『... A fallen star. A star of the Military State has fallen.』

The golem's tone as it spoke of the lieutenant general's death was darker than ever.

『Killing a general is a grave crime that nothing can excuse. Even if they... intruded with some subversive intent, the authority to expose and punish their crimes belongs solely to the Military State. Everyone here is a felon responsible for bringing down a star. You have become enemies of the Military State.』

“Hah...” I sucked in a breath.

I'd hoped it knew nothing, but apparently it had sneaked out of the dining hall and witnessed quite a bit.

Well, with all that commotion, it would have been stranger if it knew nothing. Besides, the general failing to return would be enough to make the Military State suspicious.

I spoke cautiously.

“So, the bottom line is...”

『... I cannot say for certain what orders will come down, but one thing is certain. There will be no more supplies of any kind.』

“Damn it!”

I knew it! We'd fought a general, after all. Of course they were going to take action!

While I pounded the floor, the Regressor, leaning against the dining hall wall, muttered ominously.

“Then I have no reason to keep the golem around anymore, do I?”

『... Pardon?』

“I considered destroying them all, but I left one since we had an Instructor here anyway... Now that I think about it, he isn't even an Instructor, is he? Then, now that we're openly hostile, there's no reason to leave the golem intact.”

The Regressor reached overhead, took hold of Sky Cherry Blossom, and strode toward the golem. It backed away and spoke hastily.

『Negative. Please wait. I wish to raise an objection to your decision.』

“What objection? You're the Military State's eyes. Nothing good has ever come of leaving you things around. Goodbye, and good riddance.”

『Wai—!』

I raised a palm to stop the Regressor before she could split the golem in half.

“Wait a moment, Shei.”

“What is it this time?”

“It's stuck in the dining hall anyway, isn't it? Do we really need to destroy it right now?”

“There's even less reason not to.”

Tsk, tsk. You see one step ahead, but never two, Regressor.

The golem was trapped in the dining hall. That meant the Military State's means of gathering information were limited. In that case, keeping it was better than destroying it. We could feed false information through their only channel.

Plant false intelligence to lull the enemy into complacency. That was the very foundation of information warfare.

False. In. For. Ma. Tion.

I mouthed the words to the Regressor, and...

“What? Stop flapping your lips and say it.”

“Oh, for fuck's sake! We can't coordinate for shit! I'm going to use the golem, so let's keep it!”

I ended up shouting it outright.

The Regressor belatedly went, “Oh,” while a bewildered voice emerged from the golem.

『... Did you say, use me?』

“Whoops.”

Whoops indeed.

We bound the golem's arms and legs, blindfolded it, and shut it inside a box. Having made enemies of the Military State, we had no choice.

Sorry, Captain AB. But you can disconnect your synchronization, so you'll be fine, right? Think of it as a vacation. Put your feet up with a beer full of floating ice cubes.

Afterward, we gathered in the classroom to discuss our next steps. Everyone attended except the injured Callis.

“All right. Let's assume our supplies have been cut off as of today.”

For once, the Regressor stood in front of the blackboard. It was an extremely awkward sight, enough to induce cognitive dissonance.

An elementary-school graduate... teaching?

She tapped the board with Sky Cherry Blossom and spoke.

“From now on, we'll be rationing our food.”

The remaining food supplies were listed on the board.

Food remaining: 42 cans of beans. 2 cans of meat.

Both the quantity and the ratio were dismal. Canned beans might be nutritious, but eating too many got old. More importantly, forty-two wasn't enough.

“There are five people here who need food. Even if we scrimp and scrape and eat just one can a day, we'll run out in forty-two days.”

“Hmm? Myself, the lieutenant colonel, you, sir, the youngster, the dog lass, and the cat lass. Leaving out the vampire lass, since she's a vampire... isn't that six?”

At the undying one's correction, the Regressor waved a hand and explained.

“Oh, leave me out. I have the Manchu-Han Imperial Feast.”

“What's that?”

“A treasure of the old empire—the empire before it split apart. Put ingredients in beforehand, and it provides three meals a day. Before coming here, I loaded it with a mountain of ingredients. About ten years' worth.”

“What! You've been eating delicious food all by yourself!”

“But there are restrictions. It's a subspace, so you can't take back anything you put in. And only I can pick food up from the plates. The treasure was made exclusively for the emperor, after all.”

The undying one grumbled.

“What kind of lousy treasure is that?”

“I agree. All the old empire's treasures are like that. Luxurious and surprisingly convenient, but with too many restrictions to be useful for much else.”

The Regressor shrugged nonchalantly. I asked her a question.

“Can't you just serve us a bite each?”

“Once or twice, maybe. I don't want to do it every time.”

“Tch. Then don't brag about it.”

As I grumbled, the Regressor put on a confident expression and got to her real point.

“Of course, I didn't bring this up with nothing to offer. I've prepared separate provisions for you.”

The Regressor opened a rift in thin air and rummaged around inside it. What emerged from her personal subspace was a sack packed with food.

Staples such as rice, potatoes, and flour. Three chunks of salted meat, liquor and spices stored in glass jars, and even twenty cans of meat.

What's more, every last bottle of liquor and jar of spice was a premium product worth its weight in gold.

Catching the scent, Azi pricked up her ears and began drooling, while the undying one's eyes went wide. Even I was so dazzled that I straightened in my seat.

“Will this do?”

The Regressor looked smug. After so long stuck here eating unsatisfying meals, I swallowed hard.

“What the hell? You've been hoarding all this the whole time?”

“There was no reason to use up limited resources while you were getting supplies.”

“So you're bringing it out now that the supplies have stopped? Couldn't you have shared a little sooner? If we'd had this before, we wouldn't have spent the past few months living like this. You greedy little thing.”

“Greedy? I guess you don't need food, then. In that case, I'll put it back—”

“No. You're the greatest prisoner in history.”

Before the Regressor could change her mind, I gave her repeated thumbs-ups while inspecting the provisions.

On closer inspection, the liquor and spices weren't the only luxuries. The rice was immortal rice, said to make you feel as full as an entire meal from a single grain. The flour was made from the finest wheat of the Golden Plains, each particle gleaming gold.

The potatoes, prepared with self-sufficiency in mind, were a hardy variety that could fill an entire field if planted as they were. We couldn't grow them in the bottomless pit, but if we'd had soil, those alone could have sustained us through a siege.

“And the meat is from black pigs raised on wild acorns and herbs in an oak forest... This is insane. We could live like kings.”

“Don't get too excited. It's all top quality, but it won't last forever. We need to make these provisions last the remaining nine months.”

“Nine months? Why nine months, specifically?”

At my question, the Regressor hesitated, like someone debating whether to share a piece of information.

'If we're going to hold out for the time remaining, having a set deadline would be better. I've already let slip that it's nine months. There's no need to hide more and make them anxious.'

Her deliberation was brief. She answered.

“Nine months. After that... you'll probably be able to escape. Someone will be coming down here.”

“Who is this someone?”

“Someone I know. Someone who can bring down this bottomless pit...”

“With brute force? By pounding away at it?”

“Nothing like that. I mean someone who can truly erase it on a conceptual level.”

'The greatest earth mage of our age, Mother Earth's agent... the Earth Serpent that swallows the sky. The woman who will become the Holy See's nightmare.'

Even the scattered thoughts I picked up gave me an indirect sense of her might. To think even this rude Regressor felt fear and respect for her.

The recollection soon stopped, as though she didn't even want to remember. But that alone had given me a secondhand taste of terrifying danger.

But...

Why was she thinking about fighting that person?

“... Anyway. I heard from a certain source that she plans to erase this place. Once she lifts the curse on it, this land will return to its original form.”

'That certain source being me in the previous run. A lot has changed this time, but this won't. Not with her fierce determination.'

Nine months. The declaration that we could escape if we held out that long meant something. The undying one was greatly relieved to hear it, too.

“Oh! Splendid! Nine months is quite manageable!”

Even Tyr, who had come here of her own accord, was pleased, though she didn't show it.

'... I am not so averse to this simple, cozy life here. But it must be different for Hugh. He must miss the warm sunlight and the breeze brushing past his ears.'

Her gaze turned toward me. A gentle smile formed, prettily adorning her lips.

'Yes. Now that I have regained my life, perhaps leisurely travels through the outside world would be pleasant.'

Haha. That's a bit of pressure. Why did I get the feeling I was about to become a world tour guide?

In any case, the reception was good. The positive response encouraged the Regressor.

“Anyway, that's all I have to say. Any questions?”

I raised my hand.

“What are you going to do about Nabi's mana herbs?”

“We'll work something out when the time comes.”

“You have no plan again?”

“Don't worry so much. If all else fails, I'll personally...”

'If we still haven't cured her addiction by then, there's no other choice. We'll keep her alive as long as possible, then put her out of her misery before leaving. I was planning to take down the Lords of Creation first thing once I got out anyway. I just have to uproot them before they find the new King of Cats. I can't look after Nabi forever...'

What? She'd talked as if she would keep Nabi forever. Had saving her been purely a matter of practical gain?

Just as the Regressor was about to make her declaration with a cold expression—

MEOW.

Nabi's cry came from outside the door. Puzzled, the Regressor opened the classroom door.

“Nabi? What's the matter...”

But by the time she opened it, Nabi had already vanished. Instead, a sparkling crystal orb was rolling across the floor in front of the door. It looked as though it had been plucked from the golem wreckage in the management office.

'What is she trying to...? No, that can't be it. Nabi is the King of Cats...'

Even her reflexive wariness did not extend to a Beast King.

For a moment, the Regressor looked touched. She handled the crystal orb tenderly, then blurted out,

“... I'll figure something out.”

“What? Figure what out?”

“I'll! Figure it! Out! We have sixty mana-herb cigars, don't we? We can think about it in sixty days!”

The Regressor shouted at the top of her lungs.

She really did get attached easily, judging by how moved she was by such a little gift.

The thorns bristling around her heart were simply very sharp. Once she grew attached, it seemed those feelings would carry over into the next run.

Come to think of it, she'd been friendly toward Tyr from the start, hadn't she? Hadn't she said they'd formed quite a deep bond in her previous run?

“By the way, did you know?”

But I had no intention of spending another nine months in a place like this. I spoke confidently.