The Traveling Hero Won’t Let the Innkeeper’s Son Escape

The sound of droplets falling from the ceiling into the hot tub.

"... look at it from me, what are you saying...? That's not true."

The words that echoed from Ed were such a nervous voice.

I don't think that's what Ruth is trying to do. I knew it, but I felt like I was desperately trying to keep it away.

Ruth closes her eyes.

(Ed doesn't like to hide things)

Although he can talk and behave in an adult way that doesn't suit his appearance, Ed can't hide it if he's upset because of his overwhelming lack of experience. Like when we first met, I might not have known if I had a faceless face, but now that it's also softer, it's easier for Ruth to understand.

In other words, Ed, who denied that 'there can be no way', denied that 'many times' he knew what Ruth's words meant when he made such a weird question.

(I knew it………………)

Honestly, I can't believe what Ruth imagines is happening, even though I can understand it with my head.

But from what Ed has said and done since coming to this mansion, and how he reacted when something unexpected happened - I'm pretty sure he has more knowledge than Ruth because of some circumstance.

And it's all about what Ruth tried to do that Ed couldn't possibly know - that is, about the future. Ed speaks as if he knew the future.

(But I don't even feel like Ed has that kind of magic.... Well, I don't even know if the magic of predicting the future exists)

Until he came to this mansion, Ed had never shown a single gesture of knowing the future. For this reason, they don't have the special ability to predict the future, which is called "foresight” or “foresight”. If I had the ability to predict the future in the first place, I would never have been caught by the adults trying to get to the dungeon or lost in the mountains with Ruth.

(And Ed, you just said 'I don't want to do this right now'. 'Not now' means' better be ahead ', right? Why "ahead" is fine...)

Other times, when he first tried to talk about this hand, Ed said 'this time'. "This time" is basically a rhetoric because there is "last time" or "next time". As Ed put it, there is at least two times the same thing has happened or there is a future to happen.

But Ruth has no recollection of what is called 'this time'. Mostly the first mansion I've visited, and there shouldn't even be 'this time'. I can't afford to “repeat the same thing" in this short stay.

Based on the above, one unpleasant hypothesis holds up. I also know that this is a sudden leap forward hypothesis unique to Ruth, who has all the extra knowledge of previous life. But as if to affirm Ruth's idea, the frizzy chills don't stop as long ago as they did.

(Maybe we're going through the same time all the time, or something...)

Repeat the same time - that is, when it comes to a certain amount of time, time is rewinding and starting again from the beginning.

But if it's normal for time to come back, it's impossible. By the time you get back to it, you'll realize who that unusually is and raise your voice. It is possible that everyone will notice immediately.

But what happens if everyone forgets everything at the same time as time returns?

If everyone had forgotten what they had done, would they continue to believe that time was repeating itself?

(If you don't remember, no one should notice. … In order to notice an anomaly, it is necessary to keep a memory. Ed was the only one who could do that)

In other words, one day Ruth and the others fell into the same recurring phenomenon and couldn't help but notice the anomaly because they couldn't keep their memories.

But Ed is desperately trying to get out of this phenomenon because he was the only one who could keep his memory. Ruth's idea is that the behavior looks as if he knows the future in the eyes of those who don't remember it.

(Ha, that's possible...... but I don't think it's possible, but thinking about it makes it so tight)

Considering that Ed is the only one who understands that time is back and is acting to get out of this phenomenon, even if that seemed strange to Ruth's eyes, naturally.

Ed is more or less familiar with the repeated actions of Ruth and the others, and sees them one step away. So I know roughly what people in Ruth and Mansion say, act, and what structure the Mansion is. And when I acted differently than last time, something unexpected happened, and I was upset and anxious.

(Hilariously, I think Ed is the main character's loop thing...... I'm the sidekick one, is that it? So I didn't notice anything)

If Ruth was just one of those sidekicks, I'm sure he couldn't even make this hypothesis. But lucky (?) Ruth also has the extra knowledge that he can't get in this world. As a result, the idea of not clapping came to mind.

Of course I have no idea what caused it or what the details are. I don't even know why Ed won't tell Ruth that.

It's not like Ed said that on purpose and didn't even think about the possibility that he was cheating on Ruth. But I knew Ed wasn't a kid who imitated bad quality jokes. Besides, I don't think it's possible because the look on my face when I was looking for Tiana or when I was telling Ruth to 'protect' me was serious.

"I don't think it's possible. Instead, Ed behaves a lot strangely if he doesn't"

"Weird? What is it?"

To Ed, who honestly doesn't nod, Ruth shared the hypothesis he made. And tell him as softly as possible where his actions align with the hypotheses he has made.

It was Ed who kept his mouth shut for a while, but eventually groaned as he noticed.

"........................... It's hard to hide things from Ruth. This is the fourth time you've been told."

"What, four times......?

"Yes."

Ruth sighs deeply as she dips to her shoulders in the hot tub for more repetitions than she thought.

(I don't remember anything, but I've been over it four times already... well, it looks like Ed knows the future)

The prediction is apparently a big win. I don't know if I can be anxious or relieved about that. However, I feel a little refreshed knowing what Ed has been saying and doing.

(No, not if you're feeling refreshed. Rather from here. Besides, when I stayed in this mansion long enough to repeat it four times... I feel a lot worse)

I don't know how long it's been since Ruth left the village just before the festival started. From Ruth's point of view now, it may be about a few hours, but the reality is more, if you do poorly, it may be more than four days.

Besides, I'm curious about how things are going, but the fact that Iban and Chester are in this mansion must also have caused the two of them to go missing because they couldn't get out of this mansion. There is a good chance that Ruth and the others are treating them the same way. In other words, the villagers are missing who give up their discovery. 'Returned to the mountains' or something like that, they might say.

(Mm-hmm. Not good. We have to do something about it)

I'm also concerned about my family, friends, and village, but above all, Alec is the reason I make you feel like 'you have to leave soon'. He didn't seem to make it to the Spirit Festival, but he wanted to come very much, and is quite likely to visit the village at a later date.

That's when I heard Ruth was missing.

(You can't let the brave hunt mountains)

I would definitely leave the brave business alone and go into the mountains to find Ruth. It is possible that they will not leave the village until they are found.

(Honestly, I don't think he's going to make bravery a priority…)

I'm not complacent about anything. But I have to think so when I look at Alec, who is supposed to be very busy in the valiant business but still returns to work in the transfer technique. Of course, Ruth was strongly thought of and there's nothing at all unpleasant about it, but she said, 'If I die in an accident, will this guy be okay?' And I get worried. All the more so because he died in an accident in his previous life. People suddenly die unexpectedly.

(I will never die. It's not good if you're not safe. It's not good to be missing either...... I need to get home soon at any rate......!

I'm sure Ruth must have been confused and panicked, too, if he'd just been put in this situation. Desperate for an endless invisible world, I could have panicked.

But the thought of "I have to go home soon for Alec" and the hope that I might be able to solve it thanks to my memory of my previous life made me quite calm even when I found myself in an inexplicable phenomenon. Rather, I can maintain a positive feeling that I need to find the cause and solve it.