Takumi somehow felt a bit like Subaru from Re: Zero.
But even a protagonist like Subaru didn't have his number of resets strictly limited, with death being final once those chances ran out, right?
Of course, such things didn't matter now.
All he had to do was change everything that had happened before.
The blood-colored city gradually dissolved.
Everything was fading into darkness.
And he knew—this was the sign that he was about to start over again.
"I don't like all that heavy, depressive stuff. I don't like that pretentious darkness-and-cruelty aesthetic."
Takumi spoke to himself, as if to carve those words deep into his own consciousness.
"Especially those stories where people die just for the sake of dying, or where they kill off their sister just to get stronger—I think each one's more disgusting than the last."
"Why not just have something simple and heartwarming? The bad guys get what they deserve, the good guys get the happiness they deserve. Even if it sounds a bit fake, so what? As long as it makes you a little happier—what's wrong with that?"
"Damn it, it's just a rules-based horror story, isn't it? Fine then, bring it on! I'll create a happy world without Urobuchi Gen or Okada Mari in it!!!"
At that moment, the darkness receded.
That familiar, stale air began to spread.
...
Takumi sat up from the tattered bed, and beside him, Kaguya, who had also opened her eyes, instantly assumed a guarded stance.
This was the moment right after the Shirakawa Apartments game had just begun—the earliest phase, right after everyone had heard that eerie voice's announcement.
No one had yet used the clock.
No one had yet died, turned into a monster, or been frozen.
"Yo."
Getting out of bed, Takumi struck a somewhat embarrassing pose in the style of the Joestar family—turning his upper body with his back to Kaguya, tilting his head back, one hand bent at an awkward angle to touch his nose, the other thrust forward through the space between to point dramatically at her, even raising one leg as he did.
"Not bad. Among all the newcomers this round, you're the most promising one. Yeah… I've been wanting to say that line for a long time."
Having satisfied his own urge to act cool, Takumi looked utterly content.
Meanwhile, Kaguya, who had just been cautiously on guard, froze in place, completely unable to grasp what was happening.
Could it be… she had been kidnapped by some kind of lunatic?
...
"Don't worry, Dusk-level missions are the lowest-difficulty ones. As long as we work together, we'll make it through safely."
Tanaka spoke with a gentle smile and serious tone, but beside him, Green furrowed his brow.
He wasn't like that black guy who'd read too many web novels and thought this was some kind of thrilling infinite-world adventure—excitedly tagging along with Tanaka, the so-called veteran player, to go exploring. Hmph, he wasn't that stupid.
As someone absurdly lucky—selected by the sacrificial game for the first time and ending up in a beginner match alongside three top-tier players who had entered as a team using special items to investigate—Green had muddled through that entire game by sheer chance.
He might not know much else, but when it came to telling apart genuinely capable old players who were willing to help others from those harboring ulterior motives, Green could tell the difference.
He might not have much education, but having grown up scraping by at the bottom of society, he had a sharp instinct for sensing strength and weakness—for knowing whether someone was good or bad.
Tanaka looked extremely friendly on the surface, yet his face showed almost no micro-expressions or subtle reactions—his true emotions were completely unreadable. To Green, this kind of man was someone he would never approach, let alone team up with. In his eyes, this type was most likely a sly old fox hiding its tail; who knew when he himself might become the next sacrifice.
Even when you want to cling to a strong player, you have to pick the right one. Only those veteran players who wouldn't use newcomers' lives to test the danger ahead were truly worth befriending. Even if such experts might look down on newbies and refuse to lend a hand, at least you didn't have to fear threats coming from the human side. Worst case, you just had to act a little more like a bootlicker.
So for now, better to keep observing—see if any other strong players showed up.
With that thought, Green leaned against the door of Room 209—the very place where he had awakened—and swept his gaze around, studying the surroundings.
The first to emerge was a middle-aged man from Room 206. It was hard to tell whether he was from China, Japan, or somewhere else. Still, one look was enough to tell he was a complete novice. And people that age usually struggled to adapt to the kind of high-pressure danger found in a rules-based horror story. He probably wouldn't survive long.
Saying nothing, Green continued to watch the other rooms.
[Creaaak—]
With the sound of a door opening, another door swung wide.
"The lock on this door is broken."
Accompanied by that remark, a tall young man—seemingly still of student age, though already well-built—stepped out from Room 204.
His eyes swept across the hallway, briefly glancing at the three people already there before turning toward the opposite side, where the door of Room 208 had just opened. From within, Maki stepped out, her expression filled with caution.
"Another newcomer?"
The man murmured that under his breath, catching Green's attention immediately.
"You are…"
Maki spoke in slight confusion. Though the man before her didn't seem particularly remarkable, the moment she laid eyes on him, she had noticed a faint change in his expression—like he was about to show a reaction, but forcibly suppressed it at the last second.
This man definitely knew her—and not just from a brief encounter. He clearly knew who she was and was trying to disguise it from her!
With her sharp instincts, Maki realized this instantly, and her vigilance toward the man rose sharply.
The same situation occurred with Kaguya, who had been standing behind that man. Although she'd been momentarily overwhelmed earlier by his overly chūnibyō pose and lines, as the daughter of the Shinomiya family, her powers of observation were exceptional. It didn't take long for her to sense that he was deliberately using exaggerated gestures and speech to conceal an emotional shift—and to recognize that this man not only knew her, but was clearly no stranger. Her alertness spiked instantly, and she even considered whether she should subdue him right there on the spot.
Takumi, of course, was helpless about all this. He knew full well that the proper course of action should have been for them to quickly establish trust, share information, and then rush out to stop Maeda Miwa, who was attracting monsters—and then begin exploring.
But unlike the rewind triggered by the hanging clock, this new, still-mysterious reset ability was a genuine rollback in time. Now, aside from Takumi himself, no one remembered what had happened before. And it had taken quite a bit of effort last time to earn the trust of Kaguya and Maki—with Maki deciding to believe in him first, only after which Kaguya had reluctantly accepted him as an ally.
And now, having to rebuild everyone's trust from scratch, the subtle changes in his expression and demeanor brought about by the reset had ended up causing new trouble. Takumi couldn't help thinking that, back when he was a failed web novelist who'd learned all sorts of things like reconnaissance, intelligence gathering, and wilderness climbing, maybe he should have studied acting as well—then it wouldn't have turned into such a hassle.
Still… it's good to see you alive and well.
After handing the rulebook to Kaguya, retrieving the supply box from under the bed, taking the earplugs, and removing the wall clock from the hallway, Takumi stepped out the door. When he saw Maki standing before him, despite doing his best to suppress his emotions, a faint look of relief and sentiment still slipped through.
Of course, it was only natural that Maki would notice it.
Forget it. If she sees it, she sees it.
Some things become harder to hide the more you try to conceal them—there's just no helping that.
Even if she no longer remembers what we went through together, just knowing she's safe and unharmed makes me feel a little better inside.
So this time, even if I can't clear the game, I won't let you die before I do.
Takumi's resolve hardened at that moment.
He had never thought of himself as a good person. In the previous loop, when facing Yamamoto Hiroshi and Maeda Miwa, those two dead weights who only dragged everyone down, he had truly considered killing them—getting rid of those useless burdens who would only make things worse. In moments of crisis, he never felt any obligation to treat Kaguya or Maki better; his focus was purely on his own survival.
Even so, Takumi knew one thing: for people who were genuinely good to him, he shouldn't respond with that kind of attitude.
Maki was, without a doubt, a fool—blocking a bullet for someone she'd only known for a few hours. That kind of kindness was simply senseless.
But she took that bullet for me. So I can't pretend it never happened.
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