From RE0, Sato Kazuma decided to cheat on food and drink

"Oh dear, things have turned out unexpectedly. You shouldn't have come here. After all, you might have saved your life if you had."

Elsa licked her red lips with her tongue, narrowed her eyes slightly, and focused her gaze on Emilia.

"After all, the employer said that as long as you can be excluded from the royal selection, that's fine. As for what method to use, that's up to me."

As soon as she finished speaking, Elsa seemed to transform into a black viper, closing in on Emilia in an instant, a crazed smile on her face.

"If you die, you won't be able to participate either!"

Her speed was so fast that it seemed to tear the air apart. At the same time, Elsa had already grasped two curved blades in her hands, the cold metallic gleam moving in the dim room, heading straight for Emilia's abdomen.

The Gut Hunter, that was Elsa's nickname.

Those who die at her hands are disemboweled and their intestines are emptied.

Her speed was incredibly fast. Even Kazuma Sato and Subaru Natsuki, who were at close range and had been mentally prepared, could not keep up with Elsa's speed with their naked eyes.

However, Emilia was already on guard. She released magic, and an ice wall appeared in front of her, blocking Elsa's attack. At the same time, several ice spikes appeared out of thin air and headed straight for Elsa.

Elsa was forced to retreat a few steps to avoid Emilia's attack.

The temperature in the entire room suddenly dropped.

Chapter 18: The battle has come to an end, hasn't it?

"Okay, great!"

Natsuki Subaru watched Emilia's smooth and effortless counterattack and couldn't help but sigh in admiration.

He hadn't expected Emilia to possess such formidable fighting power.

In the first playthrough, Subaru Natsuki and Emilia were ambushed by Elsa in the dark and both died.

If it were a head-on battle, they should be able to win!

At that moment, one ice spike after another rained down from the sky, launching a relentless attack on Elsa.

Elsa dodged and dodged, looking for an opportunity to counterattack.

Her agile movements were like those of a dancer.

Kazuma Sato was well aware that although Emilia was suppressing Elsa on the surface, it was clear that she would not be able to defeat her in a short period of time.

If Emilia runs out of magic and Elsa gets close, the battle might be reversed.

After all, mages in the game are generally fragile and can be countered by assassins and thieves.

He turned his head and looked at Felt and Rom beside him. At this moment, they were quietly retreating, seemingly planning to run away.

They didn't want to get involved in that kind of battle.

Seeing this, Kazuma Sato immediately pretended to speak loudly:

"You bastard, are you going to kill everyone involved?! Not even the old people and little girls here?! Even if they escape to the ends of the earth, are you going to hunt them down?!"

The sudden shout left Elsa somewhat bewildered, but she continued to dodge while smiling and saying...

"Well, there's nothing we can do about it. After all, the employer said that anyone who knows the truth must be eliminated—and right now, you're all of you! But don't worry, it won't be painful; it'll be over in no time."

Feru and Rom, who were standing nearby, exchanged a glance after hearing these words.

All they wanted right now was to live a peaceful life. If they didn't kill Elsa now, they might be relentlessly hunted down by her, like a sword hanging over their heads.

Seeing the hesitation on their faces, Kazuma Sato added:

"If you help Lady Emilia defeat the enemy, then perhaps Lady Emilia will be magnanimous and forgive you for stealing her things!"

"Ah, I didn't intend to pursue the matter further—"

Before Emilia could finish speaking, Kazuma Sato shouted again:

"Lady Emilia might even think you've done a great service and reward you with countless gold and silver treasures! Isn't that right, Lady Emilia!"

"You bastard, Rom, let's fight her to the death!"

Ferut shouted, then pulled out his dagger and turned to face Elsa.

Lord Rom also broke the spiked club that had been immobilized on the wall, preparing to intervene in the battle.

"Hey, you guys can't just stand by and watch! Come and lend a hand!"

As he spoke, Grandpa Rom tossed several weapons that had been stored in the room to Subaru Natsuki and Kazuma Sato.

Subaru Natsuki took the weapon, hesitated for a moment, then gritted his teeth, shouted, and rushed forward with Felt and the others, surrounding Erza.

Originally, Natsuki Subaru was still shaken by his two previous deaths and filled with fear of Elsa. However, seeing Elsa being suppressed and everyone working together to deal with her, most of his fear has been dispelled.

"Kazuma, why aren't you going? Are you scared?"

Aqua turned her head and looked at Kazuma Sato behind her. The latter did not join Natsuki Subaru and the others in attacking; he simply stood still.

"I am scared, I am indeed a little scared, but the most crucial issue is..."

At this moment, Kazuma Sato's face was flushed red, and his muscles were tense.

He couldn't lift the weapon that Lord Rom had given him.

Rom tossed Subaru an ordinary scimitar, but gave himself a huge hammer, which was clearly one of Rom's own weapons.

Kazuma Sato was originally a lazy otaku, unlike Subaru Natsuki who would train rigorously every day. This resulted in him being below average in almost every attribute, especially in terms of strength.

To pick up this weapon, Kazuma Sato was practically burned out.

Before the hammer had even left the ground by a centimeter, Kazuma Sato's hands and feet began to tremble as if he had been electrocuted.

"Move! My deadly hand is here!"

On the other side, Elsa was gradually falling into a disadvantageous position under the siege of the crowd.

Erza could easily defeat either Felt or Rom, and Subaru Natsuki was just a filler.

However, now that they are working together, and with the presence of Emilia, a mage, even the exceptionally skilled Elsa is forced to retreat step by step.

Her weaknesses gradually became apparent.

After dodging a swift thrust from Felt, Elsa took a step back, but a chilling sensation instantly spread from beneath her legs.

Emilia's magic successfully 'captured' it!

The ice enveloped Elsa's legs, making it impossible for her to move an inch.

"Oops, did I get caught? It's so cold, so nice."

Even so, that ambiguous smile never disappeared from Elsa's face; on the contrary, she seemed to be enjoying it.

"That's enough! Tell us everything you know about your employer!"

Emilia questioned sharply.

"I still have a lot of professional ethics~ I won't casually reveal anything about my employer."

Even when faced with this scene, Elsa showed no sign of panic.

"This guy doesn't seem like he'll say anything, let's just kill him!"

Ferut frowned as she looked at Elsa in front of her.

For some reason, she had a bad feeling about it.

"Calling the guards now would be the best course of action."

"Natsuki Subaru said, turning his head to glance at Elsa beside him out of the corner of his eye.

This time, I guess we've weathered the crisis.

He shifted his gaze to Emilia, a smile appearing on his face.

"That's great~ But do you really think it's over just like that?"

At that very moment, Elsa's provocative voice rang out behind Subaru Natsuki.

Before Natsuki Subaru could turn around, a cold sensation came from his abdomen.

Chapter 19: Before you stands the candidate for king, Lady Aqua!

Although Elsa's legs were frozen, she had just managed to break her own ankles and break free from Emilia's icy grip.

No one expected Elsa to be able to do this, so no one was on guard.

In less than a second, Elsa quietly appeared in front of Subaru Natsuki, her sharp blade already piercing his skin.

"theft!"

At this critical moment, not far away, Kazuma Sato raised his hand and shouted loudly to Elsa.

He wasn't sure if the theft would be successful.

In previous playthroughs, Kazuma Sato had tried using his thieving skill on Elsa and had indeed stolen something, but he wasn't confident that he would always steal the 'right' item.

He didn't know the exact reason. Perhaps it was because he wasn't proficient enough in the skills, or perhaps it was because he was too nervous and unable to concentrate.

But now it's a critical moment, and Kazuma Sato can't care about anything else. He can only choose to take a gamble!

Not panties!

Anyway, Elsa wasn't wearing panties.

The next instant, Kazuma Sato felt a strange sensation in his hand.

The scimitar that Elsa once held has now appeared in Kazuma Sato's hand, and the attack just now only caused Natsuki Subaru to suffer a minor scratch.

"how did you do that?"

Elsa looked surprised; she hadn't expected that Kazuma Sato would be able to snatch the weapon from her hand so easily.

He was several meters away from me, so what kind of special magic was it?

interesting.

Was this person deliberately waiting for an opportunity, as they hadn't participated in the battle before?

It seems he's the one who can't be ignored at all!

Elsa's face was filled with an ambiguous smile as her gaze fell on Kazuma Sato.

Kazuma Sato also smiled.

Elsa is now completely empty-handed! Without her weapons, she's no match for us at all!

Less than a second later, Elsa magically produced a curved sword from her black robe.

With a swift movement, Subaru Natsuki, who was closest to the blade, had absolutely no room to dodge.

Blood spurted out.

. . . . . . .

"call!"

Kazuma Sato bent over, panting heavily.

He and Aqua are now back to the beginning of the timeline.

This is their fourth time returning to this place.

"Kazuma, are you alright?"

Aqua asked with some concern.

"No, it's okay."

Kazuma Sato waved his hand, his mind racing as he replayed the previous cycle in his mind.

It is currently confirmed that at least Subaru Natsuki's death will trigger Return by Death, resetting time.

That wretched Elsa, does she even have a weapon hidden on her?

Therefore, we cannot rule out the possibility that the other party is hiding more weapons.

One use of the thieving skill isn't enough; he might need to use it multiple times in a row.

Kazuma Sato wasn't sure if he could do it.

However, he also realized that he seemed to be using the thieving skill more effectively than before, and he was gradually able to control the targets of the thieving skill.