203. Is this why we're meeting?
203. Is this why we're meeting?
Probably... the 43rd loop.
I calculated backwards by counting the 'time' and it came out roughly around that.
I was pretty sure it was accurate, but there could always be some unknown factor.
"Hngg... Hup!"
Anyway, since another day had begun.
I immediately picked up my phone to call Theia──
─Tiriririk♬
"....Theia?"
Before I could even dial, Theia called me first.
[Chrono... is that you?]
"It's Chrono."
[Haaaah...]
A long, drawn-out sigh.
Theia said she had worried she might have dialed the wrong number, then continued.
[I'm really sorry about yesterday. I went days without sleep and I just... I made you miss training because of me, what do we do...?]
"It's fine. If I was going to fail because I missed one day, would consistent training even get me anywhere?"
[Chrono. That kind of mindset isn't good. Having a diligent attitude in everything you do is the most important thing!]
"......Um."
A sudden sermon?
Just as my soul was about to drift away after roughly twenty more minutes of preaching, Theia finally came to her senses and apologized to me once more.
[I’m sorry... I keep...]
"Let's just meet there for now."
[Okay! I'll head there right away!]
A voice that sounded reasonably energetic.
At some point, referring to the 'café' as just 'there' had apparently become a standing agreement between us.
Well, whatever it was, it didn't turn out bad.
I got up from my spot and changed clothes.
...
..
.
"Hello?"
"Haaaaah."
"?"
A sigh the moment she saw me?
To think she sighed the very second I arrived at the café and sat down.
"...Just in case."
"Huhhh?"
Now Theia even reached out and started touching my body.
Only after checking my arms and hands did her expression finally relax, as if she could rest easy at last, and she leaned back against the chairback.
"So.... who is that kid?"
"Hmm? Ah, right."
Theia got up from her seat and backed away.
".........."
"...Theia?"
"Is that... not okay...?"
"It's not that it's not okay."
Theia, who normally would retreat far into the distance, this time stopped at just a short distance away.
Being right beside me, every word spoken could be heard from nearby.
It's not particularly... a problem, right?
In the first place, even if overheard, it was nothing that would cause a major issue.
I spoke to Hestia, who was watching me with a meaningful look.
"Hello there, pervert who wants to get pregnant the second your placenta comes out."
"───Pffhahack!"
Her reaction was just like the last time.
The coffee she was sipping just for show sprayed back out in reverse, and afterwards, like before, came understanding and acceptance before she released the blessing inside her and passed on the memory to Hestia.
"Uuugh. I think there's still some left up my nose...!"
"If it's uncomfortable, just blow your nose."
".....Hero, do you just not understand a woman's delicacy?"
"Not really."
In the first place, what kind of delicate woman says she wants to get pregnant the instant her placenta falls out?
"I never said that!"
"You did, though."
"That's... that's not something I said!"
"Hestia did say it."
"Guh!.... Ghk.... Guuuuuh...."
Knocked out.
As if she'd had enough, Hestia stood up from her seat and shouted at me.
"Training, it's training right now, Hero!"
"Yessum."
As I followed behind Hestia, I thought to myself.
...Could she seriously be sexually frustrated?
My heart wasn't racing at all.
I was an even bigger scumbag than I ever imagined, huh....
******************
"What time do you think it is right now?"
"...3 o'clock, 27 minutes, 42 seconds, 71."
I wasn't sure what the answer was, but for some reason I felt like this was it.
"........."
"Is it right?"
Hestia fell silent.
She slowly showed me her stopwatch.
[3:27:42:54]
"Ah, dang."
It was almost identical.
As I lamented my failure by the narrowest of margins, Hestia instead asked me a question.
"Hero... did you do some kind of secret special training without me?"
"As for what you might call special training..."
Those X number of loops I spent wasting my life away.
Every single one of them were loops spent on lewd X-rated stuff. Could that have actually helped me?
True, mastering something does require time.
For example, it's like this:
That feeling when a technique you couldn't pull off no matter how much you practiced suddenly flows out with ease when you try it the next morning.
There's always a slight gap between knowing something rationally and having it ingrained in your instincts.
It seemed the training I had done over the past several dozen days had finally settled stably into my body after a few days of rest.
"At this level.... I think it's okay to move on to the 'next step'."
"By the 'next step'?"
"Directly 'feeling' 'time'."
Hestia conjured a flame above her hand.
"To 'perceive' the 'divine authority' latent within yourself, the 'power' granted by the gods, through the world."
Just like mana, like aura, like ki,
To look at the 'world' through the 'divine authority' gifted by the gods.
"Hero, your sensitivity to 'time' has sharpened through these several dozen days of training. So I think you can feel it now."
The flow of time.
The process of cause and effect.
Even all the flows engraved upon the axis of time.
"If you can accomplish that, then whatever comes next is up to you, Hero. Once you can 'observe' 'time', handling it freely is up to you."
"So that means...."
"Yes."
Just one step.
Only one ordeal remained ahead.
"If you overcome this── you can obtain the 'eyes', Hero."
Eyes that gaze upon the 'time' drifting through the world.
If I had to give them a name── right.
"The [Eye of Cronus]."
"The Eye of Cronus...."
The Eye of Cronus.
That which perceives time, observes the world.
An eye that looks upon the world through time... the Eye of Cronus, huh.
"....Huh?"
"What's wrong, Hero?"
Wait.
Hold on.
No, I mean, hold on just a minute?
"This 'Eye of Cronus' is...."
Status window. Status wiiiiiindow!!!
Quickly, the status window. I had to open the status window...!
[Now loading....]
Now that I think about it, this thing's been broken ever since I got turned into a shota!
Damn it, damn it, damn it!
No.
Well, whatever.
Just because I became a shota doesn't mean I can't use my abilities. I just can't see the status window, but I could still use all my abilities and divine authorities, right?
"...Hestia. Could you hold still for a second?"
"Huh? Is there something on my face?"
I looked at Hestia's face and called out.
"[Present Sight]"
Ziiing, the sensation of something overlaying itself over my eyes.
A feeling like a black mist seeping out from the deepest part within my heart, soon manifesting into a transparent lens before my eyes.
And what I could see beyond that lens was...
Name: Hestia
-One of the Twelve Olympians (once) Goddess of the Hearth.
-Currently striving to be bedded by Chrono.
-Seriously considering turning the tables and bedding Chrono.
"....Huh?"
What the hell was this.
A window floating before my eyes.
Written on it were sentences that were all utterly absurd.
...Is this for real?
Striving to be bedded and whatnot,
considering turning the tables and bedding him and whatnot.
"Hero... are you feeling sick somewhere?"
"Uh... well, you see..."
Message windows flickered up dizzily.
Then a new message soon updated and appeared.
Name: Hestia
-Putting into practice the plan: 'If pulling doesn't work, push and bed him!'
"............"
Hmm.
Well.
Now that I thought about it, that made sense.
That thing Ur once said to me.
'If humans are this stubborn, how much more so must gods be.'
I had thought Hestia was actually a really chaste, noble, that kind of woman.
But as it turned out, rumor had it she was a meticulous goddess who planned everything from start to finish purely to lose her virginity.
The fact that her goal was losing her virginity was ludicrous in many ways, but anyway, that was the gist of it.
"If it's the Eye of Cronus, I already have it."
"Eh...?"
"Cronus gave it to me. I already have that."
"............"
I already possessed the eyes to see 'time'.
The fact that I was only just now realizing this was absurd too, but whatever.
Life is best when you take shortcuts.
I dusted off my rear and stood up from my spot.
"W-Wait! Where are you going right now?"
"Regression is 'time' being twisted, right? So I was thinking... if I find the place where time is twisted and restore it to its original state, wouldn't regression end?"
"That's... well, that is true..."
"........."
A hesitant demeanor.
A demeanor that suggested this shouldn't end here.
Plus the truths I had uncovered through the 'eyes'.
...So there really wasn't any twist after all.
Then again, what did I expect from an NTR game heroine?
Cases like Mars or Ur were the abnormal ones; normally, this level was the default setting.
Heroines who would spread their legs the second you poked them.
"NTR game special trait... they're actually totally up for it...."
"...Chrono?"
".........."
No, never mind.
Don't think any hasty thoughts.
Right now, I had to focus on the present above all else.
"I'll be going now. Thank you for helping me with training all this time."
Although, truthfully, that training had pretty much turned into a waste-of-time-adjacent sort of thing.
But in any case, if not for Hestia, I never would have been able to understand 'time' so deeply.
As I expressed my gratitude for that and promptly tried to turn around, Hestia immediately blocked my path.
"Hold on..... hold on! Just a moment!"
"....? What is it?"
"That's.... mm.... ggggh....!"
She stomped her feet restlessly.
A look that showed she had no idea what to do.
It was nothing like the composed woman she normally showed me. It was exactly the same as the light-behind-the-ears attitude she had when we first met.
...Ur, just what on earth are you!
Sure enough, had asking a god about another god been the correct answer?
There was no more value or meaning in looking back.
I passed by Hestia and walked beyond her.
"....Hero."
".........."
She grabbed me by the collar.
Gripping tightly, Hestia poured strength into her hand and pulled me back.
"Did I... did I do something wrong?"
And then she continued with,
"If I did something wrong... I'm sorry. I'll apologize. If there's something I need to fix, tell me and I swear I'll fix it."
That apology of hers.
"....Hestia. No, Hestia."
"Yeah....."
I asked her.
"Is this why we meet?"
".....Huh?"
...Ah, was that not the right thing to say?
As an aside.
".........Hmm."
Theia, who had watched their training the entire time.
At the sight of the two, smiling and polishing their skills together, of the friendly pair of man and woman.
"Hmmmm....."
Should she say her chest felt vaguely chilled?
It hurt? Stung? Rather than heartburn, it felt like her insides were chilled. She even wondered if she had contracted some kind of illness.
[Is this why we meet?]
[.....Huh?]
".....?"
And now.
At the sight of the two suddenly fighting, about to drift apart.
"Oh?"
All of a sudden, it felt as if her chest was melting softly away.
It didn't hurt. It wasn't chilled.
Just a heart at peace beyond measure.
"Why...?"
Theia could not, by any means, gauge her own condition.