「If I think about it, I don't even have enough information to set a plan or strategy.」 (Subaru)
Although Subaru was shouting bravely, he had not solved the problem of insufficient information; he had lived through the events too quickly in every route he took.
The strength of General Services, how to deal with the Calamity Fox, and what happens after activating the Shittim Chest.
Frankly, victory lies in activating the Shittim Chest, but this requires power and support.
All Subaru knows is 「how he will die」.
Consequently, the sole condition for victory is what looms in Subaru's hand.
「Condition one: If I don't activate Sanctum Tower, that Kaiser scum will take over Kivotos.」 (Subaru)
This is the biggest challenge, the greatest obstacle. It's a "losing game" that ends in instant loss if not resolved today.
「Well, that's something that must be solved, of course. Whatever I do and however I do it, I have to crush them and drive them out...」 (Subaru)
「... Damn it... Second problem: The Calamity Fox will also come to the Schale building.」 (Subaru)
What a shame that the first problem overlaps with the second!
「There's no time for this!! I alone cannot make it on time before the Fox arrives, and I must have assisting power by the evening!!」 (Subaru)
「You said there was a GPS system, but they will surely come if they cause a fuss in Schale, won't they?」 (Subaru)
His plan for stealth was ruined by the Calamity Fox, and Kaiser imposed a time limit. Before he can deal with these two matters, he has to breach the security of the Schale building...
「Well, that's impossible. Impossible, impossible, impossible.」 (Subaru)
「All that comes out of me is negativity. I couldn't do anything alone, could I? Was I truly suffering from such a staff shortage? Me!?」 (Subaru)
「Goodness, time is passing even while I'm thinking...」 (Subaru)
The situation is terrible. Natsuki Subaru didn't fail after overcoming the difficulties; he stumbled before reaching them due to his lack of self-reliance...
He has no ability to solve problems, no weapon, no money... as for determination, it exists. But he is in real trouble.
「Ah... where can I find someone very strong who can take me to Schale, and who has authority... ーー」 (Subaru)
「...」 (Subaru)
「Hmm?」 (Subaru)
「Ah.」 (Subaru)
●○●○●
— There was a moment that almost paralleled the situation he had just mentioned.
That was the moment he met Hina Sorasaki in the first timeline. Even the power of General Services and the Calamity Fox could not frighten people merely by name-dropping.
Subaru does not know much about her; specifically, she is the Head of the Prefect Team, a diligent and stressed employee, she has a connection to the Federal Student Council, and she is the person who knows the content of the abandoned message.
「The options seem unexpectedly available, then.」 (Subaru)
Contacting Hina Sorasaki was almost a product of chance. In the first loop, the time Subaru remembers as having gone the best... it occurred through the pattern of a distress scream reaching her while she was on patrol, and there is no other reliable link he can depend on besides that.
「...」 (Subaru)
Subaru wished he knew at least the exact timing of the blackmail attempt by that delinquent girl, but at the time, he was shot in the leg and confused, and his phone was lying on the ground. The maximum he can recall is the time on a clock mounted on the school building when he visited the Gehenna Academy fountain square.
With all the 「Death」 he has endured, his spirit is not strong enough to recall that exact timing.
The result is that repeating the first pattern several times is the fastest route, but...
「You, kid, hand over the money.」
「If you underestimate us, we'll teach you a lesson.」
「ーー What is this place? Is this truly a forced, repeating event?」 (Subaru)
「You bastard... Why are you smiling like that!! Do you want to be shot or what, you idiot!?」
「Ah, it seems their method of threatening is to shoot, wow... My mind is on the verge of a civilizational renaissance from the sheer cultural differences.」 (Subaru)
「You insolent fool!!」
「Oh, dear / Damn it.」 (Subaru)
It is the unforgettable alley of destiny. It was strange for Subaru to hear the exact same phrases while scratching his cheek. Although they are interacting properly, unlike NPCs (Non-Player Characters) repeating the same dialogue.
Subaru followed his "Super Hina Sorasaki Radar" (SS-R Subaru), trying hard to extract memories until he reached the alley. But he found a gun pointed at the back of his head once again.
「Well then, I will hand over everything I have, so would you please let me go...?」 (Subaru)
「Hmm? You have good intentions. But we're going to shoot you because you underestimated us.」
「Morality ーー? Isn't ethical conduct slightly out of order here, I wonder??」 (Subaru)
「Die, you bastard!!!!」
「Nooo!!?? Someone ーー Save me... ーー」 (Subaru)
Bang.
「... Ah.」 (Subaru)
A sense of penetration overwhelmed him.
What result did this moment of intense, fleeting pain leave behind?
— His head had been blown off by a gunshot.
The strength of his body coldly faded, his vision shut down, and his consciousness began to plummet into the darkness. He was dying with a sudden, swift fall.
Shot, shot again. He will die, he will die, he will die; he will perish. This easily?
Is he really going to die?... Really?
「Wait!? Hey, hey! This is dangerous... this is bad!! An ambulance...!」
「You idiot, run!! It's obvious he's dead!! If this is exposed, it won't be limited to Valkyrie but... ーー Damn it!! What is this cursed thing!?」
「W-we just tried to extort him... Is our life over now?」
Despite his desire to inform them that they had killed someone, so why worry now, the hole in his skull did not close.
「—... ーー But... I-I... ーー.」
「... ーー」
Subaru died without any emotion, and at the fastest speed he had ever witnessed.
Natsuki Subaru's soul departed from this world.
— Even though he knew, the experience was harsh...
●○●○●
「...」
The sixth return from death.
As always, the sounds of conflict and the screams of girls can be heard. The same sunlight, the same humidity, the same smell.
Natsuki Subaru had simply returned.
「... I knew it, I knew it, yes, I knew it.」 (Subaru)
「I thought... ーー I knew...」 (Subaru)
「...」 (Subaru)
「The threshold for death is way too low here...」 (Subaru)
Subaru's deep sigh reached no one.
Dying is easier than he imagined. Subaru rubbed his forehead, which had been cleanly shot, confirming that he felt nothing now... but it was the first time he had been shot so cleanly.
Considering that life is usually only once, the ability to die six times in a single day is... insane by all standards.
A world where Subaru dies no matter the circumstances. He thought he had lived a long, ordinary life for seventeen years, but considering the previous deaths, he is trying to avoid six deaths multiplied by three hundred and sixty-five days multiplied by seventeen years...
「ーー Rather, I never avoided them... they were all direct fatal injuries.」 (Subaru)
Death is something one can never get used to, and pain cannot be normalized either. The only thing that worries Subaru is that something inside him diminishes every time he returns from death. And this world, Kivotos, truly...
「Aren't the slums much safer than you all!? What the hell is this? Didn't your fathers teach you not to point guns at strangers for the first time, you idiots!?」 (Subaru)
「In the second time too, you carelessly put a hole in my body!! Damn you, there should be something... anything happening before death!! Damn it!」 (Subaru)
— Truly, morality is dead.
A gun is a gun; it's not a toy, nor a doll, nor a joke, nor anything else. It shouldn't be pointed at people; discussions should happen before pointing a weapon, right?
It is terrifying, and his body is still trembling. Being shot is like this; it is an act that leaves a deep wound and pain in the heart.
Even if the injuries of Kivotos residents are only minor, such things should not fundamentally be pointed at each other.
「Ah ーー!! Fine! Next round, next round! I've decided to try all available options!」 (Subaru)
「I will never surrender to something like this...!」 (Subaru)
●○●○●
「...」
Behind him, a massive explosion occurred.
The heat of that blast scorched his back, and as the air he breathed became hot, he felt pain throughout his entire body due to the scorching air entering his lungs as he ran at maximum speed.
Fundamentally, the shockwave of the explosion hurt, his feet hurt, his throat hurt, and his eyes hurt.
He was starting to get used to the rush of bullets toward him—a normal occurrence in this world that one must quickly adapt to. Unfortunately, Subaru, as a genuinely modern young man, would need more time to adjust to it.
After the sixth return from death, Natsuki Subaru was mumbling his thoughts to himself as he ran, affirming that recklessness was futile.
He moved away from the conflict area, avoided approaching the alleys, and began forming a plan.
Searching for the randomly appearing enemy, Hina Sorasaki, without any plan, while he was in a state of extreme weakness and instantaneous death, was utterly illogical.
— And when he did that, his destiny was to be found by General Services.
「ーー Oh my god, oh my god, oh my god, oh my god, oh my god!!!???」 (Subaru)
「Aha! Wait for me!」
「Die, die, die, die, die!!」
「Haruka!? No, you mustn't! If we kill him, we will lose the request...」
Subaru had forgotten, though he shouldn't have. Even General Services, whom he met dramatically, then reconciled with, and became friends with, his return from death meant the relationship was reset.
When they found him, Subaru felt a little relief deep in his heart toward General Services, but the shotgun attack that almost grazed Haruka's face brought him back to reality.
Haruka, Mutsuki, Kayoko, and even Aro, were pointing their weapons at Subaru.
「Miraculously ーー do you remember me even slightly!? That we were close friends in a past life or something!!」 (Subaru)
「What is this? Are you interested in the paranormal, young man?」
「No, not really?? Well, yes! Yes, it's impossible for you to remember! How foolish of me to expect even a glimmer of hope!」 (Subaru)
Even running at full speed in the city, he cannot match their stamina. He lost miserably even when he tried to climb the Schale building, as his strength would run out before he could escape.
He thought he would bite fate, only to have fate bite him back.
「Seriously, how many miracles do I have to achieve... Hey, WAAAAH!!?」 (Subaru)
「I must, I must catch him... I must catch him for Miss Aro; I don't want to be useless... If I become useless, I will be abandoned... I'm sorry for being useless...」
「Calm down, calm down!! Aro wouldn't do that!!」 (Subaru)
「Don't call Miss Aro with such familiarity!!」
「You are the most incomprehensible one!!」 (Subaru)
Subaru ran hard, thinking that even dogs have more rationality, but...
「Ah... I truly am an ordinary person and I'll die from one shot!! Won't you stop chasing me, please!?」 (Subaru)
「You can't make such excuses ~? Your face says you want to run away.」
Finally, the explosion arrived.
「Well then, take a little nap, young man!」
Mutsuki tossed the bag she was carrying on her back. If his memory was correct, this was the bag filled with the bombs that were fired at the Calamity Fox.
— The bag flew in an arc toward Subaru.
「I'll try to return it... ーー Damn it!」 (Subaru)
「Too bad!」
Subaru barely caught the bag, and he heard the sound of the bomb activating.
The same blunder repeated for the second time, and Subaru remembered the Calamity Fox who tried to return the bomb to her... and his sense of relief vanished.
— And in that moment, the flames enveloped Natsuki Subaru's body.
●○●○●
It was the afternoon, roughly after lunch.
Especially during days of conflict, prey is abundant. Injured people who have lost the ability to resist, or those who have collapsed unconscious on the street, fill the city.
This means it's a perfect day for hunting. We start by stripping them of everything, from their pockets to the inside of their jackets. If they have no money, we take their guns, then their belongings, and if we like something in the end, we even take their clothes.
Truly, the recent days have been comfortable and excellent. We don't even need to hunt students after school hours; we can just rely on a life of plunder.
Hanging out with my friend every day was fun, but that alone is not enough to live. We, who cannot enter the Academies, find only exhausting jobs or get paid late salaries.
We know what we are doing is wrong, and that chasing people this way will lead us to punishment someday, but this is not 「today」.
「Listen, look at that guy.」
「Hmm? Ah... that guy wearing the tracksuit? He doesn't have a gun on his back... ーー He went into the alley?」
「Should we do it?」
「We must do it. A guy walking around unprotected like that is definitely a rich man's son. If we extort him, we'll earn a lot!」
「Alright! Let's go!」
We saw a young man enter the alley with an utterly naive face and no weapon. The strange thing is that he is unfamiliar. For someone to be this naive in Gehenna means he's very spoiled!
We imagined our fancy dinner for today and chased after him, gripping our guns...
Then, we addressed that man.
「You, kid, hand over the money.」
「If you underestimate us, we'll teach you a lesson.」
We directed the words at the man who had his back to us, but he ignored us.
Although we felt a vague pressure emanating from his back, there was no need to fear someone who was unarmed.
「...? Hey, kid, are you deaf? I told you to hand over the money.」
「Ah! Wait!!」
Suddenly, the man in front of us took off running at full speed without looking sideways. He waved his hand at us in a sign of defiance as he turned the corner.
「Damn you, you insolent fool... Oh!!?」
「Danger! ... Wait, I swear I'm going to kill this guy.」
During the chase, an iron pipe suddenly fell from a blind corner. Was it leaning against the wall and then fell?
... No, this guy knocked it down. I cannot forgive this defiance...
「Wait, you bastard!!!!」
And while we were trying to chase the man who kept running, firing randomly, in that moment.
— A sharp, sudden scream dominated the area.
「Prefect Teaaaaam!!」 (Subaru)
A sudden, unprompted distress signal caused the two delinquent girls to flinch in surprise.
The scream pierced the silence of the alley, and its echo likely reached everyone on the main street. It was a feminine voice, totally unlike a man's.
We felt fear from a sound that couldn't possibly come from a man's throat, and we were annoyed by a scream that showed such a lack of dignity.
「Someone! Call the Prefect Teaaaaaaam!!」 (Subaru)
The voice was so loud that it could no longer be suppressed by just firing randomly.
「Idiot! Don't scream like that over extortion!!」
「Shut him up quickly! If someone shows up, things will get complicated...」
「Stop right there.」
— And then.
After the series of deaths Natsuki Subaru had gone through.
「H-」
「H-H-」
「「Hina Sorasaki!?」」
Subaru finally met his longed-for hope.