Why is my journey to the world of anime a strange tale of rules?

Did my words provoke her? Or did the act of "catching up with Chiyo Hachiya" itself bring about some change?

Unable to ascertain the specifics, Gao Hai slowed his pace even further.

But at that moment, the girl who had been standing there dumbfounded suddenly turned her head and looked at Gao Hai with renewed emotion and an unsettling, obviously abnormal smile.

Teacher, you're lying.

Chiyo Hachiya spoke softly.

The temperature in the corridor dropped rapidly in an instant, and a strong chill quickly spread.

You don't want to help me. You want to leave here, you want to destroy this place, and then leave with the people you care about.

A dark red light flickered and appeared, and the girl's smile became even more distorted.

[You're just like any other teacher, trying to fool me, but you can't. I'm not a stupid kid, I won't be fooled by a conman like you, hehe.]

The dripping blood emitted a foul stench, and a rusty machete was somehow found in the girl's hand.

[A teacher who only tells lies—Chiyo hates people like you the most!]

Finally, the entire corridor turned completely blood red, and Chiyo Hachiya appeared in front of Takami in the blink of an eye, brandishing her sword.

Chapter 58: Let's settle everything this time.

Click——

I think I heard the sound of the hands turning.

Consciousness returned to clarity from the chaos.

Then, when I opened my eyes, I saw a blood-red sky and a silent city.

Have I returned to this blood-soaked city?

Gao Hai couldn't remember what had happened. All he could remember was discovering that the watch's markings were constantly changing in the blood-red city, realizing that he hadn't been able to retain his memories after the time-travel, and having to make a wish to gain an ability. He then went back in time again and saw himself being eaten by the giant mouth flower summoned by Chiyo Hachiya.

The last mark the pointer pointed to was 4.

But now, when Gao Hai looks down, he can see that the hands on his watch are stopped at the 5 mark.

Does that mean I died again?

And this death, too, failed to preserve any memories, so it's likely that Chiyo Hachiya's core obsession killed me. Does this mean the core obsession of Hayate Elementary School has already taken three of my lives? Even Alice only killed me twice, this is truly outrageous…

Click——

The hands of the watch moved once again.

Moving from the 5 mark to the 6 mark, we have reached the halfway point.

Then Gao Hai saw his memories from the previous playthrough, including how he successfully broke through the initial kill, delved into several deep areas of the Hayate Elementary School dungeon, Kaguya was transformed into a monster, and Hayasaka kissed him.

"So Kaguya died not long after the last loop started. Looks like I can't let them come with me to the deeper areas; they're too easy to get into trouble if they're alone. The cognitive blockade in the surface area is also very dangerous, but at least the mortality rate is much lower. Tsk, but the Butcher is also a problem. I wonder if that monster will still be there in the surface after I take the Butcher's corpse..."

After seeing Kaguya transform into a monster, Takami couldn't help but shake his head and sigh.

Quite a few things have happened, but a lot of clues have also been gathered. This gives him more confidence to start the new cycle, although even so, he's not entirely sure if he can crack the core obsession.

as well as……

"Speaking of which, Hayasaka actually kissed me. Hmm, did it feel like pudding?"

After regaining his memory of kissing, Gao Hai subconsciously reached out and pressed his hand to his lips.

Even though it was just a light kiss, the wonderful feeling was truly unforgettable. If I could, I would love to do it again, and many more times.

In a new playthrough, will Hayasaka be able to retain her memories?

Gao Hai wasn't entirely sure about this. The prerequisite for retaining memories was a sufficiently close, mutual emotional bond, and so far, both Maki and Chika, who had successfully preserved their memories, had done so at the cost of their lives. In comparison, Hayasaka seemed more like a decorative vase he was protecting, much like Ashley was protected by Leon. Of course, Hayasaka's tracking and infiltration abilities had helped him somewhat; as an ordinary person without any special blessings or protection, she had done more than enough. But did she truly have deep feelings for him? And how much affection did he, Gao Hai, actually have for her?

Forget it, there's no point in thinking about this. Anyway, since that girl dared to flirt with me, I can't let her get away with it. That's just the kind of person I am. Understanding this point thoroughly and resolutely carrying it out, sticking to my principles, is enough.

The slight turmoil in my heart gradually subsided.

The restored memories finally came to an end, when he and Hayasaka went deep into the orphanage and found Chiyo Hachiya inside. They had barely exchanged a few words when she suddenly slashed him to death.

Yes, just one cut, and his head was chopped off. You could say he died a very satisfying death.

Through the memory recovery function of the watch, Gao Hai relives the process of his head falling off his body in the first person.

Not bad, there's basically no pain, it's a good way to die.

Moreover, from the perspective after turning around, it wasn't just himself who was severed. Chiyo Hachiya, along with Lao Guo, whom he had summoned to block the attack, and Hayasaka, whom he was protecting behind him, all had their heads severed simultaneously in one strike and fell to the ground at the same time.

Its speed, the finesse of its movements, and the sheer power of its strength make it a pinnacle of classical Iaijutsu, deserving the title of Sword Saint.

I suggest that Chiyo Hachiya be renamed Kojiro Hachiya.

Okay, let's put the jokes aside for now. That sudden death at the end was actually a very direct warning. Contact with this core obsession cannot harbor even the slightest falsehood in your heart. Even if there's no difference in actual actions, as long as there are other thoughts in your mind, as long as there's a discrepancy between your inner thoughts and the expressed meaning, it will be judged as "deception" and you'll be instantly killed.

It’s difficult.

This poor kid, how many times has he been tricked? How can he be so difficult to deal with...?

I could never do something like offering wholehearted help.

Even if I have indeed done a lot of good deeds, I'm not the kind of person who helps others without expecting anything in return. This tendency to judge by intentions rather than actions is something only people like Lin Xusheng, Howard, and Hirano Sosuke could probably overcome, right? Even those three might not be able to, because one of them reluctantly gave up for his family when facing evil, one of them succumbed to power, and one of them once fell into self-doubt and collapse. To put it bluntly, this kind of supernatural rule is almost insurmountable for all humans; only a near-perfect "saint" could possibly overcome it.

If I were to look for a shortcut to bypass this rule... I feel that once I have this idea, I will be targeted even more fiercely, and I will suffer an even worse fate.

So, should I honestly face my true feelings? If I had to say what I really think, well, it would be to give that brat a good beating, then break her obsession and let her rest in peace, obtain a new and powerful blessing, and incidentally boost Kaguya and Hayasaka's strength, before returning to the real world. Oh, and it would be best to beat up the Keeper of the Priestess too, but I don't think I can beat that guy, so let's make peace for now and settle the score later when I'm stronger.

I feel like this is pointless; we still can't communicate.

However, last time Chiyo Hachiya in the orphanage area stopped walking after I mentioned the butcher's corpse. Perhaps I can think of a solution from that perspective?

However, we can't ignore the KP's meddling. At the start of a new playthrough, I'll likely face unknown situations again, and it's impossible to be sure how much of what I'm thinking about now will be useful then...

"Tsk, after thinking it over, I guess I'll just have to wait until the new playthrough starts and then improvise."

Sitting in the empty city square, Gao Hai, after thinking for a long time, finally sighed and realized with resignation that the situation he was about to face was still not much better.

The watch is now halfway through its markings.

Considering that each rollback will erase memories, the actual cost of a rollback is 2 slots, so I now have a maximum of 3 rollback opportunities left.

Can you do it?

Gao Hai couldn't help but ask himself this question.

Can I really overcome this situation and this difficulty?

Even with an extraordinary and powerful will, the difficult situation will not change. The chances of starting over are getting smaller and smaller, and the hidden dangers have not yet been fully revealed. Not to mention that he is now responsible for more than just his own life.

But that's precisely why we can't give up, and why we must face the difficulties head-on, right? The question of death or survival has never needed to be considered.

when--

As Gao Hai stood up, ready to start afresh, the bell rang.

Various things fell from the sky again: the butcher's spoon, apron, and even the butcher himself; an unsigned dismissal notice; and a small hair clip. Hmm... this hair clip must be Chiyo Hachiya's obsession item, taken from her after he splashed her with blood. However, it seems this isn't her core obsession item, which is a bit of a shame.

Then came the faceless head, the blood puppet, the scalpel, and all the objects that Gao Hai had sold to Xiao He Shu, which he had never intended to take back. Now, Gao Hai used the watch's ability to actively pull them back into this blood-red city.

These Twilight-level artifacts would instantly go out of control and become unusable if actually placed in a Red Moon-level dungeon. But even so, these things still have the potential to be useful. And now that Gao Hai has fewer and fewer rollback opportunities, he doesn't have much leeway, so even if it's hard to explain to Xiao He Shu afterward, he has to do it.

Speaking of which, it's quite unexpected that this butcher's corpse is an object of obsession. This corpse... well, it should also be Chiyo Hachiya's object of obsession, although it's not a core object of obsession either. This little girl is quite prolific; as a Crimson Moon-level core object of obsession, I've already extracted two objects of obsession from her. It's just a pity that I can't use objects of obsession in this Crimson Space, so I can't determine their purpose. I'll have to wait until the new playthrough starts.

when--

As the bell rang once more, the surrounding scenery began to gradually dim.

Gao Hai turned around and glanced at the figures still burning in the sea of ​​fire, those wicked people struggling and unable to find peace, being judged by the flames for their crimes. He couldn't help but wonder how many more people would be added to this place. Then he turned his gaze forward, to the gradually dimming world, to the few figures that were vaguely emerging.

Shijou Maki and Fujiwara Chika are two girls whose memories I can always sense before each save point.

Since Jianzi has already integrated with the Blood City to a certain extent, she can retain her memories without Gao Hai having to pay any price, so she will not appear at this time.

Then, there was the third one, a girl who was much more blurry than the other two figures.

That was Hayasaka Ai standing with her back to Takami.

"It seems that my 'favorability' is actually very cheap. I can fall in love with a girl just by being kissed. I'm such a jerk."

Feeling a pang of self-reflection, Gao Hai stepped forward without hesitation and grabbed the small hand of the blurry-looking girl.

Click——

The pointer's scale thus moved from 6 to 7.

Perhaps doing this would seem irrational, but Gao Hai wouldn't regret it. He was prepared to give it his all in the new loop, and he wouldn't let the feelings he had built disappear with the rewind, becoming something that never happened.

"Let's settle everything this time."

As Gao Hai murmured to himself, he heard the distant third chime of the bell.

when--

Everything was plunged into darkness.

Consciousness blurred for a moment, then quickly returned to normal.

Gao Hai knew that he would wake up in a dilapidated rented room and be pursued by Chiyo Hachiya at the start. Therefore, he had no choice but to use Alice's safe house at the beginning, and then he would ask Maki and the others for help in resolving his identity issue.

So, tense up, and then you have to—

"Ok?"

The smell of blood filled my nostrils.

Gao Hai opened his eyes and saw a crimson color.

Tick-tick-tick-

Cold drops of blood fell onto Gao Hai's forehead.

He sat up from the ground.

What came into view was not a rental house, and there was no knocking on the window behind me.

At this moment, what Gao Hai saw was a corridor covered in blood red, as if it had been submerged in a sea of ​​blood, and piled with broken corpses.

"So, teacher, do you like it here?"