Chapter 50. Rewriting Fate – Round 3
It was 6 AM again. I checked my wristwatch and came to the conclusion that the day was repeating. I can't even deny that it's happening since my memory of it was so clear.
Was it because I killed the Thief? Did he put a curse on me before he died?
The fact that I was 'being attacked', despite not having been wounded yet, wasn't a particularly good feeling. I have no idea what might happen if I get stuck in a time loop like this.
"Hey! You listening? I'm going away! Wow, you're not even pretending to be sad? I thought you were better than this."
I consoled Necro a little bit then sent him away. I threw the saint in the biggest room in the house as soon as I took it out. She complained a little, but became satisfied after hearing that it was the biggest. She said that she'd rearrange the furniture as she saw fit, so she probably won't bother me for too long.
Now, let's go find the reason for this damn temporal anomaly.
I activated the Thousand Thunderbirds so that I could attack the enemy as soon as I found him. I also used my Floating Eye to scan everyone in Stair Village. I could see the smoke billowing out of the chimneys below. The streets were crowded with people trying to prepare for the festival.
It has to be one of these people.
The person I'm looking for has to be a person using his power. If it was powerful enough to turn back time by one day, his or her halo should be shining brightly. I slowly began to scan the surrounding area but gave up soon afterwards.
"Why…?"
There were three or four people from a different world in the town, but none of them had abilities related to time. The person might be using the power from outside the village, but… That's too unlikely.
Is it magic?
If that were the case then it would make sense for me to not find anyone suspicious. If the person hide the mana, I wouldn't be able to find the person. But could there actually be a magic that rewinds time…
Well, I guess I'll stop here for today.
By now, it was already 6PM. Streetlights began to be turned on in the town, signaling the start of the night market. Colored lanterns hanging from strings above gave the town a festive vibe.
The day should repeat by now.
I began to look into everyone we had met during our trip. As I did so, a knock came from the door, causing me to look up.
"Mr. Murderer~ Are you still busy?"
The saint came again. The loop ends at 9PM. I could search the town for the last three hours, but…
"I made dinner using the ingredients I got from town. I thought we could eat together."
"I don't…"
I stopped myself from saying 'I don't want to'. The face of the depressed saint became stuck in my head for some reason. If the day's going to repeat anyway… Maybe I could take some time off. Since we're going to go out, I suppose some checks should be done.
"Did you turn off…"
The stove? I realized something before I even finished my question.
"There's no gas and there's no electricity either… Did you use magic?"
"Hehe, don't you know that I'm the strongest white wizard there is? If I just use light magic well enough… Boiling water is but a simple task."
Ah, lasers, is it. To think she'd use light to heat food… I don't know if I should say it's amazing or stupid… Anyway, that's not what's important here.
"Do you have time? I'd like to try something."
"What is it? Is it Heart of Gold again?"
If my memory was correct, I made use of service in order to go back to my previous world. If I could take someone else with me, I could potentially send back people who wanted to go back to their original world. For a fee, of course.
"You'll see."
I extended my hand towards her. I've never tried it before, but it felt like it'd work if I held onto her hand like this. Kind of like how I could store things in the vault. The saint looked down at my hand silently, then grabbed onto my finger shyly. She's usually so unreserved when she hits me. Why's she so shy now?
"Hold on tight. Like this. As if we're shaking our hands."
I firmly grasped her hand. She became shaky and nervous when I did this, which I promptly ignored. I activated Heart of Gold. The place where we were headed to now was the Multiplex. A place that combined a theater, restaurants, arcades, and a giant shopping town into one. The dark dimly-lit library melted away, only to be replaced by a large bright space. It seemed to be the first floor of the complex.
"Hahhh…."
The saint dropped down onto the floor from shock. She was still holding onto my hand tightly. A couple who just came out of the elevator glanced at us, whispering to each other.
"Look, look. That girl. Next to the guy."
"Wow… Amazing! As expected of a foreign girl. Her cosplay's on a completely different level. Is she a model?"
"…Let's break up."
I observed the saint's clothes as I listened to the couple's banter.
Cosplay…
Now that I look at it, her clothes are quite peculiar. People were occasionally stealing glances at us. Unlike the other world, which was currently fall, earth was currently in summer.
Maybe we should buy clothes first…
I picked up the saint and made her stand straight, because she had melted like ice cream on a hot summer day, and pulled her into the elevator. She was quite light. Was it because of her short height? Once the elevator closed, she stuck close to me like a frightened rabbit.
"Mr. Murderer! This is…?"
"Earth. Based on the language, probably Korea?"
"North?"
"South."
Seeing how the last place I went to was New York, it seemed that the location changed based on the services offered. In any case… Why is she so close to me? I can almost feel her breathing on me. I grabbed the inquisitive saint, who was asking me all sorts of things out of excitement, and took her to the fifth floor, the women's clothing section.
Again with the staring. Our clothes was one thing, but… She seems to be the main reason.
"Why here…? Aha, it's a date, isn't it? How nice of you, Mr. Murderer!"
I left her to interpret it however she wanted and let go of her hand to let her go buy her clothes.
…Hm?
Shake. Shake. The girl didn't let go of my hand even when I tried to shake it off. The saint whistled to herself loudly, as if she didn't know what I was trying to do. When we just stood in place like this, one of the employees began to approach us gingerly.
"Sir…? Is there anything that you might be looking for?"
Would he understand me? I guess having Xenoglossy solves that problem. And just like how I had suspected, the saint was able to converse with the employee easily, and finally choose a clothing store. At a place like this, I suppose what was expected to happen was…
The saint would probably try on a bunch of clothes and ask for my opinion.
Contrary my expectations however, the saint just chose a single set of clothes, and bought it using her own money. The employee seemed to be quite surprised when she handed him a gold coin.
It's my turn now.
I entered the men's clothing section on the fourth floor. Before I could even say anything though, I was stopped by a young security guard.
"Apologies. You've been reported by a few of the employees here."
"Reported…?"
I suppose it's obvious that I'd be reported, considering how I was wearing a cape and a helmet. The cape might even be used to steal things. The wide-shouldered guard, who was wearing a police baton on his hip, looked up at my face suspiciously.
"Would you take off your helmet and cape, if it wouldn't trouble you too much?"
Does he think that I might be a criminal? This isn't good. The guard put emphasis on how checking my identity was extremely important as he continuously glanced at the saint.
I guess it's unavoidable. I could say that the guard had no right to force me to do this, but doing such a thing would just end up being counterproductive.
When I took off my helmet, the guard stumbled a few steps back in surprise. My face that had been almost melted off from heat was not at all something that should be seen by anyone. It was absolutely abominable. The guard looked away a little bit as he spoke with a stiffer tone than before.
"Sir, apologies for this, but… Please put your helmet on again, and… Exit the building with me."
Exit the building…?
"I look ugly, so leave?"
"You might cause discomfort for the other customers, so… Please understand."
He was equivocating nicely, but he was clearly putting some force behind his words. It almost seemed like he was about to throw me out by force if needed. It wasn't hard to say no, but… I turned to look at the worried saint.
I wanted to let her have a nice day, too…
The situation just kept getting worse. Several customers became curious about what was going on and even decided to become part of the peanut gallery.
"Why does he look like that? Does he really want to come to a place like this with a face like that?"
"Wow, I feel like throwing up. Let's go, let's go. Damn it, why does he even go out with a face like that? He should just die."
"I feel so sorry for the girl next to him. No, if she's with a guy like him, she's clearly…"
So it's ok for me to be treated like this if I'm ugly, is it… Looks like arguing with the guard wouldn't really yield fruitful results either. I sighed and came back to the library on the second floor with the saint. The people around us disappeared and made what happened just before seem like a dream.
"Mr. Murderer…"
"Sorry, sorry. I troubled you with my looks."
The saint, who was still holding onto my hand, looked up at my face with worried eyes.
Hah…
Looks like I chose wrong 'again'. Maybe I should figure out a way to end this properly before I find the enemy? Maybe I'll find the right way to solve this problem that way.
Plus, I feel slightly… Just slightly,
Mad.