Why…

Why…

Why…

Why…

WHY?!

Everything was just getting better. Everything had been going well. I finally saved everyone. Emilia finished the trial. Beako let go of her book. We beat the Great Rabbit. Roswaal was finally put in his place. I became a true knight. It took so many loops, but I got through in a way that benefitted everyone.

So why am I here again?

I hadn't been here for what felt longer than it actually was. The market area of Lugunica. Why would I reset to here? I shouldn't have died; the knighting ceremony just took place last night. Did Ros kill me because he knew I'd come back? But he shouldn't be able to do that, and even if he could, I shouldn't have been brought to here. At the absolute worst, I would have to redo the last loop.

Not my entire journey thus far.

All that work, all that suffering, everything I've done seems to have all been for not. I'm back at square one, no zero, no not even that. I'm all the way to negative one at this point. I may have all the info I need to get through this, but one little difference that still changes my save point could take my advantage away instantly. This situation is definitely not in my favor.

Well, not much I can do at this point. Might as well use what I know and try and find the alleyway. If I have to do it again, might as well try and go as fast as possible.

Wait, where's the alley?

It should be right here. I've been here enough to know this. I should be able to walk down the alley that's supposed to be right here and run into those thugs. Then I can call for Reinhard and bring him with me to the loot house. Might have to take a hit from Elsa to get to the mansion, but that's doable even if it is very painful. The only thing is that I need that alley to start this whole thing off. And it's not here.

Wait, these stands look a little different. And they're selling things that were definitely not sold in the capital. Not only that, but the sellers are different too. I could have sworn this was Lugunica.

Is that an elf?

There's no way. Emilia was the only elf I had ever seen, and she was a half-elf. This man walking by me has longer ears than her, meaning he might be a pure elf. Might as well check.

"Sir, are you by chance an elf?"

"…"

"Sir?"

Apparently trying to tap his shoulder was not the right choice. I seem to be staring down the sharp end of a sword.

"Do not touch me, you dirty peasant!"

Woah, someone's a little bit too vain. "S-sorry just wanted to know if you were an actual elf."

"Are you blind?! I guess I shouldn't have expected much from a dirty human."

Okay, ouch. But I guess that means he is. But if he is, then where am I? There is no way I'm still in Lugunica. If that's the case, does that mean I'm in a different world again?

"Haha, just my luck… not only am I in a different world again, but I also didn't even get to save Rem…"

"Haha, hahahaha…"

"HAHA, HEHEHEHe… hehe…"

I can't do anything. I never could. Everything I've done up to this point is useless. Emilia's gone. Beako's gone. Rem's gone. Otto's gone. Garfiel's gone. Petra's gone. Ram's gone. Everyone's gone. I've lost everyone. I don't even know if I still have Return by Death, and I would rather not test it. Even if I did know I still have it, I highly doubt it would let me travel through worlds. Nothing matters anymore. Might as well just give up.

"Are you okay, child?"

"Excuse me boy, are you feeling okay? You don't look too good."

…Huh? Why does it sound like a young girl is trying to talk to me? And why did she call me child? She sounds younger than me. Where are her parents?

"WHY DOES THIS LOLI HAVE SUCH A LARGE CHEST?!"

Shit said that out loud. Aaaaand now she's mad. Should probably apologize.

"I'm sorry, I thought you were going to look more like you sound. Wait, that sounds pretty rude, I meant I thought you were younger. Wait, you definitely still look pretty young. Aren't you younger than me? Why are you calling me child? What the hell is thi-"

"Oh, be quiet you. I thought you were part of Loki's Familia because of what you called me, but you seem to be rather confused."

Loki Familia? As in the Norse god Loki? And Familia? Is that like a political party? Would make more sense if it had something to do with royalty based on how medieval this world looks. But maybe it is actually Loki the god… Yeah right.

"''-ey, HEY! Are you listening to me?"

Huh? Oh, is seems this well-endowed child is trying to talk to me.

"Are you lost? I happen to have some experience with finding lost children's parents."

"How rude! I'm most definitely older than you! I was going to help you, but you don't seem to respect the gods."

Wait, the gods? What does she mean by that? Is she saying she's a god? No way. But that would explain the Loki thing…

"What happens to be your name miss?"

"I'm the goddess Hestia of course!"

Hestia, the goddess of the hearth in Greek myth. If she is telling the truth, that would actually make her a goddess. But that's just not possible. The gods are just as it is stated, myth. Why would they be here?

"But the gods of legends are just myth, they aren't real."

"How can you be so clueless? The gods decided to come down from Tenkai many millennia ago. We decided to come down for entertainment and give you children our falna to allow you to fight."

"Whoa, whoa, whoa. Slow down. This doesn't make any sense. Gods, Tenkai, falna? The more you talk, the less I understand."

None of this is making any sense. Nothing she is talking about existed in Lugunica, much less on Earth. By what she's saying, it sounds kind of like a video game.

"You aren't from around here, huh? You hungry? I happen to be getting off work soon, and I have more jagamaru-kun than Bell and I need."

"Jagamaru-kun?"

This is a tater croquette. Why does it have such a weird name? It even tastes exactly like one.

"Isn't this just a tater croquette?"

"Tater? You mean potato?"

So they use the same terms as Earth, good to know. Oh, she's been pretty nice to me. Should probably at least introduce myself.

"Sorry about that sight earlier. If you could just forget that I would be very appreciative. Anyway, my name is Natsuki Subaru, and I may not be completely broke from where I come from, but I'm probably completely broke when it comes to this place!"

Perfect, nailed the pose… And of course, she's laughing at me.

"W-what was t-that! I-it's t-too funny!"

"Yeah, yeah, I get that quite often. Anywhere, where is this?"

"You don't know? This is the Labyrinth City, Orario. By the sounds of it, you're from the Far East, so why don't you know where you are? You had to get here somehow."

Far East seems to be the equivalent of Japan. If it is a well-known place, there's a good chance other people here have similar customs. But back to what she said, Labyrinth City? Does that mean the city itself is a labyrinth?

"You could say I'm from the Far East, but it's probably not the same place you're thinking about. Because of that, I have literally no idea how anything works here. Would you be willing to tell me?"

"Oh, now you want my help. Well, I'm off work now, but I won't do it for free. If you want info, you have to join my Familia!"

"Sure, sure, I just really need the info. And a place to stay would be nice as well."

"R-really?! You'll really join my Familia?!"

Why does she sound so excited? Is it really that much of a surprise that I'm willing to help her? I'm guessing that's all the Familia does. I don't see any gods using insane powers, so I'm guessing they can't and need a "Familia" to help them. Doesn't seem like too much of a problem. It's not like I'm going to have to risk my life or anything. But if the Familia helps support their god, why does she have to work at this little stand…

"Follow me! I'll bring you back to our Familia house and introduce you to my other child, Bell!"

Wait, shouldn't there be more than one member in a Familia? Well, as long as I have a place to stay and I can get more info, possibly enough to help me get back to Lugunica, everything should work out.

This may be another world again, but I think I'm ready to start back from zero!


"Lady Freya, are you alright?!"

What

Was

THAT?

That was not something meant to be in this world. That, thing, is not only not meant to be here, but not even from this world. Seeing all the different colors of souls is usually quite harmless and it even let me find my darling Bell. But that. THAT.

"I am fine, just saw something rather… interesting."

I only took a peek at that boy's true soul. From what I saw, it was rather jumbled. The boy was not mentally sound if his soul had anything to say about it. But that wasn't the problem. Many adventurers have jumbled, gross souls due to the hardships of the dungeon. There was a different problem with the boy.

Someone had taken ahold of his soul.

Before I could even look at the soul for more than five seconds, that thing came after me. It was dark, evil, corrupted. It was able to reach me just through sight. I felt moments away from perishing. And it only said one little phrase.

"He's mine."

But that's not the only problem. He's following Hestia, the goddess of my precious Bell. The thing can not be allowed near him. It will corrupt him, taint his soul. I can't have that. That boy might be that things, but Bell is mine. No one else can have him.

"Ottar, someone is getting in the way. I need you to take care of it."

"As you wish, my lady."


H-huh?

I could have sworn I had just gone to sleep. The knighting ceremony finished, and we all went to bed. What am I doing in front of a mansion? I've never seen this place before. It looks like no place in Lugunica I've ever seen. This is quite a large conundrum.

"Um, miss, is there a reason you are standing in front of our mansion?"

That person sounded quite young. How did they get the money to buy this place? Roswaal was a court magician, so buying a mansion makes sense. But this person sounded way too young to do anything of the sort.

"I-I'm sorry, I don't know how I got h-"

Elves.

There are elves in this group.

How? I'm the last of my kind. All the others are frozen in Elior Forest. But these two don't look like any of the ones I knew. Then where am I?

"S-sorry, I'm a bit lost, and I ended up here."

"Oh, did you hear Loki likes elves? I wouldn't recommend joining, especially because you seem to be extremely beautiful."

"Th-thank you, but what do you mean by joining?"

"You know, joining the Familia."

What are they talking about? Familia? That was not something in Lugunica. What is happening? Where's Subaru? Why do I feel so tired? Nothing makes sense. Puck, please, come back, I need help…

"Woah, woah, miss, are you okay. Miss. MISS?!"

The last thing I felt before everything went black was something that felt rather similar to Puck grabbing me.