Chapter 30
Chapter 30
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 30
Chapter Title: When Does Tomorrow Come? (5)
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Emily stood on that same path where she had died over and over again.
A wide-open view of grass, with a single tile path cutting through it.
Moments later, a creepy woman with long hair appeared there.
Emily clasped her trembling hands together and held her ground.
'Ken will definitely help me. ...Ken will definitely help me.'
Until now, she had only been brutally murdered, but this time was different.
A reliable ally was watching over her.
Recalling that fact, Emily stood still, waiting for her opponent.
And watching her from the bushes at the edge of the path were two figures.
Ken Fine Stein and the loop event's helper NPC.
"...Somehow, this feels like being a spy. My heart's pounding."
"This is serious business, so get serious. No one but you can save that girl."
"I know. You're the one who protected my assignment score, after all. Gotta give it my all!"
Alicia Mason, who was holding her breath beside Ken, spoke with an oddly excited tone.
During morning training with Siegfried, Ken had been shocked when Emily brought this girl along.
"...Ken."
Emily had shown up at the training grounds with an anxious look on her face, somehow knowing where to find him.
Alicia stood beside her.
The inexplicable situation pointed to one answer.
Emily was trapped in a loop right now.
'Probably, the me from the previous loop told Emily about Alicia's existence.'
'And instructed her to bring Alicia to me.'
Once Ken understood the situation, he moved quickly.
First, he told Emily to wait at the academy until the woman appeared, while he took care of Rafne.
And made the necessary preparations.
The bone sword he had crafted earlier.
He embedded the golden spirit stone still embedded in the sword made from the giant's bone and modified it.
He added a rune inscription design to it.
It was the target-tracking formula he had learned while repairing Aspetra.
Soon, the sun began to set, and he rendezvoused with Emily at the promised spot.
Leading to the current situation.
'...That's the place where Emily dies.'
The loop event's woman was invisible to Ken.
So he had marked the ground in advance.
A crossing straight line.
An X marked on the tiles, and Emily stood a short distance away from it.
Emily trembled with a tense expression.
'She must have met countless deaths right there.'
Just standing in that spot now would bring back those memories and torment her.
"So, what's the deal between you and Senior Emily, Senior Ken?"
Growing bored of the quiet wait, Alicia suddenly asked.
"What do you mean, 'the deal'? We're just classmates, obviously."
Ken suddenly recalled the harsh words he had said to Emily two days ago.
'I should apologize to her sometime.'
But at Ken's response, Alicia covered her mouth and grinned slyly.
"Hehe... Sorry, but I've got a good eye for this stuff. I can spot sweet-and-bitter guy-girl dynamics from a mile away!"
Doesn't seem like it at all.
Ken ignored her without responding.
He was curious what face she'd make if Emily told her about stepping on his head, but now wasn't the time.
The sun would set soon.
"Warm up your body. We'll have to move fast once things kick off."
"Got it!"
And moments later.
As the sun dipped below the horizon, the blue sky began to be dyed in orange hues.
Twilight.
The atmosphere shifted in an instant.
The once bright and warm street grew colder, bathed in the glow of sunset.
With it, Emily shuddered, shoulders flinching.
There she was—the long-haired woman, appearing out of nowhere.
"Kyahahahaha! Did you bring him...? You brought him, right~? The child of prophecy...!"
The woman slowly approached Emily under the sunset sky.
Emily overcame her fear and barely opened her mouth.
"H-He'll be here soon! I've brought him, so, p-please wait just a moment!"
Of course, it was a lie to buy time.
And a signal to Ken, who was watching her.
Ken caught it from Emily's soliloquy.
The target had appeared.
Things were starting.
Ken immediately closed his eyes and focused his mana on his consciousness.
'Calorie Burn.'
His will transmitted to the mana coursing through his body, and soon it burned hot like fire.
"...Ngh!"
Ken let out a small groan at the pain he still wasn't used to.
⚙ SYSTEM NOTIFICATION ⚙ [Skill used: Calorie Burn] [Time limit: 15 minutes] Ken's clothes grew loose as his body lightened in an instant. But the power surging through him was on another level.
"...W-Wow. What the...?"
Alicia, watching Ken's transformation from the side, stared with wide eyes and a shocked face.
'No wonder she's surprised...'
Anyone would be startled if someone suddenly shed weight like that.
"I-I was wondering how you won over Senior Emily, but... now I get it."
"What kinda nonsense is that?"
"Don't look at me like that! I don't wanna catch feelings for a guy who's taken...!"
Ken gave Alicia an exasperated look.
He hadn't noticed in the game since she only appeared briefly, but this girl was a bit odd.
Ignoring Alicia lightly, Ken pulled the pre-made bone sword from his subspace pocket.
Embedded in it was a glowing golden spirit stone.
Gripping the sword, he fixed his gaze on Emily.
Emily's legs shook as if she'd bolt any second, terror-stricken, but she held on.
'Just a little longer... Just a little longer, and Ken will definitely...!'
Tears welled up again, but she desperately held them back, waiting for the woman to approach.
"...Keeheehee, bring him... Hurry and bring him... The child of propheceeecy~!"
The woman pressed closer, step by step.
As she drew near, Emily's trembling seemed to delight her, and she laughed gleefully.
And as the approaching woman.
Reached the mark.
"Keeeennnn━!! Now!!"
Emily squeezed her eyes shut and screamed.
At the signal, Ken sprang from the bushes.
And hurled the bone sword in his hand.
With all his might.
Kwaaaaaah━!!
The sword flew with a massive roar and explosive crack.
Like an arrow loosed from a bow.
The inscribed formula locked onto its target.
Striking the woman on the mark dead-on.
Kwaaaang!!
"KyaAAAAAAAAAA━!!!"
Hit by the flying sword, the woman soared several meters through the air, crashing into a tree.
And soon, wracked by the immense lightning surging from the blade, she screamed in agony.
The woman's hidden form revealed itself to the two as well.
"Alicia!! Now!!"
"Got it!"
At Ken's signal, Alicia burst from the bushes and rushed toward the paralyzed woman amid the lightning.
'She won't die... She better not die...'
Ken thought, staring at the woman steeped in lightning.
The ten-day time loop event.
The conditions to reset the day in this event were two.
One: Emily's death.
Two: The death of that scissor-wielding woman.
Whichever died first reset the time back to morning.
That's why using strong allies to take down the woman here was pointless.
"...Now, you weird lady. Look into my eyes."
Alicia cautiously approached the long-haired woman and focused her mana while staring into her eyes.
Mana flowed from her body to her eyes, forming a strange pattern.
Hypnotic magic eyes.
This was why this student named Alicia was the key to clearing the event.
"You are trapped in an eternally repeating day."
Alicia and the long-haired woman locked eyes.
The woman, screaming from the lightning's pain, fell into those eyes, forgetting even to cry out.
Her eyes rolled back.
And she plunged into the eternally repeating world.
Now, they just had to wait for the day to pass, and Emily's curse would lift.
"Emily!"
"...Ke-Ken."
Confirming it was over, Ken rushed to Emily, who had collapsed.
She was still shaking.
Even after resolution, the unending pain had left her unstable.
"...It's okay, Emily. It's all over."
"...R-Really?"
"Yeah, all done."
Ken gently stroked Emily's head.
At his warm touch, Emily's heart finally calmed, and she noticed the fallen woman.
"H-Hic, ...Hic, Ken, hic...!"
"It's okay. ...It's okay."
A week of loops endured alone.
Realizing she was finally free from that cycle of death's torment.
"...Hic, waaaaah...!"
Emily clung to Ken, the one who saved her.
And burst into the sobs she had held back.
She cried like a child.
"...It's okay now."
Ken stroked her head, letting her cry her fill in his arms.
"...See? Told ya my eyes don't lie."
The oblivious underclassman grinned slyly at the two.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇ Moments later, Emily had calmed down.
"Well then, seniors. I'll head back now! Let's meet again sometime—it's fate, after all!"
Alicia, having fulfilled her role, returned to the dorms.
The two left sat alone on the tile path.
"Alright, let's get up and head back."
"......"
Ken pulled Emily to her feet; she had stopped crying but still clutched his sleeve tightly.
Tears had ceased, but she stared downward, lost in thought.
Thinking her body was still stiff from lingering fear, Ken took her hand to lead her.
"Come on, let's go."
Ken intended to escort her back to the dorms.
"Wait, ...Ken."
But Emily grabbed his moving hand and stopped him.
"Huh? What's up?"
"...I have something to say."
At her words, Ken turned to face her.
Emily stood still, staring at the ground with a dark expression.
Did she still have more to say?
Ken waited patiently for her to speak.
And after a moment, as if she'd sorted her thoughts, Emily looked up at him.
"...Ken."
Not the fear from before, but eyes filled with sadness and guilt.
Forcing open reluctant lips, Emily spoke.
"I'm sorry... for tormenting you. I'm really, really sorry."
The words she'd kept bottled up inside.
Saying them aloud made her chest tremble and tears well up.
But she couldn't cry.
She didn't deserve to here.
So Emily held back her tears as best she could.
"I'm not asking for forgiveness. ...What I did can't be forgiven with just an apology."
Strength entered Emily's hand, transmitting to Ken's clasped one.
The tremor of someone admitting their sin and begging forgiveness.
Her sincere heart reached him through their hands.
"Still, I had to say it. ...I'm sorry, Ken. Really, truly sorry."
Unable to hold back anymore, Emily bowed her head.
Tears dripped from her eyes, wetting the ground.
Ken, who had listened silently, approached her.
"...Got it, Emily. Lift your head."
Ken gently placed a hand on her shoulder.
Emily looked up at his words, her face streaming endlessly with tears.
Ken took out a handkerchief and wiped them away.
"Don't cry too much. Gives you a headache."
"Hic, s-sorry, Ken, hic, I'm the one who messed up, hic, no right to cry...!"
Ken tenderly wiped the tears from her apologizing face.
At his touch, emotions surged stronger in Emily, and she couldn't stop the tears.
"How about this, then?"
Pondering how to ease her guilt-ridden heart.
A simple solution came to him.
Nothing grand, but the best he could do to lighten her burden.
"Treat me to a nice meal next time. I love good food."
To avoid awkwardness, Ken smiled brightly.
At his warm smile, Emily's anxious, pained heart thawed.
She nodded silently, tears still flowing.