Compensation θ ~ I might be late for reincarnation, but since I was born as the talented eldest son of a prestigious noble, I might be on the winning side.

Inui forcibly pushed Kinesaka into the gate.

Caught off guard, Kinesaka took a step and, unable to resist, tumbled into the gate, disappearing from sight.

“No way! Minami disappeared.”

“Honoka, what are you doing?”

Even as I squinted, there was no sign of Kinesaka. The gate she entered emitted a strong light for a moment, but it gradually lost its glow, and now the gate itself was becoming vague and fading away.

“Hey, the gate is disappearing.”

“Damn it. Kinesaka’s not here.”

“Hey, Inui! What were you thinking… huh!? What is this?”

――『Gate of the Flying Swallow』 Remaining: 3/4

【Class】 Early Bloomer

【Basic Ability】◎

【Advanced Ability】◯

【Skills】◯

Bonus: Skill Manual

“Huh? Something’s happening.”

Shortly after Kinesaka disappeared, strange information slid into my mind. It was weird, like watching a footage, with strings of visible text. And people disappearing. What on earth was that creepy gate?

――Gate of Reincarnation

Huh?

As if responding to my question, the voice of “Gate of Reincarnation” resonated in my head. So, despite not knowing to who or what I was talking to, I reflexively asked back.

What’s the Gate of Reincarnation?

――A gate for starting a new life in another world by passing through, a gate for reincarnation.

Huh?! Another world, new life, reincarnation? It sounds like something out of a light novel. So, does that mean Kinesaka has already reincarnated as a different person?

Unbelievable. Even though I don’t remember dying, having to redo my life in another world is absurd. Firstly, where is this? Where are we?

――Boundary of Isolation and Departure

What’s the Boundary of Isolation and Departure?

――A rift formed in the fabric of space-time.

How can we return to our original world?

――It’s impossible to return.

Impossible? Why can’t we?

――The coordinates for have vanished.

Then, is there a way to leave from here?

――The Gate of Reincarnation is the only salvation granted to living beings that have fallen into the Boundary of Isolation and Departure.

Salvation? By starting over and giving up everything? It would be terribly tragic if the new life turned out to be worse. If the destination of reincarnation is unsatisfactory, can we redo the reincarnation?

――No. The moment one enters the Gate of Reincarnation, it’s assumed they’ve consented to reincarnation, and the used gate disappears.

Once the gate is used, it vanishes, like a one-way ticket. It’s dangerous to blindly accept this information, but there’s nothing else in this situation that can be used as reference. If reincarnation is inevitable, what should we do?

I observe the gate again. The gate’s entrance isn’t particularly wide, considering the remaining number of people. At most, two or three people could go through at the same time.

No matter how hard we try, it’s impossible for all seven of us to go through the same gate. So, we will have to divide into three different gates. Who will enter which gate? Who will go with whom? It seems like an argument is inevitable.

What’s concerning is whether the destination world is the same no matter which gate we choose.

――The world beyond the gate is the same. Only the world that opened the gate to the Boundary of Isolation and Departure has a path.

The destination is the same. Then, naturally, I want to make the conditions for reincarnation favorable. In that case, the information from the gate that appeared earlier becomes important. If I could pick where and with what abilities I got… Wait, what are you doing!

At that moment, the gate on my left emitted an intense light.

“Yanagi-kun!”

“What the hell?! Why?”

“…Seriously?”

――『Gate of the Flying Swallow』 Remaining: 2/4

【Class】 Early Bloomer

【Basic Abilities】◎

【Advanced Abilities】◯

【Skills】◯

Bonus: Skill Manual

Someone who jumps into the gate on his own has appeared. Although he seemed cautious just before, he rushed in without saying anything and disappeared beyond the gate. The presence of the used gate is fading. Once it completely disappears, only darkness is left in its place. Now, only two gates are left.

Why did Yanagi do that?

Because there were only three gates for seven people?

Because he realized returning to the original world was impossible?

Was he afraid the gates wouldn’t be enough for all of us?

“Going ahead!”

Saying that, Osakabe dashed into the gate on his right.

“Hey, wait!”

I called out to Osakabe’s back, but he didn’t even turn around and vanished.

――『Gate of the Flying Swallow』 Remaining: 1/4

【Class】 Early Bloomer

【Basic Abilities】◎

【Advanced Abilities】◯

【Skills】◯

Bonus: Skill Manual

“They are cheating! So, the last one is for the girls.”

Mikoshiba quickly approached the only remaining gate.

This is bad. I have to stop her.

“For the girls? What the hell? That’s got nothing to do with me or Tatsumi, right? Go back here.”

“Hey! What do you mean “for the girls”? If girls can do it, then I have the right too!”

“But in these kinds of situations it’s first come, first served right!”

“What are you saying… oh no, it’s gone.”

This senseless argument echoed as Mikoshiba swiftly approached the last gate.

――『Gate of the Flying Swallow』 Remaining: 0/4

【Class】 Early Bloomer

【Basic Abilities】◎

【Advanced Abilities】◯

【Skills】◯

Bonus: Skill Manual

The information that floated into my mind didn’t disappoint my expectations negatively. Zero remaining. That was the ruthless reality for those left behind.