……Goodbye. My professor.
Someday, the trembling voice of a child who had come from the distant future. That mysterious tone lingered by my ear like an echo, then scattered. It arose before my eyes, a lingering resonance spreading through my whole body.
I closed my eyes, then opened them.
In that instant, with that tiny moment as its pivot, the world had already changed.
“……”
The fellow was no longer in the underground chamber where she had been; only the scenery remained, silent.
The wind spun emptily in place, and cold dampness touched my skin.
An underground space filled with nothing but stillness.
In a place where nothing had changed, my time continued on without having been severed even once.
And yet between this moment and the next, there must have existed a span of 385 years.
“……Impudent.”
I felt a small anger and humiliation. It was an unavoidable function of my temperament.
Flutter—
Suddenly, a single sheet of paper caught my eye. A note lay rolling at my feet.
I lifted it with 「Psychokinesis」.
[ To Professor Deculein.
Hello, it’s Epherene.
By now, the professor I know is probably angry. Didn’t you mutter, ‘Impudent’? ]
“……”
Without realizing it, I looked around. There was not the slightest sign of anyone.
I read the sentences again. The handwriting had been pressed down firmly.
[ I’m sorry, Professor. But this is my share alone.
And this time is truly nothing but ‘time.’ Mana, air—everything is stagnant in one place. Therefore, training is impossible.
It is meaningless time, in which only thought is possible.
Like waves rolling onto the shore, it merely sweeps over and recedes, repeating like that.
Hehe.
Um, I, Epherene…… actually had many things I wanted to say to you, Professor.
What happened in the future, and what became of the future.
But there were many difficulties in conveying knowledge of the future to the present. Especially your future, Professor—it was impossible even if I poured all my mana into it.
So, rather than convey a single line of information that I could not even conclude, some mere fact, I wanted to offer just one sentence.
The words I wanted to say to you, Professor ]
“……?”
The letter ended there. I looked at the back, but it was blank white.
Something had happened; the contents had been cut off abruptly.
At that moment.
“Professor!”
The door flew open, and a voice slightly younger and sharper rang against the back of my head. I put the note into my inner pocket and turned to look at her.
“Did it succeed, did it succeed?! The disposal of Rockralen?!”
Epherene.
Clenching her fists tight, she asked urgently.
I nodded.
“Ah!”
“However, the disposal of Rockralen as a whole is a matter of the future. Kaidezite has been dismantled, but Rockralen’s timeline will be maintained until that day in the future.”
The disposal of Rockralen was still a matter of the ‘future.’ Rockralen itself would remain until the day Epherene became an archmage.
“I…… then…… what about me?”
Epherene asked hesitantly.
Looking at her, I recalled the Epherene of the future.
I imagined her enduring 385 years alone.
I was angry.
That girl had disregarded my ability and my pride. She had refused my will. It was an exceedingly impudent stubbornness.
You are not someone capable of enduring such an enormous stretch of time alone.
“……”
I approached Epherene. Though Epherene flinched, she did not run away.
Thud—
“Ugh!”
I placed my hand on her head.
It was small and light.
“There is still much that must go into your head.”
“……What?”
The still-empty Epherene narrowed her eyes.
“Epherene returned to the future. In that future, all of Rockralen has been disposed of, so you will never meet her again.”
“……”
At that, her face became a little disappointed.
Without another word, I went up from the underground.
“Hey, Deculein! You bastard!”
Roserio, whom I met on the stairs on the way back, glared at me.
As expected, he did not even realize that he himself had been preserved.
“You betrayed me?!”
“Follow me. It is all over.”
“……What? Over?”
When we went up to the first-floor lobby together, nearly everyone from the conference had already gathered. Having been released from preservation, they looked somewhat awkward.
Among them, I could also see Rockralen, the chairman of the conference. As if confused, he absentmindedly fiddled with the necklace near his collarbone, where only the cord remained.
“……Oh, Professor Deculein!”
“Professor Deculein. Did you resolve this?”
“I-I trusted you.”
The members of the conference approached belatedly. I jerked my chin at Roserio.
“Roserio. Open the door.”
“Aye.”
Roserio dismantled the 「Alchemy」.
Ruuuumble—!
The sealed exit of the conference was revealed, and bright sunlight seeped in.
“Hooh…… It’s been nearly three days since I last saw the sun. Professor Deculein. Sorry for misunderstanding you, eh?”
Roserio muttered, and several mages went outside while watching my expression.
Because they did not know of ‘someone’s’ sacrifice, this was all the reaction they showed.
“……Ah. This is Rockralen, chairman of the conference. Due to an unfortunate incident, this conference will be suspended.”
At that moment, Rockralen spoke with amplification magic.
“Everyone, please return to your hotel and rest comfortably. Departure procedures will be tomorrow. Everyone, please return to your hotel and rest comfortably……”
Epherene glared at him with a protruding pout and sullen eyes.
* * *
The next day.
Drent, who had been groaning from the aftereffects of mana exhaustion, had recovered to some extent, and the rest of the conference had all been canceled.
Since Chairman Rockralen had also said he would take “time to reorganize,” it was now time to leave.
“Reorganize? Couldn’t they just dispose of the entire conference right now? Then that sort of thing won’t happen in the future either.”
It was an exceedingly reasonable question from Epherene.
I shook my head.
“There is no evidence. Even if there were evidence, Kaidezite is a future threat. The Floating Island would retort by asking whether it would not be fine for that ‘remaining time.’”
An island mad for magic, knowledge, and mystery.
The outer shell of the Floating Island seemed exceedingly rational and intellectual, but its inner workings were, if anything, endlessly inflexible and brutally cold.
“Ah……”
“Professor~ We’re all packed!”
“I think I can go as long as I use crutches.”
Those were Allen and Drent, respectively.
Nodding, I opened the door to the guest room.
As for me, there were many things I would have to think about later. Starting with the 「High-Grade Trait Catalog」 I had received as a quest reward……
“Professor. When we leave Rockralen, will I forget what happened today?”
Epherene asked in the hotel elevator.
“It depends on your mental strength, but in your case, it will likely remain like an afterimage. Even if you do not forget completely, you will not be able to recall the details.”
“……”
Epherene nodded, looking a little disappointed.
Ding—
The elevator reached the first floor.
The hotel lobby was crowded with people intending to leave Rockralen today. They greeted me, but I did not feel any particular desire to respond.
We went straight out of the hotel and walked down the road.
“I’m sorry, Assistant Professor. Am I not heavy?”
“It’s all right~ We’re on the same team.”
The conversation between Drent, whose body was still unwell, and Allen, who was supporting him.
“I foolishly fainted…… To think I would faint just from saying one sentence.”
“I know, right? That was a little strange.”
Suddenly, their words stimulated my thoughts.
I felt the movement of a spark originating in my brain.
“Professor! Professor──!”
A noisy voice rang out from behind. Chairman Rockralen was approaching, waving his hand.
As soon as Epherene saw him, she puffed out her cheeks and folded her arms. I also glared at him silently.
“Hahahaha, are you leaving already? You should at least have dinner before you go. It will be prepared soon.”
Rockralen seemed not to remember even the fact that he had been Kaidezite’s host.
“No need.”
“Ah~ yes. Still, I came to offer my thanks. Thanks to you, the conference has been made whole.”
“Tch. Whole, my foot.”
Epherene grumbled. Rockralen glanced at her sullen face, then pointed at Drent standing behind us.
“Haha. I have not seen this one before.”
“He is the mage I mentioned before, the one who fainted after exchanging a single sentence.”
“Ah~ What a pity. But you must have been truly exhausted? To faint from one sentence.”
“……I apologize.”
Drent bowed his head deeply, and the moment Rockralen gave a bitter smile.
“……Wait.”
The spark in my mind ignited. The small flame that bloomed there burned into a flash in an instant.
“Rockralen.”
“Yes?”
“You said it before. That one could not faint merely from exchanging a single sentence.”
“Yes. In terms of cases, that is so. No matter how low one’s mental strength may be, from a single sentence……”
“And yet this man fainted.”
I pointed at Drent. Drent covered his face with a guilty expression.
“Hmm. At the time, perhaps he was tired—”
“Name another condition.”
“Yes? A condition, you say?”
“If this man truly fainted, would the issue not have been with that ‘other mage’ rather than with him?”
“……Well.”
Rockralen touched his chin and pondered, then continued haltingly.
“Rather than mana, it would be…… a difference in mental strength, I suppose? If he had spoken with a mage from the future whose mental strength was absurdly powerful…… But his own fatigue was probably the greater factor.”
That was enough.
“I see.”
I recalled the moment I—no, we—first entered Rockralen.
That day.
The robed mage who had passed by us like a passerby.
The person Drent had greeted unconsciously.
And……
[ So, rather than convey a single line of information that I could not even conclude, some mere fact, I wanted to offer just one sentence.
The words I wanted to say to you, Professor ]
Epherene’s letter, cut off unnaturally.
“Professor? What is wrong?”
I imagined Epherene writing the letter.
That girl pressing her feelings, line by line, into a small note.
At some moment, while she was considering her sentences and pondering her own time.
An event occurred that greatly startled her.
Because she was so startled, she could not finish the letter.
No, there was no need to finish it at all.
Because……
“What is meant to happen will happen without fail.”
“Yes?”
Everyone turned to look at me.
“That impudent girl……”
“Who?”
Epherene asked back. I jerked my chin at Allen, indicating Epherene. Quick to understand, Allen forcibly dragged Epherene away.
“Miss Epherene~ We’ll go on ahead~”
“Huh? Why, why? Ah, wait……”
Leaving the retreating Epherene behind.
I spoke to Rockralen.
“Rockralen. In the not-too-distant future, call me here.”
At that, Rockralen smiled brightly.
“Ah~ of course. That is only natural. Originally, we do not invite the same person twice, but there is also a conference in December—”
“No.”
I cut off Rockralen’s words. Then I sharpened my gaze.
“Do not write me on the invitation list.”
“……Pardon?”
“I mean for you to call me secretly.”
My name must not exist on the list.
Only then would I be able to deceive that girl’s eyes.
“Ah, that is somewhat difficult. According to Rockralen’s regulations—”
“What do regulations matter now? Because of you, we nearly died.”
I placed my hand on Rockralen’s shoulder. Flustered, he flinched and shook his head.
“A g-great danger may occur. This is for your sake, Professor. If you are not written on the list, later, when managing entry and exit—”
“I know. That is precisely why I am saying this.”
I stared into Rockralen’s eyes. His pupils shook wildly, avoiding my gaze.
Gulp—
At last, Rockralen swallowed and rubbed the back of his neck, where cold sweat had risen.
“Wh-when do you mean?”
“It does not matter when.”
I turned my head and looked at Epherene in the distance. Even as she walked away, she kept glancing back this way.
“When I am ready, I will come find you myself.”
Just then, sunlight descended through Rockralen’s glass dome. It was a light source bending softly like the wind.
“You only need to leave the door open.”
“……Yes. Yes. I understand. But why go so far……”
Smiling, I shook my head.
“There is no need to ask the reason.”
The robed passerby Drent had met.
The person who possessed the mental strength to knock him unconscious with a single word—
there was probably only one such person in this world.
“From the very beginning.”
I know who he is.
He is…
“This was how things were meant to be.”
…Deculein von Grahan Yukline.
* * *
…Last night, in Epherene’s time, where Deculein had been frozen.
“Done!”
Epherene successfully dismantled the Kaidezite. The Kaidezite vanished, releasing an immense amount of “time energy” throughout all of Lokralen.
“Phew…”
Now, what she had to do was simple.
All she had to do was endure 385 years within this limited space—in other words, 140,525 days, or 3,372,600 hours.
“…Still, I’m glad there’s something to look at.”
Epherene looked at the frozen Deculein.
His outward appearance had not aged in the slightest, neither then nor now. Even amid wavering time and the passing years, this obsessive cleanliness and neatness of his would remain eternal.
“I’ll be back in a bit.”
After gazing at him for a while, Epherene trotted up the stairs from the basement.
Passing Rogerio in the [Underground Archives], and Epherene herself sleeping soundly, she arrived at the first-floor lobby.
“…Hah.”
She let out a small sigh as she checked each of the frozen faces. She had indeed left no one out.
“Oh, right.”
Epherene, who had been about to check the second and third floors as well, turned back again and went down to the basement.
“I almost forgot the letter. I should write it while I’m still in good shape.”
Back down to the basement, as if she had flown there. In the very center stood Deculein, frozen upright.
Looking at him, Epherene took out a blank note.
“Let’s see…”
[ To Professor Deculein.
Hello, it’s Epherene. ]
She wrote not with a pen, but with mana. Using the carbon magic he had invented, she affixed “graphite” to the note.
[ I’m sorry, Professor. But this is my burden alone. And this time is truly nothing more than “time.”
Mana, air—everything is stagnant in one place. Therefore, studying magic or training is impossible. ]
“Pfft.”
As she continued writing, a smile slipped out, and something surged up from within her.
Was this what it meant to “convey one’s heart”?
And so, Epherene pressed down each and every letter with care.
[ …So, rather than tell you a single line of information I can’t even finish, some mere fact, I want to say just one thing.
The words I want to say to you, Professor— ]
──And then.
Step.
At some point, Epherene’s ears perked sensitively.
She opened her eyes wide and lifted her head.
Step.
It was a footstep that could not be, that should not be.
“…”
Epherene’s hand came to an abrupt stop.
Could there have been someone she had not frozen yet?
According to the entry records, even Drent should have been frozen for certain.
Just as a chill ran up her spine and she stared into the distance—
“How pathetic.”
“…!”
That voice bored into her ears.
A tone too familiar, and yet impossible.
“To be this careless…”
Whether he knew of her shock or not, the words continued as if mocking her, and from the darkness emerged a man dressed in a black robe.
“How could you go around calling yourself my disciple?”
She could only stare at him as he rebuked her.
Tears had already welled in her eyes, and her throat was so choked that no words came out.
“You are still foolish.”
The only person in this world
who could call her, an archmage, foolish.
Watching him take off his robe with his own hands, Epherene covered her mouth with both hands.
“Ah…”
It was Deculein. More precisely, Deculein from the future.
He held a slightly warmer smile than the Deculein of the present.
“You should have been more thorough. Don’t you agree?”
At that, Epherene’s eyes curved into a faint smile.
In the instant of that smile, clear tears flowed like a rainbow.
“You’re right.”
Epherene wiped her tears with the sleeve of her robe.
“I was too… foolish.”
She lifted her head again and looked at him. She smiled as she cried.
Professor Deculein disliked people who cried, but in this moment, it couldn’t be helped. Her heart and emotions, pounding madly, could no longer be controlled.
“I should have been… a little more thorough…”
…Behind her,
a small note fluttered down.
A note that began with a shy sentence like, “To Professor Deculein—”
“I really was so foolish…”
Epherene did not finish that sentence.
Because that person was there, across from her. Because he had come to her. There was no need to do so.
“…I’m sorry, Professor.”
Epherene, focusing on this very moment, felt a certain guilt.
“And… thank you.”
Because the years she had resolved to bear alone
now seemed as though they would be endlessly, utterly satisfying…