Was it because I had finally broken free from the party?
The early morning air felt exceptionally refreshing.
Even though I was merely watching the sun rise, I felt good.
The retreating darkness and the dawning light overlapped with my own life.
Had the world always been this beautiful?
As I came to this newfound realization, I decided to leave the camp.
It would be a lie to say I felt no lingering attachment.
After all, I was parting ways with comrades I had spent years with.
But more than that, the overwhelming weariness I felt took precedence. I had no intention of reconsidering my decision.
This is the first time I’ve ever walked away on my own.
Until now, I had always sacrificed.
I had fought for others, constantly putting myself second.
I had lived diligently, so surely, I was allowed at least this much rebellion.
Just as I reassured myself and was about to take a step forward, I heard footsteps behind me.
“Theo, can we talk?”
…Her again.
I found her persistence exhausting, yet I couldn’t bring myself to ignore her. Perhaps it was the last trace of old affection holding me back.
Slowly, I turned to face Claria.
She was wearing an expression I had never seen before.
A sad face. One that bordered on desperation.
She glanced at me briefly, then lowered her head as if ashamed.
“I thought about it all night. Looking back on everything… I can see why you’d feel hurt. It’s only natural that you got fed up with us.”
Her voice trembled slightly.
There was an unmistakable nuance of regret and guilt in her voice.
“…Did you eat something bad?”
An apology, out of nowhere.
I had expected her to spit curses at me, so this was completely unexpected.
She was acting so differently from the person I knew that I found myself caught off guard.
“It’s not like that. I’ve been reflecting.”
“Reflecting? You?”
“I went too far yesterday, didn’t I? But that wasn’t how I truly felt. I just… lashed out in the heat of the moment.”
“…….”
Claria pleaded with tear-filled eyes.
“Why did I only realize your worth now…? Please stay in the party. If you leave, we won’t be able to hold out.”
I was thrown into confusion.
What had gotten into her?
She had never acted like this before.
This was the first time she had ever impulsively declared her departure.
Even so, was she really the kind of woman to humble herself like this?
Did she have a side I never knew about?
Questions swirled in my mind, but—
“I’m going my own way. Give up.”
I rejected her firmly.
I knew.
The tears welling up in Claria’s eyes were nothing more than crocodile tears.
I had no idea what kind of thought process had led her here, but it was certainly not sincerity.
“Wait, Theo…!”
When I turned to leave, Claria hastily grabbed my arm.
She looked up at me with hesitant eyes.
“…I know this might sound strange, but… are you jealous of Louis?”
“What?”
What kind of nonsense was this?
When I stared at her with a dumbfounded face, she avoided my gaze and let out an awkward smile.
“People say Louis and I are close, but it’s a misunderstanding. We get along, sure, but I don’t have any special feelings for anyone. My duty comes first.”
…And?
What did that have to do with me?
I already knew the two of them would end up together eventually.
She was a woman who lied as easily as she breathed, so I wasn’t going to bother arguing.
Completely ignoring my disbelief, Claria continued speaking.
“But if I’m being honest… I think men like you, Theo…. mature men are the most attractive.”
“Heh.”
A scoff escaped me before I could stop it.
Of all the things I’d heard in my life, this had to be one of the most ridiculous.
The great Claria telling me she found me attractive?
This was a day worth circling in red on the calendar every year. It was a truly historic moment.
Her words were that disgusting.
“You must be mistaken. I’m not mature. So cut the nonsense.”
I shook off her hand and started walking away.
“Theo!”
I had woken up to what I thought would be a refreshing morning, only for my mood to be completely ruined.
Claria called out from behind me, but I ignored her without hesitation.
Unfortunately, the discomfort didn’t end there.
“Are you really leaving?”
This time, Louis blocked my path.
“Yeah. Move.”
It seemed like he had been waiting behind the rocks.
He had probably been listening to my conversation with Claria too.
That whole speech about attraction was nothing but an act.
Just as I had suspected, it was all a ploy to keep me from leaving.
“I’m not like Claria. I won’t force someone to stay if they want to leave.”
“Glad to see you have some sense. Take care, then.”
“Hold on.”
Louis stopped me with his eyes filled with hostility.
“You do realize you’re doing something disgraceful, don’t you?”
His tone was accusatory as if he was trying to nail down the idea that I was in the wrong.
“Who knows.”
The four of us had been assembled by the king’s orders just a month ago.
Before that, we were complete strangers.
Right now, we were only beginning to learn about each other.
And so, aside from me, the others had no knowledge of what was to come.
It might have seemed like a rash escape, but that wasn’t entirely the case.
“I’m done pretending to get along. I don’t care about disgrace or whatever else, so you high and mighty ones can enjoy each other’s company.”
I had more than enough reasons to despise them.
During strategy meetings, they would subtly disregard my opinions or keep their distance in barely noticeable ways.
Whether they realized it or not, the two of them had been discriminating against me.
Even without considering the time I had regressed, a month was more than enough to judge someone’s character.
No one could say I was acting impulsively.
“You’re going to regret this. If something happens to us, you won’t be free from responsibility either.”
Louis spoke in a threatening tone.
Beside him, Farne stood there. She was looking completely lost.
Farne.
The only one among us who was gentle and had never once argued with me.
I did feel sorry for her, but I had already crossed the point of no return.
She came from a prestigious family of spirit mages and was exceptionally talented, so she would be fine.
She’d get along just fine and would be cherished by everyone.
“I can take care of myself.”
With those final words, I left.
***
I thought I had wrapped things up neatly, but Claria was annoyingly persistent.
Even after I left the camp, she stuck by my side for over thirty minutes, trying to convince me to stay.
Not that it changed anything.
“If she was going to regret it, she should’ve treated me better from the start.”
I muttered to myself as I walked alone along the well-worn path that crisscrossed the grassy plains.
People didn’t change so easily.
If that had happened, I wouldn’t have gone through such trouble.
This whole situation wouldn’t have occurred in the first place.
“I feel relieved, but somehow empty….”
I was heading toward a nearby city over the course of several days.
I’d enjoyed my newfound freedom quite a bit until now, but for some reason, I felt an emptiness inside.
It was similar to when you entered a resting period after rigorous training.
My body had grown accustomed to harsh conditions, so suddenly being freed felt rather awkward.
For a long time, I’d desperately struggled against fate, but now I no longer needed to carry that burden.
I decided not to care about disasters or tragedies anymore.
Having lost my goal like this, I felt somewhat hollow.
Still, I didn’t have even the slightest desire to return to my previous lifestyle.
It was while walking along the path, immersed in such thoughts.
[The second regression of Claria has been completed.]
[A new timeline has been activated.]
With a cheerful alert sound, a translucent screen appeared before my eyes.
It was the same window I used to see frequently back when I still had the regression ability.
However, the content differed from the past.
The message was about Claria, not me.
“If it’s her second time, then she’s already completed a first regression….”
Suddenly, the memory from the night before I left the party came to mind.
I thought I had heard this alert sound in my sleep.
At that time, I assumed it was just an auditory hallucination and fell asleep again, but it wasn’t.
This message must have appeared then as well.
It probably had said, “Claria’s first regression has been completed”.
“No wonder she suddenly behaved so desperately like that.”
Everything was starting to make sense now.
I now understood why her attitude had changed the next morning.
Why she’d tried so hard to hold onto me, even resorting to flattery that didn’t suit her at all.
It was because she’d regressed after ending her first life that night.
If she hadn’t died midway, she would’ve witnessed the kingdom’s downfall until the bitter end.
And she would have realized:
That being a hero wasn’t as easy as it seemed.
My disappearance would have significantly weakened their fighting power, putting her in a tough spot.
“So the difference lies in the timing of our regressions.”
I had always returned to the same starting point, but Claria was different.
Her regression intervals gradually shortened each time.
Although I didn’t know exactly what had happened in the previous timeline, I was at least able to recognize the fact that Claria had regressed.
It was possible because her starting point was reset every time.
To summarize, the “me” from the first timeline was already dead.
I didn’t know what kind of end I had met, but the current “me” existed in the second or possibly a subsequent timeline.
“So that’s what the ‘final trial’ meant.”
I was still tangled up with her.
At this rate, the day would inevitably come when we’d meet again.
No matter how I tried, I probably couldn’t avoid it.
My persistent, ill-fated relationship with Claria was far from over.
“Struggle all you want. Because the real deal starts now.”
A new goal emerged within me.
I moved toward the city visible in the distance with much lighter steps.
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