Chapter 30: The First Person Targeted by a Dog
[Unsurrounded One: Let's stick with this plan for now. When the time comes that night, send me an invitation. In the meantime, Subaru, please keep a close eye on your surroundings to see if anything is out of the ordinary.]
[Jealous Witch's Object of Escape: Got it! I'll be counting on you then, Group Leader.]
[Useless Goddess, You Really Deserve to Die: I have a question, though. Subaru, have you offended anyone lately?]
[Jealous Witch's Object of Escape: Not at all! I've only been in this world for a week; I don't even know anyone!]
[Jealous Witch's Object of Escape: Then why would someone come after you?]
[Jealous Witch's Object of Escape: I've been agonizing over that very question too...]
[Only Love White-Haired Elves: It could possibly be a political rival of that Margrave you mentioned.]
[Jealous Witch's Object of Escape: Very likely... That's bad! If that's the case, I'm probably not the only target that night! Everyone will be in danger!]
Natsuki Subaru began to grow anxious; he absolutely didn't want the others in the Mansion to fall into danger as well.
[Unsurrounded One: Don't worry. Just leave it to me when the time comes.]
[Jealous Witch's Object of Escape: I'm truly grateful, Group Leader. If... if only I were as strong as you, sigh.]
[Only Love White-Haired Elves: Subaru, the mere fact that you were just worrying about others shows that your spirit and character are already strong enough.]
[Useless Goddess, You Really Deserve to Die: Suddenly saying such profound things?]
Sato Kazuma couldn't help but feel a bit emotional.
When the topic turned to the opposite sex, Himmel was like a madman, but on subjects like these, he was rare in his seriousness and earnestness.
[Useless Goddess, You Really Deserve to Die: Come to think of it, you mentioned earlier that The Bowel Hunter was hired to steal something from Emilia, and that Margrave Roswaal seems to be at her beck and call. Is Emilia some kind of big shot?]
[Jealous Witch's Object of Escape: Yeah, I only found out later. It seems Emilia is a Royal Selection Candidate for this country.]
[Jujutsu Physical Education Student: A Royal Selection Candidate?]
[Jealous Witch's Object of Escape: Right. This country apparently doesn't have a king at the moment, so the throne is contested by several candidates mentioned in a prophecy. I'm not entirely clear on the specific details, though.]
[Useless Goddess, You Really Deserve to Die: Not only is she a beauty, but she also has a distinguished status? You can basically live off her? I'm so jealous...]
[Jealous Witch's Object of Escape: What if I told you I have to die twice in one week?]
[Useless Goddess, You Really Deserve to Die: Suddenly, I'm not that jealous anymore.]
[Jujutsu Physical Education Student: Then the possibility of it being a political rival is even higher. Maybe they were sent by another candidate—I feel like these two incidents might be related.]
[Only Love White-Haired Elves: Arbitrarily depriving others of their lives for one's own desires... that is absolutely unforgivable.]
Yuji Itadori looked at Himmel's words and nodded slightly; the other man's thoughts were almost identical to his own.
But he himself had no right to say the same.
Even if it wasn't out of selfish desire, the people he had killed were already beyond counting.
Himmel seemed full of passion, just like his former self.
And what about him now?
Yuji Itadori knew that, without realizing it, his passion had gradually faded away.
It was because of those important to him.
If Senior Kinji were here, he would probably have a few words for him.
However, after obtaining the Chat Group, he seemed to have regained a bit of that old feeling. The other group members, in particular, allowed him to see shadows of his former self—
Oh, and there was a literal former version of himself here.
[Unsurrounded One: We'll know when the day comes.]
Yuji Itadori closed the chat interface and walked over to Himmel and the others to say his goodbyes.
"It's about time. I should head back now, everyone."
"Yes. I'm sorry to have troubled you to come here for something like this," Himmel said to Yuji Itadori.
"It's fine. I'm just idling around anyway."
"Itadori, come visit often! Next time you come, bring some alcohol from your world! I haven't tried any yet!" Heiter said with a laugh, clapping Yuji Itadori on the shoulder.
"Is the drunken priest starting to drink in the morning again?"
Frieren's gaze shifted to Yuji Itadori. Her eyes, which had been so sleepy she could barely open them earlier, were now looking at him with high expectations.
"Do you have Grimoires or anything of the sort over there? Oh, it's Jujutsu there—do you have Jujutsu Manuals?"
"No, but we have Cursed Tools. Next time I have a chance, I'll bring some over for you to see," Yuji Itadori said, and Frieren nodded repeatedly.
Even though they had only known each other for a day, Yuji Itadori could feel that Himmel and the others already considered him a close companion.
"Well then, I'll be going now."
"Yuji."
Just as Yuji Itadori was about to leave, Himmel called out to him.
His gaze focused on Yuji Itadori's scarred face, turning deep as if he were seeing something specific.
"What is it?"
"If there's ever a chance, you should invite us group members to your world too. You might not need our help with anything, but it would be nice to have an occasional get-together."
A kind smile appeared on Himmel's face.
Yuji Itadori didn't answer immediately; he hadn't expected the other man to suddenly say such a thing. However, he soon gave a nod.
"Yeah. Definitely, if there's a chance."
...
Soon, a few days passed quietly.
Everyone went about their lives in their own worlds, occasionally popping in for a quick chat.
As for Natsuki Subaru, he reported what he saw and heard in the group every day, even turning them into videos and pictures to post.
The events of this loop were almost identical to the previous one; even this time, Natsuki Subaru was bitten by that same little dog.
The others hadn't noticed anything unusual either.
Soon, night fell—the same night Natsuki Subaru had mysteriously died last time.
[Jealous Witch's Object of Escape: Sigh, I got bitten by the dog again. What bad luck.]
[Useless Goddess, You Really Deserve to Die: Couldn't you pay a bit more attention?]
[Jealous Witch's Object of Escape: I was paying attention! But I still got bitten in a moment of carelessness. I feel like I'm being targeted by that dog.]
[Useless Goddess, You Really Deserve to Die: Targeted by a dog? That's a first. I kind of want to catch that dog and keep it for a few days so it can bite Aqua a couple of times.]
[Unsurrounded One: Send the invitation when the time is right.]
After Yuji Itadori sent the message, he transferred 40 Points to Natsuki Subaru. Combined with the Points Subaru had earned from his own Check-ins over the last few days, he would be able to use the Summoning function once more.