  “You’re so difficult sometimes…”

  Then he turned to the goblin girl, crouching to help her stand.

  “You don’t have to do all that. Just tell us what you need.

  If we can help, we will. Okay?”

  Tears shimmered in her eyes—

  but this time, from relief.

  “I… I know the way out. B-but we must hurry. The labyrinth shifts every week… and today is the fifth day. We cannot waste time. Please follow me, my lord.”

  She hurried toward the tunnel entrance, waiting anxiously for him.

  Realizing this was likely their best option, Haruto stood and brushed the dust from his clothes.

  “Let’s go, then. You can explain everything on the way.”

  As they walked, he could still feel Hana’s lingering frustration.

  “Hey… I’m sorry.”

  He pulled her gently into his arms.

  “…You’re kind of cute as a slime, you know?” he teased, lightly tickling her.

  “Don’t touch me!” she snapped, still sulking.

  “Okay… then what do you want me to do to make it up to you?”

  “You can’t,” she said softly.

  “…But maybe I’ll use that pass later. I’ll forget this for now—

  but remember, you owe me.”

  “Ahh, I see. So this was all just to make me indebted to you?”

  He sighed. “You’re a terrible influence on Haru, you know.”

  “Yeah? Who do you think she learned it from?” Haruki said proudly.

  “Of course.”

  Haruto shook his head and continued down the tunnel.

  “I probably should’ve come here alone.”

  “You wouldn’t last a day without us!” Haruki declared.

  “How? You don’t provide anything.”

  “Without a cheering squad, you can’t fight properly,” Hana said smugly from atop his head. “We’re emotional support buffs.”

  He exhaled. “Whatever…”

  Then his voice grew quieter.

  “…That’s assuming we even survive.”

  “Don’t be so negative. Just trust the process,” Hana said, already reclaiming her usual spot.

  “It’s better to be cautious than careless.”

  He stepped forward slowly.

  Because this…

  this was the kind of scenario he had always imagined.

  And everything about his growth—

  his instincts—

  felt meant for a world like this.

  At the very least…

  he believed they would survive.

  Just a gut feeling.

  And sometimes,

  it wasn’t so bad to trust those.

  In moderation, of course.

  But those very instincts were about to be tested...

  as the great labyrinth silently prepared itself for what's to come.

  ...