Chapter 80 Now Or In The Future
The [Return by Death] ability has been activated, and Nick appears again at the same place.
It's the entrance of his apartment building.
And he quickly takes action.
He takes out his smartphone and opens the call history.
He calls the most skilled member of SACA, 'Logan Cooper', from the list.
He has thought about this move many times.
All of this happens in just five seconds.
Ring, ring...
Luckily, Logan answers immediately.
[What's wrong? Chief (Boss).]
[Please search for something for me right away!]
As he shouts, everything goes dark in front of him.
Of course, he has been summoned to a different place.
The call suddenly gets disconnected.
This means he is in an area without network coverage, or worse, he might be outside of the country. As he starts hearing static in his ear, he feels a sharp pain in his limbs again.
It feels like he has experienced this before, he falls to the ground again, and Higashimura helps him up.
Looking at Nick's hand, which is lying on the ground, and the smartphone that he was holding, the other person smiles.
"Smartphone? I see... You're restarting, aren't you? Okay, what is the password? Say it."
Feeling hopeless as he was easily figured out, Higashimura took out his own smartphone. It seemed like he wanted to record the password. A beep echoed, and the light indicating the camera turning on lit up.
"Um, S.75.16.K.38.P..."
As Nick said the password, Higashimura, looking satisfied, once again cut Nick's neck and threw his head into the water tank.
"S.75.16.K.38.P, huh..."
While Higashimura appeared to be checking something on the smartphone, he eventually started storing Nick's body parts - torso, arms, and legs - in a storage box.
Just like that, he also took Nick's smartphone.
While looking at the screen of Nick's smartphone, Higashimura began using it. Although there should have been a lock on the screen, it seemed easy to bypass. Perhaps it was truly the power to steal memories? As Nick wondered about this...
After some time, Higashimura lifted his ear again and chuckled, as if he was trying to tell Nick something.
"No way, no way, is this really happening by chance! What are the odds... well, never mind. But I really need to share this with someone!"
With a release of his ear, Higashimura vanished while still laughing.
Nick was once again left alone in the room. Thoughts formed in his mind, leading to one conclusion.
——It's a person.
Higashimura Tadayuki is in search of someone.
And that password probably describes the person's characteristics.
S.75.16.K.38.P
S... Could it be the S from SACA as it is?
And the words that follow.
It's likely to be a name, considering its short length, possibly even initials.
And coincidentally, the name that appeared on the screen after Nick's last phone call - "Logan Cooper."
Could it be that the initials L and C match?
The rest is just speculation, but it may relate to characteristics like age.
But he can't do anything, even if he understands. Still, he has to keep thinking like this because there's nothing else to do.
* * *
"It took a very long time this time, two weeks to be exact. Well, there's confirmation work, soit can't be helped. Now, let's go to the next password."
When Tadayuki Higashimura released his ear, he attached another piece of paper to the water tank.
'S.75.16.K.38.P'
'S.58.70.E.38.N'
There were two secret codes.
"Well then, see you tomorrow. Take care!"
As Higashimura left, Nick stared at the secret codes. The common point with the previous one is S and 38.
If S stands for SACA, then what could 38 be? Next, let's examine the parts that have changed.
If his guess is right, initials are included here. So, could 75 and 16 be the L and C of Logan Cooper, respectively?
However, he doesn't know why 75 becomes L. There doesn't seem to be any specific rule; it might be random.
It appears that Higashimura Tadayuki is assigning random numbers to the alphabet.
Now, let's talk about how to identify Logan.
First and most importantly, he is a man.
So, does this 38 have anything to do with 'gender'?
If it does, then it can be assumed that there won't be any change in the situation. Basically, if the second person is also a man, then 38 is common.
Man, male....
(Ah, is he assigning 38 to 'M'?)
If that's the case, the explanation makes sense. He is probably creating a code by assigning numbers and sometimes swapping them while using them. Understanding this so far, he might be able to come up with a suitable password....
No, Higashimura mentioned something about 'confirmation work.'
What if it turns out to be 'different' during that confirmation work?
There will definitely be consequences. In the worst case, he might impose a maximum of five years.
But there are other ideas for countermeasures.
Right after the loop starts, make a call to Logan using the smartphone as a speaker and give instructions like "Search for me after killing Higashimura." This way, the smartphone can be left in the apartment during the teleport, and the fact that contact was made with SACA won't be exposed to Higashimura.
Still, the risks are very big.
Even if Logan were to kill Higashimura, and SACA were to look for him—there is a worry of not being found for five years.
Yes, it would be an act inviting the longest five years upon oneself.
In that case, pulling Higashimura's leg would be counterproductive.
If that guy were to achieve some kind of goal, eventually, he would have to free himself—at least from this loop.
Due to the nature of the "return by death," if he kills Nick after achieving his goal, it would ultimately be back to square one.
So for now, there is no choice but to convey words of agreement quietly.
Perhaps that is the best course of action.
* * *
The initially explained "longest five years" ultimately did not come.
The next one is after one month, and the one after that is three months.
There are two additional passwords, making a total of four.
"Alright, once I confirm all of this, it's done. Just wait a moment."
With this, Higashimura declared the end of collecting passwords and headed towards the confirmation work.
He came back three days later.
As soon as he returned, he took the torso out of the item box and 'glued' Nick's head onto it. The potion on his neck worked, and Nick could feel his body again.
"Good job, Nick! You got all your passwords right! That means the loop life of up to five years is done!"
Higashimura's announcement brought relief to Nick. It had been around five months in total, but it felt like a never-ending struggle. The idea of enduring it for five years was frightening.
"Now, let me go."
"By the way, did you ever say 'not returning'?"
"No, there wasn't."
"Ah, I see. Hahaha, just as I expected. Alright, let's go."
"Go...? Hurry... I-it hurts, stop!"
Higashimura grabbed Nick's hair and pulled him along. They opened the door and entered the next room, where there was a surprisingly large pool for an indoor space.
"Okay, Nick-kun, you got a special reward – the 'right to spend a hundred years in the pool!' Congratulations on escaping the loop!"
When Higashimura made this exciting announcement, Nick tried to understand. Spending a hundred years in the pool? Nick quickly reacted to the idea.
"Wait! Are you serious? Shouldn't it be done once I've shared all the passwords?"
"Yeah, the 'five-year loop life.' I mentioned that, right?"
"Well, but..."
"By the way, do you know the Goddess? I'm actually following her orders."
"The Goddess...?"
In that case, this man is the 'highest difficulty achiever (Hell Mode Achiever)'... Then, this strange reward makes sense.
Preparing so many elixirs is not something an ordinary achiever would do...
"So, when I asked the Goddess, [Return by Death] doesn't affect lifespan! And of course, elixirs can't bring back someone who died of old age. In other words..."
Higashimura leaned in and smiled, saying,
"Well, the only way I can think of is this. Sorry?"
In other words... spend the rest of his life in the Elixir pool? How many decades later, Nick wonders. Even five months were like hell. If he believes his words, spend his life in the Elixir pool until he dies, and there will be no more looping. With that thought, he protested desperately.
"Wait, no, wait...! Th-this method, even if I'm going to be killed, it's too much, p-please spare me!"
"Well, you know, if we let guys like you live, you might abuse [Return by Death.] Even if we pretend it never happened, it's still disgusting. Do you remember what you did to Nada-san? Owners of such memories need to be erased from this world, right?"
Ah, as expected, Higashimura can access memories. The current situation is revenge for Nada Kyouko—vanished in the midst of the loop—by this man.
"Please, please! I won't do it again! I promise!"
"Well, in that case..."
A sound like a 'beep' echoes in Nick's mind. It's the sound of gaining a new ability, something he hasn't heard in a long time.
'You have been given the ability [Transfer].'
Transfer? Given? Nick wonders as Higashimura explains.
"Give me your [dark magic] and [return by death], and then, I can kill you right away."
Will it be a hundred years of suffering, or accepting immediate death? Faced with a hopeless and cruel choice, Nick trembles.
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