"Kiska, please, I'm begging you, die."
Agetha had clear eyes.
Her sword reflected the light.
What should I do… I couldn't find an immediate answer.
So, I was contemplating it again.
What should I do.
"Hey, Agetha."
"What is it? Kiska."
"I tried to imagine what would happen if we kept looping these nine days for eternity."
"How was it?"
It was something I could easily envision by closing my eyes. How I would spend my time in a world that kept looping.
"It was incredibly happy. Because every day spent with Agetha was so enjoyable. Undoubtedly, it was the happiest time in my life."
My life has been filled with hardships. I was bullied in the village. Even after being exiled to the Katarov Dungeon, there were few peaceful days.
So, the nine days spent with Agetha were undoubtedly the happiest time in my life.
"I feel like having that last forever wouldn't be bad. After all, we can be together with the ones we love."
"Yeah, I feel the same. Because I love you too, Kiska…!"
That's right, when you think about it, there's not a single downside.
I can enjoy my time with Agetha.
Spending leisurely days with Agetha in the royal capital sounds good. It might be nice to travel to various countries together. Going shopping, eating delicious meals at each destination.
And when the ninth day comes, I'll die and loop again. Doing that over and over, spending time with Agetha. It's undoubtedly the happiest thing.
So, I…
"Sorry, I can't cooperate."
"Huh…?"
Agetha's bewildered voice echoed.
Then a quiet atmosphere enveloped the space between us. I didn't know what to say next.
"W-Why…? You love me, right…?"
Agetha's voice sounded on the verge of tears.
If I looked up, I would probably see a despairing expression on her face.
Why, indeed.
Various reasons came to mind. Accepting the loop felt like going against the natural order, or it seemed cruel that everyone else would be reset except us.
But such reasons felt trivial to me. I'm not fighting for another sense of justice or for the sake of humanity. Agetha's happiness is more important to me than the happiness of the majority of people.
But it's still impossible. There's only one reason for that.
"I've decided."
"What?!"
"To turn the girl called 'Puppeteer' into a human."
That was my answer.
"If I remain trapped in this time, I'll never achieve that goal. I absolutely have to return to the original time a hundred years from now. So, I'm sorry…"
Yes, there was something I had to do.
"What's that…"
Agetha muttered quietly.
"I don't understand, I don't understand, I don't understand, I don't understand, I don't understand, I don't understand… I don't understand!"
Agetha shouted in frustration.
"Why does Kiska care about other girls besides me?! Look only at me."
"I'm sorry."
It's natural for Agetha to be angry. There's no room for excuses.
"I won't forgive you."
Agetha approaches, gripping her sword.
Ah, I see. It seems I'll be killed by Agetha's hands. Well, it can't be helped.
"Enough! I don't need Kiska's forgiveness. I'll kill Kiska and repeat this time over and over."
There was a budding murderous intent in her eyes.
Ah, it seems I'm going to be killed. So, I let my hand drop straight down, ready to be stabbed by Agetha.
I no longer had the energy to resist.
◆
Nothing mattered anymore.
Agetha thought Kiska would accept everything, but in reality, that wasn't the case.
So, Agaha decided without hesitation to kill Kiska.
She thrust the sword she held into Kiska's torso. Blood spurted out forcefully, covering the surroundings in blood.
As she forcefully pulled out the sword, Kiska's body made a thudding sound as it rolled to the ground.
It was already evident that Kiska had breathed his last.
Huh…?
Agaha tilted her head.
Normally, the moment Kiska died, 'Save & Reset' would activate, and time would loop.
But there was no sign of that.
What on earth had happened?
Suddenly, an unexpected event occurred.
[An unexpected error has occurred. An unexpected error has occurred. An unexpected error has occurred. An unexpected error has occurred. An unexpected error has occurred. An unexpected error has occurred. An unexpected error has occurred.]
A vast amount of text appeared around Kiska's body.
Though it wasn't clear what had happened, it was apparent that something was terribly wrong.
"Kiska, what do we do…!?"
Agetha rushed to Kiska's side, screaming.
However, Kiska didn't respond. It was only natural; he was dead.
"I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I was wrong."
Agetha screamed, but her voice reached no one's ears.
[Cause: Occurrence of contradictory death.]
Suddenly, she noticed a phrase that caught her attention.
Confused about its meaning, Agetha reached out to understand the cause.
[Cause: The death of the assassin Noct leads to a causal contradiction in the existence of the swordsman Kiska.]
She found another intriguing phrase.
Reading it, Agetha finally understood.
The paradox of patricide.
It was a concept she vaguely remembered from science fiction novels in a previous world.
If one were to travel back in time and kill blood-related ancestors before a child was conceived, what would happen?
Agetha had a hunch for a while.
Perhaps the assassin Noct was Kiska's ancestor.
Both had distinct silver hair and belonged to a common race known as Alcus.
Therefore, Agetha had long been anxious that killing the assassin Noct in this world's past might create a contradiction in Kiska's existence.
Now, this anxiety had manifested itself into reality.
However, why now? Agetha wondered.
After killing the assassin Noct, it wasn't the first time she had killed Kiska. At that time, such a thing didn't happen.
Nevertheless, pondering about it now wouldn't change anything. More importantly, she needed to resolve the current situation promptly.
"Reset."
Agetha uttered the command.
Instantly, the scenery before her eyes changed as if someone had painted over a completed picture with a brush.
By using this skill, she could erase any event as if it had never happened. Therefore, Agetha nullified the fact that she had killed Kiska.
"Agetha…?"
Before her stood Kiska.
There were no traces of a sword wound on Kiska's body.
Kiska might not have realized it, but for Agetha, it felt like time had rewound about ten minutes.
[Unexpected error occurred. Cause: Contradictory existence.]
"Why…?"
She uttered in disbelief.
Once again, she found the world flooded with text, much like before.
It seemed that not killing Kiska didn't resolve the issue, as Kiska's existence itself created a contradiction.
At this point, it appeared that Agetha couldn't achieve the world she desired.
Without rewinding back to just before killing the assassin Noct, the situation wouldn't be resolved. Moreover, not killing the assassin Noct meant the same as allowing the Tyrant King to awaken.
"if it's not with Kiska, it won't have any meaning…"
Agetha realized it.
No matter how she avoided the sealing, it meant nothing without being with Kiska. If she wanted to be with Kiska, she had to endure another 100 years of imprisonment.
Therefore, Agetha decided to use "Reset" once again.
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