Chapter Four: Time Reversal
Two days had passed.
“Moto! I want to run some more!”
Kuro was in his angel form and was helping me raise the other new filolials.
“Are you going to buy more new eggs today?”
“I am, indeed!”
“You already have a whole flock!”
“It’s not enough, I say!”
I had more than seven filolials in all now. But only Kuro and three others had become angels so far. I needed more!
“After you buy more eggs, let’s go running and have some fun defeating monsters!”
“Of course! And don’t forget about defeating bandits!”
I needed to take Kuro and the other filolials to another country and have them complete their class-ups! I just had to make sure the timing was —
All of a sudden, four icons appeared on my screen. There was a sword, a spear, a bow, and a shield. And then the shield icon turned red and began flashing.
“Moto!”
Suddenly, Kuro . . . No, the whole world turned gray and froze!
“Huh?”
I reached out toward Kuro. He was hard as a rock, as if he’d been petrified. And then it happened. My spear began shaking and making rattling sounds. An analog clock appeared on my screen and the minute hand began spinning backward.
When I came to, I found myself in a dark, familiar room with magic circles on the floor.
“Oh wow.”
I looked up to see men in robes in front of me, looking back at me in awe, and apparently speechless.
“What’s all this?”
“Huh?”
These lines . . . I’d heard them before!
“Where are we?”
Ren turned to the castle mages and spoke. I looked around to see a familiar sight. Everything looked exactly the same as it had when I was first summoned to this world. This was the third time now.
“Oh, heroes! Please save our world!”
“What?!”
Father, Ren, and Itsuki all responded in unison, just like before. What was going on?
“Father, I need to talk to you for a moment!”
I tried speaking to Father, but he just seemed confused and started looking over his shoulder. His face made it look like he had no idea who I was talking to.
“Who are you calling ‘Father’? Are you half asleep or something?”
Father looked at me suspiciously when he replied. This was not the kind face that I had seen two days earlier. This was the good-humored face of his from before I’d rescued him from being falsely accused.
When I didn’t say anything, Father turned his back to me and went chasing after the man who looked like a mage. The man was taking us to see Trash. Father was walking alongside Ren and Itsuki as if nothing had happened. I was certain the Father who’d just recently departed for Siltvelt would not have been walking with Itsuki and acting so friendly and full of hope.
It was as if everything that had happened up until that point had been completely reset! Doubt crept into my mind and I decided to check my monster seal settings. When I did, I realized that none of the filolials I had been raising were registered to me anymore. That meant that I must have returned to the day we were summoned to this world. If that were true, then my precious Kuro had most likely been reduced back to being an egg.
But, oh? Some of the things I couldn’t remember the last time began to come back to me! I could remember more details about the weapon power-up methods! I recalled that there were power-up methods used by the seven star weapons in addition to those used by the four holy weapons. I was sure I would be able to help Father and the others become even stronger this time.
But why had I gone back in time again? A complete reset was something that seemed like a one-time miracle. Had it not been? Thinking about the last time the reset occurred, I’d died and then I returned to the day of our summoning. This time I hadn’t died.
But . . . Death? I thought about what had just happened. Four icons shaped like the holy weapons appeared and then the shield began flashing. The resets had begun with my death. So there was death. And then there was the shield icon. Maybe that meant . . . I decided I might as well test it out.
“Itsuki!”
“What? Hey, why do you know my na — ”
“This is for framing Father! Brionac X!”
“Huh? Gahhh!”
I gripped my spear tightly and fired off a skill at Itsuki. He may have been a hero, but he was still level 1. He had no time to dodge and was blasted to smithereens.
“Huh?! What the — ”
Father was standing there speechless. Worry not! No matter what happens, I would never harm you, Father! Suddenly, everything turned black and white. This time the bow icon turned red and began flashing. I heard that same rattling sound. The same clock appeared, and the minute hand began turning backward again.
“Oh wow.”
I looked up to see men in robes in front of me, looking back at me in awe, and apparently speechless.
“What’s all this?”
“Huh?”
Itsuki, whom I’d just eliminated only moments earlier, was looking over the place and having trouble wrapping his head around what was happening. There was no doubt about it now. But I wanted to make extra sure! Just for good measure, so to speak.
“Ren!”
“Huh? What? Why do you know my na — ”
“Shooting Star Spear X!”
“Wha?!”
Ren let out a moronic-sounding yelp as I blew a huge hole right through him. This time the sword icon turned red and flashed. I was able to verify that the same phenomenon occurred immediately after.
“Oh wow.”
I looked up to see men in robes in front of me, looking back at me in awe, and . . . Okay, I was getting tired of repeating that.
“What’s all this?”
“Huh?”
Just as I suspected, this Minute Hand of the Dragon seemed to have an effect that would send me back to the time when we were summoned if any of the heroes died. That must have been what the Time Reversal ability and diverging worlds equip effect did. The red, flashing icons must have been an indication that someone had died.
That meant that Father must have died for some reason after we parted ways. I’d made the greatest mistake of my life again! I owed my loyalty to Father, and yet I hadn’t been there with him when he was faced with danger!
It became clear to me that I needed to keep a close eye on the situation and protect Father if I wanted to see Filo-tan again. Fortunately, I’d figured out how the time looping worked. If my involvement meant that the circumstances could change, I would use that to bring about a better future!
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