Clatter, clatter…
Gold coins collided with a pleasant chime as Elsa shook a cloth pouch in her hand. Dozens of gleaming coins spilled across the bed, glowing warmly in the candlelight. After shaking out the last one, she tossed the pouch aside and sat at the edge of the bed, resting her chin on one hand.
"Is this enough to buy my life?"
Standing nearby, Lillian counted silently. Forty-three holy gold coins—eighty-six regular gold coins in total. Considering that silver coins existed below gold, this amount, if spent carefully, was enough to support an ordinary lifestyle for several years.
"It's not a small sum," Lillian said, glancing at them before looking away. "But if you think your life is only worth this much, you're severely undervaluing yourself."
An assassin who survived a Sword Saint's strike, completely suppressed a giant warrior, and overwhelmed a spirit user—forget forty-three coins. Even ten times that amount wouldn't be enough to buy her life.
"Hearing that makes me happy," Elsa replied with a smile. "But this is all I have right now." She slowly licked her red lips, her eyes filled with provocation. "Could I use… something else to make up the difference?"
She reclined on the bed, her palm gently brushing across the pure white sheets.
"I'm not interested in mummies," Lillian said calmly, pulling over a wooden chair and sitting down. "If the money isn't enough, other things will do. For example, the healing crystal you used earlier. That's a magical item, isn't it?"
"Tch… how dull." Elsa pouted. "Men like you don't get popular with girls, you know, young man."
"Answer the question."
"You already know, don't you?" Seeing that he wasn't joking, she dropped the teasing. "It's healing magic stored inside a crystal. Only high-level mages can make them. Even people with very little mana can activate it—extremely convenient."
"I see." Lillian nodded. It was similar to a magic scroll—very useful.
"Didn't you know that, young man?" Elsa asked, recalling his introduction in the alley.
"You're so young and already this capable. You must've had a good education."
Lillian ignored her for the moment, thinking carefully before speaking.
"I need a good sword—materials at least on par with your dagger. And I need some magic-related books. With your abilities, getting those shouldn't be difficult."
"A sword is easy. Magic, though…" Elsa looked him up and down. "You're not a mage, are you?"
"Just interested."
"Is that so…" She smiled lazily. "Fine. Big sister agrees."
"But are you sure you want to get involved with me? It's dangerous."
"Don't make it sound like we have some personal bond," Lillian replied as he stood up. "This is just a transaction."
He picked up half of the coins from the bed and slipped them into his pocket.
"I'll send my address here later. Once everything's ready, deliver it to me."
With that, he turned and left without another word. He didn't bother with threats or warnings—there was no need. If Elsa tried to cheat him, he'd settle the account in the future.
As for the underground organization backing her, there was no rush to investigate. Acting too hastily would only invite danger. Steady steps were safer.
Elsa watched Lillian's retreating figure. Her arm slipped from beneath her head as she lay flat on the bed, curiosity shining in her eyes.
"What a strange man… and kind of fun."
She touched her neck, recalling the suffocating grip he'd had on her in the alley.
"This feeling… I'll return it to you someday."
---
At an inn, Lillian rented a room for the night, planning to look for a long-term place the next morning. Inside, he took out his tablet, inserted the The seed, and turned it on. Only Yui appeared on the screen.
"Where are Kizmel and Kayaba?" Lillian asked.
"We talked it over," Yui replied cheerfully.
"From now on, only one of us will appear at a time to save battery power. So this time, it's me!"
"I see. It's fine, though—I have ways to recharge," Lillian said. The portable solar panels he carried were fully charged. Though each held little power, several together could recharge the tablet.
"Ohhh! Then did anything fun happen today, Lillian-nii?" Yui asked excitedly.
Lillian hesitated. So much had happened in just one day that it was hard to summarize.
In the end, he only shared general observations about the world—humans and demi-humans living together, the unusual political system, and so on. He skipped the battles.
After ten minutes, the battery warning sounded. Yui returned to the Seed.
Staring at the empty screen, Lillian opened his stored files—blueprints and data on basic scientific tools and technologies. In his original world, they were nothing special. In the world of the AOT, they would be priceless. Even here, some might be useful.
But he had no real desire to develop technology in this world. Unlike the walled world of AOT, he had no authority here—no identity at all. No one would listen to him.
Besides, this was a world where gods fought and mortals watched. High-end power decided everything.
One Sin Archbishop of Greed could destroy a major city alone. Reinhard could wipe out a nation if he wished. Against that kind of force, basic science was meaningless—and far too slow.
He slept soundly. Before dawn, he began searching for a house. He was fortunate enough to quickly find a standalone home with a courtyard. Being in the capital, it was expensive—two holy gold coins per month.
After renting it, he ate outside, then visited a bookstore. He bought beginner reading and writing manuals, along with simple story collections, and returned home.
Under the blazing afternoon sun, Lillian plugged his portable solar charger into the tablet and placed the panel by the window. Sitting at his desk, he began teaching himself the world's written language.
Today was his second day in this world—the same as Subaru's.
Which meant that tonight, if nothing unexpected happened, he would be suspected as a spy by Rem due to his unfamiliar identity and the "witch's scent" clinging to him—and killed.
When that happened, the save point would update, and a new loop would begin.
Night fell.
After eating and chatting briefly with Kizmel, Lillian lay down on the bed. Some time later, a strange sensation washed over him. When he came back to his senses, he looked at the key in his hand.
"…The rewind happened."
Time rewound to the moment just after he had paid the rent and received the key.
Standing at the front gate, Lillian opened the door and looked into the empty house. For some reason, a sense of irritation crept over him.
"If that's the case… doesn't this mean I'll have to run back and forth to the bookstore several times just to buy books? What a hassle."
The reason was simple: buying books happened after Subaru woke up on the "second day," while renting the house occurred before that. As a result, the book purchases were erased by the rewind. That meant every reset forced him to buy the same books all over again. Calling it troublesome would be an understatement—but there was no helping it.
Still, there was an upside.
Anything he learned before a rewind wasn't forgotten. In other words, his effective study time was massively extended. With that thought, Lillian couldn't help but think—somewhat unscrupulously:
"So… fellow Earth native, for the sake of me mastering most commonly used characters in a short time, I'll have to trouble you to die a few more times."