I am swimming. Against the endlessly surging currents, going against the infinitely spreading waves.
Storms laden with mana batter my entire body, and dark fog obstructs my straight advance.
The flow of time has already vanished from my mind. I simply endure beyond what can be endured.
———.
A screaming waterspout surges upward. Waves rise like whales and crash down as if to shatter the surface of the sea. Lightning fills the colorless world.
Yet within that great sea, which feels somehow serene, I suddenly sense an unknown gaze.
———!
The sea roars again. A whirlpool rages at the bottom of my body. It seizes my feet, grips my waist, and drags my entire form down.
Swiiish—!
The water splashed violently. I sank beneath the surface. Though my breath was cut off, I moved as if diving.
Chomp—!
In an instant, a monstrous fish charged and bit my arm. I tore its teeth out with my bare hand.
Whirl──
Then a tentacle coiled around my ankle. It was a deep-sea anemone pulling me under. I cut it down with a mok steel blade.
“…….”
I rose to the surface again and looked around the heart of the boundless sea.
The rain and wind showed no sign of stopping; rather, in the far distance, there was a wave that covered the sky.
“Hmm.”
It was larger than anything else. Even I, to whom surprise was foreign, lost my words for a moment.
Grooooooan…….
A wall of water rose tall, devouring space.
A monstrous wave, like an entire mountain range rushing in—the sort one might only have seen in a movie.
“So you were watching.”
A disaster that would drive any human to despair, yet strangely, I am glad. Even my heart is calm and composed.
It is because of ‘someone’s’ mana I feel from the wave.
“Silvia.”
This is a wave raised by her. A petty trick to drive me away.
I spoke, peering through to what lay beyond.
“I shall find you soon.”
I took a deep breath. I filled my lungs to the brim with air. Before the wave struck, I dove.
Fwaaash──!
The water pressure, growing stronger the deeper I went, blocked my ears, and sounds grew faint.
……Rumble.
The tremors of the colossal wave passing over the surface.
But there was no problem. The lungs of an Ironman were comparable in performance to those of a whale; I could endure beneath here for hours.
“…….”
The quiet and serene depths of the sea. Through them, I advanced.
Just then, a rather satisfying system window came to mind.
[You have gained enlightenment.]
◆ Trait Acquired: Swimming Gold Medal List
Gold Medal List.
A modern word, now grown unfamiliar, was etched upon my retina, and in the very next moment—
[Your 「Mental Strength」 overcomes the extreme situation. Your trait advances.]
◆ Trait Evolution: Merman
——「Merman」——
◆ Grade
: Rare
◆ Description
: A human who is not powerless in the sea.
: He can naturally utilize the waves and currents of the great sea, and even in deep waters, he can move as freely as if playing on land.
: He does not incur the hostility of sea monsters.
────——
Unfortunately, underwater breathing did not seem to be included, but I felt my body grow much more fluid. The currents of the deep sea felt as familiar as if I could truly grasp them in my hands.
With those skilled movements, I plunged into the current.
* * *
At the same time, Silvia was sitting on the beach. Drawing pictures in the sand with her finger, she gazed out at the distant sea. She was watching ‘him.’
Right now, he was in that sea. He was approaching her. She also knew the reason.
Because the ‘Voice’ was the devil’s creation.
Tuk—
At that moment, a swift alighted on Silvia’s shoulder. A chubby panda settled on her knees.
“Yes.”
Silvia nodded, stroking the two of them.
Now, perhaps he was no longer needed.
In this world where Mother was with her, that person whose name she did not even know might no longer be needed by her.
No, he was not needed.
“……I don’t need him.”
Silvia pushed him away. She raised violent waves and manifested storms.
“Professor.”
The one she had always hated, loathed, and yet loved.
I don’t need you anymore.
Mom, Siel—whom I love more than you—is alive here.
“So.”
Leave me alone now.
“—Silvi.”
Suddenly, Mother’s gentle tone approached. Silvia looked over and broke into a bright smile.
“Yes.”
“What are you doing?”
“……Watching the sea.”
“Is that so? It’s getting dark now; shall we go back?”
“Yes.”
Silvia rose. She took Sielia’s hand. Together, they walked along the beach where the water rippled.
“……Silvi.”
The sea breeze blowing in. A hermit crab crawling sluggishly. Sand grains sparkling with the sunlight.
In that scenery, Sielia called out to her. Silvia turned to look at her.
“Yes.”
“He will come. Without fail.”
“…….”
Silvia’s expression stiffened. Her steps halted abruptly.
Why would she say such a thing all of a sudden? Silvia glared at Siel with resentful eyes.
“Why would you—”
“He will protect you.”
“…….”
Silvia furrowed her brows. Unable to understand at all, she asked Sielia again.
“He will protect me?”
“Yes. He promised. Before I died.”
Sssshhhh…….
Gentle waves rolled in. The water softly wet the sand of the shore.
Thus, the nature of the Voice flowed on, but Silvia’s time stopped for a moment.
She was suddenly terrified.
“……How do you know that Mother is already dead?”
Silvia asked with a trembling voice. Sielia smiled brightly and placed her hand on Silvia’s head. Then she whispered softly.
—Silvi. Because I am your mother. Not a fake, but the real thing.
“……Ah.”
Then, something burst inside Silvia’s heart.
Suddenly, her breath was choked. Streams of tears flowed without warning.
“That is why I must leave.”
“Why. Why. If you’re real, stay with me.”
“……Hush.”
Sielia placed a finger to her lips. Silvia looked up at her with a face like a drowned egg.
“I’ll tell you the rest when he arrives.”
Ssssh—
Fragments of waves crashing against the beach splashed up like jewels.
* * *
……Meanwhile, Ifrin sat on the railing of the ship, gazing at the sea.
“Ahh. Professor. Can you hear me? Over. This is Ifrin, over. Please respond if you can hear me, over.”
Just as she was sending a transmission through the crystal orb connected to Deculein.
Pak!
A hand playfully pushed Ifrin’s shoulder.
“Uwaaack!”
Ifrin shrieked and spun around.
It was Vice-director Primien of the Public Security Bureau.
“Uack! Uwaaaaack——!”
Ifrin screamed, glaring at Primien’s face. She vividly conveyed the surprise she had just felt.
“Aaaaaaaaaack—! Kuaaaaaack—!”
“…….”
“What do you think you’re doing—!”
“Is it something to be so surprised about?”
“My heart almost stopped!”
Primien nodded expressionlessly. Then she sat beside her.
“I hear Professor Deculein is in that sea.”
“……Yes. He entered the sea. Said he’d go by swimming.”
“You did not have to go?”
“I can’t go. How could I go there?”
Storms and rain were still raging. All of it was a disaster laden with mana.
Even the Winter King, Zeith, might die if he got caught up in it.
“Will the professor be alright?”
“……Yes. He won’t die. The professor.”
Ifrin knows. At least for now, Deculein doesn’t die. Even further into the future, Deculein is alive.
In other words, he is still invincible…….
Wait, then does that mean the future where he eventually dies hasn’t changed either? Since he dies in a slightly more distant future, is it correct to say he doesn’t die now?
No, either way, isn’t it right to change it to a future where ‘the professor doesn’t die’?
Ifrin, suddenly deep in thought, let out a snort on her own.
“Ah, of course I have to change it like that. If it doesn’t change, is that even a future? The future exists to be changed.”
“Why are you suddenly talking to yourself?”
“……It’s nothing.”
Ifrin pulled out a pocket watch from her waist.
A wooden pocket watch. An item whose purpose she still could not fathom.
Primien asked.
“What is that?”
“I don’t know either. It doesn’t have any effect.”
“May I touch it?”
“…….”
Swish— Ifrin stealthily put the pocket watch back into her waistband. She glared at Primien with eyes full of wariness.
Primien spoke.
“Let me see it. I have considerable insight into ‘hypotheses.’”
“……Hypotheses?”
“Yes.”
Primien tapped her own temple.
“Multilateral thinking itself is my talent. It applies to everything except stocks. Stocks are madness.”
Ifrin hesitated for a moment, but whatever.
She would never know what this thing was on her own anyway.
“……Give it right back.”
Ifrin hastily handed over the pocket watch. Primien placed the watch on her palm. Then she extracted her ‘thoughts.’
Also known as ‘The Materialization of Thought and Memory.’ To consider all possibilities multilaterally and present a hypothesis. Her talent could theoretically wrap up in just ten minutes what would take a person a month of thinking.
Before long, Primien spoke.
“……It may be a catalyst.”
“A catalyst?”
“Yes. A catalyst that amplifies a spellcaster’s magic efficiency.”
“Then it’s a bust. I thought so too, but nothing changed at all.”
“Or perhaps a catalyst that imbues an item with specific mana.”
“……An item?”
Ifrin furrowed her brows. Primien nodded and returned the pocket watch.
“Place anything on this pocket watch.”
“……Place on it?”
“That crystal orb, for instance.”
“…….”
Ifrin looked somewhat doubtful, but soon placed the crystal orb on the pocket watch. Then she whispered softly.
“Professor. Can you hear me?”
“…….”
“…….”
……As expected, no answer.
Ifrin shook her head. Primien also coughed with an “ahem.”
“Hypotheses are not always—”
—I hear you.
Screeeech— Ifrin shrieked in surprise.
“Oh! Did you arrive? Did you meet Silvia?”
—……I am Silvia.
“Huh? What? Why do you have the professor’s crystal orb?”
—Because I have it.
“What are you—”
Ifrin suddenly felt dizzy. Her mana was rapidly depleting, and her entire body went limp.
It was a sensation she had felt once before.
Long ago, in some place where time was tangled…….
“Vice-director. This is a bit strange…….”
Ifrin turned to look at Primien.
“……Huh? My dear?”
Her head was lolling to the side.
The lady who had been fine just moments ago had suddenly fallen asleep.
“Anyway. Silvia, you—”
In an instant, Ifrin’s words stopped.
Someone’s voice boomed—! in her head.
—……To converse with a person from the future in the present timeline requires quite a large amount of mana.
Ifrin almost dropped the pocket watch.
“No way.”
Gulp— She swallowed and fumbled through her thoughts. She fixed her gaze on the crystal orb placed atop the pocket watch.
“Silvia. What is the situation there?”
Could it be that this Silvia was not of the present, but Silvia from the ‘not-too-distant future’?
Could this wooden pocket watch be a catalyst connecting to that future?
Silvia spoke.
—I killed Deculein.
“……What? What do you—”
Ifrin’s eyes filled with shock.
Immediately, an impact akin to a concussion shook her head.
“Ugh…… kkek…….”
Foam bubbled at her lips, but she endured. She forced herself to withstand it. She quickly separated the pocket watch and the crystal orb.
She hung the pocket watch at her waist and clutched the crystal orb.
“……I’m gonna die.”
At least she hadn’t fainted. Ifrin checked her remaining mana. It was nearly bottomed out.
Thud, thud, thud— She was even having a nosebleed.
“Vice-director. Thank you.”
Ifrin spoke to the sleeping—no, the fainted—Primien. Then she infused the crystal orb with her remaining mana.
There was no time to stand still.
“Professor! Professor!”
The Silvia of the not-too-distant future had spoken.
That she had killed Deculein.
Thankfully, she had given an excellent hint.
“Professor! Professor!”
Whether it was the future, or Silvia’s lie, or whatever, a future once heard could definitely be changed.
For the future exists to be changed.
“Professor! I’ll try reaching you every minute! Please respond if you hear me!”
* * *
I arrived on land.
Having passed through the mana disasters raging like madness, I finally reached the Island of Voice.
The scene was unexpectedly peaceful. There was no trace of demonic energy—that is, “magi”—at all.
—Professor!
Crackle— The crystal ball in my breast pocket rang with static.
Originally, a crystal ball did not function underwater. The sea’s mana interfered with the transmission of voices.
“I’ve arrived.”
—Ah, thank goodness! Professor! Sylvia killed you!
“…….”
—The future Sylvia said so! I figured out how to use the pocket watch! But it’s fine. We should be able to change it! So, don’t let Sylvia take that crystal ball from you, no matter what!
For now, I took Epherene’s words to heart. However, I turned off the crystal ball for a moment.
Because not far away, on the far side of the beach, someone stood upright, looking down at me.
“……Sylvia.”
Sylvia.
She stared at me with an impassive face. Without revealing any expression or emotion.
“It’s been a while.”
I straightened my clothes. With 「Cleanse」, I blew away the moisture, then tidied my hair and tie.
“…….”
Sylvia still said nothing. For a long while, she only glared at me. I did not bother to avoid her gaze.
“……Follow me. I have something to say to you.”
At last, her words were bold. I nodded and moved one step.
“That is what I—”
“No. Don’t move yet.”
“The reason?”
“This is the Island of Voices. There are many people who died long ago, and many extinct races. There are also many fanatics of the Voice.”
Sylvia approached me. Step by step, as if hesitating, yet without stopping—a gait that held many complicated emotions.
“If they find you alone, they’ll try to kill you.”
Before I knew it, she had come right up to me and was looking up. Perhaps she had grown quite a bit; her eye level reached around my chin.
……It was true that she had grown taller than before, but now that I looked, she was wearing high heels.
“Don’t die yet.”
Sylvia reached out her hand. No, she reached out her fingers. Then, with her index finger and thumb, she pinched the hem of my sleeve.
As if picking up something filthy.
“If you’re with me, you won’t be in danger. Don’t leave my side.”
Sylvia spoke in her usual dry tone. Her appearance was far too different from one year ago, but that flat, indistinct way of speaking was exactly the same.
—Sylvia killed you, Professor!
Suddenly, Epherene’s words came to mind.
I nodded.
“Very well. Will you show me around the island too, Sylvia?”
“Don’t call my name with that filthy mouth.”
She crumpled my sleeve with her fingers. It seemed to be her own version of an attack.
I said calmly.
“As you wish.”
“Don’t let go of my hand.”
Sylvia walked ahead. I was not sure whether this counted as holding hands, but I followed behind her.
When we climbed from the beach up onto the sidewalk, the scenery of another city greeted me.
Round blue roofs and low houses. Magic shops of the “Voice” lining the street, and gazes peeking from here and there.
However, none of them emitted magi.
That was the question—
“I’m hungry.”
“…….”
Sylvia’s abrupt, out-of-nowhere question.
There was no question mark at the end, but judging from past experience, it was definitely a question.
“Why ask something like that?”
“You swam.”
Sylvia pointed to a street stall. The menu was hot dogs.
“Those are good. You’re not hungry.”
With two fingers still pinching my sleeve tightly, she asked with an innocent face.
I shook my head.
“I don’t need any.”
“…….”
At that, Sylvia nodded faintly. Her face looked vaguely sad, but soon turned as cold as ice.
She spoke again.
“Tell me if you get hungry.”
“You two~ Would you like to buy a flower~?”
Just then, a woman holding a flower basket approached us.
Sylvia glared and growled. Kiiieeeeh— Some strange sound flowed from her mouth.
“Oh my, I’m sorry~”
The woman fled in surprise, and Sylvia glanced at me as she muttered.
“Don’t look around. Don’t talk to anyone carelessly either. Everyone is dangerous to you.”
It was a kindness that was rather hard to get used to.