Antagonist Protection Service

'Librarian! What the hell is this about?!"

[Uhhh...! I-I-I don't know, Enki! The flow of time-- the Illusory World's time has not reset or been altered! Perhaps you have been transported to an alternate reality!]

'Alternate reality, what... Ah!'

#MultipleTimelines.

One of the Tags I thought was strange from the very beginning, one that hadn't proved itself to be relevant this entire time... Now, it was real.

Time had not been reset, and yet I found myself back on the First Day, with all twelve of us still alive.

Why that happened―was not a question that necessitated asking.

"Let it be known that this is not the end of your sins. The time has not yet come to celebrate nor to cheer, for this trial is merely one of many. The Lord will continue to judge you as you have been judged, and thus, should you confess, and repent, and be forgiven, you shall pass once more."

"Heed my words. Particularly you, witch."

"This is not the end―"

"―And it will not end until you face your rightful judgement."

Was it intended to be this way from the very beginning?

If so... it really wasn't over.

I still had a chance to come out on top.

'Librarian. You said this world's time hasn't been altered, but I completely forgot to ask before―what's the rate like between here and Earth?'

It was something I honestly should have asked back when I first accepted the Contract, and maybe it slipped my mind because it's been a while since the last time, but either way, it was better late than never.

[Fret not! It is not any faster than the flow of time on Earth... h-however, it is not much slower either, so please don't take your time!]

"I don't plan on it."

Muttering that, I took to my feet and took in the sights of all the 'sinners' who had been miraculously brought back to life.

Or well, that's not exactly what happened, but it might've well as been.

And, of course, that meant just one thing.

"―The fuck're you starin' at, ah?! Li'l brat!"

Because our situation had yet to be realised for everyone here, chaos would naturally rule.

"Pardon me. Please don't yell so loudly, there are children who appear quite frightened. I wouldn't mind it if you just had a problem with me, but I would at least ask you not to disturb everyone else just because of your disdain for me. You would least like for them to cry, would you?"

Watching the end of a confrontation between the delinquent who met an early demise in the First Round, and an unforgettable girl with a too-polite attitude, I noticed the former flicker his attention at the surrounding gazes for a moment.

"...Teh."

Following a brief pause, he snorted a single, stifled laugh-like noise as if not knowing what other response to give before turning around and walking to one of the backmost pews.

"Kyah, fuck. Yer breakin' my balls 'ere, ah. Like I give a damn 'bout some shitty brats... Tch."

Just after, I heard him mutter such a thing, dramatically plopping down on the seat with his hands in his pockets.

'Wow. That ended a lot quicker than last time... Did something change?'

I didn't have long to wonder, as the young girl, teal hair flowing straight down her back, turned to face each of the rest of us in turn.

"My apologies for the disturbance. Please, let us endeavour to get along, at least as best we can given the circumstances. It would do well for all of us to be civil and respectful, and I cannot imagine there is anyone who would disagree."

Maintaining an expressionless look, she finished by saying that and slightly bowed her head, giving way to a strange, awkward silence that permeated the hall.

'She said it wasn't the end last time, but is she still going to play passive? And...'

Turning my head, I brushed my gaze across all the confused faces in the nave before finally laying my eyes on a particular person.

A petite girl with exorbitantly long twintails of pink hair... like a princess plucked straight from a fairy tale, and with a mouth no less exotic.

Fortunately, she was maintaining her silence this time around, only looking around with folded arms at the church in which we again found ourselves, as if examining it.

'What's she doing... is she planning something? ...No, she's probably still just confused how we ended up back here with everyone alive again. Something like that wouldn't be enough for her to be convinced that Cecilia's 'Lord' exists and repent, will it...?'

It would truly be great if that were the case, but unfortunately, I couldn't allow myself to be so naive in thinking that it actually would.

Rather, what I needed to do remained the same.

Kill the Protagonist.

This time around, that involved interacting with the others who have been trapped here and convincing them to name her as 「Judas」.

Fortunately, I'm already aware of all the rules.

I also already know a lot of the others' secrets, including which sins they committed prior to being brought here.

From the looks of it, everyone who died had their memories wiped――Honestly, that makes sense for their sanity, but it's also a good thing for me.

I was able to successfully befriend the highschooler duo without knowing anything last time, so providing the Protagonist doesn't get in the way, which she wouldn't really be able to anyway, it shouldn't be difficult to get on that "Matthew's" good side a second time.

I'll also try to be friendly to "John" so that he doesn't immediately suss me out and attack me like last time. Luckily, I know what hardships he and his sister went through in the past, so it won't be too hard.

'Man... returning to the past with knowledge of the future is a real cheat code, huh? It might as well be free.'

With that being said, it's not like I could do it half-assedly.

Six was the minimum total, but I still needed to work and persuade as many people as possible so that there was absolutely no chance of the Protagonist making a comeback.

"Oh...! Guys, there's something on the wall over there!"

Like that, the Decalogue Trial, Round Two, had officially commenced.