“You shouldn’t trust Theo. He’s the one who irresponsibly left the party!”
Louis was persistent.
He tried to tarnish my reputation by badmouthing me to the village chief standing nearby.
“No, it’s just that I couldn’t stand working with such a terrible teammate.”
“What? You’re saying I have a bad personality?”
“It’s not like I’m wrong. If that weren’t the case, you wouldn’t have stirred things up in the newspapers.”
He had tried to socially ruin me and now had the audacity to spout such nonsense.
I wanted to punch him, but I held back, exercising patience.
“Both of you, stop fighting. What’s done is done, but let’s try to get along like we used to.”
Louis was one thing, but what was even more ridiculous was Claria.
Despite being the root cause of all this.
She put on a sweet smile in front of others and stepped in to mediate.
“You’re no different. Do you think I believe Louis did the interview alone? You’re the one who encouraged him to write that trashy article about me.”
“Ah. I tried to stop him, but Louis was so angry…”
“See? You agreed to it in the end!”
“W-Wait, just hear me out…!”
“What now?”
Claria fumbled to make excuses.
“Actually, His Majesty the King was furious. I wanted to spin it positively, but I couldn’t. I tried my best, but I couldn’t stop the sensational articles from being published.”
So she went along with the flow because she couldn’t defy the King’s mood?
I was stunned by how she brought up the King, following Louis’ lead, to justify herself.
“The process doesn’t matter. The conclusion is that you both screwed me over. Nothing more, nothing less.”
I recalled what Fran had said before and delivered a sharp retort.
I turned on my heel and walked away.
“Theo…!”
Claria shouted from behind, but I didn’t stop and kept walking.
***
Claria kept oscillating between criticizing and defending me. She was taking a half-hearted stance.
Normally, she would have outright condemned me, so why?
The reason was obvious.
It was because she had been thoroughly beaten by me in a previous cycle.
She must have tried to keep me in check.
But because she was so far behind in information, she was completely outmaneuvered.
If the starting point of her regression had been fixed, she wouldn’t have hesitated.
But in Claria’s case, it was gradually being delayed, so being cautious in the early stages was the right move.
If she fully antagonized me, the option of reconciliation would disappear.
She didn’t know what was best, so she was keeping her options open.
If things seemed too far gone, she’d cut her losses.
Switching strategies later would be difficult, so she was trying to keep me in check at an appropriate level.
Using Louis as a shield.
She was testing the waters, trying to make the best decision.
It was a ploy to exploit her advantage as a regressor for her own gain.
It seemed she had quickly figured out how to use it.
Things might go her way for the most part, but it wouldn’t be easy.
Because I, the senior regressor, would interfere.
That’s why I reacted so strongly earlier.
I didn’t necessarily need to get angry, but I deliberately showed my displeasure.
There were two reasons for that.
The first reason was that if we got too close, it would turn into a long-term battle favorable to Claria.
If we stayed close, information would inevitably leak out in some form.
To counter her while she possessed the overwhelming ability of regression, such a situation had to be avoided.
Ideally, I wouldn’t allow any approach or observation, but that was too difficult to achieve.
Maintaining this level of distance was the most natural approach for now.
The second reason was simply that I was angry.
When I suggested coming here, she had opposed it, yet she stubbornly showed up anyway.
She probably wanted to reap the benefits without having to apologize.
I was foolish to expect something like basic human decency from her.
“Can I stay with you for a moment…?”
I was eating a late lunch at an empty tavern, trying to calm my anger, when someone approached me.
It was Farne.
“I don’t mind.”
Once I gave permission, Farne smiled shyly and sat across from me.
She was a girl with long, braided lavender hair.
A spirit mage who handled healing and support roles. She was also the youngest member of the party.
She fidgeted awkwardly while glancing at me.
“Don’t overthink it. I don’t hold any ill feelings toward you.”
“…Really?”
Farne’s eyes widened.
“You’ve never done anything to earn my resentment.”
“Still, I feel sorry for not being able to stand up for you.”
“You’ve got your own struggles to deal with. You can’t protect everyone. Don’t dwell on it too much.”
“…Thank you.”
Her expression brightened slightly as if she finally felt relieved.
“You look tired. Did something happen?”
“We’ve been visiting dungeons for the past few days. Even before coming to this village, we were wandering through forests searching for something…”
Farne gave a bitter smile.
No wonder she looked so exhausted.
It seemed she had been dragged around by Claria, who was excited about knowing the future.
They were likely trying to get their hands on relics or treasures hidden throughout the kingdom.
“So, what did you need from me?”
“I was just curious about how you’ve been doing.”
“It hasn’t been long since we parted, and everything’s been normal…”
An awkward silence followed.
Looking back, we hadn’t spent much time alone together.
The slightly uncomfortable atmosphere felt a bit stifling.
“…That sword looks really impressive. Did you get it recently?”
Farne was the one to break the silence first.
She pointed to the Shadow Fang hanging at my waist.
“I got it from a dungeon. Have you heard of the Pitch-Black Magic Sword?”
“No way…!”
It was too famous for her not to know.
As a mage, she must have sensed the unusual aura emanating from the sword.
“That’s amazing… To think you’ve obtained a legendary sword I’ve only heard about in stories…”
The magic sword that could have been Louis’s.
As I held the sword that I had always yielded to others, I truly felt that this time, it was mine.
“You’ve been using daggers, but did you know how to handle a sword too?”
“Becoming a swordsman was my dream. I’ve got the basics down.”
It wasn’t a lie.
I had only given up on it because the only position available in the hero’s party was that of a thief.
In a way, by running away, I had reclaimed the dream I had lost.
“Theo, you’re good at everything, so I’m excited to see what you’ll do. I’ll cheer for you.”
“If the others heard what you just said, they’d be upset.”
“Ehehe, maybe they would…”
Click, click.
The sound of footsteps approaching echoed from the side.
I had said it casually, but it turned out someone had been listening.
“I won’t get upset. I’m not that petty.”
Claria walked over to us.
She stood by the table and started glancing between me and Farne.
“You two seem close.”
“Closer than you and I are.”
“We got along pretty well too, didn’t we?”
“Did we?”
Claria pressed her lips together and then sat down next to Farne without asking.
Her demeanor turned oddly cold as if she no longer had to put on an act since no one was watching.
“Well, that’s good. Being close means there’s room to improve the relationship.”
“Don’t get the wrong idea. Broken glass doesn’t stick back together, even if the pieces touch.”
“In that case, you can use friendship as the glue.”
She smirked and pulled Farne’s shoulder closer to her.
“Friendship, huh…”
Such nice words to hear.
Things that are overwhelming alone can be overcome together.
Loneliness and sadness are halved, while happiness is doubled.
It sounded beautiful, but it didn’t apply to us.
“Unfortunately, there’s no glue, so it’ll have to stay broken.”
If there had been such a thing, we wouldn’t have ended up like this in the first place.
The possibility of reconciliation was converging endlessly toward zero.
“I’m so sad that our relationship has fallen apart. It feels like just yesterday that we were all excited and set off on an adventure together…”
“Huh.”
It was her third regression, and she was talking about “just yesterday”.
How many hours does she think a day has?
Every time she opened her mouth, lies just flowed out effortlessly.
“If you want to reconcile, show it through your actions.”
I finished my meal and got up from my seat.
I decided to give her a line she’d want to hear so she wouldn’t bother holding me back.
“Let’s see if there’s any friendship left between us when the time comes.”
***
Claria was not the type to turn over a new leaf.
I was confident enough about this to bet my wrist on it.
Leaving room for improvement in our relationship was a kind of strategy.
Just as she was testing the waters, I also maintained a vague attitude.
I made it seem like I could be swayed, causing her to hesitate about what stance to take.
She wouldn’t be able to make a hasty decision.
Humans are endlessly foolish creatures.
Even if it’s a glimmer of hope like a straw, once they grab onto it, they can’t easily let go.
Now that it’s her third regression, Claria wouldn’t want to give up on anything.
I understood that psychology better than anyone.
“It’s late at night, and we meet in a place like this.”
Late that same night.
While walking through the fog village square, I ran into Claria.
It seemed she had been wandering around with her companions just like I had.
“I heard that the victims usually appear around this time. You look exhausted. Wouldn’t it be better to rest?”
“I can manage. Since I’m in a position where I’m being watched, I need to work harder and push myself.”
What a load of nonsense.
Today was the day the hallucinations would occur.
She probably planned to stay for a solid two days and snatch up the commission rewards.
Unlike me, who had come early to build up my presence, she was aiming for maximum efficiency.
It was irritating, but I’d let it slide.
After all, you’re just wasting your steps.
“Since it’s a rare opportunity… you’re not planning to stick together, are you?”
“No, absolutely not. Let’s each do our own thing.”
I deliberately brushed her off.
I decided to leave quickly before she could cling to me any further.
Behind me, Louis muttered something, but I chose to ignore it.
The strange phenomena in this village always began with hearing auditory hallucinations.
If you were drawn in by them, you’d get trapped in a barrier and start seeing illusions, only being released once your mind was thoroughly exhausted.
However, if you managed to break free on your own, everything after that would be easy mode.
All you had to do was follow the traces of magical power to find the source of the illusion magic.
The square was the best place to wait.
With no one around, the chances of becoming a target were higher.
Dum-dum-dum-dum.
As I wandered alone, the sound of drums began to echo from somewhere.
It wasn’t a sound made in this village.
Unless there was a lunatic banging drums at dawn, that is.
The auditory hallucinations had started.
“Perfect timing.”
I had been worried about the random factor, but it turned out to be unnecessary.
I walked toward the source of the drumming.
With each step, the scenery around me shifted and changed.
The fog village landscape disappeared, and tall buildings began to come into view.
“I’ve arrived.”
The destination was a nightmare.
By the time I realized it, I had already arrived in a city engulfed in flames.
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