episode_0288

Eve rubbed her dry eyes and sat up in bed. She stretched her stiff body and looked around.

‘This is…’

Her eyes slowly opened. How could she forget? A place etched in memory, dreamt of even in her sleep. The place filled with all the happiness of her childhood, the warm embrace of her parents.

“Our daughter, up early again today?”

Faces she thought she’d almost forgotten were before her. She slowly reached out a hand.

“Good morning… What’s this, honey? Were you crying?”

“Uh, uh…?”

Thud- Plop-

Something warm wetted her cheek. Eve rubbed her eyes with the back of her hand. No matter how much she wiped, the tears wouldn’t stop. Unable to contain the overwhelming emotion, she hung her head and sobbed.

“H-h-hic… Mommy…”

“…Come here.”

Eve’s body, returned to her childhood, felt infinitely small, the two adults’ embrace seeming so vast. The warmth and love melted away the chill in her body. Something began to fill her now-empty heart.

After she had calmed down, Eve’s parents left for the ranch. A normal child would never have their parents leave their side, but Eve was a resolute child, capable of being left home alone.

Left alone, Eve quietly sat down and began to organize her thoughts.

‘Really… I’ve returned to the past.’

She repeatedly checked to make sure it wasn’t a hallucination or dream. She compared the state of the house multiple times to her memories: the furniture’s placement and type, the condition of various tools, etc.

She also went down to the village. Every building, every person, every scene was familiar. Nothing had changed from her memories. Even the appearance and body temperature of the cattle on the ranch were exactly as she remembered.

The conclusion was regression. Eve had traveled back in time to the past.

The mechanism behind it remains unknown. However, the phenomenon had certainly occurred. Countless pieces of evidence proved Eve’s regression.

Rustle-

The feel of grass blades crushed beneath her feet. Eve was alive. It was a sensation she could only feel because she was alive.

The last time she felt that sensation was just before her regression. She had cried endlessly in the rain-soaked forest, utterly exhausted, and fallen asleep on the grass.

That sensation was death. A threadbare sliver of consciousness, barely clinging on. Even that single ray of light was swallowed by the darkness, and complete silence ensued. That was the death Eve experienced. Not particularly painful, nor particularly peaceful.

Perhaps because she had died once and returned with a healthy body, her shattered spirit also felt somewhat restored. As they say, a healthy mind resides in a healthy body. As proof, Eve was currently strolling through the front yard, feeling the refreshing breeze.

Thump-

Her thoughts were organized. From the moment she first opened her eyes in her second life, Eve had thought of only one thing. She’d put it off until last because it was the most important. She didn’t want to create any variables.

“I… need to go see him now.”

Eve’s future wasn’t over. As long as Adam was alive, she had hope for a future she could paint, a future of happiness.

. . .

There were several problems.

Firstly, Adam’s existence wasn’t certain. Eve’s immediate surroundings were unchanged from before her regression, but if she ventured further out into the world, something might have changed.

She still didn’t know anything about this regression phenomenon. If only time had rewound, considering her age, there was no chance that Adam wouldn’t have been born.

But what if everything had started over from scratch? What if, by chance, only the people around Eve remained the same, and the outside world had changed entirely? Then Adam’s very existence became uncertain. She could only hope that wasn’t the case.

Secondly, she needed at least some ability to protect herself. Eve’s body was still frail to venture into a harsh world. People, magical beasts, natural disasters—this world was full of enemies.

Whoosh-

Eve raised her hand and drew in mana. Thankfully, her magical abilities remained intact. She remembered the incantations, and her mana breathing technique functioned normally.

‘…The problem is my body.’

Not only had her physical strength and stamina dropped significantly, but her untrained body was still unfamiliar with mana circulation. To use magic as naturally as she had before her regression, she needed at least a year of training.

Thirdly, there were various expenses. Eve, still a child, didn’t have much money. Her parents provided most necessities, and her allowance was small for her age.

However, just getting to Livris in the Nifrantz Kingdom would take several months by ordinary carriage. Carriage fees, identity documents to cross the border, food and lodging, potions, and equipment—a considerable amount of money would be needed.

And beyond all that, the most important problem. Before her regression, Eve was a lonely wolf who had lost everything, but in her childlike form, she had family.

What parent in this world would send their underage daughter abroad alone? Before embarking on the adventure to find Adam, it was questionable whether she could even leave home.

It was too sad to deceive the love she’d regained from her parents, but Eve decided to use them.

First, she showed them her magic. Already doting parents, they were ecstatic upon seeing Eve’s talent. Since they knew nothing about magic, they had no idea what to teach her or what to buy her.

“A tutor… we need a magic tutor! Eve is a future Archmage!”

“No, magicians usually join the military. Eve would be better suited as a professor of magic—!!”

The grown adults were even more excited than the child, Eve. Seeing this, Eve’s heart ached a little.

‘I should have shown them this before.’

Compared to the two, Eve was quite calm. She started receiving a larger allowance under the pretense of buying magic textbooks and helped out more with ranch work. She diligently saved every penny while honing her magic skills once more.

When the time came, Eve confessed to her parents quietly.

“I want to go on a journey.”

“No, Eve! Do you know how dangerous the world is? Even if you’re talented in magic, you’re still too young… you’re not even an adult yet!”

“…”

“Say something, too… What if Eve goes off alone and gets caught by some bad man…”

Her mother continuously objected, her father remained silent, his gaze fixed somewhere on the floor, his spirit absent.

After much deliberation, he spoke.

“Since when… have you been thinking about this?”

“From the moment I first showed you my magic… no, even before that.”

“…I see. So you showed us on purpose to get more allowance. Even though you’re my daughter, I can’t underestimate you.”

“You…?”

Her father, looking at Eve with a serious expression, seemed to have already made up his mind. Even when her mother grabbed his arm to dissuade him, he didn’t seem to want to change his mind.

“Look at Eve. Does she still look like that innocent child you knew?”

“Honey… but still…”

“Kids grow up fast, you know. Without us knowing… Eve has already become an adult.”

The results matched the time invested. It didn’t take long for her parents to understand Eve, and a few days later, she set off on her journey.

. . .

Even though her body had reverted to a child’s, Eve had countless battlefield experiences. She had slain a number of magical beasts beyond counting.

Her still-immature body was hidden under a thick cloak. Even if she was a little short, her face was concealed, and even if her voice was soft, her magical prowess was outstanding.

She even had a guaranteed identity from the Adventurers’ Guild, so no one doubted her. Who would have guessed that a young girl would undertake such a great adventure across the border by herself?

‘I’ll see you soon… Adam.’

She literally crossed mountains and rivers and borders. While she mainly traveled by carriage, not all roads were paved. Especially after crossing the Nifrantz border, the forests became denser.

Forests, magical beasts, hunting, night, camping. Every habit of adventuring became ingrained in her body. At every moment, memories of Adam resurfaced. Eve traveled alone, yet Adam was always with her in her heart.

Time slipped past quickly. Upon arriving in Livris, she went to the Adventurers’ Guild with a trembling heart.

Many people, a familiar atmosphere. Recalling her time with Adam, she tracked his movements. Leather armor, one-handed sword, fire mana. She searched high and low, pulling out every piece of information she could remember and asking around.

‘…Nothing.’

Perhaps it wasn’t yet the time he’d arrive in Livris. Eve waited and waited. Surely, the Adam she remembered would come to Livris. For Adam, the magical beast slaying machine, this place was an unavoidable gold mine.

A day, two days, a week, a month. Time flowed agonizingly slowly. Yet it flowed and continued to flow. When a year had passed, rumors about Eve began to circulate.

A female adventurer who ceaselessly searched for someone. Her pretty appearance attracted many men. Some lied to lure her, saying they knew of Adam, and some even outright proposed to her. Their fates were not pleasant.

Eve had come of age. Adam still hadn’t appeared. Her swelling hopes slowly faded, and Eve began to question her future.

‘…What was I doing here.’

The blue in Eve’s eyes gradually faded. After searching the entire kingdom for several more years to no avail, she returned to her hometown.

What she encountered at her home was the brutally murdered bodies of her parents, killed by bandits.

“…”

Strangely, no tears flowed. Eve sublimated her boiling rage into mana and created a magical sword.

Puff—

The magical sword pierced Eve’s heart.

Eve, who had fallen to her eternal sleep before her parents’ corpses… opened her eyes again.

It was the bedroom of a secluded farmhouse.