Ch.290Side Story: Time Gate – 3

The gate without its core didn’t last long. The golden light that had been spreading in all directions rushed back into the gate as if someone had pressed a rewind button, then collapsed and vanished.

“That’s it. It’s completely over.”

“There will be no more tampering with time.”

After the Celestial Goddess and Demon Goddess finished the cleanup, showing their divine power for the first time in a while, we returned to the empty Academy with Aria.

Aria hadn’t said a word the entire time. Neither had Leona, nor anyone else. Since everyone here was involved in this matter, they seemed to think it inappropriate to speak carelessly.

“…Ughhhh!”

Occasionally, Leona would make strange noises as she became embarrassed all by herself. She seemed to keep remembering how she had made a fuss about saving Aria when she knew nothing about the situation.

We had gone in knowing we just needed to extract the core to fix everything, yet she had practically begged Aria not to die while half-crying. Since delayed embarrassment is common, everyone pretended not to notice.

“Finally, it’s all over.”

Even after arriving at the club room, Elysiere and Latina caught Leona as she tried to escape, saying she wanted to be alone. I muttered quietly as I watched them.

No one thought my words strange. It really was all over. There would be no more interference with time, nor would anything else begin. This was the end of everything.

“……”

Aria was kneeling in the middle of the room like a criminal, hugging herself with her head bowed low.

‘I suppose she is a criminal?’

Even if the four of them had agreed to forgive her, what happened was ultimately Aria’s fault. She seemed to still carry that guilt, which was fortunate—at least she wasn’t being shameless about it.

If she had acted shamelessly or tried to turn the tables on us, the atmosphere would have been much colder than it was now.

“There’s something I want to ask.”

Prisilla crouched in front of Aria to meet her at eye level. Aria slowly raised her head.

“…Yes. What is it?”

“What was it like inside time?”

“…It hurt. Terribly.”

“You told us that before you went in. I’m asking exactly what it felt like.”

For once, Prisilla was extremely serious, without her usual languid or playful demeanor.

Aria’s expression darkened. Her arms tightened around herself. It seemed like she was being forced to recall memories she didn’t want to think about.

“It felt like needles piercing through my entire body. It also felt like my skin was slowly being flayed, decomposing layer by layer. I couldn’t breathe. No matter how much I tried to inhale, I couldn’t breathe, so I constantly felt like I was suffocating to death. And when things trapped in time attached to me, I would feel exactly how they died.”

“……”

“It was the same this time. They clung to my body, showing me the pain they felt when they died, and stole my time. It hurt.”

“I bet it did.”

After quietly listening to her confession, Prisilla simply said, “I bet it did,” and stood up. There was no further exchange. No anger, no hatred, no sadness, nor any other emotion.

That must be Prisilla’s way of forgiveness. I couldn’t know for sure as a third party, but somehow it felt that way.

“…Honestly, I didn’t think you would come to save me.”

Aria painfully raised her head and met my eyes.

“It would have been faster and easier to just bury me from the outside.”

True. Among the solutions proposed by the two goddesses was destroying the gate from the outside, crushing it along with the core. It wasn’t that the core couldn’t be destroyed—it just couldn’t be extracted from the outside.

That would have been faster and safer than going in to extract the core directly. We wouldn’t have needed to fight those things that wouldn’t die even when killed, like Leona and I had.

But we didn’t do that.

“You thought we wouldn’t save you? Why?”

“…Because I was the one inside.”

She hugged herself tighter. Her knuckles turned white, and her body trembled.

“When I went in, you said you would get me out someday… but your minds could have changed during the thousands of years I was isolated. So I thought you might not come to save me.”

“Thousands of years?”

We looked at each other. Even for a world where time didn’t flow, the discrepancy was too great. It seemed the pain had taken a toll on her, both physically and mentally.

“You’re mistaken about something, Aria.”

Laura stepped forward. She grabbed Aria’s chin and forced her to look up. Aria flinched fearfully when their eyes met.

“I don’t know how long it felt to you, but in this world, only seven years have passed. When this year ends, it will be the eighth.”

“…Seven years?”

“Yes. And I should also tell you that we’ve already reached an agreement. We won’t forget what you did, but we won’t bring it up either. Unless you haven’t been reflecting on your actions? That would change things.”

“N-no… that’s not…”

Aria trailed off and lowered her gaze. Seeing this, Laura released her hand.

“You seem unstable in mind and body. It would be best to get some sleep first and talk again later.”

“……”

Aria opened her eyes. She stared blankly at the high ceiling. From the chandelier down, it was a ceiling that screamed money.

Her body felt light. She could tell even while lying down. How long had it been since she felt this refreshed? Probably a very long time. She had always been writhing in pain.

Breathing, blinking, thinking, moving her body, and even just being alive had caused her excruciating pain.

Though only about seven years had passed in reality, Aria’s perception was different. She was grateful just to be able to lie comfortably wrapped in such soft blankets.

“…Mmh.”

After wiggling around for a while, enjoying the warmth and feel of the bed, Aria finally noticed sounds coming from elsewhere and sat up.

It was right beside her. The place where Mira sat in a chair, looking bored, tapping something black and rectangular with one hand. That’s where the sound was coming from.

It seemed to be an object from Mira’s world. At least, it was something Aria had never seen before in this world where she had once reigned like a god.

“Oh, you’re awake? You slept well.”

Noticing Aria sitting up, Mira put down the black object.

“…How long was I asleep?”

“About three days. Leona was terrified, thinking you might be dead. She only calmed down after the Demon Goddess said something to her.”

Aria instinctively noticed how comfortably Mira referred to Leona. It was one of the things she hadn’t been able to perceive before, when she was consumed by pain.

“…I see.”

“Yeah.”

Mira picked up the black object again, quickly tapped something with his thumb, and then put it in his pocket.

“I sent a message, so they’ll be here soon.”

“A message? To whom?”

“The person who’s been waiting for you the most.”

Just then, a dimensional gate opened, and two girls who looked about twelve years old came through with Leona, who appeared to be in a hurry.

Aria couldn’t believe her eyes for a moment. One of the girls strongly resembled Leona. Moreover, the other girl resembled a woman named Latina who had appeared from another world.

‘Mira called those two goddesses.’

While the term “goddess” did bring something to mind, their appearances were completely different, so Aria concluded it must be more like a nickname. Similar to how people often call their daughters “princess.”

If that was Leona’s child, there was only one possible partner. If it was Mira and Leona’s child, it wouldn’t be strange at all to use a nickname like “god.”

“Leona… you married Mira. Your child is so big. And cute.”

“…Married?”

At those words, Leona paused and looked to the side with an expression that suggested she understood what Aria meant. The two girls also had peculiar expressions. They too seemed to understand what was going on.

“Aren’t they both your daughters? I think Mira called them goddesses, but if they’re your children with Mira, that wouldn’t be strange. What are their nam—Ow!”

The Celestial Goddess slapped Aria’s lips with a smack. Despite what should have been a much higher pain threshold now, it hurt enough to bring tears to her eyes. While Aria rubbed her lips with a pained expression, the girl who resembled Leona grumbled.

“Judging by the nonsense she’s spouting, she seems fine.”

“Indeed. She seems fine.”

The girl who resembled Latina agreed. Aria, looking at the two girls with indignant eyes, suddenly recognized the familiar divine power and demonic energy, and her eyes widened in disbelief.

“God… no, really…?”

“Look at that, human. She’s not even using honorifics anymore. What an incredibly shameless woman.”

“Perhaps it’s because she’s already killed me once. Scold her.”

Immediately, both of them scurried over to Mira to tattle. As if this was a common occurrence, Mira skillfully picked up both goddesses, one in each arm.

The goddesses also seemed very accustomed to this, naturally balancing themselves in his arms. They truly looked like a father and his daughters. Though the daughters were too grown to be children, and the father was too young to be a parent.

“Both of you nearly caused a scene by calling me ‘daddy,’ so you’re hardly in a position to scold anyone.”

“That was a joke.”

“That was a joke, human.”

“I’m sure it was. You were swayed by a few pieces of candy and said such things—if it wasn’t a joke, you would have thrown away your dignity with your own hands.”

Aria became more confused the more she listened to the conversation. They really called him daddy? For a few pieces of candy? Goddesses?

“…Is that real, Leona?”

“Yes. Surprisingly.”

Aria was curious about what exactly had happened, but knowing she wasn’t in a position to speak freely, she kept her questions to herself.