ol li A Show Worth a Life/li /ol

    * * *

    “Well, no need to stand on ceremony! Have a seat! I regret being unable to prepare tea, but I hope you’ll forgive me.”

    With a smile, the thin woman Nare gestured for me to sit on the parlor chair.

    Her demeanor filled me with a profound sense of dissonance.

    “…..Aren’t you afraid of me?”

    Karashia, Keranko, Fateu, Sarelka, Doj, the other servants – everyone cowered in fear upon seeing me.

    Which made information gathering quite troublesome for us.

    Yet Nare showed no such signs at all.

    She addressed me casually, like greeting an old friend after a long time.

    “Hahaha! Afraid of you? Why? You’re just an adorable little furball, aren’t you?”

    Ah, this one’s a good one.

    Lowering my guard, I took Nare up on her offered seat in the parlor chair.

    Wait!!

    “Ah, that’s right. Little Furball, won’t you tell me your name first?”

    “Emi.”

    “So Emi, is it? What a wonderful name!”

    Emi! You’re being far too careless! There’s something off about this Nare! No one would normally react so cheerfully to a furball who shed their way in making an entrance! There has to be an ulterior motive!

    Ah! That’s true!

    I let my guard down after being called adorable andplimented.

    So this is the true head’s ability to sway people’s hearts…!?

    Are you really that easily swayed just from this brief exchange? If so, Emi, aren’t you a bit too gullible!?

    Scolded by Extra-sama, I became wary again.

    While seated in the chair, I enhanced my 【Body Strengthening】 beyond usual andced my surroundings with 【Magic sh Threads】.

    Seeing my actions, Nare couldn’t help but let out a wryugh.

    “Now now, no need to be so tense. Don’t worry, I won’t do anything to you. No, I have zerobat ability in the first ce. It would be more urate to say I can’t do anything at all. What incredible physical abilities you have? How can you destroy a magic sword barehanded?”

    “……You saw that? From where? Answer me.”

    “Fufufu, from this room… You see, I can ‘grasp everything’ happening within this manor. I’ve been observing your actions ever since you first jumped in here. I wanted to know what kind of existence you are, so I watched.”

    ……What does this mean!?

    She must possess some kind of “abnormal ability.” I’ve seen simr “abnormal abilities” in isekai reincarnation broadcasts before.

    “When did it start… At some point, I gained this ability, you see. In any case, I’ve been observing your actions in an impolite manner. Actually, there was one time I went to meet you in person, but I wonder if you noticed?”

    “Eh?”

    “When you ‘first’ entered this manor.”

    “‘First’? You mean during the loop? The very first loop?”

    “Around when Karashia had her magic power drained by the sword and died, I’d say.”

    That was right at the very end of that loop!

    Ah, now that you mention it, I did hear some kind of sound at the very end back then! So it was caused by Nare?

    “Well, it had been hundreds of years since a guestst arrived… I’d been waiting for an Irregr like you, you see. I wanted to see what kind of human you were in the flesh, not just your abilities! That furball outfit was quite the impact, I was surprised!”

    Saying that, Nare shook her shoulders in apparent amusement before broaching the topic:

    “Well then, Emi. What did you think of the show being held in this manor? Did you enjoy it at least a little bit?”

    “….A show?”

    “Yes! The ughter show spun from these sordid family rtions! Quite the stimting spectacle, wouldn’t you agree? It’s been running for over hundreds of years now, a real ultra-long run! The admission fee is just one of my lives per show. You got to view it for free, so you’re quite fortunate.”

    With those words, Nare took out a knife and gently pressed the de against her throat.

    ……This girl.

    This woman Nare Luclees.

    She’s self-aware that she’s trapped in the repeating loop.

    She understands her death triggers the loop, yet chose to keep repeating this time period.

    But why…?

    “Well now, let me hear your impressions.”

    Nare smiled.

    The knife nicked her throat, causing a trickle of red blood to flow.

    “….Distasteful and boring.”

    I answered honestly.

    “Oh, really? I found it quite exhrating at first! I really enjoyed watching it over and over! But I see, I see. It seems I’m not cut out to be a ywright after all! A self-indulgent work incapable of evoking empathy is truly bottom of the barrel! I can’t help but say as much!”

    Showing no signs of taking offense, Nare continued smiling audaciously as she said that.

    “Nare, stop dying.”

    “Hm?”

    “If you die, time will loop again, right?”

    “That’s right! You’re so quick to understand! You’re very smart, aren’t you? Well done!”

    “I’m sick of these loops. Let me out of this manor.”

    “….I’m afraid I can’t do that.”

    “….Ah?”

    I inadvertently leaked my murderous aura in all seriousness.

    The pitch-ck magic power radiating from me caused the room to tremble.

    The parlor table rattled noisily.

    A single crack formed in the window ss with a creaking sound.

    “Hahahahaha!!”

    Yet despite being directly exposed to that murderous aura, Nare’s demeanor didn’t change as sheughed in apparent delight, pping her hands.

    “What an absurd amount of magic power, Emi! Are you really even human!? Magnificent, you’re truly magnificent Emi! You really are wonderful!!”

    “Don’t screw with me!! Let me out of here right now!!!”

    Losing myposure, I instinctively grabbed Nare by the cor and pulled her toward me.

    “Hahaha, sorry sorry. My apologies, Emi, calm down? Even if you kill me, time will just rewind again, you know?”

    “……..”

    ….While ring at her, I released my grip that had pulled Nare closer.

    Nare casually smoothed out her rumpled clothes with a nonchnt expression.

    “My my, I apologize Emi. For teasing you like that. Hahaha… Well, you’re my first guest, so I got a bit too excited, you see.”

    “……..”

    “Say, Emi. You want to leave this manor, don’t you?”

    She’s been saying that from earlier.

    Without hiding my foul mood as I continued leaking 【Intimidation】, I gave a curt nod.

    “But as I mentioned earlier, that’s not possible.”

    “……..”

    “No… I thought it wasn’t possible.”

    “….What do you mean?”

    When I noticed, the smile had faded from Nare’s face, reced by an utterly serious expression.

    Nare rose from where she had been sinking into the soft parlor chair and leaned her body forward.

    “I can’t do it alone. But Emi, with your power added… perhaps it may be possible.”

    After saying that, Nare stood from the chair and began walking toward the door leading to the hallway.

    “….What?”

    “Follow me, Emi. You want to leave here, don’t you? Let’s cooperate… For it would also lead to fulfilling my wish.”

    Flustered, I hurried after Nare.

    “Your wish? What is it?”

    “……..”

    Nare walked with a smile affixed to her face.

    Pushing open the door I had shed apart, she exited and proceeded down the hallway with a cking of leather shoes against the eerily quiet floor.

    “Before telling you that, Emi… Let me share a bit about my personal circumstances first.”