Even I, unable to read her thoughts, could tell she was only pretending to disconnect the synchronization link. What would the keenly perceptive Regressor make of it?

With a deep sigh, the Regressor took Sky Cherry Blossom in hand.

"Fine. If you really can't disconnect, I'll do it for you."

『...!』

CLICK.

This time, the comfort doll really did disconnect and go limp. Its short arms and legs dangled under gravity.

Clutching the seemingly soulless doll, I wailed.

"Nooooo! My comfort dooooooll!"

"Who names their doll Comfort Doll? Stop making a fuss."

But I had to lighten the mood like this to survive the serious conversation ahead!

Despite my desperate efforts, the Regressor remained solemn.

"I have a favor to ask."

"Will the sun rise in the west tomorrow? You're seriously asking me for a favor, Shei? What is it? Let's hear it."

I had already read all her thoughts. I knew what she was going to say, and why.

Yet here she was, scraping together every scrap of eloquence she had never possessed in her life to put that request into words.

Was it meaningless? No. The problem was that it meant something.

This forced me to face the Regressor's wishes head-on. It made saying no difficult.

"When we all reach the source of the bottomless pit under the Earth Sage's guidance..."

The Regressor remembered the welcome the Earth Sage had received only a few hours earlier. Most people here knew who she was, and looked ready to spend all day explaining her accomplishments.

By contrast, whatever she might have been in previous runs, the Regressor of the present was merely a drifter with no connections or achievements to her name.

'I'm up against the Earth Sage, a renowned figure famous for her kindness to everyone. Things might be different when she's remembered as a calamity in the future, but right now, she's far more famous and trustworthy than an insignificant nobody like me.'

The Regressor knew how to assess herself objectively.

She also knew who her opponent was, and just how extraordinary and dangerous she could be.

She was intimately familiar with the might of the Earth Sage, the heaven-defying earth serpent who heralded disaster.

The original owner of Earth's Ripple, the sword of the earth. A tragic figure who lost her life in defeat against the Holy Sword Corps and the Saintess. And the Holy See's nightmare, whose actions marked the beginning of its downfall.

Combined with the sword of the earth, her earth arts had the power to split the ground and tilt mountains. Armies were no match for her. Even allowing for the limited preparation time early in each regression, the Regressor had never once beaten her one-on-one.

But now, she had to attempt the impossible.

"I'll probably end up fighting the Earth Sage. So..."

She was afraid, but that was a separate matter. Regardless, to achieve any meaningful results in this run, the Regressor had to defeat her.

Only then could she uncover the Earth Sage's plans and hatred, gather information, and decide how to respond.

Results were all that mattered. There was no need to stubbornly insist on doing things for the sake of training or satisfying her pride.

The Regressor needed victory over the Earth Sage. Nothing more.

But...

"Help..."

Before she could finish asking for help, the Regressor swallowed her words and pressed her lips shut.

'... Whose side would he take? Probably not mine. I treated this as a throwaway run, so I haven't won over anyone here.'

The Regressor had never made an effort to win people's hearts.

No, to be precise, she had.

Once, to win over the vampires, she had tried persuading the Progenitor rather than assassinating her. It had worked. At the time, they needed to unite against an approaching threat, and the Regressor had possessed the strength and standing to find common ground with the wounded Progenitor.

She had cooperated with the Resistance before. That had worked, too. By striking the Military State's weaknesses with uncanny precision and running wild without regard for the consequences, they had brought it down.

They had not governed the country satisfactorily afterward—no, things had actually become even more horrific... But whatever the case, the Regressor had gained the strongest political backing she had ever had.

But regression put an end to all of that.

It ended not only her failures, but even the small successes she had achieved. Like water sucked down a drain, even the little kingdom she had so lovingly cultivated disappeared.

No matter how hard she had worked to build it, or how much care she had poured into it.

No matter how attached she had grown.

'The only person I can ask now is this man at the center of everyone. But would he really help me?'

Success built on relationships left her with far too much to lose for the effort invested. It even varied wildly depending on when she met someone.

This regression was the most striking example.

An unwounded Tyr paid little attention to the Regressor.

The Beast Kings, too, were different from what she had seen in earlier runs.

Naturally, her interests had turned toward strength and weapons rather than relationships.

A tool would not betray her once she held it in her hand.

Even if she grew attached to a tool, she could readily let go.

But was this the price of neglecting relationships?

'Even if he won't help, I hope he'll at least refrain from rejecting me.'

Whether that came from fear of failure or a reluctance to be hurt, I couldn't be certain.

"When I fight her, keep anyone else from interfering."

The Regressor made her request with more desperate determination than ever.

I read wishes. I had a sort of occupational ailment: the more earnest and desperate a request, the less I could bring myself to refuse. Or perhaps I should call it a side effect of my ability.

But wishes, like winds, did not always blow in one direction. Sometimes they blew in opposite directions, squabbling like cats and dogs.

A wish to vanquish someone inevitably withered in the opposing wind.

But a request not to interfere?

"Huh? Why would we interfere?"

I granted the Regressor's request as though it were truly nothing.

"I don't know why you want to fight, but sort it out between yourselves. Preferably on friendly terms."

"... You won't stop me?"

"Why would I break up a fight between adults? Oh, are you a minor? I did think you looked rather small."

"O-of course not! I've been an adult for ages!"

'Uh, I'm nineteen right now, aren't I? Once this regression started, I grabbed Sky Cherry Blossom and a few things, then headed straight for the bottomless pit...!'

Actually, I wouldn't have cared even if she were a minor. But that made it even less of a problem.

The real problem lay elsewhere. She had only grabbed a few things, and that had produced all those treasures? How much would she have if she collected everything?

Anyway. Picking my ear with my little finger, I said,

"If you're both adults, that settles it. Besides, you're both incredibly strong, aren't you? Unless someone wants to get caught in the middle and crushed, wouldn't interfering be idiotic?"

"Well, yes, but..."

"And the Earth Sage is a good person, so go easy on her. She won't try to kill you either, Shei, so... Hold on. Isn't this really just sparring? If it's sparring, couldn't you do it now?"

"N-no. The fight itself will be serious..."

"Really? Well, I suppose you have your reasons."

Asking me not to interfere when I had never intended to was easy enough. I waved a hand dismissively.

"The others will probably feel the same. Tyr isn't the type to actively involve herself in other people's business, and Azi will hide away if humans fight. Rash will be too busy protecting Callis."

"Will... they?"

"Oh, you're not hoping Nabi will join in, are you? That would make you a truly awful person. Who keeps a cat expecting it to fight?"

"I'm not! And Nabi isn't my cat! I'm just looking after her for a while!"

In any case, that settled it. Looking considerably relieved, the Regressor said,

"Anyway... thank you. That's enough."

"Still, I'm a little offended."

"What is it now?"

"We do have a history together, you know. Did you really think that if you two suddenly started trading blows, we'd take the Earth Sage's side out of nowhere? That we'd charge in shouting, 'How dare you attack the renowned Earth Sage! Die!' and attack you without another word?"

The Regressor hesitated before answering.

"... You wouldn't?"

You've done that before, haven't you? You've barged in out of nowhere and picked a fight, shouting, "How dare you attack someone I know!"

Whoever was on the receiving end must have felt terribly wronged. Regressors, honestly.

"Of course not. Even if you've shown us that the sight of a right arm makes you go berserk and try to cut it off, and even if we know you're a loner who can't read the room and never quite fits in."

"... That's an insult, isn't it?"

"Still, however awkward you might be, we know you've always been the first to come running and try to fix things whenever a problem cropped up. You couldn't do that if you didn't care about other people at all."

"Are you insulting me or complimenting me?"

"Half and half, if we're being precise? Anyway."

I patted the Regressor's shoulder as I spoke. She loathed people touching her, but perhaps she was grateful that I had agreed so readily, because she stayed still even when I gripped her slender shoulders and shook them.

Or perhaps she had grown fond enough of me that my touch no longer bothered her.

"Those three months did mean something, you know."

Come to think of it, not even three full months had passed since I first fell into the bottomless pit. People had invaded, fallen in, fought. It felt as if so many major events had happened, yet the gaps between them had only been a month apiece.

The Regressor seemed just as spellbound by the realization as I was. She murmured,

"... It's only been three months. So much has happened."

How strange. We felt exactly the same way, so why did hearing her say it make me want to tease her?

I said,

"Only three months? Three months is a whole school term. That's enough time for you to go from primary school graduate to secondary school dropout, Shei."

"You just won't quit!"

Incensed, the Regressor shrieked.

"I'm so sick of this, I'll graduate before I come here next time! Just you wait. Seriously!"

"Next time? What next time?"

'Oops. I can't tell him I regress...'

Wait, didn't you say you were eighteen when your regressions started? Wouldn't that mean you couldn't attend even if you regressed? You'd already be past secondary school graduation age.

That objection barely had time to form before the Regressor devised a highly unusual solution.

"I just have to fake my identity!"

"Wait, you'd fake your identity to attend secondary school?"

"I can make it work! I know a thing or two about disguises!"

'With the Heaven-Reversing Realm's bone-shrinking art and the Mask of Agartha, I could pass for a boy who'd grown a little faster than the others...!'

What amazed me wasn't that she could do it, but that she'd even thought of trying.

"It's not a question of whether you can. Isn't that a bit of a character flaw?"

"Shut up! I wouldn't have to do this if it weren't for you!"

"And what if you'd gotten good grades in primary school in the first place?"

"Every dog and cow gets into secondary military school! Stop acting so smug about it!"

"Even dogs and cows get in, so why couldn't you...?"

"Heeeey!"

This was an unblockable technique in our society. You might have Sky Cherry Blossom, but I had the education system. How did that taste, primary school graduate?

I had succeeded in teasing the Regressor to my heart's content, but I had learned nothing. Even she had failed to uncover the Earth Sage's hidden circumstances in previous runs.

In the end, there was only one conclusion.

We wouldn't know anything until we reached the bottom.

Please, let nothing go wrong.

Forgetting that this was the bottomless pit, I prayed to Mother Earth.