Episode 51
A week after the Monster Attack, Millie summoned me early in the morning. It seemed today was finally the day she’d depart, meaning our time of parting had come.
“Geld-kun, you can’t forget about me, okay…?”
“There’s no way I’d forget.”
“Okay… I’ll do my best.”
“Yeah. I’ll be waiting in the Northern Town.”
“I’ll definitely come to see you. Wait for me, okay?”
Millie, clinging to me, was shedding tears as she lamented our separation. As for me, I was at a loss.
After all, we’d been repeating the same exchange for nearly an hour. I certainly felt sad about the farewell, but I couldn’t maintain such an emotional scene for so long.
“Maybe Geld-kun could secretly follow me and meet me every night.”
“Don’t be ridiculous…”
However, I couldn’t dismiss Millie like that. After all, I remembered doing something similar to Shino. I felt I understood Millie’s feelings well.
But if that were the case, had Shino felt the same way about me back then? While I wanted to say, “Just go already,” I was also happy to be so missed, to the point where I couldn’t help but grin. Plus, with her clinging to me, various parts were touching, and I kept feeling the urge to drag her into the nearby bushes and strip her clothes off. Shino must have been thinking such things too… I was sure of it.
“Ah, it’s time for our meeting… Well then, Geld-kun, I’m off!”
“Huh? Ah, okay.”
Apparently, the time she had promised had arrived, and Millie gave me one last strong hug. I hugged her back tightly, and after a while, she finally released me for the first time in an hour.
“Well then, I’m off!”
“Yeah.”
Millie’s back receded into the distance. My body, which had been warmed by being in contact with Millie, was suddenly chilled by the separation. It was as if it represented the sense of loss in my heart.
“So, the time we promised was now, meaning she intended this from the start…?”
The time Millie had specified for our meeting was six in the morning, an hour before now. I thought it was awfully early, but it meant she had planned to be all over me for a full hour from the start. Should I be glad that she hadn’t kept the party members waiting for her journey?
The reason I wasn’t as desperately sad about the farewell as Millie was simple: I knew the next three years would be relatively easygoing. I could go back to my family home and be spoiled by Shino, or I could wander around various places. Secluding myself in the Forest for some survival wouldn’t be bad either.
Anyway, the loose condition was that I just needed to start making a splash in some Northern Town about a year from now. Millie had suggested deciding on a town in advance, but I insisted on choosing the town myself on-site, as I would make a name for myself to make it easier to find.
“…Guess I’ll go home for now.”
Since it was already a long summer vacation, I’d spend the hot summer comfortably at my family home. It was a flexible plan to think about what to do after that when the time came.
Father might scold me for dropping out of the academy so soon after entering, but I should be able to talk my way out of it by using the Monster Attack as my defense. Besides, I was practically a graduate, so I could say something arrogant like, “There’s nothing more for me to learn there,” and show off my magic.
Since I had already submitted my withdrawal application with Millie, I had obtained the freedom to do as I pleased. So, I could leave whenever I wanted until I was kicked out of the dorm, but there was no particular reason to stay, so I left the academy to go home.
Along the way, I kicked Monsters to earn some pocket money and experience, and after a leisurely walk of about three weeks, I safely arrived at my family home.
“Yo, I’m back~”
“L-Lord Geld… W-Welcome home…”
“…”
I returned to my room while being startled by each of the Maids I passed and took a breath. This place was still tough.
I sat sloppily on the sofa and regretted not heading straight north instead of returning home, when I heard a polite knock on the door.
I quickly stood up and opened the door, where I found Shino, my only hope, as expected.
“Lord Geld, welcome home.”
“Yeah. Sorry for coming back so suddenly.”
Unlike the other Maids, her words were clear, and my frayed heart was soothed. I was glad I came back after all.
“No, it’s… But why did you return at this time?”
“Huh, haven’t you heard? About Desroah Academy being attacked by a horde of Monsters.”
“A horde of Monsters…?”
From Shino’s somewhat stunned expression, it seemed the information hadn’t reached here yet… or rather, it hadn’t been conveyed to the Maids individually. Father must have heard about it, though.
“Yeah, yeah. So, it’s going to be a long suspension. And since the level was lower than I thought, I decided to quit.”
“Is that so? Then, how will you be spending your time from now on?”
“I haven’t decided yet, but I’m probably going to wander around the north.”
“…The north?”
Now she had a puzzled expression. She probably didn’t understand, and generally, the further you got from the Royal Capital, the stronger the Monsters were said to be. Was it too dangerous?
“I have a promise.”
Shino showed an expression that said she didn’t quite understand but accepted it.
I felt a clear sense of discomfort with Shino’s attitude. The worrywart Shino who had suggested postponing a trip just because my complexion was bad wasn’t worried at all about the Monster Attack or going north. She didn’t even seem to care about how I had returned here. What was going on…? The best thing to do was to ask the person herself.
“Shino, aren’t you worried?”
“Worried?”
Shino looked blank. It seemed she had no idea what she should be worried about. I realized the possibility that she didn’t care about me at all, and suddenly cold sweat broke out. I shouldn’t have asked such a thing.
“Ah… well, about the Monster Attack or going north. Well, I guess it doesn’t matter, but couldn’t you at least pretend to be a little worried…?”
“…?”
Did she mean she didn’t see any point in pretending to be worried? No, I’d leave this place by the end of the day. A journey of heartbreak.
“Like, whether I got hurt or something… No, never mind…”
“Lord Geld getting hurt?”
…Huh, maybe it was a little different. It was as if she thought there was no way I could be attacked by Monsters and get hurt…
“Could it be that Shino thinks I’m strong?”
“That’s right, isn’t it? We’ve talked about this before…”
The moment I heard Shino’s words, I grabbed Shino’s left wrist with my right hand and pressed her against the wall, bringing my face close enough that our noses were almost touching. I had to interrogate her.
“Shino, what’s going on? I don’t remember having such a conversation.”
“L-Lord Geld…? Eh, but you’re stronger than me…”
That’s right. Shino was a monster who could tell someone’s approximate strength just by looking at their gait, so it wasn’t strange for her to realize I was strong. However, we shouldn’t have had that conversation in this Loop.
I wrapped my left arm around Shino’s waist and pulled her close. This was by no means a scheme to hug her under the guise of interrogation.
“That was in a previous Loop. Shino, do you remember…?”
“Previous…? Ah.”
It seemed I was right. I had vaguely suspected it since learning that Millie had inherited her memories, but Shino had as well. The fact that Shino’s attitude softened faster with each Loop was more likely due to Shino inheriting her memories than me getting better at getting along with her.
“So, Lord Geld also…”
“Hm?”
…I see, that’s how it would be from Shino’s perspective. I, who was born and raised in Japan in the Heisei and Reiwa eras, just thought, “Ah, it’s a Loop story,” but Shino, who had never encountered such a concept, must have been confused.
I had been taking different actions each time, so much so that anyone who had inherited their memories would have noticed, but she probably hadn’t been able to gain certainty. Perhaps she thought so but didn’t have the courage to ask and confirm. Shino’s changes might have been her way of appealing to me.
“Um, Lord Geld, since when… no, how many times have you repeated it…?”
“How many times? …How many times was it?”
I kept playing around with the Maids in the first Loop, I was killed by a crayfish in the second Loop, I secluded myself in the Forest in the third Loop…
“Ah, then, the first time? When was the first time? How did you spend it?”
She’s asking with unusual desperation. Despite being pinned against the wall and restrained, Shino looks like she’s the one doing the interrogation.
“In the first playthrough, I was punched by Shino and lost my memories—I losssst them…”
Before I could finish, Shino crumpled her face and burst into tears. This might be the first time I’ve ever seen Shino cry so hard.