Chapter 8: Time Looping Sisters.

*Erika’s POV*

Okay… Those two must have totally noticed me… Why else would they be willing to go into a secluded alleyway?

I mean, what the heck? Oh, God… They actually didn’t notice me…

They’re just talking about their plans… It’s not like I even tried to be sneaky… I guess that I’ll try to deal with them now…

I took my handgun out of my inventory, then made sure that there was a round loaded into the chamber, and then approached them.

Erika: “Hey, you two, put your hands up!” I say with a stern tone while pointing my handgun towards them.

???: “Who are you?” One of the girls asked with a shocked tone.

???: “Kary, it doesn’t matter, she is clearly our enemy, let’s just kill her!” The other one said with a serious tone.

Kary: “Right! Sari, you pin her down and I’ll use magic!” Kary said to Sari.

The one called Sari, lunged at me with her sword that appeared out of nowhere, I replied by making my own sword appear and used it to deflect her attack.

She was surprised but quickly regained her composer. It was now that I realized that I really messed up… I have no fucking clue on how to use swords in a fight… Should I just switch back to my stupid and pathetic excuse for a knife?

Luckily, fighting her off was pretty easy since, I had far more battle experience than her. Even with my lack of sword fighting knowledge.

No matter how many different ways she tried to attack me, I would either block or deflect them all. My intention wasn’t to kill them so, I guess I just have to tire them out…

It was going well but then, all of a sudden, Sari dodged away and then I was hit with a fireball. Or at least I think that it was a fireball…

Fuck… I can’t believe that I forgot to watch out for the mage… To be fair to myself, this is the first time that I’m dealing with someone who can use magic…

As for the fireball, it really fucking hurt! It was so strong that I got sent flying backwards into one of the buildings.

Ah, poor building… now it has a crack in it… Will I have to pay for this or something?

The upside to this is that her spell only did 800 damage. It hurt me mentally far more than it actually did…

As this is the first time that I’ve really gotten hurt, not counting when I ate that Monster Core, it’s weird how my System works.

If my HP gets down to almost zero, what would happen? I would obviously die but, what state would my body be in? Could I still survive with only 1 HP even if I’m missing most of my body parts and I am mortally wounded? Best not to think about that I guess, and also best to make sure that doesn’t happen to me.

Back to the fight, I was really worried about my face and body getting messed up by the burns but, my necklace kicked in instantly, and it’s like I didn’t even get hurt. I really, really need to thank Sofiel later…

These two, they must be close to have such good battle sense and tactics with each other… Maybe I can really complete my task?

Sari: “Wow… You should have died from that but instead, you look perfectly fine… What even are you?”

Oh right, since there was a bunch of smoke from the fireball, to them it must look like I was completely unscathed from the attack.

Kary: “Sari! This is bad! No one has been able to survive that attack! I even made sure to make it as big as possible, and yet she is unfazed by it!” Kary said with a nervous tone.

Huh? As big as possible? But… the fireball was so small… It was about the size of a basketball.

Why are these Saviors so lacking? Not a single one of them has ever caused me trouble like, at all… Did I just get lucky?

Lilith: “Erika, don’t get cocky.” Lilith said with a stern tone.

Erika: “Huh? What do you mean, Lilith?” I ask with a confused tone in my head.

Those two were still in the process of uh… processing this situation so I had the time to talk to Lilith in my head. I would prefer to talk to her via my smart phone but, I can’t because of the current situation.

Lilith: “It’s just as I said, Dark Saviors are extremely rare. The fact that Victoria has you on her side, is a major boon. And not even other beings like her have a Dark Savior on their payroll. Saviors, on the other hand, are a dime a dozen.”

Erika: “So?” I ask with a head tilt.

Lilith: “Ah, sweet! That was a good one, I just happen to snap a picture at the right time too, Nadia is so going to promote me! Anyway, there are tons of Saviors around but, like you, there are very few actually strong ones. You’ve just been lucky enough to only deal with grunts. You also haven’t gone to dimensions that are heavily contested.” Lilith said with a laugh before answering my question.

Makes sense I guess. I’ll just try to ignore her first comment. Hell, if seeing pictures of me makes Nadia happy, then I honestly don’t mind. Cute girls can get away with a lot, at least in my mind.

As for what Lilith said, I didn’t reply to her since those two had just gotten out of their confusion.

They were looking around, probably for a way to escape. Not happening since, they were stupid enough to go into an alleyway with a dead end. I’m blocking the only exit so they would have to go through me first.

Sari: “Kary… don’t tell me that you used all of your MP for that attack…” Sari asked with a concerned tone.

Kary: “I did!” Kary shouted with a sorry tone.

Sari: “Fuck… We can’t fight her, we need to escape...” Sari said with a nervous tone.

Erika: “And why would I let you two escape?” I ask with a cold tone.

They both looked actually scared… I am pretty good at playing this whole evil person thing off. Though, they could probably wear me down if they tried hard enough.

Actually… could they? Maybe if they tried really, really hard but, with my new items, I doubt that they could, now that I think about it.

Sari: “How about a truce?” Sari asked with a shaky tone.

Erika: “Are you two even in a position to ask for such a thing? I’m the one with all of the cards here, not you.” I reply with a raised eyebrow.

Kary: “Please wait! We don’t want to die!” Kary said with a pleading tone.

They don’t want to die? I guess that I could just get them to abandon the Saviors but, I still have the one task revolving around making two Saviors fall in love…

Because of that, I thought up a terrible, terrible idea…

Erika: “Fine but, I’ll only let one of you go.” I say with one of my fingers raised.

Sari: “So that you can interrogate one of us?” Sari asked with a nervous tone.

Erika: “I have no need for your information, I just want some… entertainment.” I say with an evil tone.

Kary: “What do you…” Kary stopped her sentence when she saw what I did.

I took out my stupid kitchen knife and threw it towards them.

Erika: “One of you, kill the other.” I say with my arms crossed.

Kary: “…”

Sari: “…”

Erika: “Ah, don’t try any funny business either. Although it looks like a normal kitchen knife, it’s actually a very high grade weapon.” I say with a smug tone.

They were both shocked and didn’t move at all for a while.

Sari was the first to move, she went to the knife and picked it up. She then walked to Kary and handed it to her.

Sari: “Kary… here, kill me.” Sari said before handing Kary the knife.

Kary: “I… I can’t! Please don’t make me do this!” Kary said with tears going down her face.

Sari: “Just… just do it! One of us has to die for the other to live and, I want that person to be you.” Sari said with tears of her own trailing down her face.

They both kept crying for a few minutes… Oh my God! I feel like such a piece of shit…

Lilith: “Wow, this is like, the first time you’ve actually been evil. They grow up so fast, I am very proud of you, deary!” Lilith said with a joking and also annoying tone.

I decided that it was best to ignore her stupid comment so that I can retain my composer.

Kary: “Sari… I… I love you!” Kary said with a sad but sincere tone.

Sari: “I know, I love you too!” Sari said with a bright smile.

Kary then took the knife and was about to stab it into Sari’s heart. I did get notified that my task was completed so, it was time to end this farce.

I had to move fast since there was a decent bit of distance between me and them.

Since I had no time, I just straight up grabbed the blade of the knife to stop it from killing Sari. I then forcefully shoved it back into my inventory.

Shit… I thoroughly underestimated that knife… Fucker took 84,546 HP from me. Just from a small cut on my hand… No wonder it worked so well.

And thank God that I stopped Kary from stabbing Sari. I highly doubt that she has as much HP as I do. She probably would have instantly died with just a small poke...

Luckily, that item that Sofiel gave me healed it up right away. I underestimated that as well. I thought that it would be useful in a fight but, not to this degree. It wouldn't take that long to get back up to full HP either.

At least fighting just these two who aren’t strong, I didn’t get hurt fast enough, and the healing factor of the necklace and ring would kick in, since enough time had passed.

Sari: “W-what… Why did you stop Kary?” Sari asked with a confused tone.

Kary: “…”

Erika: “Calm down, I just had a task that involved making two Saviors fall in love with each other. It was completed, and I also never had any intentions of killing you two at all. If I did, I could have easily done so.” I say with a serious tone.

I made sure to drive home that last part.

Rather than reply to me, they just hugged each other for a while.

Sari: “What are you?” Sari asked while rubbing away her tears.

Erika: “I am a Dark Savior, I also have a Task Pact, as well as a System.” I reply with a calm tone.

I saw no reason to lie to them since, telling them about those things would help to keep them in line and not try anything.

Kary: “Oh no… Sari, this is the one we were warned about!” Kary said with a shocked tone.

Sari: “The Dark Savior that can strip us of our power…” Sari said with a nervous tone.

Jesus… What am I? A blood sucking monster? It’s not like I’m the one who takes their Title away, they just give it up.

Erika: “That’s not how it works. All I do is get a Savior to denounce their faith and get rid of their title.” I say with a sigh.

Kary: “Before you kill them!” Kary said with an angry tone.

Sari then protected Kary by putting her behind her and using her body as a shield. Hm… really cute. I’m glad that I was the one who helped them admit their feelings for each other. I’m sure that they will make a good couple.

Erika: “Wrong! I only kill the ones who don’t denounce their faith. The ones that do, they just get sent back to their original dimension.” I say with a fed-up tone.

Kary: “…”

Sari: “I don’t believe you.” Sari said with a serious tone.

Erika: “If I killed them, then how did your group know about me? Besides, I don’t even get the chance since, the moment that they denounce their faith in the Saviors, they automatically get sent back.” I say with my arms crossed.

Sari: “…”

Kary: “She’s right…” Kary said with a shocked expression on her face.

Kary was sure that I wasn’t lying since, you know, I wasn’t. Sari, on the other hand, she was lost in thought.

Sari: “You don’t seem to be lying, what is your name?” Sari asked with a questioning tone.

Erika: “My name is Erika.” I say with a shrug.

Sari: “Is… is sending us back to our dimensions our only option?” Sari asked with a sad tone.

Kary: “Erika, please don’t send us back! We’re from different dimensions, I… I can’t live without Sari!” Kary yelled with a desperate tone.

Wow! So cute! I didn’t realize that I was such a damn good matchmaker… Who am I to break these to up?

Erika: “There is another option.” I say with an evil tone.

Sari: “Anything! We’ll do anything so, just please don’t separate us!” Sari said with a pleading tone.

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Erika: “Become a Dark Savior, and join my group.” I say with a serious tone.

They both looked to be lost in thought.

Kary: “What will we have to do in your group?” Kary asked with a nervous tone.

Erika: “Take on a Task Pact with a woman named Victoria.” I reply with a calm tone.

Sari: “So… we’d keep the same job, just a different group…” Sari said with a sigh.

Erika: “Oh please, your group treats people like shit! No, that isn’t propaganda from my group, I’ve seen first hand how shitty they treat people.” I say with a fed-up tone.

Kary: “So, we’ll get better working conditions?” Kary asked with a bright look on her face.

Erika: “Yes, all of the people in my group are pampered thoroughly. Ah, it’s a female only group, and our leader is a Demon Goddess.” I say with a smile.

Sari: “Will people in your group not like us because we’re together?” Sari asked with a concerned tone.

Erika: “Victoria has a harem.” I say with a deadpan tone and expression on my face.

Kary: “So?” Kary asked with a raised eyebrow.

Erika: “An all female harem.” I reply once again with a deadpan tone.

Sari: “Wow… That’s interesting… How do we join up?” Sari asked with a curious tone.

Erika: “God… you two are the second and third Saviors that want to join my group. Do the Saviors treat you people worse than I thought, or something?” I ask with a curious tone.

Kary: “You have to be really, really high up before you’re not treated like trash. Think of it as a black company that only gets less and less shitty the more important you are.” Kary answered with a sigh.

Sari: “They even give you an amazing sales pitch! They make it sound like you’re going to do amazing and good things. We’ve been Saviors for years and so far, we haven’t really been doing much good at all…” Sari said with an annoyed tone.

What?… I didn’t ask much about the Saviors from Kora but, aren’t they supposed to be the “good” group while mine is the “bad” group? Or at least one of the bad groups…

Lilith: “Don’t think about it too much, Erika. Victoria’s group is an outlier, most of the groups that are on the dark side of things are pretty fucked up. Like I said, you’ve only run into grunts of the Saviors. The high up Saviors actually do good things. They use the grunts to do the dirty work. The more important dimensions, Saviors don’t bother to try to take them over. They can barely keep their presence in them in the first place.” Lilith explained slowly.

Erika: “Haven’t I gone to high ranked dimensions before?” I ask with a confused tone.

Lilith: “Yes but, the ones being contested are SSS+ and higher dimensions. Higher ranked dimensions don’t even show their rank yet so, they’re even more wanted. You will encounter actual threats in dimensions like that.” Lilith said with a sigh.

Makes sense I guess… I can’t tell if I am looking forward to an actual challenge or not… Back to the woman.

Erika: “To become a Dark Savior, you two have to say, “I wish to become a Dark Savior.” And then kiss my hand.” I say while looking at the two Saviors.

Sari: “Do we have to kiss you?” Sari asked with a raised eyebrow.

Kary: “…”

Erika: “From what I understand, yes. Don’t worry, I have no intentions of trying to make you two my lovers. I have enough women after me as it is.” I say with a sigh while rubbing my head.

The two were convinced by my explanation and looked like they agreed with the process.

Kary: “I wish to become a Dark Savior.” Kary said before kissing the back of my hand.

Sari: “I wish to become a Dark Savior.” Sari said doing the same as her lover and kissing the back of my hand as well.

That familiar dark aura surrounded the two so I knew for a fact that they were now Dark Saviors. I was about to talk to them when, I got a message on my phone.

Victoria: “Two new Dark Saviors?!”

Alice: “I doubt that will be the last new editions to our group. Victoria didn’t and I didn't receive that big of an increase in power this time but, I’d assume we would if you had made a powerful Savior join our side.”

Erika: “I see… There might be a few more since, only females are allowed to invade this dimension.”

Sofiel: “Please don’t tell me that you got TWO new women who are going to want to be in a relationship with you…”

Erika: “No. These two are lovers.”

Victoria: “That’s good to know.”

Sofiel: “Want me to come pick them up?”

Erika: “Yes please.”

Sweet! I didn’t have to ask Sofiel first, she just offered to pick them up for me.

Erika: “Hey, you two, one of ours will be coming to pick you two up.” I say with a warm tone while looking at the two newlyweds.

Sari: “What kind of person are they?” Sari asked with a curious tone.

Erika: “An Angel.” I say with a smug tone.

Sari: "..."

Kary: “…”

A very, very special angel at that.

I do wonder how the rest of them will react when they figure out that Sofiel is the leader of the Angels. So far, just me and Nadia knows. Not counting people like Lilith that run the System.

Kary: “I found that hard to believe. We only have one Angel on our side…” Kary said with an unsure tone.

Sofiel: “Really? Who might they be? I might have to scold them for betraying our kind. We’re supposed to be neutral until the war, after all.” Sofiel said with a smug tone.

Kary: “…”

Sari: “…”

Sofiel appeared out of nowhere right behind the two, which shocked them greatly. She even made sure that her wings were out.

Oddly, they looked more like spiritual wings. They weren’t a part of her body, she can just make them appear at will. This is the first time I’ve seen them, they’re quite beautiful.

Erika: “Sofiel… if your kind is supposed to be neutral, then why are you with our group?” I ask with a raised eyebrow.

I already know the reason why she can, I just want to see how she’ll answer.

Sofiel: “I’m a special case, I can’t tell you any more than that, sorry.” Sofiel said with a remorseful tone.

Erika: “It is fine.” I say before wrapping my arms around her waist.

I was tempted to give her another kiss but… If I did, I don’t think that I could focus on my work.

Sofiel: “Hm… Erika, I do like how you’ve become more comfortable being intimate with me.” Sofiel said with a warm tone and a bright smile.

Erika: “I do too. Honestly, I’m tempted to kiss you right now but, unfortunately, I have work to do.” I say with a sad tone.

Sofiel: “It’s fine, you’re going to take a break after you’re done, right? We’ll have all the time in the world later then.” Sofiel said while rubbing my back.

Erika: “Thank you for the gifts, they came in handy.” I say with a bright tone before kissing on her on her forehead.

Sofiel: “Ah… I should take these two back, otherwise, I’ll end up not wanting to leave you.” Sofiel said with a joking tone.

She then proceeded to grab their hands and vanish with them in tow. I didn’t notice it last time but, when Sofiel appears and disappears, she leaves a bunch of snow white feathers. Very beautiful feathers, if I might add.

Fuck… I should have asked those two about the other Saviors snooping around in this dimension… Dammit! Sofiel was just too damn cute that I was distracted…

Lilith: “I’ve just realized something…” Lilith said with an odd tone.

Erika: “What’s that?” I ask with a raised eyebrow.

Lilith: “You see… your INT Stat is supposed to increase your intelligence but, from what I can tell from watching you, it doesn’t seem that the INT Stat keeps your intelligence at it’s Rank all the time. It just lets you be able to understand things easier, and make better decisions. Only if you attempt to think through it, though.” Lilith said with a confused tone.

Erika: “Isn’t that how it’s supposed to work?” I ask with a head tilt.

Lilith: “No!? Well… let me ask...” Lilith replied with a shocked tone.

I assume that it would take Lilith a decent amount of time to get an actual answer. Not that I mind, I was also confused on how the INT Stat worked and if it was even working properly.

I walked out of the alleyway. No seemed to even notice or care about me and those two fighting to the death. I find it kinda odd but, whatever.

I decided to look around this area. Similar to the shopping district that I explored with Yui, but not the same. I wonder why there is another place to shop this close to each other?

Oh well, just more places for me to take Sofiel, and maybe a few of the other girls on dates. And that is just this city. There is an entire modern world for me to go on dates with them to.

I finished looking at everything after an hour of walking around. I was very satisfied with this location. I think I’ll take Sofiel here instead of the first shopping area. There is even an aquarium here.

Honestly, I’ve always wanted to go to an aquarium. I’m very excited to go to one with Sofiel. I hope she’ll enjoy it. Though, even though I don’t have any experience in dating, I know that the real purpose of a date is to spend time with your so. And the locations aren’t really that important. Although, they do help.

I heard a notification sound so I checked my phone. Lilith had messaged me. Looks like she remembered that I prefer using my phone. Though, it’s not like I don’t like talking to Lilith and hearing her voice.

Lilith: “So Erika, we are split 50/50 on what to do.”

Erika: “What do you mean?”

Lilith: “It’s like this, one side says that the INT Stat should make you always be at the level of intelligence that it’s Rank is. The other group says that even though it wasn’t intended, the way it works right now is better.”

Erika: “I agree that the way it works right now is better.”

Lilith: “Could you explain why? A huge fight broke out over this between Administrators.”

Erika: “Oh God! What happened? Are you okay?!”

Lilith: “I appreciate your concern. I’m fine, don’t worry. By huge fight, I mean, food was thrown at each other.”

Huh?… Beings more powerful than a God or Goddess had a food fight. And all because they couldn’t come to an agreement? And these are the people managing the System?...

Lilith: “Erika! Please give me a good reason! At this rate, they won’t stop fighting for years over this disagreement! That would mean no progress on the System!”

Why must this decision be left up to me? Ah! Whatever! I’ll just tell her what I think.

Erika: “It should stay the same since, if you were always at an absurdly high level of intelligence, then life would be harder.”

Lilith: “Why would it make life harder?”

Erika: “How much more would someone over think things? I’d say a lot. I’d recommend testing for what a decent max level of constant intelligence is, so that people aren’t negatively affected.”

Lilith: “Oh shit, that’s a really good reason. They’ll stop fighting with this explanation! Thanks, Erika! I’ll tell them right away!”

Huh… If I ever get asked if I want to be an Administrator, I’ll just decline. I actually value my sanity after all.

Damn… and just like that, the day is almost over. At least I dealt with two Saviors. Not the most unproductive day I guess.

I started to walk back to Sasaki’s place. After walking for fifteen minutes, I saw a woman running in an alleyway. She was clearly being chased by some men in suits.

???: “You! Please protect me! I’ll pay you generously, I swear!” The girl said with a pleading tone.

The girl, she had long light orange hair that went down to her breasts. Her breasts were probably only slightly bigger than c cup. Her eyes were a bright orange. She was wearing an idol outfit. I guess that she is an idol of some kind or maybe she just likes to cosplay.

From what I’ve seen so far, uniquely colored eyes tend to be a sign of someone not being a normal person. If Victoria, Alice, Yui, and Sofiel are anything to go by.

???: “Miss, could you please hand the woman over?” The suited man said with a serious tone.

I could tell that these two weren’t good people at all. They basically reeked of crime.

Erika: “No.” I say with an evil smile.

I then made my handgun appear, and shot them both in the head. I had limited ammo at the moment so, I couldn’t really afford to waste any of it.

The girl was clearly shocked but, I grabbed her hand and led her away from the new crime scene of my own making.

???: “T-thanks for helping me. I really appreciate it, I’ll pay you now.” The girl said with a smile.

Girl… I just killed two dudes. Why are you okay being close to me? I mean, I didn’t even show any signs of remorseful for killing them. If it was me, I would have booked it the fuck out of here a while ago…

The girl had taken out her phone. I guess she wants to transfer money to my bank account via her phone. Much like how Yui paid for our meal earlier. Two problems. One, I don’t have a bank account, two, I don’t need her money.

Erika: “It’s fine, I didn’t help you for your money.” I say with a warm tone and a wave of my hand.

???: “But…” She said with a dejected look and tone.

Erika: “By the way, what’s your name? Mine is Erika.” I say with a smile.

???: “Oh, my name is Yoriko Umeda. My friends call me Riko.” Riko said with a smile.

I think that I heard her say, “if I had any.” In a small voice at the end of her sentence. I’ll just pretend that I didn’t hear that…

Erika: “It’s a pleasure to meet you, Riko. Do you happen to be an idol?” I ask with a curious tone.

Riko: “Eh? How’d you figure out that I’m an idol?” Riko asked with a shocked tone and expression.

Erika: “Huh? Your outfit is a dead giveaway.” I say before laughing a small bit.

Riko: “…”

She went red as a tomato. Really cute if I’m being honest. Airheads are cute in general. While she was still recovering from her embarrassment, I decided to take a shot in the dark.

Erika: “Hey, Riko? Does the words “time loop” mean anything to you?” I ask with a serious tone.

Riko reacted by trying to run away. Looks like I was spot on. At least going by her reaction to run. I made sure to carefully grab her hand so that she couldn’t run away. She was clearly shocked by how strong I was. I did make sure not to hurt her, though.

Riko: “You… you’re like those people who are snooping around me, right?” Riko asked with a nervous tone.

Erika: “No. I’m part of a different group. The only one of my group in this dimension. I’m a Dark Savior. The others are Saviors. One of my goals in this dimension is to break this whole time loop.” I explain calmly.

Riko: “Can… can I really believe you?” Riko asked with a small voice.

Erika: “Yes, you can. I’ve already found two other girls who keep looping. They’re currently living together so that they can keep each other safe. We realized that there were more people involved in the time loop since, both of them were safe, but time still looped.” I say with a calm tone once again.

Riko: “Can… could you take me to them? I can ask them a few questions and then I’ll know for sure that I can trust you.” Riko asked with a serious tone.

Erika: “No need to go to them unless you’re sure. Here, call them on my phone. You can ask them your questions that way. So you don’t feel pressured or unsafe.” I reply with a smile and hand her my phone to which I unlocked beforehand.

Riko then took my phone. I told her to call Yui or Sasaki. After it rang for a minute, one of them picked up the phone. With my hearing being stupidly good, I was able to hear both Sasaki and Yui on the phone since they clearly put it on speaker.

Since my hearing was so good, I decided to step away from Riko so that she could talk in private.

This effort was meaningless since even though I walked a good distance away, I could still hear all three of them clearly. I decided to ask Lilith about this.

Erika: “What Stat makes my hearing better, Lilith?” I ask in my head.

Lilith: “A mix between, AGI, STR, and INT. Don’t think that you’ll get better at hearing than this. You won’t, unless you evolve into a different race that has better hearing. Such as a beast kin race. Nadia, Victoria, Alice, and Sofiel all have hearing on par with you.” Lilith explained lazily.

Erika: “What’s with the slow and lazy explanation?” I ask with a raised eyebrow.

Lilith: “Erika, you’ve interrupted me smothering some very busty maid’s breasts with face. I would like to get back to that, please.” Lilith said with a fed-up tone.

Erika: “Fine… Enjoy, I guess?” I say with a sigh.

Lilith didn’t respond. I feel like I know exactly why. Did I make a mistake in telling her about those perverts under Victoria and Nadia’s charge?… Oh well, not like I can turn back time. At least she’s less cheeky than she was before. Or at least, I think she is…

Riko talked to the two for eighteen minutes. I see that she held back crying quite a few times. It’s amazing to know that there are others like you, and that you aren’t alone so, I understand how she feels. At least a little bit.

Erika: “Done?” I ask with a head tilt.

Riko: “Yes. Please take me to them. I don’t want to suffer alone any longer.” Riko said teary eyed before handing me back my phone.

Since I already specifically led Riko towards Sasaki’s house, the walk to her place didn’t take any more than twelve minutes. Riko was shocked at how big Sasaki’s place was.

Yui was the one who greeted us at the gate.

Yui: “Erika! Did you have a good day?” Yui said after jumping and landing on me and taking me into a nice hug.

Erika: “That I did. I dealt with two Saviors, and look, I even found another one of your sisters.” I jokingly say.

Riko: “Sisters…” Riko said in a small voice that probably only I could have heard.

Huh… I guess like Yui, Riko also was alone for a long, long time. Sasaki was lucky in that regard, since she had her people around her. Yui and Riko had no one really, from what I can tell.

Yui: “I know! I didn’t realize how good you’re at your job, Erika. Are you going to go out again, or are you done for the day?” Yui asked with a curious tone.

Erika: “Honestly, I had a short but taxing fight with two Saviors so, I was going to head to sleep early today. I would like to eat first, though.” I say with a thinking pose.

Yui: “You’re just in time! Dinner is almost ready. You go on ahead and sit at the table, I’ll get Riko settled first.” Yui said before taking Riko’s hand and leading her into Sasaki’s house.

I followed after them. Dinner was being laid out on a decently big table. The dinner consisted of teriyaki chicken and fried rice. And the sides were some soup and salad.

Since dinner was about to be fully served by Sasaki’s staff, I sat down on one of the seats at the table. Sasaki and her daughter were already seated.

Sasaki: “Hello, Erika. How did your day go?” Sasaki asked with a warm tone.

Erika: “It went fine. A bit more productive than I thought this day would be.” I say with a laugh.

Sasaki: “Would you kindly tell me about it? Oh, don’t worry about my daughter, I’ve already informed her about who you, Yui, and Riko are.” Sasaki asked with a curious tone.

Really? I wonder what she told her… Maybe she told her daughter about the time loop, and got her to believe it by knowing what she would do in the future.

Erika: “Let’s see… I dealt with two Saviors. And then I ran into Riko by chance. She was being chased by two men in suits. I could tell that there were no good so, I just shot them in their heads and then quickly left.” I explain calmly.

Sasaki: “I see. You’ve had a very eventful day. Do you perhaps remember where you shot those two? Although with the time loop and all, I still would like to deal with the camera footage of the crime just in case.” Sasaki asked with a serious tone.

Hm… I completely forgot to worry about cameras… Can you blame me? I’ve only been dealing with either destroyed or fantasy worlds after all.

Erika: “Sure, if I remember correctly, it happened here.” I say before sending the location from a map app to Sasaki’s phone.

Sasaki: “Thanks. I’ll have this dealt with as soon as possible.” Sasaki said with a smile.

After that, Yui and Riko came down from the upstairs. I assume that Yui was showing Riko a room that she could use from now on. At least until this whole confusing mess is dealt with.

The dinner went well. Sasaki’s daughter was quite the entire time but, the rest of us talked quite a bit.

Once I was done eating, I excused myself from the table first before anyone else. And said that I was going to take a bath, and then head to bed. And that is exactly what I did.

A nice bath after getting hit by a fireball sure is relaxing… oddly, I was pretty tired so, I took a quick bath and instead of soaking, I just washed by body before leaving the bathroom.

I went to my room and then proceeded to lie down on my bed. If it was the bed back at Victoria’s, I would have instantly fallen asleep. But since it wasn’t, I had spent half an hour thinking about things.

Things such as what I will be doing tomorrow. Maybe I just got lucky with Riko but, should I just search for others involved in the time loop? Or should I spend my time going after the Saviors first?… Lilith decided to chime in on my indecision.

Lilith: “Saviors first, then go after the time loopers. If you run into another one, then all the better. Going after the Saviors might be the best way to find the others since, they’re after them as well. Those two were snooping around Sasaki, remember?” Lilith said with a sigh.

Erika: “You’re right. Thanks for the advice. But how did you know what I was thinking?” I ask with a curious tone.

Lilith: “No problem. And I didn’t. Erika, what is on your mind is almost always shown with your facial expressions. I just put two and two together.” Lilith explained.

Erika: “Is it really that obvious?” I ask with a sigh.

Lilith: “Yes. Now go to bed. The sooner you complete your tasks, the sooner you can take a break. Once you aren’t that active, we can start working on the System more.” Lilith said with a laugh.

I guess that they don’t want to mess with things with the System, just in case doing so might get me killed. Or something like that.

I felt myself drifting into sleep so, I just let myself fall asleep. I had a lot to do tomorrow after all. A good nights rest would do me some good.