Gently closing the fairy-tale storybook in his hands, Lillian leaned back against the chair.
At this point, time had rewound five times. In reality, thirty days had passed—but
according to the loop, today was still only the "fifth day."
Using this accumulated time, Lillian had managed to grasp basic character recognition and writing. His vocabulary was around a thousand words—not much, but enough to read and write the most commonly used ones. As for rarely used technical terms, he didn't feel any need to force himself to learn them.
After all, he had already decided how to define his identity in this world: A mercenary whose parents died young and who never received much education.
If someone like that knew everything under the sun, that would be suspicious. As for why an ordinary mercenary possessed such strength—no one had questioned it yet. But if someone did in the future, Lillian planned to answer simply:
"I possess the Divine Protection of [Strength Amplification]."
In this world, Divine Protections were intangible and unverifiable. You could claim you had one, and no one could truly disprove it.
"Subaru should be able to survive the 'fifth day' this time, right?"
Lillian stood up. After so many resets, Subaru should have uncovered the truth by now. Once he resolved the issue, the story would move into the Royal Selection arc. That was when the plot truly began—and danger would follow one after another.
From that point onward, every move would have to be made with extreme caution.
With those thoughts, he walked over to the bookshelf and took out a book—one that Elsa had sent him.
Her efficiency was impressive. By the third day, she had already delivered everything he asked for. However…
This magic book was completely incomprehensible to him.
His understanding of magic in this world was limited to basic knowledge gathered from explanations.
First was the concept of the "Gate."
The Gate was an organ present in all animals and plants, responsible for absorbing atmospheric mana and releasing magic. The number and size of one's Gates determined their magical aptitude.
Through the Gate, humans could absorb mana (also known as magical energy), store it in their bodies, and release it when casting spells. It was worth noting that this was how humans used magic. Spirits—being beings of pure energy—could directly manipulate atmospheric mana, making spellcasting far easier for them than for human mages.
Then there was "Od"—soul power or life force.
Once a person's mana was depleted, forcibly casting magic would begin consuming Od instead. Prolonged use would shorten one's lifespan, and not at a trivial rate. As such, almost no one would intentionally overdraw their Od unless facing a life-or-death situation.
For example, during the battle against Elsa, Puck had warned Emilia that even consuming Od was acceptable in a critical moment.
Beyond Gates, mana, and Od came the attributes of magic, which were divided into:
Fire, Water, Wind, Earth, Yin, and Yang.
Fire governed temperature-related magic.
Water governed life and healing.
Wind governed external buffs and enhancements.
Earth governed internal enhancements.
Yin governed special magic such as space, gravity, and negative awakenings.
Yang governed large-scale restoration magic and certain unknown effects.
A representative example was Puck—a Great Spirit of Fire. In this world, Fire represented temperature, so it didn't conflict with his mastery of ice magic.
Water, on the other hand, was exemplified by Felix—the cross-dressing healer—who specialized in recovery magic.
As for Lillian's own affinity?
He had no idea.
He tried to sense the "Gate" within his body—but felt absolutely nothing. Not even the faintest trace. This filled him with a bad premonition. If he truly had no Gate at all, then all his effort would be meaningless.
"…Looks like having a teacher to guide you is absolutely essential."
Closing the book, Lillian let out a quiet sigh. Finding such a mentor was easier said than done. Mages were rare in this world. Most were hired by nobles as retainers, while powerful ones were recruited directly into the royal court.
If he wanted competent magical guidance quickly, joining a major faction was the fastest route.
"What a pain."
He ran a hand through his hair. After a month without a haircut, his bangs were nearly covering his eyes. In his irritation, he only made it messier.
The plot of this world moved relentlessly forward. There was no time for him to slowly research magic at his leisure. At one point, he even entertained a disturbing thought:
Once I grasp the basics of magic, maybe I could buy research time by repeatedly assassinating Subaru.
Objectively speaking, it was feasible. Lillian knew Subaru's secret, and the gap in their strength was enormous. Subaru could return by death and eventually discover that Rem killed him—but even after a hundred or a thousand loops, he'd never uncover Lillian as the culprit, provided Lillian concealed it well.
However, there was one massive flaw in this plan.
Lillian didn't know whether the Witch of Envy inside Subaru possessed other powers. If she did, then acting this way would be tantamount to suicide. The Witch loved Subaru deeply—she would never tolerate Lillian doing something like that. If she could interfere with reality in other ways, the consequences would be disastrous.
Thus, it was only a thought.
Unless he was ever truly cornered, Lillian had no intention of targeting Subaru. If things could change, then change them. If they couldn't—then cutting through was also an option.
His gaze drifted to the black longsword beneath the bookshelf. It had arrived together with the magic book.
He didn't know where Elsa had obtained it, nor what material it was made of, but its sharpness was exceptional. The weight was perfect, and the grip felt excellent. With this sword, combat would be far more convenient—no need to think about stealing Rom's massive club anymore.
After reading for a while, he was about to put the book back when suddenly—
The book in his hands turned into a key.
He was standing in front of the rented house again.
"…Another rewind?"
Lillian froze, genuinely surprised. He had thought Subaru would have resolved everything this time. In the original storyline, the issue was solved on the fifth loop. Everyone was happy, and the group prepared to head to the capital for the Royal Selection.
So why had it rewound again?
Confused, he entered the house—
And then, things changed.
---
Under the cover of night, Lillian left with his sword in hand and hired the best ground dragon available, heading straight for Roswaal's territory.
After that, the world rewound three more times.
Nine times in total.
Nearly double the original five loops.
And in each of the last three loops, the rewind occurred on the fifth day.
In other words, for some unknown reason, Subaru was stuck on this exact day.
Why?
What had gone wrong?
Lillian didn't know—but he couldn't keep waiting endlessly.
So after another rewind, he made a decisive move. As soon as Elsa delivered the weapons on the third day, he set out for Roswaal's mansion to investigate personally.
[Note: Sorry, the website I was using for the raw is down for a week which is why I haven't been able to upload this past week. I also don't stack chapters unless I plan to do a mass release that's why I wasn't able upload anything.]