"Hayasaka, escape with me!"
Twenty-seventh reset. Having familiarized herself with the escape route from the company, Kaguya brought Hayasaka along this time.
Successfully escaping the company, the two caught their breath, finding a relatively inconspicuous spot to rest temporarily.
"Ojou-sama, the company people haven't caught up for now, but we can't hide for long. We need to contact the President."
Their mobile phones, wallets, and other personal items were discarded, leaving only a few 10,000-yen bills. Hayasaka acted decisively.
She didn't understand the conflict within the company, but she had responsibilities towards Kaguya, and reporting to Gan'an was the normal course of action.
"No, there's no need to report to Father for now."
In previous resets, Kaguya had already tried telling Gan'an the information she knew. But her proud father simply wouldn't listen to her explanations.
Even when Kaguya brought Hayasaka to Gan'an's side, for the sake of the Shinomiya Conglomerate's interests, Gan'an merely acknowledged the situation lightly and accepted the apology gifts sent by Clue.
"Kaguya, you are my daughter. You must understand the responsibilities on your shoulders."
"They are just the lives of some ordinary people. And the Gaiuslink boy didn't actually do anything substantial to you. This is acceptable."
Faced with her father's choice, Kaguya showed no reaction. It seemed she had long been prepared to accept such an arrangement.
Yes, after all, she was a child from a secondary wife, and a girl at that. Her fate was destined to be a pawn for the Shinomiya Family. At best, she might be married off to a powerful family for an alliance.
Having fully realized the nature of the so-called family and the reality of interests, Kaguya understood what a Conglomerate truly was, what a true merchant was.
All her past efforts were, in the end, just a ridiculous game. What she could truly accomplish was far too little.
She had foolishly believed she was part of the Shinomiya Family. Now she saw she was merely someone disposable at any time.
She said nothing, only indicating her understanding of Gan'an's choice. Then she chose to reset.
"Hayasaka, Father is cautious by nature. He won't act on matters without evidence. Right now, we need to do something else. Help me..."
She could only rely on herself. She could only place hope in herself. Trusting nothing and no one anymore, except for Hayasaka, Kaguya had abandoned all other hope.
Rather than seeking Gan'an's help to remove Clue's threat, only to be sent off like a tool someday in the future, she preferred to seize control of her own life now.
Even if she died, she wanted to die according to her own will, to die as she chose.
Therefore...
"Ojou-sama, what are you planning to do?"
Watching Kaguya prepare to make a big scene in the city center, Hayasaka didn't understand what her mistress was thinking, 'Weren't we being pursued? Was exposing our location like this really a good idea?'
"What do I want to do? Me... I want to find someone."
Since her future was no longer in her control anyway, the power of choice still remained in Kaguya's hands.
Be kidnapped by Clue, become his slave, and die.
Seek help from her father, Gan'an, become a pawn of the Shinomiya Family, and be used as a tool for a political marriage someday.
Or, amidst endless deaths, try any action that might draw significant attention, all for the purpose of finding a single hope within the vast city of Tokyo.
Kaguya chose the last option.
She didn't know who the person Clue feared was. She didn't know the personality or appearance of this top-tier expert whom the Clock Tower valued so highly. But she understood this was one of her few choices that belonged solely to her.
Therefore....
"Hello everyone, I am Shinomiya Kaguya. Today, I'd like to perform a song for you."
Having learned various skills since childhood, like tea ceremony, flower arrangement, dance, koto, etc., Kaguya was somewhat confident in her performance.
She didn't know how to find the person Clue feared. She didn't know if her foolish actions could attract that person's attention. But this was the only thing she could do, the only action available to her.
Twenty-ninth reset: Kaguya was captured by Clue's men halfway through her song.
Thirty-second reset: Gan'an heard the news and forcibly sent people to take Kaguya away, deeming her behavior disgraceful to the family.
Thirty-fifth reset: Kaguya confirmed the area near the city center was useless… the unknown expert wasn't there, or wasn't interested in her performance.
Thirty-seventh reset, forty-fifth, sixty-eighth...
Death after death, pain after pain. Blood was shed, and mental fatigue accumulated.
Like a machine, she carried out endless attempts. Kaguya's corpses were scattered all over Tokyo.
And she wasn't even sure if her actions could attract someone's attention, let alone if that someone would be the one Clue feared.
But she had no choice.
Or rather, Kaguya had no other choice that offered freedom.
"It hurts so much."
She had lost count of the suicides, lost count of the attempts. Perhaps physical pain would heal, but mental fatigue wouldn't stop.
She wanted to rest properly, to sleep soundly, to surrender, or simply become a captive of fate. Kaguya didn't want to continue anymore.
Failure, death, failure, death... an endless cycle like a prisoner held tightly in fate's grip.
Even if she could reset the world, the girl named Kaguya was still an ordinary person. She couldn't become stronger… she could only move forward within this single day.
She wanted to hide under her father's protection, even if only as a political tool. Just one day of rest would be enough.
More than once, she harbored such thoughts. But Kaguya never acted on them.
Because she knew: surrender, rest… there was only zero times and infinite times.
She didn't know how many more resets she had left, but she could feel her spirit was on the verge of complete collapse.
She didn't want to fail. At least not while she still had the strength to resist. The worst outcome was mental annihilation, physical nothingness. She didn't fear death, she feared losing.
"I won't lose. I can't lose. I am Shinomiya Kaguya! I am... Shinomiya Kaguya!"
Resolutely acting according to her own way, even if it meant being crushed to pieces, she wouldn't stop. If it was something she could do, then she would do it. This was the most fundamental existence of the person named Shinomiya Kaguya.
If ten times wasn't enough, then a hundred. If a hundred wasn't enough, then a thousand. Having become like a machine, the songs she sang were just hoarse screams of some indiscernible nature. Kaguya felt so tired.
Really tired.
Picking up the microphone once more, taking a deep breath, Kaguya's body suddenly faltered. Too weak to hold the microphone, she could only watch helplessly as it fell.
One thousand seven hundred and forty-seventh reset. Just as Kaguya was on the verge of despair, she found the microphone beside her being picked up by someone.
The person was very... how to put it? Her mind was too dizzy for words. She only knew the man walked up to her, looking at her with a complex expression.
"Is something wrong?"
"Um... this might be a bit rude, but you've sung this song over a thousand times. Could you... maybe change it up?"
Her breath hitched. Her pupils dilated in shock as she looked at Ryuya. Yes, Kaguya had sung the exact same song in all these thousand-plus resets.
In other words, she had found the person she was looking for!