episode_0107

There was nothing I could understand.

Until now, I have rarely doubted my abilities.

When I was young—well, when I first came to this world—I had some doubts. I wondered if there was a limit to this ability. Maybe there was a limit to the number of times I could use it that I wasn’t aware of, or maybe I was constantly cutting into some part of myself every time I used it.

But over the past 10 years, I have never felt like my abilities were being diminished in any way.

If people move, they get tired. If they don’t sleep, they get sleepy. If they don’t drink, they get thirsty. If they don’t eat, they get hungry.

But I thought it was an ability that was on a different level from all of that. If I turned back time, no matter how tired I was, I would feel comfortable again, and even the moments when I was thirsty or hungry would return to the moments when I wasn’t thirsty or hungry. The opposite was also the case.

Only my memories continued on… …

then.

How does that memory continue to persist?

I don’t even remember how I got out of the dungeon. Claire and Alice both spoke to me several times along the way. The Emperor didn’t say anything and just walked ahead of the group, and Leo remained frozen the whole time.

Bella was out of sight. She seemed to be walking behind us.

Did Alice support me? Or was it Claire?

I just clearly remember touching my torn collar.

Yes. Up until now, I had never thought of traveling through time. It was impossible to do so in the first place. In the time I went back to, I was just me. As if rewinding a clock, when I turned back time, I was still me in the space where I should have been at that time.

… … Was it really me?

My memory remains the same as time passed.

After ten years, the feeling of doubting something like that, to be honest, was not all that good, even in empty words. The ability that I had absolutely trusted and used without any doubts until then, now felt extremely questionable.

Far off in the distance, moonlight was visible. Strangely enough, no light was coming into the dungeon. Only the light seeping from the dungeon illuminated the hallway, and so the moon, which appeared to be the entrance and exit of the dungeon, looked like a black-framed picture emitting light on its own in a dark room.

I was lost in the sight for a while,

again.

I turned back time.

*

It was an impulsive act.

It wouldn’t be strange to say that I was anxious.

Given my personality, it would have been natural to turn back.

The Emperor seemed to have figured out my abilities. I couldn’t even reveal the identity of the unidentified person. If I was not careful, not only the Emperor but also the people around me could have discovered my abilities.

So, as always, I turn back time to before my mistake and make it useless.

Take off that person’s mask, be careful what you say in front of the emperor, and firmly remove the hand that is holding me—

But, I couldn’t do it.

“—Via!”

I took another deep breath. The feeling of falling through the broken space wasn’t a very pleasant one. The feeling of falling to the floor. A strange feeling of floating. My lungs were empty, as if I had just returned to the world after being in a vacuum.

No, it wasn’t something I could just say wasn’t very good and move on. It was the worst. Maybe it was because I had already experienced it once. My mind was accepting my situation more calmly.

But thanks to that, I couldn’t be very calm.

I couldn’t go back. I crashed into it again, as if there was a wall between the moment I met that person and my time.

This time the wall did not break.

My body shook from the shock I received. I took several deep breaths to somehow replenish oxygen in my empty lungs, and checked my collar.

The torn collar still felt intact.

I bit my lip and barely lifted my head to look at where he had been standing. There was no one there.

“Who was standing there?”

“… … It suddenly disappeared at some point.”

“Jibodo… … I think that person took it.”

Alice answered, and Claire supplemented.

“… … .”

After hearing that, I had nothing to say. Just a moment ago, I had asked about combat and ended up having my abilities exposed to the Emperor.

“Hmm.”

However, the emperor depicted in the game was not such an easygoing person.

Well, it’s not like I’m the type of person who can’t get any information out of me just because I keep my mouth shut.

It’s just that, up until now, you’ve been on guard against me, so I’ve let you off easy.

“Father!”

When the Emperor raised his sword and aimed it at my neck, Alice screamed in surprise. Claire put her hand on the sword handle for a moment, then pulled her hand away as if she was startled.

However, it seems that the emperor did not specifically intend to cut off my head.

If I think about the sword that cut off the hand that was aiming a gun at Alice earlier, the Emperor could have cut off my neck without any trouble. Regardless of whether I can turn back time.

The thick blade moved delicately, unlike its appearance, and touched my collar. Then, it felt the irregular cross-section, as if it had been torn, with the fibers sticking out.

“It’s a shape that can’t have been created by just falling down. Did someone tear it apart?”

Alice took a deep breath as if she had just noticed. Claire did the same. Leo had a blank expression as if he hadn’t yet figured out the situation. Bella, who was wearing a mask and looking at me from a distance, had an unreadable expression.

“Not only on the collar, but there are wounds all over the body. Are they bruises? ”

One side of the Emperor’s lip went up in a pout. He looked as if he had heard a funny, but somewhat immoral joke.

That’s why I was scared of that face.

“Bruise.”

The emperor took his sword from my neck and said:

“That Sylvia Pangriphon?”

“… … .”

The emperor bowed slightly towards me, who was unable to answer, and spoke in a low voice.

“Have we ever had this conversation ‘before’?”

The ‘before’ that the Emperor was talking about must be a question based on me.

I was sure.

It is impossible to escape from the future.

*

After all, it continued similarly to the beginning.

The Emperor seemed to have guessed something about my ability. I don’t know how far he had grasped the principle, or whether he had insight that would enlighten me to a deeper level than the one who used this ability, but I could feel that it wasn’t a very good sign.

Alice, Claire, and Leo didn’t say anything. They just glanced at me as if to check my mood.

Bella… … was humming. In that high-pitched voice that she always had when she was in that position.

“Then, everyone go in and rest.”

Even though one of his treasures had been stolen, the emperor showed no sign of regret. Instead, he was smiling happily.

“It was a pleasant walk, but you seem to be very tired. I hope you enjoy the rest of your trip.”

After saying that, the emperor turned around and walked away, leaving us alone. However, the last place his gaze lingered as he turned around was my face.

I didn’t say anything until the end.

*

“I won’t ask anything right now.”

Alice said with a serious expression.

When I came to, it was my room. That is, the room I had decided to stay in at Northwood. It was as big as the room Alice used, and the interior decoration was similar. However, we were not at the guest table in the room.

Alice and Claire stood there, wrapping me around, leaving me sitting on the bed. Leo wasn’t there. Did they keep me out because it was a girls’ room? If it was Leo, it wouldn’t have been strange if he had said he wouldn’t go in.

That wasn’t important though.

“We don’t know what happened, but… … .”

Alice and Claire looked at each other for a moment, then looked at me.

The first person to speak was Alice.

“Right now, you seem really tired. So… … .”

This must be your first time seeing something like this.

I may have looked tired at times. Walking through a dark dungeon is tiring enough, and walking through a snowy forest or wandering around a sewer is tiring enough.

Neither Alice nor Claire would think that their stamina was infinite.

However, it is strange that he suddenly collapsed without any incident.

That too, with bruises all over his body.

As if he had been going through something alone in the meantime.

“First of all, get some rest.”

Claire took over and completed Alice’s speech, which was interrupted in the middle.

“… … Let’s talk about it tomorrow.”

“… … .”

Both of their faces were filled with worry.

He threatens me to tell him what abilities I have, and he never stops telling me what happened.

I was grateful for that consideration.

“Okay.”

For now, I’ve decided to just gratefully accept the consideration.