"That is powerful courage. Even knowing that you might possess the ability to return after death, the vast majority of people still cannot face their own death, let alone choose a method like falling from a height, which is neither clean nor quick and involves suffering for a period of time."
Subaru, who had just recovered from the pain of death, heard the voice beside his ear. He abruptly turned his head to look and saw that guy in a trench coat sitting beside the desk in the room.
"Caelus! So you were still by my side. I thought you had already left!"
"No, I have indeed not been by your side these past few days."
"Eh? Then why did you appear by my side immediately after that?"
"Because I walked out of your memory."
"That sounds a bit scary."
"Rest assured, I generally don't pry into others' memories at will unless I truly develop a strong curiosity. And as for you, a high school boy in the prime of adolescence, I have not developed a strong curiosity yet."
"You said that a bit too bluntly."
"So why did you do that? Even though that maid named Ram wanted to kill you and blamed the suffering her sister endured on you, and you must have resentment toward her, you still wanted to save everyone in this way. Why?"
Subaru recalled the situation when Ram taught him how to read, thought of the story of the Blue Oni and the Red Oni that he had shared with her, and remembered how, not long ago, she had cried in pain, sorrow, and despair over Rem's situation.
He said, "Maybe I'm just that kind of fool. I really can't just watch a girl cry her eyes out."
"You did this out of pity in your heart. Your compassion is truly strong."
"You're already insulting me, aren't you?"
"No, it is just that I lack compassion, so seeing an individual like you who possesses it makes me feel a bit emotional."
"Uh... so you appeared before me this time just to ask me questions?"
"You died three times, so I was curious about what kind of difficulties you encountered and came to take a look. But now it seems your mental state is reasonably good, and you still have enough compassion to empathize with someone who wants to persecute you, even if it means bearing the risk of permanent death."
"So, when will the power you gave me finally activate? Puck said that although I can learn Yin magic, my aptitude is indeed quite poor, and once that incident happens, all my training will be in vain. If I want to have the ability to protect myself, I really can only rely on your gift!"
"The power of memory needs time to take root and sprout, but strong emotional stimulation can also accelerate this progress. Based on the current situation, if you do this another two times, or if you suffer some huge emotional shock in reality twice, you will be able to awaken that power of memory."
"Give me the bottom line, is that power strong or not?"
"I only gave you a seed. What kind of flower it blooms into or what kind of fruit it bears depends on you."
After Caelus finished speaking, his figure suddenly vanished. Subaru wanted to ask more, but there was a knock on the door, and Rem and Ram's voices came from outside.
Subaru sighed helplessly. After opening the door and walking out, he looked at Rem and Ram, who were staring at him calmly. He knew that although the two of them looked normal on the surface, because of the scent of the Witch on his body, which had come from who knew where, they must truly loathe him inside.
Caelus had left too quickly and too decisively. Subaru had not even had time to ask what was going on with the scent of the Witch.
"However, judging by Caelus's attitude, if he were the cause of the Witch's scent, it would be impossible for him not to know, and he would have explained it to me. He isn't the type of person who would cause me trouble and say nothing about it. After all, even when I didn't know that I had helped him, he was still willing to explain things clearly and give me a reward."
"So that means it is more likely that this scent comes from my own ability to return after death. And to be able to make the entire world's time flow backward because of my death, it must be a powerful existence. And when mentioning powerful Witches, isn't that the Witch of Envy recorded in fairy tales as having devoured the world?"
"Was this ability of mine bestowed by the Witch of Envy? But why would the Witch of Envy give me such an ability?"
Subaru thought to himself, but he knew he could not ask about anything related to the Witch Cult within this mansion, because the two sisters might react strongly, especially Rem.
In this time loop, Subaru chose the initial plan, to stay in the mansion, become a servant, and then do his best to build a good relationship with Rem and Ram until the day when he and Rem went to the village to buy supplies and he encountered that puppy.
To verify his hypothesis, Subaru punched the puppy hard without hesitation. The dog was then provoked into a frenzy, its originally thin and small body instantly expanding and transforming into a giant mabeast that killed Subaru.
After another death loop, although the pain still remained, Subaru was excited as never before, because he could tangibly feel that after facing the pain of death once more, something in his heart had begun to sprout. He just needed one more time, one more time, and he would be able to obtain the power to protect himself!
However, every chance of death was precious and could not be wasted at will. Through the previous death loop, he had already obtained clear information. The curses from those initial deaths all came from the puppy that had bitten him, and the other party was a mabeast.
And Roswaal, very coincidentally, had matters to attend to outside during those few days and was unable to protect the surrounding villagers.
No, it might not be a coincidence. It was very likely that the enemy had been lurking for some time, just waiting for Roswaal to leave before taking action.
If they did not go out for supplies that day, the lurking enemy would very likely force the people in the mansion to respond by threatening the villagers, such as by kidnapping some of them or killing some of them. Otherwise, when the lord could not provide a sense of security to the subjects, the scattering of hearts would inevitably have a huge impact on Emilia, and subsequently, she could basically be considered to have withdrawn from the royal selection.
Then, let's try this this time. If the necessary food is purchased in advance, and they do not go out during the few days Roswaal is away, what kind of reaction will the enemy have?
Subaru walked out of the room full of confidence. Perhaps it was the brand-new power he was about to obtain that allowed him to temporarily ignore the pain brought about by death, or perhaps he was just a bit used to it.
In this loop, under Subaru's countermeasures, the subsequent events changed. Although the people in the mansion were fine, the children in the village had gone missing, and upon inspection, it was also discovered that the magic stones used in the village to guard against mabeasts had been damaged.
People's hearts began to waver, and cracks began to appear in their trust. If no countermeasures were taken afterward, and they did not help the villagers find the missing children, the stability within the territory would drop significantly.
Subaru needed more information, so he ventured deep into the forest.
At the same time, Rem could not rest easy with someone who reeked of the Witch's scent wandering about, so she followed him out with her morning star in hand.
At this moment, in the woods, Subaru was swinging the longsword in his hand, using it like a billhook to clear a path for himself. He was completely unaware that a gray-haired youth was sitting in a nearby tree, recording his actions.
"The improvement in thinking brought by the Seed of Memory can allow a young man whose intelligence has dropped due to being in love to regain rational thought."
So wrote Caelus.
(To be continued.)
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◇ 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.)