"Here!"
As I joined the group, announcing my presence with a much quieter voice than last ti, Lily stared at while dusting off her pants.
"Well, now that everyone is here, let's go."
Also staring at with a malicious expression, Irene agreed.
"Yeah, let's get the hell out of this place and then out of this damn loop. I can't wait to sleep on a bed..."
Also chiming in from my left, Ruby replied.
"Even the school cafeteria would feel like heaven after this experience..."
From my right, Alya nodded her head before also adding in.
"Don't forget, we also have to figure out the cause of this loop... but I can't disagree; so relaxation after this would be otherworldly."
Sounding from in front of , Lily continued.
"Yeah... it really feels like we've been going from stressful experience to experience lately. I an, first that World Tree incident and now this..."
...Do I really have to be the one to say it?
No, co on...I can't say it now.
Even as I continued pondering the right way to tell them the information about the loop not ending, they continued to happily discuss what they'd do.
"I think I'll go straight to the sauna and stay there for a couple of days... when we're out of this thing." powered-by-MVLeMpYr
"The dorm room beds sound amazing..."
"I'm going straight to a restaurant to eat so proper food..."
"Oh, can I join you? My stomach is practically dying."
"Probably..."
As Ruby half-agreed to Irene's request to join her for dinner, I seriously contemplated just acting oblivious and letting them figure out the loop wasn't terminated.
No... that would take at least an hour, including the ti to climb or fly out of this cave and locate the exit.
Sighing, I decided to soften the mood before imdiately dropping the bomb to try and preserve so morale.
Finding an opening in their discussion, I interjected.
"Oh, it wasn't that bad, was it? I an, we didn't have our lives on the line or anything...we were just trapped for an indefinite amount of ti!"
Imdiately, the whole cave went quiet as everyone shifted their gaze to the direction where my voice ca from.
Hearing the sound of a foot slamming into the ground reverberating through the cave from Irene's location, I stepped back.
With an angry tone, Irene exclaid.
"Oh, so is not dying the bare minimum now? Oh great, we're just trapped in a loop for who knows how long without any route of escape... BUT IT'S ALRIGHT BECAUSE WE'RE NOT DYING?"
After pausing for a mont to catch her breath, Irene imdiately continued.
IS TOO MUCH TO ASK FOR A NORMAL LIFE WHERE WE JUST GO TO SCHOOL LIKE STUDENTS. I an, so saving the world every once in a while is fine... but BACK TO BACK IS NOT OK!"
...do they even know what I've had to go through?
To be fair, none of us had the right to complain, as we all chose to do what we did, knowing the consequences.
...But soone had more of a right to complain—it was !
I was the one to be dragged into this world... after I died.
Wait, did I have the right to complain?
Millions of people die every day, but only I was granted a second life... that was at least what I was assuming.
As the other girls agreed with Irene hastily, Ruby was the only one to look at with a suspicious gaze.
Yeah.... I would never say sothing like that.
Seeming to notice Ruby's gaze on , Lily interrupted the silence and carefully asked .
"And, do you have anything to say?"
Turning to face away from them, scared to see their expressions, I started.
"Well... how do I word this..?"
"..?
Turning to face , or what was actually Ruby, Irene replied.
"Spit it out."
" *ahem* You see, unfortunately, the loop has not ended yet. Trust , I'm just as disappointed as you."
After a mont of silence, Lily reached out her hands, making sure I was still there before in a eerily calm voice replying.
"Is this sothing you just learned?"
"...yeahhh."
Getting out her tippy toes, Ruby leaned against before placing her mouth to my ear, allowing to feel her every breath as she inhaled and exhaled.
"Choose your next words very carefully."
...that was a long inhale and exhale.
Alya, who had been silent up until now, raised her hand... before imdiately lowering it as she realized no one could see and replied.
"I can confirm that the loop has not ended as well."
Irene, who was still clinging onto the tiny hope I was lying, almost collapsed to the ground, trembling while Lily regained her composure.
Ruby took out her hand and cast a fire torch, illuminating the five of us and the area around us, before asking Alya.
"How are you able to confirm that?"
...she didn't ask ?
Looking at Lily, Alya held out her hands, which were glowing green, and replied.
"After destroying the tree, I was able to make contact with the tree's spirit. Its physical body wasn't that tree... that is sowhere else.
Almost imdiately, Irene popped right up from the ground and exclaid.
"THEN ASK IT HOW WE DESTROY THE TREE!?"
Calming down Irene, Alya replied in a monotone voice.
"What do you believe I've been doing this whole ti?"
Seeing Alya's gaze, Ruby raised her wand and increased the size of the fire, lighting up the entire cave.
Well, it didn't matter to , but Alya seed to care as she cupped her glowing green hands before raising them into the air.
Lily looked at Alya's hands, not asking any questions, but her body language and expression were relaxed, as if she knew what Alya was doing.
As Alya's hand reached the highest possible hand, Alya uncupped her hands, and almost imdiately, thousands of green particles erged from her hand and flew towards the cave wall.
She was tracking the tree using its spirit...
Oh, right, this tree is suicidal, so the spirit is probably helping us!
All of us stood still, until all the particles disappeared from Alya's hands, forming a path straight into one of the cave's walls.
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