A high-speed train gliding along its rails at several hundred kilometers per hour.
The scenery beyond the window was swept away in an instant, vanishing behind us.
Through the plush seats, the train's faint, characteristic vibration hummed beneath me.
The Lumia-bound train — by now, I could picture its interior with my eyes closed.
In that wide passenger car, only the Commander and I sat together.
And yet, nothing filled the space between us but quiet silence.
"……"
"……"
It hadn't come to this for any complicated reason.
It was simply because I had swatted away the hand he'd absentmindedly reached out.
An awkward atmosphere had descended in an instant.
Not that we'd had a fight, of course — not even close.
The Commander had apologized for reaching out so carelessly.
And I had apologized for knocking his hand away so coldly.
We were going to be Commander and Adjutant from here on out.
It would have been better to build some rapport early, if possible.
And yet not a single word passed between us.
Two hours of that hollow silence had already gone by.
I snuck a glance at the Commander's expression, pretending to be casually looking around.
He deliberately avoided my gaze.
I laughed at him inwardly — his feelings were written all over his face.
*He's anxious right now, isn't he?*
I could practically read his thoughts without trying.
He had no idea how to treat me. That was it, wasn't it.
Everything I'd shown him as Leila up until now had been relentless, over-the-top devotion — a smiling girl who cheered him on with *you can do it, Commander.*
And then that same girl had openly rejected his touch.
And now she was acting awkward around him, keeping her distance… He must be burning up inside.
Naturally, this was exactly the development I'd wanted.
*I have to hide the fact that we regressed together, no matter what.*
Honestly, if I hadn't seen signs of him going dark, I never would have revealed that I remembered the previous loop at all.
Because if I did… death would stop being sad.
The purity of that loss — the grief of being left behind — would be diluted.
If he knew that memories carried over even through death?
Instead of grieving, the Commander would simply come to find me again.
That was the worst possible outcome for me. The absolute worst of the worst.
I wanted to watch him suffer and grieve.
But instead, my existence would become the very pillar propping him up.
Ugh, just imagining it for a moment made my stomach turn.
Him, of all people. The *Commander*, of all people—!
"Huu……"
"Is something troubling you?"
"Ah — no. Nothing like that. It's just……"
Perhaps my emotions had overflowed.
A sigh slipped out of me before I could stop it.
I fumbled for something to say and looked away from his gaze.
Quietly.
I stole a glance at the Commander's face.
His expression was complicated in all sorts of ways.
This meant… my plan had worked exactly as intended.
*I was a little worried it might not land… but thank goodness.*
The fact that we regressed together — that could never come to light.
And yet, to prevent him from going dark, I needed to give him a sense of connection.
The solution to that contradiction was this.
Making him believe I had only inherited the memories of the previous loop.
I'd let it slip that I'd deliberately recalled those memories last time.
And knocking away his outstretched hand — that had been for exactly this purpose.
*With this, the Commander won't be able to pull the same things he did last loop. He'll be under the impression that actions that lower my affection carry over into the next regression.*
Hehehe. Every last humiliation from the previous loop — I'll return it all.
This time around, let me savor the Commander's deep, lingering regret…
"Commander, um……"
"……What is it?"
"It's… ahaha, never mind. It's just — we're going to be working together from now on, so… I wanted to say, let's do our best."
"Yes. I… hope we get along well too, Leila… san."
I'd been stealing glances at him, and I turned away awkwardly, redirecting the conversation.
The attitude of someone who'd worked up the courage once, but found it too hard to keep the conversation going.
When I averted my eyes, the Commander had no choice but to let the words trail off too.
Not that I had any intention of showing him genuine dislike.
Managing the Commander's affection and the mood between us was important.
I didn't want the relationship to fracture here.
"Ugh……"
The important detail here was exactly this.
*Why is she acting like this toward me…?* — that reaction.
I furrowed my brow as though I couldn't understand my own behavior.
At the edge of my vision, the Commander's face twisted.
Because he'd been so cruel to me in the previous loop.
He seemed to think that was why I'd ended up like this.
Ahaha. Completely fooled.
He was clearly trying to hold his emotions in check, of course.
But he couldn't escape my sharp gaze.
*Haaa…… The Commander's face when he's full of regret — it's just too good……*
Watching the Commander suffer sent a shiver straight through my chest.
A warmth like warm water being poured over me drifted through my body.
Before I knew it, my hand had found its way to my thigh.
More precisely, it was stroking the soft inner part of my thigh —
and I barely managed to stop it from sliding under my skirt.
If I did something like that while sitting across from him, it would be over.
He would certainly see me as an irredeemable pervert.
I'd gone to such lengths to create this perfect situation. I had to hold back. I *had* to.
Desires like this — they were something I could endure…!
"……I'm going to wash my hands for a moment."
Yeah. That was a lie.
The scenes from the previous loop were already flickering through my mind.
And watching that face of his — my patience had hit its limit.
I told him I'd be stepping out to the restroom for a moment.
Then, keeping my composure, I walked out into the corridor and tumbled into the restroom.
"I can't take too long……"
I'd rushed to the restroom without thinking, but now that I'd arrived, the time was what worried me.
If I was gone too long, the Commander would get suspicious.
Could I finish faster than usual and get back?
……Honestly, I wasn't particularly confident.
Then, all of a sudden, a good idea came to me.
In my current state, I should be able to use Trance.
*What would happen if I kept Acceleration running while I did this?*
……I was genuinely curious.
With Acceleration active, the world felt like it was moving in slow motion.
What would it feel like to relieve myself in that state?
In theory, shouldn't it be possible to shorten the time it took?
I decided to try it once — keeping the cognitive acceleration running.
The result, however, was not quite to my satisfaction.
Not much of a difference, I'd say. About the same, really.
And then, in that moment, I noticed something off.
Wait — if it felt the same with the acceleration running, that wasn't right.
"Oh, hold on. Don't tell me — it all hits at once when it ends—?!"
The instant Acceleration's duration ran out.
All the sensation that had been delayed and building up crashed into me at once.
……In the end, I had succeeded in cutting down the time.
But I returned to the Commander with my stamina and nerves in tatters.
"I'm going to rest my eyes until we arrive……"
"Ah, okay."
The Commander tilted his head at how exhausted I looked.
I told him I was simply tired, and let my eyes drift shut.
……I will never use cognitive acceleration for that again.
I had learned one very important lesson.
*
By the time we arrived in Lumia, it was, of course, late evening.
I'd dozed off for a bit and woken up with my stamina fully restored.
I stepped off the train with the Commander and took a wide look around.
"So this is Lumia… it really is quiet!"
"Shall we head straight to the branch?"
"I suppose so? Commander, do you need me to show you the way?"
"I'm fine. I memorized the layout beforehand."
Perhaps because he'd already been through three regressions.
The Commander's performance was, I had to admit, reasonably natural even to my eyes.
But perhaps because we'd been on the train for so long —
he'd unconsciously closed the distance between us without meaning to.
Seizing the moment, I shrank back with a trembling of my shoulders, as though startled.
"Hk—!"
"……I have no intention of hurting you."
"Huh? Oh… I'm sorry……"
I deliberately clutched at my chest, looking unsettled.
The expression of someone who didn't understand why they'd felt afraid — that was a bonus.
At the sight of me like this, the Commander bit down on his lip.
Then he put some distance between us and spoke to me quietly.
"Let's go to the branch."
"Yes……"
Ahh, this is fun. So, so, *so* much fun.
A shiver ran through my chest as I watched the back of the Commander's head.
As always, the Commander is most appealing when he's suffering.
I laughed quietly to myself and followed silently behind him.
"Welcome, Commander Yujin! And Lady Leila!"
"Yes. It's good to meet you."
"Fufu, I look forward to working with you all."
We arrived at the Lumia branch without exchanging a word.
Sure enough, the Rabbit Hole Squad was there to greet us.
The Commander and I spoke with them naturally —
and perhaps because he'd done a good job concealing the fact that he'd regressed, the overall flow unfolded much like it had in the first loop.
By the time we'd been shown to the last of the facilities and were about to part ways, I approached him — having kept my distance from the Commander all this time.
"You've worked hard today, Commander."
"……You as well, Leila-san."
"Ah……"
In the first loop, this was where I would have suggested dinner.
I hesitated for a moment, then smiled awkwardly and spoke to him.
"W-well… have a good night……"
"……Yes."
Had the Commander noticed the difference too?
He gave a nod, his response a beat too slow.
But even if he was pretending nothing was wrong, the damage was there.
The Commander bowed his head and quietly withdrew.
What a shame. If I'd suggested dinner, I could have accepted his invitation while pretending I had no choice —
and then spent the whole meal performing the role of someone deeply uncomfortable.
It was a pity I couldn't drive one more nail into his chest.
*So then… on the way back from here, Yubina would show up, wouldn't she?*
I needed to get close to Yubina in this loop.
I complimented her way of speaking and built up her affection for me.
She had no idea I was just saying the right things — naive Yubina was simply, purely delighted.
The highest floor of the Valkyries' dormitory.
I stepped into the private room I'd been assigned as Adjutant.
Then I folded my arms with a satisfied expression.
"Hehehe. A very rewarding day."
The 4th loop had been thoroughly enjoyable from the very start.
On the train, I'd gotten to watch the Commander's anguished face to my heart's content.
There had been a small incident in the restroom, but I'd had plenty of fun after arriving in Lumia too.
All things considered, it had been a satisfying day.
But the most important part of today's schedule was right now.
There was something I needed to confirm — something I hadn't been able to do with the Commander around.
"Huu — if only this works, it'll be perfect."
I sat down in the chair at the desk and folded my hands together.
If just this one thing succeeded, I would have no lingering regrets at all.
It was genuinely important for everything that lay ahead… so please, let it have worked.
"Network… access."
*Crackle!*
Sharp electricity wove itself into a complex tangle across my palm.
And information that should not have existed came flooding into me.