The Magic-Using Loli

"It's kind of like a game save... When I die, I start over from the save point... Return by Death?"

Subaru murmured the words. He had gained an incredibly strange ability. Never mind whether he was still in Japan; he was probably not even in his original world anymore.

"To think drowning in oil would hurt like being burned too... That's the kind of thing I really never wanted to know."

He slapped his cheeks hard. No matter how miserable or frightened he felt, it wouldn't change his situation one bit. His heart was still pounding like crazy, but he gritted his teeth and forced down the trembling. For now, he had to get out of this damn forest.

A familiar path. Familiar white fruit. Before long, the little river appeared before him again. Subaru didn't hesitate. He quickly waded across, clearing the crocodile obstacle.

He walked a little farther, and the seemingly flat, open "grassland" came into view again. This time, Subaru didn't jump down.

He picked up a branch from the ground, crouched, and cautiously poked the blue-green surface. The floating moss disguised as grass broke apart, and the layer of viscous oil beneath it slowly welled up, gleaming sickeningly in the sunlight.

"...Why is there a huge pool of oil in the middle of a forest? Does a natural phenomenon like this really exist?"

Complaints aside, Subaru carefully skirted the edge of the oil bog. Only after stepping onto solid ground did he dare breathe a sigh of relief.

"And why does it have to be death that triggers the return? Couldn't the trigger be something gentler? Like saying a magic spell or something..."

He kept walking as he complained. The moment the words left his mouth...

"Rrroar..."

A low growl slowly rose from somewhere behind him.

Subaru threw himself behind the nearest tree, pressed his back against the trunk, and clamped a hand over his mouth, keeping his breathing as quiet as possible.

What the hell? There are other beasts too? No, that sound is way too familiar.

Footsteps. Heavy footsteps, accompanied by the scrape of scales against the ground, drawing closer and closer. It wasn't wandering aimlessly-it was heading straight toward him.

"What's going on?! You again?!"

"Roar!!"

The crocodile roared and charged, all four limbs tearing through the dirt. Subaru turned and ran, not daring to stop for even a moment. He didn't understand. Was this the one that had bitten him to death? Why did it seem to know where he was, coming straight for him by scent?

"Do crocodiles like you have an especially good sense of smell?! This forest is huge! Can't you go chase something else?! Is anyone there?! Help!!"

Subaru ran for all he was worth, paying no heed when branches whipped his face and left bloody scratches, or when bushes caught his ankles and he tore himself free.

The scenery before him blurred with the violent jolting. He had no time to figure out which way he was going. Only one thought remained in his head-I really don't want to be bitten to death by a crocodile again!!

"Splash!!"

His body sank into something that felt familiar.

The ground vanished beneath his feet, and viscous liquid surged in from every direction, gripping his legs. The familiar sensation of being engulfed, the familiar burning heat, the familiar, maddening resistance.

"There's one here too?!"

Subaru realized in despair that pools of oil like this seemed to be a common natural phenomenon, and that he had run off course in his panic, stepping straight into another trap. He struggled desperately, but his body sank faster, the oil already covering his thighs.

At the edge of the pool, the horned crocodile stopped. Its crimson eyes looked down at the prey trapped in the oil bog. It watched Subaru struggle. Watched Subaru gradually stop moving in despair. Watched the color slowly drain from that terror-stricken face.

"No... please... not... again..."

Subaru's voice trembled, his breath coming in ragged gasps. He watched helplessly as the crocodile slowly turned around, its tail dragging along the ground, and disappeared into the trees one step at a time.

The meaning couldn't have been clearer-prey that fell in here was as good as dead. There was no need to waste any more energy hunting it.

He was going to die again. Die in the most painful way all over again.

His vision began to blur, and something hot threatened to spill from his eyes. Why did he have to go through all this? Drowning alive in oil, feeling the burning and suffocation at the same time-shouldn't a death like this be reserved for the worst sinners in hell?

Then he remembered.

His parents had done so much for him, yet he had taken all their kindness for granted. And earlier, he hadn't even looked back. He hadn't even said, "I'm heading out." All because he didn't want to wash a cup...

So he was a sinner after all.

This was the proof. He had found it.

His sight was taken away. His hearing was taken away. His sense of smell was taken away.

The pain he had experienced once before embraced him again.

Just as Subaru gave up struggling entirely, his consciousness about to sink into darkness,

a hand grabbed his arm, which he was still holding up in the air to no avail.

"...Huh?"

The hand was small. Its palm could barely close around his wrist, yet it exerted a tremendous force that didn't match its size at all.

"Cough-cough, cough!"

Fresh air rushed into his mouth. Subaru coughed violently, his lungs unfolding like a crumpled piece of paper. Every breath brought a stabbing pain, but it was also genuine proof that he was alive.

The smaller hand pulled him along, dragging him out of the oil bog little by little, then gently setting him down on solid ground.

The moment his back touched the earth, Subaru collapsed there, unable to move.

I... was saved?

He laboriously wiped the oil coating his eyelids away with the back of his hand and forced his eyes open. A film of oil still blurred his vision, and he could only make out a small figure standing in front of him, silhouetted against the light.

"I haven't seen your face in the village before. You look a few years older than Rem... Who are you? Why are you in the forest?"

The voice was clear, but its tone had a composure that didn't match the speaker's age at all.

Subaru rubbed his eyes hard again, finally wiping away most of the oil. His vision cleared at last-and his savior was even more unexpected than he had imagined.

An extremely cute face was looking down at him. The rounded lines of her cheeks were as soft as freshly steamed glutinous rice dumplings, her large blue eyes were clear enough to reflect his image, and her shoulder-length blue hair had a gentle sheen in the sunlight.

She wore a pure white little kimono with a neatly tied sash. She looked eight at most.

"If this isn't a hallucination... has the world suddenly gotten kinder to me...? A little kid this cute coming to save me... Is this a fairy tale...?"

"Splash."

Seeing Subaru struggle to open his eyes, the little blue-haired loli expressionlessly took a waterskin from her waist and poured water over his face.

"Cough-pfft! Phew... Okay, guess it wasn't a hallucination. It's washed off. I can finally breathe..."

Subaru stood up, his legs a little weak, and was about to get a good look at his little savior-when he noticed something was off.

The proportions were wrong.

Wasn't this little girl a bit too big?

He hadn't noticed while lying down, but now that they were standing face-to-face, Subaru realized the blue-haired girl's head reached above his chest. Eight years old? Was she kidding?

"Why are you in the forest? Where are your parents?"

The loli spoke, but her tone was entirely that of someone talking to a person her own age, with even a hint of scrutiny.

Subaru froze for a moment, then abruptly bent into a ninety-degree bow.

"First of all! Thank you for saving my life! I'm so glad we can understand each other I'll never forget what you've done for me! We should really introduce ourselves since this is our first meeting but can we get out of here first there's a crocodile with a horn nearby-"

"You knew there were magic beasts in the forest, and you still came alone?" The blue-haired girl ignored his rapid-fire request. "How strange. There shouldn't be any human villages nearby. How did you get here?"

Magic beasts? Humans?

The way she phrased it made it sound as if she and he were different species.

"...Wait a second." Subaru turned to look at the oil pool that had nearly killed him. A broken tree trunk lay across the surface, one end resting on the bank and the other reaching the spot where he had sunk.

Subaru stared at the broken end. "You used that to pull me out? How did you do it? A tree that thick would take a while to chop down even with an axe, wouldn't it? There's no sign of any logging tools around here."

"So you really are human. Rem may be at the bottom of the class, but she can already use magic at this level."

"Magic?!"

"Roar!!!"

Behind them, a familiar roar rang out like an explosion. The horned crocodile had actually come back! It tore through the bushes, its crimson eyes fixed on them, and charged at full speed, all four limbs churning up the earth.

"Again?! Talking here really wasn't a good idea-! Run! Hurry!"

Subaru reached for the little wrist, ready to pull her away.

But the blue-haired girl nimbly dodged him.

"It's true that Rem can't compare to her sister..." She faced the charging magic beast. "But if there's only one, Rem can still handle it."

She held out her hand.

"Boom!"

A muffled blast exploded in the air. The giant crocodile, more than three meters long, was sent flying, its scales crackling and breaking along the way. It slammed heavily into the ground and skidded several meters before finally coming to a stop.

"Get lost."

The little loli spoke those words and nothing more.

"Rrrr..."

The horned crocodile let out a whimper like a small animal, tucked in its tail, and staggered backward. It soon disappeared into the depths of the dense forest.

Subaru stood rooted to the spot. He finally understood the situation.

A strange forest. A horned magic beast. Magic casually blasted out by an eight-year-old girl.

So this was-an otherworld summoning?!

(Rem's reputation has gotten worse... But the author really likes Rem. Her characterization in the royal selection arc was so good, but afterward she was... I guess this is what it feels like when a character you like is let down: sleeping, then losing her memory twice...)