After persistently tracking the suspects for several days, they successfully dealt with all of them using magic and spirit arts without raising suspicion.

They eliminated the high-risk individuals and Kiriel used mental magic to confuse the ambiguous ones. Even after returning to the mansion, he couldn’t hide his regret.

“My sister is better at mental magic. That’s unfortunate.”

“It helped enough, so it’s fine. Magic really has a wide range of uses and is convenient.”

“That’s natural. Ah, of course spirit arts are excellent too.”

“Yes.”

Unfortunately, they couldn’t identify the mastermind, but they vaguely suspected it was a noble. No matter how deeply they tried to investigate, there were limits to accessing information.

Naturally, since they left no traces throughout their work and no one witnessed them, they didn’t fall under suspicion and no warning text appeared. Their bond grew stronger as they worked together.

After completely eliminating the dangerous elements within their scope of suspicion, they were currently working at the jewelry store. Kana occasionally checked the situation through the spirit attached to the female protagonist while speaking.

“……It’s good we cleared out all the dangerous elements, but I wonder if new people might appear soon?”

“That could happen, but we’ll have to protect her somehow. Has the spirit said anything unusual?”

“No.”

Kana nodded. Kiriel examined a reserved piece of jewelry from different angles before placing it in a velvet box and blurted out.

“It would be nice if we succeed in this round.”

“Indeed.”

She closed her eyes and prayed earnestly.

* * *

After various trials, they entered the fourth round. Only 6 chances remained. Sitting cross-legged on the sofa in the familiar initial situation, Kiriel gave a hollow laugh.

“What the hell, the third round ended so absurdly. Who would have thought the female protagonist would die from being hit by a flowerpot.”

“I’m sorry, I didn’t expect that disaster would strike during the brief moment I withdrew the spirit.”

Kana bowed her head and sincerely apologized. Though the timing was coincidental, it was her mistake.

All their hard work protecting the female protagonist had turned to nothing in an instant.

Kiriel gently patted her slumped shoulders.

“Kana, don’t blame yourself too much. It happened during the brief moment you took a break after keeping the spirit attached all along. Better than collapsing from overdoing it.”

“……Yes. This time I’ll watch out for that damn flowerpot too.”

Kana clenched her fists and gritted her teeth. Kiriel suggested with a serious expression.

“Let’s secretly remove or break the flowerpot.”

“Good idea.”

Silence fell after her forceful response. Suddenly Kiriel mussed his hair and muttered.

“First cause was a blade, second was poison, third was a flowerpot…… Even so, the female protagonist seems to die too easily.”

“I know. Honestly, I think it’s severe enough to feel artificial.”

Though it was clearly a romance genre, the development was turning into a thriller mystery. Even though their mission was to prevent the female protagonist’s death, it was excessively harsh on Elina.

‘She already suffered greatly while the male lead was accumulating bad karma…… Isn’t it too much for her life to be threatened in the foreign country she fled to?’

Though she usually avoided empathizing with characters after getting used to her supporting role, this was too pitiful. Shadows fell across Kana’s face.

Kiriel got up and sat close to Kana. He naturally wrapped his arm around her waist and voiced his speculation.

“At this point, it seems like the whole world wants the female protagonist dead. Could it be the influence of whatever she carries inside?”

“……That could be. Maybe that something causes misfortune for its owner or triggers violent tendencies in certain people.”

Kana furrowed her brows while playing with the ends of her hair. It was a plausible hypothesis since in the second round, someone who had been affected by Kiriel’s mental magic acted normally but then almost threatened Elina.

“Hmm, I didn’t notice any commonalities or peculiarities among the people related to the female protagonist’s death……”

Kiriel’s voice dragged slowly. Kana clapped her hands as a thought suddenly crossed her mind.

“Ah right, come to think of it, the female protagonist wasn’t in danger before the sub male lead appeared. Maybe Cedric is also connected to her death?”

“Indeed, we can’t rule out the possibility that he’s behind it. Let’s keep an eye on that aspect too.”

Kiriel seriously accepted her opinion. Kana tapped her thigh with her fingers and carefully brought up a point.

“But if the sub male lead is involved in ‘that incident’, it could be troublesome.”

“Why?”

“Because he’s deeply connected to our jewelry store setting. If we carelessly interfere without knowing enough, it could cause problems with our setting.”

“Ah, we have to consider that aspect too. How bothersome. We can’t touch him recklessly.”

Kiriel clicked his tongue with an annoyed expression. Kana held his hand firmly and spoke deliberately.

“But if we determine for certain that he’s connected to the female protagonist’s death, we’ll have to deal with him even if it risks destabilizing the setting. Completing our mission is more important.”

“Yeah.”

“Then let’s set up the initial routine first this time too. After that, we should work while dealing with people related to the female protagonist’s death.”

“Right.”

Just as they finished discussing and were about to leave the mansion, they heard a knock at the door. Kiriel’s eyebrows rose.

“What? Wasn’t no one supposed to come at this time?”

“Right. The initial state should always have been fixed…… Just in case, I’ll scout with a spirit before opening the door.”

Kana immediately summoned Celia. Feeling a similar sensation as before, the wind spirit calmly asked.

[Kana, fourth round?]

‘Yeah. I thought we’d succeed this time but failed rather pointlessly.’

[You still have chances left, so keep going. You’ll definitely succeed.]

‘Thanks.’

Kana’s lips curved into a gentle line at her reliable partner’s encouragement. Celia chuckled and mentioned their initial routine.

[Should I transfer the list’s energy first this time too?]

‘Check who’s outside first.’

[Alright.]

Celia slipped out through the slightly open window. After checking the visitor as requested by her contractor, the spirit muttered in considerable surprise.

[Huh? It’s Elina?]

“What?”

Kana was so startled she unconsciously spoke out loud. Kiriel was equally surprised and checked her expression.

“Kana, what’s wrong?”

“……No, the spirit says the person outside is the female protagonist?”

“Hmm, certainly a surprising visitor. Let’s open the door and assess the situation.”

“Okay.”

Kana dismissed the spirit summon. Kiriel lightly snapped his fingers and the door opened.

Elina stood there trembling, her face bloodless and pale. She clearly looked unstable and frightened.

“……Excuse me. I live in the neighboring house and came to say hello.”

“Ah, please come in.”

Kana responded kindly to the female protagonist and seated her at the table. Kiriel watched the situation with narrowed eyes while standing behind with his arms crossed.

Meanwhile, Kana set out warm tea and cookies in front of Elina and deliberately gave an awkward smile.

“I’m sorry. We haven’t lived here long, so I don’t have much to serve to neighbors.”

“Oh, no. You’re being so considerate even though I came without notice, I’m grateful.”

Elina forced a smile while fidgeting with the teacup handle. Her rapidly beating heart calmed somewhat at her neighbor’s consistently kind attitude.

Though the husband gave off a somewhat chilly atmosphere, she completely understood since not many people would feel friendly toward an unfamiliar neighbor who barged in without notice.

Kana waited for the female protagonist’s condition to improve before speaking with a gentle smile.

“May I ask your name and reason for visiting?”

“Yes. My name is Elina. As for the reason…… it might sound strange if I say it…… ah.”

Elina stumbled over her words, unable to say what she had meant to ask. It was the typical appearance of someone who had experienced something major.

Sensing something was up, Kana gently comforted her with a warm expression.

“I don’t know what happened, but it seems you need to calm down first. We won’t criticize you for saying something strange, so take a breath and tell us slowly.”

“……Yes.”

Elina slowly sipped her tea and ate some cookies.

By the time Kana and Kiriel had exercised their patience waiting, her lips finally parted.

“Actually, I think I’m repeating a certain period.”

“What?”

Kana raised her eyebrows. Could it be that the female protagonist was aware of the repeating time loops? Before the surprised Kana could say more, Elina added with an awkward laugh in a trembling voice.

“Haha, it sounds really absurd, right? The reason I’m telling this to you, Miss Kana and Mr. Kiriel, is because while everyone else repeats exactly the same actions, only you two changed slightly.”

“Is that so?”

Though it was quite surprising that she had noticed their slightly different actions each round, Kana maintained a gentle smile.

Elina felt somewhat relieved at her listener’s serious attitude. At least she wasn’t being thrown out for being crazy. Gripping her skirt tightly, she gathered her courage and spoke.

“Yes. And somehow I felt like you two were helping me…… I wanted to confirm. If I’m not the only one repeating this period, I’d like to figure out the cause and situation together.”