episode_0021

Since when?

Since when have I been regressing with her?

Looking back, there were a lot of strange things that happened during that time. She would often show signs of having memories of previous episodes, and there were also times when her reactions were completely different from what I expected her to react to.

Every time that happened, ominous thoughts would cross my mind. I wondered if she remembered everything. At the time, I just dismissed those thoughts as delusions born of fear.

But now, looking at her, it seems my guess was correct.

Burning slave markets, massacred slave traders.

And there she stands in the middle of it all.

It was clear who the culprit was. It had to be her.

It was a strange thing. A seven-year-old slave waiting to be disposed of had the power to create such a spectacle. It was absurd. If she had that kind of power in the first place, she would have escaped on her own a long time ago. I can say with certainty that she did not have that kind of power at this time. If that were the case…

This makes it certain.

…She’s been regressing with me. Probably from the beginning.

That shocking fact left me dizzy.

The episodes of the past few decades flashed before my eyes like a panorama. She had been deceiving me for so many episodes.

You have been deceiving me and acting.

It gives me goosebumps.

How ridiculous it must have seemed to me, trying to rehabilitate myself. Now I see that it was all meaningless nonsense.

I asked her in a trembling voice.

“······Since when?”

She answered with a bitter expression.

“From the beginning···”

A hammer hits my head. She continues talking to me, who is still unconscious from the shock.

He calmly confesses his sins, as if he were an old man confessing his past mistakes.

“Over and over again··· Over and over again··· But it doesn’t work··· No matter how much I struggle··· No matter how hard I try··· The distance between me and my master keeps growing further and further··· All I wanted was··· To be by my master’s side···”

She smiles bitterly.

“I guess it was my greed··· Master was right··· There’s nothing you can do about the devil’s bloodline··· I’m just a piece of trash who only has a bad influence on you···”

After she finished speaking, she started to approach me. For some reason, she was holding a knife in her hand. When I saw it, I was terrified and tried to run away.

But my body wouldn’t move. Something transparent was holding me tightly.

It’s her. She must be doing some strange magic.

Here she comes. She walks.

No. Please…

It’s almost there. It stops right in front of my eyes.

I closed my eyes tightly.

But what I thought didn’t happen.

“Don’t be afraid, Master… I won’t hurt you anymore… No more stupid things like that…”

Her tone seemed to be reassuring.

Then she apologized to me.

“I’m sorry··· I’ve caused trouble to you all this time··· What can I say··· What can I say··· Asking for forgiveness would be shameless···”

“······.”

She handed me a knife.

And talk.

“Please kill me···”

“!!”

“If I stay alive, I’ll cause trouble to my master again···”

She smiled sadly and moved my hand holding the knife to her neck.

“Take my life.”

She looked straight at me. Her eyes were sincere. She was really, really asking me to kill her.

“If I die, the return spell will no longer work··· I cannot cover up the sins I committed against you with my insignificant life, but please allow me to atone for them in this way···”

“······.”

I felt a strong impulse as I gripped the hilt of the sword. If I just apply a little force, she will die. From what I heard, it seems like she is the one who keeps turning back time, so if I just kill her, this will be the end of the regression.

This was an opportunity.

In fact, when I realized that she was the one who made me regress, I felt an indescribable sense of despair. This was because I immediately realized that I could never escape from her.

Even if I turned away from the slave market, even if I died, even if I avoided her for the rest of my life, she would still remember everything, and she could return whenever she wanted. Because she was the one who made the return happen.

So to speak, I was a parrot locked in a cage.

I had given up on everything in that desperate situation, but fortunately, an opportunity arose.

If I just push this knife in, I can be liberated. I can escape the shackles of regression and become a free being. This kind of opportunity will probably never come again. Even though I pretend to reflect now, it was obvious that I would change my attitude later. This is my last chance.

I took a deep breath. I tightened my grip on the hilt of the knife.

Just push it in like this. It won’t take much effort. Isn’t it something she even agreed to? It’s something she wants too.

She is the one who brutally murdered me several times. To be honest, there were many times when I wanted to kill her. So I have no hesitation at all. I can do it.

I have to push her in… I have to kill her…

But strangely, it didn’t take much strength.

I knew I had to kill him, but I just couldn’t do it.

Suddenly I looked at my hands and they were shaking.

Swear words are pouring out of my mouth.

“Fuck···!!”

How could I kill her? A seven-year-old girl who had no resistance. A girl who was like my daughter to me long ago. We were each other’s support. We were our only family. It’s not easy for a parent to abandon their child. Although she was killed several times, I’m afraid of her and have a lot of resentment…

···It was too hard to kill her with my own hands. Even more so when she showed signs of remorse like this.

Eventually I threw the knife away.

“Master······?”

And he shouted at her who was bewildered.

“Shut up!!”

I don’t know where the courage came from, but for some reason I was so angry that I shouted at her who was so scary.

“If you’re going to lose, then do it alone. Why are you making me feel so dirty?! Why do I have to kill people with my own hands?!”

“······.”

She lowers her head. As if she has no face to face with me. How shameless. When she was killing me so happily, why is she acting so sorry? I’m angry. At her apologizing, and at myself for not being able to kill her.

After swearing at her for a while, I turned my back and said something to her as if to notify her.

“If you’re truly sorry, don’t show up in front of me again!!”

But before I left, for some reason, I kept seeing her. She was sitting there with a blank expression. In particular, I noticed the burn scars all over her face.

“Fuck!!”

Why am I such a retard?

***

“······.”

The girl thought as she looked at the burn treatment medicine in her hand.

‘Master, you are with me till the end···’

The girl’s master showed kindness to the girl until the very end.

He gave the girl some burn treatment and left.

“I don’t need it, so throw it away!”

The master said that, but the girl knew that in reality he had given her the burn treatment because he felt sorry for her.

The girl was very happy about that fact, but her heart still ached.

Because he was the one who killed that kind master several times.

Guilt is creeping in. Why did I do that? I’m such a piece of shit.

I closed my eyes.

And I decided.

I’m going to die like this.

‘Let’s die···’

There was no reason to live anymore.

After all, wasn’t the purpose of returning to the past to apologize to him?

Although I was not forgiven and ended up committing a greater sin against the Master, I still achieved my goal of returning.

It would be shameless to expect forgiveness here. It would be better to just wrap it up.

I didn’t have the confidence to live. Living without my master is a continuation of suffering. I probably wouldn’t be able to bear it anymore and would go looking for my master. While I still had my senses, taking my own life was the choice for my master.

The girl grabbed the knife in her hand. She held it to her neck. The tip of the knife dug into the girl’s neck slightly, causing a drop of blood to form.

The girl finally remembered.

The last sight of the master. The sight of his back as he rudely handed over the burn treatment and left.

‘haha···’

I have no regrets even after I die.

The master never abandoned the girl until the end. This fact was a great comfort to the girl. It made her not afraid of death.

Proof that I am still his slave. Proof that he still loves me. That’s enough. I can die as my master’s slave…

‘Please remember me, Master···’

If I had died by the master’s hands earlier, I would have been remembered by the master for the rest of my life, so that was a little disappointing.

I wish I could see him one last time…

Oh no… I’m starting to get greedy again.

I need to die soon.

So the girl thrust the sharp blade into her own neck with all her might.

But at that time

!!

Someone’s hand stopped her knife.

“Ugh!”

He was her master.

“Uh, why···”