In the classroom on Tantalus’s fourth floor, the Regressor was preparing to revive the undying one.

Even for an undying one who could not die when killed, a curse that ate away at his body was deadly here, cut off from Mother Earth. The immortal corpse golem that had swallowed dozens of villages in the past might appear again.

Where all those corpses had come from was still a mystery, but she could hardly leave the undying one alone just to solve it.

So the Regressor decided to use up her healing items to dispel the curse consuming his arm and restore his body.

'If my intervention wakes the undying one now, that will take things further from the original history... But things are already tangled enough. Knowing how he was cursed is enough.'

Simply discovering that the undying one and the vampire were connected this way was a major gain.

She could dig deeper if she wanted... But right now, another question occupied her mind.

'Just who is he?'

Even as she followed a recipe the Divine Physician had taught her in the previous run, brewing a precious healing potion with a leaf of the World Tree added to it, the question would not leave her mind.

'He’s definitely hiding something. Deflecting Sky Cherry Blossom, seeing through my disguise, dodging Finlay’s attacks like an acrobat. None of that is ordinary. But.'

Her instincts told her there was something to him. Something even she, who had seen all manner of things across thirteen regressions, did not understand.

But.

'How do I put this... Why doesn’t he feel intimidating at all? At first glance, he just looks like a weakling!'

Hold on. Time out.

A weakling? Even if it was true, did she have to put it that way?

'He runs slowly, too. His reactions are sometimes so fast even I find them unnerving, but his movements are slow enough to make me yawn! Is he strong? Doesn’t seem like it. He’s never shown me any swordsmanship. Even with the undying one’s right arm, he only poked at things like it was a rapier. He never actually swung it properly!'

Huh? I put everything I had into that last hit on Finlay, you know? I even knocked out one of his teeth!

She saw the best swing of my life, and she was saying I hadn’t swung properly?

'Ughhhh. I’m so curious it’s driving me crazy. One sparring match, just one, and I think I’d figure it out! Or even a chance to examine his naked body!'

What the hell went on in that head of hers?

Before her thoughts could get any stranger, I could take no more. I ran down the corridor and threw open the door.

“Trainee Shei. Are you ready?”

“Huh? Yeah, more or less.”

The Regressor answered halfheartedly, looking me up and down. Her eyes narrowed, as though she thought that would let her see through my clothes.

'A standard-issue shirt... Hmm. Just as I thought, I can’t see his body at all through the shirt... Damn Military State. They made their clothing packets far too well.'

Seriously, be grateful the rest of the world couldn’t read minds. Otherwise, she would have been the first person locked up somewhere. Only someone as merciful as me would read that and let it slide...

'The Piercing Eye only shows bones when I use it on people... The Overlooking Eye can’t see covered areas, either... Then I guess my only option is to peek with the Farseeing Eye while he changes or bathes...'

I took that back. Even I couldn’t let this slide.

This wouldn’t do. I needed to administer some shock therapy before this peeping Regressor’s thoughts flew clear into outer space.

I barked at her as she continued staring holes into me.

“Trainee Shei!”

“Huh? What? Why so sudden?”

Having called out to her, I immediately crossed my arms in an X, averted my eyes bashfully, and said,

“Um, well. This is embarrassing, so could you please refrain from looking at me like that? Your gaze alone makes me feel defiled.”

The Regressor’s head turned stiffly. The sudden overload of information had briefly paralyzed her reason.

'... What kind of bullshit is that? Why is he blushing? What’s with that creepy pose? What? Embarrassed? My gaze defiles him? I was just trying to peek at his body. Huh? Wait. Was I being too obvious...?'

She pieced the fragments together, connecting her own situation to my words and actions.

Finally realizing what I meant, she bristled and shouted,

“What kind of ridiculous nonsense is that?!”

“You were just looking at my body! Every inch, from head to toe, with lecherous eyes that said you’d strip me if you could!”

“I wasn’t looking with lecherous eyes!”

“So you really did want to strip me? Everyone! Look over here! Trainee Shei is trying to take my clothes off!”

“Hey!”

As I took off running and shouting, the Regressor instinctively chased me like a cat hunting a mouse, despite not quite understanding what was happening.

“Wait! Stop!”

“No! Stay away! Help!”

“Stop saying things people will misunderstand!”

“Aaaaaaah!”

When I refused to stop shouting, the Regressor gritted her teeth, closed the distance, and gripped Sky Cherry Blossom.

'This won’t do! I’ll cut the air so no sound gets out, then deal with him!'

What a coward! Resorting to underhanded violence in the middle of my fair and square manipulation of public opinion.

If she drew a sword, I’d lose, wouldn’t I? I stopped dead in mid-flight and spun halfway around. About to cut the air, the Regressor nearly collided with my chest and hastily stopped.

“Come on. Don’t overreact to a joke, Trainee Shei. People will think you mean it.”

“... What? Out of nowhere?”

“Surely you weren’t really trying to peek at an unimpressive body like mine? You do have some basic morals, after all.”

“R-right.”

“No matter how much you like men.”

“That’s not it!”

The Regressor shrieked. I tilted my head and asked,

“Huh? Didn’t you say you liked men last time? That was how you ended up washing Azi.”

Unwittingly saddled with this strange persona, the Regressor couldn’t bring herself to deny it and made an excuse.

“No, I’m not saying I don’t! I’m saying I don’t like you! To me, you’re...! Right! You’re no different from a toilet!”

“... That’s a bit suggestive in several ways.”

“I don’t mean it like that! I mean you’re that filthy! Damn it, how am I supposed to put this?!”

'A passerby? That makes it sound like I notice him! A pebble by the road? There aren’t any pebbles in the bottomless pit!'

“Um, does it really matter what you compare me to?”

“Something insignificant, anyway!”

“Yes, yes. Shall we go back to the classroom? We need to revive Mr. Rash, whom we owe for borrowing his arm, don’t we?”

“We? You’re the one who used it!”

I soothed the fuming Regressor and returned to the classroom with her.

Only then did her mind return to the healing potion bubbling in the large cauldron, and she finally remembered what she had been doing.

“Oh, right! The undying one’s right arm?”

“Here.”

I handed her the box filled to the brim with pieces of flesh. She checked the contents and grimaced.

“Ugh. Horrible. He must be the first undying one in the world to end up like this.”

“He can regenerate, right?”

“Yes. Once the curse is dispelled, all we need to do is supply earth essence and the rest will join back together on its own... Though I don’t know how long that will take.”

After setting the box beside the cauldron, the Regressor suddenly looked around.

“Where’s Tyrkanzyaka? Didn’t she say she’d gather these?”

“Trainee Tyrkanzyaka has returned to the underground armory.”

“Really? Is she tired? Well, I suppose she might be.”

“Also, Trainee Shei, I have a favor to ask.”

The mention of a favor puzzled her.

“You do? What is it?”

“This.”

I handed her the note I had prepared.

“I’m going away for a little while, so please read it when I’m go—”

By the time I finished speaking, she had already unfolded the note and was reading the first sentence. Looking back and forth between me and the letter with a slightly apologetic expression, she said petulantly,

“It’s because you talk too slowly. You should have warned me before I read it.”

“Perhaps you’re simply too impatient? Well, there’s nothing much in it, so you may as well read it now that it’s open.”

'What? Giving me a note like that made me think it was something incredibly important.'

After shooting me a sullen glare, she began reading the remaining half.

'Give Azi three meals a day. Regenerate the undying one. And, important: under no circumstances open the underground armory door until someone comes out...?'

That was the end of the note. She waved it at me and asked,

“What does the last sentence mean?”

“Ah. Exactly what it says. An extremely important ritual will be taking place inside, so you must never open the door or interrupt it.”

“... You said Tyrkanzyaka is in there right now.”

“Yes.”

“What kind of ritual?”

“A ritual to revive her heart.”

“And who’s performing it?”

“Yours truly.”

Hmm, hmm. The Regressor gave a small nod, then immediately turned sharp and interrogated me.

“What are you trying to pull?”

Of course she wouldn’t simply let that pass. I’d expected as much.

I had anticipated her interference anyway. She wouldn’t stand idly by while the vampire and I were alone in an isolated place.

Besides, the ritual had to remain undisturbed, so I needed someone to keep others away.

Convincing the Regressor was essential.

With no other choice, I lowered my voice and began.

“Trainee Shei. What would you do if I told you I was going to make Trainee Tyrkanzyaka’s heart beat again?”

“I’d declare you a fraud, you fraud.”

As expected, the Regressor immediately called me out.

“Because of that dilemma?”

“... Why ask when you know? You know this, too. All vampires are homunculi. The most famous kind in the world, forcing their dead bodies to keep going with the Progenitor’s blood in place of their stopped hearts.”

“And so they’re bound by various restrictions. They can’t defy their blood lords, for instance, or use any magic other than blood magic.”

The answer flowed just as readily from my lips. Looking perplexed, she questioned me.

“You knew that and still made that offer to Tyrkanzyaka? Are you serious, or is this a joke? I honestly don’t know what you’re after anymore.”

“I sincerely wish for Trainee Tyrkanzyaka’s revival.”

“That attitude of yours is what I don’t understand. How am I supposed to believe you?”

'... But he’s been touching Tyrkanzyaka’s heart regularly all this time without doing anything to her. He even warned her of the danger and protected her from Finlay... He probably means no harm. If he did, he would have acted before Finlay.'

Perhaps it was simply her nature to remain prickly, but even so, her wariness of me had faded. Fighting Finlay together seemed to have had a positive effect.

Setting aside her hostility, she shared what she knew with me.

Her manner was ambiguous, as though even she couldn’t tell whether she was trying to persuade me or merely providing information.

“The moment you overcome death with magic... that’s it. It can never be undone. Once the mystery keeping that life stitched together ends, the body meets its delayed death... It will crumble into dust before there’s time for healing or revival. Because someone else’s magic can never save you...”

“Yes. Exactly.”

She had said it to emphasize the impossibility, but that was a good point, Regressor.

Because the clue lay right there.

“The homunculus dilemma embodies the truth that someone else’s magic can never save you.”

“...? Why state the obvious?”

“As with all old sayings, there is advice hidden in the warning.”

“Doesn’t it mean to be careful with magic?”

“Haha. No. If everyone thought as simply as you, Trainee Shei, what use would we have for dilemmas or proverbs?”

“... Are you picking a fight?”

Of course not. I’d lose.

I raised a finger to emphasize my point.

“Someone else’s magic cannot save you. Put another way, the only person who can save you is yourself.”

“That’s obvious.”

“Now, let me tell you one more thing.”

I raised another finger and smiled leisurely.

“Among all the many vampires, there is precisely one who is not a homunculus. Someone who revived a dying body with her own power, not another’s. Who might that be?”

The Regressor might not know everything, but she knew how to assimilate unfamiliar knowledge.

After encountering information beyond imagination across thirteen regressions, she had developed a habit of accepting even the most unbelievable information provisionally, as long as it made sense.

“The first vampire, Progenitor Tyrkanzyaka?”

Correct. Time for a reward. I applauded the Regressor for getting the answer right so splendidly.

“Very good. That’s correct.”

“Since she moved her own body when death came for her, she can revive herself again...? True, it isn’t impossible. Her own power would remain hers even if she reversed it...”

But her muttering was short-lived. After calculating for some time with a dark expression, she finally squeezed her eyes shut and shook her head.

“But it’s only technically possible. It would be so difficult it borders on impossible. Even if she reverses her power, the destination she needs to return to vanished twelve hundred years ago. And Tyrkanzyaka’s power is blood manipulation. She’s used it to acquire, dominate, and govern countless things. For Tyrkanzyaka, the boundary between herself and the world has blurred so much that she can take her heart out of her body without any trouble...”

Death was the thinning of the boundary between oneself and the world.

Of all things not yet dead, Progenitor Tyrkanzyaka was the closest to death.

The queen of blood, spreading her blood across the world to increase her thralls, ruling all manner of things it touched. No other living being could be closer to death as a concept than she was.

And so, to reclaim her life... the Progenitor had farther to travel back than any other being in the world.

“It won’t work.”

You didn’t need to be a Regressor who had witnessed the end and returned to become a pessimist in this situation. Virtually impossible—that was everyone’s assessment of this plan’s prospects.

But what if it was me?

“I intend to try. So please guard the door until I’m done. Don’t let anyone in.”

“... Go ahead, then.”

Just as she was about to agree, a question suddenly occurred to her.

“By the way, how did you figure this out?”

'Even I hadn’t thought of it, yet a mere Military State Instructor who isn’t even a mage figured this out...?'

Why did she think she was the center of the world? Just because she didn’t know something didn’t mean nobody else did.

Poor soul, trapped in the valley of ignorance. Allow me to set you straight.

Thinking back to the old days, I selected the most obnoxious expression I could remember and imitated it. With a derisive snort, I scratched my temple.

“Well, only the top student in a secondary military school can know this. Someone with only a primary school education couldn’t figure it out if they died, came back, and were beaten to death again.”

“Hey!”

As expected, she immediately lost her temper, so I scurried away. Occupied with the cauldron, she only growled and did not follow.

That should have gotten the message across. I waved as I left the classroom through the rear door.

“It should take a day or two. I’m counting on you to handle things until then. Oh, and don’t stare too hard at the note!”

“Tch. Hurry up and finish!”

Closing the classroom door, I headed for the underground armory, where the vampire would be waiting.

* * *

'If Finlay came in the previous run, did he succeed or fail? From here on, it’s completely uncharted territory... But Finlay and the Instructor were at odds. Considering that a war eventually broke out afterward, I think the Instructor failed. Hmph. I knew he seemed unreliable.'

'Then was this attempt to revive Tyrkanzyaka a solution he came up with out of a sense of crisis after Finlay appeared? It’s probably impossible... But the odds certainly aren’t zero. There is a chance.'

'If, as unlikely as it is, just if... If he can do it, I’ll be able to win Tyrkanzyaka over a little sooner from the next run onward. Let’s trust him and see.'

'... Anyway, what did he mean by not staring too hard at the note? More cryptic nonsense. Huh? Indentations?'

'... Don’t tell me. That bastard!'

'The Depth-Seeing Eye. Looking at the indentations with this makes hidden writing appear. Why does he put so much effort into pointless things...? Ugh. Let’s read it first.'

'Do not go to the cafeteria. Do not rashly touch me if there is something strange about my condition afterward. And if supplies happen to arrive, use them on yourself...?'

'What? Just what is he plotting?'