(The next morning)
I woke up earlier than usual, simply because I had trouble sleeping last night.
My head felt a bit dizzy, making it difficult for me to fall asleep.
As a result, every time I managed to sleep, I would end up waking up again. This cycle kept repeating until sunlight finally passed through the curtain covering my bedroom window.
I glanced at the clock mounted on the wall, and it was still half past four in the morning, which meant only a few people would be awake at this hour.
My eyes felt a little heavy—this was definitely the effect of not getting enough sleep throughout the night.
What should I do this early in the morning? I also still hadn't found anything I wanted to do with Iris in this time loop.
…..Ah, if this place really is going to be attacked later by a force whose origin no one knows yet.
At the very least, I should try to strengthen my swordsmanship, especially since my enhancement potions are already gone.
Even though time repeats itself, my last enhancement potion didn't return, as if this time loop had no effect on items that had already been used.
Back when I was still in Vannis, I bought three bottles—one of them fell and shattered.
Because of that, I could only drink it twice during the invasion of Vannis, and once more yesterday before time reset.
If I ever return to that city again, I might stop by and buy a few more enhancement potions, but—
To save money and improve my swordsmanship, I'll start training while waiting for the attack on Riruyo to arrive.
That's it! I've just found a new goal in this time loop.
I'll make a different decision a short while before the enemy forces begin their attack.
And if my party members still disappear, leaving just Iris and me behind, I'll save her this time.
No matter if this plan ends up failing, I still want to try. After all, there's nothing wrong with trying a few things, right?
If Iris still ends up getting killed and time resets again, then that would mean the reason I'm looping time is Iris's death.
—
I left my room and gently closed the door, afraid that the sound of the wood might disturb Luke's peaceful sleep.
I didn't want to wake him up, especially if he was having a pleasant dream right now.
The house was truly quiet; I could only hear two or three people cooking in the kitchen.
Oh, I could hear Forn-san's voice inside. Should I go over to her? But I don't really have any reason to do that…
After thinking about it, I wouldn't gain anything by approaching her right now.
Forn-san is probably preparing breakfast for everyone here, and I really shouldn't disturb her.
I went down to the first floor and walked out of the building.
If I remember correctly, behind the giant tree called Yggdrasil, there should be an open field covered in grass—
"Whoa~ It really exists after all," I said.
It wasn't very large, since the edges were already filled with trees connected to the forest of Riruyo.
I remembered Loki-san telling me about this place before. At first, I thought he was joking, but it really does exist.
There was a tree stump still stuck in the ground, though most of the tree had already been cut down, leaving behind a much shorter remnant.
The way it was cut looked very neat, as if the remaining stump had been used to cut down other trees and turn them into firewood.
"All right, let's begin," I muttered as I drew my sword from its sheath.
I've said this countless times already—my sword is incredibly cool.
Not everyone owns a sword made from one of the rarest metals in the world.
Its bright color almost gives off an additional effect, making anyone who sees it feel admiration and envy.
The sword's power itself is also undeniable, especially when combined with the magical abilities of its wielder.
However, since I'm not very skilled at using magic, and my swordsmanship isn't that terrifying either, I can't use this sword to its full potential.
That's why—
Slash, slash.
Slash, slash.
I have no choice but to train my swordsmanship until the attack arrives.
If Iris later invites me to spend time with her, I'll do the same thing I did last time.
Maybe I'll say a few words that can bring us closer and make it easier for her to awaken her power.
——
It's been about several minutes since I started repeatedly swinging my sword to cut through the air… hmm, maybe this counts as slash training?
Since there's nothing around here that I can use as a target for my sword strikes, this is the only thing I can do.
Of course, I also mixed in some evasive and defensive movements that will definitely be useful later.
Even though I'm alone here, this training is enough to raise my adrenaline, causing my body to start sweating.
The edges of my face were soon covered with beads of sweat coming from my head.
And of course, I didn't bring a towel. If only I had, I could have wiped the sweat off my face right now.
I didn't think about that earlier, so I only realized it now.
Wait a second—I think I hear someone calling my name.
To confirm who it was, I stopped swinging my sword and turned around.
"Yuusha~!"
I saw Iris lightly running toward me, holding a small white towel in her hand.
Did she bring that towel for me?
"Iris? How did you know I was here?" I asked.
I hadn't met her at all this morning, so why was she holding a towel?
Iris stopped running when she reached me and handed me the towel she brought.
Naturally, I took it right away and used it to wipe the sweat from my face.
"I wanted to invite you to breakfast, so I went to your room. But when I knocked on the door, only Luke-san came out," Iris replied.
"Because of that, I went outside and saw you training here. I thought you'd get tired, so I went back inside and brought this towel for you."
I see—so that's why she came to me with a towel, as if she knew exactly what I needed right now.
"Anyway, thanks for the towel. So, shall we head back inside?" I asked.
She did say she came to find me just to let me know it was time for breakfast, after all.
I couldn't just ignore her invitation and keep training after she went out of her way to come here.
If I wanted Iris to feel that I truly valued her, I had to go back with her.
Iris nodded happily—I think my response had an effect on her.
I sheathed my sword and began walking back into the house together with Iris.
"Hey, Yuusha, why are you practicing swordsmanship? As far as I remember, you're already very strong, right?" Iris asked as we walked side by side.
I didn't expect her to ask that.
"I'm not that great. Besides, I just wanted to test my stamina and see how far my abilities go—that's all," I replied.
We finally arrived inside the house and headed to the dining room to eat the breakfast prepared by Forn-san and the others.