Subaru sat in the dark alley, his whole person dazed, as if he had lost his vitality.
Having returned from another death, back in front of that apple stall which acted like a respawn point, Subaru still remembered the words the man, who was also a transmigrator, had said to him in the last few seconds before he died.
"Return by Death, isn't this just like reloading a save after dying in a game? Except I can't choose the save point or load point, and I can't tell others. If someone else even says it out loud, I die! What kind of bizarre ability is this!"
Subaru sat on the steps. If he had a bit of stubble on his face and an unlit cigarette in his hand, he would look just like an unemployed middle-aged Japanese uncle from the last century.
His eyes were filled with confusion and melancholy about the future.
"Hey, you, the guy over there. Hand over all the money you have!"
The three thugs arrived as scheduled. Seeing Subaru sitting on the steps in a daze, they felt they were lucky. Finding someone in such a remote corner was perfect for starting their business today.
"Ah, it's you three again. I guess in a while, that guy named Felt will come over, and then it will be Satella..."
"That is a fake name."
The voice that suddenly appeared behind him made Subaru jump. He turned his head and saw the transmigrator who had spoken to him before his last death, whose name seemed to be Caelus.
Caelus also sat on the steps and said, "Now you should understand your own ability. However, I cannot say it, and you cannot tell others, otherwise you will have to start all over again."
"Although this ability is powerful, it cannot be controlled autonomously. What if the save point is a dead end?"
Although Subaru was indeed surprised by this ability, he was, after all, a shut-in who had read countless light novels and watched anime in modern society, so his ability to accept things was quite strong.
"But at least you already have many more opportunities than most people. Others don't have the possibility to try again."
"By the way, we're just chatting here. Aren't we going to do anything about those three guys?"
Obviously, the three thugs were already furious.
"You two bastards actually look down on us!"
A guy with a head full of white hair shouted with a slightly distorted expression, then pulled a dagger from his pocket. As if to emphasize his threat, he waved it twice. If it were a normal person, they would certainly be intimidated.
Caelus looked at the three ordinary people and said, "The job of robbery, unless you are holding a mountain stronghold or a trade route, has very unstable income. If you provoke someone, or someone with a volatile temper acts, and you get even slightly injured, without a stable source of income, it will only get worse and could even lead to death. Why not find a job? You don't look like you are intellectually or physically impaired."
"What kind of nonsense is this guy spouting! I said we are robbing you, do you understand!"
"Unwilling to communicate?"
"It seems you completely don't take the three of us seriously!"
Seeing this delicate, frail-looking guy still muttering strange things over there, the three thugs were obviously completely impatient and immediately rushed up, preparing to give him a sound beating.
Then, in Subaru's horrified and fearful eyes, the three people ran slower and slower, slower and slower. Their bodies shrank bit by bit, and their appearances became immature bit by bit.
Finally, after the three turned into infants, they completely dissolved into nothingness.
"The control is still not precise enough. After becoming infants, it should clearly be possible to continue rewinding, but the current precision cannot return them to the state of the womb. Once they reach the infant node, continuing to rewind causes them to simply disappear."
Caelus recorded the situation after using this ability on people, then looked at Subaru, who had moved a little farther away in slight fear, and said, "Don't panic. I won't use this ability to harm others casually. It was only because those three refused to continue communicating and insisted on hostility that I did so."
"Moreover, the reason I mastered this power is because of your special ability. It is precisely because of you that I was able to master this ability, so I owe you a favor. What kind of reward do you want? As long as it is something I can do, I will try my best to do it for you."
Hearing this, Subaru's originally fearful eyes instantly lit up. He knew this trope!
He just knew that a protagonist like himself in another world could not have it too miserable! Even with that uncontrollable passive ability, had it not now attracted a special powerhouse to help him? This was the treatment a protagonist should have!
"I... I want to possess the power to protect myself in this world!"
Subaru was very clear about his own situation. In terms of fault tolerance, the power of Return by Death was absolutely incomparably powerful, but the disadvantage was that it could not be controlled, and the number of times could not be determined. What if he had actually used up his attempts, and the next time he died, he would really die?
Therefore, having sufficient power to protect oneself was essential, and this Traveler was obviously ridiculously strong!
"Due to your ability, you cannot retain physical growth, and I cannot yet determine if your soul can retain anything either. If you are willing to let me kill you once to test it, I can grant you power related to your soul."
"No thanks, I'm afraid I'll run out of reloads."
"Hmm, then accept this power derived from memory."
Subaru felt a slight chill in his brain, as if someone had pressed an ice cube against his forehead, but the sensation was neither strong nor lasting. It was fleeting.
Afterward, he examined his body, stood up to jump around, threw a few punches, and then closed his eyes, carefully sensing whether there was any power surging within him, but he felt nothing at all.
"Why don't I feel anything at all?"
"I only gave you a seed. What kind of flower it blooms into depends on you."
"Uh, then how am I supposed to deal with that killer?"
"You still want to help that girl? She hasn't even told you her real name, and you've already paid with your life for it. At this point in time, she hasn't even helped you, so why do you still want to help her?"
"...Maybe it's because I've fallen in love with her."
"So it is love. Love truly makes people blind and obsessed."
"Is that a compliment or an insult?"
"No, I am merely stating a fact. However, the fact that you possess such a special ability proves that your transmigration was not an accident. It might even be intrinsically linked to this world itself. This is very interesting. If you don't mind, I intend to travel with you for a while to observe your story and record it."
"Why do you sound like a bard?"
"More or less. I am someone who enjoys recording stories. As payment for your story, when you encounter a difficulty that must be overcome, I will step in once to resolve your predicament. Only once, so make sure to use it wisely."
"Alright! Since we'll be traveling together for a while, I look forward to working with you! My name is Natsuki Subaru!"
"My name is Caelus."
(To be continued.)
◇◇◇
◇ One bonus chapter will be released for every 200 Power Stones.
◇ You can read the ahead chapter on Pat if you're interested: p-atreon.c-om/Blownleaves (Just remove the hyphen to access normally.)