Is the person you sculpt as cute as me?

"What was our relationship before?" I asked again.

"Everything."

I fell into deep thought, with complicated thoughts coming one after another.

until--

"Most of the time we're lovers." Her words pierced through all my thoughts, "Other times, I'm happy watching you date other girls."

My head was like trying to take a screenshot, but it was completely empty after being destroyed by her divine power.

"You're joking, right? Just like you said you were going to block my account..." I asked quickly.

"Well, I was joking when I said I'd ban your account. Being a heroine always has some privileges."

What about the others?!

But she didn't give me a chance to ask any more questions, and the world fell silent.

Whether it was the seagulls or the waves, the leaves or the light, everything had stopped.

Only she, and the memories she alone possessed, were still somewhat vivid.

"Yu Man."

She called out to me.

Then she told me.

"This week... you can reach any place you wish. Whether it's the end of the world, or the past and the future. You've spent enough time to carve out your soul, searching through all the time, and nothing has been as beautiful as this time."

I can hardly understand what Time is saying, but I can hear it——

I can hear the love she has for me.

They melted into every syllable she spoke, like honey on a spoon melting in hot water.

"As I said before, I am just a 'reader', an ordinary reader."

She looked at me quietly and said to me.

“Readers always hate it when the protagonist fails, makes a fool of themselves, or does something stupid… They hate not being able to see the future, and they are even more unwilling to accept a bad future.”

But unfortunately—

"That future is waiting for you in this most beautiful week."

The god who controls time, the reader who reads through the work—predicted my end.

Even with my love-soaked brain, I can still understand this.

And strangely enough, I suddenly understood what she was doing.

"When I was a kid, I read a book where the protagonist died tragically." My voice was softer than I'd intended. "Rereading it much later, while things were still good, I really wished I could have told the protagonist not to make the choices that would lead to his death..."

But no matter how young I was, I knew that was impossible.

So I choose the best time—to close the book.

Let the story stop.

And now...did she, who was standing before me, do the same thing?

Just as I thought.

Time cried in my ear, "Now, I want to tell you—don't rush to death."

……

This should have been a rare day of leisure and beauty for me amidst countless busy schedules.

There was no team of hundreds of people from a large guild to bother me, there was no terrifying mysterious dungeon that required my strategy, the travel ship that sold desserts was not open, and no one I knew sent me a request for help.

Therefore, I should have been soaking in the sea that reflected the sky and becoming a part of the blue.

Instead of, like now——

The gods who quietly visited us told us this:

"Your life right now is just one of countless cycles that repeat themselves."

It sounds like a game that has been restarted countless times.

Besides that, she told me so much more. To save my future, to make sure the past wasn't in vain, to prevent her love from turning into sadness and regret.

But the trouble is, this god named "Time" doesn't speak human language very well.

My brain was already dulled by these sudden events, and I found her riddle-like speeches or her impromptu, poetic speeches very puzzling to me.

So she showed me some images.

"These are taken from time, many from the past, countless from the future, presented only for you and me in the present."

As she spoke, she used the azure sky as a backdrop to present a vast scene.

The drag of the sea sometimes casts ripples into the picture, but the story it tells cannot be seen through.

"Only those who possess godhood and have reached the highest level of existence can see it. Fortunately, you are one of them."

As she said, I can see it.

——That’s understandable.

That movie-like thing, speaking on behalf of the mute god, revealed a lot to me.

It touches upon too many mysteries of this world, and even reveals the path to the true ending that no one knows or has ever heard of.

They call us players, we traveling, drifting souls, the death that entangles us, all the lies or reflections that deceive us, those clocks of facts that never hesitate to flash, those dreams or farewells.

But she just wanted to tell me—

"Stop here and close the book."

To put it another way, that is—

"Don't go to hell and let this perfect first week go to waste."

This week, I am really strong enough and can do anything I want, just as I think.

Therefore, in the future she revealed to me, I would soon meet a unique being.

Then, simply end this round, a life of futile in which you can accomplish nothing, and are not even allowed to start the second round. Instead, repeat the journey of the old world again in the void, starting from scratch, and forgetting everything.

only because--

This story ends here.

This story—no, my story—became a unique entity.

It is neither a scrap nor a finished product.

But -

The best first draft.

……

"That... 'time'."

I leaned against the tree, and the light between the leaves leaned against me.

When I tried to speak, the sea breeze and the slight dampness of the plants came over me, so fresh that it didn't seem like there was no future.

"Thank you for letting me see the movie, but the question is, in order to watch this movie that spoils the next 100 to 80 years of my life, should I pay a price?"

I feel this from the bottom of my heart.

This is after getting the script, entering the cheat code, and turning on the invincible mode.

The images that "time" shows me - the images that I call "movies" and use to replace her words - are exactly like this.

I know almost everything.

And I don't have to pay anything? Is this free?

"A price...?" Time's tone was bewildered, but it quickly became tactful. "The long experience of being with you is more than enough."

That’s right, she said she was my reader, and she was also the one who had been intimate with me for many episodes in the past...

Oh - that's quite interesting, I quite like this.

So, this part should be equal, right?

"And..." There was a sentimental glint in her eyes.

"Yeah." I understand too.

As a "reader", the story will continue to flow even if she closes the book.

That future…will still come.

In that case——

"Time, I'm actually a very stingy person." I don't like to say bad things about myself, but it's the truth. "I'm not planning on spending any substantial amount of money to pay for movie tickets right now."

After hearing this, she also laughed.

So I continued—

"Anyway, the future has nothing to do with me now. I won't remember anything. Just come to me in the future!"

It’s great to leave things to my future self.

We sat side by side under the tree, looking out at the sea as the screening ended, laughing for a long time with a mixture of anticipation and sadness.

We can no longer hear the laughter, the light roar of the waves and seagulls is more fascinating than we imagined, and we are more familiar with each other than we thought.

……

Our thoughts dance in the sunset that comes at an unknown time.

We will all remember every day we spend together in the future.

……

finally--

"Time, please forgive me in the future and the present... every time... I feel strange towards you... and I haven't said goodbye to you in a long time." I spoke from the bottom of my heart.

She just responded to me with a smile that she was already used to but still full of joy.

Have I said this in every past week that we don't remember?

Well...that's exactly what I would say.

Besides that, what else can make her feel fresh?

Oh!

I threw out what I was thinking: "You said before that in some episodes, did you watch me fall in love with someone else?"

This should be quite powerful? But her expression did not change——

"Eel, it's not your fault. You really don't understand."

"Ok?"

"I'm your 'reader,' and my love for the heroine is genuine. But besides that... I also find it very engaging. Watching you fall in love with other girls... is actually quite enjoyable."

"what?"

This kind of god is even more problematic than I thought, so I'd better ignore it.

But I quickly broke this idea. After all, I still had a problem.

This is probably the last question.

"'Time', if this week's story is the first draft, what should be revised in the final version?"

"I'm just a 'reader'... OK, but I've definitely exchanged opinions as a reader, so I know what the future holds. Anyway, I'm going to scrap everything and start over."

"why?"

My scalp tingled when I heard this because this is my life.

But her expression wasn't that bad, just a little regretful.

“There was a major problem. I only realized something was wrong after I finished creating it.”