Subaru slowly got dressed and left his room. Was he going crazy? Maybe he dreamt himself going out for supplies yesterday? It was so vivid though; he never had a dream like that before. He also remembered it so well…

For now, he will have to operate under the assumption it was a dream. Even if he was wrong, it doesn't change the fact that he needs to go out and pick up supplies for Reinhard and Felt's surprise. He wouldn't let some stupid dream invalidate days of careful planning and coercion!

Once Subaru reached the ground floor of the manor, he ran into Lilia again.

"Even though you didn't wake up in time for breakfast, it would be wrong for me to send you off on errands without giving you something to eat."

Lilia seemed annoyed Subaru couldn't remember the agreement they had made last night. Despite her attitude, she still pulled out some leftovers from the breakfast she made for everyone earlier to give to Subaru. Without thinking, he said:

"Wow, Omelets again huh?"

The staff had a list of recipes that they cycled through every week for each meal. While it wasn't weird to be served Omelets, what was odd was that it lined up exactly with the experience Subaru had the day before. The maid staff had a policy of never repeating a meal two days in a row. Was his dream yesterday prophetic or something?

"You don't get to complain when you wake up four hours after everyone ate! Also, I don't know where you got Omelets yesterday, but you know that we wouldn't serve the same meal two days in a row."

Now this is weird. The staff serve the meals randomly throughout the week depending on the ingredients they were able to get on a given day. While they never repeated a meal, it should've been impossible for Subaru to guess what she made this morning without seeing it first. While Lilia brushed it off as luck, Subaru's mind was racing.

'So far, everything that has happened today lines up perfectly with yesterday. Unless I'm the subject of some elaborate prank, I have somehow jumped back to Tuesday. It is probably too early to begin thinking like that, but I should know for sure once I head out shopping.'

Subaru wanted to head out as close to his original departure time as possible. If all the sights remain the same, he'll have confirmation. If not, he can brush off this weird coincidence and go on with his day.

'Oh god, it's all the same! These street performers usually move to different places each day, but they are all in exactly the same place I saw them yesterday! This is crazy..is this real? Did I actually get a really cool power when I came here!?'

Subaru was jogging through the streets, trying to see if anything had changed from how he remembered in his 'dream', but everything was happening in the same way at the same time! Wait a minute, if this isn't a prank. . .this would make a lot of sense. He didn't have any really strong powers when he arrived here originally right? Does that mean he had been looping all this time?

"Hey kid, glad to see you again! Want to buy some appas?"

'Oh, it's Kadomon! Ok, if he doesn't remember talking to me there is no way this is a prank!'

"Hey Kadomon! This question is going to seem weird, but how many times have you seen me recently?"

He paused for a second, hand to his chin.

"I don't remember seeing you at all today. Hey, that reminds me, you said something weird like that the first time I met you! Why do you keep asking me that?"

Subaru eyes twitched.

"What? I did?"

"Yeah, you did. You having memory problems or something?"

"No! I. . . uhh just like messing with you is all haha!"

Subaru started laughing uncomfortably. This confirms it. Whatever this "looping" phenomenon was, it was something that he had been using for quite some time.

'How many times did I need to loop to become such a well-known hero?! If I can dictate fate whenever I want, I can live the most awesome life possible! Maybe I should redo today and erase this conversation. . .'

"Hey kid, are you gonna buy some appas or am I just supposed to keep standing here like a statue?"

"Oh, yeah, let me get a bag of appas!"

'I'm not sure if I can consciously control this power or if there is some requirement to using it, but when I get back to the mansion I'll try to see if I can restart. Just in case, I should try and recreate my previous interaction so that nothing serious changes.'

"Here ya go kid, a bag of appas!"

"Thanks for the discount, Kadomon!"

Subaru beamed a smile at him while Kadomon stood there confused.

"Discount, what discou. . ."

Subaru took off back to the Astrea manor and cut through a thick crowd of people.

Before Subaru disappeared into the crowd, Kadomon yelled out:

"Whatever, just tell your friends to come shop here, ya hear?!"

Subaru arrived back at the mansion much sooner than he originally intended. He ended up getting lost on his first attempt shopping, but now that he had already found his way back once, he accidentally returned to the mansion an hour before he did last time.

'Lilia's not here. Wasn't she waiting outside last time I got back?'

Subaru began doubting himself. Looping? What was he thinking? Maybe he just had a really weird dream and that's all. Was he so desperate to have some kind of 'power' that he made up this whole fantasy to satisfy his delusion?

"Subaru, you're back. I'm surprised! With how this morning went, I was certain you would get yourself lost and I would be stuck waiting for you. Let's head inside and start testing recipes."

"Haha, yep, you underestimated me!" 'That's right. . . I didn't get lost today. I was so curious about testing this 'power' that I rushed back to the manor without thinking.'

As they headed into the manor, Subaru's mind drifted off somewhere completely different.

'Ok, this could still be the result of some crazy dream. Jumping straight to the conclusion that I could time travel was pretty ridiculous in hindsight. But. . . it does explain the one thing I've been wondering since I arrived here. How did a worthless guy like me end up becoming the greatest hero in Lugunica? And that comment from Kadomon. . . It's implausible. But it isn't impossible. I should at least attempt to activate this power. If it doesn't work, whatever! I'll continue on with my day and pretend this never happened.'

"Hey Lilia, really quickly, I need to use the restroom, please set up the stuff in the kitchen for me ok?"

"As expected, already pushing all the work onto me! Subaru this was your idea, you would do well to remember that. I expect to see you out of there before I finish testing the first recipe."

"Hey, stop with the jabs already! Everyone's gotta use it at some point."

Subaru headed into the bathroom and locked the door behind him. Now that he was alone, it was time to begin his own tests. If he really did have the power to loop, he would find the way to activate it. Then he would use it to become the most awesome person in history! He finally wouldn't be a failure!

"Ok, looping power ACTIVATE!"

Subaru said with anticipation. When he opened his eyes. . .! He found himself sitting on the toilet like he was before. Maybe this wasn't the best place to try something like this. If he had successfully returned to his bed, would he have shit himself? Subaru began contemplating other activation conditions.

"Ohhh, I get it. I never specified 'when' I was returning to. It makes sense why it didn't activate."

Subaru now found himself wondering about the point he should return to. While he did not want to redo the entire day, he could probably have improved his conversation with Kadomon. Also, with a return point so close to the present, he wouldn't lose any significant actions he made throughout the day.

'As a test, returning to right before my conversation with Kadomon would be the safest choice. I should be careful with this power, what if I misspoke and returned to before I met Reinhard? That would be devastating and I can't allow that.'

"Ok, looping power, return me to 5 minutes before the conversation with Kadomon I had today!"

As Subaru opened his eyes, he noticed he was still in the bathroom.

"Man, how stupid am I? Looping? Time travel? As if! Time to head back to the kitchen."

Subaru and Lilia spent the same amount of time developing recipes as they had the day before. Everything seemed to have gone well, so Subaru and Lilia decided to head to sleep early. For Subaru, despite thinking his 'power' was bs, he still felt some apprehension before going to bed.

'If I remember how these 'looping' plots work, then usually there is some kind of activation condition. If I really did rewind time and it wasn't all a dream, that means whatever happened during the night was responsible for this situation.'

He and Lilia didn't have much work they needed to do tomorrow. Even if it was only a small chance, he would stay awake tonight. He wanted to put this whole thing to rest. If tomorrow comes, then let it come! He'll put this day behind him like a bad hangover.

'By this time everyone in the manor should be asleep. I can't help myself though, I'm thirsty! I need to get some water.'

Subaru headed down the stairs and began walking through the corridors past each of the maids' rooms. Once he reached the kitchen, he filled up a large cup of water and began to head back to his room. He wasn't looking forward to the scolding he'll receive from Lilia when he wakes up past noon tomorrow, but at least now he can stay awake without having to wander the entire mansion.

*drip*

*drip*

*drip*

'Huh? Why do I hear dripping? The maids leave a sink on or something?'

*splash*

Subaru headed to the source of the sound and ended up stepping in a puddle of some kind. Great. He was wearing his only clean pair of socks and now they were soaked! He opened the door and headed into. . .Lilia's room? This doesn't make sense, what was she doing awake now? The room was dark. He couldn't make out anything except a humanoid figure.

"Lilia, what are you doing awake right now? Pretty hypocritical of you to. . ."

The door caught on something. Subaru looked down at it and couldn't believe what he saw. An unmoving corpse. She had her hand on the doorknob, it looked like she was trying to escape something. As the moonlight illuminated the floor, Subaru realized now what the puddle was. He had been stepping in a pool of blood that trickled under the door.

"Wha.. Lilia are you..?!"

He seized up in fear. As tears filled up his eyes, he was unable to look away from the horrible sight in front of him. Lilia had her throat slashed and was still dripping blood all over the floor. It looked like she was trying to call for help but couldn't make a sound after her vocal chords were cut.

*sigh*

"Well this is unfortunate. If you had gone to sleep, this would've been easier for both of us."

Subaru pried his eyes away from the terrible sight on the ground and refocused on the humanoid figure standing near the window of Lilia's room.

"Don't worry, the other maids have already been dealt with, so crying for help wouldn't have worked anyway."

'What?! Did this thing kill Lilia? Is it going to kill me too? I don't wanna die. I don't wanna die. I don't wanna die!"

Subaru began shivering before he could get his legs moving. What can he do? Maybe he can get away if he runs! Then he can call Reinhard and everything will be ok. Reinhard would fix this. He'd kill this bastard.

Subaru ran out the door and towards the main hall. The mansion was completely silent except for the sounds of his heavy breathing and occasional sobs.

'Everything will be ok. Everything will be ok. Everything will be fine. Reinhard will fix this. He is undefeatable. Once he gets here, this guy won't stand a chance! This bastard..'

Subaru kept repeating the same sentence in his head. It was a glimmer of hope, the only thing keeping his legs moving. His weak, worthless, self wouldn't be able to stop this guy, but Reinhard could! He made it to the front door and began turning the handle before he felt a shooting pain in his leg.

"What the hell. . .!"

Subaru was mortified to see his left leg had been completely severed. He fell backwards and clutched his missing leg. This couldn't be real right? He had two legs, not one. This bastard couldn't kill him! He was only 18, he wasn't ready to die!

"Ahh, it's a shame, but nothing would have changed. You wouldn't have escaped. I'll do you a favor and make this quick."

"ARGhHHHH, SOMEONE, ANYONE, HELP!"

Subaru couldn't stop sobbing at the sight of his missing leg. He was yelling at the top of his lungs. Maybe he could alert someone and they'd come and deal with this guy. It was wishful thinking, but he didn't want to imagine what would happen if nobody came.

"Hmm, and you were doing so well too. You realize everyone else in the mansion is dead right? Nobody can hear you, please silence your pitiful screams before I have to do it myself."

The figure approached Subaru again. He was defenseless. As much as he wanted to stop his screaming, it was the only thing keeping him from passing out. That, and adrenaline. It kept getting closer and closer. Subaru knew what was coming. This is it.

'Die? Am I dead? Am I still alive!? When will I die? When will I die?'

The figure stabbed Subaru in the back. Subaru pissed himself in fear.

'I' m gonna die! I'm gonna die! I'm gonna die!'

"There, you see? No need to scream if nobody will hear it, understand?"

The light was fading. Subaru felt his heartbeat increase with every passing second. The pain was fading, but so was his consciousness. His eyes were tearing up as he thought about all the people he'd met in this world. Reinhard, Felt, Lilia. . .What about his parents? He will never see them again.

'What a failure.'

Subaru felt his consciousness slipping and saw darkness clouding the corners of his vision.

'Oh, I'm dead.'

"Subaru. Sir? Its past noon. Weren't you planning on heading to the market today to pick up ingredients?"

"ARGHRAAAAAAAH!"

"Subaru? What's wrong? Are you ok?!"

'Huh? What? No. . .'

"S. .S . .Sorry. I don't know what came over me."

Subaru was still shivering from that experience. He never knew how haunting such an event could be. This was something he would never forget.

"Subaru? Your face looks really pale! Perhaps I should go pick up the ingredients today."

"No no, it's fine. I made a promise. I'll go and. . .um"

The room was filled with silence. Lilia knew there was something wrong, but seeing as he was unwilling to discuss it, she decided that she wouldn't press him on it any further. Who knows what Subaru is going through? Perhaps he regained he memories? It wasn't her place as a maid to impose on him.

"Sorry! Lost my train of thought there haha, I'll go grab the ingredients, please leave it to me!"

Subaru managed to recompose himself. He was no longer dying. He had returned. It seems he was unable to choose where, or in this case 'when', he returned to. Subaru's hands shook beneath the covers. He instinctually moved his left leg. Bad choice. Immediately he was pestered with images of his severed leg bleeding out onto the main hall carpets.

'Stop focusing on that. I'm not there anymore. I'll just. . .never think about that again.'

Subaru hopped out of bed and quickly put on his clothes. He took a detour and headed into the bathroom before going down to get breakfast.

'What a terrible activation. So I 'return' by death?! What a cruel ability. Figures I'd receive a power that hinges upon me being useless.'

He turned on the sink and started splashing his face with water. He thought if he didn't think about it that it wouldn't be able to bother him. He was wrong. Before long he was sobbing and clutching his arms to his sides. Lilia died, and so had all the other maids. What did Subaru do? He ran away. Not only did he run away, but he couldn't even reach one person. They all died and nobody would ever know who killed them.

As Subaru turned off the water, the implications of this ability finally hit him.

'Wait, so when I returned the first time. . .I was killed?'

He gagged. He lived out his whole day spewing fantasies of 'isekai' powers and ended up walking right into a slaughter.

Then the second realization dawned on him.

'Before I lost my memories, I was also looping wasn't I? How many times did I have to go through that hell!?'

He didn't want to think about it. If the stories he heard were true, it must've been a lot. Will people expect that of him if he gets his memories back? How horrible must those memories be? He was a coward. He wasn't the type to risk his life for others. As much as he wanted to be like the Subaru everyone remembers him as, if he has to die again, he'll break.

'That's it! I'll just find an excuse to get all the maids to leave the house before tonight and everything will be fine. I doubt they'd believe me if I told them the truth after all."

Subaru left the bathroom and headed down to breakfast. In his mind the plan was foolproof, after one night he could contact Reinhard and then everything would be ok. While he and Lilia discussed their plans for the rest of the day, Subaru was completely unaware of the presence outside the window, watching his every move.

Author Note

The story truly begins! Now that Subaru knows about his ability, he will take a much more proactive role in the story. How will he get out of this one?