Editor : Amethyst00



Crackle—crackle—

Logs burned in the fireplace.

A harsh cold.

An era where the world was burning.

Even in this age where the flames of disaster were bringing ruin, winter still existed.

Of course, winters were very short.

But they were more brutal than any cold imaginable.

Rustle—

Along with the sound of crackling firewood came the soft sound of pages turning.

Kyle, who was boiling soup in the kitchen, glanced over toward the living room.

A bleak house's living room.

In front of the fireplace, a small elf girl, Velkia, had fallen asleep under a blanket.

And in front of her, a beautiful elf woman, Luna, sat in a rocking chair reading a magic tome.

As Velkia, who had been breathing evenly by the fireplace, stirred—

"Mmm… mmm… you're being nice today… I can't eat anymore… Master Kyle…"

Apparently, she was having a meal in her dream.

Hearing that, Luna lifted her eyes from the magic tome and looked at her student.

Then, she quietly giggled as if Velkia's sleep-talking was endearing.

Her gentle expression was unusually benevolent compared to her usual demeanor.

It was as if that warm smile alone filled the space with a gentle warmth.

Watching this picture-perfect scene that resembled sisters—or perhaps mother and daughter—Kyle muttered inwardly:

'When she's like that, she's ridiculously pretty.'

He often forgot because of Luna's personality.

But when she kept her mouth shut, Luna was mesmerizingly beautiful.

'Too bad her usual behavior ruins the mood.'

Even so, her beauty still shone, despite her personality.

As Luna gazed at Velkia with soft eyes, she met Kyle's gaze.

"What are you looking at? You bastard. Thinking something rude again?"

"Is that something you say to the owner of the house? If you've got a problem, leave."

"Hey! This house really doesn't know how to treat guests! You heartless jerk!"

"I don't want to hear that from someone who barged in uninvited. If you don't like it, get out."

"Can't you take a joke? So uptight."

Kyle sighed deeply as he looked at the grumbling Luna.

"It's honestly amazing you're from Balharun."

"Why? Upset I'm not as arrogant and snobby as the high elves from there?"

"No. Compared to them, you're much better."

"Hmph. You're just stating the obvious."

Luna scoffed, but her expression clearly showed she was pleased by his words.

"You must have had a tough time, huh?"

Balharun was an educational institution that raised high elves.

And high elves were a proud, arrogant race who even looked down on regular elves.

Kyle couldn't even begin to imagine how difficult things must've been for Luna, an orphan with unknown origins, in such a place.

Luna herself didn't recall those days fondly.

"Yeah, I had it rough. I was really rebellious back then. But I met a good teacher, and I was able to grow up properly."

"That's what you call growing up properly? Wait, if you were even more rebellious than now, how messed up were you?"

Luna's face twisted with offense.

"What about you? What were you like as a kid? Were you always this crooked?"

"No. I had a decent personality as a kid."

"Liar. I bet you were a nasty brat."

"You'd be surprised. Probably different from what you imagine."

"Feels exactly like what I imagined."

Luna grinned slyly and looked at Velkia.

"When I look at her, she's so kind—unlike us."

"Leave me out of that."

"I hope she grows up just like this."

Kyle shook his head as Luna labeled her younger self a mean-spirited kid.

'So she used to be rebellious, huh?'

The Luna he knew was unpleasant, sure, but not exactly rebellious.

'I can't picture it.'

'I didn't expect it to be like this.'

She had said she was rebellious.

But that was all Luna ever said about her past.

She considered that time to be a complete black mark in her history.

Now he could understand why.

Leo let out a small sigh as he looked at Luna kneeling before him with her hand raised.

Just moments ago, she had called Leo an inferior species.

Now, she was being perfectly obedient.

Her bright, sparkly eyes seemed to say, I have no intention of rebelling.

Seiren and Lunia looked completely at a loss watching the young Luna being punished.

'Thank goodness the seal didn't break while I wasn't around.'

Had that happened, this young Luna would've been completely full of herself.

As Leo glanced over at Seiren and Lunia, Luna sneakily lowered her hand.

Then, as soon as Leo turned back, she shot her hand back up as if nothing happened.

"Put your hand down."

Swoosh—

Luna obeyed instantly.

Then looked up at Leo with eyes that said, See? I'm well-behaved.

Leo looked at her and said,

"This isn't Balharun."

"Huh? But there are high elves here. Isn't this Balharun?"

Luna looked at Seiren and Lunia with a confused face.

High elves were akin to nobility among humans.

But they had a distinctive aura.

Elves who were especially beautiful and carried a noble air.

In the age of gods, high elves typically radiated such energy.

"They're not high elves."

"Hmm…"

"And they hate high elves."

"……"

Suspicion crept into Luna's eyes.

After a pause, she asked,

"Then prove it."

"Hey, Seiren."

"Yes, Kyle-nim?"

"Say: 'High elves are f***ing bastards.'"

"High elves are f***ing bastards."

"Now say: 'The elf king is a f***ing bastard.'"

"The elf king is a f***ing bastard. Balharun is a stupid-ass school."

"That's far enough."

With zero hesitation, Seiren insulted high elves, the elf king, and Balharun— the holy land of elves.

Luna's eyes widened.

Back in the age of gods, saying such things could get you executed for blasphemy.

Lunia leaned in to whisper to Leo with a worried look.

"Um… since she called you an… inferior species, I think she might have been influenced by the Balharun ideology when she was young… is this okay?"

Lunia had experience with the high elves of Balharun.

Knowing how arrogant and self-righteous they were, she worried that this young Luna—who seemed influenced by their ideology—might react aggressively.

"Don't worry. Even as a child, Luna is still Luna."

Lunia looked puzzled at that response.

But soon she understood.

Luna showed no strong reaction to the insults toward high elves or the elf king.

"If we think about her personality, she must've been a rebel from the start."

The Luna Leo knew was a once-in-a-generation magical genius.

An elf born to master magic.

It wasn't just because of her immense affinity for mana.

She was a genius because she was born with the mindset to objectively analyze, question, and explore everything.

She didn't blindly accept the idea that elves were great and superior—the prevailing belief in elven society at the time.

Smart if said kindly; rebellious if said bluntly.

'Well, she was discriminated against, so it's no wonder she didn't see high elves favorably.'

Luna entered Balharun purely on talent.

To the high elves, she didn't fit in.

Being ostracized, she could never truly integrate.

Even so, the reason Luna had called Leo an inferior species earlier was simple.

For an orphan with unknown origins and a rebellious streak to survive Balharun, she had to pretend to conform.

The Luna Leo and Lunia had seen back in Balharun already displayed plenty of rebelliousness.

Her talents had begun to blossom, and she no longer needed to hide her unconventional ways.

As her eyes darted around, Luna asked Leo,

"Then… where is this?"

"A school."

"A school?"

Luna looked puzzled.

"Yes."

"Is it similar to Balharun?"

Seiren, who was listening nearby, smiled gently.

"It would be insulting to compare us to that stupid school."

"Didn't this school also have some pretty stupid elements just a few years ago?"

"That's because some damned elves of later generations corrupted my teachings."

Seiren responded seriously to Leo's jab.

"Why am I here?"

"Hm."

Leo thought for a moment, then answered,

"This is the future."

"…Huh?"

"You've been transported thousands of years into the future from your time."

"…."

Luna blinked her big eyes.

"You got caught up in a magic spell that accidentally brought you here."

Luna's eyes filled with suspicion.

Time travel?

Nonsense.

But Luna didn't voice her thoughts outright.

She knew she was the weak one here.

And more than anyone, she understood that voicing her real thoughts in this situation was dangerous.

It was her survival instinct, honed from a childhood of contempt.

Watching her, Leo gave a bitter smile.

'This isn't like Luna.'

It felt strange and disheartening to see the usually confident Luna watching others' reactions so closely.

'See that? She wants to yell "don't be ridiculous," but she's holding it in.'

"You don't believe me?"

After a moment's hesitation, Luna slowly nodded.

"No. Magic can't interfere with time and space. It's impossible."

"But an elf I know once said: 'Magic has no limits.'"

"Wasn't that just delusion?"

'Magic has no limits.'

That was a phrase Luna herself used to say all the time.

But apparently, this younger Luna didn't believe it.

She even seemed slightly dejected.

'She must've had it really rough.'

As Leo silently gazed down at her, Luna kept her head lowered.

Magic has no limits.

Luna used to believe that once.

Back when she first encountered magic.

But now her thoughts had changed.

'Interfering with time and space… If I said that in Balharun, they'd laugh and call me an idiot.'

No one could survive in Balharun with such thoughts.

Luna's eyes were losing their light, like a clouded night sky.

Her ears drooped as she grew more and more depressed.

Leo silently watched her, then held out his hand in front of her face.

"Huh?"

Luna blinked in surprise.

Flash—

A brilliant light shone from Leo's hand.

"Wha…?"

A dazed exclamation slipped from Luna's mouth.

She didn't understand what kind of magic it was.

It was far beyond her comprehension.

But she could tell it was pure magic—comparable to a miracle.

"You… created a flower…?"

Luna looked up at Leo in disbelief.

Leo handed her the flower and said,

"In the future, magic like this exists."

Magic that touched the realm of creation.

'If that's possible, then time travel might not be impossible either.'

As Luna blankly accepted the flower, Leo smiled.

"Do you still think magic has limits?"

Looking into Luna's eyes—now shining brightly like stars in a clear night sky—Leo thought to himself

'Yeah. That's how you're supposed to look.'