episode_0109

There is a limit to my abilities.

The ability itself did not disappear. It did not seem like any additional penalties were applied. After that, I tried using the ability in the room several times, and my ability worked properly.

But, I probably won’t be able to go back to the moment before I met that nameless person yesterday.

Since then, I have never tried to go back to that point. Even if I had thought about it, I had to see the Emperor’s face. Even if I didn’t say anything, the Emperor would have guessed it all by himself, so what would be the point of going back?

More than anything, I didn’t want to experience that pain again.

I lay in bed, staring at the ceiling, lost in thought.

The bruises were healed, and I wasn’t tired, perhaps because I had just woken up from a long sleep. However, my mind was incredibly complicated.

I was thinking about the nameless entity I encountered in the dungeon.

“… … Me?”

I muttered that to myself, but it didn’t feel real.

If I were the main character in a novel about water, the future country would be a cliché.

That being disappeared with the treasure. In the future, will the emperor cause some kind of incident through the treasure? So, to prevent that—

But, even if you think about it that way, there is something strange.

Let’s make a concession and say that’s the country.

It was clear that he was using time-related abilities, and that he was using them at that moment. Watching his movements gave me a strange feeling. The future, present, and past were all mixed up.

The voice was the same. It was an unpleasant voice, as if it was full of noise. I don’t think he made that sound on purpose. And it wasn’t just a voice that came out of an injury or anything.

When I used my ability to turn the situation itself into nothing, my opponent probably used his ability at the same time. And he broke the space and grabbed me tightly. I was able to turn back time, but I couldn’t help but go back unstably. That’s probably why my body, which should have ‘returned together’ normally, remained the same.

And if we assume that the abilities of the two collided, then the being remained in a future that could not exist, and because of that error, it could not return to before that point in time.

Even if you think about it that way, it’s strange.

I had the gun I was using, but the enemy aimed it at Alice, not the Emperor.

You could think that it was aimed at me, but Alice was right in front of me… … Well, even though my physical ability is not that great, I shot the gun so many times. At least I wouldn’t misaimed at someone at that close range. Especially if it was ‘future me’.

He was trying to tell me something.

Sylvia, never—

I couldn’t hear the ending properly.

Besides, that intense feeling of rejection that I had in my head when I aimed at him… … .

… … .

Oh, I really don’t know.

I got up from my seat, scratching my head.

Just because I keep thinking about it doesn’t mean I understand the situation. For now—

The moment I finally got out of bed and put on my slippers, I heard someone knocking cautiously on the door.

“Yes, come in.”

It was fortunate that my voice didn’t crack.

The door opened carefully, and the person who came inside was Claire.

“Sister.”

When Claire called me like that, her voice was raised to the max over the phone.

Her eyes were worried about me now. Her voice was thin as she cautiously called me.

“Are you feeling a little better?”

This time I didn’t ask anything either.

“It’s okay.”

Since I was healed by magic, there was no more pain anywhere. I wasn’t even seriously hurt in the first place.

There were a few drops of blood on my clothes, but that was it. It wasn’t my blood. It was blood that flowed from the arm that was holding me, scratching against the space.

Of course, that’s not the only reason Claire is worried.

“That… ….”

Claire looked around and then looked at me. For some reason, she had the air of a younger sister who came to see her older sister who was very angry.

“Right now, everyone else is gathered at the restaurant. I think it would be a good idea to eat together.”

“Okay—”

But as I was answering, I remembered that I hadn’t washed yet. I guess that was also the reason Claire asked so cautiously.

“I’ll wash up and go down soon.”

When I said that, Claire nodded.

“Okay. I’ll be waiting.”

*

When I said, “I’ll be waiting,” I didn’t mean I’d be waiting at the restaurant. Claire was sitting quietly in one of the chairs in my room, waiting.

In a world without devices like smartphones, it would have been incredibly boring to just sit there and wait.

I squeezed my wet hair as much as I could with a towel to remove all the moisture.

I tried to dry it as much as possible with something like a small wind-up fan, but I still felt damp somewhere on my head.

“Oh, are you going to do that?”

When I finally gave up on drying my hair and started putting on my uniform, Claire was surprised and said this.

In a normal country, such a disheveled appearance would never have been seen.

What would it have been like in normal times?

I… … probably would have turned back time and gone back to before Claire came.

And then he quickly washed up and waited for Claire. Of course, he dried his hair too.

Anyway, I thought about it all morning, and it’s not like turning back time would make my memories disappear.

“… … .”

I was thinking about doing that because a sudden thought occurred to me.

“Does it look strange?”

I asked Claire that. Claire quickly shook her head from side to side. It was such an innocent gesture, like when a child is asked by their mother, “Do you hate Mom?” That made me laugh for a moment.

The atmosphere was strangely peaceful, as if the strange incident from yesterday had never happened.

It doesn’t matter if you ask me one thing.

I can’t answer that, though.

“Then, let’s go down like this.”

“Yeah.”

To my answer, Claire quickly nodded this time.

*

“What happened last night?”

That’s what Charlotte said as soon as she saw my face.

In fact, not only did she come down without properly preparing, but the fact that she dragged her feet and came down so late must have been strange to Charlotte.

Until now, my character has been one of being thorough in everything I do, calculating and solving what will happen in the future almost like a prophecy.

If I overslept and came down to wash while everyone else was eating breakfast, and came down with damp hair…

… … This is beyond the standards of nobility or royalty, let alone my character.

But before that, a delicious smell tickled my nose.

It was freshly baked bread. It had been some time since I came down, but my portion was covered with a silver lid, probably to preserve some of the warmth.

Without rushing too much, I went to the empty seat and sat down.

Alice looked at me with a slightly worried expression. Did she read something from my expression this time?

The fact that it was Claire and not Alice who came up to pick me up means that it was Alice who had to make excuses for yesterday. After all, it was Alice who asked Charlotte to go to another dungeon.

“Alice?”

Perhaps because she hadn’t heard my answer, Charlotte looked back at Alice and asked. Fortunately, she didn’t seem angry at me. Rather, she seemed to understand that I was that hungry.

“Yesterday… ….”

It seemed like I could hear Alice’s head spinning all the way here.

“… … Sorry. It’s just things that are hard to talk about.”

“I see.”

But Charlotte didn’t bother to ask Alice. In fact, Charlotte’s gaze was directed at me, not Alice.

I felt Charlotte’s gaze curiously looking at me as I was chewing on my morning bread without any toppings on it, and I turned my eyes to Charlotte as well.

“You must have been really hungry?”

“… … .”

I looked at the bread in my hand. It wasn’t torn into bite-size pieces, it was held whole in my hand.

Did I seem uneducated?

But it wasn’t like Charlotte was giving me any hints.

Fortunately, he didn’t look as terrified as I did when I ate the parfait.

“Yes, I had a lot to do yesterday.”

Alice’s shoulders twitched at my words.

Charlotte looked back and forth between Alice and me. Her deep eyes were filled with curiosity, but perhaps it was because Charlotte was seeing and hearing a lot of unspeakable information.

They didn’t ask us any further questions.

“What about other people?”

“Leo was dragged by Jake. Maybe to a casino.”

Charlotte answered my question with a sigh.

“Mia still hasn’t woken up, and Lena went up to her room right after eating to sharpen her weapon.”

Alice filled in the rest.

“Sister, do you want to eat more?”

Claire asked me that, looking at my plate that was quickly emptying.

“… … .”

Normally I would have refused, but… … .

Honestly, I was so hungry right now.