Ch.225225. Variable (2)

A moment later, in the living room.

I was momentarily stunned by this unprecedented situation, unable to properly grasp what was happening. Soon enough, I realized I couldn’t handle this matter alone and decided to seek help.

Given that this phenomenon likely involved more than just one or two people, calling them was not only necessary but also the right thing to do.

And so, gathered in this living room were the most trustworthy people I could call upon.

Sophie, whose expressions had recently become more vivid and whose body curves had grown more pronounced, sank deeply into the sofa. Right beside her, my mother sat comfortably with what appeared to be a somewhat pleased expression.

Across from them, a pair of cheerful twins—a boy and a girl—had settled in, chattering away happily with each other.

These children, who couldn’t be more than 5 years old, called me “Dad” and Sophia “Mom,” and bore a suspiciously strong resemblance to both of us.

Yes, those two looked remarkably like Sophia and me.

First, the boy. Though he showed some excitement typical for his age, he appeared surprisingly composed for a child so young, resembling me in my childhood.

His chubby cheeks still full of baby fat… well, that part wasn’t like me since I was rather skinny as a child, but aside from that, anyone could see he had my facial features.

The only differences were his reddish-brown eyes that somehow reflected Sophia’s essence, and his light brown or nearly blonde hair color.

Meanwhile, the girl, who appeared as lively and energetic as any child her age, seemed to be based on Sophia but with my characteristics showing through in various ways.

She had slightly upturned eyes like Sophie but eyes that resembled mine, while her facial structure was closer to Sophia’s. The dimples that appeared when she smiled might have resembled mine.

…Indeed. At this point, denying the obvious would seem stranger than accepting it.

“…Um, you two?”

“What is it, Dad?”

“Hahaha! This is awkward! So awkward!”

The identity of these two children… they must be children born between Sophia and me. I’m not sure by what method, but they seem to be my future children who have come from the future.

‘…It’s obvious, isn’t it?’

[…It certainly is.]

While exchanging simple thoughts through mental waves, we spent time coordinating our opinions through eye contact.

Opinions about the children’s identity, how to deal with them, and even whether we should tell them that they’ve traveled to the past.

Perhaps because such significant matters were involved, we were all eyeing each other awkwardly, creating a tense atmosphere…

“Oh, right! Dad! You told me to give you this!”

The boy, who had been sitting on the floor chatting pleasantly with his sister, suddenly jumped up, approached me, and handed me a crumpled piece of paper from inside his clothes.

‘…This is.’

Though it had become dirty and wrinkled from being kept in a child’s pocket for quite some time, it was still preserved well enough to make out what it was.

As my mother and Sophie naturally moved closer to my sides, staring intently at the paper, I carefully unfolded the crumpled note…

[The children will be coming to your time for a while.

They should naturally return here after about 2 days.

I’ve experienced this myself, so there shouldn’t be any problems.

Please take care of the children. From your future self.

-Gregory Aleinos]

‘…Ah.’

Only after confirming the note did the three of us finally understand the general circumstances and situation.

Though we couldn’t know the specific details, based on the contents of this note, these two children seem to have somehow traveled back in time to the past temporarily, and my future self apparently experienced something similar in the past.

Of course, one might doubt whether the contents of this note are genuine, but there’s a separate way to verify that fact.

The signature at the very bottom of the letter isn’t simply indicating the sender; it’s written with “true name ink,” which is used in magical contracts to prove the signer’s identity.

To my eyes, it clearly displays the name possessed by my soul, but other people would only know that this indescribable cluster of letters simply represents me.

The true name ink used here is a special ink created by the god of contracts and promises, and if anyone tried to misuse it, they would receive divine punishment that could crush their soul.

Therefore, I, Sophie, and my mother, who was smiling as if pleased about something, turned our attention to the two children who were behaving in that peculiar way that children do…

“Children, the truth is, I’m your father from the past.”

“…Dad from the old days?”

“Ah! That’s why the house is smaller!”

Unlike my cautious approach, worried that the children might be shocked, the two simply looked at me with bright smiles, seeming to understand adequately.

“So, could you tell me your names? Let’s introduce ourselves.”

“But why do we need to introduce ourselves to Dad? You already know our names.”

“Dummy, Dad from the past doesn’t know our names!”

“…I’m not a dummy!”

“Yes, you are!”

“You’ve said enough!”

“Both of you, that’s enough!”

While I was dumbfounded, not understanding what had triggered their argument, Sophie intervened with a mild scolding. The two children immediately became subdued and quiet…

“Children, please introduce yourselves now.”

“…Yes!”

“Yes, Grandma!”

“G-Grandma…”

As my mother, with an expression that could have been either moved or shocked, sorted out the situation, the two children stood up and proudly began their introductions.

“Lupin Aleinos! Four years old! I’m Talin’s big brother!”

“I’m the big sister! …Oh! I’m Talisa Aleinos! Four years old! I’m the big sister! This is my friend, Arisa!”

“—Kyuung!”

Responding to the girl—Talisa Aleinos’s words—was a small fox. More precisely, it was a magical fox with distinctive golden fur and three tails that made quite an impression.

Its size was roughly that of a stray cat. I guessed it might be a gumiho… and it appeared to be Talisa’s animal friend.

The way it jumped familiarly into Talisa’s arms and acted affectionately suggested as much…

‘…Hmm?’

Just then, I noticed something hanging around the neck of the three-tailed fox introduced as Arisa.

It was a round hourglass pendant connected by an extremely thin golden chain.

※ ※ ※

Gumiho. This species, which came up during a previous discussion with Wonsul about rare magical beasts from the Eastern Continent, seemed like a fusion of the multi-tailed foxes introduced in Eastern folklore.

According to Wonsul, they were a shape-shifting species between humanoids and magical beasts… by Western Continent standards, they would be classified in the werewolf category, a rare species treated as both human and magical beast.

Of course, in the Western Continent, werewolves are treated like orcs due to their inherent wildness and ferocity, but according to Wonsul, gumihos in the Eastern Continent are proud members of humanity.

…Though the species itself is innately born with the power to charm others, and their tendencies seem to follow that nature, so their treatment doesn’t seem particularly good.

Anyway, such gumihos are quite famous as a “magical” species, much like elves. In particular, they are said to be born with innate magical abilities beyond simply using magic.

To put it metaphorically, they are born with bodies that can use magic without learning it, which is why all sorts of accidents occur when they can’t properly control their power yet…

‘…So that’s the cause.’

Thanks to this, through my conversation with the young three-tailed gumiho, I was able to roughly understand the situation.

According to Arisa the gumiho, this hourglass was some magical tool that Talisa had secretly stolen from my treasure vault, and after seeing Arisa’s fur color, she had suddenly handed it over…

I suspected it might have been an accident caused by the resonance between the immature gumiho’s unique magical power and the time-manipulating power contained in this hourglass magical tool.

“For now, you keep this.”

[Yes!]

So I returned it, worried that taking the hourglass might cause problems with their return… but then I suddenly recalled Talisa’s mention of my treasure vault and thought:

‘…What kind of person does my future self become? Keeping something like this…’

I wondered what kind of person I would grow into—someone who would stash away something as incredible as an hourglass that manipulates time.