Day 1
10:27 AM
As the iterations progress, a particular sensation becomes more evident to me: boredom.
After what feels like several months have passed, I begin to notice a lack of enthusiasm among others. Those who used to play sports daily have started abandoning their pastimes, and the more introverted individuals have already read every book that interested them. The feeling of discouragement begins to take root.
Just as I had foreseen, extending and creating more school events has lost its effect. By making them a regular occurrence, they've lost their appeal. Naturally, after so much time confined, no one wants to participate in these activities anymore. Everyone just wants to go home, to return to their lives.
"Hey, what's wrong? Want to play tennis?"
"Let's do it another time; I'm feeling a little dizzy and nauseous."
I'm noticing this pattern more frequently. At first, only a few among the thousands of students needed to visit the infirmary, but this phenomenon is becoming more common. This doesn't sit well with me, whether it's sensitivity to this repetitive world or some other unknown cause.
Mikoto, Ailiss, and I haven't come to any solution. Eventually, we spent more time managing the student body than trying to resolve the loop itself.
One person who seems particularly displeased with this situation is Mikoto's former lackey, Takashi. During countless repetitions, I've had to deal with him, but I doubt there's anything I could say now to quell his obsessive jealousy.
The assassination attempt he made on me in the infirmary once proved this. He would never admit to Mikoto giving much attention to anyone else.
"Stay away from her. I won't repeat this," Takashi says when he finds me alone in the council room.
Little does he know how many times we've had this same conversation. In the end, I've taken drastic measures to silence him in the past, but I have no intention of repeating those mistakes.
From now on, everyone's death will be permanent. Sparing their lives as much as possible is my way of atoning for the insanity I've committed during my moments of madness.
Even so…
"Don't take this the wrong way, but I'm just following orders. If she decided I should handle this task, I can do nothing about it. If you have complaints, you must take them up with her. However, I doubt she'll appreciate opposition to her opinions, whether it comes from me or you."
While I don't want to provoke a conflict as I've done before, I also can't simply bow to his commands. If I obey him, I'll be giving him a degree of authority. I can't trade Mikoto's freedom for the sake of curbing his psychopathic impulses.
"If that were all… you've gotten quite close, haven't you? Kaichou has never interacted so intimately with anyone as she has with you and that exchange student. What have the two of you done to her? Do you think you can fool me so easily? I know you're manipulating her," he adjusts his glasses. "So I'll repeat it: stay away from her."
"Of all people, you think she could be manipulated? Are we talking about the same Mikoto?" I sigh and continue, "I'll be blunt. She's the one who wants to spend her free time with Ailiss and me. You can't restrict that. It's her life, and she knows what's best for herself. I don't want any misunderstandings with you. I hope you can understand that."
"No… You deceived her… you DECEIVED HER!" he shouts, his eyes wide.
He's reaching the same state he did when I provoked him and in the infirmary. However, this time, it's spontaneous, and I'm not in a vulnerable position. Time must have been enough to let his jealousy drive him insane.
I quickly sense the hostility in his expression and brace myself.
Perhaps I can still bring a sliver of sanity to his mind.
"Think carefully about what you're about to do. You know I'm a player and how the rules work. If you kill me, I'll just be reborn in the next iteration, but you'll die permanently. What do you hope to gain from this?"
"This is all a big lie. You're the culprit—you and that exchange student. Everything started with her arrival. When I get rid of you two, everything will return to normal. And then… then she'll love me!"
Damn it, at this rate…
"It's not just me saying this. Didn't you see with your own eyes what happened to Asahi and the professor?"
He pauses for a few seconds, calming down before speaking in a low tone.
"Hey… she seems interested in you too. And she's just as beautiful as Yukihara-san," he grows furious again. "Isn't she enough?! Why do you need both of them?! Why?! Why?! WHY?! WHY?!"
I knew that appearing in public with them was never a good idea. Even with all my precautions, it was inevitable that this would stoke Takashi's deranged envy.
Judging by how this conversation is going, I doubt I'll have the same luck as before, with Mikoto and Ailiss interrupting.
"That's not the point. Now, listen to me. This isn't the way—what you're planning won't end well. Nothing will be resolved, and the only one who'll lose in the end is you."
"Shut up, you bastard! You have no idea how long I've admired her! Why do you get to have everything while I have to accept this, huh?! With those two, it's easy for you to say something like that! You have everything!" His eyes widen further. "I HAVE NOTHING TO LOSE!"
Takashi lunges at me, throwing a punch toward my face. I cross my arms to shield myself from the impact, then grab his wrist to restrain him.
Who would have thought that all that training with Ailiss would come in handy? I'm nowhere near the level of those two girls, but even someone as helpless as me can manage this.
Damn it!
I see the light reflected on a metallic surface.
Unfortunately, I didn't anticipate one thing… He's holding a kitchen knife.
"Die, you bastard," he shouts euphorically, his voice distorted.
I can't block the next blow, which lands with the blade piercing my stomach.
In pain, I recoil.
He seizes the opportunity to go for another strike. The knife thrusts toward my neck; I try to grab his arm, but he diverts the blade upward.
What?!
Unexpectedly, Takashi slashes at my eyes.
I feel searing pain as the blade cuts through my eyeballs.
I let out a scream of agony, trying to orient myself blindly.
Damn it, I can't see!
I touch the wall to stabilize myself but soon feel a blow to the left side of my head, knocking me to the floor.
"Die!" he yells, stabbing the blade into my chest.
"Die!" he hits my abdomen.
"Die! Die! Die! Die! Die! Die! Die! Die! Die! Die! Die! Die! Die! Die! Die! Die! Die! Die! Die! Die! Die! Die! Die! Die! Die! Die!"
The knife keeps cutting into my flesh until I lose consciousness.
Day 1
10:27 AM
I awaken again in the classroom and finally process what happened. Takashi lost control and killed me in the last iteration… This implies, by the game's rules, that he's now dead. As far as I can tell, it's true—only the three of us are exempt from disappearing permanently when killed.
There were still a few days before the timeline rewound. What could have happened to the others?
...
I go to the student council room and meet with Ailiss and Mikoto, who inform me about the situation.
"We found your body, and Takashi's on the council room floor. It was clear what had happened," Ailiss says.
I understand. After the interference of the Laplace demons, reality no longer resets automatically upon our deaths. Moreover, I'm relieved to know this conflict hasn't gone public. The two of them did well in suppressing the case.
"Any sign of him? Did he really not return in this iteration?" I ask.
"His existence has been completely erased," Mikoto confirms, shaking her head.
This corroborates everything the demons told me. Those bastards aren't trustworthy, but it seems the rules they've set are accurate.
I glance at Mikoto and notice she looks a bit down.
"Are you upset about him? I understand—he was the person closest to you within the school."
No matter how repulsive someone may be, it's strange to deal with the absence of someone who's been around for so long.
"It is not that. Mourning his death would be disrespectful, considering I was responsible for killing him about a third of the time. However, sometimes I think I should have cut him off sooner, right when he joined the council two years ago. That way, maybe he would not have become so obsessed with me," she explains, massaging her temples.
"To be fair, the way you always treated him made it clear you weren't interested. There was no way he could have thought otherwise unless he was a masochist like Mistkerl," Ailiss comments.
The worst part is I have no defense. My subconscious honestly prefers it when these two mistreat me. Perhaps Takashi interpreted that positively, too. Who would have thought we'd have this in common?
"Indeed, I thought the same. But now I see how irrational we can be regarding our feelings. In that sense, he's not much different from the three of us."
I see now that love isn't as beautiful an emotion as we try to paint it. Quite the opposite—it's the most selfish of all.
"Looking back, the measures I had to take during the repetitions almost make Takashi seem reasonable. In fact, the measures all three of us took," I comment.
"Leaving this matter aside, the real problem now is covering up this incident. Although Takashi did not have much sympathy or popularity among the student body, however, people will naturally start noticing his absence," Mikoto explains, touching her lips. "And when that happens, even if we omit the assassination attempt, his mere disappearance will likely destabilize the mental health of the other students."
...
Mikoto's concerns proved relevant. Takashi may have been the most unstable person here, but he wasn't the only one. Adding the natural tendency toward madness to the influence of the first victim of the loop, the behavior of others becomes increasingly unsettling.
This school no longer resembles the environment where multiple school events were being held just a few months ago. The tone of this place has quickly turned dark and aggressive.
Some have already realized we'll never escape this world, leading to violent acts of rebellion.
Fights break out several times a day in the schoolyard, but since it's still a minority, the student council manages to stop them successfully. Despite the inconveniences, it's still a controlled environment.
Until another death occurs.
During a fight, a student is killed. This becomes the catalyst for a chain of murders and suicides. Mikoto and Ailiss start suppressing the chaos under a regime akin to martial law to calm things down.
We're on an irreversible path. From this point forward, this short dream has ended.