Day 1
10:27 AM
As I expected, there were no results.
However, now that I've resolved some things with them and with myself, I can think more clearly and proceed without exhausting myself so much. This way, I can directly ask for their help to put an end to these repetitions.
Certainly, the two of them will forget everything in the next iteration, but if I can convince them to cooperate in this one, I can repeat the procedure more quickly in subsequent attempts, and so on.
Before Miyu even arrives, I leave the classroom and run through the block, searching for one of the two. My time before the game announcement is limited. The sooner I resolve this, the fewer explanations I'll have to give about the game.
Since Mikoto seems more straightforward to find, I head to the student council room.
Speaking with one of them at a time is the best decision, given that previous attempts to bring them together directly resulted in great difficulty without prior private conversations.
...
I recount my entire story to Mikoto. It's certainly not an easy task, as she questions every point I make, searching for inconsistencies. However, I manage to provide satisfactory answers to each of her doubts.
"I understand… Frankly, I do not even know how to qualify such an absurd story as the one you have just told me," she sighs. "However, I cannot deny that you know concrete details about me. Did I really tell you that? It is not something I would expect from a future version of myself."
Naturally, she'll need some time to process all this information.
"Well, as I've just explained, we've cooperated in many iterations, so you shared details about the ritual's conjuration and eventually some personal information," I reply.
"Very well, I will assume this to be true. I cannot even imagine an adversary approaching me in such a manner, so I believe you are not a hostile presence. Besides, your expressions do not suggest any hint of lying," she pauses, touching her chin, "but Ailiss… are you sure she will not try to kill me again?"
"Don't worry about that. I've managed to make you two allies multiple times, and in a way, I've even seen you become good friends. There's no reason this time should be different."
Even if my methods weren't the best choices… I admit.
"Become friends with someone who wanted to assassinate me? Honestly, that is not very believable. Moreover, given our rather unpleasant history, it is a bit complicated not to be suspicious of her. But if you are saying so… I will give you the benefit of the doubt," she sighs.
"Alright, I'll go after her right now. I don't have much time left and need to bring her up to speed before the strange game announcement. I'll contact you later."
...
I head to Ailiss's hideout and repeat the procedure. This task is even more complicated than with Mikoto, as any slip-up could result in me taking a bullet to one of my limbs.
"Are you done?" she pauses. "Was this all some kind of joke? Because it wasn't funny at all," she replies, annoyed.
"No, it's the pure truth. All of this happened, and I've been trapped in this temporal loop for so long that I've lost count of how many iterations have passed."
"Okay… Mistkerl, huh? I suppose that's a plausible nickname for me to have given you. But what bothers me in all this is having to abandon my target. She's a sorceress, and my job is to eliminate her. I only came to Japan for that. Do you expect me to believe I should abandon my mission so easily?"
A predictable response—she's still obsessed with avenging the elimination of all black magic users in the world.
"Even if you succeed, everything will reset. You completed your mission in some iterations where I became passive—or perhaps in all of them—. But it didn't matter; everything always returns to square one. I'm not sure how to break this curse, but the natural course of events has proven to be a failure thousands of times."
"Fine, I haven't completely bought into your idea, but we'll call a truce. I'll cooperate with you two to better understand this strange loop. It's still hard to believe this bizarre story, but I can't deny you're informed about my personal and professional life details."
Oh, this is already a start. Indeed, with the right words, it's possible to move this forward properly, without manipulation, and with integrity.
"Allies, then?"
"Yes, but under the exact terms you described about our alliance in other iterations," she laughs. "Really, those rules could only have been devised by me."
...
Thus, the first day passes as usual. The game announcement is made, and the three of us meet in the student council room at night to discuss the details of all this strangeness.
"Won't the other members, especially Takashi, find it odd that you're preoccupied with us in such a delicate situation?" I ask, sitting in one of the chairs.
"Do not worry about them. I made up a story and assigned them plenty of tasks to complete. Knowing them, they will not come here anytime soon. They would not want to see my dissatisfaction with half-done activities. And even if they do come, given the average IQ of the student body, I can still outwit them with ease."
Having someone like Mikoto as a superior is definitely not an easy task. I wonder how Keiko, Haruki, and the other members endure being so blatantly trampled by her. My situation is even worse, but it's well-justified.
"Well then, have any of you come up with any ideas about what to do regarding this temporal loop?" I ask. "All the information I have about the game came from conversations I had with the two of you, so I believe you're more qualified than I am to propose anything."
There's also the information I received from those two childlike demons, but since they lied to me once, I can't consider them a reliable source for making any decisions.
"From what you've described, you've tried everything. Even confronting Death, correct? I think it's a painful truth to face, but there may be no solution," Ailiss comments, resting her face on one hand.
Apparently, I'm not the only one infected by pessimism. Still, this possibility has crossed my mind many times. Nothing guarantees there's a solution to this problem.
A problem is a human construct. In nature, various inconvenient phenomena occur all the time. Many things could be more straightforward. But these are merely balances, placing us humans at the center of everything.
This temporal loop is a problem because I see it as one. However, it could simply be a fact—something that cannot and should not be solved.
Could this indeed be the end?
What's the point of placing me in a game that's impossible to win?
These are questions that perhaps make no sense to ask.
Seeing my dissatisfied expression, Mikoto decides to speak.
"This afternoon, I formulated some hypotheses based on how we are being forced to stay within this school. It is just a supposition; frankly, I do not believe we can deceive it this way. But what if you tried to escape while it is preoccupied with something else?"
We all know there isn't an instant disappearance, as the other students perceive it. In reality, it's an entity that reaps us as soon as we leave the school. However, this only happens from an external observer's perspective...
"Do you think that could help? In all my escape attempts, it materialized in front of me and froze time. I couldn't even set foot on the ground. In practice, time compressed for me the moment I crossed the school gate," I reply.
"First, we need to know if what causes time to freeze is merely leaving the school or the presence of Death. I admit I've never conducted such an experiment in other situations, and in any case, this is an anomalous situation," Ailiss comments.
"As I said, it is just an unfounded supposition. I am merely considering the necessity of a perimeter watch around the school if escaping were truly impossible. In theory, there would be none, right? Precisely because it is watching the surroundings of the school that my intuition suggests there is a small possibility of escape," Mikoto adds.
Indeed, it might be possible. But how will we buy time to attempt the escape? What will we occupy it with? I don't believe bullets are effective against it, let alone obstacles, given that it quickly entered the basement to reap us.
"If I'm trapped in a temporal loop, I have nothing to lose. I'll try to escape through the front gate while you two attempt to flee through another part of the school. That way, we'll have its travel time on our side. It is possible that the loop will restart with my death, but if you two are already outside the school perimeter, something different may happen. We will only know by testing.," Ailiss suggests.
The idea itself seems pretty sound. But the implications go against my ideal of protecting them. After confining them, I promised I wouldn't let them endure that pain again.
However, failure isn't the worst-case scenario by far.
"Wait, if this works… I don't want you to die! My initial goal has always been to save you two! That's not a risk I'm willing to take! If we're going to use this approach, then I'll be the decoy!" I reply.
"Tsk," she clicks her tongue in irritation. "Set aside your emotions and think with your head. You're the only one who retains memories from the previous iteration. If you're the decoy, we won't know if there was progress—it's a risk we must take. And I'd say I'm the best suited for the task."
She's right, but even so… it pains me too much to see them get hurt because of me, especially to be reaped—that's by far the slowest death of all.
Unable to argue, I can only twist my face in frustration.
"Johann, she is right. This is a task only you can do. I will be the second decoy in this case, so Death will theoretically lose even more time before coming after you," Mikoto adds.
You too? It's hard for me to accept, but I must set aside these emotions. This experiment is the only way to gather more information—information necessary to save them definitively.
"Alright… I wanted to avoid putting you at risk once more, but it's the only idea we have in the end," I reply, clenching my fists in frustration.
What is this bitter feeling? Ah, yes… powerlessness… it's a horrible sensation.
...
We wait for a quiet time at the school so Mikoto's presence won't attract much attention. Then, we head to the school's front gate. Upon arriving, we find Death already materialized just beyond the gate.
"See, it is waiting for us. Perhaps it already knows what we intend to do," Mikoto comments.
"Here's what we'll do: you two will jump the wall from another part of the school. I'll wait a few minutes, and when I confront it, I'll fire my submachine gun," Ailiss says.
Wait, what does she hope to gain from that?
"It probably won't have any effect—it's physical damage, after all," I reply.
"Her plan is not to inflict any damage but to give us a signal. Through the sound of the gunfire, we can time our movements. I will wait two seconds, and you will wait two more. This way, Death will prioritize me and then be forced to circle a large part of the school perimeter before reaching you," Mikoto explains.
Oh, that's actually a good idea.
"Understood."
Mikoto and I walk to the far end of the schoolyard to climb the wall. Since it's continuous, we can move to our respective positions from the same starting point.
"It's a bit high, and I don't see any place to anchor the rope. How do you plan to climb?" I ask.
"I just need a boost—you can give me a handhold, and then I will drop the rope for you to climb up."
She can't be serious about reaching that. It must be over four meters high.
"Even so… do you think you can make it?"
"Do not worry about that; I practiced gymnastics in middle school."
What didn't this girl do? On the other hand, I've always avoided extracurricular activities. I wish I had at least half of her proactivity.
With my support, Mikoto leaps and grabs the top of the wall with her fingertips. She then hoists herself up with remarkable skill and drops the rope down for me to climb.
Once on top of the wall, I move about 120 degrees away from the school gate while Mikoto does the same in the opposite direction. As soon as Ailiss gives the signal with a burst from the machine gun, Mikoto waits two seconds before attempting to escape, and I wait four.
I jump off the school wall and land on the sidewalk.
Death didn't appear? I see, so Mikoto's hypothesis seems valid.
I begin running desperately toward the next block.
Not much time.
Although the principle works, it doesn't buy us enough time. I manage to cover about five meters before everything freezes, and then I'm reaped.
Day 1
10:27 AM
We failed...
However, due to this experiment, we were able to confirm that our death upon leaving the school isn't instantaneous. I managed to travel a measurable distance before Death caught up to me.