Epherene plopped down on the dirt floor beneath the publishing house.
“……”
For a moment, her mind went blank.
Naturally, it was because of the past she had just seen.
Without a word, she raised the pocket watch.
Click—
With that sound, the past came back to life, and Deculein and the publisher appeared.
—……May I perhaps ask the reason? Forgive me, but this is the first time someone has been sent personally from the Floating Island, so I have no choice but to ask, given my position……
—Because even a forbidden book as dangerous as this may be of help to someone.
Epherene knew who the “someone” he was talking about was.
“Someone” could only be “someone.”
—……Someday, she’ll steal it on her own again.
She heard Deculein mutter those words. His voice had a completely different tone from the one he had used back then, when he dismissed her research and called it foolish.
Epherene slowly, and carefully, looked into his face.
Faintly smiling……
But before long, the past vanished. It collapsed like a sandcastle.
……It doesn’t matter.
Epherene raised the pocket watch again.
Click—
In that instant, time rewound.
—Because even a forbidden book as dangerous as this may be of help to someone.
Deculein’s words, saying it would be of help.
—……Someday, she’ll steal it on her own again.
Before she knew it, a hollow laugh slipped out of her.
Because, sure enough, she was stealing it now, just as he had said.
“……”
The past soon collapsed again, and Epherene gripped the pocket watch once more.
Click—
—Because even a forbidden book as dangerous as this may be of help to someone. ……Someday, she’ll steal it on her own again.
Click—
—Even a forbidden book as dangerous as this…… steal it on her own……
Click—
—Steal it on her own……
She watched the same scene from the same past dozens of times, until she had nearly exhausted all her mana.
Almost completely drained, Epherene sank down and murmured blankly.
“……Why?”
Epherene still found it hard to understand. Why Deculein had shown such a side of himself. Why he had risked danger for her sake and left this forbidden book behind.
“You said it was stupid research.”
He had said it was stupid and foolish research, that it damaged the dignity of the Imperial Magic Tower, and had despised and ignored her for it.
“……Don’t you hate me?”
Epherene asked in a trembling voice.
In a place where no one was, where even time had stopped, into the empty air.
“How strange.”
Murmuring softly, she recalled that day at the Magic Tower. She went over the words she had said to Deculein at the personnel committee. How she had brought up her father to accuse him, how she had denounced him as a professor who plagiarized……
“I wanted you to hate me.”
Even though I stole every facility and device from your lab. Even though, while staying by your side, all I did was act like an immature brat.
Epherene lowered her head. She looked at the manuscripts scattered across the floor.
Tick—
Then, the pocket watch moved.
Epherene turned her gaze toward it.
“Did you show me that?”
Tick—
Tick—
Tick—
The pocket watch only ticked without answering.
Epherene clutched it and rose to her feet.
“Then now, to the Magic Tower……”
Let’s go.
Before she could even say that, the place changed completely.
From the basement of the publishing house to the corridor of the Magic Tower.
In an instant.
Tick—
Before she even had time to be surprised, the pocket watch ticked.
—Did you really have to drive her out? Wasn’t that just stirring up trouble for no reason?
Louina’s voice came from somewhere.
Epherene turned to look.
—……Wasn’t that a bit too harsh?
Louina and Deculein. The two of them were conversing on the 77th floor of the Magic Tower, looking down through the window.
—I could not leave her as she was.
At Deculein’s words, Louina narrowed her brow. Epherene slowly approached the corridor where they stood.
—Why?
Louina asked, and Deculein answered.
—Because it was dangerous.
Dangerous.
Epherene now understood what he meant by dangerous from the direction of Deculein’s gaze.
She understood when she saw the “person” he was looking at.
—……Dangerous?
Below the window, a wizard was being driven out of the Magic Tower, a box dangling in the air by Psychokinesis.
Even from the back of that head, I could tell who it was.
Me.
In other words, Epherene.
Deculein was watching Epherene.
—She acted far too hastily. Even if it may be recognized in the distant future, the Floating Island will not tolerate it now. It would be appropriate for me to impose punishment at my level.
—Wouldn’t it be better to protect her?
Louina asked in return, but Deculein shook his head.
—On the contrary, being associated with me would be even more dangerous. If she is alone, the Floating Island can dismiss it as the deed of a childish wizard, but if I shield her……
—You’re concerned that the Floating Island, mistaking Yukline as the force behind her, will make a bigger deal out of it for no reason?
He did not bother to answer. Understanding that silence, Louina shrugged and changed the subject.
—Hmm…… Then that’s that, but what about your reputation, Professor? The kid set off quite a large bomb before she left.
Louina’s question made Epherene’s chest flinch.
Because of what she had said at the personnel committee back then, Deculein had been insulted for some time as a “plagiarist professor,” and the factions within the Magic Tower, led by Relin and Siare, had split apart.
—I do not mind.
Even so, Deculein said that. Strangely enough, his face looked almost proud of her.
—……Really?
—In any case, it is right for it to appear as though I have severed ties with her for now. Even without me, she will continue her magic on her own. She is a child with that much talent……
……With that scene as the last, Epherene returned once more to the “stopped present.”
“I see.”
Epherene nodded.
No matter how strange the things I did were, no matter how many hateful things I did in the hope of being hated, no matter how I stole facilities and devices and acted like a delinquent, he had been the same.
Because I published my paper too hastily, and he was afraid I would be put in danger.
Because the paper I presented to academia might catch the Floating Island’s eye, and he was afraid the Purge Officers would get me.
Before anyone else.
Before the Floating Island, he had tried to protect me……
Tick—
Once more, with the ticking sound, the scenery changed.
This time, it was not the distant past.
No, it was only a few days ago.
—……Shh. It’s the Purge Officers.
When I was eating with Sylvia in the Magic Tower cafeteria.
The moment the Purge Officers entered and approached close enough to strangle me.
—That is enough. By whose permission are you arbitrarily inspecting the wizards of the Magic Tower?
Deculein’s voice stopped them.
—I do not recall giving you permission to proceed in such a slapdash manner. I cannot tolerate every wizard of the Magic Tower being treated as a criminal.
Because of Deculein’s rebuke as chairman, the Purge Officers withdrew, and Deculein left the cafeteria after telling them to eat.
—Eat your meal.
—……Phew.
The Epherene of the past breathed a sigh of relief and began shoveling down her food again.
“That idiot……”
The present Epherene frowned as she looked at her self from back then.
However, she was curious about what came next. Why had the pocket watch gone out of its way to show her this scene?
Epherene ran in the direction Deculein had left.
—Ether Deculein. I can feel Epherene’s mana inside here.
Before long, in the lobby of the Magic Tower.
She saw the Purge Officers protesting to Deculein. They glared with their blue eyes, seeming utterly resentful.
—I believe I told you. The Magic Tower is under my jurisdiction. Furthermore, I am more familiar with Epherene’s mana than you are. If Epherene were here, there is no way I would not know.
Deculein, on the other hand, was unyielding.
Grit—
When a Purge Officer ground his teeth, Deculein’s eyes transformed into those of an even more terrifying beast.
—It is a matter of principle. An agency of the Floating Island cannot exercise force in the Magic Tower. The Imperial Magic Tower belongs to the Empire, and the Floating Island is nothing more than the Floating Island.
—You are a wizard, Ether Deculein.
—Hmph. How foolish. Before I am a wizard, I am a noble. At times, you seem to labor under the misconception that the authority of nobles cannot reach you, but that is only when you are in the sky.
Pushing the Purge Officer’s shoulder with his index finger, Deculein wore a deep smile.
—In truth, even that much—allowing you to live your entire lives in the proud sky you boast of—has only been tolerated because of us.
—……Ether Deculein.
—Shut your mouth. The fact that you are currently trespassing in the Magic Tower without my permission is already an act of very great tolerance on my part.
—……
—I will not say it twice. Get out before my tolerance and patience run dry.
The Purge Officers turned away without looking at Deculein any longer.
Striding off, defeated in the power game, they left the Magic Tower just like that.
—……Um, Chairman.
At that moment, a staff member of the Magic Tower cautiously approached and called to him.
—There are crystal orbs throughout the Magic Tower that monitor the interior. If we look at those, Epherene—
—Dispose of them.
—……Pardon?
Dispose of them. At those words, the technician’s eyes widened, and Deculein looked down at him threateningly as he spoke.
—I said dispose of them at once. The Magic Tower must not bow to the likes of the Floating Island.
—Ah, y-yes! Understood!
……Up to this point, one could call it Deculein’s personality.
No matter that it was the Floating Island, invading the Magic Tower was something Deculein’s immensely lofty pride and ego could not tolerate.
—However.
—……
What Deculein did next was a little strange.
He let out a small sigh, then took the Wood Steel from within his coat.
Whirr— whirr—
The Wood Steel resonated as though searching for its brethren.
Seeing it, Deculein glanced toward the cafeteria.
—So you are in there, Epherene.
“……”
Watching Deculein say that, Epherene said nothing at all.
She made no expression, merely stood still and looked at him.
—……You foolish girl.
Deculein gave a small laugh and shut the cafeteria door.
With his back as he left the Magic Tower, pretending not to know, as the final sight, the past disappeared.
Tick—
The pocket watch ticked, but there was no further reenactment.
Tick—
Epherene looked around.
It was the Magic Tower.
She did not know the cause, but she had teleported from Hadekain to the Imperial Magic Tower.
“……Distortion.”
But, somehow, Epherene felt as though she understood.
The phenomenon of time distortion.
“If time itself is my talent.”
Time and space are relative according to speed.
But in this world where speed has stopped, the “time” it takes to reach a certain distance is up to my will.
For example, I might be able to change the time required to go from the desert to the Empire as I please.
Why?
Because time is my talent.
“Was it three months?”
Epherene smiled faintly and released her mana.
“One step is enough.”
The moment she took that one step.
Epherene was back in the desert.
“……Huh.”
She laughed triumphantly.
It was a shame that she had suffered like a dog for two years, but no, rather, it was because of that that she had learned.
“Yeah. With this much, I can do it.”
A way to make stopped time move again.
The realization of that magic now filled my head.
“But…… before that.”
Epherene shifted space again and went up to the chairman’s office in the Magic Tower.
She merely closed and opened her eyes once, and she was in the chairman’s office.
“……Professor.”
At the center of the very spacious top floor of the Magic Tower, Deculein sat at his worktable, frozen in place while reading a book.
Looking at him, Epherene said,
“I’ll be back soon.”
* * *
Epherene was walking with the pocket watch in her hand.
She no longer counted the days. There was no need.
Because I am time itself.
“The magic circle is all drawn……”
In any case, the magic circle that would make stopped time move was already complete.
Its size was the entire continent.
Truly, she had drawn a magic circle with her mana, densely covering even the edges of the continent.
In this stopped world, mana stones were no different from bricks, so there was no helping it.
To implement magic of a similar performance without mana stones, the size of the magic circle had to be enormous.
“Back to the desert.”
The center of the magic circle was the desert.
Without even needing to move her feet, Epherene arrived at the underground passage of Time.
“Whew.”
A circle of magic drawn in the middle of the Sanctuary.
Standing atop it, she prepared to activate the magic.
“I don’t know if it’ll work or not……”
But her understanding of time was clearer than ever.
Because she had read all three of Casey’s manuscripts, and understood them all.
“Whew.”
She took a deep breath—
Step—
—when that sound rang out.
Step— step—
Epherene flinched in surprise. It was a footstep she had not heard in years.
“No way.”
Her heart pounded. She murmured softly and opened her eyes wide. She quickly turned to look behind her.
Could it be Professor Deculein?!
“It’s been a while.”
……However, the one saying such words was not him.
Not the person she wished for.
“…….”
Ipeurin’s face stiffened in an instant. She raised herself and looked at him warily.
“Hello?”
The last believer, Kwei.
He gave her a low smile.
“Ipeurin Luna. The Fall of the Moon. A child born of a comet. As expected, you live up to that name.”
“You’re moving?”
“Yeah. Because I’m going to become a god. But I, too, woke up not long ago.”
Kwei approached her, clapping as if in admiration.
“Amazing indeed. Your origins. Even I was frozen solid for this long.”
“……What are you talking about, coming to find me suddenly like this.”
Ipeurin warmed up the mana in her body. However, since she held no killing intent, Kwei also asked back calmly.
“Ipeurin. Do you perhaps think this happened because of your mistake? This present where time has stopped?”
“…….”
A mistake.
Can time stop from merely a single mage’s mistake?
A fact that Ipeurin had naturally regarded with doubt, yet set to the back of her mind while focusing on solving it.
Kwei shook his head.
“No. It wasn’t a mistake. Your talent has bloomed.”
“……What?”
“More importantly, you drew the magic circle here well.”
Kwei squatted and pointed to a part of the magic circle.
“Here too. Here, and there.”
He pointed here and there, here and there with his finger. Hopping about like a frog.
Ipeurin stared at him in disbelief.
“What are you doing?”
“Hm. With magic of this level, time will flow again. But you’ll become a fragmented existence.”
“……?”
A fragmented existence.
What was that?
To the puzzled Ipeurin, Kwei spoke.
“Ipeurin, now you cannot be bound by any time. That’s what happens when you surpass time.”
“…….”
“To be exact, from the moment you took Sopien’s ‘Regression’ until the days you will live going forward, you will drift within time.”
Drift.
For some reason, that word was easy to understand.
No wonder—Silbia’s words, “there are two of you,” came to mind.
“If you activate that magic, you won’t be able to remain in the same time period for long. Sometimes it was today, but after sleeping one night and waking up, it was three days ago; it became tomorrow, but it was a year ago—something like that.”
Kwei stood up. He dusted off the dirt on his pants.
“Will you still be okay? It won’t be a human life.”
“…….”
“If it’s not okay, take my hand.”
Kwei extended his hand. As Ipeurin’s eyes sharpened, he smiled and added.
“It doesn’t have to be right now. Someday, when it becomes too painful for you to live. Take my hand then. I’m a god, after all. I can grant anything you wish.”
“……I don’t believe in gods.”
“Yeah. I know. Most atheists are like that.”
Kwei withdrew his hand and shrugged.
“They don’t believe in gods, but believe in themselves. I think that’s foolish…… but you can believe me. You—your life—will be more painful than any human’s.”
“You’re wrong. I don’t even believe in myself.”
“……That’s a bit unusual.”
Kwei’s eyes narrowed.
“You don’t believe in yourself either?”
“Yeah. I don’t believe in myself either. Because I’ve been far too stupid until now for anyone to let it slide.”
Ipeurin nodded. And she prepared her magic again.
A fragmented existence.
Drifting through time.
If it had been before, she wouldn’t have understood, but now she was convinced at once.
She felt she knew exactly one hundred percent what it meant.
“Then who do you believe in?”
Kwei asked. Fwoosh—Ipeurin’s ash-grey mana flared up like dust.
She answered.
“I believe in Dekyllein.”
Short, firm words.
The professor who came to mind, standing firm like a giant tree, secretly supporting her.
My one and only teacher.
“So, if you’re going to say such things, go convince Dekyllein first.”
To Kwei, who seemed at a loss for words, Ipeurin smiled.
“Then I’ll consider it too at that time.”
“…….”
Kwei nodded with a slightly sulky expression.
He probably knew that he couldn’t do it either.
Ipeurin chuckled and manifested her magic.
Craaack—!
At that moment, a sound like tree roots being torn out.
Some mana originating from Ipeurin’s heart beat heavily and surged forth, toward the entirety of this world…….
* * *
Shhhhk—!
Yulli’s cylinder opened.
“Ooh!”
“Waaah!”
Ideunik and Allen watched what lay inside.
Hssss…….
Smoke brimming with mana overflowed and poured out, and beads of sweat formed on the two’s tightly clenched hands.
“……H-hey! Can you hear me!”
Ideunik asked first. Allen followed belatedly.
“Hellooo? Can you hear me?”
Swish—!
In an instant, a pale hand shot out and gripped the edge of the container.
“Whoa!”
“Wah!”
The two were so startled they nearly fell.
Whoosh—
Smoke swirled, obscuring everything from sight.
Inside it, a woman was pulling herself out.
“Ngh…….”
She pressed her temples as if suffering from a severe headache.
It was a face they had seen before, but her complexion was far more vibrant, and her cheeks were full of baby fat.
“O-oh…….”
Yulli.
And much younger than she was now.
“……It’s a success, Ipeurin!”
“Miss Ipeurin!”
Ideunik and Allen called for Ipeurin first. Yulli seemed to have no idea who the name Ipeurin referred to, and rather took a taekwondo stance, wary of the two.
“Haha. Look at her. Cute! Hey Ipeurin! Get over here and look! It’s Yulli, younger than you!”
“……What on earth are you people talking about.”
Ideunik simply doted on Yulli while calling for Ipeurin, Allen smiled brightly while looking Yulli over, and Yulli was full of wariness amid confusion and doubt, but…….
Yet no answer came from Ipeurin, who should have been the happiest of all.