Third

Like emerging from a tunnel, the dark world brightened.

"Hgh—"

Before I even realized it, the scenery was already familiar.

The save point was still the same: a train bound for Lumia.

My body, without a single scratch, was proof that I had traveled back against the current of time.

Ah, right. I've come back again.

I staggered to the nearest restroom.

And then, unable to hold it together any longer, I crumpled to the floor.

"Ahahah, ahaha…! Ahahaha!"

What washed over me was a euphoria so intense it nearly blew my mind clean out.

It was nothing like the sensation I'd felt when I'd become a slave to lust.

This was a violent, savage sense of achievement — like going all-in with everything I owned and walking away with ten times the return.

As if my dopamine receptors had simply broken, the laughter refused to stop.

*I did it…! Just as I thought — it doesn't end after just once…!*

If I'm being honest, I was anxious right up until the very last moment.

There was no guarantee anywhere that I'd be able to regress again.

I'd had to genuinely clutch my chest in worry over whether there'd be a next chance.

And yet here it was — a second Regression?

Then this was my victory, earned by acting on the assumption that there would be a next time.

All that lay ahead of me now was a smooth, open road.

"Haah… haah… perfect…."

Two Regressions had happened.

So I could look forward to a third, a fourth, a fifth, couldn't I?

And each time, I'd make it even more enjoyable.

Heh, heheh… just imagining it made me happy.

Perhaps this was compensation for dying so unjustly in my previous life.

I was almost suspicious of whether I was allowed to be this happy.

After savoring the afterglow for a while, I pulled myself to my feet.

I couldn't stay buried in here forever.

I washed my face in cold water to clear my head.

*On top of that, I've figured out one condition for Regression.*

The truth was, I hadn't actually died in the last loop.

The wounds on my body were convincing fakes I'd crafted myself, after all.

Left alone, I could have held on for several hours without any trouble.

So what I'd done in front of the Commander was simply play dead.

I'd used Sentiment at just the right moment to put my body into a suspended state.

At a glance, it looked like I'd stopped breathing and my heart had stopped.

But like a hibernating squirrel, I was very much alive.

"And yet I still regressed, which means…."

Probably, after that, the Commander had taken his own life.

In other words, I didn't need to die before the Commander just to trigger a Regression.

Knowing that alone opened up a great many possibilities.

*That was a satisfying second loop.*

For one, I'd confirmed the possibility that Regressions would keep continuing.

I'd also interfered to prevent the Commander from carelessly revealing he was a Regressor.

And I'd planted the seeds of the Leila capture plan, for some future day.

My delightful life as Leila was only just beginning.

"Still, I can't say there's nothing to regret."

But it wasn't flawless, either.

The same had been true when I'd died before the Commander last time.

Once I entered the suspended state, my consciousness cut out.

I had no way of knowing what happened after I appeared to die.

Ugh, he must have been holding my body with the most extraordinary expression on his face.

No matter how many times I thought about it, not being able to see that was unbearably frustrating.

I'd have to come up with some special method somehow….

Just as I was sinking deep into that thought—

The image of the Commander from earlier suddenly surfaced in my mind.

*—If you regress, you'll….*

When he'd hesitated over regressing, he'd worn such a pained expression.

Was leaving behind the me of the second loop and going on alone really that agonizing for him?

A shiver crawled up my spine, and my heart began to pound.

"Haah…. That guy, isn't he a little too fond of me…."

That's exactly why I want to torment him.

I wiped away the drool that had apparently been running down my chin and looked into the mirror.

Staring back at me was the face of a beautiful girl who was, by any measure, absolutely flushed with arousal.

…Could it be that I actually like the Commander?

The thought surfaced in my mind for a moment.

But I was able to dismiss it almost immediately.

I didn't harbor any romantic feelings for the Commander in particular.

If I had to put it into words… he was more like a favorite actor.

*This person's movies — I absolutely have to watch every single one.*

Even thinking that, wanting to date him was a separate matter entirely.

*Well… I do like that face of his quite a lot.*

Right. Thinking about it again, I was blameless.

Making a face like that. You're the one at fault.

What do you expect me to do. You got my body all worked up.

Unconsciously, my hand slipped beneath my skirt.

"Huu, but right now…. Hold it together."

I stopped my wayward hand with the other one.

I couldn't indulge myself here.

Once I started, I'd lose all track of time.

Spending thirty minutes locked in a train bathroom was a little too risky.

Haah, if I'd known it would come to this, I wouldn't have bothered with that alibi.

I was so wound up and restless I thought I might go insane.

…It's uncomfortable. Maybe I'll just clean up a little.

*There'll be plenty of time once we reach Lumia anyway. I just have to endure half a day until we arrive.*

I slipped out of the restroom and headed toward the cargo car at the rear of the train.

After loitering around pretending to check my luggage and establishing my alibi—

I returned to the passenger car, quietly digging my nails into my thigh where no one could see.

And there, in the distance, was a welcome sight.

The back of the Commander's head, seated across from my spot.

I forced my rising excitement back down.

*Heheh, I wonder what kind of reaction he'll show this time?*

I was genuinely looking forward to this moment.

He'd watched me die right in front of him twice, after all.

Wouldn't he show an even more desperate reaction than before?

I'd also let slip the Leila capture guide right before dying.

Maybe the Commander would try to cater to my preferences?

That would be perfect. I'd play along, pretending to warm up to him—

And this time, I'd die in front of him as his proper lover…!

*Haah…. The best…. The emotional depth of losing a dear friend versus losing a lover is on an entirely different level….*

Alright, Commander. Come at me.

I'll be the greatest lover you've ever had.

You show me the most agonized face you can manage!

Heart fluttering, I approached him.

What would I say first?

I composed my expression into something casual and took my place.

But what followed was not what I'd expected.

The Commander spoke in a flat, sunken voice.

"Where were you?"

"Hm? Oh… I just went to check on my luggage."

"…I see. Sit down."

"Ah, yes…."

…Huh? Something's off.

What's gotten into him all of a sudden.

His cold reaction left me bewildered.

I'd spent two weeks with the Commander in fairly close quarters.

I had a decent read on his personality.

Someone who always spoke formally to everyone — blunt, yet kind.

How to put it… warm on the inside, cold on the outside.

The kind of person you'd grow fonder of the more time you spent with them.

But that exchange just now was strange no matter how I looked at it.

Speaking down to me like he was looking at something beneath him, even dropping the formal speech like it was a nuisance.

Who are you. You're not the Commander I've been reading this whole time.

*What's going on? Did something go wrong with the Regression…?*

I settled quietly into my seat, my mind swarming with questions.

Even compared to the first loop before any Regression, this was deeply strange.

It felt like his entire personality had changed.

Like cold water had been thrown over the good mood I'd been in just moments ago.

My heart lurched, and an unsettling thought crept in.

*Don't tell me… he's figured out that I'm a Regressor….*

No, no, no — that couldn't be it.

My performance had been perfect. There was no way he'd caught on.

Then maybe there was some problem with the Commander dying first?

Or maybe, in the interim, someone else had taken over his body, like what happened to me?

While I'd regressed once, perhaps he'd regressed dozens of times on his end….

But every one of those guesses was nothing more than a possibility.

There was no way to know which was the truth.

I kept my expression neutral while my mind churned in chaos.

Even so, I couldn't just do nothing.

I layered on the persona of this timeline's Leila and spoke to him warmly.

"Commander. Is there anything you'd like to know about Lumia? I've done a bit of research."

"…Sorry. I'm a little tired. I'm going to rest my eyes."

"Ah, yes…. I'm sorry to have… bothered you…."

Th-this little—!

Struck speechless, I clenched my fist in frustration.

He'd been dancing in the palm of my hand this whole time.

The sudden feeling of him slipping out of my grasp sent a prickle of irritation creeping up.

*What is this? Why? I don't understand the reason….*

I wanted to extract more information from him.

But the Commander simply closed his eyes, as if he had no further use for me.

In the end, I had no choice but to fidget like a puppy that desperately needed to go outside.

We arrived in Lumia without exchanging another word.

Even after disembarking from the train with our luggage, the Commander remained the same.

"Do you know where the branch is?"

"Yes! Since this is the east side, heading to the central district should do it!"

"Lead the way. I'd like to get inside and rest."

"…Understood."

As if confirming that the strangeness I'd felt on the train was no illusion—

He issued orders to me with a dismissive, condescending air.

In the process, he turned his head away as though he couldn't even be bothered to meet my eyes—

And in that gesture, I caught something. A small, nagging sense of wrongness.

Perhaps because we weren't walking side by side in friendly conversation.

We arrived at the branch faster than we ever had before.

And there, we met the Rabbit Hole Squad waiting for us—

"You're the Rabbit Hole Squad, right? I'm Leila, a B-rank Valkyrie dispatched from headquarters. This is Commander Yujin, who will be taking charge of Lumia going forward."

"It's a pleasure to meet you, Commander! I'm Yubina, squad leader of the Rabbit Hole Squad!"

"Tch. Pathetic. C-rank at best, I see."

"What…."

The Commander's first words were nothing short of catastrophic.

An attitude that sent the Rabbit Hole Squad's goodwill plummeting straight into the negatives.

Perhaps she'd been reminded of the previous Commander.

Yubina's gaze as she looked at him carried a faint resignation.

"We will… follow your orders faithfully…."

"…."

"Tch…."

The Commander turned and walked away without a word in reply.

Yubina, head bowed, let out a barely audible click of her tongue.

It was plain she had no fondness for this Commander.

But she carried herself like someone who would do her best as a Valkyrie regardless.

Getting any help from the Rabbit Hole Squad was going to be a lost cause at this rate.

Still, I talked with the dejected Valkyries and worked on building some rapport.

After going through all of that, we disbanded early and I returned to my room.

I flopped down onto the bed and let out a long sigh of relief.

"I actually thought it was real for a moment…."

But watching long enough, I could tell.

The Commander's behavior was, without question, a performance.

I couldn't pinpoint the exact purpose, but there was definitely some intent behind it.

What that intent was… I'd have to figure out from here.

Somehow, the urge to do anything lewd had evaporated completely.