Marisa is eliminated.

Reg knew everything, but in pursuit of an ordinary life, he couldn’t just say yes to the girl’s confession.

To live with a girl like Marisa would be irresponsible. Although Reg’s physical abilities were somewhat enhanced, surpassing the limits of a human, he was still quite fragile compared to Monsters, Youkai

His physical strength was only half that of a Youkai. Against them, he could only barely put up a fight, always relying on his Death Reversal ability, and the calm, rational state it induced, to kill Youkai several times stronger than himself.

If he was truly outmatched and couldn’t push through, he would immediately flee with his friends. Reg’s personality was forged through these repeated deaths.

Each death required him to wait out a long “reset” period. Upon returning, he had to perform a certain amount of thought and mental reorganization.

Reg’s memory was flawed. In the ‘dark room’ (referring to the cooldown period), his brain would enter a state of deep reflection, slowly transitioning into semi-hibernation according to instinct.

However, Reg had adapted to this state by the time he was five or six years old.

Now, organizing his memories after a Death Reversal was very quick.

The cool evening breeze swept across the open ground in front of Marisa’s house, rustling the simple desserts laid out on the table.

The awkwardness from the earlier confession still lingered in the air, but with Marisa’s hearty laugh and a wave of her hand, the atmosphere was forcibly steered back onto the celebratory track.

“Come on, come on! Before blowing out the candles, let’s watch a huge firework display to liven things up! This is a special program prepared just for you, da☆ze!”

Marisa seemed intent on immediately dispelling the heaviness. She stepped back a few paces, her face once again lighting up with that excited glow she got before causing trouble. Her golden hair flew out from under her witch hat.

“Come witness the flashing lights!”

She didn’t wait for Reg to react.

Or rather, she was always this direct, immediately pulling out her signature Mini-Hakkero (Mini-Eight Trigrams Furnace) from under her skirt.

“Hey! Wait! Setting off a cannon like that in the front yard is too…”

A loud alarm blared in Reg’s head. He knew exactly what kind of ‘fireworks’ Marisa’s cannons were.

Unfortunately, his warning wasn’t finished before she spoke.

“Starlight…”

Marisa’s eyes shimmered with pure passion and confidence in showing off her power. She had already injected the magic.

The furnace mouth instantly burst forth with a dazzling and frantic light. It wasn’t the slowly condensing, gentle starlight, but more like fragments of a runaway star, forcibly constrained, yet desperate to erupt!

“Breaker!!”

No sooner had the word left her mouth, the accumulated torrent of magic, like an angry dragon breaking free, roared out of the furnace mouth in a blinding, thick golden beam.

“Crap, why is it Master Spark?”

Marisa’s expression suddenly turned to one of shock. She didn’t understand why her ‘flashing lights’ had instantly escalated into a Master Spark.

The direction of the attack… was precisely where Reg was standing.

Reg wasn’t given any time to dodge or even think.

One second, he was trying to speak and stop her; the next, the torrent of magic, containing terrifying heat and impact force, completely and directly consumed him.

“!!!”

Excruciating, indescribable pain instantly swept through every nerve. His vision was filled with searing white light. His body, under that savage energy shock, didn’t feel like a coherent existence—it was as if he were instantly vaporized and disintegrated.

The sound of bones shattering and flesh boiling seemed to explode directly in the depths of his soul!

It was a thousand times more terrifying than that kitchen knife! He couldn’t even let out a complete scream.

“Reg!!!”

Marisa’s voice, amidst the thunderous roar after the cannon’s firing, sounded so distant and distorted. The excitement on her face instantly froze, transforming into horror and dread, but everything was too late.

Boom!

The blinding light annihilated everything. The sharp explosion gradually faded away in his ears.

Reg’s final conscious thought was not darkness, but the brand of endless white-hot light and soul-shattering pain.

Immediately after, the familiar, crushing vacuum of pure blackness—more familiar than any physical death—surged and enveloped his consciousness.

It… hurt… so… much…

Half of Reg’s own body was melted away. He’d barely managed to attempt a dodge, only to realize the power output was the highest efficiency of the Hakkero.

He knew it well. Being killed by Marisa’s magic cannon like this had happened countless times. Annoying!

The reason Reg pursued an ordinary life was to eliminate this cycle of constant death.

[Absorbing Marisa’s Bad Luck: 400.]

[Trait Points: 400.70]

[Cooldown Time: 18 Years]

Every time he died, the dark room entered a countdown, and during this time, Reg would be in that dark room, thinking. As he grew older, the cooldown time increased.

Reg snapped his eyes open. The familiar sight of the doorway crashed into his view.

This time… he was back again.

His cold eyes were engaged in a period of memory reflection. Whenever Reg entered the death state, he became incredibly calm.

Upon his return, he would possess ten times the reaction speed and combat ability he usually had, as if he were a completely different person.

The Death Reversal ability had silently activated, anchoring the time back to the brief moment just before the Master Spark was fired.

He could even feel the two dirt-stained mushrooms in his pocket.

Memory reorganization complete. Evade the cannon.

His gaze instantly focused.

Marisa’s figure. She was standing with her back to him, her skirt flaring, the dangerous Mini-Hakkero already raised, its mouth pointed at the exact spot he had been standing.

The frantic light was rapidly compressing and flashing.

The Master Spark was forming, ready to burst forth in the next second.

There was absolutely no time to think. The intense survival instinct and the memory-rooted fear of that immense pain overpowered all other distractions.

His body moved far faster than his brain. He didn’t try to shout and stop her; that would be a pure waste of time.

His feet vigorously pushed off the ground. He didn’t care about grace, only about saving himself, executing a clumsy but desperate side-roll, throwing himself toward the corner of the yard.

The movement strained his abdomen, as if hitting a rock or some other obstacle, but Reg continued his evasion as if he hadn’t taken any damage.

Boom!!!

Almost in the same instant he launched himself, the terrifying golden torrent, with the momentum of utter destruction, roared past, grazing his back!

A scorching blast of heat rolled over him, searing the skin on his back. The deafening explosion made his ears ring.

The powerful impact pushed his just-steadying body a few steps forward.

He staggered two steps and braced himself, his heart pounding wildly in his chest, threatening to burst out.

A burning sensation was realistically left on his back.

“Success. I was not directly consumed.”

He turned around awkwardly, hands braced on his knees, breathing rapidly, and looked behind him.

The ground was scarred by a shocking, smoking scorch mark that stretched all the way to the edge of the distant forest, where it had cut several bowl-sized trees in half.

Marisa stood frozen in place, holding the still-smoking Mini-Hakkero, her expression of shock cemented on her face.

The sight of Reg vanishing like a ghost from the path of her cannon had clearly left her mind blank.

“Reg?”

Marisa’s voice was trembling with disbelief. She snapped her head around, her eyes catching sight of him in the corner, and the panic in her gaze was instantly replaced by huge astonishment.

“This… I didn’t mean it… I just wanted to show you what stars look like.”

Reg took a deep breath. He looked at the still-smoldering scorch mark, then at the troublemaker in Marisa’s hand.

The sudden influx of memory started to pour in, and the previously cold, rational expression was instantly replaced by normal emotions and feelings.

“Marisa.”

His voice was still slightly unsteady from his gasping, but he tried to keep his tone calm.

“Were you trying to give me an unforgettable birthday present? You almost vaporized me into ash…”

He pointed at the scorch mark still smoking behind him, then lowered his gaze to the dirt and grass clippings on his clothes, his eyes weary and helpless.

“Well, this cake turned out to be quite the thrilling meal. Thanks. Anyone who didn’t know would think Kourin was trying to ambush me. Ah, I died again.”

“Hey! You can’t say that catchphrase! You keep saying you’re gonna die, but you never do!”

Marisa breathed a sigh of relief, wanting to joke and change the subject, but Reg suddenly moved closer.

“Marisa! Do you think I’m joking?”

Seeing Reg angry, Marisa’s expression couldn’t help but soften.

Reg’s favorability towards her had dropped drastically today. It looked like they could only remain best friends.

Reg didn’t know why he would harbor such feelings for this family. In the end, he just elbowed Marisa on the shoulder.

“Alright, that’s one hit back at you. Don’t point a magic cannon at me again next time, or if I die, you won’t be able to repay your debt to me!”