Starting to Weave a New Web

Death had arrived, but Ayanokouji felt surrounded by darkness, and within the darkness, a woman's figure seemed to be approaching him.

'Witch of Envy Satella?'

That was his first thought.

He had many questions he wanted to ask the shadow, but it turned out he did not make a sound.

Soon, all the darkness in front of Ayanokouji vanished, and light appeared before him.

"Am I back again?"

He looked down at his hands and then shifted his gaze around, seeing the familiar walls and furniture. He had returned to his room in the mansion.

He remembered that his first regression took place at the capital's market, where he had just arrived in this world. But why was he in Roswaal's mansion this time?

Could this so-called Return by Death change the time and place of resurrection?

Ayanokouji was full of doubts about the Return by Death ability. Perhaps he could find the answer by dying again, but he was not inclined to do so, as it was uncertain if there was a limit to how many times Return by Death could be used and other factors.

He would never consider Return by Death as a solution to a problem, even if the problem was Return by Death itself.

"Ayanokouji-sama has finally woken up."

"You can sleep for so long even though you haven't done anything."

"Or did just learning a few words yesterday already strain your brain?"

Familiar lines reached Ayanokouji's ears. He turned and looked to the side.

It was the twin maids. They both interlocked their fingers tightly and stared at him with curiosity on their faces.

In the last regression, Rem was killed and Ram was in a coma. No sister had a good end. Ram's collapse was still vivid in Ayanokouji's mind, but now that tragedy was a few days away.

These words also made him realize quickly. It was the second day since he arrived at Roswaal Mansion, and he had just spent his first night here. But last night wasn't a good night to interact with Beatrice, and most of his magical power was drained by her, leaving him in a very exhausted state.

"Ayanokouji-sama, breakfast has been prepared for you. Should I bring it to you now?"

"Um."

"Also, the prisoners held in the basement have woken up. Roswaal-sama asked me to come and inform you."

"I understand."

After the maids brought breakfast to his room, Ayanokouji asked them to wait outside for a moment while he began to analyze the current situation while eating.

In the last regression, he could be said to have experienced two events from start to finish. The first was when Meili cursed Rem, and the other was when he encountered the Witch Cult and Petelgeuse.

Meili had been inactive in Arlam Village a month ago, and members of the Witch Cult must be operating near Roswaal's mansion.

The first issue to address was Meili. That problem directly led to Rem's death, which caused Ram's collapse and other tragedies. It could be said that if Ayanokouji could prevent the Demon Beast-like creature controlled by Meili from appearing, he might be able to stop this from happening.

But what should he do with Meili?

It was too dangerous to leave her as she was, and it was a pity to kill her outright. In Ayanokouji's eyes, Meili had extraordinary value.

He no longer needed information about the assassination organization, but Meili's ability to control Demon Beasts was very special, so it would be better to keep her for himself.

In the last regression, Ayanokouji saw a deep emotional bond between Meili and Elsa. This might be something to exploit. He might be able to use Meili to make Elsa loyal to him.

It was unfortunate that he had to kill Elsa and Meili early, as both were very useful tools, but considering the overall situation, they needed to be eliminated.

But in this regression, Ayanokouji could avoid risks and recruit both before anything happened.

As sharp blades, Elsa and Meili were quite sharp.

And they might become crucial forces in killing Petelgeuse in the future.

In the last regression, Ayanokouji and the others were killed by someone who called himself the Sin Archbishop of Sloth, not only due to lack of intelligence but also because of insufficient combat effectiveness.

If Elsa and Meili were obtained, their camp's power would increase rapidly.

Meili could control Demon Beasts, which would allow Ayanokouji to more easily understand the movements of the Witch Cult hidden in the forest and clear various obstacles.

And Elsa might be an important weapon to kill Petelgeuse.

Although Petelgeuse could move his body to his fingers, from the current perspective, those fingers would not be taken by him. Before he died, he was no different from an ordinary Witch Cultist. By using Elsa's terrifying killing ability, she should be able to easily handle those fingers, leaving Petelgeuse without anyone.

And although Petelgeuse could move his body even after turning to ashes, it was clear that his transfers had an upper limit and could only be moved to his own fingers, and Elsa's resurrection ability was limited here.

Ayanokouji already knew that Petelgeuse had the ability to move his body, but Petelgeuse might not know that Elsa had the ability to resurrect and heal herself.

This could be a crucial part.

Additionally, Ayanokouji remembered that Petelgeuse told him that the scheduled trial time had not yet arrived, so the reason the Witch Cult was taking the initiative to find him might be due to the scent left from his body.

But as long as he did not go into the forest, the Witch Cultists might not be able to detect him and would wait until the scheduled time before taking action.

Although Ayanokouji did not know when the scheduled time was, it would certainly give him more time, and the Witch Cult members would not take the initiative to cause trouble for now.

Even though Petelgeuse's power was unique and strange, knowing this information in advance would greatly reduce the threat.

However, one thing Ayanokouji was more worried about was whether Petelgeuse's body-snatching ability could only be used on his own fingers and whether it could be used on others.

But the next time he saw Petelgeuse, it would certainly be a decisive battle, and he would not have the opportunity to verify the doubts in his mind.

Perhaps... there would be relevant answers in the Forbidden Library.

Ayanokouji continued to analyze the current situation in his mind, but his main goal now was to try to win Elsa over to his side.

If Elsa could be won over, the difficulty of the problem would decrease significantly.

Ayanokouji had made his decision, and he had finished his breakfast.

He left his room, and Ram and Rem were waiting for him: "Have you finished eating, Ayanokouji-sama?"

"Yes." Ayanokouji nodded.

"Well then, Ayanokouji-sama, are you going to visit the prisoners now?" Ram asked.

"Yes." Ayanokouji replied.

He knew that the investigation of Elsa was Roswaal's test. Rem and Ram were watching him closely right now. They wanted to observe him and Elsa, and engage in conversation to determine if he was an accomplice of Elsa.

If he tried to win Elsa's heart directly in front of them, he would surely be seen as suspicious. With Rem's personality, she might even find an opportunity to kill him.

Ayanokouji also knew that Rem was very wary of him now, and he could sense that Rem's hostility towards him was much greater than in the previous regression. This was due to the witch factor within him.

There was only one difference between himself now and himself in the last regression, which was that he had experienced one more death. Could this be the effect of Return by Death?

Not only Rem, but Ram also had the ability of Clairvoyance. She considered the birds in the basement as her own eyes.

This was a significant problem for Ayanokouji, even though he knew that Ram could not use Clairvoyance all the time. It was impossible for him to meet Elsa alone.

However, he had his own plans to win Elsa's heart openly.

"Well then, let's go to the basement now, Ayanokouji-sama…"

"No, don't worry." Before the two sisters finished speaking, Ayanokouji quickly said, "Could you call Roswaal and Emilia? I need to inform them of something important."

Ram and Rem were slightly surprised, not knowing what he meant, but they eventually nodded: "Please wait a moment."

The camera panned, and ten minutes later, in the mansion's lobby, Emilia and Roswaal had arrived, with Felt and Rom sitting beside them.

"I heard you have something very important to say? Ayanokouji-sama?"

Roswaal was the first to speak, with a hint of curiosity in his eyes.

"Yes." Ayanokouji nodded, meeting Roswaal's gaze.

He knew that Roswaal did not trust him, and he did not trust Roswaal, but there was no doubt that Roswaal had very powerful abilities. Power was very important, and his rights and territory were also crucial for Ayanokouji.

"What's the matter, Ayanokouji?" Emilia asked, her silver-white hair covering her shoulders, and concern in her violet eyes. "Ayanokouji, are you not satisfied with your room? Tell me what made you uncomfortable during your stay."

"No, what I want to say is very important." Ayanokouji said calmly, his eyes sweeping over everyone, while Felt also stretched her head out like a curious kitten.

"I want to recruit Elsa." He said directly.

Hiding this would only increase others' suspicion of him, and even if he did succeed in winning Elsa's heart, others in Emilia's camp would still hold a grudge.

So Ayanokouji decided to reveal his thoughts directly. As long as he could convince others, he could legitimately try to win Elsa over.

"W-What?"

Emilia's eyes widened in disbelief, and she even thought she might have misheard.

But Felt truly understood what Ayanokouji meant, and her face was full of confusion. "Ayanokouji-sama, are you crazy! That crazy woman wants to rip out your intestines and play with them!"

As she recalled the fear she felt when fighting Elsa earlier, Felt could feel the hairs on her neck stand up.

"Ayanokouji-sama, you should know how terrifying the Bowel Hunter is." Even Roswaal had a look of confusion on his face.

"Of course I understand." Ayanokouji said calmly, as he was one of the few who had been killed by Elsa in the truest sense.

However, being killed by Elsa did not make him afraid or hateful towards her. In other words, he had no such emotions at all.

As long as it could be controlled, Elsa would be an extremely sharp dagger.

Not only in facing Petelgeuse, but later in the so-called throne campaign, she might also accurately stab the heart of an enemy.