Re:Zero: No Job, No Magic, Just a Stupid Romance System

My name is Luo Qixi Migrudia.

I am 40 years old, but I look 14.

Hmm. It seems that both the front and the back don't sound good.

In short, I am a demon.

So, don't look at me as 40 years old. I'm actually in the adolescence of my life.

So if converted into human age, I'm about… 14 years old.

Okay.

At 14, I became an adventurer without telling my family.

At the time, I thought this would be a step toward escaping the nightmare of being unable to "speak" and moving toward a bright future.

That's what I thought.

But since my tribe's appearance stops changing after the age of 14, and my hair color is similar to the infamous Spelud tribe, I suffered a lot after becoming an adventurer.

Fortunately, I soon found an adventurer team willing to accept me and became a B-rank adventurer at the age of 20.

Good luck.

But good times are always short-lived.

In a magic disaster, our captain died. Because of that, the adventurer team disbanded.

I still remember the tragic scene of his death in front of me. But when I returned to the Adventurer's Guild to report, the cold attitude I received made me realize one thing:

This is what it means to be an adventurer.

I was too naive.

Later, I left the Demon Continent and headed to the Milis Continent.

My glowing blue hair and small stature caused me to suffer again.

Fortunately, when I arrived at the port town, I wasn't met with much discrimination. The local Adventurer's Guild also helped me, allowing the younger me to regain the confidence of being an adventurer.

When I was promoted to A-rank, I was very happy.

I thought, surely this could prove my strength, right?

Sure enough, the next day, I was invited to a mission. The team said I had to be the one.

A-rank adventurers were still very respected.

The task?

Disguise as a little girl and infiltrate a lolita merchant's operation to investigate illegal dealings.

Maybe this is what an adventurer's life is like.

I was furious and was about to refuse, but the adventurer offered me a price I couldn't refuse.

Four times the usual pay.

I agreed.

The costume change went smoothly, though I had to change outfits constantly and tie childish hairstyles to look like a young girl.

My companions always laughed at me.

What? I was saving people?

The accident still happened. I was discovered by the slave trader, knocked out, and locked in a dungeon.

Thanks to that, I managed to blend in with the other victims.

I broke a window and was rescued by my companions. I rescued the girls, and when I saw their smiling faces—

I felt it was all worth it.

I accepted a guild commission to escort them back to Milicion.

Even though I knew I'd face discrimination there.

…There were many unexpected encounters. Everywhere I went, I was judged and mistreated.

It was a dark experience.

I gradually didn't want to interact with others.

Later, by chance, I met a fellow villager. She invited me to work in a tavern. That helped me save some money, and then I set off again—to the Kingdom of Asura.

The hometown of my teacher.

He had traveled to our village when I was a child and taught me magic. He opened my eyes to how vast the world was.

It was also because of him that I decided to become an adventurer.

But he left without saying goodbye. I thought… maybe he didn't want to see me again.

Then I received a commission—to go to the teacher's home in the Kingdom of Asura and urge him to finish writing Travels Around the World.

I hesitated, but still accepted.

When I got there, I talked to him about the past. I found that his departure had been a misunderstanding. He had rushed to leave and had asked his tribe to pass on a message. But he forgot—

Most of my tribespeople communicate through "speech", and his poor demon language probably wasn't understood.

In short, my teacher continued writing, and I continued my journey—to Sharia, where I studied at the Magic University for four years.

After graduating, I left the university. The Asura Kingdom clears monsters every winter, and there were no specific commissions to take on.

I fell into financial difficulty again.

That's when I saw a remote knight family in need of a private magic tutor—two silver coins a month.

I stayed there for two years.

The Greyrat family was very kind, and they made me feel the warmth of home.

I received my first disciple—Rudeus. A talented child, though a little bratty. I taught him everything I knew in those two years.

Life with the Greyrats was happy. That home became like a second home to me.

But there is always parting after meeting.

When I realized I had nothing more to teach, I made the decision to leave that "home".

I wanted to embrace a broader future. I wanted to continue adventuring. I wanted to improve my magic, even if I had to do it alone.

After all, I had already felt the warmth of a home, hadn't I?

That's what I thought…

Until I met a boy in the forest on my journey.

He wasn't very old, but he was masculine, tall, and a little immature.

We agreed to adventure together in the future.

So…

How far away is the future?

Luo Qixi blinked. In the mist, a pair of dark gray pupils appeared before her.

Her pupils narrowed slightly, with a faint smile.

She looked back at the memories in her mind and gently pursed her cold lips. Pressing her body against the edge of the bathtub, she slowly, slowly…

…sank into the water with a soft splash.

With the subtle movement of a blink, a ripple spread across the surface.

Bubbles rose from her lips, drifted between strands of floating blue hair, and passed in front of her face.

Perhaps due to lack of oxygen, Luo Qixi's vision became hazy.

Everything turned into fleeting memories.

Glimpses of the past.

Fleeting images.

Luo Qixi slowly closed her eyes.

With a splash, two hands reached into the bathtub and pulled her out. She didn't react with a start—she just looked blankly at the maid who had "fished" her out.

"Miss Luo Qixi! Miss Luo Qixi! You can't close the window and soak in hot water for an hour in winter! You'll get dizzy!"

Luo Qixi's mind was still foggy. Only then did she realize why all those memories had surfaced.

It turned out… she had been short on oxygen.

The maids quickly pulled her out of the bath and wrapped her flushed body in a robe.

But the robe was too big, and she was too small, so only her head poked out.

Her damp blue hair stuck to her cheeks, contrasting with her red face.

When Luo Qixi's little feet touched the cold floor, her mind cleared a bit.

Then she thought, dazed—

"Good thing Allen wasn't here. If he saw this, he'd say I was being reckless again…"

It didn't occur to her that this was the bath—how could Allen possibly see it?

Outside the window, the moon was rising in the sky.

When she wakes up…

Will it be another night of writing letters?