Editor : Amethyst00



After telling Carl about the possibility of an emergency, Leo immediately relayed the situation to Melina as well.

“Is it a prediction based on hypersensory perception?”

Melina asked carefully.

A prediction of the future.

As far as Melina knew, the only one capable of such a thing was Aaron’s hypersensory perception.

But Leo shook his head.

“Hypersensory perception may be able to foresee the future, but I can’t predict things to that extent.”

Hypersensory perception was a sense Aaron had been born with.

Back in his days as Kyle, he had learned Aaron’s Hypersensory perception and later passed it down to future generations on that basis, but in the end, the Hypersensory perception used by anyone other than Aaron was nothing more than an imitation.

“Then the sense of unease you felt, Sir Leo, was…?”

“It’s just my instinct.”

A kind of perception that belonged to a different realm from Hypersensory perception.

If Aaron’s Hypersensory perception was an innate, inborn domain, then Leo’s ability to sense danger was something acquired later.

“Well, compared to that brat Aaron’s Hypersensory perception, mine’s just a gut feeling without any real basis. To begin with, his Hypersensory perception is practically a cheat ability.”

Even with a lifetime of training, no one would ever be able to step into the same realm as Aaron.

“Does that instinct tend to be right often?”

“No. A lot of the time, it’s wrong.”

Leo gave a shrug.

Watching him, Melina looked slightly taken aback.

“But I can hardly remember a time ignoring this warning ever ended well.”

“……”

Leo’s other title: the Surviving Hero.

The only hero who had spent his entire life on the front lines of the Age of Calamity, when nothing but chaos reigned, and survived to the very end.

Leo’s instinct was not something that could be dismissed.

Melina, who had been deep in serious thought, suddenly looked at Leo’s face and frowned in puzzlement.

“Sir Leo. You seem a little confused.”

At Melina’s cautious question, Leo nodded.

“It feels a little different from the instinct I’ve known all this time.”

“Different in kind?”

“Yeah.”

After answering, Leo fell silent for a moment.

Then, once he had gathered his thoughts, he spoke again.

“My instinct is closer to sensing unease about something that may happen in the future.”

It was different from Aaron’s Hypersensory perception, which perceived with certainty what was going to happen.

“But this time, it’s different.”

“In what way?”

“It feels like the incident has already happened.”

That was what Leo’s instinct was telling him.

And yet, nowhere was there any sign that a major incident had taken place.

'Forget an incident—it doesn’t even seem like Tartaros has made a move.'

That was why Leo felt unsettled.

At Leo’s words, Melina’s expression turned grave.

“Would it be better to stop the Lumeiren Competition?”

“I’m not sure. I don’t think that would be a particularly good choice.”

“If some kind of crisis breaks out or there’s suspicious movement, then the people who came to watch the Lumeiren Competition, along with the students, could end up as hostages.”

If an incident were to occur in a situation where so many people had gathered, casualties would be unavoidable.

“Right. But it’s also possible that the incident is being held in check precisely because the Lumeiren Competition is still underway.”

“What?”

“I have a feeling that if we evacuate the spectators too hastily, something irreversible will happen.”

Leo clicked his tongue.

“……”

“For now, our first priority is to maintain the current situation and find the enemy.”

At Leo’s words, Melina could not decide what the right course of action was.

But before long, she chose to trust Leo.

“I’ll have the dragons protect the spectators in secret.”

“I’m counting on you.”

Leo nodded.

And then, suddenly, he froze.

“…? What is it?”

“No. It just feels like déjà vu again.”

Watching Leo wear an irritated expression, Melina gave a small bow, then left the room.

Left alone in the room, Leo stared out the window.

'What kind of bastard are you?'

Beyond that sense of déjà vu,

Feeling killing intent toward the unknown enemy, Leo slowly opened and closed his hand.

bl

Luna’s eyes, which had lost consciousness a moment ago, flew open.

“Lady Luna! Are you all right?”

“We heard you were choking yourself! What in the world happened?”

Seiren and Lunia asked with flustered expressions.

But Luna’s gaze was fixed on empty air.

[So that's Seiren, huh? She's cute.]

It was because she could see her future self standing beside Seiren, smiling brightly.

Luna sat up and rubbed her eyes several times, but there was still no sign that the future Luna would disappear.

Looking at that sight, Luna said,

“I’m seeing thing—”

At that very moment, the future Luna gave a gentle smile and raised her index finger to her lips.

[Shh.]

At the sight of that, Luna fell silent without even realizing it.

“You mean you’re seeing things?”

Seiren wore a puzzled expression.

Looking at Seiren, Luna hesitated for a moment, then said,

“I saw Leo Plov cross-dressing.”

“What?”

“What did you say?”

Seiren and Lunia both stared at her in stunned disbelief.

“I thought I was seeing things, but I’m pretty sure he really is cross-dressing. I think he’s entering a beauty pageant.”

“Ah! Seriously! What on earth is that idiot doing now?!”

Lunia cried out in horror.

“Seriously! This is so humiliating! Lady Seiren! I’m going to go stop that bastard!”

“Oh, right. Okay.”

Seiren nodded with an uneasy expression.

Once Lunia left the room, only Luna and Seiren remained inside.

“What about the elf who was with me?”

“She left right after entrusting Lady Luna to us. She said she was going to see Sir Leo.”

“I see.”

Even as she nodded, Luna kept her eyes on her future self—the one only she could see.

At that look in her eyes, the future Luna smiled softly.

[If you talk about me, that child named Seiren will probably notice that something is off.]

Luna gave a small shrug.

[It seems some kind of rule like that is in effect.]

“Seiren, I’m a little thirsty…”

“Shall I bring you some water?”

“Mm… I want something to drink.”

Luna decided to act a little spoiled with Seiren.

At Luna’s words, Seiren told her to wait just a moment and left the room.

Left alone, Luna asked,

'Rule? Before you knocked me out, you said Rena was looping, right? Is it connected to that?'

[Yes. It is connected.]

The future Luna smiled softly.

[Right now, this place called Seiren has its entire space cut off. It’s a very interesting spell—one that interferes with the dimensional realm through magic.]

At her future self’s words, Luna froze.

'Don’t tell me that means the separated space is repeating the same time over and over?'

[It probably is.]

'How do you know that? Did you somehow escape the domain of that loop?'

[Of course not. It’s just that…]

'Just that?'

[I noticed that the temporal signature of that girl named Rena keeps changing from moment to moment.]

'What?'

[You said you found traces of red in the mana wavelengths of you, a being from the past, and Seiren, while on the other hand you found blue wavelengths in that girl Rena, who is a being from the future, didn’t you?]

'Yeah. But the colors aren’t changing in any noticeable way, are they? If you’re me too, then you should be able to see that, shouldn’t you?'

[Unfortunately, my eyes aren’t as sharp as yours were when you were young.]

'So you’re old, then. Auntie.'

Sliiide—!

Luna looked down at her own hands, now moving beyond her control, and her expression turned flustered.

'Wait! You’re me too! If you harm my body, then you’ll suffer it as well—'

[I’m not the one who feels pain. The one in pain is my past self.]

'I was wrong.'

Luna, on the verge of tears, surrendered at once.

Apparently, her future self had no intention whatsoever of going easy on her younger self.

Just as Luna began to look gloomy, thinking she had grown into an adult who was anything but adult-like—

[It’s far better to be like this and reveal your true nature than to put on a clumsy innocent act while your insides rot black.]

With a faint smile, the future Luna returned control of the body to her younger self.

Then she crossed her legs in midair and sat there as she spoke.

[Color is a kind of wavelength, you see.]

The future Luna smiled faintly.

[And wavelengths naturally have vibrations. You can’t directly observe color, but it turns out you can observe the vibrations.]

The future Luna pointed a finger at her past self.

[You, a being from the past, have a large wavelength. And when the wavelength grows larger, the frequency becomes smaller. By contrast, that child from the future has a short wavelength, so her frequency is higher.]

The future Luna gave a shrug.

[But that child’s frequency is gradually decreasing. On the other hand, yours is gradually increasing. That means the mana possessed by those from different points in time is gradually assimilating to the present time.]

After hearing that much, Luna asked,

'So you mean the frequency didn’t change gradually, but suddenly shifted by a large amount?'

[That’s right. As expected of me. You’re smart.]

The change in mana was not happening little by little, but all at once.

That meant the flow of time had gone out of alignment.

And even if memories and time itself were reset, mana was not bound by the loop.

That was the hypothesis future Luna had formed, and in truth, it came very close to the correct answer.

[Normally, when a spell governs a space, powerful rules come into effect, you know? It seems one of the laws of this loop spell is that the moment someone mentions the fact that they are looping, the magic activates.]

'What made you come to that conclusion?'

[Because that little girl named Rena never spoke about the loop. She seemed to retain her memories even when the loop repeated. And as for me, I’m a mage capable of inferring the nature of this spell merely from my existence alone, so wouldn’t even mentioning my existence be practically the same as revealing the loop spell itself?]

In fact, Luna had easily deduced the truth of the loop from just a few clues.

'Aren’t you getting a little too full of yourself?'

[I’m right. When I was choking you, that girl Rena acted surprised, but her face didn’t actually look all that startled. Which means she’d already been through it before. And on top of that, she seemed to be aware of my existence.]

Future Luna recalled the moment when her past self had lost consciousness.

Rena had been staring into empty air without a trace of panic.

As though she were searching for someone.

Seeing that, Luna became certain that Rena was aware of her presence.

[Even though she knew about me, she didn’t say anything in particular. That suggests that mentioning my existence is one of the conditions that triggers the loop.]

Luna gave a small shrug.

[Fortunately, it seems the spell can’t punish someone for figuring it out on their own. Then again, if it could interfere with even a person’s free will, that wouldn’t be magic anymore. It’d be outright cheating.]

At her future self’s words, Luna made a frustrated face.

As a mage, she could keenly feel the overwhelming gap in their level.

Watching her past self like that, Luna burst into laughter.

[There’s no need to feel frustrated. One day, you’ll become like me too.]

'…And what good does that do? You said the world comes close to destruction, didn’t you? And even though you go through every kind of hardship trying to save it, in the end you… I die somewhere along the way.'

[…]

'That's a worthless death.'

A twisted remark.

Luna denied the result her future self had achieved by staking everything on it.

As soon as she said it, she thought she might get hit again like before.

But the progenitor of the Nebula merely smiled.

'You’re not angry?'

[Why would I be angry? I’m not such a bad-natured elf.]

'Auntie.'

Thwack—!

“Urk!”

Struck hard in the face by her own fist, Luna tumbled across the floor.

“Blood! My nose is bleeding!”

[Oh dear. Are you all right?]

'You’re the one who did it!'

She shouted inwardly, but future Luna merely put on a shamelessly concerned expression.

A moment later, the future Luna smiled faintly as she looked at her past self, who was glaring at her with a face full of dissatisfaction.

[As you said, if we judge it by the end result… yes. My death was a worthless one.]

That fact did not change.

Luna saved the world, and for 5000 years she was revered as the Poet of the Star.

As the greatest archmage in history she had dreamed of becoming… she became a being that shone like a star.

But what meaning was there in a glory she never lived to enjoy?

Some say that fame possesses a kind of immortality.

But if one can enjoy nothing while still alive, then in the end, it is all meaningless.

To others, Luna was a being like a star in the night sky… but while she lived, Luna’s life could only be an unbroken chain of terrible suffering.

There was not a single thing she was ever able to enjoy.

It was a life spent in desperate struggle, merely trying not to lose even the few things she had left.

Those dreadful days in which she had to live each day in despair.

Future Luna looked silently at her younger self.

Her eyes were filled with dissatisfaction, but beneath it lay endless fear.

'Now that I look back on it… that really was the darkest period of my life.'

She had entered Barharlun, yet was met with endless scorn.

Even for Luna, it could only be painful.

Until she met Akint—her magic teacher, her benefactor… and the one who had been like a father to her—

Luna had been nothing more than an isolated existence.

'Well, after I met Teacher Akint, I got full of myself almost immediately.'

Recalling the past, Luna let out a bitter smile.

Her younger self still did not know how to shine by her own light.

And waiting for that self was a future filled with despair.

'Of course she can’t help but be afraid.'

There was nothing more frightening than a future already decided.

All the more so if that future was one of despair.

The fear of the young Luna was only natural.

As Luna looked on with pity at her younger self—frightened of the future laid out before her,

a child so young and immature that far from shining brightly, she had not even realized that she herself was a star—

she finally spoke.

[Luna Luminance.]

Meeting her eyes, she spoke with complete sincerity.

[It’s true that your life will not be an easy one. But.]

The Poet of the Star smiled warmly.

[That doesn’t mean your life was unhappy.]

Luna’s eyes widened.

[You’ll have a family more precious to you than your own life. And among them, there will be a man you truly love.]

“……”

[Looking back, your life… no, my life…]

Luna reached out and caressed her younger self’s cheek.

She could feel no touch.

And yet, the young Luna felt relieved.

[I was truly happy.]

From another person’s point of view, it may have seemed like a miserable and tragic life.

But what mattered was this: when Luna looked back on the past, there were many happy memories in her heart.

For Luna, that was what mattered most.

Looking at her future self, smiling with complete sincerity, Luna clenched her hand tightly.

[So… will you help me? I want to help the person who will become precious to you… and the children who will carry on my will.]

“…Okay.”

The young Luna nodded, then hesitated for a moment before asking,

“But why is that person special?”

[Hm? Ah. Kyle?]

“Yeah. He’s a pervert who goes around cross-dressing.”

[Do you hate that?]

“Yeah. I hate it.”

[Wow. I really was innocent when I was young. That has its own appeal, you know.]

“……”

[And besides, if I tease him, even that shameless bastard will probably feel something like embarrassment, right? Heh heh heh. I wonder what kind of face he’ll make.]

“…… Wipe your drool.”

[Hm? Slurp. Ehehehehe.]

'So I really do grow up into this kind of pervert.'

After wiping away the drool and looking at her future self grinning in a thoroughly sinister way, the young Luna felt utterly dismayed.

'I don’t want to grow up.'

Luna truly meant it as she asked,

“So, how am I supposed to help?”

[By taking down the enemy whose identity we still don’t know.]

“What kind of bastard is it?”

[Who knows. At this point, there’s no way to know. But one thing is certain….]

With a sly expression on her face, Luna gave a cold smile.

[Whoever it is, it’s probably someone who came from the same point in time as that girl Rena.]

Judging by the fact that they were retaining their memories through the loop, that much was certain.

Luna looked uneasy.

“If they’re a mage capable of manipulating time, then they must be strong, right?”

[Keh. What does that matter?]

“…?”

[Listen carefully. We are.]

Future Luna laughed as though she found it genuinely absurd.

[The strongest archmage in the history of magic. In the past or in the future, that fact will never change.]

As she looked at her future self, radiating absolute confidence, Luna felt her heart begin to pound.