Asking anyone else would be a waste of breath.
Over the following days, Gojo kept a quiet eye on the Ram sisters. During the first loop, neither he nor Subaru had carried the witch's scent. This time was different. He wasn't worried about Rem poisoning him or anything like that, but he didn't want her animosity toward the scent to trigger some deviation from the original timeline. A butterfly effect leading to new complications was the last thing they needed.
Fortunately, while Rem clearly had feelings about their connection to the Witch Cult, she never acted on them.
Before long, the day of Subaru and Emilia's date arrived.
Even having lived through it once before, Subaru's enthusiasm hadn't dimmed in the slightest. If anything, he burned brighter. His explanation? Having gotten to know Emilia better during the previous loop, everything flowed more naturally this time. The relationship was deepening faster.
"This time, I'm going to give Emilia the perfect date!"
The night before, watching Subaru make this declaration with such conviction, all Gojo could do was remind him not to lose sight of the actual mission.
He watched Subaru bounce back to his room with a spring in his step, then turned his attention to his own task. He remembered clearly that during this point in the first loop, he'd spotted Roswaal in the village. This time, he'd get there early. See what the man was up to.
Gojo slipped out of the mansion without a sound and crossed the distance in an instant. Under cover of darkness, he landed in a large tree overlooking the village, its dense canopy providing perfect concealment. He settled in to wait.
Still early. If nothing went wrong, Roswaal should show up eventually.
Let's see what you're really after.
He didn't have to wait long. Before much time had passed, a figure cut across the sky beneath the pale moonlight. Roswaal. Unmistakable.
Gojo didn't rush to follow. He tracked the figure with his eyes as it sailed past the village and disappeared into the forest beyond.
Just passing through?
He trailed at a distance, silent as a shadow, and eventually found Roswaal in a clearing deep among the trees. But the man wasn't alone. A second figure stood with him, and it was one Gojo recognized immediately.
The Bowel Hunter. Elsa.
Surprise flickered through him. Given how their last encounter had gone, surviving his attack shouldn't have been easy for her. He'd assumed she was dead. Yet here she stood, very much alive.
So much for that bounty money. A small sigh of regret.
As for Roswaal meeting with Elsa in secret? That part was less shocking. Gojo had sensed something off about the man for a while. What kind of supporter arranged such laughably thin protection for their own Royal Candidate? He'd practically rolled out the red carpet for assassins.
Now it made sense. Roswaal didn't fear assassination attempts on Emilia because he was the one hiring the assassins.
Still. This was useful. Another piece of leverage tucked away for later. If Gojo ever needed to squeeze more out of the man, this meeting would make excellent currency.
Of course, none of that mattered until they solved the current problem.
Using his Six Eyes, Gojo observed the pair from a distance. Too far to make out their conversation, but the meeting was brief. Ten minutes, give or take, and Roswaal departed. Elsa vanished into the trees moments later.
Gojo let her go. He didn't pursue, didn't try to capture her. Just as he'd told Subaru, the priority right now was understanding the time reversal. Everything else was secondary. Whatever deal those two had could be investigated any time. The important thing was avoiding unnecessary actions that might trigger a butterfly effect.
He returned to his room at the mansion without a sound and went to sleep.
The next day unfolded like a mirror of the first loop. Subaru set off in high spirits, Emilia and Rem in tow, heading for the village.
Around midday, they returned.
The moment Subaru was back, he rushed over, practically vibrating with excitement. Today's date had gone better than he could have hoped. With the experience from last time, Emilia had smiled more, laughed more. The whole outing had been warmer.
"You didn't do anything extra, did you?" Gojo asked. He'd already warned him once, but it was worth checking.
"Nope! You can count on me!"
Subaru thumped his chest with confidence. Gojo eyed the bandage wrapped around his hand and couldn't help a dry laugh.
"I meant don't do things that might change the outcome. I didn't say you had to replicate getting bitten by a dog."
"Oh, that." Subaru scratched the back of his head sheepishly. "I wasn't trying to get bitten. That little mutt is sneaky though. Got me the second I let my guard down." He clenched his fist. "Next time, I'm wearing gloves. I'll give that dog the head-rubbing of its life."
"You're already planning a next time? This isn't a dating sim where you keep reloading saves to collect every CG."
Gojo had zero interest in games personally. But growing up in Japan before getting isekai'd meant that kind of thing was unavoidable cultural osmosis.
"Huh." Far from being discouraged, Subaru's eyes lit up. "When you put it that way, it actually sounds kind of fun."
Gojo shook his head. "Tonight, don't go back to your room. Come to mine. We'll keep watch together. Neither of us sleeps. We see what happens."
"Got it. Let me grab a bath first." Subaru paused. "You should too, while you have time."
Gojo rubbed his nose as he watched Subaru trot off, then muttered under his breath. "Seriously. Two guys shouldn't be saying things that sound that easy to misinterpret."
"I heard everything. You two are disgusting."
Felt materialized from somewhere, face scrunched in open revulsion.
"I knew it." Gojo sighed. "Would you believe me if I said it was all a misunderstanding?"
Felt's head shook like a rattle drum. Pure, unyielding disbelief.
Looking at her, Gojo found himself thinking that maybe time reversal wasn't all bad.
Evening arrived. Both of them, freshly washed, sat in the room staring at each other.
Gojo had come prepared. He'd asked Rem to set aside a generous supply of desserts, and he'd borrowed a book from Betty to pass the time.
Subaru, on the other hand, was bored stiff. He couldn't read the local script yet, so books were useless. All he could do was lie on the bed and stare at the ceiling.
"Hey, Gojo. Do I really have to stay awake?"
The date with Emilia had burned through his energy. Now that he was horizontal, drowsiness hit him like a wave.
"If you're that tired, rest for a bit. I'll wake you." Gojo turned a page without looking up. A short nap was fine, as long as it didn't become a full night's sleep.
"Thanks. I'll just close my eyes for a little while."
Subaru's breathing evened out within minutes.
Gojo continued reading, working his way through a dessert. The book was about the Oni Clan. After learning about Ram and Rem's history, the near-extinct race had caught his interest.
Time ticked by.
When he decided enough was enough, he walked to the bedside. "Subaru. Time to get up."
No response.
Gojo shook him. Nothing. He shook harder. Still nothing.
His brow furrowed. He pulled Subaru upright and shook him properly. Any normal person, no matter how deep their sleep, would show some reaction to this. A twitch, a groan, something.
Subaru was limp. Unresponsive. Like he'd slipped into a coma.
Gojo's instincts fired immediately. Behind his sunglasses, ice-blue eyes sharpened, sweeping over Subaru's body.
What he found made his stomach drop.
Subaru had no Cursed Energy, but he did possess Mana, however poorly he could use it. Right now, that Mana was draining. Steadily. Relentlessly. As if something invisible was siphoning it out of him.
Weeks spent with Betty had taught Gojo enough about magic to understand what this meant. Mana was life force. At this rate, once the last drop was gone, Subaru would die.
There was no hesitation. Gojo grabbed the unconscious boy and bolted from the room.
Mana depletion wasn't something he could fix. Physical damage, sure. Reverse Cursed Technique could handle that. But the bleeding away of magical life force? He had nothing.
He needed someone who did.
In the mansion right now, two people had the skill: Roswaal and Betty. Puck might have managed it too, but the Spirit rarely manifested at night.
Betty wasn't the first choice. He could find the Forbidden Library's door, but the mansion had too many doors and no time to search. Instead, Gojo tore through the halls toward Roswaal's quarters, Subaru draped over his shoulder.
As he ran, the pieces he'd been struggling with finally fell into place.
Why Subaru had the witch's scent even before anything happened to him.
Because he'd died too. He'd experienced a death of his own.
He hadn't known because Mana depletion during sleep was virtually impossible to notice. You drifted off, your life quietly emptied, and you never woke up.
"Roswaal!"
Gojo reached the door and kicked it open.
Empty. The room was empty.
He spun and raced for the study. Also empty.
The commotion roused the household. Ram and Rem emerged in their sleepwear, and unlike her usual gentle appearance, Rem gripped a vicious-looking Morningstar, its spiked head gleaming in the lamplight. Hard to reconcile with the sweet girl who served tea every morning.
Both maids tensed at the sight of Gojo carrying Subaru, eyes wary and guarded.
"Where's Roswaal?" Gojo's words came fast, clipped. "Subaru needs his help. Now."
Ram studied the boy in Gojo's arms, sensing the life force bleeding away, and the suspicion in her gaze softened.
"Lord Roswaal left the mansion earlier this evening. He isn't here."
Gone.
Gojo turned without another word. Cursed Energy surged through his body, and he became a blur, tearing down the corridor at impossible speed.
No time. He had to find the Forbidden Library's door.
His figure flickered through the mansion like a ghost, door after door flashing past. If this weren't an emergency, he'd have been tempted to destroy every other door in the building and leave only the one he needed.
The door that usually appeared with almost annoying ease had chosen the worst possible moment to hide.
But Gojo was fast enough. After sweeping through the mansion, he found it.
He crashed through with Subaru like a cannonball.
Betty's shriek greeted him the instant he crossed the threshold.
"You absolute... Betty's tolerance is not an invitation to test its limits..."
Her words died as Gojo materialized before her in a gust of displaced air, voice raw and urgent.
"Save him!"
Betty froze. Her eyes dropped to Subaru, to the life draining out of him, and she moved forward without thinking.
...
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