Chapter 4 _ The Girl Who Plays with Time, or a Curious Warmth
Hah… hah… hah…
With every step I took, a dull pain tore through my lower body.
My stomach felt heavy.
The “seed” that man had forced into me felt as though it was still polluting my dignity from the inside, making nausea rise in my throat.
“…I have to get it out.”
On the outskirts of the city, where houses grew sparse, I hid behind a rocky outcrop and strained desperately.
Along with my waste, a thick, viscous substance was expelled.
“…I can’t believe it.
Before I ever met a girl… with a man, like that…”
The shame nearly brought tears to my eyes.
But there was no time to cry.
There was no paper.
With trembling hands, I ripped up nearby weeds and wiped myself clean, smearing away the filth with mud.
Strangely enough, even the pain felt like proof that I was alive—
alive in this cruel other world.
“First… I need work. I need money.
If I don’t… I’ll end up like last night again…”
Just remembering it made my body shake.
I never wanted to experience that again.
I gathered every scrap of anime knowledge I had.
If there was work in another world, it would be at an Adventurers’ Guild.
With resolve, I turned back toward the central district—the stage of last night’s nightmare.
But something was wrong.
No matter how long I walked, the scenery never changed.
It should have been a straight road, yet the ragged tent of that hateful homeless man appeared before me again.
“…Huh? Why? I’ve been walking straight this whole time.”
A creeping chill ran down my spine.
Was I dreaming? Or was something wrong with my mind?
Even after walking for nearly an hour, the scenery looped endlessly back to the same place.
I stood there, utterly lost.
That was when—
“Gyahaha! This is hilarious! Absolutely hilarious!”
A high, bell-like laugh rang out.
Looking up, I saw a small girl perched atop a rock, clutching her stomach as she laughed.
Under normal circumstances, I might have yelled at a brat who’d been messing with a penniless stranger.
…but it was strange.
The moment I saw her, a warm sensation—like sunlight—spread through my chest.
“Hey… I want to go to the Adventurers’ Guild, but I don’t know the way.
Could you tell me?”
The girl puffed up her cheeks for just a moment, then silently pointed toward the very road I’d walked countless times.
“…That way, right? Thanks.”
I started walking again.
And once more, the scenery looped.
When I returned to her a third time, I couldn’t help but speak up.
“Hey, we’ve met before, right?
It’s a straight road, but I keep coming back here.
Do you know why?”
This time, fury flashed across the girl’s face.
She glared at me with piercing eyes.
“Silence!
There is nothing in this world that I do not know!”
It wasn’t just authority—
it felt as though the world itself trembled at her words.
And then, like the wind, she vanished.
Strangely enough, once I began walking again, I reached the central district without any trouble.
In the bustling streets, I spotted familiar golden hair.
“Iris! Wait— Iris!”
“…Huh? You’re still in the city?
Impressive survival instincts.”
Her sharp tongue was as relentless as ever.
Yet somehow, even that brought me a sense of relief.
I told her about the strange looping path.
The color drained from Iris’s face, and her shoulders began to shake.
“…Frey.
The Great Mage—Lady Frey…”
“Frey? You mean that little girl?”
Smack!
A sharp sound rang out, and a burning pain flared across my cheek.
Iris had slapped me.
“Watch your mouth!
You didn’t dare speak so disrespectfully to Her, did you!?”
“Eh? I mean, she looks like a kid—”
“Listen carefully!
That ‘child’ is the legendary Great Mage who sealed the resurrected Demon King two hundred years ago—alone.
If she wished, she could reduce this city to ash in an instant.”
Iris glanced around nervously and lowered her voice.
“What you experienced was the great magic of Time Reversal.
To control time itself is the domain of the gods.
The only reason you’re alive is because she felt like sparing you.”
“…Wow. That girl, huh.”
“That ‘girl’ is the strongest being in the world!
Know your place!”
Iris spat the words out, barely containing her agitation.
“…You’re heading to the Adventurers’ Guild, right?
I have business there too. I’ll go with you.
…but don’t get close. You’re filthy.”
She shoved me away with her words.
And yet—
Compared to the pitch-black despair of last night,
the path behind Iris’s back felt like the first ray of hope I had found in this world.
