Chapter1: Back to the Past - Part 2

Winter, 1920

Snow drifted down from the hole in the ceiling. I looked up and noticed that compared to 2030, the sky was only a deeper blue, and the air was much colder.

"It's still winter."

"Yes, but I'm not sure what happens during this time."

"1920 is the recovery period after World War I. The economy in the UK was in a depression, and there was severe class division within capitalism. A lot of workers were probably unemployed, and social problems were quite prominent."

I suddenly realized that Lijetar wouldn't know these things. I must have confused her with my explanation.

So, I stopped my long-winded lecture and looked at her.

Sure enough, she was staring at me with a very surprised look.

"How... how do you know so much? I didn't understand some of it."

"Uh, I studied history before and remembered a lot about European history. No need to be so surprised."

"Ah..."

She still looked a bit puzzled.

"Are you a scholar?"

That made me chuckle and sigh.

"I'm not... Sigh, it's a bit hard to explain. In short, this period is post-war and also a time when the church's power is declining."

"Oh... I understand now."

Lijetar finally understood what I was saying.

For now, our goal is to get out of here, reach a city, and then start our investigation.

"Hiss... Hiss, hiss."

It was the faint rustle of leaves.

If it were anyone else, they might think it was just the wind stirring the leaves. But I sensed something different from the wind.

The wind should move a large area of leaves, but what I heard was from a small area, and it didn't sound like leaves rustling.

"Lijetar..."

"Will, not far from the hole above us, there are two people. Their magical energy is stronger than ordinary people."

Lijetar realized it before me, just from a different perspective.

"I see."

I picked up my pistol, already loaded and ready to fire.

Though I didn't know what those two people were here for, being cautious wouldn't hurt.

"Lijetar, tell me their movements and positions."

"They're slowly approaching, still some distance from the hole. Also... they're both female. I can see the flow of magical energy in their bodies; they look like women."

"Hiss... Hiss, hiss."

They were getting closer, and the sound was getting louder.

I couldn't help but adjust my aim.

"Anna...! ... seems... there."

"Huh? Really... Here... that magical burst...?"

I heard their conversation, though some parts were unclear. I could only catch bits and pieces.

It sounded like they were here to investigate.

Gradually, I heard their footsteps.

"Will, they're at the edge of the hole."

Lijetar told me their position, but by now, I had a good sense of it.

"Eh? Why is there such a big hole here?"

They got closer.

In my sight, I saw a blonde girl about to look inside the hole.

"Don't move!"

I shouted at her.

"Ah!"

She jumped in fright and screamed.

"What's wrong! Jonna!"

"Inside, there's someone inside!"

Another person ran over, a girl with light blue hair.

"Don't move! Or I'll shoot!"

"Eh! No, no, please don't shoot! We're just passing by!"

They raised their hands, showing they were just passing by.

"Will, grab my hand. Let's go up."

"Now? Okay, alright."

With one hand aiming, I grabbed her hand with the other.

Lijetar floated up, lifting me, and I kept my gun aimed at them, not relaxing at all.

Lijetar skillfully brought me to the edge of the hole, then let go, letting me stand on the ground. She landed gracefully beside me, and we looked at the two girls.

"Oh my, Anna, was that air magic?"

"Stop talking, Jonna!"

Standing up, I saw them clearly: the blonde girl had beautiful blue eyes, well-combed long hair, looking somewhat cute and immature. She wore a white dress with a white coat and a short, yellow-edged white cape, with brown wool boots on her feet. The light blue-haired girl was different; she looked young but not childish. Her light blue eyes had a sense of steadiness, and her slightly messy short hair gave her a lazy vibe. She wore black half-frame glasses and a long robe-like outfit that covered her whole body. The thin light blue robe seemed insufficient for the cold, but she didn't seem cold.

I was a bit surprised. They looked too young but knew magic.

"What are you here for?"

Lijetar asked them. I kept my gun pointed at them, waiting for their answer.

"We just... got lost while hiking."

"...Are you sure?"

Lijetar's expression was like, "Could your excuse be any lamer?"

I felt the same.

"Anna, you are really bad at lying..."

The blonde girl said to the light blue-haired girl.

"...Could you say less?"

The light blue-haired girl replied, a bit helplessly.

Ugh, what's with these two?

"Lijetar, do we need to be like this with these kids?"

"... Maybe we shouldn't point... uh, the gun at them."

I lowered my gun. They finally put their hands down and breathed a sigh of relief.

"So, tell us honestly. You know magic. I can tell. What are you here for?"

Lijetar asked again. They looked at each other, then the blonde girl spoke first:

"We came to see what happened here. There was a massive magical reaction a few days ago that nearly every mage in Britain felt."

She seemed scared, her hands trembling.

"A magical reaction?"

Lijetar went into her thinking mode again, hand on her chin.

"Oh... so the temporal magic clock does that..."

I looked at the two girls. They weren't as tense as when I pointed a gun at them but still uneasy.

"Uh, so you're not here to attack us?"

I asked the blonde girl.

"Yes... Yes, we don't know you."

Seeing how scared she was, I thought for a moment and put away my gun.

"Phew..."

I heard them both breathe a sigh of relief.

"So, what is this magical reaction you mentioned?"

"Huh? You don't know? I thought you were mages too. There was an extremely rare magical reaction here, one of the lost magics—time magic caused it..."

I looked at Lijetar. She had finished thinking and looked at me, then back at the two girls:

"So, you're mages at such a young age?"

"Yes..."

"Then why didn't you use magic when we threatened you?"

"...Because our teacher said magic shouldn't be used to harm others."

Lijetar turned around, got closer to me, and whispered in my ear:

"These two kids are well-educated. I like them."

"Huh? What do you mean?"

I was puzzled. What did she mean by liking them?

"I think they won't harm us and might even help us."

"How can you be sure? And what are you planning?"

"I want to tell them I have time magic and convince them to join us."

"Is that really okay? We don't even know who they are."

"Let's try. I should be able to convince them. Even if problems arise, we can handle it."

With that said, I could only agree.

She turned back to the two girls.

"Alright, you want to know what happened here, right?"

They looked at each other and nodded simultaneously.

"Okay, I can tell you..."

Lijetar picked up a leaf from the ground.

The leaf still had some snow on it. Lijetar shook it off and held it in front of them.

Gradually, the leaf started to change, from pale green due to lack of water, it began to discolor. The structure of the leaf changed, turning into a cracked, withered leaf.

"Wow..."

The light blue-haired girl gasped softly in surprise.

But it wasn't over. The withered leaf started to change again, gradually gaining a bit of pale green, absorbing some moisture, and then returning to its original state.

"I can tell you, the time magic here was caused by me."

...