Since then, it was the sixth time I’ve fine-tuned that strategy and succeeded. Zoom!
Naturally, there were many times I reset completely and started from the beginning, and if I include the minor rewinds, the number would be even higher. Bing!
But I succeeded. I was able to create one successful route. Ding!
“Really.”
At my words, Jennifer muttered. Murmur…
“You’re thinking about rewinding time again, aren’t you?”
“That’s right.”
I said quietly, a white breath escaping from my mouth. Whoosh!
“To be honest, I’m surprised you even have such ability. It’s hard to believe someone could enter and conquer such a fortress.”
“I just caused chaos within the fortress. If the Imperial Army hadn’t advanced during the process, it would have been tough to succeed, no matter how much I could rewind time.”
It was fortunate that the inside was called a ‘trench.’ No matter how many enemies there were, they could only see a limited number of me at once since I was within the trench. Plus, it was nighttime. If I shot the lights, poof! They’d all be gone! One grenade could wipe out the illumination of the whole area. Boom!
Fail until I succeed. Thud!
“……”
Jennifer remained silent for a while. Tick-tock…
“When I first heard that you’d be sent out, I couldn’t believe my ears.”
After a long silence, Jennifer finally spoke. Her tone was hesitant, as if she was pulling thoughts from the depths of her mind, which surprised me. Hmm…
“Imagine how ridiculous it was to hear that there was only ‘one’ support soldier. Well, I’m not a knight commander or anything, but they were comrades I fought alongside, and it’s right in front of the territory where I spent my childhood. Of course, there were various political reasons to consider, but honestly, I was quite happy when I first received the letter. I thought the political issue was finally resolved and that we’d receive more reinforcements.”
“Is that so?”
“Yeah. I was dumbfounded when I opened that fancy envelope.”
“……”
“Do you know what my grandfather said when he heard the news?”
“I don’t.”
“He said the Emperor must have some thoughts on this.”
“……”
“Turns out he really did have thoughts. I thought that even after showing such loyalty, I’d be discarded with the territory.”
Jennifer laughed as if she had heard a funny joke. But there was a hint of emptiness in her voice. Her giggles faded to a whisper. Hehe…
“Does the Emperor know about your abilities?”
“He doesn’t.”
“Are you sure?”
“Yes.”
He likely thinks I’m immensely strange and capable. But I doubt he can imagine I have the ability to rewind time. That would be pure delusion. Duh!
Besides, in this world, the general consensus is that ‘time cannot be rewound.’ It’s not just a simple consensus but tied to the magical world settings. Of course, seeing that I can rewind time like this, the developers might have hidden it, planning it as a twist later on. Surprise!
That sudden scene where the main characters were dropping like flies, and the players had to personally decide who would die — I think that connects to it too. I didn’t think a small development company would switch the entire plotline to include two different endings and release a sequel in just a year.
If there’s a setting that allows me to rewind time, I could just rewind and save those characters, and then the main character who knows that fact could just continue the story. Whoosh!
And for that twist element, no other character should be able to do it. Dun dun dun!
“Is that so…”
Jennifer was silent again for a while. Tick tock tick tock…
“It’s obvious you came back after solving things. Hearing that you can rewind time makes it easy to understand.”
Jennifer glanced at me and said. Glance…
“A moment ago, your expression looked a little tired, but suddenly it turned severely worn out. If I hadn’t known your ability, I would’ve thought you realized just how brutal the upcoming missions would be.”
“Is that so?”
“Yeah. To be honest, your expression right now…”
Jennifer hesitated a bit, which was unlike her.
“Looks like someone who has seen hell.”
“……Is that so.”
I couldn’t think of anything else to say. Sigh…
“……”
“……”
We looked again at the far-off bunker. Stare…
“You’ve heard it from me before, but those mercenaries occupying that place are terrible. They’ve burned several villages and after assaulting women, they’ve hung their heads at the gates of the burned-down villages. It’s hard to understand why they acted so brutally. If you need evidence, I can show it.”
I had heard this story before. I had seen the evidence already. Whew…
“But, even so, those guys are still human. There are some who talk about beasts and such, but if hunters heard those stories, they’d probably laugh. Sure, some beasts treat their prey as toys, but that’s about it. Only humans can be that intelligently cruel. At least among the beings I’ve seen so far.”
Jennifer turned her body towards me. Unlike before when she was just glancing, she looked directly at me and said. Turn…
“To be honest, bringing you here is not my story to tell.”
After a brief hesitation, she said,
“Why not just run away? If you can rewind time, you can negate the lives you’ve lost. Or you could live a life completely unrelated to the Emperor from the start. With your ability, you could live a normal life, right?”
“……”
I quietly stared at the dimly visible bunker in the distance and opened my mouth. Creek…
“I’ve heard that story already.”
“……”
Hearing my reply, Jennifer seemed at a loss for words. Hmm…
“Is that so.”
Standing silently with Jennifer, who fell back into silence, I opened my mouth first this time. Hmm…
“But I appreciate your words. Truly.”
“……”
Jennifer widened her eyes slightly, as if surprised, and then asked. Blink…
“Was that something I’ve said before?”
“No.”
I shook my head. Shake shake…
“This is my first time saying it.”
“I see.”
At my words, Jennifer smiled. Smile…
*
Is there a choice for me to ‘start over from the beginning’?
Jennifer doesn’t know much about my past. Other people might not understand the ‘game’ I was playing, and there aren’t many who know about my past life as ‘Sylvia Black.’ Claire, and perhaps Leo Grace and his wife, who I told stories to. The Emperor, who heard reports, and Lucas, who was watching the orphanage closely.
And all these individuals would agree that even if I rewind time, I would end up in the same situation.
Lucas had been watching the orphanage from the start. No matter how much I could rewind time, I was just a child under ten years old. No matter how fast I ran or hid, I couldn’t escape Lucas’s keen gaze, and even if I rushed in, I would never win. Doom!
Where did this ‘Sylvia Black’ come from?
Probably from nowhere at all.
Just at that moment, a being created for some purpose.
And embedding me, who knows quite a bit about this world’s future in the form of a game, means the entity that brought me here has some definite goal. Boom!
It would be an existence that surely anticipated my ability to rewind time.
“That means, I can do whatever I want, right?”
I muttered softly, staring at the ceiling from my bed in the dead of night. Murmur…
Of course, no response would come back. Silence…
Whether that existence above is a god or the goddess spoken about in the Goddess Faith.
Well, whatever. I guess silence is a right too.
And silence can be interpreted unfavorably for the one exercising that right.
“Alright.”
So I decided to interpret that silence however I wanted and got out of bed. Shuffle!
I was a bit tired. It was obvious since I just had that situation earlier. My mind was foggy, and my body, waking up at midnight, was screaming to return to bed.
But there’s no time. Claire would definitely come searching around four in the morning.
“Huff!”
I took a deep breath in and out. Whoosh!
Sitting cross-legged, I recalled the teachings of my master. Zing!
I focused my mind and recovered my physical state.
Honestly, this doesn’t make sense according to earth standards. If you don’t sleep, your body just gets tired. Yawwwn…
So fortunately, this is a worldview where you can channel energy like that even with an ordinary body. Whew!
“Hoo!”
I exhaled my concerns and troubles into the air, leaving only what I want to do and what I aim for in my mind.
And I opened my eyes. Blink!
Alright.
Now it’s time to go out.
Because I have debts to repay.
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