Predicting the future is an extraordinarily difficult thing.
No — realistically speaking, it's closer to impossible.
Never mind a week from now; life is something where you can't even know what tomorrow will bring.
At the point where even the smartest suits in the world can't print money on command.
Predicting the future was nothing more than a matter of faith.
So then — is it truly, completely impossible?
No. I had a certain confidence in myself.
Only I, who knew this place was the world inside a trashy gacha game for obsessive fans.
Only I could carefully lift the veil draped over the future.
"What a beautiful night view…."
I was standing atop a rampart, the wind blowing against me.
An observation deck dozens of meters high, with the entire city spread out at a glance.
Remarkably, the scenery below was engulfed in flames.
The acrid smell and scorching heat carried on the wind.
Staring at it all in a daze, I felt vaguely uncomfortable.
Had I, at some point, grown attached to this city?
I tilted my head back, and the dark night sky filled my vision.
Then I forced out a laugh with everything I had.
As if pushing one emotion out with another, I filled each breath with delight.
"Pfft, pfhehe…. Ahaha!"
I didn't have to worry about anyone's eyes anymore.
That sense of liberation made my reason feel weightless, distant.
Of course, objectively speaking, this was not a situation for laughter at all.
Because even at this very moment, someone was surely dying.
If anyone saw me, they would undoubtedly think me a villainess.
And yet I could stand tall, shoulders back, without shame.
Because I had contributed not one bit to this outcome.
I simply had neither the power nor the will to stop it.
If I already knew it would all be undone anyway, there was no reason to grieve.
"Leila…."
"I can't… forgive you…."
"Ah, you're here."
How long had I been drinking in the sight of everything burning?
Two guests I'd been waiting for at our appointed place had arrived.
One was Yubina, half of her bun torn loose, glaring at me.
The other was a blue-haired girl gripping a spear, eyes bloodshot.
The killing intent aimed my way was unmistakably genuine.
That fierce, burning will to kill me without fail sent a tingle crawling up the back of my neck.
*I hate pain, so I'll use Runner's High and….*
The way I am right now, either one of them alone would be a struggle.
If they team up to come at me together… well, there's nothing to be done about that, is there?
Without a shred of hesitation, I spread both arms wide and spoke to them.
"Go ahead. Kill me too."
And then I'll go meet the Commander looking my very best.
A genuine smile slipped out, carried on the swell of emotion rising in my chest.
Then, all of a sudden, a question surfaced in my mind.
What if, when I wake up again, it isn't on a train bound for Lumia?
What if the save point has shifted — sending me back to some point further along?
Just which moment would I return to?
The critical branching point where all these outcomes could still be changed….
Ah, right. It would probably be that moment.
Behind my closed eyes, memories began to unspool in reverse.
*
Roughly three weeks and a few days had passed since the battle with Midir.
Excluding the Regressions, it had been about a month since I arrived in Lumia.
Thinking about it, it was absurd.
I'd repeated that one week four times just to take down Midir.
Died, died, died, barely scraped through the brink of death one more time.
And yet once I cleared that wall, the daily life that followed was utterly peaceful.
The original story as I remembered it had been far more frantic than this.
A-rank and B-rank Valkyries being dispatched one after another.
Erosion Species swarming in without pause, and a mysterious girl appearing out of nowhere.
There was also some unidentified group chasing after that girl, if I recalled correctly….
Now, only a calm, quiet routine continued — like a sea after a storm has passed.
*Well, of course it has to diverge from the original. The circumstances are different.*
But it was only natural.
Compared to the original, the situation had changed considerably.
So it was inevitable that the results would change along with it.
For starters, in the original's prologue, Leila had met her death.
She'd left behind nothing but a gruesome trace — not even a body.
And Midir had gone on a rampage without so much as a scratch.
From headquarters' perspective, that would have been a dire emergency.
Even if she was only B-rank, she was skilled enough that headquarters had dispatched her.
And that skilled operative had died without even putting up a fight?
Naturally, they'd rush to send Valkyries and confirm the situation.
But what had happened now?
*Not only is Leila alive, but Morka — who was originally fated to die — has survived as well. Effectively… there are no casualties.*
On top of that, Midir, who should have been running rampant, had been fried by lightning and gone into hiding.
Zero fatalities, and the crisis had somehow been resolved well enough.
Headquarters probably didn't consider it a serious situation.
So I had anticipated this to some degree.
The flow of the original story? Straight into the trash bin.
If anything, it would only create false preconceptions — better to ignore it entirely.
"Still, I never thought it would take over three weeks with no dispatch coming…."
I'd expected them to arrive within a week at the latest.
Honestly, this part had caught me off guard.
Eventually, Midir would recover from its wounds and come back stronger.
How were we supposed to handle that without outside support?
Lost in deepening thought, I pressed the back of my pen against my lips.
Even so, when I thought about it, it wasn't really worth worrying over.
So what if they don't come? Then we all die together and Regress.
By then, the Commander would probably request reinforcements himself.
Right. I shouldn't dwell on this part too much.
Sitting on a bench, I checked the to-do list I'd written in my notebook.
[ 1. Naturally improve my relationship with the Commander ]
[ 2. Reinforce and expand the branch's facilities ]
[ 3. Find a way to break past B-rank ]
[ 4. Investigate rumors from the underworld through a hacker ]
[ 5. Find the amnesiac girl who appeared in Chapter 1 ]
"What I've managed to accomplish in three weeks here…."
Thud.
I'd been peering closely at the notebook when I closed the cover.
I'd suddenly sensed someone approaching.
That familiar sound of footsteps — probably a man's dress shoes.
There was only one man in the Lumia branch.
I turned around and spoke without even looking at his face.
"You've finally arrived."
"I apologize for being late. Something urgent came up that I had to deal with…."
Lips set in a firm line, hair cropped short, a serious gaze.
Tall, broad-shouldered, always wearing that blunt expression.
Naturally, it was the Commander.
I tucked the notebook into my inner pocket and rose from my seat.
Even so, the difference in our heights meant I naturally found myself looking up at him.
It would be nice if he'd relax his facial muscles a little in everyday life.
It's not for nothing that the Valkyries find his first impression intimidating.
I approached him as he bowed his head, as if apologizing for being late.
Then I looked straight into his eyes and answered with an easy smile.
"It's fine. Dahlia already told me. I'm not bothered. You can be a little late sometimes."
"Thank you for understanding."
"Shall we go, then? Facility inspection."
"Yes."
"But walking around like this, just the two of us — doesn't it feel a bit like a date?"
"Ah, ahem. Leila."
My sudden remark caught the Commander off guard.
He even glanced around to see if anyone had heard.
It seemed he was worried someone might get the wrong idea.
Still, he didn't look particularly displeased.
Well, of course — there's no way he'd dislike going on a date with a beautiful girl like me.
The Commander caught my playful smile and pressed a hand to his forehead.
Then he answered in his characteristically blunt tone, as if drawing a clear line.
"This isn't a date — it's strictly a facility inspection. Someone might misunderstand if they heard you."
"I'm just saying it has that kind of feeling. Does the Commander dislike going on a date with me?"
"…That's a difficult question to answer."
"Pfhehe. So you don't dislike it."
"Ahem…."
The Commander was left speechless by my sly smile.
Stifling a laugh inside, I stepped closer to him.
At that, a familiar, cool scent reached the tip of my nose.
The Commander seemed startled by the closeness between us and went rigid.
Perhaps just as I was breathing in his scent.
Was he catching the scent coming from me as well?
Hmm, thinking about it that way feels a little strange.
I'm a beautiful girl, so I'd smell nice without even trying.
But it's probably worth being mindful of these things and taking care of them.
*That aside…. He's definitely conscious of me. Three weeks of effort well spent.*
I looked up at the Commander with upturned eyes.
His gaze immediately fled from mine, as if escaping.
Clear proof that he was aware of me.
Of course, getting to this point hadn't been easy.
Three weeks ago, my favorability with him had been rock bottom.
For things to shift naturally from there to here?
That required a calculated, strategic approach.
—Commander. This is a small token of thanks.
—Is this… chocolate?
—I think I may have misunderstood you a little up until now. It's meant as a… a peace offering….
—In that case… it's fine. I haven't been without fault either. I've been wanting to make amends with you, Leila.
—Oh, r-really? Then let's get along from here on.
First, I'd offered a sweet treat as an olive branch.
I had been unconsciously rejecting the Commander all this time.
And he had been feeling guilty about accidentally pinning me down.
First, we needed to get past that lingering awkwardness through reconciliation.
If the catalyst for that was her risking her life to save him.
That would be more than enough reason for him to believe Leila had changed her heart.
Once the reconciliation was done, the rest was comparatively simple.
By deliberately drawing out traces of previous loops.
I only needed to synchronize the Leila he knew with the me of the present.
—Commander. You're welcome to just call me Leila. I am your Adjutant, after all.
—If you'll call me Commander as well… I'll call you by your name.
—Hm? Oh, um…. C-Commander? Ah, this is a little embarrassing….
—Ugh….
Things like changing the formal way we addressed each other to something more comfortable.
The Commander seemed to recall a previous loop, momentarily at a loss for words.
—Leila. I brought coffee.
—Oh, thank you. Wait — this is a café mocha, my absolute favorite. Hehe, how did you know?
—…I got lucky.
Things like beaming at him and asking how he'd guessed my preference.
The Commander hadn't forgotten the memories from the 2nd loop.
—Good morning…. Oh!
—Ah. W-wait! Please knock before you come in!
—I never used to knock before…!
Things like deliberately changing clothes right as the Commander was about to arrive.
It was rather amusing how his gaze wouldn't quite leave, even as he flustered.
Honestly, it was a little troublesome — but it was fun.
How weak he was to women. He had absolutely no resistance.
It felt like dangling a toy in front of a cat and playing along.
And on top of that, thinking about how I planned to topple everything I'd built up in one fell swoop.
Just imagining it made the warmth in my breath feel that much more intense.
Anyway, that was how I'd spent three leisurely weeks.
And the result was that I'd recovered roughly the same level of favorability as in the previous loop.
*Somewhere between fondness and longing…. All it needs is the right trigger, and he'll come over.*
We were almost there now.
I reached out and tugged at the Commander's sleeve.
"Let's go."
"Yes."
I wondered when this one would finally confess first.
That moment when his emotions would overflow — I was looking forward to it immensely.