The fact that time has looped means I was killed. I had thought the next time I'd die would be during a crisis threatening world destruction, but to die before confirming that is unexpected.
"For now, I should go see the assassin Noct, right?"
"Yeah, that's right. You caught on quickly."
"I've already been through this loop."
"Huh? Is that so?"
Agetha looks puzzled.
"Yeah, we've already defeated the Demon Lord once. After that, I was killed by someone and the loop started again. Seriously, don't you remember anything?"
"No, I really don't…"
Agetha says that and falls into contemplation.
"Well, fine. If you've been through it once, there's no need to explain everything. Let's defeat the Demon Lord soon."
The Demon Lord Zoga has already been defeated in the previous loop. If that's the case, there shouldn't be any problems if we follow the same path.
After that, things progressed as they did before. After encountering the assassin Noct and acquiring the "Thief's Skills," Agetha knocked out Hero Eligion, released her seal, defeated the Warrior Gorgano and the Holy Knight Canaria. Later, while I was retrieving the Sage Nyau, Agetha defeated the Demon Lord Zoga.
"Hey, Agetha."
"What is it, Kiska?"
"Do we really need to kill the assassin Noct?"
I couldn't help but be concerned about that.
"Well, wouldn't it be better without that guy, Kiska?"
"Well, that may be true, but…"
Even if the assassin Noct is present, I feel that explaining the situation carefully to Prince Eligion would be sufficient. After all, in the previous timeline, Prince Eligion came to understand our situation. So, is it really necessary to force a kill?
"No, I won't accept that. I will definitely kill him."
Even after explaining, Agetha stubbornly refused to change her opinion. Judging from her expression, it seemed like there were reasons beyond avoiding tarnishing the reputation of the Alcus people. Although I didn't voice it aloud.
In the end, after defeating the Demon Lord Zoga, Agetha unexpectedly killed the assassin Noct. Afterward, everything proceeded without any issues.
Using Sage Nyau's teleportation array, we returned to katarov Village, and the next day, we explained the situation to Prince Eligion, who understood and agreed. Subsequently, along with Prince Eligion and Sage Nyau, we headed to the capital city by carriage. Just like before, for some reason, Sage Nyau was crying inside the carriage.
Upon reaching the capital, we had an audience with the king and then attended a banquet. Nothing had changed from the previous loop.
"Kiska, can I come into your room?"
"Yeah, sure."
I responded, wondering what she was up to in the middle of the night. Agetha seemed to have just taken a bath, as her hair was damp. In the previous timeline, after taking a bath, we each went to our own rooms to sleep.
"What's going on? At this late hour?"
"I just wanted to be with you. I couldn't help it."
Saying that, Agetha climbed onto the bed.
"Kiska, let's do it."
She declared with a bewitching smile.
Ever since that day when I rejected Agetha, and she ended up taking her own life, it became a significant trauma for me. If I were to refuse her again, would she end up dead once more? Such thoughts crossed my mind. In a way, it was like a curse. Therefore, I couldn't bring myself to refuse Agetha's advances.
◆
"Hey, Agetha."
"What is it, Kiska?"
"I'm supposed to die six days from now…"
"What do you mean?"
Agetha tilted her head in confusion. So, I explained the situation, the sequence of events.
"I see, you're going to die in six days."
"What should I do?"
"Don't worry, okay? I'll protect you, Kiska."
If Agetha said that, I could rest easy. With Agetha by my side, I believed we could overcome any enemy.
"Agetha, thank you."
I expressed my gratitude while embracing Agetha, and we proceeded to the second round.