Takeshi arrived at the classroom before the teacher came in.

He sat down, placed his notebook on the desk, and stared off into nothingness itself. The hallway still echoed with students moving toward their classes, but the noise felt distant.

’I have two problems...’

The first was that he knew almost nothing about the goddess Ophélia worshipped. He knew she existed, and that the deity considered her troublesome enough to be grateful not to have direct contact with her. That was all.

He didn’t know her name, didn’t know what kind of power she possessed, didn’t know the exact nature of her relationship with Ophélia, nor what that relationship meant in practical terms.

The second problem was more urgent, since Ophélia would have to return to the sanctuary, and in the timeline Takeshi remembered, the attack had happened during that trip.

There was no reason to assume things would be different in this timeline, because the attacker had no way of knowing Takeshi had used the reset. To the attacker, everything was still the same.

Which meant the moment of greatest risk was exactly the same as before.

The teacher entered the classroom and started talking.

Takeshi opened his notebook and wrote.

Research the goddess and keep Ophélia alive today.

He underlined both.

’The first one can wait until I’ve dealt with the second.’

There was no point investigating a goddess connected to Ophélia if Ophélia ended up dead before he could ask her anything.

The problem with keeping Ophélia alive was that he couldn’t do it alone.

Accompanying her from school to the sanctuary would be safer with someone else there. Takeshi had access to Eclipse and a fraction of Nyx’s power, but he had seen what the attacker was capable of doing.

’That ability to move through shadows is similar to Yuki’s...’

That kind of opponent wasn’t something he could handle with improvisation and a borrowed sword.

He needed backup.

The chat briefly appeared in his field of vision.

[he’s got the face of someone recalculating]

[planning mode activated]

[place your bets on how long it takes him to get into another problem while solving the first one]

Takeshi ignored the comments and decided to send a message to the student council group chat.

The first message came from Aoi, who replied that she had club activities after school, so she wouldn’t be able to accompany him.

’Honestly, it’s probably better if she doesn’t come with us anyway, since her stats have been unstable these past few days, and I don’t want her ending up in another jealous fit.’

Nyx was the other option, but she replied that she had legal matters involving her family to deal with after school, though she promised she’d make sure to be free another day to accompany him. 𝒇𝓻𝓮𝓮𝙬𝙚𝒃𝒏𝓸𝙫𝒆𝙡.𝓬𝓸𝒎

’Damn it, that only leaves...’

Merwyn, who had made it clear from the beginning that she didn’t want Ophélia attracting unnecessary attention, and if there was one thing Takeshi had learned about Merwyn, it was that when she said no, she meant no.

Merwyn’s response arrived, and it was exactly what he had anticipated: it wasn’t convenient for her to intervene on Ophélia’s first day. If someone needed to accompany her, it had to be someone capable of doing it discreetly. Merwyn added at the end that she trusted Takeshi to resolve the situation on his own.

Takeshi read the message twice.

’I trust you can handle it...’

He repeated it mentally. That was a very efficient way of saying the problem was his.

All that remained was to wait for someone from the council to respond.

Takeshi didn’t know the other members very well. Merwyn had only mentioned them in passing, but there had never been a situation that required involving them directly.

He didn’t know their names, what abilities they had, or whether any of them had actual combat capability, or if they were council members for purely administrative reasons.

But he had no other solution.

The teacher changed topics and started writing on the board, and Takeshi copied down what was written without processing any of it, while the class continued like that for the next forty minutes.

By the time the bell for second period rang, he had reached a conclusion.

’If nobody answers me, I’ll have to figure out a way to get Ophélia to the sanctuary as fast as possible...’

Suddenly, he saw that someone had replied, but his relief faded when he read the message.

[Lyra Lunae] You really shouldn’t be using your phone during class.

’Who is she? Another student council member?’

A minute later, Merwyn replied.

[President] Relax, Lyra. He’s only asking for help, and besides, you’re using your phone too, aren’t you?

Several minutes passed without another response until a new message appeared.

[Lyra Lunae] Sorry for the inconvenience.

’Wow, Merwyn really doesn’t let anyone slide.’

Third period started.

He put his phone away, but it buzzed immediately, notifying him that someone else had replied.

’Please don’t let it be that same girl again.’

He opened the student council group chat.

[Future Superstar Elina] Well, well, looks like someone needs my help.

’She’s the other council member?’

[Takeshi] Your help would be useful if it’s not too much trouble.

The reply came a few seconds later.

[Future Superstar Elina] No problem at all. Just tell me the place and time for the meetup.

He replied with the schedule and meeting place.

The response came back almost instantly again.

[Future Superstar Elina] Perfect. I’ll be there, dear colleague.

’Dear colleague?’

Takeshi set the phone down on the desk.

’Well, problem provisionally solved, I guess...’

He thought, since he still didn’t know whether Elina was actually useful or whether the attacker might act differently this time.

But it was what it was.

Class ended with the ringing bell.

Takeshi picked up his notebook, put away his pencil, and stood up. He still had to find Ophélia before dismissal to explain that someone else would be accompanying them to the sanctuary today, and he had to do it without explaining what would happen if they went alone.

He stepped into the hallway and started walking.