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

Strange sensations reign in your head, as dark consciousness rebuilds, as the building blocks return to their original form with reverse regeneration.

The body seemed to be wrapped in something soft and warm, similar to the feeling being held by Alec.

(But do you feel any different? Something, that? Was Alec this thin?

Alec was taller and stronger than the first time he left the village. When I got to him, I should have been more elastic or firmer. It smells good, the temperature feels just right, and it's so comfortable for Ruth that she looks stubborn and hugs him back.

But now something is different. Though he's tall, he's fractured, his temperature is a little lower, and more importantly, he doesn't smell that good.

Ruth looked up from the spot when she realized something was wrong.

"- Ugh!

With his face up, Ruth hurriedly pushed her body in front of her to distance herself, surprised by the sparkling silver eyes that were in front of her.

"So, who!?

It wasn't Alec, of course, who was holding Ruth.

The person is taller than Ruth, but overall, the word "beauty" suits her well. The silver eyes with a little fishy eyes and long eyelashes are as gorgeous as a circle of light flying around, and the long watery hair to the waist is...

(water colored hair?

Observing that far, Ruth remembers a boy with watery hair who was with him until just now.

The person in front of him to overlap with the boy wore his boyish-like vest and half pants. Honestly, the outfit doesn't suit the appearance age at all, but at his overwhelming appearance level, he said, 'Isn't this one too?' It has an atmosphere that makes me think.

"Uh....................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................

When Ruth grumbled in such a questionable fashion, the young man in front of him - Ed - turned his surprise look into something uneasy.

"That's right, isn't it? Who, maybe Ruth, has even obscured my memory of finally meeting me!?

"No, no, no, I remember it right. Because I remember when I met Ed properly! That means you're Ed, right?

"It's Ed, isn't it? What, is it questionable?

"Because Ed, the way it looks..."

As Ruth pointed, for the first time Ed seemed to think something was wrong with him and looked down at his feet.

"Huh!? The ground is far away!... Why am I getting so tall?

"No, I want to ask... even when we took a bath together, he was about fifteen years old at best, and now he doesn't look old with me."

"Not unlike Ruth!? No, eh!? …………………………………………………………………………… Hmm?

It was Ed who turned bright red when he heard Ruth's words, but after a while he changed his expression to something serious. And he keeps looking at Ruth.

"Now, Ruth, you said we took a bath together, right?

"What, did I tell you? You came in, in the mansion."

"Oh, you remember!

"Remember, naturally, a while ago..."

With that in his mouth, Ruth looked around again to see where he was now.

There are foggy woods around, beautifully maintained stones at your feet, and a large mansion that you've seen before - Ruth has seen this sight “before”.

"Could this be the first“ scene "where we got to the mansion?"

Yes, Ruth remembered. I realized that I had entered the mansion with Ed, that I had met and had conversations with the mansion people there, that I had reunited with Chester and Iban, that I had witnessed Tiana's tragic accident, that I had fought the Shadow Monster with Ed - and that I was standing in this “first place”, remembering everything.

"That's right. I'm back to the beginning. Yet Ruth has not lost his memory!

Apparently, Ed is thrilled, but he keeps holding on.

While Ruth understood it in the corner of his head, he checked his condition again.

(I don't have that painful facial pain, my clothes are back to the original man... and sometime outside the mansion just like last time. I mean, really - I'm really back in time............!

Ruth lost his word from the shock by understanding the situation with his head.

It's not like I didn't believe in Ed.

However, there was still a difference in understanding between what was conveyed and imagined by the mouth and what was actually seen by the eyes.

(Wow, this can happen)

Once again, I realize that I have stepped into an area beyond my comprehension.

But there was no fear, no surprise. I even had the odd confidence that 'if I didn't give up, I'd figure it out'. Neither that nor this can be attributed to the extra knowledge of previous life stories.

"Good for you, Ruth!

Ruth, who was so surprised and often grumpy, noticed herself embraced by Ed when her watery hair touched her cheek.

I rush to put my strength into my arms and let go of that body.

"Chi, hey, Ed, calm down......!

I don't think anything about being hugged in a small way, and Ed himself wouldn't care because the contents were intact, but I didn't feel very good about him being hugged like this when he was about the same age, even though he didn't have any other intentions.

"Uh, ah, yes......... sorry. I got excited. Embarrassing............"

Ed looked a little sorry, but when Ruth pushed him away, he didn't even resist.

"But it was really good. Remember Ruth acted with me...! Really......!

With that said, Ed glanced at his soothing expression - his height, which was so high that he looked up, suddenly shrunk in front of Ruth. It goes down to Ruth's waist with the top of his head.

The beautiful young man's face also returns to the cute things of the original five or six years old. Boy, your clothes are perfect, a young face with a round cheek.

"What, Ed?

"What... why!? Why, Ruth's back?

"No, it looks like Ed is back to normal,"

"Me?

Ed looked at his hands and feet and raised his voice like he noticed his change. And when I looked up softly at Ruth, I dyed my cheeks after getting an indescribable look.

"... well, I denied it in the bathroom... but now my appearance is a little unstable..."

"Uh yeah. I didn't think so."

"Sorry for the delusion..........................................................................................................................................................................................................................................."

I pretended to be deluded, but I wasn't really deluded, so as Ruth, I'm not even enough to ask you to apologize. Even Ed wouldn't have really thought Ruth would have fooled me with that.

"Uh, I'll ask you once for the future, but that change in Ed's appearance has nothing to do with this time being back, right?

"There isn't. The... Spirit clan can change its appearance to some extent when it grows up because of its longevity. I still can't control the area..."

"You're saying that for some reason, you've become an adult?

"……………………………………………"

"Yeah. Well, if it doesn't matter, let's not ask any more"

It would be a violation of manners to ask too many questions than Ruth would need to, as some parts are delicate if it were to be a racial issue. Besides, when I look at Ed, who is blushing uncomfortably, I feel like I'm abusing him, so sometimes it's hard to get into more than this.

Ruth had a deliberate cough to switch the subject.

"How could I have kept my memories only this time?

"That's the biggest problem.... because you went into darkness without being killed, is it?

"No, then it wouldn't be weird if other people kept their memories."

Regardless of the bloody Iban or Chester who seems to be weak on the contrary, it would also be possible for a smart Benno or Dickhout to follow the instructions of the Dark Demon without resisting. Dorte is also a powerless woman, so it is possible that she has even lost her temper to flee, as she did last time. The chances of them entering that darkness without being killed like that can't be zero if they have been repeated ten times. But from Ed's story, he said that until now, no one had left him with his memory.

"…… for one thing, I wonder why I didn't lose my memory."

"What do you mean?

"The shadow demon with the seven horns that was after me disappeared."

"Disappeared!? When!?

"It was a while before I fell into the darkness.................. or it was Ed who erased that demon, don't you remember?

"What, I turned it off!?

Apparently not at all remembered, Ed looked surprised at Ruth's story. It's still something I was selflessly obsessed with, so he wasn't looking around. Ruth told the story then.

"That time, Ed remembers what he did?

"At that time.........................................................!

Ed's face turns to surprise.

"At that time, I wanted to rush to Ruth's side, but that shadow demon was standing in front of me to block the darkness. So just a little bit, so I wanted to get you out of that place. But at that time, it was overused and the magic was out."

It seems that Ed, who immediately decided that he could not push the demon away, was selflessly obsessed with releasing his powers.

"What did you do to open up your powers?

"I opened up the" power to suck magic "that I usually suppress."

"So Ed inhaled the magic of the Shadow Demon then - you mean?

"Yes."

"…… well, you know what?"

Ruth could understand why that shadow demon disappeared.

Ordinary people and demons lose enough power to handle magic, even when they are sucked by magic. Because magic is only inhabited by creatures, and it does not determine their existence. Even if it's all sucked, to the extent that it flutters due to lack of magic, it won't disappear. If you can't keep your existence without magic in the first place, Ed, who doesn't have magic, can't live anymore.

But that shadow demon vanished with Ed's magic suction...

"They had no flesh in the first place, and they were made of magic. Then it would explain that witchcraft didn't work."

If the body consisted of magic, it is not surprising that the attack magic that strikes the magic disappears. Pouring hot water in the lake is just as ineffective. It may shake to the point, but it just mixes and eliminates the presence of hot water.

(This is just my speculation.... but I don't even think it's quite the same. And if this idea is correct -)

"Ed, hurry up to the mansion!

"Ha, yes!

As Ruth pulled her hand and hurried to the mansion, Ed followed with a small run, surprised.

"What is it, Ruth?

"I'll go into more detail later, but maybe I found a way out of this situation that I could change."

"Is it true!?

"Oh, I guess... but if this is the right thing to do, because I have to fix Tiana's problem first!

Dickhout's daughter Tiana, who dies many times. Failure to save her from the fate of death could end in unpleasant consequences when she reaches the right answer. To avoid it, it was necessary to stop her abrupt behavior and reduce the distance.

When Ruth and the others stood in front of the mansion and pressed the button, just like last time, Benno replied and came out.

"How were you two young people at this hour when the sun went down?

Again, as Ed said, others don't seem to remember the last time, and Benno has greeted Ruth and the others first time.

Ruth wasn't surprised because Ed had told him, but if he did it without knowing this, he wouldn't be able to tell if his memory was strange, if he even dreamed of it, or if they were crazy.

I haven't seen Tiana die yet. Benno still doesn't feel like much of a butler. Is there an atmosphere to be exhausted rather than exhausted to someone?

"Are you your sister and brother…… It seems like there is a lot of difference in your food, but do you get your brother's things?

"Uh! Yes, it is. A wealthy acquaintance said he would throw away his clothes, so I got them, and Ed's clothes are good stuff. You can mistake me for a boy in a good place. Right, Ed?

"Ugh, yeah. My sweet brother gave me a lot of clothes."

"I see. Is that so, I understand."

Looking at Ruth's exchange with Ed, Benno was perfectly satisfied that he confirmed possession of the weapon, as he had done last time, before returning to the mansion once.

(Speaking of which, I just noticed...)

Ruth finds his clothes again.

Ruth has long, thin blue jackets, trousers, and boots just like when she came out of the village. Not the last Dorte piece I wore. But Ed wasn't wearing childhood clothes that Ruth lent him.

"Ed, why are you dressed like that?

"Eh?"

"When I met you here before, Ed was wearing my childhood clothes on loan, right? Why are you wearing the clothes Mr. Dickhout lent you this time?

"Ah…… Speaking of which………………"

Ed also finally realized something was wrong with the clothes he was wearing.

He wasn't aware of the underlying problem, as was Ruth, because consciousness was directed at those whose bodies were getting too big.

"Until now, I was dressed in my original clothes before the mansion bell rang. These clothes are hard to move... but last time, I fell asleep as soon as I finished eating and didn't get dressed... No, when I did, how could I be the only one who should be back in time?

(I am returning to my original Hashi village clothes, not the clothes that Mr. Dorte lent me. But why hasn't Ed come back...)

Originally, if time was “unwinding”, it would be odd if everything wasn't in the first place when we got back at the starting point. In other words, Ed's clothes should also be those loaned by the original Ruth. But when I heard Ed's current story, it became possible that he was back in his usual clothes by chance.

(Maybe... time hasn't rolled back? No, if I hadn't unwound it, there's no way everything was back to normal. Tiana stayed dead, and Benno couldn't have tried to lure us in in the first place. So?)

"Right, Ed. Are you hurt? What's going on with the injury?

"There are no injuries……. No more shoulder pain, no more foot abrasions."

"Oh... is that so..."

Ruth, of course, his face and body are completely gone from the wounds he was hit by the Shadow Demon. Then I guess the perception that time is back is right. But Ed frowned.

"But I think it also has to do with the high self-healing abilities that I have."

"Is that what Ed has?

"Yes, because it consumes magic, it's the downside of not recovering if you're out of magic, but it basically activates automatically.... but that's how I realized there was something a little strange to think about"

"To what?

"I have been through this situation eleven times, using witchcraft and not using it. However, in either case, the magic residue was higher than the original amount the next time……"

"What, I mean, the amount of magic wasn't back in its original state?

"……… Yes"

"Even this time?

"This time...... there is more magic than ever. It's like I've snuck out a chunk of magic power..."

Said to be a mass of magic, Ruth remembered a foggy, dispersed shadow demon. It will be certain that Ed defeated the Shadow Demon and sucked away the magic that makes up his body.

But that was the "last time" story, and the magic you couldn't possibly have in "now” when you were supposed to be back in the beginning.

"Excuse me. I keep my memory, so I can't feel uncomfortable with the amount of magic increasing every time… I didn't realize it was this simple."

"No, no, I don't have a choice. I don't think so."

Ruth rushes to Ed, who becomes shunned.

Ed should have been at the edge of the mess in the first place. Focus on trying to change things somehow. Not really, it wouldn't be strange not to have to question the increase or decrease in magic power.

Naturally, even if I can't afford to feel so comfortable with Ruth in front of me that I forget everything every time.

(Ed's clothes, magic......... oh, could this be...)

The possibility arose that it was in Ruth's brain.