episode_0018

Episode 18. Saying Secrets.

‘This is a disaster.’

It seems I stimulated her too much.

I was going to play hard to get and then reveal the truth little by little, but it seems her trauma was more immense than I thought.

I opened my mouth, being careful not to stimulate her as much as possible.

“······.”

“Ms. Sarah······. I’m sorry. I think I spoke too rashly. First, put that knife away······ Ugh!”

Crackle, shatter!

Ignoring my apology, she swung her sword again. As soon as I saw the shield breaking, I immediately erected a new barrier.

However, she just bit her lip and kept stabbing her heart with the sword like a doll.

“······.”

Crack! Crack!

Her stamina was overflowing compared to the magic power that was receding like the tide. If I endure any longer, I’ll really regress.

“I won’t······ tolerate it any longer either!”

I forcibly engage in hand-to-hand combat to take away her sword.

Tap!

Using my shoulder, I rammed straight into her. The muscle strength stats are the same, but the weight difference is almost 1.5 times.

“Heuh······?!”

Perhaps she didn’t expect a magician like me to come at her so recklessly, she groaned in surprise.

This is my chance. She’s right-handed. I immediately reach out with my left hand and grab her slender forearm, and my remaining hand goes for the longsword······

Thud!

In an instant, I witnessed the world spinning around.

The moment I blinked, I felt the cool and damp sensation of soil on my face.

Crack.

“Cough······!”

I heard a gruesome sound from my left elbow, which was holding her right arm.

‘Damn it, I knew she learned grappling!’

Just as I learned shields, she also went to a martial arts instructor and learned useful combat techniques.

Of course, her job is a swordsman. But just like a magician like me carries a sword, you have to have insurance.

‘I guess I can’t stop her from killing herself. I still have a lot of magic power, but it disappears in an instant.’

But there’s still hope. If I remember correctly, I’ll regress to yesterday morning. If I quickly persuade her······

“You’re trying to protect me again this time. But it’s no use.”

“······.”

It felt like my brain was spinning violently. I could tell instinctively.

Now is the chance. This is the perfect chance to change her mind.

“Mr. John doesn’t understand ‘regression.’ I guess I shouldn’t have held onto vain hope······.”

“······.”

Doesn’t understand? What does that mean? Something feels off. I opened my mouth in a calm voice.

“Doesn’t······ understand? What does that mean?”

“Haa······.”

I couldn’t see her expression, but I could feel deep sadness in her sigh.

A resigned voice flowed from above my head.

“That’s right. I’m going to regress anyway.”

Huff, she took a deep breath.

“I’m a regressor. I’ve had this ability since I was young, and every time I die, I go back to the morning of the day before.”

“······.”

“Police, teachers, scientists, doctors, friends······ etc. I asked for help from everywhere I could. Because I want to break this cycle of evil. What do you think the result was?”

“······.”

Drip, drip. Something wet falls on the back of my head. It was easy to guess what it was.

“Like the expression Mr. John showed me earlier, everyone had a blank look on their faces and didn’t understand the meaning of ‘regression’ itself. Not a single person!”

“······.”

“They’re all idiots······. Is it that difficult? ‘If you die, you go back to the past.’ Are those few words that difficult!”

“······.”

John still didn’t answer. Seeing that, Sarah thought.

‘I knew it······. Hehe, what am I doing right now?’

Well, it’s refreshing. It’s been a while since I shouted like this without holding back. My heart feels a little lighter.

“It was fun in its own way. Then, goodbye······.”

She immediately aimed the knife at her heart. It would be a lie to say I wasn’t sad. But I can’t take it anymore. It’s better to be alone after all.

Grip─

Grasping the sword hilt tightly, she stabbed down as is······

“If you die, you regress to the past. Is that why you committed suicide in the field?”

“······!”

Stop─

How did he know that······? No, more than that, he understood? Regression?

“It’s not clear, but I remember. Regression······ It’s hard to believe, but it’s strange to deny it when there’s obvious evidence.”

“O-oh······.”

“I’ll decide to believe it once. You don’t seem like the type to tell a lie that will be exposed soon, and more than anything, I felt sincerity in Ms. Sarah’s reaction.”

“······.”

Clang!

She lost strength in her hand and dropped the sword.

What am I hearing right now? Is this really a dream, like Mr. John said?

Slaaaaaap!

She slapped herself on the cheek with a full swing. She hit herself so hard that her body momentarily floated up.

Thud!

Her face, which had been off of John’s back, felt the damp touch of the ground.

It’s not a dream? It’s reality?

“Heheheh, heheheheh. Heheheheheheh!!”

She suddenly started laughing like crazy.

Even though her face was buried in the ground and dirt was getting in her mouth, she couldn’t stop laughing.

“Hahahahahahahahaha!!”

John, who was watching her with trembling eyes, thought.

‘It’s best to avoid crazy people······.’

Well, it seems like it’s too late.

***

Her laughter, which seemed like it would last forever, finally ended.

“Have you calmed down?”

“Yes.”

I stared at her intently. I can see her hand shaking intermittently.

Certainly, this is too big of a truth to calm down so quickly. I understand.

“Let’s continue hunting for now. Let’s talk in detail at the inn.”

“Yes.”

Just then, I saw skeletons moving through the bushes, reflecting the flowing sunlight.

The position where they were standing was quite coincidental. They weren’t scattered, but were in a straight line.

This is my chance.

‘Magic Missile.Lv 2’

I repeat, magic power is versatile but has little effect.

However, the level of a single skill increases exponentially in power as it goes up one level.

Whooooooooosh─

Thwack!

I heard impact sounds almost simultaneously. However, if you were focusing your hearing minutely, you would have noticed.

[You have acquired 51 gold.]

[You have acquired 46 gold.]

‘Got it. I killed two at once.’

Immediately after, they also identified our location. They charge, showing off their smooth teeth.

But they have no intelligence. They simply charge. That is······.

Thwack thwack thwack!

‘Too honest. Seriously, they’re no different from scarecrows.’

Even if they somehow allow you to approach, it’s not dangerous. In the first place, the fact that a squishy magician is so calmly showing off their firepower means that.

“Hap!”

A high-level vanguard is protecting his side.

Monsters with pale bodies are cut down by the silver flash she wields.

It was a sight that went well with their colors. Like modern art.

It was subtly harmonious.

Clang.

She stabbed her sword as if to put the finishing touch on the painting. She didn’t seem very out of breath.

She looked more cheerful than usual. She said to me.

“Shall we continue? We need to get back quickly.”

Somehow, the word ‘get back’ felt emphasized. Was it just my imagination?

I nodded.

“Yes. The sooner we get off work, the better.”

I’ve never had a job, but I look forward to going home from school every day.

She walked back to me with a light step. It felt like I had a reliable bodyguard.

‘I’m glad things seem to have worked out well.’

She’ll show a stable mental state for a while.

‘Little by little, not too much.’

It’s a bad move to say that you remember everything. I need to maintain a proper distance from her.

The deeper the relationship, the greater the anger caused by conflict, and the closer the distance, the more each other’s weaknesses are revealed.

This is just right.

***

Thwack!

Gives the skull’s head a non-organic hole. I feel like the tension is gradually dropping. The boiling water is slowly cooling down.

Level up of main skills, increased stats. The monsters living on the outskirts of Marim were no longer enemies.

Is it time to slowly go into the depths?

A message rang out that fanned my thoughts.

[You have acquired 1 Karma.]

“······.”

8th since the last Karma was obtained, with this I could be sure.

“Ms. Sarah. Ms. Sarah, isn’t it difficult for you to accumulate Karma too?”

“Yes. I’ve already caught 7, but it still hasn’t popped up.”

I knew it.

“As we get stronger, it seems the acquisition criteria for Karma are also increasing.”

“Certainly······ I vaguely expected it too. I think Mr. John is right.”

It wasn’t certain, but it was a plausible system.

Muscles also don’t grow with the same stimulus.

Weight, rest time, posture, reps······ etc. There are various methods, but the point is this.

‘Stronger training than before. The status window is the same.’

If so······ I turned my head and looked at the depths of the forest.

Black trees that sprouted here and there on the ground. It was like the mouth of a beast filled with black teeth.

“Ms. Sarah.”

“Yes?”

“Shall we go inside once?”