Chapter 2: The Eighth Loop Begins
"We will cast aside our selfishness! We will fight together, become top-ranking adventurers, and with our noble deeds we shall rise above even the houses of our birth!"
"I'm with you...yeah! We can do it! We will rise above, no matter what! We'll show them all!"
"I will make them see...by my own deeds I will make them acknowledge my power!"
"Hey, Remille, aren'tcha gonna say anything?"
"Oh, yeah, sorry," I muttered. "I just, uh..."
I guess I'm back here again. Back to just after graduation from Adventurer Preparatory School, to the day we formed our party.
On the first loop I was a swordsman, but I failed to keep up with my friends' progression and ended up sacrificing my life for them.
On the second loop, I was determined to draw on my experience from the last time and give it my all, but nevertheless when I was eighteen I died protecting my friends just the same.
On the third loop, I gave up on fighting in the vanguard. I tried my hand at magic rather than swordsmanship, but it made no difference and I died anyway.
On the fourth loop, I switched the focus of my magic to be entirely on support spells. And I died.
On the fifth loop, really more for my own sake than for my friends, I buffed my defensive abilities, aiming to become a mounted knight like Aman...and I died.
On the sixth loop I completely avoided the front lines. The best way I could think of to keep myself out of battle was to learn alchemy and beast taming, but still...I died.
And the seventh loop, well... That was my greatest hits compilation. I armed myself with my alchemical skills, used my beast taming magic to bolster our ranks, and fought with both magic and the sword. I contributed more to the party than I ever had.
And that led to...well, you saw how that went.
"I just, um, can't really hope to keep up with you all. But I'll try my best, I guess."
"What are you talking about? If anything happens, we've got your back," Margus assured me.
"That's right!" Rui broke in. "I can use my magic just fine with or without you. Ah, I mean, that's not to say we don't need you or anything, just...um... Anyway, I'll protect you!"
"Defense is my domain," Aman added. "You just stick to your own skills and do what you can."
"Thanks." Could these three really end up so awful? How could that be...?
Out of habit I formed the question, then jolted with sudden realization. Oh. Right. I don't have a companion yet in this loop.
❖
I broke away from the others and slipped into a quiet side alley. Finally alone, I thought through it all again—every one of my previous lives, and where to go from here. The conclusion was inescapable. "I've gotta split up from them as soon as I can."
Sure, I wouldn't have thought there was any ill will lurking under the surface just from talking to them today. But I knew how this would play out. And let's be real—I had spent seven entire lives with those three without seeing through their facade. I didn't exactly have a lot of confidence in my own judgment. Even now, I couldn't quite bring myself to believe they truly felt that way about me.
"Hmm, I guess I'll go for being a master tamer..." Skills from the life immediately previous were always sharpest. My body retained some memory of skills I'd learned over my lifetimes, so by now I was starting out with at least some knowledge of swordsmanship, magic, taming, and alchemy. Technically speaking, I was exploiting the fact that I already knew the techniques, but the way I saw it I had worked hard to make that much progress in three years. This time around should be no different.
"So assuming I'm right, even on my own I should be able to get at least C rank. Maybe. I hope." I had never actually tried this before, so I couldn't be sure, but it should work. If I was really lucky, I might even make B rank. With all the experience I had under my belt, I should be able to land on my feet quickly enough.
"When it comes down to it, the only reason I've stuck with them through seven whole loops was that I trusted them..." But every time, no matter what, I died at eighteen years old. That was the end I was signing up for each time I teamed up with them. The only reason that I kept trying and trying to find a way to make it work was that I liked them. As hard as it was to accept at the moment, if I continued to cling to that feeling, I was dooming myself to repeat the exact same death. And who knew how many loops I'd be able to go through? I had to do whatever I could to survive.
"But the party's already been formed. That's where the loop begins. I couldn't avoid it." If I couldn't find a way out by that fateful day, I would definitely die. "So the first thing I have to do is break off from the party, and then I'll..."
And then... Then what? My thoughts turned to the future. "Uh...hmm." And then what would I do? I'd never actually had to consider my own desired path. Now that I thought about it, I'd spent seven whole loops giving my life to them. Literally sacrificing my own life...
"I'll show them...somehow." At the end of my last life, they had mocked me for coming from a family of knights. They must have been harboring that prejudice the whole time. "I mean, it's true that my family are lower nobility, outside the line of succession..." But that shouldn't have made any difference. None of us were in line to inherit a title.
I would show them. But how? Performing deeds glorious enough to earn myself my own noble title, maybe? Could I make myself known to someone of higher societal standing than they'd ever imagine? "If somehow I could team up with a princess or something, that would definitely show them, right?"
As I absentmindedly grumbled my thoughts up to the sky, I locked eyes with a girl who was staring down at me. Her robe wrapped her whole body and hid most of her face, but she spoke in a clear voice.
"Sounds good to me. Let's do it!"
"Huh?" I was certain I'd checked to make sure no one else was around when I entered this alley. I thought I had been on the alert for approaching enemies or breaches of my perimeter. And yet I hadn't noticed her at all until she was close enough to talk to me...
"I'm Ciel," she told me. "Or I guess I should say, the third princess of the Elton royal line." As she spoke, she lowered her hood. Her eyes sparkled with determination. Her long golden hair was pinned up, framing a pale face that still retained the smooth curves of girlhood.
Between her appearance and her introduction, there was really no denying it. With that combo of youth, beauty, and tomboyish guise, she could be none other than the lovely girl known throughout the kingdom, for multiple reasons, as the "uncut gem."
"Are you really...?" I wondered aloud.
"Who else would I be? Sheesh... Oh, maybe this will convince you?"
"What are—?" Before I could get the words out, her right eye turned from gold to a gleaming aquamarine, shining like a gem. "Oh...!" Suddenly I knew. This was the other reason for her "uncut gem" nickname. Or really, I guess it was the main reason: the power to detect hidden veins of ore and gemstone deposits—the greatest treasure of our kingdom, the Eye of Appraisal. Using that ability would cause your eye to gleam like a gem.
"Oooh," she breathed as she looked at me. "I knew it. You, dear sir, are quite fascinating."
"What...what did you see?"
"You have an absolutely unreal amount of XP. And even stranger, your skills are so all over the place, I could see tons of different paths before you."
"Paths...?" I repeated.
"This power lets me glimpse the general direction of the path someone is best suited for. But in your case, there are so many diverging branches I can't get a clear picture."
Branches, huh? It made sense, with all the different things I'd tried over seven loops. With that thought, the reality of my present situation finally came crashing back into my mind. It's all well and good to mutter to myself about princesses, but this was beyond reckless. Even if this girl really was the princess—no, especially if she really was—I wanted nothing more to do with her. Making contact with someone so far above my station could only make things worse for me. I had enough on my plate trying to figure out how to change my fate of dying in three years' time. I did not need any more trouble.
That's what I told myself, anyway, until her next words.
"So tell me, you've been through several loops by now, right?"
"Wh—?" I stammered in shock. "How did you know?!"
"Aha! So it is true. That's incredible!"
"Damn it..." It was too late to take back my admission. Well, the Eye of Appraisal was said to be able to discern the truth. No doubt remained in my mind about the identity of the girl who stood before me. There was no getting out of this now...
"Okay, so," she continued, "what are we gonna do? Go adventuring? Enroll in some academy of higher learning?"
"For real? I mean... Do you speak in earnest? Your...Highness?"
"Oh, cut that out. You and I are beyond such formalities."
"We...we are?" This was bad. My brain couldn't keep up with my mouth. It's funny; in the whole seven loops I'd been through, I'd never once actually met a princess. I had assumed that whatever choices I made, the basic outline of events would be the same. But already it seemed I had deviated from that cycle.
"All because I decided I wanted to split from the party...?" I muttered under my breath.
"Hmm? I don't quite know what you mean...form a party?"
"Shush, I'm thinking, could you be quiet for a sec?"
"Oi! What a way to talk to a princess! Well, so be it. I am magnanimous enough to let it slide. Take your time."
As the alley fell silent I gathered my thoughts. Think back. After this, the next step would be to go complete the party formation application together. Typically newbies would start from F rank, but since we'd completed Adventurer Prep School, we'd be allowed to start from E rank. Before we even finished celebrating, we'd suddenly be challenged to a battle quest. Full of overeager confidence, we would head deep into the forest, only to be absolutely trounced by a demon that could take on D rankers.
And I remembered, too, our breathless laughter as we fled from our defeat, lost in pure elation...that's how this should have gone.
"Oi."
What next? Ah, yeah, Rui the sorceress would faint in the middle of a swarm of bug demons ten days later. Rui being Rui, she did her best to put it behind her, but for the next two years she couldn't stand bugs.
"Oooiii!"
After that...in the first year alone, we must have gotten into at least ten different scrapes. Like when Aman stepped on a phase trap and fell to the lowest floor of the dungeon. Or when Margus pissed off a top-rank adventurer and was almost roped into dueling him. Man, it really was quite an adventurous life I got to lead, that first time through, I reflected.
"Helloooooo! Stop ignoring me!"
"What the—?" The princess's words finally broke through my thoughts. "What? What are you crying for?"
"How dare you abandon me like that. Rude!"
"Abandon...? That was like, a few seconds." Well, she was quite the emotional roller coaster. "Okay then, what did you want to say?"
"Umm, so...can I be your party?"
"Uh..."
"What's wrong?" she demanded. "I don't meet your standards?"
"No, no, it's just I, um, already have a party."
"What?! What do you mean? You don't exactly strike me as the friend type, over here all by yourself."
"Now who's being rude?!" I snapped. What's "friend type" supposed to mean anyway? If anyone was giving off an aura of loneliness right now, I'd say it was the princess.
"You jerk! You led me on!" she yelled, tears overflowing down her cheeks.
"Shh, someone could overhear you!" How can I get out of this? If I tried to escape now, I could be signing my own warrant for execution. The man who deceived the third-born princess... And now that I thought about it, I'd spoken pretty rudely to her right from the start. Coming from the rural nobility like I did, speaking to royalty seemed as alien as speaking to a heavenly being. My brain couldn't really process it. I mean, she herself had said I shouldn't be so formal, so I guess it was okay? But...no, it still felt wrong. Maybe? At the same time, though, if I suddenly started talking in a manner more appropriate to the social distance between us, there was no doubt it would just make her cry more.
So be it. "Actually," I began, "I was planning to split from those guys anyway, so sure, why not?"
"What?! Why didn't you say so?" She glared at me as she scrubbed the tears from her eyes.
"Right. Uh...how should I address you?" I asked.
"Ciel is fine. And, um..."
"Remille."
"Well, Remille, it's a pleasure to meet you."
"Yeah, pleasure."
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