Ch.56Loss (1)

Tick. The hour hand moved indifferently.

Melina anxiously kept her gaze fixed outside the window. The sun had long since set.

“Have you found Olivia?”

“…I’m sorry.”

The secretary bowed his head.

“There’s not a single clue. If it were anyone else, but to not even say a word to the Tower Master…”

Olivia had set out on a training journey earlier this year. Since it was meant for her to stand on her own without her master’s help, Melina had no grounds to stop her.

All Melina could do was pray for her disciple’s safety.

– I’ll be back.

– Can you at least tell me how long it will take?

– About half a year for now.

Melina bit her lip.

‘I should have stopped her somehow back then.’

There was nothing wrong with Olivia going on a training journey itself. Breaking away from one’s master and becoming independent was a tradition among mages.

Unless she intruded into a dragon’s lair, it was impossible for Olivia to encounter any serious danger.

No, even if she had, the dragons would have forgiven Olivia’s mistakes generously. Anyone with eyes would have recognized that she was Melina’s disciple.

Not because Melina was on friendly terms with dragons. But because Melina had become stronger than dragons.

The problem was that within that half-year period, the time for ‘Olivia’ to awaken was included.

It wasn’t that she hadn’t thought of this when sending her off, but she had believed that ‘Olivia’ would surely return.

That day was today.

Melina looked at the clock. It was midnight.

‘Olivia’ should have returned today.

And that today had just ended.

Watching the time pass indifferently, Melina thought.

Until sunset, she hadn’t been this anxious. Olivia had surely gone far away for training. It was natural that it would take a long time to return.

But…

‘This is beyond simply being late now.’

Melina was about to bite her nails but stopped. There were no nails left to bite.

“…Ask for cooperation from other towers once more. And if Livga appears, authorize the use of the teleport gate immediately.”

“Yes, understood.”

The secretaries bowed and withdrew.

‘Where on earth did you go?’

If she had gone for training within the Empire or near the border, seeking cooperation from the towers would suffice. The same applied if she had gone to another kingdom.

No matter how poor the relations between the Empire and the kingdoms, they would try to accommodate Olivia and improve relations rather than offend her.

‘Could it be a magical realm?’

Even if she had gone to one of the 7 magical realms, nothing would change. Given Olivia’s nature, she wouldn’t have recklessly ventured deep inside. Even if she had, ‘Olivia’ would be able to escape easily.

Melina spent the night wide awake.

In case something suddenly happened. Or if there had been some misunderstanding.

“Tower Master.”

“…Still no news?”

“No. But we’ve also asked for cooperation from other kingdoms just in case…”

The secretary’s voice trailed off. He couldn’t understand why Melina was overreacting like this.

After all, it was Olivia.

Unless it was a Grandmaster-level powerhouse, no one could even harm her. That’s how strong Olivia was.

And above all, Olivia’s expected return date was still far off.

‘Her return date is scheduled for late June to July. There are still three months left.’

In the past two years, everyone in the Golden Tower knew how Melina had treated Olivia.

Like her own child.

From a parent’s perspective, it was somewhat understandable.

“Tower Master.”

“…”

There was no answer. The secretary continued what he was going to say.

“Olivia will be fine. She’s the most brilliant mage in the Empire’s history. There’s no need to worry…”

“…out.”

“Pardon?”

“…Get out.”

The secretary knew nothing. It was because he knew nothing that he could speak so carelessly.

If he knew the truth, he wouldn’t be so carefree.

Melina said to the secretary with a dumbfounded face:

“I want to be alone for a while.”

Countless thoughts assaulted Melina’s mind.

‘…’

Melina silently looked down at the fragments of truth she had collected so far.

Eight pieces.

Were these mere scraps of paper worth Olivia risking her life for?

For these mere scraps of paper?

Anger flared in Melina’s eyes.

Whoooosh!

The air vibrated. Melina’s aura grew increasingly fierce. Magic books flew in all directions.

But she couldn’t tear those papers, not even crumple them.

Because they were the last legacy Olivia had left behind.

With a thud, Melina collapsed onto the desk.

“Ah, aah…”

– Don’t try to shoulder everything alone.

Her vision blurred. The trembling in her hands and feet wouldn’t stop.

– Trust me.

Melina gathered the papers and clutched them to her chest.

She couldn’t protect her.

She couldn’t do anything for her.

Nothing at all.

*****

[Clue #2]

[Memory of Imperial Year 992]

The plan was going smoothly. It couldn’t get any better.

‘At this rate, Melina will soon reach the truth.’

Having played the game thousands of times, how could she not have led a high-level NPC to the truth before?

From experience, Melina always reached the truth when she received the tenth fragment.

The pinnacle of time magic.

In system terms, level 100. The same level as the current Olivia.

Much stronger than the original Melina, but not to an unmanageable extent.

‘Melina can’t attack me.’

Unlike Kiel, Melina never attacked Olivia until the moment of her death.

That fact wouldn’t change even if she saw the truth.

Because she was the only one among the returners whose affection was converted not into friendship, but into maternal love.

She would rather die at the hands of her beloved disciple than kill her disciple.

– Thud.

‘…’

Olivia froze in place and took a deep breath. Her heart suddenly sank, and she couldn’t bear it without doing so.

[Title ‘More Saintly than the Saintess’ activates.]

– Your mind becomes peaceful.

Having barely regained her composure, Olivia checked her plan again.

‘She can stop time, but…’

If that’s all, I can handle it sufficiently. I have more experience and power.

‘At this rate, it should be smooth…’

Olivia’s thoughts were cut short.

[Clue #2 cannot be used!]

The message window that appeared the next moment ruined all her plans.

‘…What nonsense is this now.’

Olivia frowned and carefully read the message that appeared before her.

[An error has occurred between Clue #1 and Clue #2!]

– If Clue #2 is used, the first meeting with returner ‘Kiel Rothschild’ will change from June of Imperial Year 992 to March of Imperial Year 992!

Olivia was so shocked that she blurted out loud without realizing it.

“…No, why does that suddenly change.”

Olivia’s face showed complete incomprehension. According to the message, Clue #1 and Clue #2 were not separate memories.

‘…They were shared?’

She could already envision the headache-inducing future of calculating countless possibilities.

She could understand why the timing of the first meeting with Kiel would change.

If she used Clue #2, Olivia would wake up in Euran in the Forest Realm, not in the Golden Tower.

Because in the massacre timeline of 992, she was working on Kiel’s affection in Euran.

This is where the problem begins.

At this point, she can’t leave Euran to go to Melina. Not only would the point at which Kiel feels “déjà vu” change, but when the time limit ends, the Olivia from the massacre timeline would return to Euran.

This would create confusion in Kiel’s memory.

Whether the first meeting with ‘Olivia’ was in June 992 when Clue #1 was first used, or in March 992 when Clue #2 was used for the ninth time.

If memories are shared between clues as the message says, Kiel would activate the returner buster call as soon as the use of Clue #2 ends.

Because he would notice something strange about his memories.

‘Damn, after all the work I put into making that guy human.’

Even if she completed Melina’s work with Clue #2, it would all be for nothing.

Olivia had no choice but to make a decision. Using Clue #2 was rejected.

‘…So what do I do now?’

If Clue #1 and Clue #2 are the same memory, then the others probably are too.

‘Movement paths will definitely get tangled, isn’t this basically saying not to use this anymore?’

As the story progresses toward the latter half, the frequency of meeting returners naturally increases. This would cause countless “overlapping” incidents like this one.

‘How is this a memory? It’s just the past.’

Olivia made no attempt to hide her irritation.

This went beyond simply being difficult.

It was impossible.

If it’s this bad with just 2 people, it’s absolutely impossible with 15.

– Ding!

As if reading Olivia’s complaints, a notification window appeared with perfect timing.

[You can skip Clue #2, Memory of Imperial Year 992.]

– Would you like to skip?

Olivia’s expression became curious.

‘…This changes things a bit.’