2

She had me make tools that would see death on others. Sure, I was under no illusions that all the knights I've made weapons for were as morally sound as Astrea, but I was certain that none of them were cut of the same cloth as the Bowel Hunter.

I suppose that's why I wanted to do this. Her actions over the months were my responsibility. Even if it would put me on the same level as her, I would see to it that she be put down like the rabid dog that she was.

…

"I'm with Blacksmith-san." The indecisiveness that plagued Natsuki was gone in an instant. His fish-eyes, similar to mine in many ways, were more full of life than mine would ever be, "I've got someone that I want to protect, and I won't just let you take all the credit, ya know!"

The last line was said jokingly, but the traces of nervousness still lingered. Astrea stared for a moment before closing his eyes and sighing. A smile formed, but one that I could see was more than a bit forced.

"Alright. But please, if something were to happen, you get behind me."

I rolled my eyes as I tossed the last sword at the knight, "I want those back," I warned, "Those things are worth at least five holy gold each, so if they break, you're paying in full."

Astrea's eyebrows raised as I spoke. My usual weapons would normally cap at around five gold apiece, depending on the quality. A single blade that cost ten times as much? Must have been a significantly higher quality, I could see him thinking.

It helped that I wasn't lying, as I knew he could just see through that with those damn blessings of his.

It also helped that I set the price just now, so I could have said they were worth twenty holy gold and it would've also been true.

"Jeez, you're really making me nervous holding this thing!" Natstuki looked more concerned about the price than anything, "I'm still totally broke!"

"Yeah, that's why you should take care of it, or you'll be my debt slave for the next year or so."

"Harsh!" He recoiled back as if struck, "Well, I guess I could still sell that metia of mine…"

"Metia?" Astrea asked as I started to lock up the shop.

"Yep! Someone I know said that this thing," he pulled out a phone of all things, "Was worth at least twenty holy gold!"

My inner business owner was screaming at me to scream at the kid to shut up. Did common sense stop existing when I got transported over here?

"Stop that." I ground out, "You want to get mugged, showing that thing off?" Really, showing off how much you have is probably the reason why you needed the Sword Saint in the first place!

It took a moment for the realization to click, "Oh shit," He quickly shoved his phone back in his pocket, "You didn't see anything." He tried to act as calmly as possible, but I couldn't miss the way he was looking back and forth in a mild panic.

Astrea smiled, a less forced one than before, "I had my eyes closed the entire time."

Well, if nothing else comes out of this, at least the red-haired asshat made something of a friend in Natsuki.

…

The walk to the slums was, to put it mildly, a somber one. Astrea never walked this way, I suspect, and Natsuki had probably never seen this back on Earth. Japan had a tendency to try and hide their unwanted, well, anything. The poor was just another one of those things.

And there were many more unfortunate souls in the capital than anyone would care to admit.

The number of people wearing ratty clothes increased exponentially as we traveled to wherever Natsuki was leading us. By the half hour mark, I could see at least twelve different people who would probably have tried to steal from us had the Sword Saint not been right next to us.

Small mercies, I suppose.

Still, as we walked, I couldn't help but think that the area was becoming more and more familiar. At first, I didn't think much about it. In the first year or so of my life, I lived here while doing my apprenticeship as a blacksmith before I made enough money to at least get a decent place in the nicer parts of the city.

I recognized a few of the landmarks here and there; the soup kitchen that provides some free food everyday, the dilapidated park, that one apartment that houses five families. All of them brought back a wave of memories.

One memory in particular grated a lot on my mind.

"Oi, Natsuki," I got his attention as he inspected if the blade was still strapped firmly on his belt, "How'd you even know that this was going down anyway?"

"I was, ah, tracking down a thief who stole something from someone I know."

The headache grew, "And by chance was the thief a blond girl around this tall?"

Natsuki nodded in apparent confusion, which quickly turned into a sympathetic look, "She stole something from you too, I'm guessing?"

…

"Follow me, I know a shortcut." To their credit, as I took the lead, neither batted much of an eye.

I led us through a maze of dilapidated buildings and more would be thieves. If the brat really was behind this, then she was in more trouble than her payout could possibly give.

Soon enough, we stood in front of yet another rundown shack. It looked almost abandoned, with a couple of clothes on a windowsill the only indication that it was still lived in. I walked up to the door and banged on it as hard as I could.

"Oi, old man, open up." I continued to bang incessantly. At this time of day, the old man should be done with his third bottle of booze, and if you didn't yell loud enough, he'd be sleeping right through anything.

By the twenty-fifth bang on the door, I could hear footsteps making their way to the front. I didn't stop banging.

"Alright, alright!" The door burst open as a giant of a man with graying hair peered out, "The hell do you want, Hikigaya."

"Rom. Felt's gotten a bad mark."

"How ba-" Rom cut himself off as he noticed the people behind him. He groaned as he rubbed his head, "Fuck's sake, come in then."

"Huh. That was easy." Natsuki rubbed his head in apparent confusion. To some extent, I could understand it. How exactly does a blacksmith know a black market dealer and a thief?

Simple. Because beyond their rough, no shit attitude, they're honestly one of the few trustworthy people I found in this entire damn city. Sure, you still need to watch whatever you have when Felt's in the room, and Rom had a drinking problem that's hell for his liver, but these two had bleeding hearts more than anyone I knew.

After all, they did help me out when I needed it.

And if saving them from Elsa Granhiert was my way of repaying that, then that's even more of a reason to actually follow the protagonist, no matter how much I wanted to do otherwise.

…

Patience, they say, is a virtue. Patience is what makes whatever you're waiting for even better. Patience is what keeps you from doing something completely irrational. More than once, I've had to wait for a shipment to come in, or wait for some customer who's late to pick up their order. I should have, after years in this world, learned to be patient.

I am not patient.

I hate waiting. I hate being made to wait. I hate making other people wait. Because all that means is that I'm wasting time. Time I could be using to devote myself to making more money, arranging my stock, studying more spells.

Trying to find my way back home.

All of those, I could be doing if I didn't have to wait. All the more so when it's something as stupid as waiting for someone to gulp down an entire barrel of beer.

"Man, Old Man Rom, you sure your liver can handle that?" Natsuki looked at the scene before us in trepidation. Beside him, even Astrea looked mildly perturbed. I can't blame them. Rom was actively chugging down his second barrel. Second. As in, he'd already finished his first one not ten minutes ago.

With a sigh of satisfaction, Rom put his now empty barrel down, and gave the tracksuit-wearer the stink eye, "Boy, you just told me that the Bowel Hunter is coming here. I ain't drunk enough to deal with that conversation."

"Alright, alright." I cut off the inane reply that Natsuki tried to get out, "Look, if Granhiert is coming over here, we need a plan. Unfortunately, myself and Astrea can't be seen without tipping her off. That's why, the plan will have to revolve around you." I pointedly looked.

"Me?" Natsuki pointed at himself in confusion, "H-Hey, blacksmith-san, I'm not really a fighter, y'know? I mean, you gave me this sword and all, bu-"

I sighed and palmed myself, while Astrea reassured Natsuki that he wasn't a waste of space.

"Just listen."

…

"Old Man, you alright?" Felt was worried, and frankly I was too. The giant of a man was red in the face, and was slightly leaning on the furniture. It's a miracle the table survived as long as it did without breaking really.

Or maybe it was a new table?

"I'll be fine, Felt, just had some of that beer I was saving up for a rainy day." Rom assured the thief, "At any rate, Subaru here will be sitting in on our negotiations with your client. Kid's looking to outbid your little mark."

"Yep!" I struck a pose as I nodded at Felt. I gave a smile as I kept a hand on my(!) sword. It still made me giddy that I had my own weapon now. Sure, it really didn't fit in with my tracksuit, but what kind of self-respecting male wouldn't want their own sword?!

I kept repeating this even as I tried to calm myself down.

I didn't want to die.

Not again.

…

When I found myself in this world, plastic bag in my hand, I thought that it was the best thing ever. I was in an isekai! Granted, I didn't know what powers I had, but I'd figure it out later.

The day continued, and I had met a half-elf who'd called herself Satella. Of course, this wasn't her real name, and I still don't know why she'd give me a name that nearly everyone hated. She'd saved me after I'd gotten myself beaten up, and right then and there, I promised to pay her back.

So when I found out she was looking for a thief, I jumped at the opportunity. We looked through what felt like the entire city, before arriving at the loot house.

I died.

I didn't know what it was at the time, but I died. I felt pain like I had never before. The feeling of my own blood escaping as I could do nothing else.

Then she died.

I lay there as I watched her lie bleeding on the floor right next to me.

Then, I found myself standing in front of the market I had stopped by earlier in the morning.

Through a bit of thinking on my part, I realized what had happened. My cheat power, which I'd given the name Return by Death, had activated. When I died, I'd been thrown back in time, to a certain period. I didn't exactly know how to set my 'save point', but that meant that I had another chance to make things right!

A chance to save her.

I have to admit that the idea of leaving and going off on my own crossed my mind. To leave whatever killed me to the knights in the charge of security. I could live freely without anyone knowing. But the image of her dying, the woman that had saved me, even if she didn't do it in this timeline, haunted me.

I promised myself that I would help her. And if nothing else, Subaru Natsuki keeps his promises.

I found the loot house early, and I met Old Man Rom and Felt. They were criminals, sure, but I couldn't see them as anything more than people who did what they had to do. Hell, they helped me, someone that everyone else thought was just another weirdo!

I met her soon after. Elsa. She was buying the insignia that Felt had stolen from Satella. I had outbid her in the last second, and I had gotten the insignia back!

Then Rom died.

Then Felt died.

Then I died.

I felt Elsa pull at my flesh, sinking her damned fingers into my open gut. I get shivers when I remember just how much

it hurt

when she did that. That even now, I can't forget the feeling of how much

pain

I was going through as I died in an even more brutal way than my previous loop. I remember the sheer ecstasy on Elsa's face as she relished in my

sufferingfuckithurtspleaseletitbeoverohgodfuckfuckfuck

Then I was back. The pain was still etched into my mind, as was the face of my murderer. I hate it. Ihateithateithateithateithateithateithateithateithateit. I hate her.

Rom, Felt, they didn't deserve to die. They were just regular people. And, as short as it was, I considered them my friends. It…it was rare that I had any friends, being a NEET and all that. But those two had quickly become those.

Then I got them killed because I opened my fucking mouth.

I was too damn focused on this matter that I died again, and in a way that was frankly more embarrassing than traumatic. Just getting shanked in a mugging gone wrong, one that the murderer didn't even mean to stab me. I just…walked into a knife.

By my third death, I knew what I needed to do. I needed to find Felt first, before she came into the loot house, get her to surrender the insignia to me, then get the both of them to safety.

And then this time, when I was confronted with the three muggers, I met Reinhard. The knight scared them off, no matter what he said about it being the two of them. The guy was way too humble, I swear! Still, when he asked if I needed help, I declined. This was something that I needed to do myself.

Eventually, I found Felt, but she turned things around when I asked for the insignia. She dragged me back to that deathtrap known as the loot house.

I tried for a while to convince them to part with their stolen goods, but they wouldn't budge. Up until someone knocked on the door. I panicked for a second, thinking that we were all about to die again. Thankfully, it wasn't the black-clad murderer.

It was Satella.

A bunch of things happened after that, but in the end, Elsa had come once more, but this time, with all of us working together and the timely appearance of Reinhard, we managed to drive them off. The ceiling might have been blown wide open, but I had retrieved the insignia.

Elsa burst through the rubble and tried to kill me with a slash to the gut. She missed. Or rather, I dodged.

Reinhard barrelled through her, but the crazed murderer managed to get away into the forest. Reinhard gave chase, saying that Elsa needed to pay for her crimes, which everyone but myself seemed to get. The moment he was gone, I finally managed to get Satella's real name.

Emilia.

I felt accomplished. I had done it! I'd saved everyone! Even Rom and Felt, the both of them a bit bruised but otherwise fine!

I should've known that it was too good for this world.

Dogs. Wolves. Whatever they were, they burst through the woods by the dozen. We were too damn drained to fight them off. I tried to fight back, as did the others, but the sheer number of them was overwhelming. I heard Emilia say that this shouldn't be possible this close to the capital, which Felt had agreed to.

'Shouldn't be possible' didn't stop well over fifty demonic dogs converging on us.

I was forced to watch as Emilia defended with her ice from her front, before she got bitten by one from her side. I watched as three other dogs came in and started tearing into her throat and chest. I watched as flesh was wrought from her bones.

I watched as Felt tried to use her wind magic to go faster than the dogs, to try and find Reinhard again, but to both of our horror, the dogs had managed to catch her before she could. I watched as she was torn from limb by limb, her screams turning into wild sobbing.

I watched as the unconscious Rom was eaten even as he lay there motionless. I watched as they chewed out his face, moving onto his arms, more and more of them coming in to feast on the giant of a man.

I couldn't do anything but watch. Watch as my one win, my one goal, was snatched from my hands. I watched as the friends I made were killed right in front of me once again.

They came after me soon enough.

They bit into me, the feeling of being torn one limb at a time while they scratched my bones and noisily chewed on my flesh hurtssobadpleasesomeonehelpmewhydontyouhelpwhydidyouleave

Then I died.

I was standing right in front of the marketplace one more time. I know the consequences of failure. Not just my death, but the death of the friends I made, even if they didn't know me. I couldn't let that happen.

But I didn't want to die again. I didn't want to hurt. So, when Reinhard asked if I needed help, after I did the same thing as before, I didn't hesitate to accept.

I didn't expect him to bring me to a blacksmith. In hindsight, maybe I shouldn't have gone after Elsa without a weapon in the first place. Still, when I told Rein exactly why I needed his help, his entire disposition changed.

Where before, the guy was just your regular nice-guy who also doubles as some powerful super knight, this Rein was a lot more serious. Whoever this chick was, she was evidently a serious deal. THis was reinforced when the blacksmith came and gave me a new weapon, even if it was on loan.

The Bowel Hunter…

Whoever is listening, I swear to you, no one else will die today. Not this time. I swear to you that Elsa, and whatever made those dogs appear, are going down.

…

"Yo, bro, you alright there?" Felt came right into my face as she stared at me, unamused, "You've just been staring there for a bit while holding that sword. Wait, don't tell me." Her face scrunched up in both a disgusted and amused look, "You're thinking about 'polishing your sword', right?"

I jumped up in indignation, "I was not!"

"I know that just looking at me may be enough to set you off, bro, but seriously, it ain't the time."

"I already said, I wasn't thinking about that! And besides, is that any way for a lady to talk?!"

"Oi, I ain't no lady!"

Despite the words exchanged, the both of us had small grins on our faces. It was these moments that, in my life as a NEET, I never really experienced.

A knock on the door. Felt perked up and headed for it, "That must be her!" Rom and I exchanged tense looks, as we tried to get ourselves to relax. It didn't really work.

Soon enough, the door opened as Felt led the black-clad woman in. I breathed out a nervous breath as I tried not to give anything away, "H-Hey there."

"Ara? Who's this?" Elsa's sultry voice would have made me feel some things had I not known just what she got off to. Instead, all it gave me was a sense of trepidation. Felt shrugged as she looked at me to explain.

"Ah! I'm just here to buy the same thing you are."

"Really?" Elsa's countenance turned just a bit more curious, "I was not made aware that my employer hired someone else."

Employer, huh? Whoever that was, they must be bad news. Still, this works in my favor. After all, one of my best abilities was to bullshit my way through normal conversations! This is no different!

"Well, they wanted to make sure the job got done, y'know? Two heads are better than one!"

'Please work.'

Elsa seemed to think about it a bit, before her smile returned as she looked at him, "I suppose that makes sense. I do wonder why you're doing this, however," Her eyes narrowed a fraction, "If we were truly hired by the same client."

"Ha!" Subaru forced a laugh even as his hand now clutched at his sword as tightly as he could, "Call it professionalism. I wanna have the credit for that, you know?"

Elsa smiled, "Indeed. Shall we?"

Rom spoke up after we both sat down at a table, "You two get started, just have to talk to Felt for a second." Said girl was a bit confused as she and the giant went near the window. Meanwhile, Elsa looked at me in obvious interest.

"Well, I suppose I should start." The woman was almost serene in her tone, "Five holy gold."

"For an insignia like that?" I scoffed. I didn't actually know the significance of the insignia other than it's important to Emilia, but I hope that it's enough to convince her otherwise, "That thing is worth at least a minimum of ten."

"Ara?" Elsa pulled out a sack of gold, and I could hear them rustle about, "You are driving up the price that quickly?" I watched as Felt's eyes slowly widened. She looked back and forth between myself and the back of the Bowel Hunter's head. Rom was still not done explaining, going by the whispers, "I shall put it up to fifteen, if only for courtesy."

"Then I'll go up to twenty. I'm getting the credit for that, if you don't mind."

"My! I myself have twenty. Would I not get priority since I was the initial client?" She started to turn around to ask Rom and Felt, who were still not done, but from the paling face of Felt, I knew I just needed a bit more time.

"Fine, I'll throw this in," I pulled out my phone, "Minimum of twenty holy gold! A metia that's one of its kind!" Even Elsa seemed a bit interested in my phone. With a sigh that was incongruent with her smile, she spoke, "Ahh. To think, you would bargain a metia. I suppose I lost this little game of ours."

"Heh." I forced a grin. My hand tensed around my sword. Any time now, you two.

"I would like to ask a question, before we finalize this," Elsa leaned in. I could smell her perfume as she did so, "Our employer, who are they?" She said it loud enough for everyone to hear.

It took a moment for my brain to register what she said. When it did, I flipped the table in front of me, and all but sprinted towards the other two, who had gone into combat stances. Elsa calmly sat down for all of it.

"How'd you find out?" I ground out.

"You've got a terrible poker face, I must admit." She almost seemed apologetic, "Ah, I suppose I should end this now. If you hand me the insignia, I'll make sure you die a relatively quick death."

"No thanks. Old Man!"

Rom grabbed me and Felt, the both of us in one arm each, as he leapt through the window. Glass shards peppered the ground and a gust of wind came past us, followed by what felt like a mini sandstorm.

"Granhiert." Reinhard's voice had an almost ethereal authority to it, "You are hereby under arrest for crimes against the kingdom and her people. Surrender now."

It seemed that Elsa didn't particularly care for Reinhard at that moment, as all her focus went towards the other person there, "Hachiman!" Her eyes lit up like a kid on Christmas Eve. I felt like I needed a shower with how happy she looked. Apparently, I wasn't the only one.

"Don't call me that, bitch." Blacksmith-san, spat out. I knew that this was a bit personal, but to think that Elsa would know him? I didn't expect that.

"Why not? You made me these wonderful blades!" She caressed her weapons as she looked at Hachiman almost lovingly. I recoiled a bit when I heard that he had made her daggers. Still, as much as that made me wary of the blacksmith, he'd been nothing but helpful so far.

"Oi." Said man called out, "Remember the plan. Go." A patch of earth next to him started to wriggle around. Rein in the meantime had already drawn the sword he was given earlier, "We'll handle this fucker."

"Right! Good luck, you two!" I shouted out as Rom carried us at full sprint deeper into the forest, even as the slums all around us erupted into a cacophony of noise.

The plan we came up with is simple. While originally, it was proposed that I stay behind, I pointed out that there were those demonic dogs all around the forest, which would be an issue if they went after the civilians all around us.

Rein did a quick sweep, but he had found nothing. It had caused blacksmith-san, whose name I just keep forgetting, to doubt my words. He thought for a second that I'd just lied about everything - Elsa included. It was especially true when I couldn't answer them as to why I knew that. I mean, I can trust these guys, but telling them about Return by Death this early was bit on the iffy side.

Thankfully, Rein believed me, and it was apparently enough for the other fish-eyed man.

Still, because he had initially found nothing, we assumed that the dogs, the wolgrams, were possibly hiding and would come out when the fighting started. Moreover, since it was impossible for mabeasts, as I had learned their actual name, to enter the city by themselves without being killed on the spot, it was likely that someone led them here.

Someone that would probably be working with one of the most dangerous assassins in the country.

I heard the wind pick up from behind me, as the two we left fought against the monster. Old Man Rom had been running for less than a few seconds when I saw something move in the back. I recognized it immediately, and a trill of phantom pain shot through my body.

"Duck!"

Rom obliged, as the wolgram missed the giant's neck. He set the both of us down as I drew my sword, Felt grabbed her dagger. Rom himself picked up a sturdy looking branch as wolgrams started appearing once more.

For a moment, I thought that this would all end the same way as last time. With us nothing more than dog food. They surrounded us in a ring, waiting and growling at us. As if on some unseen signal, they all bum rushed us, saliva coating the ground as they beenlined their way through.

I was proven wrong immediately as Felt went and killed three of them in one slice. The giant swung and killed at least half a dozen. Hard to tell when they all got reduced to splatters of viscera.

Meanwhile, I started slashing wildly at anything that came close. Each slash claimed a victim, as my sword cut through everything like they were butter. Hell, it was so light that I could barely feel it in my hand.

"Bro!"

I instinctively looked towards Felt, only to see her, dagger close to my head. I leapt to the side, just as she pierced a wolgram that had snuck up on me. She looked at me in a mix of adrenaline, worry, and amusement, "You owe me for that."

I gave my own shaky grin in response, "Aye aye, captain!"

We continued to fight for who knows how long. Finally, the wolgrams seemed to have had enough, and had all retreated back into the forest. Apart from some scratches here and there, we were all okay. That was a relief!

"Holy shit, we're alive."

I couldn't help but gasp out. Slowly, I started to giggle. Surrounded by a near mountain of corpses, with my arm numb from how much swinging I did, and I think I might have a minor concussion. But still alive.

Soon after, it was a full blown, gut-wrenching laugh. Felt joined in after a second, with even Rom guffawing heartily.

Reality hit us a second later, as an explosion reached our ears. Those two were still fighting.

'Hold on, we're coming!'