“Haa… What should I do this time?”
Even though it was something I already knew, I couldn’t help but sigh at the fact that I had returned again.
Anyway, this time too, I need to enroll in Desroah Academy and make contact with Millie, but I wonder if she will honestly talk to me.
Even if she has become the Harem Bastard’s woman, I think we can build a cooperative relationship if we agree on the point of wanting to end the Loop.
The next morning, as I was recalling the steps to go to Desroah Academy, there was a knock on the door of my room.
If I remember correctly, Emi was supposed to take over my duties for today, replacing Shino, who was feeling unwell. Thinking so, I told them to enter, but it was Shino who was there.
“Good morning, Lord Geld. And, um…”
“Ah, yes… Huh? I thought Shino was feeling sick on this day… I see, so she wasn’t really sick?”
“Yes. Until now, I used a day to calm down, but I don’t need to do that anymore.”
Shino was probably still worried that I hadn’t returned to the original Geld. She smiled happily when she confirmed that I had inherited the memories.
Having returned three years, she looks somewhat younger than Shino, who was in the Royal Capital just a while ago. It seems that even the appearance changes quite a bit between sixteen and nineteen years old.
“Well, well, we’ve returned again.”
“Yes, we have.”
There is no sense of grief on Shino’s face regarding the Loop. Or rather, she is still smiling. I had a vague idea that this might be the case, but it seems that Shino is not very enthusiastic about ending the Loop. She even looks like she wants to say, “Let’s go on a trip to the south next time.”
“Now, about the plan for this time…”
“Yes!”
Shino is definitely looking forward to the next trip. Isn’t it strange to be so excited?
“First of all, I need to meet Millie and hear her story.”
“Millie, as in the other…”
“Yes, I need to ask Millie, who inherited the memories and went on a journey to end the Loop, what happened in these three years, and what she intends to do from now on…”
The moment I mentioned Millie’s name, Shino’s face turned serious. I felt a chill at the sudden change.
Since Shino originally has few expressions, the visual difference is not that great, but her expression has definitely disappeared now.
I thought she wasn’t particularly concerned about Millie… Was that not the case?
“So, this time too, I’ll enroll in Desroah Academy… and what happens after that depends on Millie.”
I don’t even want to think about what would happen if Millie no longer has the will to end the Loop, but if that happens, I’ll have to forcibly join that Harem Party and do something about it. I have no idea how many Loops it will take, but it has already been proven that they can’t clear it on their own. Someone has to lend a hand.
“Then, if that Millie goes on a journey again as before, will Lord Geld also head north as before?”
“Well, I wonder about that… After all, Millie didn’t come to see me, and if Millie doesn’t want to see me during the journey, there’s no point in me heading north.”
“I see…”
Shino looked more obviously dejected than usual. Did she want to go on a trip that much?
“In that case, I’ll be free anyway, so should I go south this time?”
“Eh? …Y-Yes!”
Now she’s obviously happy. It seems she really wanted to go on a trip.
After aligning our plans in this way, I finished the usual two-person interview with Father, and the next day, I immediately departed for the Royal Capital.
After somehow barely passing the entrance exam for Desroah Academy, I spent my time lazing around with Shino at the usual inn while preparing the kidnapping goods.
And then came the day after the Entrance Ceremony.
“Well then, Shino, I’m off. I’ll see you in two and a half months… or maybe three years. Anyway, take care until then.”
“Yes. I’ll be waiting for you in two and a half months.”
“O-Okay.”
I left the inn while being seen off by Shino and headed to Desroah Academy.
Originally, I should be a lively and excited freshman, but my steps were very heavy.
“Haa…”
I’ve already graduated from this academy once, so there’s no novelty at all, and above all, I was reluctant to meet Millie.
If Millie was alive in the previous Loop, I would hear a report of her being NTR’d, and if she had died, I would feel too sorry.
In other words, no matter how it turns out, it’s an unpleasant report, but I still have to hear it.
“Haaa…”
This time, my class is the fifth. Millie is in the first class again, so we’re in different classes.
Since the classrooms are far apart, it’s hard to meet during breaks. And since it’s not a story that can be finished in a short time anyway, I’ll have to talk to her in a deserted place after school.
I listened to the day’s classes, thinking, “Ah, I did this kind of thing too,” and then came the after-school hours.
Waiting on the path from the first-year school building to the dormitory, I soon caught sight of a girl with familiar light blue hair.
She seemed to have found me too, but her expression… had a dark shadow. It’s a reaction that I can’t imagine from the Millie I know.
Suppressing the piercing pain in my chest, I led her to the back of a deserted building, and we had our reunion with Millie after almost three years.
Millie is still, or rather, it’s natural since we’ve gone back in time… anyway, she’s an incredibly beautiful girl. On top of that, the mysterious sexiness exuded from within, combined with her seemingly innocent appearance, creates a strange charm that drives men mad.
“Well then, first of all… it’s been a while.”
“Yeah… it’s been a while, Geld-kun.”
Millie, who was so clingy at the time of our farewell, is now keeping a distance of about three steps away from me, looking uncomfortable with a dark expression. Does this directly represent the distance in our hearts?
Millie, whom I trusted and sent off… I don’t want to know what happened anymore. I’d rather hear about her journey.
“So, how was it? The journey to save the world.”
“The journey… I tried my best. But, I didn’t make it in time.”
“Didn’t make it in time? Was there not enough time?”
Is it possible to not make it in time even with three years? I thought it was more than enough time.
“Every time I felt like I didn’t have enough power, I would hunt Monsters, but I think it took too much time. There were seven people, so that made it even more so.”
“Ah, I see. That’s…”
It’s the difference between a game and reality. In a typical RPG game, you can easily encounter enemies in about ten seconds by simply operating the D-pad, and then you can easily earn experience points by repeatedly pressing the confirm button, but in reality, it’s not that easy.
In this world, depending on the field, it’s considered good if you can find ten Monsters even if you walk all day. In reality, you probably wouldn’t have the energy to do that every day, so the operating time would be shorter, and if the experience points are divided by the number of people, then seven people is too inefficient.
“So I always thought I didn’t have enough time, so I couldn’t go to the town where Geld-kun was.”
“…Huh? So that’s why you didn’t come?”
“Yeah. I went near there on the way, though.”
“I see.”
It seems I failed in choosing the town. I shouldn’t have chosen it based on alcohol and food. I thought it was a relatively large and easy-to-stop-by town, though.
“After I knew I definitely wouldn’t make it in time, I went there alone, but by that time, Geld-kun was already gone.”
“Ah, you came. I thought you didn’t care anymore, so I quickly ran away here.”
I did something regrettable. I could have met her if I had stayed a little longer.
“Didn’t care…?”
“Yeah, I thought Millie didn’t care about the inheritance or me anymore, so she wouldn’t come.”
Millie’s eyes widened at my words, and she rushed up to me.
“N-No! That’s not it! I thought Geld-kun would be sad if I didn’t make it in time, so…”
Millie’s eyes were filled with tears, and she was about to grab me… no, she grabbed my arm. Anyway, she’s desperately appealing to me.
But, is that so? It’s not that she didn’t care anymore, but she didn’t come because she cared.
This is completely my slip of the tongue. I have to follow up.
“Well, you know, after not seeing each other for three years, I thought that feelings would gradually fade away.”
“That’s not true! I, I always, Geld-kun!”
“O-Oh. I’m sorry, really… um, yeah. I was depressed thinking that’s what happened, but I’m happy if that’s not the case.”
I tentatively stroked Millie’s head as she shed tears and snapped at me, and Millie released my arm and hugged me. She’s completely the same as she was back then.
I’m certainly happy about this, but I didn’t think that feelings could remain unchanged like this… Did I do something to be liked so much?
No, but I don’t have any awareness that my feelings for Millie have changed since then, so maybe that’s just how it is.
Besides, Shino apparently kept thinking about me from the first Loop, even after not seeing me for three years, then seeing me briefly before looping again… Yeah, this might be a bit abnormal.
Could it be a game mechanic? Like, once Affection goes up, it doesn’t decrease with time, or something like that?
“But… I see. Geld-kun, you were feeling down? And that made you happy?”
After crying for a bit, Millie seemed to calm down and started talking while clinging to me. She had a beaming smile on her face.
“You know, what was his name? That guy we went with. You must have started liking him.”
“Haruto-kun? Haruto-kun is a nice guy, but… that’s why you were down. Hmm, I see. Hmm?”
Millie had completely erased the gloomy expression from before and now looked overjoyed. Maybe Millie had been harboring the same kind of anxiety as me.
“So, what are you going to do this time? Are you going to do the same as last time… and…”
“…………”
The moment she said, “the same as last time,” Millie suddenly clammed up with a pout. This might be bad.
“Millie…?”
“Geld-kun, I worked hard, you know.”
“Ah, yeah. You did. Millie worked hard.”
“Yes. So, as Punishment, the culprit Geld-kun has to stay by my side for three years.”
I was suddenly branded as some kind of criminal. As always, Judge Millie is forceful. But does three years mean she’s giving up on clearing this Loop from the start, or is she saying I should join the Harem Party?
“Even if I’m by your side, what will you do, Millie?”
“I want to spend three years alone with Geld-kun too.”
It was a throwaway Loop. Spending three years doing nothing feels like a long time, but considering Millie’s feelings, I have no choice but to accept it?
“I-I see. But what crime am I supposed to have committed?”
“Gouken no Gerudo-kun.”
“Gah.”
That title… from the previous me…
“If I remember the rumors correctly, you were always with a very beautiful Maid, going from tavern to tavern in Town—”
“Alright, let’s have fun for three years!”
This time, it’s a throwaway Loop!