A world of total darkness.
The only other color in Ron’s vision came from blood, and…
The girl’s golden hair.
“Li—Lifa?”
In his blurred memories, Ron recalled that those slave girls had seemingly banded together, swearing to capture him, the ‘Master’ who had toyed with their feelings.
And Lifa, by her strength alone, had defeated them all.
“Heh… hehe…”
Lifa’s back trembled with laughter. When she finally turned around, Ron’s face went pale with shock.
Her once beautiful and innocent face was now distorted. A twisted, exaggerated smile hung on her blood-stained and scarred cheeks.
“Lifa, you…”
Ron had many questions he wanted to ask, but before the words could leave his mouth, the girl swung the longsword in her hand and killed him.
“Now Teacher… will be mine forever~”
**[You have died. Remaining Rewind Rebirths: 1]**
**[Save Point: ????, Please choose…]**
**[1. Rewind time: Reload to the time the Save Point was activated]**
**[2. Maintain progress: Resurrect immediately at your Save Point]**
It was the same choice as in the game from his past, but before Ron could agonize over which to choose, his surroundings had already returned to the small village where he had lived for the past three years.
‘Good thing I have a cheat…’
Ron wanted to express his relief, but a sudden, piercing pain in his body made him realize he had been pushed into the embrace of the God of Death once again.
“Heehee~”
It was Lifa’s voice.
But why?
“I won’t… let you get away so easily~”
Ron used the last of his strength to turn his head. Shrouded in the shadow of a gray cloak, a twisted six-pointed star was reflected in Lifa’s right eye.
She released her grip on the sword. Behind her sickly smile, her expression was filled with tenderness and love.
“My dear Teacher…”
“My unfaithful…”
“Master~”
**[Remaining Rewind Rebirths insufficient. You have died completely]**
“Gah—!”
Ron snapped awake from where he was slumped over his desk. Even though he realized that what he had just experienced was a nightmare, his heart was still pounding with lingering fear.
“Thank god it was a dream. That was terrifying.”
Swallowing hard, Ron whispered to himself as he shifted his gaze toward the window.
The sun had been up for a long time. A rural breeze had pushed the window open at some point, blowing against a corner of the map Ron had placed on his desk with a *fluttering* sound.
**[Prologue · Adventure Journey: In Progress]**
**[Rewind Rebirth Location: Unknown Village]**
**[Remaining Rewind Rebirths: 1]**
Following his will, the text that had appeared after Lifa left yesterday resurfaced in his vision.
The good news: The game system was active.
The bad news: It wasn’t very active.
Just as Ron could previously only open his mailbox, he now only possessed a save-loading rebirth ability that was basically the same as the one in the game.
Although he didn’t know how to obtain more uses later, for now, he had a trump card and a margin for error. It allowed him to choose to rewind time after death or resurrect immediately at a save point.
*Click.*
“Teacher, are you awake?”
The bedroom door beside him was pushed open. Ron turned to look and saw Lifa wearing an apron, carefully balancing a cup as she walked toward him.
“Lifa…”
The images from the dream were still vivid in his mind. Now, seeing Lifa’s simple smile, he felt an extraordinary sense of warmth and security.
“Hmm?”
The girl wore a cute, confused expression. As she drew closer, Ron saw that the cup was filled with oatmeal milk.
“Did you have a nightmare? Since I saw you were still resting when I came in, I prepared a simple breakfast~”
Lifa’s eyes were full of concern and excitement. From the corner of her eye, she glanced occasionally at the map on Ron’s desk, which was covered in densely marked routes.
“Thanks. I overslept.”
He realized that last night had been his first night since transmigrating to the Uthis Continent. Even though Ron could clearly feel the physical exhaustion and lack of sleep, it still felt surreal.
‘And… I can dream. I had a terrible nightmare.’
Adding that thought silently, Ron picked up the cup and noticed that Lifa’s gaze was now entirely focused on his face.
“Is something wrong, Lifa?”
Ron subconsciously touched his face, thinking there might be something on it or that Lifa was upset because his oversleeping had delayed their departure.
“Ah, it’s actually nothing.”
Caught off guard, Lifa seemed a bit flustered.
“It’s just… it’s the first time I’ve seen Teacher look so tired…”
The girl pursed her lips. With a mix of curiosity and worry, she continued.
“Is it because of that ‘trouble’? The one that’s bothering Teacher and keeping you from sleeping well?”
Ron found himself unsure of how to respond to Lifa’s earnestness.
He couldn’t exactly say that he used to be a player and didn’t need to sleep or rest in the game world.
As for the ‘trouble’ Lifa mentioned in the latter half of her sentence, Ron could already sense her desperate desire to understand.
However, he didn’t plan on giving any explanations or answers anytime soon.
After all, if he had to trace the source of this ‘trouble,’ Ron knew he was the culprit. If Lifa found out everything, he worried his former image would instantly collapse in her heart.
‘So Teacher is a scumbag who toys with people’s feelings… I—I must uphold justice and kill my own kin!’
With last night’s nightmare as a reference, it was easy for Ron to imagine such terrifying scenes. After some stammering, he chose to pick up his cup and take small sips of the oatmeal milk.
*Stare—*
Lifa pouted, her little canine tooth biting her pink lip. She was clearly dissatisfied with Ron’s secrecy, but out of trust for her teacher, she decided not to press any further.
“There’s some bread and sausage outside. I’ll go bring them to you, Teacher.”
Seeming to remember something more important, Lifa quickly left Ron’s side and ran out of the bedroom.
Watching Lifa’s enthusiastic silhouette, Ron shook off the final shadows of the nightmare.
‘How could that crazed yandere child be Lifa? That must have just been my fear of those blackened slave girls acting up.’
Thinking this, Ron became even more determined to properly teach and raise Lifa. He absolutely couldn’t let her fall into any of those ‘blackened characters are ten times stronger’ tropes.
“Thank you, little Lifa~”
Soon, a plate with bread and sliced sausage was placed on Ron’s desk.
“Heh heh~”
Stepping back, Lifa took off the apron that had been hiding her outfit. She first tapped the desk lightly with her knuckles, then, like a little girl showing off a new dress, she spun around on the wooden floor.
“Teacher~ Lifa has already changed into the new equipment you gave her~”
Ron’s attention immediately shifted from the primitive-tasting food to Lifa.
“Yes, it looks a lot like—”
As he noticed the familiar equipment on Lifa, Ron immediately sat up straight.
“Uh, I mean, little Lifa looks quite the part now that she’s changed. Very cool.”
After speaking, Ron quickly took a large gulp of oatmeal milk to cover up the slip of the tongue that had almost escaped him. He began to look Lifa over from head to toe.
Compared to her usual blue-and-white casual clothes or ordinary metal armor, Lifa was now wearing a set of quite rare protective gear—the Radiant Set.
Under the sunlight, the mithril and golden magical patterns on the armor’s surface complemented each other.
As Lifa struck a series of poses—attacking, parrying—the gear revealed an excellent design that balanced protection with being lightweight.
Lifa’s cheeks were slightly flushed. After calling out to Ron, she wore an expectant expression.
She wanted to be praised more by her teacher.
Ron immediately understood what the girl wanted. At the same time, his praise was heartfelt.
“Little Lifa has really grown up. You’re a beautiful and elegant swordswoman now.”
“Really!?”
With her small wish fulfilled, Lifa spun around again. After striking a few more poses, she leaned in close to Ron, looking exceptionally happy.
She was… too close.
And… she looked too much like her.
“Teacher, Teacher, you said you knew the Hero Isis~ Is it possible we’ll run into her on our adventure~?”
Lifa’s blonde hair fluttered in the breeze. The girl’s curious and jumpy thoughts had already moved on to the upcoming adventure, and she naturally thought of the role model she admired.
It was fine as long as she didn’t mention it, but once that familiar name was brought up, Ron’s guilt-ridden gaze happened to fall on Lifa’s new Radiant Set.
Because he knew all too well.
Strictly speaking, the previous owner of the Radiant Set was Isis.
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