Brolan, a wanted man of the Red Gauge. His real name, “Carixel,” had been captured together with another wanted man, “Dhal.”
The eunuchs, including Jollang, flew into a rage the moment they heard of Deculein’s achievement, but the trial proceeded steadily.
The sentence for roughly one thousand members of the Red Gauge, including Carixel and Dhal, was “confinement in Rohalak.”
Deputy Director of Public Security Lilia Primienne raised no objection.
—Move it, hurry up, you cockroach bastards!
—Move! Hey! You, old man up front! You want to die?!
……Rohalak, swept by a blazing heat of a staggering 45 degrees.
Inside a car where cool air circulated through the temperature-control device, Yeriel watched the thousand Red Gauge members being imprisoned, bound together with ropes.
“We have yet to make contact with the Red Garnet Adventuring Party.”
But all of that was outside Yeriel’s concern. Her mind was filled with nothing but anguish.
“However…… the item has been prepared, my lady.”
The butler and the other retainers had moved more diligently than she had. Yeriel’s loyal vassals had presented the most extreme and efficient method to break through this situation.
If war could not be avoided,
if they had no choice but to kill and be killed,
then a sudden preemptive strike would be the most efficient.
“I told him clearly. If he broke that promise, I would not forgive him.”
Yeriel murmured coldly. The butler in the driver’s seat lowered his head.
“Yes. That is correct.”
“But…… not yet. Keep looking. Keep searching. Dig through the underworld too. We need definite information. We have to make contact with Ganesha, no matter what.”
“Yes. I will mobilize the underground guild.”
An underground guild that Yeriel had personally organized to oppose the various nobles attempting to keep Yukline in check. Ironically, that very guild was now digging into Deculein, the head of Yukline.
“……Do that. But don’t let it reach the ears of those damned eunuchs.”
“Of course.”
“Good. Thank you.”
Yeriel answered weakly and looked out the window.
—Stop whining! You insane demon bastards!
—Move!
—You crippled cockroach bastards……
Roughly a thousand people with their dantians destroyed, their hair shaved clean off, looking like ruined shells of human beings. Those Red Gauge members would be confined within bleak, sweltering iron bars, receiving the wasteland’s scorching wind with their bare bodies.
“……”
If everything Deculein said was true, if Deculein truly intended to discard me after using me, then at the very least, I will not be taken down as helplessly as they were……
Yeriel made that vow and clenched her fist.
* * *
The capital’s night, where the full moon spread pale and hazy like mist.
A somehow sorrowful and cold time, like ice.
I was reading in the study of the mansion.
“Curses and Pharmacology,” “On Immunity,” “A Compendium of Medicinal Herbs,” “Zlen’s Medical Dictionary,” “Advanced Medicinal Ingredient Combinations”……
Studying pharmacology had become one of my routines.
I thought of every possibility that might heal Yuli. I obtained nearly every book and paper I could find and read through them all.
As a result.
[ Pharmacology Knowledge Grade: Advanced (37%) ]
That was the grade of my knowledge confirmed with “Vision.”
……It is truly strange.
“Psychokinesis,” which I have been working on to the point of exhaustion, is still barely on the verge of breaking through Intermediate after more than half a year of effort, yet pharmacology has already reached Advanced after two months or so of study.
“Perhaps you truly do see as much as you know……”
I murmured like a sigh.
The more knowledge I accumulated, the more I learned about pharmacology, the more I had no choice but to acknowledge it.
I had no choice but to feel rage at my own powerlessness.
The injury Yuli bore, the scar Deculein inflicted, could not be detoxified by ordinary methods at all.
“……”
However, I know of one method.
A method that is not ordinary in the slightest, one that uses the game’s “trigger.”
“Yuli. If you come to hate me.”
I would push her away.
More precisely, I would become a “villain” to her.
Yuli is a flower that blooms by overcoming the trial known as Deculein. With Deculein as her enemy, she would overcome any wound and soar brilliantly.
“……If, by doing that.”
I looked up at the distant sky.
The trait “Fate of a Villain” might, perhaps, be the name that suited Deculein best.
Because Deculein had no choice but to love Yuli, and yet in order to be with the one he loved, he had to be hated by her.
“I can save you.”
I placed my hand over one side of my chest, over my heart.
It was a strange sensation.
My heart was pounding, and it hurt. It was a pain I had never felt even once since becoming Deculein.
Was this itself simply the result of programming, or character settings?
Or had I, without even realizing it, come to truly love the person named Yuli?
“……”
I set down the book and opened the secret door of the annex.
This place, where a sharp scent and cool air wrapped around my skin, was the herb room I had remodeled with my “Midas’ Touch” magic.
It was a place equipped with all kinds of magical engineering technology, including a temperature-control barrier, and stocked with nearly every medicinal herb in this world.
None of them could heal Yuli.
Knock, knock—
Then came a knock.
—Professor. It is time for training.
It seemed dawn had come before I knew it.
I went outside the annex. Yuli greeted me with a smile.
“Here is your wooden sword.”
“Good.”
I gripped the wooden sword. The dawn training was sparring, crossing blades.
“If you extend your sword in a straight line, an opening will inevitably appear. Therefore, your sword path must always maintain a curve.”
I swung the sword as Yuli instructed, and thwack—! Thwack—! The dull sound of wooden swords striking each other rang out.
“Good. As expected, Professor, you are like a sponge!”
“I believe I am already better than you.”
“Ahem! Maintain your humility!”
My movements felt refreshing. My steps were light. The sweat running down felt pleasant.
Clap, clap, clap—
Then, applause came from somewhere. We stopped our swords and turned toward it.
Before we knew it, the day had brightened, and two guests were watching us.
“Hahaha. Impressive! Deculein. Your body is not lacking even compared to an average knight!”
It was Zeit. Zeit laughed heartily as he strode toward us, and beyond his shoulder, Yusepin was with him as well.
“It does my heart good to see you getting along with Yuli! Ah, right, I looked into a few wedding halls. One of them was truly tremendous. I thought we might go together……”
Yusepin.
I stared intently at that woman, who might perhaps be of help to me. When her gaze met mine, she smiled softly, but Yuli stepped between us.
“Where exactly are you looking?”
Her lips were pushed out in a pout.
* * *
Ten days before the start of the semester.
Epherene, Allen, and Drent were checking their travel bags in the assistant research room.
“Towels. Toothbrushes. Clothes. Emergency rations. Did you pack everything?”
“Yes.”
“Yes.”
The three above had been invited to the Lokralen Conference as companions of Professor Deculein.
“Hwaaaaaaam—”
Epherene, who had stayed up all night yesterday and today, yawned as she asked.
“But, Assistant Professor Allen. What’s special about Lokralen?”
She did not know in detail what Lokralen was, but there were plenty of rumors that simply attending it was an enormous benefit to a mage’s career.
Allen answered with a bright smile.
“Ah~ ‘Lokralen’ is a place where timelines become entangled.”
“Timelines?”
“Yes~”
Allen rummaged through the inner pocket of his robe and took out a travel booklet.
“Lokralen is a ‘magical space’ that naturally formed about ten years ago, when a meteorite impact and tremendous mana went boom! and exploded. Ah, right. You already know the concept of magical spaces, don’t you?”
“Of course. I’m a Solda, you know. The Imperial Palace’s garden is a magical space too.”
The most famous magical space was, of course, the Imperial Palace’s garden. Proof of the mystery where all four seasons coexist.
“Yes~ Anyway, Lokralen is also a magical space, but in that place, the past and the future are mixed together. The confirmed past is three years, and the future is ten years? Around that much, I think. They say no one knows the details.”
“Wow. That’s amazing.”
“Yes. But be careful!”
Allen solemnly raised his index finger straight up. It was a gesture that said, “Warning!”
“Because it’s such an incredible magical place, there are tons of monsters, and there are also many people who have become monsters. It’s a hazard zone of the Scarlet grade, no less.”
Scarlet grade. Epherene was suddenly frightened. The hazard grades went black—red—scarlet, after all.
“……Why would they hold a conference in a place like that?”
“It hasn’t been long since they started holding the conference. Was it three years ago? The mages found a way to make use of it.”
Because Lokralen was a magical space that had appeared relatively recently, its mystery was still vivid.
“They decided to hold a conference exactly once a year. If they do that, they can come into contact with future knowledge to some extent, right?”
“……Ah!”
At that, Epherene and Drent also opened their eyes wide as if they had realized it.
“That’s right~ There are many monsters and it’s dangerous, but it’s worth taking the risk to hold a conference there. Instead, you must not take those materials outside Lokralen. You’ll become a monster.”
“What do you mean, become a monster?”
“Uh……”
Allen paused for a moment, then flipped through the travel booklet again.
Rustle— He hurriedly turned the pages, then smiled brightly as if he had found it.
“If you take an item from Lokralen outside, you become infected by ‘mana itself with a twisted timeline.’ It’s something like the world’s restraining force taking effect. No one knows what kind of monster you’ll become!”
“Mm~ I understand. I get it all now.”
“Good. Then. Let’s go!”
Allen went outside together with Epherene and Drent. Just then, Deculein also came out of his office.
The moment Allen saw Deculein, he ran over in a single step and said,
“You look truly magnificent today as well, Professor~!”
In truth, Deculein’s attire was more perfect than ever before. He was fully armed with equipment made by “Midas’ Hand.”
“Let us depart.”
As could be inferred from that armament, Deculein was somewhat tense as well.
And not without reason, because in this main quest, [The Lokralen Conference]……
a transcendent being known as an “Archmage” would finally appear.
* * *
Clatter, clatter—
Clatter, clatter—
The VIP room of the train swayed gently.
[ Lokralen is a magical space created by the aftermath of a meteorite impact. Its location is in the southeastern part of the continent, at the corner of the Kingdom of Leoc.
At first, of course, it was owned by the Leoc royal family, but the Floating Island purchased the rights to Lokralen for “a lump sum of one billion elne,” organized a separate Lokralen branch and completed an investigation, then established the “Lokralen Conference” in the continental year 955. ]
“……Hmm.”
Drent nodded with interest as he read the booklet, Epherene slept soundly while lying on the sofa, and Allen was absorbed in knitting. It was a peaceful time.
I pondered the progression of the quest.
Of course, there were many other complicated matters, including the issue with Yuli, but for now, focusing on the main quest right in front of me was the proper thing to do.
[ Main Quest: The Bizarre Conference, Lokralen ]
◆ Shop Currency +1
◆ Mana +50
I did not know which archmage would appear at this conference. I had only vaguely heard and seen it through what the company people had said and the scenario line.
Screeeeech—
As if we were close to arriving, the train’s speed decreased.
I organized my luggage. Allen put his knitting equipment into the inner pocket of his robe, and Drent woke Epherene.
“Epherene. We’re here.”
“Ah, yes, yes. Let’s go.”
Clatter—!
The train stopped.
The four of us got off together. The moment we stepped onto the platform, the people of Lokralen greeted us.
“Welcome, Professor Deculein. It will be most convenient to ride horses to Lokralen.”
So saying, they offered four horses.
I nodded, but Epherene and Allen looked rather flustered. They must not know how to ride.
“The four of us will share two horses. Drent.”
“Yes.”
Drent mounted a horse first. As the son of a noble family, he was skilled at riding.
Allen timidly approached and sat behind Drent, while Epherene’s face turned aghast.
“T-Then, don’t tell me I’m……”
Next, I mounted a horse.
“A-Assistant Professor Allen. If you switch places with me—”
I forcibly lifted the hesitating Epherene onto the horse with “Psychokinesis.”
“Waaah!”
“We’re going.”
“Yes. Hyah!”
Clop, clop—
Clop, clop—
The horse raced swiftly down the unpaved road, and Epherene, wobbling with a long “Uwaaaah—,” eventually plastered herself to my back.
“Uwo, uwo, uwooo.”
“Be quiet.”
“Uwaaaang…”
……After riding like that for about an hour, we arrived at the entrance to Lokralen.
“Ah, I’m carsick… Assistant Professor Allen, are you okay…?”
“No, nooo… This is my first time riding a horse too…”
Leaving the groaning Allen and Epherene behind me, I looked up at Lokralen.
Lokralen was more a site than a space. From the outside, it looked like an enormous domed stadium.
“Your invitation, please.”
Two robed mages blocked the entrance.
I presented the invitation.
“Confirmed. Please leave the horse behind.”
“Very well.”
We entered through the door they opened, into the passageway.
“…Hm?”
The scenery inside Lokralen was quite peculiar. The domed ceiling seemed to be made of transparent glass, allowing the outside scenery—that is, the sunlight and sky—to be seen from within.
“It’s surprisingly normal, isn’t it?”
Drent, looking around, exclaimed in admiration. Just as he said, Lokralen had a central conference building, a hotel, stalls, magic item shops, residences, and so on—it was laid out like a place where people lived.
“Oh…”
Drent, walking along absentmindedly, bowed his head to a passerby.
“Ah, hello, niiiice to meet youuuurk—!”
He fainted on the spot.
I stopped walking and looked at Drent. Epherene and Allen were startled as well and shook him.
“Senior! Wh-What happened? Senior!”
“Mr. Drent, why, why all of a sudden? What happened, Professor?!”
The two looked back at me at the same time. I let out a small smile. It was amusing because it was exactly as I had heard from the system.
“It’s because that fellow spoke to someone from the future, or perhaps the past.”
“…Pardon?”
“To communicate with people from the future or the past requires an enormous amount of mana. If you lack that mana, this is what happens.”
Even in the actual game, if you conversed with a person from this “Lokralen,” your mana would supposedly be drained in chunks or something like that.
“Let’s go. Carry him, Epherene.”
“Huh? Me?”
“Shall I carry him?”
“…”
Epherene fumbled around and hoisted Drent onto her back, and with that piece of luggage in tow, we walked to the conference-exclusive hotel, “Lokrune.”
“Augh… Why is he so heavyyy… Uweeegh…”
While Epherene groaned with the tall Drent on her back, we arrived at the hotel’s information desk.
On the desk, first of all, lay several name tags. They were name tags bearing numbers instead of names.
[ 958 ]
Allen tilted his head.
“Professor, what is this?”
“It means the year 958 of the continental calendar. Put it on your name tag.”
“Aha~ Then we can talk to people whose name tags say 958, right, Professor?”
I shook my head at Allen’s question.
“You never know. There may be people from the past or future wearing 958.”
“Ah… True. There could be mischievous people like that!”
Once we pinned the name tags to our chests, the hotel employee, without so much as acknowledging us, placed a key on the counter. That person must not be from the year 958.
I took the key with psychokinesis. It was room 801.
“Let’s go.”
“Yes.”
“Um, he’s really heavy…”
“Endure it.”
We got on the elevator with Epherene, who was still carrying Drent.
Room 801, when we arrived, was a spacious floor occupying half the level, and Epherene quickly put Drent down first.
“Hooah. I thought my shoulders were going to fall off…”
─Ah, ah. An announcement. The 958 conference will be held today at 6 p.m. All 958 attendees, please proceed to the conference building. I repeat…
It was an announcement broadcast. I looked at my wristwatch. Epherene also glanced at my watch.
It was 5 p.m.
“There’s less than an hour left?”
“Prepare.”
* * *
The party, excluding the unconscious Drent, arrived at the central building of the Lokralen conference.
“Professor Deculein.”
A mage wearing a [ 958 ] name tag on his chest approached.
“There are separate instructions for Professor Deculein before the conference begins, so please come this way. The other two may wait here for a moment.”
He guided Deculein away first. Epherene and Allen blankly watched his back.
“Assistant Professor Allen. What should we do?”
“Well… I’ll wait for the Professor here!”
Allen seemed to have a docile personality, but Epherene was not like that at all. Looking around, Epherene spotted a sign that read “Underground Archives.”
“Can I go to the archives for a bit?”
“Yes~ Sure. Oh, right! Just don’t talk to anyone! And don’t take any items out!”
“Of course~”
Epherene smiled brightly and went down to the archives.
There was no one blocking entry to the underground archives, and she immediately began rummaging here and there.
“Wow. It’s true. There’s even stuff from next year?”
There were more papers than books on the shelves, and there truly were materials from the future, such as the years 959 and 960. Epherene, marveling, skimmed over the contents with her eyes.
“…Uweeegh.”
She had only read a few lines, and yet the mana in her entire body was being drained away—swoooosh.
A tremendous sense of exhaustion, as if she would lose her mind.
Epherene grabbed onto the bookshelf and barely managed to stand upright.
“Wow, what is this…”
“To acquire knowledge from the future is impossible with ordinary mana. No, even an archmage would have a hard time with it.”
At that moment, a voice spoke to her. Epherene flinched and turned in that direction.
It was some robed woman.
However, she had no name tag.
Epherene pretended not to know, pretended not to have seen, and slipped the paper back into the shelf.
“Hmm~ Are you trying to pretend you don’t know~?”
The woman came toward her with quick little steps, almost as if she were flying. It was an impressive technique, lightly gathering mana at the tips of her feet and springing forward.
Epherene was impressed but did not show it. Then she asked as if talking to herself.
“I wonder how many conference attendees there are~?”
“Only 33 each year. Those 33 can bring 3 companions each, so 132. There aren’t that many in order to prevent confusion related to time. Of course, that excludes the 500 ‘Lokralen addicts’ who reside only in Lokralen.”
“Hmm… I wonder if one of those 132 is beside me~?”
“Well, who knows?”
But, wait a second.
This person spoke to me, but she’s perfectly fine, isn’t she? Then doesn’t that mean she’s from the year 958?
Epherene widened her eyes and looked at the woman.
“…!!”
And she was startled almost to the point of fainting.
Her heart nearly stopped.
This woman.
Those eyes revealed beneath the robe…
Were exactly the same as her own.
“Hello, Epherene?”
The corners of her clear eyes drew a deep and charming arc.
“I’m Epherene too. Nice to meet you.”
As she said that and held out her hand… Epherene was stupefied.
“Y-You—”
“It’s all right. I’m bearing all the mana required for you to speak to me. Talk as much as you like.”
Epherene blankly looked Epherene up and down.
This Epherene was far too mature, and incredibly beautiful. Even her height seemed to be about 5cm taller than her current self.
“How many years in the future are you from?”
“Hmm… That isn’t a very cost-effective question. If I tell you that, you won’t be able to say the remaining thousand words. Is that all right?”
“Ah… It takes a lot of mana to tell me that, huh.”
“Yes~ That’s right.”
Adult Epherene smiled brightly and took off her robe. Glossy long hair spilled down in waves.
Epherene’s mouth fell open.
It was a beauty she herself did not know—no, had not known—she possessed.
“If it’s 958… you must have come with Professor Deculein, right?”
Adult Epherene asked.
“Uh, yeah. Why? Oh, do you maybe want to hit that professor?!”
At that, Adult Epherene chuckled. It was a truly mature smile.
However, the words that followed were far beyond Epherene’s expectations.
“Don’t hate that person too much.”
“…Eh? Why?”
“Haha. I can’t tell you more than that. And don’t believe what I say too much, either. I’m not entirely your future, you see. Rather, things will probably be very different. This Lokralen is a place where timelines are entangled to an outrageous degree.”
“Uh…”
Just as Epherene nodded blankly.
“Epherene.”
From somewhere, a low, middle-toned voice caught her from behind. The two Epherenes turned to look.
Deculein.
He was approaching.
He looked back and forth between Epherene and Adult Epherene.
First, he spoke to Adult Epherene.
“…Are you Epherene as well?”
Adult Epherene nodded.
“Yes. That’s right. As expected, you aren’t flustered. Professor, why do you know everything?”
He answered with a single word.
“Fascinating.”
Epherene looked back and forth between Adult Epherene and Deculein.
Adult Epherene was smiling brightly, but for some reason, the corners of her eyes seemed to glisten with moisture.
“…What is this?”
Even that gaze as she looked up at Deculein… was wistful, like that of someone in love.
Epherene shouted urgently.
“Hey! What’s with the way you’re looking at that man?!”
“…Hm? Ahaha.”
At Epherene’s words, Adult Epherene came back to her senses. Young Epherene shook her head, and just then—
“Shh.”
Adult Epherene placed a hand to her lips. Deculein watched her without saying a word.
Epherene asked,
“Why?”
“Today is the day the conference is abolished. So we don’t know what might happen.”
“The conference is abolished? Why?”
“A number of problems arose. We’ll talk about that later. Little Ephy from the past, could you close your eyes for a moment?”
Adult Epherene asked in a gentle voice.
“U-Um, okay.”
Epherene closed her eyes without realizing it. Adult Epherene smiled softly and looked at Deculein.
“Professor Deculein.”
“…”
Deculein did not avoid her mature gaze. A somewhat incredulous smile appeared at the corners of his mouth.
“Are you the real Epherene?”
“Of course.”
Adult Epherene smiled softly.
She was a mature figure, completely different from now. She must have aged at least ten more years.
“It’s been a long time. I was waiting.”
“Waiting?”
“Yes.”
Having confessed that, she strode right up in front of Deculein and…
Embraced him without hesitation.
“…”
Deculein was flustered, which was rare.
Adult Epherene, however, seemed not the least bit so; rather, she buried her face in his chest. To top it off, she even nuzzled against him a couple of times.
“Hehyu…”
For quite some time.
After being held in Deculein’s arms, she soon took a few steps back and smiled bitterly.
“…I wanted to hug you at least once.”
“Wh-What did you say?!”
Epherene, who had had her eyes closed, opened them in shock.
However, the situation was already over.
“Shh.”
No, it was the beginning of a new situation.
Adult Epherene pointed to the far side of the library and whispered softly.
─If we make any more noise, we might all die.