Seven Days Until the Bell Rings

Yori woke up older than yesterday, with the same bell still ringing in his ears. Every reset left everyone else untouched, but he kept the bruises, the tired eyes, and the memory of each bad choice. That made his clerk job in the adventurer guild turn cruel fast. He handled rank slips, departure notices, and the resignation season papers for people who planned to walk away from safety. Then he found a VHS tape in the belongings of a dead woman, and the one anime episode on it gave him clues nobody else could use. The scholarship token on his desk, the sealed familiar contract under his bed, and the pressed flower in his locker all pulled him toward Mio, the one person who started to matter w...