Ayanokouji stared at the White Whale in the picture, thinking about how to eliminate the monster.
However, instead of destroying it, he had an idea in his mind—could it be used?
The White Whale's ability was so special that it could erase the existence of an object, which meant it had a very high strategic value.
If he could use the White Whale's ability to get rid of someone, no one would know what he did.
Ayanokouji didn't know if the person in the video still had the Return by Death ability, but if he did, he surely had the same thoughts as himself.
❀❀❀
In another world, in the kingdom of Lugnica, Crusch called her subordinates to prepare.
"Everyone, prepare your weapons and armor! We will be ready to depart tomorrow!"
After seeing the presence of the White Whale in an illusion in the sky, Crusch remembered the time and place and prepared to lead the soldiers to that location.
They already knew that the White Whale would appear at that time and place, so they had to stay ahead and wait for the White Whale's arrival.
Crusch had been thinking of getting rid of the White Whale for years. For hundreds of years, the White Whale had existed in the kingdom, killing many merchants—but the actual victims were surely more than the world knew, and most of the victims no longer had any trace of their existence in this world.
The White Whale was a huge scourge for the kingdom, and Crusch, who was just and kind-hearted, naturally wanted to eliminate this scourge for society.
But there was another, more important reason—she wanted to achieve a feat that would astonish the world.
If the White Whale could truly be eliminated, then Crusch would be able to create a feat that would shock the entire nation and give her a great advantage in the selection.
Not only that, she had been questioned by many people because of her young age and gender. If she could kill the White Whale, then Crusch would be able to gain their approval and eliminate all doubts.
What Crusch valued most was her pride.
"Finally... Finally, I have the chance to avenge you..."
Wilhelm murmured to himself, continuously murmuring his wife's name.
❰❱SKY SCREEN❰❱
"Kill me..."
Ayanokouji fell into darkness again, but faintly he could hear a sad woman's voice in his ear.
"Who are you?" He asked, but found he couldn't make a sound.
According to his speculation, the person hiding in the darkness and giving him the Return by Death ability was the Witch of Envy, Satella.
There was a feeling of falling again. The darkness before Ayanokouji's eyes had disappeared, and what he saw was his own room.
"Good morning."
A soft, small girl's voice came from his ear. He turned and saw Beatrice's cute cheeks with a bit of baby fat.
"Good morning."
Ayanokouji nodded, then got up from the bed, looked at the calendar in the room, and determined the current time, knowing it was not long after the selection meeting.
He had returned to a few days before his death.
He carefully recalled the possibility of his own death, and the appearance of the White Whale was still vividly in his mind.
How to kill the White Whale? And is there value in the White Whale?
At this moment, a warm breath blew gently on his face, bringing Ayanokouji's thoughts back to the real world.
"What are you thinking about?"
Beatrice puffed her cheeks angrily, a little mad that Ayanokouji was ignoring her.
"Sorry, I just didn't wake up a bit." Ayanokouji said.
"Huh?" Beatrice sniffed a few times and her expression became serious, "Your scent is stronger than yesterday... Are you okay?"
Her eyes were full of worry, afraid Ayanokouji might feel uncomfortable in some way.
"I'm fine. I don't know where the witch's scent on me comes from." Ayanokouji shook his head and denied it.
He was now basically certain that the so-called residual witch's scent on his body seemed to get heavier with the use of the Return by Death ability.
"Really? If you feel uncomfortable, tell Betty. The magic stored now is pretty good. It's not impossible to use just healing magic." Beatrice said, still somewhat worried, "Betty is going to have breakfast. Do you want Betty to take you to the room?"
"No need, I'll lie down for a bit and then go out for breakfast." Ayanokouji replied.
"Alright, tell Betty if you need anything." Beatrice said, then opened the door and left the room.
After Beatrice left, Ayanokouji lifted his head, focusing his eyes on the ceiling, and started thinking about how to deal with the reincarnation in this life.
The fact that he was killed by the White Whale's subordinates in the previous regression seemed to be just bad luck. He hadn't gathered enough information about the White Whale's presence, and he wouldn't be there for a long time.
Then in this life, as long as he didn't approach that place at that time, there shouldn't be any risk. He just needed to deal with Anastasia earlier.
Now that he knew the time and place where the White Whale appeared, was this an opportunity that could be utilized?
For example... get rid of Crusch.
Crusch had an incredible obsession with the White Whale, and Wilhelm even more so.
Maybe, they could borrow the White Whale's hand to get rid of Crusch, the biggest threat.
Even though Crusch had no ill intentions toward him, Crusch was now the person with the highest prestige and power among the throne selection candidates. The importance of getting rid of her was greater than cooperating with her.
This was the best opportunity.
"According to the plan, today should be the day to continue dealing with those nobles." Ayanokouji whispered to himself, "Let's take some time to contact Anastasia."
He left the room.
Emilia and the others were having breakfast together.
"Good morning, Ayanokouji, how did you sleep last night?" Emilia asked with a smile.
"Not bad." Ayanokouji nodded, then continued, "Emilia, I have a plan..."
Soon, he told her that he planned to trade with Anastasia, and Emilia now trusted him very much and was willing to hand over almost everything in the selection to his plan: "Do you need me to go with you?"
"No need, just go and meet the nobles who have appointments with you today. It will be more efficient to work separately. I'll just ask Betty to accompany me." Ayanokouji turned: "Betty, will you be free later?"
"What are you doing? Betty has been very tired these past few days, okay!" Beatrice lifted her head and said, but there was a little curiosity in her eyes.
"Didn't you just want to go out for a walk again?" Ayanokouji said, "In return, I can tell you a story at night."
"A story? Do you think Betty is still a child?" Beatrice said, but her cheeks were a bit red. Deep down, she naturally longed for Ayanokouji to tell her a story, "But since you put it that way, if you sincerely come to beg me, I will reluctantly agree this once."
The scene changed, and it was already late at night.
After Ayanokouji left the mansion, he directly met with Anastasia. This time, he expressed his willingness to cooperate. Although the timing was different, the general process was the same. Anastasia led him to a nearby town, and after demonstrating his skills, he reached a cooperative relationship again.
In the afternoon, the group returned to the capital of the kingdom from the border town. This time the journey was smooth and there were no accidents.
Ayanokouji chose to bring Beatrice with him mainly to prevent problems from the start. Although the magical power Beatrice brought when she went out was limited, her strength couldn't be underestimated. Even if they accidentally encountered the White Whale, he could also use Beatrice's magic to escape from it.
After going out with Anastasia, Ayanokouji turned to Beatrice: "Betty, have you heard of the White Whale?"
In the previous regression, he had already learned most of the information about the White Whale.
"Of course, Betty knows almost everything in the Forbidden Library!" Beatrice said with a proud smile on her face.
"How many people do you think it would take to defeat the White Whale if they were ordinary people?" Ayanokouji asked.
"I don't know." Beatrice shook her head, "If it's Betty or Bubby, monsters like that aren't enough to be seen. But if it's ordinary people, without knowing the specific abilities of the White Whale, a thousand people wouldn't be enough."
"I see." Ayanokouji nodded, already thinking of a better plan.
"Betty has been walking with you for a long time today. I'm exhausted! You have to repay Betty well!" Beatrice held his hand tightly and said very seriously.
"I'll tell you a story tonight."
"Betty wants two!"
"Yeah."
"Alright!" Beatrice's face was instantly filled with a joyful smile, then she extended her finger to point at the night market in the distance, "Betty wants to eat that!"
"Buy one copy of everything?"
"Yes!"
The camera changed, and a few peaceful days passed.
There were not many differences from the previous regression. Ayanokouji still used various methods to win over many officials and gained substantial support to resolve the kidnapping case he orchestrated and his efforts to establish a cooperative relationship with Anastasia previously.
Now both parties had begun handing over the related projects. Ayanokouji acquired ownership of the workshop from the other party, and today he asked Emilia to handle this matter.
Even though Emilia was basically under control now, Ayanokouji still needed her to improve her abilities.
There weren't enough obedient chess pieces, only adequate functional chess pieces that were qualified.
As long as Emilia wasn't around, Ayanokouji could naturally move more freely.
He was sitting at the mansion's front door, chatting with Rem, Beatrice, and the others. Although Beatrice was initially lukewarm to everyone except Puck and himself, she would now chat briefly – but fortunately, Felt wasn't here, otherwise her sharp words would have made the impatient Felt a bit angry.
Ayanokouji turned and looked at the clock hanging on the wall. If he remembered correctly, Wilhelm would knock on the mansion door in a minute, inviting him to the other party's house on behalf of Crusch.
He knew that after the timeline was restarted, every move he made could cause a butterfly effect, leading to changes in the original events. Therefore, aside from contacting Anastasia earlier, he basically followed the regression instructions to reduce the possibility of the butterfly effect.
"Three... Two... One..."
After Ayanokouji counted down in his heart, the knock on the door rang out.
The door slowly opened, and Wilhelm, tall and dressed in a suit, appeared.
"Sorry to disturb you. Crusch-sama, head of the Karsten family, sincerely invites everyone in the mansion to visit the Karsten household. Crusch-sama wishes to warmly entertain you all." Wilhelm respectfully saluted and said politely.
"Alright, I will excuse myself when the time comes. Please wait a moment. We will make some preparations before departing." Ayanokouji said, without any change in his expression.
He had already made a plan in his mind. During this banquet, he would completely destroy Crusch and her camp.