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I clutched my pounding chest

If this also failed, I would no longer be able to maintain my sanity.

"Mmm..."

Frey looked at me and groaned.

A groan.

That meant there was a chance to succeed.

When I failed before, he didn\'t even groan.

Please... it\'s me Ruby... say my name, Frey...

The process of clearing the first stage of the quest, which was to atone for all of my ‘sins’, was truly hellish.

After Ferloche gave me her bead, the number of Frey\'s soul beads in my possession didn\'t increase, even after multiple cycles.

"We can\'t forgive you."

"From the start, we didn\'t even have the right. Frey is the one who you should ask for forgiveness, don\'t you think?”

"Hey...!"

"Please get lost."

The sins I had accumulated ran deeper than I had thought.

It was natural.

Through the countless Frey’s and Ferloche’s Retry, I had committed countless atrocities.

"Ah..."

I realized this when the four girls beat me to the brink of death and chased me away.

"Their souls..."

The souls of the four girls were also severely damaged, though not as much as Frey\'s or Ferloche\'s.

Their souls had to be affected by accumulating connections and karma through repeated retries.

The reason they realized Frey’s ‘False Evil’ so quickly and blindly devoted themselves to him was because of the connections they built up with Frey over countless cycles.

Because of that, it was natural for them to show hostility to me, who had committed despicable deeds in that countless cycle.

Especially sensitive to matters related to \'souls\', perhaps that was the reason.

After repeating regressions while pondering such thoughts, I was able to discover a strategy.

From the start, attempting to atone to all four at once was quite an arrogant thought of mine.

The calculation showed that to release the grudge on their souls and to make an atonement, I had to use one entire cycle for each of them.

I was truly flustered when I first found this out.

Could it be that it was a quest that couldn\'t be cleared in the first place?

"...This is the punishment I\'m imposing on you."

"Ugh..."

“Atone for your remaining sins in hell.”

Fortunately, I could see that it wasn\'t impossible to clear.

"Goodbye, Ruby."

By dedicating an entire cycle to Aria, who had the most interaction with me after Frey, I learned the truth.

I cared for her mind and spirit until the end of the cycle and made her into a noble and brave hero.

Then I told her the truth.

The Hero Aria pierced my chest with the Hero’s Armament while shedding tears.

[Atone to His Family (1/2)]

When I opened my eyes in the next cycle, the quest remained clear.

I learned that a quest cleared once remained cleared even after regression.

It was both good news and bad news.

Aria\'s soul was the purest among those who I needed to atone to.

Her brother particularly cherished her.

Others, adorned with connections and wounds, were much harder to atone to than Aria.

“You... are the Demon King.”

I didn\'t know parental anger could be so terrifying.

Frey\'s father, Abraham.

A man riddled with misfortune who had no choice but to sacrifice his child for the world, knowing the future his child would face.

If Aria, who had been influenced to some extent from clearing the quest, hadn\'t helped me, it would have been nearly impossible for me to atone to him.

"I’ll save your son... Then I\'ll die. I\'ll definitely commit suicide..."

"... Get out of my house."

When he opened his eyes, his son had become the Demon King, the lifelong loyal servants had betrayed him, and his own daughter had killed his son.

Shocked by such a situation, Abraham always ended up in a state of full-body paralysis.

To him, I shed tears and begged, again and again.

One cruel aspect in all of this was that for Abraham to awaken, Frey needed to die.

In the end, until Abraham\'s heart was moved by my sincerity, I, along with Aria, had no choice but to kill the one I loved the most in the world multiple times.

"... Just take a break."

"...!!!"

"Bring back my son, atone your sins to him, not to me."

[Atone to His Family (2/2)]

One of the most dreadful moments in her regression ended with Abraham uttering those words.

"Thank... you..."

"Don\'t thank me. Just leave. I want to close my eyes quietly."

"..."

The trickery began after that.

If someone’s heart was firmly closed, she had to do countless regressions just to atone and heal the wound in their soul.

Because the target of that hatred was someone as repulsive and terrible as me, the healing speed was as slow as a snail, but eventually, her hard work paid off.

"Swear as a knight, no... swear to yourself. That you\'ll bring him back, no matter the cost."

"..."

[Atone to His Knight, And Your Kin(2/2)]

Isolet, shedding tears from her eyes as she plunged the sword into my heart.

And Lulu, looking at me with a vacant expression.

... How did I atone to Lulu?

I couldn’t remember.

Why was that?

Anyway, to move their hearts, I had to regress more than the sum of Aria\'s and Abraham\'s regressions.

"If the Young Master can return... it doesn\'t matter anymore. Even if you\'re the Devil itself... Even if it’s you, the Demon King... I\'ll use you."

"You must be sincere to be able to withstand that curse. Bring Frey back and then we\'ll talk."

"Why are you trying to be a slave of the Sunrise Empire? Bring Frey back and be bound to him."

"...Good job."

But after all, the most difficult thing was to move the hearts of the four girls.

Becoming Kania\'s maid, becoming Irina\'s magical experiment subject, becoming the half-crazed Clana\'s servant, entering Serena\'s basement, and so on.

I had to make efforts to erase the sins I had committed as much as the regressions I had undergone.

I... was I always this disgusting…?

At first, it was so difficult that tears came to my eyes, but later, that was the only thought that came to mind.

The amount of pain, despair, and agony these girls felt because of me all this time.

I couldn\'t complain about healing the wounds that I myself inflicted.

[Atone to His Wives (4/4)]

"Hah, haaaa..."

After atoning to everyone and receiving the souls\' beads,

I, who had swallowed them so that they would not be affected by Retry, took them out of my stomach as soon as I returned.

"Please..."

After many trials and errors, I gathered them together and put them into Frey\'s mouth.

By the way, I also went through a few regressions to find the appropriate way of feeding the beads.

To the point where my once intact soul began to deteriorate.

"Ugh..."

It felt like It could shatter into pieces at any moment.

Closing my eyes and collapsing to the ground, I felt like I could sleep for years.

Even though I knew I couldn\'t, the desire to rest now suddenly surged up.

Since my soul’s life span was incredibly short, it was inevitable to feel that way.

"...Hey."

"Uh, huh?"

However, those emotions vanished in an instant when Frey opened his eyes and spoke in a firm voice.

"Frey!!! Y-you\'ve returned? For real? Really...!? Y-you\'ve finally come back for real?"

"..."

What followed was immense happiness, fulfillment, and...

"It\'s me! M-me me! Ruby!! Your–"

Retry Quest

[2 - 01]

[Recover Frey\'s Memories]

It was the second quest…

"Who are you?"

"...What."

And a momentary dazed feeling.

"W-who are you?"

Now, faint memories from the past, when he lost his memory, vaguely floated in my mind.

"Ah..."

At the same time, my mind suddenly turned cold.

It\'s okay. It\'s just the second stage now.

The second stage was practically the final stage.

A stage where I had to revisit everything

With all that I had done so far, I definitely could restore his memories… Right?

[Retry points are being reassigned.]

"Ah, ah..."

But upon seeing the next prompt, I couldn\'t help but sink into the ground with a pale expression.

[Remaining retry count: 1]

Despite my denial, the truth was cruel.

My soul, already broken, was so weakened that it couldn\'t withstand even one regression.

In other words, this cycle was practically her last chance.

"Who...?"

- Squeeze...!

The final chance.

This moment could be the last time I could see Frey’s face.

"I am... Ruby."

To seize that moment, I hugged him tightly and said with a wide smile.

"Ruby?"

"Yes. Your most precious gem."

"..."

Seeing his puzzled expression upon hearing that, it was understandable. He has no memories, after all.

"From today... stay with me."

"With you?"

"Yes, help me recover your forgotten memories together."

But there was no need to worry.

Because now, I remember him.

Perfectly.

"Let’s leave. Just the two of us."

I took Frey’s hand, who still had a confused expression, and stood up.

"Come with me... Oh, right."

Before leaving with him, I needed to stop by the ship and grab Roswyn\'s book.

"Could you wait for a moment?"

Since this was my last chance

I needed to double-check my memories thoroughly once again.

.

.

.

.

.

The journey with Frey, who had no memories, was incredibly joyful.

"Frey, you\'ve got something on your lips. Let me wipe it for you."

"Oh, thanks..."

- Chu~

"...!?"

We shared meals of rye bread, along with potato soup.

"Isn\'t this play enjoyable, Frey?"

"Um... yes, it is."

"Do you happen to remember anything?"

"Well, I\'m not sure."

We attended plays and masquerades together.

"Why are we suddenly in a cave?"

"I like caves, hehe."

"C-caves?"

"Shall we spend the night here?"

"I... I don\'t like the dark."

"Oh, right... Sorry."

We went cave exploring.

- Squeeze...♡

"Um, um."

"Hehe."

I secretly cuddled with Frey in the Sunrise Academy dormitory bed for hours while he slept.

"J-just die..."

"K-Keughh..."

Sometimes, Frey would be dominated by his Demon King persona, and he strangled me, but it didn\'t matter.

After dying countless times, being choked now felt almost cute.

- Pat, pat...

"P-please... a-abuse... me... Lord Frey."

- Rustle

"D-do you want... to hit my belly...? T-This is… your property."

And when I softly patted Frey\'s back while he was choking me, he quickly stopped.

Indeed, Frey was not a man who would submit easily to the persona of the Demon King.

- Thump… Thump…

Rather, his rough treatment reminded me of the old days and made my heart race.

"Hey..."

"I love you. I love you. I really love you."

"..."

Continuing our journey together, we now sit on the empty rooftop of the academy, leaning our heads against each other.

"Do you... love me, Frey?"

"...I\'m not sure."

"I see..."

I asked, hoping for a different answer, but his response remained unchanged.

Why doesn\'t it change?

Why doesn\'t he remember?

"Haha, well... that\'s... possible. Hehe..."

I forced a casual smile, but it didn\'t erase my anxiety.

The countdown to the end was approaching.

If my soul could endure a little longer, I would regress infinitely just to move his heart.

But why now, at the very end...

"I don\'t want to..."

"...?"

Tears that I tried to hold back began to flow incessantly.

If I fail now... If my soul shatters into pieces... What will become of me?

It doesn\'t matter if I die. I\'ve already accepted that.

But the thought of never seeing Frey again terrifies me.

The idea of disappearing forever, without him ever remembering or acknowledging me, is frightening.

"What’s wrong?"

"Oh, it\'s nothing. Hehe."

But this was not the time for this.

Time flew as we spoke.

And however slim, there was surely hope.

So...

"It\'s a gift."

"A gift?"

I retrieved something precious that I treasured for so long.

"Close your eyes."

"Oh, okay..."

With a trembling smile, I placed the item around Frey\'s neck as he closed his eyes.

- Rustle...

"Hehe."

It was quite crude, as I made it with my own hands based on what I remember... But I did my best.

Please, I hoped he remembered.

Please...

"...I\'ll be right back. Just need to use the restroom."

"Okay."

I suddenly realized tears were streaming down my cheeks.

I couldn’t let Frey see me like this.

I needed to compose myself.

"Should I keep my eyes closed until then?"

"..."

I headed towards the exit of the rooftop, clutching my trembling hands tightly.

Please... Frey. You also drew that picture back then. You still remember, don\'t you...?

Retry Quest

[2 - 01]

[Recover Frey\'s Memories]

Please remember me.

.

.

.

.

.

"Ugh..."

As Ruby stepped out of the rooftop, I quietly opened my eyes and let out a groan.

"This is annoying."

Another gift, huh? I wondered what it was this time.

A sandwich that was labeled as an egg sandwich but has a lot of salmon inside?

A tasteless rye bread?

"Phew."

Unexpectedly, my memory seemed intact, so I had planned to pretend to have amnesia and observe Ruby\'s actions during this opportunity.

But Ruby\'s recent behavior was strange.

Based on what she was doing, she seemed to be trying to help me recover lost memories.

But all of her actions were things I didn’t remember.

No, come to think of it, it made sense that I didn’t remember.

My connection with Ruby was fabricated by me.

At most, the only memories we shared might be the short moments when I began to tame her through violence...

"Huh."

Thinking of these thoughts, I looked at the object hanging around my neck that Ruby had just put on me, and I couldn\'t help but widen my eyes.

"Wait a minute."

A necklace-like item was hanging around my neck.

"What\'s this..."

It looked quite crude, but I could immediately grasp its identity.

"No way."

This was a pendant.

It was the mysterious pendant that I received from the legendary craftsman Rosinante along with the \'Cloak of Deception\' the day before the start of the second semester last year.

A strange pendant with a mysterious ability that connected me with the \'Retry Frey\' stored in the Third Ordeal.

I tried countless times to open it, but it never budged, so I always kept it with me.

That was why I could tell.

The pendant Ruby just gave me was remarkably similar, albeit crude, to that Easter egg.

"What the hell."

No, not just similar.

The design, the size, and even the material...

They were completely identical.

"What the hell, seriously."

How did she know about this?