“Ah, Senpai.”
“Yo.”
Entering the infirmary inside the venue, I found Claire sitting on a bed.
Since I’d only landed a single, half-hearted Issen, she seemed to have completely healed already.
It appeared to be a small, private room, and Claire was alone without her attending doctor. This was convenient for a serious conversation.
“Well, what should I say… Right. First of all, long time no see, I guess.”
“Yes! It’s been a while, Senpai.”
Claire’s demeanor was different from when she was fighting; her expression was clear, as if a weight had been lifted. I didn’t know exactly what she had been worrying about, but perhaps the match with me had resolved it somewhat.
“Sorry for being late to see you. I had something to talk to Claire about and spent years running around the country looking for you, but it took time to find you.”
In reality, I figured she’d be in the Royal Capital and found her in one shot. So, I was actually searching for only a day. I embellished it a bit, but it probably wouldn’t be exposed, so good enough.
“Eh? Um… I was pretty conspicuous at the Fighting Tournament, and if you searched the Royal Capital, you would’ve found me right away, wouldn’t you?”
“The Royal Capital… That was a blind spot.”
To think she was staying in the Royal Capital, where Royal Ukyak Academy was located. Talk about being right under my nose. Even my eyes couldn’t see it.
“…Senpai, you said you were searching for years?”
“The thing I want to talk about is none other than the phenomenon of time repeatedly going back three years.”
There were occasional doubts about the definite fact that I had been searching for Claire for years, but I explained the loop’s circumstances while glossing over things with my skillful eloquence. I omitted the stories about the other world, the game, and my scandalous relationships with Millie and Shino, but this should give Claire an understanding of the general flow.
“So, you weren’t searching at all, were you? I mean, if you searched the Royal Capital, you’d find me right away, and there’s no way you wouldn’t search the Royal Capital.”
“No, well, you know. It was outside my awareness, or a tragic accident caused by a chance encounter. I only recently realized that Claire had inherited the memories.”
“…Senpai, you haven’t changed at all.”
That’s strange. How did she know? Should I have shaken off Millie and Shino by force and come to find her sooner?
However, Claire’s tone implied that she was blaming me, but her expression was bright and cheerful. It didn’t seem like she was seriously angry, so that’s good.
“I tried hard to find you, Senpai, you know? I even went to Waslein many times.”
“Is that so? But I probably wasn’t there.”
“Yeah. The Maid kept turning me away every time. I staked it out for a while, but it really didn’t seem like you were there.”
“…I, I see.”
The only time I was constantly in Waslein after meeting Claire was at the very end, in this Loop. By that time, I had probably shifted from searching to being conspicuous and getting found.
There was also one Loop where I was famous as “Geld the Strong Sword” in the northern kingdom, but Claire didn’t seem to know about that either. But that was a bit much, so it’s good she didn’t notice.
“Haa… Well, whatever. So, I understand the story about time. I have an idea about it too.”
“I thought so. I don’t remember anything at all, though.”
This is something I don’t fully understand either, regarding the matter of the Loop spreading from me.
According to the God of Creation, the condition was “touching the Soul at the moment of the reset.”
I don’t know exactly what touching the Soul means, but thinking back, both Shino and Millie seemed to be hugging me at the moment of the reset, so I think it probably refers to a state of physical and mental contact, or being in a very close distance.
“Senpai probably doesn’t remember, does he? You were asleep.”
“Ah, is that it? So? What were you doing at that time, Claire?”
I roughly know what was going on since I generally understand the conditions. But I need to confirm it just in case.
“Eh? Well… you know? Um, Senpai was asleep, and I was, you know?”
“No, even if you say ‘you know?'”
“It’s fine, isn’t it! Anyway, I suddenly went back three years too, and Senpai wasn’t at the academy, and it was just awful!”
Claire’s face turned bright red and she became embarrassed, then immediately got angry. What a busy girl. She hasn’t changed at all since then.
And as I thought, Claire was probably trying some kind of physical contact with me while I was asleep. Moreover, judging from this reaction, she was probably doing something significant.
It might be interesting to pursue what she was doing in detail, but I’ll let it slide out of Senpai’s mercy.
“Well, I guess so. Although I didn’t think it would spread to other people at the time, I’m sorry for getting you involved.”
“No. It’s true that I didn’t understand anything the whole time, and it was really scary, sad, and awful. But since I was able to keep my most precious memories, I’m happy now.”
“I see…”
As expected of my Kohai. I have overwhelmingly painful memories of Royal Ukyak Academy, but if my Kohai enjoyed it, then that’s all that matters.
“…Memories… Senpai, you remember too, right?”
“Of course. I’ve gone through so many Loops that my memories are fading, but it was still a pretty intense time.”
Come to think of it, that was the only time I participated in club activities. Those were the good old days of youth.
Claire also seemed to be reminiscing about the past with a distant look, so I’ll show her something from that time. I handed the sword I was carrying to Claire and had her hold it.
“Claire, do you remember this?”
“Huh? Oh, could this be the graduation gift we all bought for Senpai?”
“That’s right. I call it the Cursed Sword. I named it that because every time I see it, I’m reminded of my Kohais and it makes me sad.”
Claire was trembling with her head down. She was probably remembering our companions from that time. I don’t know what they’re doing now, but none of them should have inherited the memories.
“But today is a happy uncursing. If Claire remembers, that’s enough for me.”
“Sen…pai…”
I took the sword back from the tearful Claire and reslung it. Was it an illusion that it felt somewhat lighter?
“Still, Claire doing the Thousand Sword Dance, huh? You’ve gotten stronger.”
“I wanted to catch up to Senpai… But Senpai has gone ahead again.”
“There’s such a thing as Senpai’s pride. But you did well.”
“Y-yes…”
Claire was already shedding large tears. She seemed to have reached her limit in various ways.
I think I should have come to see her sooner, but I wouldn’t have realized that Claire had inherited the memories unless I returned to Japan. It was impossible to leave Millie and Shino after that, so this timing was probably the fastest.
“Anyway, what I want to say is that, as I explained earlier, the phenomenon of time going back is over. I remember the first Loop too, so you’re not alone anymore.”
“—!”
Claire jumped into my arms without saying anything, so I couldn’t help but hug her back. Claire’s emotions seemed to be in chaos. She was clinging to me while uttering inarticulate words.
In this situation, being alone in a small room is very inconvenient. The current state of a young man and woman embracing each other right next to the bed might be seen as that kind of relationship.
However, I remember being in a similar state with Millie, and I can’t pull her away in this state. I’ll just have to wait for Claire to calm down.