---

Two years after meeting Zion, the year he turns eighteen.

After much hard work, Zion finally succeeded in defeating the Demon King and saving the world.

But who would have thought that there would be a general among the demons using spatial magic?

If there hadn’t been someone like me who could counter space, the assault on the Demon King would likely have failed.

So, if I were to leave this world, causing it to transform into one without me, and this party had to attack the Demon King again, would they then fail?

If Zion grew stronger, he could reach a level to counter space, but after the war ended, that didn’t seem to matter much anymore.

The reason is simple…

“Hop, I… can’t move my body.”

It’s because Zion was completely broken.

The reason was that he had abused the ability that damages his body without proper understanding.

But at the time, I didn’t even know the exact reason, and Zion was deteriorating, believing he was useless and had no role.

In the world timeline of the hero party where I exist, Iris’s sacrifice happened, but Naori’s injury did not occur.

Naori’s injury happened because she took a fatal hit meant for Zion during the final battle, and in the timelines I’m in, it seems I defended against that attack.

After defeating the Demon King, the hero party decided to disband and go their separate ways.

Since Naori was uninjured, she couldn’t devote all her time to taking care of Zion, and Hanamana returns to the village of elves in any timeline.

Iris had died, so naturally, it became my duty to care for Zion.

I also had nowhere to return to and nothing to do, just like Zion.

“Hop… are you there?”

“I’m here.”

Zion lay in bed, unable to manage his body, spending most of his time doing nothing.

And it was the same for me.

I would quietly look at Zion, assist with bodily functions, and if he had a seizure or panicked, I would trap him in space.

That was all I was doing.

Where are we heading?

What exactly are we… doing?

“Why don’t you leave me? You’re not broken like me, Hop.”

“I don’t have any particular reason.”

“Am I pitiful? Am I so miserable you can’t leave me alone?”

“That’s not it.”

“Then why…”

If I had to find an answer to the needless question, it would probably be due to inertia.

I was a wanderer drifting through various universes without any purpose.

A being with nowhere to return to, anywhere in any world.

An indifferent entity with no connections to anyone or anything.

I was just continuing to do what I had been doing.

Zion, lying on his side, holding the lightless Holy Sword, trembled without any expression.

I do feel sorry for her, as she put it, but it’s a feeling that will surely vanish, along with everything else.

“Hop.”

“Yeah?”

“Do you still not have a reason to live?”

“Yeah. I don’t.”

Is it still that important to Zion?

Even now, after being broken because of that reason for living, is it not that she feels sad and pained because she lost that reason?

“Then how have you been living? How have you managed to survive until now without any reason, purpose, or something precious? If you have a method, could you please teach me? I’m really struggling and can’t go on like this…”

Zion pleaded while shedding tears.

Is living that hard for her?

“Zion. Are you struggling a lot right now?”

I responded to her question with another question, but Zion continued to look up at me with trembling, wet eyes.

“Yeah. So please teach me how I should live moving forward. Anything will do…”

Zion kept demanding an answer.

I didn’t have one to give.

The only thing I could do for struggling Zion was…

“If it’s too hard, I could make it all not have happened.”

“What?”

“Actually, I can do more than just use space magic. I can also use time magic. If I leave this world or return to the past, everything I experienced would fade away, and this world would restart from a state without me or from the past. If you find it hard to endure, I can do that. So, what do you think? Will you accept it?”

“……”

Surprised by my unexpected suggestion, Zion just blinked and stared at me blankly.

“Are you saying it will all be erased? Even the fact that we defeated the Demon King and saved the world?”

“Exactly. So if you really can’t stand it, I can do it anytime.”

Zion fell into thought. She probably needed time to process.

And her answer was, of course,

“I won’t do that. Never.”

It was a rejection.

The Zion that had cried and clung to me just moments ago had vanished, and the hero Zion Laurel had returned.

Lying straight, turning her body toward the ceiling, she seemed to prepare her posture and expression, regaining her resolve.

“Is it because you’re a hero? Because your mission is to defeat the Demon King, and that can’t become something that didn’t happen?”

“……”

“You don’t have to do it now; I will eventually go back anyway. Even if this world has no meaning right now, will you endure this pain?”

“Yeah. Willingly.”

Zion closed her eyes quietly.

To willingly endure pain… isn’t that something you’d expect from a saint, not just a hero?

It was a way of thinking I couldn’t comprehend at all.

But in the end, that wasn’t my concern.

If Zion would not do that, I would do nothing.

If her heart, which was enduring the pain, were to change someday, then I would simply release her from that pain.

***

“Hey… Hop.”

“What is it?”

“If you leave this world… it resets, right?”

Was confirmation needed for something difficult to understand?

“Yeah. Are you finally considering it?”

“No. That will never happen.”

Zion immediately rejected it. Is she still okay to endure?

No, ever since I told Zion that I was a Time Aptitude Holder, she seemed at ease instead.

Did she gain a clear purpose for enduring her pain?

Could it be that the event of defeating the Demon King has become a new reason for her life?

“More importantly… what do I need to do to ensure that nothing that happened in this world gets erased?”

As expected, that was her question. A question well within my predictions.

Zion truly thought about protecting this world.

Even in a completely broken situation, her only concern was that.

It’s consistently understandable but still a way of thinking I couldn’t grasp.

“I can just die here. If I don’t regress or leave, this world will remain as it is without transformation.”

The answer to Zion’s question was unexpectedly simple.

World changes happen the moment I use time magic, so all I need to do is prevent that from occurring.

This world has no meaning since it’s live right now because I’m alive.

So now, what will Zion do?

Is she going to try to kill me to preserve this world?

Even in her current state, Zion should be able to forcefully move her body with her abilities.

While I certainly wouldn’t just allow myself to die, it wasn’t completely out of the question if Zion put her mind into it.

Zion is a swordsman who wields the fastest sword.

Would she attempt to assassinate me while I’m off guard or even while I’m asleep?

“Hop, you clearly said you have no reason to live.”

“……”

Zion gazed seriously into my eyes.

No matter how important her mission may be, would she still resort to such a clumsy method?

“Yeah. I don’t.”

I could only wait and see what Zion would say next.

After all, it didn’t really concern me.

And what Zion uttered was…

“Then, starting now, could you live for me?”

“Zion. You understand what you’re saying, right?”

“Yeah. I understand.”

The request to live for her.

It was clearly a plea for me to ‘live.’

But the real meaning behind that plea was definitely not just for me to live.

“Do you really know? You’re asking me to die for you here.”

“Yeah. I know what I’m saying.”

It was absurd.

Asking someone to die for her is truly ridiculous.

“How could I possibly grant such a ridiculous request…”

“I’ll live for you too. So please.”

It was a sighworthy request, but Zion slowly extended her trembling hand toward me.

Though I reluctantly took her hand, it didn’t mean I was agreeing to her request.

“Zion. I can’t grant that request. Time regression is troublesome and makes me lose some memories, so I prefer not to do it. When I’m about to die, I’ll unhesitatingly rewind time or escape from this world. So please stop talking nonsense.”

“Is your life precious?”

What on earth does that even mean…

“Do you want to live without any meaning, purpose, or a mission? Is your life so precious that you refuse my request?”

Zion tightened her grip on our hands, pleading.

“At least more than yours.”

Of course, no matter what Zion said, my mind wasn’t likely to change.

Who would die for someone else?

“Hehe. I see.”

Suddenly, Zion smiled with a look of relief.

What is this? Why is she smiling? I clearly rejected her.

“It seems there is something precious after all. Maybe that gives me a bit of reassurance~”

And then Zion gently pulled her hand away and turned her gaze back up, comfortably closing her eyes.

What on earth is Zion saying now? How can she feel reassured?

And… what is this feeling I’m having?

Having lived countless lives without feeling much, why now…?

Perhaps it’s because I’ve heard something so ridiculous that it’s frustrating and annoying.

That Zion could give such a selfish request, asking me to give up on regression and die for her.

Her many fine qualities and consideration for others were all because she was a hero.

In the end, what mattered most to Zion was that she should live as a hero.

And with that realization, I found myself getting angry.