The Death Mage that doesn't want a fourth time

(Prologue) The end of the first and second time

The ship that the students of Yasaka High School were on for their field trip sank due to a bomb planted by terrorists.

In this tragic incident one hundred and two casualties crewmen and passengers lost their lives, not counting the terrorists.

「Ah, seeing that the cold, salty water has disappeared, I guess I've died as well.」

Amamiya Hiroto felt a deep numbness as he became aware of his own death.

He was in a faintly lit place and there were a lot of other people gathered here as well. It wasn't as simple as floating in the Sanzu River* with beautiful fields of flowers awaiting them on the other side. But this was likely something like the entrance to the afterlife.

TLN*: The Sanzu River is the Buddhist equivalent of the River Styx

The other people were showing a variety of reactions to being dead – some were crying, some consoling each other and others were showing relief that their friends or loved ones weren't here with them.

Hiroto, too, wanted to cry out that he didn't want to die, that he wanted to keep living, but he couldn't muster the energy to do so.

「Haah... In the end, I died in vain, huh.」(Hiroto)

The reason he said that was that he had spotted a female classmate sitting in a spot a short distance away from him.

She was Naruse Narumi. She was the mood-maker of the class, known by her nickname, Naru. Hiroto had died to save her.

When the ship lurched and began to capsize, Narumi had failed to grab hold of a handrail and looked like she was going to fall. Hiroto had seized her hand immediately and helped her grab the handrail... And then he had rolled down the diagonally-inclined floor in her place, landed on his back against the wall and fallen into the sea to drown.

It had happened in an instant; it was not been something that he had thought about and decided on doing. Thinking about it now, it seemed like a reckless thing to do. Even so, if she had been saved by his actions, he would at least have been able to console himself, but...

「No, I think I acted like a good person before I died.」(Hiroto)

Even if Hiroto died, nobody would mourn for him anyway. He had lost his parents when he was young and he had no blood-related siblings. He had a poor relationship with his uncle's family on his father's side, who had adopted him. He had even been told,「get out after you graduate high school.」He didn't have any friends or a girlfriend. His uncle would be receiving the remainders of Hiroto's inheritance from his parents and condolence money* for this incident, so he could consider the favor of adopting him as having been repaid. In fact, it was more than enough repayment considering his uncle's abuse... The clear discrimination from his own biological children, the way Hiroto had been treated until now.

TLN*: In Japan, people bring gifts of money to funerals to show their sympathy to the family of the deceased

His dreams of the future had only consisted of something vague like「become happy.」It would be fine if that dream would be granted in heaven. At the very least, his uncle and that family wouldn't be here.

However, reality was irrational and not so lenient.

「You souls who have lost your lives once already, you have been chosen. I will now grant you special power, a new destiny and new fortune. Using these, I wish for you to live new lives in a world separate from the『Earth』you lived on.」(God)

Gods were probably those kinds of beings. A mysterious person with a halo over his head appeared and made this declaration to the people here.

It seemed that instead of heaven, what awaited them was the endless circle of transmigration*. They were further surprised at the news that they would be reborn into another world.