“Not yet.”

“Whew, that’s a relief.”

Kiriel wiped his chest. Kana gently comforted him.

“Don’t worry too much. You don’t seem like that kind of person.”

“I love you, Kana.”

“Me too.”

After her response, the two were enveloped in silence. Kana stared intently at him, his eyes still clear, before bringing up a different topic.

“By the way, when we were dining earlier, I got information from the spirits doing real-time reconnaissance, but there didn’t seem to be any dangerous elements in the mansion. I wonder how the female protagonist ends up dying.”

“Hmm, she doesn’t seem like someone who would make enemies either.”

“Right. She has such a gentle personality.”

The information they received was quite shoddy, and since there was no mention of the attack, there weren’t many clues. Kiriel wiggled his fingers.

“It’s frustrating, but for now we’ve cast protection magic, so we’ll just have to keep watching.”

“Yes. Though I’m concerned that the protection magic only activates when the person recognizes they’re in danger.”

“Even though this world clearly lacks energy, the female protagonist has some resistance to magic, so that protection magic was relatively stable. Could it be the influence of something vague she carries inside?”

His straight brows furrowed. They still hadn’t figured out what that something was inside the female protagonist. Kana let out a shallow sigh and agreed.

“Probably. Seeing how the spirit stone slightly bounces off, I have an ominous feeling.”

“Maybe we’ll solve the mystery while carrying out the mission.”

“True.”

They continued talking about safety issues for a while longer before falling asleep.

In the dead of night when no one was passing by on the street, Kana lifted her eyelids feeling her body shake in her sleep.

“……What’s happening?”

“Kana, sorry to wake you while sleeping, but I have a bad feeling. It’s not normal to visit someone’s house at this hour, right?”

“What, someone went to the female protagonist’s house?”

She quickly got up, now wide awake. Kiriel answered with a serious expression.

“Yeah, several markers are located at the female protagonist’s mansion. There’s no reaction from the protection magic, but we should go check, right?”

“We should.”

Just as Kiriel was about to use teleportation magic, red text was engraved in the air.

〈Warning! The female protagonist has died by blade. Returning to the beginning to start over.

9 chances remain.〉

Both pairs of eyes remained fixed on the air. It was shocking and sudden. Kiriel frowned while containing the mana he was about to use.

“Is it warning us that the female protagonist just died?”

“……Yes.”

After her stiff response, the dark room suddenly brightened. The time of day instantly changed from night to day. It felt like they had returned to the initial state.

Kana reflexively grimaced and glanced at Kiriel.

“Kiriel, the current situation……”

“Yeah, seems like we’ve returned to when we first started. All the markers we left are completely gone too.”

Kiriel slightly stiffened his expression as he clenched and unclenched his hand. Meanwhile, Kana slowly took a deep breath to regain her composure and quickly got to the point.

“Fortunately, our memories remain even after restarting. Did anything stand out to you?”

“Yeah, there were some people whose positions changed before the text appeared.”

Kiriel’s eyes turned sharp. Kana stroked her chin while listening to the people and their movements that he described.

“Hmm, since the warning text said she died by blade, were those people assassins? We should probably finish the initial setup from day one and then secretly deal with them depending on the situation.”

“Right.”

“Before going out, I’ll first check with Celia if the list remains.”

Kana immediately summoned a wind spirit and asked.

‘Celia, is the list Kiriel sent still there?’

[Yes. I felt space and time distort briefly for a moment…… Could this be round 2?]

‘That’s right. Both Kiriel and I have our memories intact, and I’m glad your records remain complete through the energy.’

Kana gave a hollow laugh but was inwardly relieved. Celia pouted.

[I know. Geez, just hearing about the novel it seemed so peaceful, but already one chance is gone. No wonder it only got 4 stars.]

‘Hmm, I wonder if the Otherworldly Library passed off an unsolved novel they couldn’t handle…… At this point it’s reasonable to be suspicious.’

She stomped her foot and furrowed her brows. Even though she chose this herself, she couldn’t help feeling annoyed. Celia gently landed on her contractor’s shoulder.

[I agree. So Kana, were you going to ask if I could pass the list to Kiriel?]

‘Right. You know my mind well.’

[Well, it’s possible, but it might look a bit blurry to the receiver.]

Kana relayed Celia’s response directly to Kiriel.

“Kiriel, Celia says the list is still there and can be transferred, but it might be a bit blurry when transferred.”

“That’s fine. I can restore it.”

“Alright.”

As soon as Kana answered, the spirit’s voice rang in her head.

[Then I’ll send it now.]

‘Okay.’

At her permission, the spirit puffed up and blew out wind. The wind wrapped around his wrist like a thread and disappeared. Kiriel closed his eyes feeling the cool sensation, then opened them.

“The energy preservation is better than expected. I have no problem checking the list.”

“Whew, that’s good. Let’s go out now.”

“Right.”

After leaving the mansion, they went to the jewelry store like on the first day to place ‘Del’ as an employee, then went to the coffee house ‘Corn Panna’ to become acquainted with the female protagonist.

While Kana and Kiriel sipped coffee in a secluded corner, people connected to Elina’s death came as customers.

They all appeared to be ordinary, modest-looking men showing no suspicious behavior.

Kiriel naturally wiggled his finger as he set down his coffee cup. Once the sound-blocking magic was cast, he pressed close to her pretending to fix her hair and whispered.

“The ones who moved from the list are here. Come to think of it, didn’t they consistently come and watch Elina from day one until the end of the first round?”

“Right. Back then I thought they were just looking because they were interested in the pretty female protagonist…… but now it seems different. They must have been observing their target.”

Kana furrowed her brows while stroking her chin. Kiriel agreed and shrugged his shoulders.

“Yeah. Though I don’t know who the client is.”

“Could it be someone from the Lis Kingdom who maintains close ties with nobles from the empire the female protagonist fled from? Honestly, nothing stands out, but if we rough them up something might come out.”

“True.”

Nodding, Kiriel immediately let out a tiny bit of mana to leave markers on the female protagonist, the coffee house owner, and the suspicious individuals.

After straightening up and emptying their coffee cups, they exchanged glances and went outside. Kana spoke up while watching Kiriel lazily stretch.

“Kiriel, should we look around the area according to their movements?”

“Sure.”

Though the subject of ‘people related to the female protagonist’s death’ was omitted, he understood perfectly. Holding Kana’s hand, Kiriel walked slowly, matching her pace.

The places the suspects frequented were extremely ordinary. Like most people, it was just their homes, nearby shopping streets, and workplaces—all areas they had already explored.

“Their movements themselves are ordinary.”

“Right. They’re places anyone would go. Among them, I’m a bit concerned about the tavern.”

“Why?”

Kiriel tilted his head slightly. Kana answered while recalling cliché scenes she saw as a reader and real situations.

“Usually shady business happens in entertainment districts. I’ve seen many cases where taverns serve as both information brokers and channels for taking on requests.”

“True enough. Should we check it out then?”

“Yes.”

* * *

They went to the tavern that the suspects frequently visited. The tavern was located in a remote alley with few people, and it was quiet with not many customers.

The sharp-eyed tavern owner greeted them.

“Welcome. What would you like?”

“Two of your weakest drinks.”

“Understood.”

The tavern owner brought drinks in large wooden cups. Kiriel gave her a worried look.

“Is it okay to drink during the day?”

“It’s the weakest one. Besides, I’m with you.”

“……I can’t stop you.”

Kiriel shook his head seeing her bright green eyes sparkling. While they slowly drank, several more customers came and went.

One of the suspects also stopped by briefly, had a conversation in low voices with the tavern owner, went further inside, and came out much later. Kana’s eyes narrowed.

“So it was that kind of place after all.”

“Yeah.”

Their drinks were empty after watching and talking. They left the tavern, explored more, then returned to their setting’s mansion.

* * *

Sitting on the bed, Kana suddenly spoke up.

“Kiriel, should I keep spirits constantly attached to the female protagonist?”

“Wouldn’t that be difficult for you?”

Kiriel’s eyes and voice were full of worry. This was because in their original world, she had collapsed before from excessive energy consumption when she overdid things.

Kana shrugged nonchalantly.

“I think it would be fine to dedicate one spirit assuming I take short breaks in between. Maybe we could dispatch either Celia or Gnome depending on the situation?”

“Hmm, it would be a good method if it doesn’t strain your body, but……”

Kiriel hesitated uncharacteristically and trailed off. She gently played with his hand and answered kindly.

“Don’t worry. I don’t plan to mess things up by pushing myself too hard either.”

“Alright. Do as you wish then.”

“Okay.”

Kana summoned the spirits and explained the situation. Celia and Gnome answered that they would follow whatever she told them to do.