Re:Zero: No Job, No Magic, Just a Stupid Romance System

When people are in emotional torment, the passage of time becomes particularly slow in their senses.

Senis felt that her tears had dried up.

Her hair was scattered across her body, her face was dejected, and her eyes were dull as she stared at the valley in front of her.

There were shadowy figures.

Almost all the adult men in Buena Village had come to help dig snow. The bad news had been brought back to Buena Village in the middle of the night before last.

This operation was launched at full speed.

It should have been the responsibility of the whole village to eliminate monsters. In times of monster riots, they feared failing in the absence of Paul, leaving behind this "root of evil." The dangerous behavior of Allen, Paul, and the others who sneaked into the valley alone to eliminate monsters made all the villagers appreciate their courage deeply.

Everyone picked up their shovels and wooden forks used for strangling monsters and followed Paul into the forest under the cover of night.

But strangely, while there were monsters gathered outside the forest at first, the closer they got to the valley, the fewer there were. Even now, after digging from late at night until now—

Unexpectedly, not a single monster had appeared.

"Everyone, work harder!"

Paul's hoarse voice came from the front. He looked very tired, with an unshaven beard and dark circles around his eyes. Even so, he kept digging tirelessly.

Yet the snow at the entrance to the valley had still not been cleared.

It didn't snow today. The sunset fell through the mountain stream, casting golden light on Senis's dull face.

It had been 24 hours since Allen and Sylphy fell into the canyon.

"I shouldn't have let them go to the forest. It's my fault, it's my fault..."

"Madam. Allen is very strong. He must be okay."

"It's my fault, it's my fault..."

Lilia looked at Senis. Her face was numb, red hair scattered across her shoulders. Lilia knew this was just a comforting statement.

The situation that night was already known to everyone.

It wasn't just a simple avalanche blocking the mountain path.

The two had fallen from the cliff halfway up the mountain. Even if Allen was strong, that drop was over a hundred meters. If they didn't find a way to stop themselves from falling, the two might...

Lilia quickly shook her head, forcing herself to discard the thought.

She reached out and tightened Senis's robe. Her exposed skin had already started to turn blue. After being woken up late at night, they had ignored Paul's dissuasion, hurriedly wrapped themselves in coats, and rushed out. First, they found a neighbor woman to help care for the children, then rushed straight to the forest.

When Senis saw the avalanche-buried valley with her own eyes, she had frozen, her expression twisting several times before she sat down and cried silently.

At dawn, she had been repeating the same sentence—and had not stopped even now.

As an adventurer, she must have known how bad the situation was.

And how slim the chances of survival.

As for Rudy—Lilia, who was usually steady and overly mature, turned her head to look.

Rudius was wrapped in a blanket, squatting on the ground, staring blankly at the snow in front of him. His expression was dazed, as if he hadn't truly woken up. Detached from reality, as if everything was just a dream.

If Senis's collapse was visible, then Rudy's was hidden deep within.

But at least Senis was willing to eat. Rudy, however, kept this posture as if curling up like this could make the world disappear. As if lowering his head would let him pretend the rescue effort wasn't even happening.

This was the first time Lilia had seen such a cowardly posture.

But—it was the natural state of a child.

Because of this, everyone present understood and allowed him to sit there. After all, as a child, he couldn't do much. And as a magician, Paul had specifically ordered him not to use magic.

While Rudy's blowing magic or fire spells might improve efficiency, Paul feared it would cause a second avalanche. If cast slowly, blowing magic wouldn't be effective. If fire magic melted the snow, then refroze at this temperature, the ice would make the rescue even harder.

So he was left behind.

Thinking of this, Lilia walked over to Rudy, squatted down, and handed him a piece of frozen bread.

He accepted it with a faint look of realization and thanked Lilia politely.

Then he tucked it into his arms and bowed his head again in silence.

Lilia opened her mouth to say something, but sighed silently instead.

Rudius had already accumulated several pieces of bread in his arms.

Every time she handed him bread, she would hug Rudy and say thank you for your hard work, and that it wasn't his fault.

But there was never a smile.

He would thank her and speak clearly, but his expression remained vacant, as if he were dreaming.

She stared at Rudy for a long time, turned to look at Paul directing the excavation in the distance, pulled another piece of bread from the basket, and was just about to hand it over.

But then Rudy spoke first.

"Lilia, what do you think Allen was thinking when he saved me?"

Lilia froze and quickly looked at Rudy.

He was still staring at the snow beneath his feet, not expecting an answer, and continued speaking.

"If it were me, I'd save them. Because I'd regret it if their bodies ended up like two piles of meat paste. So I'd save them. Even if I ended up as a pile of meat paste too, I would do it. Because at least in that moment, I knew it was the right thing."

Lilia was stunned, unsure how to respond.

Rudy lifted his head and looked at her blankly.

Lilia could feel that even though he was looking at her, she wasn't the one he truly wanted to see.

Rudy's voice drifted softly, tinged with doubt.

"I definitely had the idea of saving them. Even if it wasn't them—if it were a passerby—I'd try to save them. So why... why was I the one who was saved?"

Lilia was speechless.

Rudy's voice became faster, sharper. He looked at the snow in front of him, his words pouring out like a storm:

"I have so much mana. If I used blowing magic at full power, maybe I could've pushed us back toward Father. So why me? Why didn't I save them?"

"I always say Allen is full of fancy words... but maybe I'm the one who only says things nicely and tortures myself later with regrets."

"I saw the moment Allen saved me. He didn't hesitate at all. Did he know he was going to die? Or did he make the same choice I would—choosing not to regret?"

"If we shared the same resolve, then why am I the one sitting here, full of regret? Lilia, I don't understand."

Rudy looked at her. Lilia struggled to respond, unable to find the words. Senis, beside them, had already covered her face and lowered her head.

"Or maybe Allen didn't think about regret at all. He just wanted to save me—and so he did. Is that it?"

The words fell.

Silence.

Rudy looked at Lilia, as if waiting for a reply, or for her to yell at him—to give him the clarity he desperately needed.

This sharp, painful kind of self-interrogation reminded Lilia of Allen—back during the cheating incident.

But then, Allen was interrogating others.

Now, Rudy was interrogating himself.

In the past two years, had Allen—this butterfly—changed only one person?

Lilia couldn't speak.

"Ah!!!"

Suddenly, a cry erupted from the excavation site.

Rudy and Senis immediately jumped up and ran toward it. Lilia followed closely behind.

When they arrived, they paused, shocked, next to Roelz and his wife, and Paul.

The snow hadn't been fully cleared yet—but something had changed.

Next to a shovel discarded in horror by the villagers—

The snow had turned black and purple. Thick, sticky, and unnatural.

Everyone who saw this felt a chill deep in their bones.