Kiriel burst out laughing while looking at Kana and the spirit. Though one couldn’t continue speaking and the other’s voice couldn’t be heard, he could tell what they were both feeling.

He held out the snow essence to her as she just blinked in a slightly dazed state.

“Kana, try using the snow essence again.”

“Alright.”

Kana immediately swallowed the snow essence she received and closed her eyes. Perhaps because this was already the third time including this one, the process of embracing and storing the energy wasn’t difficult.

Her eyelids slowly lifted. Kiriel asked while looking at her green eyes that were as calm as a still lake’s surface.

“How is it?”

“My spirit energy increased more.”

“That’s really great.”

“Thank you, Kiriel. I wish we had known this fact earlier……”

Kana clicked her tongue and trailed off. Though it was almost like cheating, she regretted missing the chance to increase her spirit energy. Kiriel comforted her while patting her back.

“It’s fine that we realized and used it now. Don’t regret what’s passed too much.”

“Yes.”

Kana finally shook off her lingering regret and steeled herself. Seeing her eyes come back to life, Kiriel changed the subject.

“Now that the situation is roughly sorted out, should we match the initial settings again from the start?”

“Yes. We can do it similarly to the fourth round overall, but skip and pass over parts that can be reasonably omitted.”

“Right.”

Just as they finished discussing and were about to move, they heard knocking from outside. Kiriel reflexively looked at her.

“Kana, could it be the female protagonist again?”

“I think so too.”

At her confident answer, Kiriel snapped his fingers. As the door opened, they saw the female protagonist standing there with an anxious expression. Elina carefully waved while looking back and forth between the two.

“Miss Kana, Mr. Kiriel!”

“Welcome, Miss Elina.”

Kana welcomed her with a soft smile and led her to the table. Then she brought out tea and cookies like on the first day of the fourth round.

Elina awkwardly sipped her tea before setting down the cup. She squeezed her eyes shut and finally bowed her head deeply in apology.

“……I’m so sorry!”

“What? Why?”

“You two even took care of the person trying to kill me, but we’re back at this point again because of my fault.”

She felt sorry for not being able to endure when her neighbors had worked hard to remove the threat to her safety. Elina bit her lip, overwhelmed by feelings of helplessness and self-loathing.

Kana gently comforted the female protagonist who couldn’t lift her head.

“It’s not your fault, Miss Elina. Please lift your head.”

“But……”

Though Elina lifted her head, she still shrank back. Kana corrected her words in a gentle tone.

“If we had to place blame, it would be on that ‘something’ that screamed when Miss Elina died and your ex-husband who suddenly appeared.”

“……Come to think of it, I showed you all an embarrassing sight. I never thought Kyle would chase me all the way here.”

Elina brushed back her disheveled hair with a troubled expression. She looked confused from facing her ex-husband whose attitude had changed on top of an already overwhelming situation.

Kana responded matter-of-factly.

“Duke Dekrom would certainly be capable of investigating this much.”

“Miss Kana, did I die because I met Kyle?”

Her blue eyes shook violently. Kana hesitated while looking at the female protagonist’s pale face before answering honestly.

“Well, though your ex-husband certainly caused emotional shock…… I think there was a bigger cause. Actually, we saw something appear after you collapsed.”

“Is that so?”

“Yes, though it’s not an easy being to deal with, we’ll try our best to stop it. We need to escape this repeating cycle together.”

Kana’s eyes flashed as she clenched her fist tightly. Elina fidgeted while asking the neighbor who was burning with fighting spirit.

“Ah, then what should I do?”

“You just needs to carefully take care of herself like before. Though it will be difficult, I hope you can hold on until we succeed.”

“Yes! I’m just sorry that I can’t do anything while you two are always helping me.”

Elina let out a deep sigh with a face full of worry. Kana gently wrapped both hands around hers.

“It’s alright. Just enduring this situation is amazing enough for Miss Elina who’s directly involved.”

“Thank you, Miss Kana.”

Elina’s complexion improved considerably. After comforting her well, Kana attached a gnome instead of Celia who needed to coordinate with her and sent her back. After the female protagonist left, Kiriel glanced at the closed door and spoke.

“Fortunately, it seems the female protagonist has regained her composure. I wonder if she’ll endure well this round too?”

“She probably will, but she could suddenly collapse at any moment. When people feel like struggling is useless, they become helpless.”

The female protagonist giving up in despair was something Kana was wary of, along with their remaining chances decreasing.

Kiriel’s eyes turned serious at her subdued voice.

“……We’ll succeed before that happens.”

“Yes.”

Kana also nodded resolutely. They went outside the mansion to create a better environment for working.

* * *

Time flew by as they repeated the initial routine and persuaded the sub male protagonist.

Their relationship with the female protagonist grew even stronger. Unlike previous rounds, rather than building friendship, they focused on comforting her complicated feelings about meeting her ex-husband and repeated deaths.

Finally, the day of the male protagonist’s appearance arrived. Kana, who had already summoned spirits flanking both sides, muttered in a slightly trembling voice.

“I hope everything goes well according to plan……”

“We can do it. Let’s stay strong.”

Kiriel, holding the monster-sealing magic tool, gently stroked her cheek with his other hand. Kana took a slow deep breath and smiled.

“Yes, let’s go to the flower shop now.”

“Right.”

The two left the jewelry store in a thoroughly prepared state. Then they met the female protagonist in front of the flower shop like in the final scene of the 4th round. Unlike then, a grave atmosphere hung between the three people.

Kana gently soothed the slightly stiff Elina while lightening the mood.

“Miss Elina, thank you for coming out readily even though facing this again must have been difficult.”

“Not at all. You two are working so hard, I should cooperate to the best of my ability too. You’re prepared for that situation now, right?”

Elina’s gaze swept over the two. Though they looked ordinary on the outside, they exuded an aura of being thoroughly ready.

Kiriel tossed and caught the translucent gray cube reinforced with magic stones while responding.

“Yeah, though it’s more of an attempt than a complete solution, so there’s no guarantee of success on the first try.”

“That’s fine. I believe in you two.”

Her blue eyes shone with determination. Just as all three nodded simultaneously as if pre-arranged, the sound of approaching footsteps was heard. The male protagonist had appeared with his knight escorts.

“Elina?”

“Yes. I didn’t expect to meet Duke Dekrom here.”

Having already met him in the previous round, Elina was indifferent. She was more concerned about her neighbor couple who were watching the situation and taking positions than her ex-husband.

Kana glanced at the female protagonist and signaled with her hand to continue the conversation appropriately. Elina winked one eye in silent acknowledgment.

Though Kyle was somewhat taken aback by her unexpectedly composed and indifferent appearance, he struggled to continue the conversation.

“We’re married, so there’s no need to suddenly address me so formally. Call me Kyle.”

“When I called you by name before, you told me not to act familiar. So I used the title you wanted, but is there some problem?”

Elina’s eyebrows twitched as she sarcastically recalled her life in House Dekrom.

“Elina.”

“What? I don’t want to hear my name from your mouth.”

She responded coldly while sharply turning her head away. Far from wavering according to the rough plot, she appeared completely detached.

‘Elina has suffered a lot because of that man.’

While Kana and Kiriel watched the situation with disinterested gazes thinking the same thing, an anxious Kyle reached out to Elina.

“Elina, stop being stubborn. Let’s go back together.”

“I don’t want to. Aren’t we already over?”

There was no soul in Elina’s voice.

Thanks to Kana’s thoughtful and gentle mental care, the shock of encountering her ex-husband had been somewhat eased.

Moreover, she was slightly worn down inside from dying and repeating time several times.

Sparks flew in Kyle’s eyes. He gritted his teeth and growled.

“Elina, you can’t just secretly leave papers in my office and end things on your own. That’s not valid.”

“Ha, you were so cold when I tried so hard, but now……”

As Elina was sneering and counterattacking, she suddenly staggered. It was the preliminary symptom of the magic dragon emerging from her body before taking form.

While Kana and Kiriel’s gazes crossed, Elina collapsed powerlessly like a puppet with cut strings. Kyle, who had hesitated, hurriedly stretched out his arms to support her body.

“Elina?”

The scenery froze. The two immediately sprang into action and approached the protagonists.

While Kiriel cast barriers around them, Kana slowly released her spirit energy. Kyle’s eyes narrowed.

“You two, who were speaking with Elina earlier…”

“When I signal later, protect Miss Elina and move back.”

Kana cut off his words with an urgent expression. There was no time to listen to the male protagonist’s rambling.

While Kyle was taken aback by her forcefulness, the familiar black smoke began pouring out from around Elina’s chest. At the same time, the wind spirit’s voice rang in Kana’s mind.

[Kana, should we start now?]