CH 202

“I would like to get an explanation soon, you know.”

I was hugging Ringo the whole time without letting her go, and a low voice rang from the side.

A cat-eared girl with her favored weapon Tsukikage in hand.

There’s no way I would mistake her.

One of my precious comrades, Mitsuki.

“Mitsuki, you are also fine…” (Souma)

“Fine, you say. If anything, I would say you are the one that isn’t fine though.

What is the meaning of…that?” (Mitsuki)

Mitsuki looked up and down at me, and then returned back up again.

I looked at my outfit again, and even though there should have been little instances of me getting hit directly, there were several parts of my gear that were damaged as if I had gotten through an intense battle.

(I see. This is the reason why Ringo spoke to me in worry, huh.) (Souma)

The me at that time gave all of my equipment to Ringo and Mitsuki, and I should have been wearing the mage apprentice clothes.

Of course you would be surprised if that instantly became tattered battle gear in an instant.

“Yeah, I will explain properly. But before that…” (Souma)

I glanced at Iaski and this guildmaster nodded composedly.

“Umu, ye can go now. I simply called ye for the sake of the entrance ceremony.

I was surprised by yer sudden change in garments, but that’s probably possible for the rumored Hero-dono.” (Iaski)

Iaski was talking with an amicable tone.

I can’t see a single trace of the person that tried to kill a massive amount of humans for the sake of a ritual under his deep-rooted delusion.

(He really has become the ‘clean Iaski’, huh.) (Souma)

Just in case, I also confirm the panel that opens the secret door.

There’s no trace left of the panel, and has changed into just a wall.

“Now then, excuse our intrusion.” (Souma)

I have no business here after confirming that.

I brought Mitsuki, who wanted to say something, and Ringo, who still had a worried face, with me and exited the room.

“And so, what happened?” (Mitsuki)

Mitsuki asked in a rare impatient state and I answered.

“To put it simply, 2 weeks from now, an Evil God Fragment will come back to life and things will turn horrible.

That’s why I used the effect reset of the Mage Guild event and came back from the future.” (Souma)

When I returned to the capital together with Sazan and Maki, and was told by Mitsuki that Ringo died, what I thought about was the time reversal using the Midsummer Night Dream Punchline.

This will be a bit of a troublesome explanation here, but the Mage Guild event had 3 stages of change through patches.

Let’s call the first patch related to the Mage Guild event as Patch A, and the next one as Patch B, and so on.

-No Patch:

Even if the city is wiped out by the ritual event, there’s no saving. You can go out to the city after the ritual.

-After Patch A:

A window and bed were added to the top floor of the Sorcery Tower. Changed so that you can’t go outside after the ritual.

A mini event was added where the Vice-Guildmaster tells you ‘this situation might be a dream’ was added.

If you sleep on the bed after the ritual, you will be rewinded to just before the last event begins.

-After Patch B:

The dream punchline was so badly received that the mini event with the Vice-Guildmaster was scrapped.

By pressing the Effect Reset button in the menu screen after the ritual, you can rewind to right before the last event begins.

This world has begun with all patches applied, so it is closer to after Patch B was applied.

Thinking about it normally, you can’t rewind because you can’t use the menu screen.

What shows up here is the Midsummer Night Dream Punchline Bug.

This bug which name would anger Shakespeare-sensei is an issue with the patch similar to that of the Forgetful Knight Captain bug.

Even though the dream punchline should have disappeared with Patch B, the rewind will still happen if you sleep in the bed after the ritual. You could say they forgot to erase that event.

You probably trigger an event flag like ‘return to the quick-save point when you sleep on the bed’ the moment you finish the ritual, and the careless developers forgot to erase that one. That’s what the netizens guessed, but who cares about the details.

Anyways, this bug was a pointless one that wasn’t good or bad in the game.

Honestly speaking, it would be faster to rewind from the menu screen rather than the bed, and the result wouldn’t change no matter which you choose.

However, it is different in this world without the menu screen.

If I used this, even in a world without a menu screen, it is possible to reset the effects of the guild event.

That’s why I activated the world rewinding using this bug, and reset it all the way to just before my battle with Iaski aside from the player’s state.

I succeeded in bringing back my dead comrades.

…However, there’s of course a price for that.

The small one is the Immortal Oath I am wearing.

In exchange for blocking Instant Death, you lose the ability to resist all other status ailments.

I had no choice but to put this ring on to be certain I would fall asleep there with the Sleep spell.

However, this ring is cursed, so I can’t take it off unless I pay a high fee.

I will have to be careful about status ailments for a while.

And the biggest price of them all is…

“You two…really don’t have the memories of that time, right?” (Souma)

“That time?” (Mitsuki)

“No, it is nothing. Forget it.” (Souma)

The only one with their stats and possessions brought back is the player.

I did imagine it, but the 2 weeks I spent with my comrades has been eternally lost from Ringo and Mitsuki.

The important feelings of Ringo and Mitsuki I was told, and my resolve to answer them; they are all gone from inside their heads.

By choosing to rewind time, I might have killed the 2 weeks worth comrades.

(…But that’s fine.) (Souma)

I do feel bad about it, and it is not like there’s no sadness to it, but even if everyone forgets, I remember.

I can just do those same things as long as we are alive.

Even my heart was on the verge of being torn apart despite knowing about the possibility of them coming back to life.

I am doing my best to act the same way as I usually do in front of my comrades, but I might get dragged into that despair in an instant.

There’s even those within my comrades that have experienced death.

It would be better for them to forget it all instead of remembering those memories.

“Reverse the stream of time…no, rewinding the world, huh.

I find it hard to believe, but if it is you, you should be able to do something like that.

And so, does that mean that the problem has been solved?” (Mitsuki)

The sharp question of Mitsuki dragged me forcefully back.

“…No, the rewinding was just an emergency evacuation.

The problem still hasn’t been solved.” (Souma)

The direct reason why the Evil God Fragment from the Grand Church came back to life was because Iaski moved the magic circle of the city.

I don’t know how that affected this event now that it has been reset.

However, the setting of ‘if you defeat an Evil God Fragment, the remaining fragments get stronger’ that I learned from the recording is bothering me.

The underlying cause of the fragment having come back to life might have been because we defeated the fragment from the Sacrifice Altar and the other fragments got stronger.

It would be better to move with the assumption that the Evil God Fragment will be resurrecting soon.

Also, because the events related to the Mage Guild are made as if they didn’t happen, I can’t use it again.

The event of the Warrior Guild itself remains, but there’s no bug in this one, so it really would be impossible to do the same without a menu screen.

I won’t be able to rewind ever again even if someone were to die.

“But now that we have decided to fight, we can do the appropriate preparations too.

This time around, I have no intention of losing any—” (Souma)

Just when I was about to say that, I noticed I had forgotten something big.

“Crap, time!” (Souma)

I lowered my caution because I saw Ringo and Mitsuki were fine.

I really was out of myself for forgetting something this important.

“What’s the matter? Is something—” (Mitsuki)

“I am sorry, but there’s no time to talk! I have to go at once!” (Souma)

I shook off Mitsuki who spoke to me and jumped out of the guild.

“Damn it, make it in time!” (Souma)

I shouted this and opened up my way in the crowd of people.

I went up the roofs midway for a shortcut.

I go even faster by using Skill Cancel.

“Hm? Was that the Sinking Prince just now?”

“Uoo, he is crisp today as well.”

“Hey, mom, that person…”

“Shh! Don’t look.”

Odd gazes gathered on me, but I have no leisure to worry about that.

I was so happy about seeing Ringo and Mitsuki alright that I ended up using way too much time.

It is really close to the time.

But I am not giving up.

As if I can.

“I decided to not lose anything. That I would protect everything!!” (Souma)

I landed on the ground with a shout.

And then, I opened the door of the Nekomimi Neko mansion by jumping in…

“Well then, I will wash you, Dark Sch—”

“HOOOOOOOOLD IIIIIIIIIITTTT!!” (Souma)

I successfully saved the life of the Fingerless Gloves (Dark Schneider).

“Aaah, my Dark Schneider!” (Sazan)

“It is not yours! Or more like, don’t use water magic to wash the delicate Da—Fingerless Gloves.” (Souma)

Well then, it is great that I managed to get the Fingerless Gloves back from Sazan, but…

“How did you know that I would use water magic—wait, you, what’s that?!” (Sazan)

“Heh? A-Aaah, what do you mean ‘that’?” (Souma)

“That’s…everything! You are suddenly all in tatters!

How did you end up like that just from heading to the library to get something you forgot?” (Sazan)

“Aah, about that…” (Souma)

I tried to make an excuse for it, but it was impossible.

Even though I should have been reprimanding Sazan who was lacking in common sense, I am for some reason being interrogated now.

“And here I was wondering why you were so hurried…”

“…Souma.”

On top of that…

Mitsuki and Ringo, who finally caught up, must have seen through my intent, they looked at me baffled.

“Souma?! You are back?”

“Ah, Souma-san, wel—what happened?!”

Even Leila and Ina showed up from all the noise.

The residents of the mansion also came as if drawn by this, and the mansion turned into a ruckus in an instant.

There’s also the Bear with both ears fine wrapped up in a black curtain this time around its body and grinning here.

…It is annoying, but yeah, that cloak does look cool.

“It is not like I am finding fault in this, but which is more important to you, us or those gloves…?” (Mitsuki)

“…Souma, continue the talk of before.” (Ringo)

“You see, Souma, I am confident about today’s dinner…” (Leila)

“I think it is good!” (Ina)

“As I said, explain to me what’s happening…” (Sazan)

My comrades were talking as they pleased even within all that.

This is an incredibly chaotic situation.

But I felt as if my chest was getting hotter.

(…I have really come back. I am back.) (Souma)

That thought naturally surfaced in me.

I definitely won’t lose this warmth ever again.

I will protect them at all costs.

For the sake of that…

“Hey, Mitsuki, there’s something I would like to obtain at once.” (Souma)

“Something you would like to obtain?” (Mitsuki)

“Yeah, it is a ring that’s in a nearby dungeon’s treasure chest…” (Souma)

“I don’t mind. In that case, if you tell me the location, I will go get it at once.” (Mitsuki)

“…You really are reliable as always, Mitsuki.” (Souma)

I won’t lose this time around.

I will make perfect preparations, and then, I will defeat the Evil God Fragment…and even its foundation.

At the moment when I etched that resolve silently in my chest…

“—Souma!!”

The entrance was opened and someone jumped in.

“Uwa?!”

Someone jumped straight onto my chest and I staggered.

“…Maki?” (Souma)

“Souma! Souma Souma Souma!” (Maki)

Seeing my cousin crying in my chest, I was relieved from the bottom of my heart.

The only person I was seriously worried about.

Maki who has the player trait.

Maki is treated as a player just like me, so I expected her to not be affected by the effect reset.

In the case Maki were to die before the rewinding, I even thought that she might stay dead even if the others were to come back.

“That’s a relief. So you were also okay, Maki.” (Souma)

“Y-Yeah. Even though I should have been waiting in the dojo for you to return, the world suddenly changed, and the Evil God hadn’t come back. I was so surprised and…” (Maki)

And my worry seems to have hit the mark.

Maki alone still has the memories of when the Evil God came back.

In other words, she has not been affected by the rewind.

(…But this should be fine.) (Souma)

Maki, who I was the most worried about, is alright.

All of my comrades are fine, so now all that’s left is to find a way to defeat the Evil God and everything will be…

“Hey, Souma, just what in the world is—eh?” (Maki)

But…

The face of Maki looking up at me stiffened.

And then, the next instant…

“…No.” (Maki)

I was pushed away by Maki.

I looked at Maki dumbfounded, unable to understand what happened.

“Maki…?” (Souma)

I thought the nightmare was over.

But that’s not it.

“No, you are not Souma.” (Maki)

I trembled at that voice that destroyed the fake peace.

And then…

(…Ahh, I see. So that really was the case.) (Souma)

My cousin showed clear rejection towards me.

The wariness and suspicion in her eyes, and where she was looking, I understood everything.

…No, I actually knew for a while now.

I simply didn’t want to acknowledge it.

The reason why Ringo looked at me in wonder right after the rewind.

The reason why the people were directing gazes of curiosity when seeing me run.

The reason why my comrades were finding it hard to speak.

And then, the unusual phenomenon that assailed me right after the ritual.

—I had no choice but to notice that everything was pointing at one truth.

“Cause Souma…the real Souma…” (Maki)

Maki became the merciless executor and pointed at me.

She was pointing at my mark.

The despairing remains of my rewind.

Maki’s finger was pointing at…at…

“—Doesn’t have cat ears!!” (Maki)

Big cat ears just like those of Mitsuki had grown on me.

———

Author: Who was this development for?!!

Nekomimi Neko Character Introduction

[Kemona Iaski]

The guildmaster of the Mage Guild, and an unrivaled cat ears lover just as the name states.

He apparently fell in love with the strength and beauty of the now deceased mother of Hisame, and has the ideology that ‘cat ears are power’.

He was planning on sacrificing all the residents of the capital to activate a forbidden body modification spell in order to ‘grow his own cat ears’. Of course there would be people against it!

By the way, you obviously won’t get a power up from getting cat ears, but it is said that the horrendous sight (old man + cat ears) dealt damage to many a Nekomimi Neko player.