No Choice But to Trust My Past Self - 2

After leaving Sera’s room, I moved a good distance away and then simply sat down in the corridor. Going any farther felt mentally impossible. My thoughts were so tangled that all I could do was rake my fingers through my hair.

I was still so confused I thought I might lose my mind.

‘A previous loop, of all things.’

I had at least managed to grasp that much. Or maybe I only thought I had. Either way, I decided to set it aside for now.

Then another crucial point hit me late.

‘Just how far does “companion” go?’

The scope of the word was anything but clear. There was no way to know who had regained those memories or how many of them there were. The uncertainty left me feeling helpless all over again.

‘I can’t exactly walk up and ask, “Hey, did you regress?”’

If they had been close to me in that forgotten loop, fine. But if they had been enemies, I would be handing them my secrets on a silver platter—and I could be betrayed before I even had a chance to react. Caution was the only option.

“……Status Window.”

In the end, there was no way to know what I truly needed to do. So the smart move was to start with what I could do. Brooding with lingering attachment would never produce an answer. First, check the Status Window.

The Status Window rose before me, dense with text. Reading the familiar contents told me everything I needed about my current condition.

‘Thankfully, everything’s normal.’

The traits were identical to the previous loop. That alone was a relief. Other traits could vanish or appear without much issue, but one of them absolutely had to remain. Its disappearance was unthinkable.

Trait: Humanity (Your final line.)

Seeing that line still firmly in place eased something tight in my chest. Humanity was the one uniqueness I could never afford to lose. I was still human.

If it had disappeared, it would have meant I was no longer human at all.

‘And if I’m not human…’

If I were no longer a human regressor, I would simply be another catastrophe. Beyond mere danger, there would be no hope left of saving the world. The world was ending because of things that were not human. If I myself were no longer human, then I would be one more threat capable of destroying it.

‘Still, the Status Window itself is working fine.’

I had half-feared it might have broken after all those error messages earlier. Seeing it appear without issue took a decade off my life. Losing access to it would have been a massive handicap.

‘And honestly, the most important part of the Status Window isn’t even ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠this.’

Objectively analyzing my own state was useful, but that was only the basic function. The true value of the Status Window lay elsewhere.

‘Might as well test it.’

I shifted my gaze to the blue garden beyond the corridor window, focusing on a flower bed in full bloom, and murmured inwardly.

‘Status Window.’

Even though the earlier messages had left me full of unease and irritation, the flower bed simply displayed its serene indifference.

‘This works too.’

Yes. This Status Window could read not only myself, but every other person, object, and even environment that existed in the world. In essence, it let me pierce through to their true nature. Across countless loops, it had been the ability that helped me the most. Who was dangerous and who was safe, whether an item was poisoned, who the assassin hiding behind a wall might be—all of it could be discerned through this power.

‘I can head into the dungeon without worry now.’

The dungeon I usually frequented randomized its traps every single time. The rewards were excellent, but the danger scaled to match. Even memorizing patterns had often left me in peril. With the Status Window, though, those traps could be avoided with ease.

‘So I’ll start there.’

What I lacked right now was a weapon. I patted my waist again, but my hand met only empty air. The sensation was so wrong that it made it hard to focus on anything else. Better to secure a weapon first, then think about the companions.

‘Just in case a moment comes when raw strength isn’t enough.’

I had no interest in inviting that kind of trouble.

“……What are you doing there?”

A low, subdued voice stabbed into my back. I turned my head and saw a girl leaning against a corridor pillar with her arms crossed.

My younger sister, Nile—the one who hated me more than anyone else.

Her atmosphere was completely different from the screaming fury she had shown outside the door earlier. Rather than pure anger, her sharp eyes raked me up and down with open suspicion. The shift left me oddly awkward.

We had only just parted after she shouted at me. I hadn’t even sensed her approach from behind. Normally Nile would have spat that the sight of my face disgusted her and walked straight past. Today she was staring with an almost unnerving persistence.

“That’s…… none of your business.”

The transparent deflection slipped out before I could stop it. Nile, however, seemed unbothered as she walked toward me. Watching her, a strange certainty settled in.

‘Nile regressed too.’

Which would mean she counted as a companion—for now. That part was still ambiguous. There had been plenty of loops where I never made her a companion at all. Unlike Sera, she was nearly impossible to persuade. Unless I decided from the start to use her, I simply discarded her. It was easier that way.

‘But a companion…’

It was hard to accept.

I steadied myself and decided to check her status. The Status Window might tell me what to watch out for.

‘Status Window.’

What?

The moment the window appeared, I couldn’t help but stare.

‘This is nothing like the previous loops.’

Normally her state would have read “Contempt.” She had always been busy being disgusted at the mere sight of me; that essence had never once changed. Yet now it said Regret. I had no idea what she could possibly be regretting.

And that wasn’t the only difference. Two completely incomprehensible traits had been added.

‘First, what does Love-Hate even mean?’

Whom was she feeling that toward? Had she fallen in love with someone in that loop? No—knowing Nile’s personality, that seemed impossible. Then what did it mean? That she felt love-hate because we had been companions? Was I even the target?

‘And Exhaustion?’

What kind of loop had she lived through to already be this worn down? Even after the most painful experiences, the first regression usually brought pure joy. It must have been filthy enough to leave her like this.

There was far too much I couldn’t understand.

While I was lost in thought, Nile had come right up ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠to my face. Maybe it was because I had seen the Status Window, but her eyes now seemed to hold something almost like pity.

“Hey. There’s something I want to ask.”

“……Something you want to ask?”

“Yeah. You said you’d suffer as much as I suffered. I want to know what that meant. What the hell were you talking about?”

A deep jolt of panic hit me. I had never expected that question.

Back when I said it, I ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠hadn’t thought much of it. Nile wasn’t the type to care about such things; normally she would have dismissed it as nonsense and ignored me. Yet here she was, pressing me with genuine interest.

“……It means exactly what it sounds like. I’ll suffer more than you.”

I considered giving a more polished answer, but caution still ruled. Our relationship might still be bad.

“How? How are you going to suffer more than me?”

She pressed even harder. I couldn’t keep dodging forever, so I had to make a guess.

‘State: Regret. Traits: Love-Hate and Exhaustion. So she’s hurting mentally.’

And the fact that she hadn’t attacked me on sight meant we weren’t outright enemies—at least not yet.

I dredged up everything I knew about Nile’s background and continued.

“……Watch tomorrow’s trial. I’ll prove it then.”

I thought it was a decent line. Not empty words, but a promise to show her through action. At the very least it wouldn’t look like I was running away. And I had already planned to get myself excommunicated anyway. Once she saw me thoroughly cast out, she might even think reasonably well of me.

“That’s all from me.”

I left those words behind and walked past her. From here on, the only thing I needed to do was clear the dungeon.

Kyle walked past as if nothing had happened.

Nile stared blankly after him. The moment he vanished from sight, a hollow laugh escaped her—like she had just understood something new.

“……That’s what it meant? Ha. Seriously. So that’s why.”

Nile had regressed.

And the Nile who had returned to the past already knew that tomorrow’s trial was a frame-up. Kyle himself almost certainly knew it too. Yet in the previous life he had simply accepted the excommunication without resistance.

She hadn’t understood why back then.

“It was all… because of me?”

He had abandoned the entire family just to pay for a single sin he committed against her. Why go that far?

Tears threatened to rise. It was such a foolish act.

‘I can’t leave things like this anymore.’

Nile finally understood. Kyle had been a victim too. From this moment on, she resolved to live for his sake alone.

“Oppa… just trust me.”

From now on, she would live only for her brother.