CHAPTER 522: SIDE STORY - BEYOND TIME (3)

0% “If you won’t come out, then I’ll come to you.”

“Grrrrr...”

With a chilling voice, Isolet took a step forward, her sharp gaze fixed on the bushes.

At the same time, Lulu, having activated her Magic Eyes, bared her teeth in a low growl.

“Miss Lulu always makes that sound when she’s mad, huh...”

“This is not the time to be taking notes!!”

“W-What do we do?!”

The children, realizing the imminent danger, began to panic.

“K-Kassia, what’s happening?!”

“M-My black magic got detected! But... that doesn’t make sense! It’s never been discovered before—“

What Kassia failed to realize was that their mothers had always known about her mischief—they had simply chosen to ignore it until now.

“L-Lala! Can’t you do something with your Magic Eyes?!”

“N-No... My mother’s Magic Eyes... are on a completely different level...”

Even Lala—who was usually their last line of defense—was completely overpowered.

The children were now backed into a corner.

“W-We’re in trouble! I left the teleportation scroll behind because I mixed it up with the time travel scroll—“

“T-Then what do we do?!”

“J-Just wait! I’ll figure something out—just give me a minute—“

“We don’t have a minute! We’ll be cut down before then!”

“...Heh. So we just have to last one minute?”

Among the panicked children, Spinne suddenly grinned and unleashed her demonic energy.

“One minute is manageable.”

“I-Idea?!”

“Mother never went all out when she trained with me.”

“Wait, are you actually planning to fight?!”

“I’ve always wanted to experience what it’s like to clash swords with her seriously, even just once.”

With her battle instinct awakened Idea stepped forward, setting the atmosphere on edge.

“I-If we’re really fighting, I won’t back down, but... our opponents are our mothers...”

“Don’t be scared! They’re not that much older than us!”

“Well... if we just have to last a minute...”

Even Ikela hesitated before stepping forward, prompting the others to do the same.

But just as they got into battle stance—

“So this is who was watching us? A bunch of brats with barely any blood on their swords.”

“”...!!!””

Isolet’s voice was laced with mocking disdain, and before they could even process her words, an overwhelming Sword Aura exploded from her body.

“W-What... is this...?”

“I’ve never felt anything like this before...”

“I-Is Miss Isolet really this strong?”

“So this is... Mother’s full power.”

“...No wonder she never fought me seriously.”

The sheer pressure from her presence alone was enough to crush their confidence.

The children instinctively began sweating.

“But these brats’ aura... why do they feel so familiar?”

Her brows furrowing, Isolet scanned the group, a hint of suspicion in her gaze.

“Hrk!”

Idea, summoning all of his mental fortitude, drew his sword—

-  CRACKLE!

Only for his strike to be effortlessly blocked by Isolet’s blade.

“Your movements are impressive, but if you had any sense of strategy, you wouldn’t have tried a direct confrontation. Sometimes, retreat is the best option.”

“Guh...”

“By the way, boy... Where did you learn that swordsmanship?”

“...”

“Something about it feels... oddly familiar.”

Idea’s forehead dripped with sweat.

He couldn’t exactly tell her that she was the one who taught him.

“Y-You two! Move up!!”

“Block her sight first!”

Spinne and Ikela rushed forward, unleashing powerful mana...

- Whooshh!

“Ack?!”

“Hrk!”

Only to be instantly knocked to the ground.

“L-Let go of me!! RAAAAH!!!”

“...Ruby, that one takes after you.”

“And that scowling one takes after you.”

With a simple flick of their fingers, Ruby and Irina easily restrained the two troublemakers.

Then, scowling at each other, they exchanged jabs.

“Oh? You wanna go, lizard?”

“It seems we will have lizard tail skewers tonight.”

“P-Preparations are complete—!”

Desperate to escape, Arte hastily drew a teleportation circle on a blank scroll.

But—

“Submit.”

“Hhkk—!?”

Before she could activate it, Clana—who had been silently watching—finally unleashed her Aura of Domination.

One by one, the children froze in place, their bodies unwillingly obeying her command.

“T-This is... M-Mother’s...!”

“Now’s not the time to be impressed!!”

“Before it’s too late, shouldn’t we just use our mana?!”

“No!! That would make things so much worse!!”

“But we can’t just let ourselves get caught!!”

“If only Nox or Merald were here, this wouldn’t be so easy for them...”

“RAAAHHHH!!! STOP PRAISING THEM IN FRONT OF ME!!!”

As their situation deteriorated further, the children scrambled for a solution—until Ruby, watching them carefully, tilted her head and spoke.

“Hey, just checking... but you kids wouldn’t happen to be—“

Her suspicious tone sent a wave of panic through the group.

But before anyone could react—

“Excuse me? What are you all doing?”

From the alleyway nearby, a voice interrupted the tense standoff.

“Are you overreacting and harassing innocent people again?”

“I-It’s Miss Roswyn!!”

“Shh! Stay quiet!”

Walking toward them, Roswyn, carrying an armful of bread and cookies, crossed her arms and glared disapprovingly at the group.

“Roswyn, I’m serious—this time, they were actually—“

“You said that last time, too! And it turned out they were just random thugs with scary faces!”

“Miss Roswyn is so kind...”

“Yeah, yeah. She really is.”

The children watched her with admiration.

“Even Rozalin, who took over the entire imperial underworld and high society within a year...  listens to her parents...”

“Right? Watching her happily take etiquette lessons from Miss Roswyn is, like, her only hobby...”

They were momentarily distracted, lamenting how Rozalin—who couldn’t join them this time—was probably having the time of her life.

“I’m honestly more scared of Rozalin than Miss Serena...”

“Same. One time, I caught her acting cute to Dad, and I thought I was gonna be assassinated.”

“Thinking about it now... it’s a good thing Arte didn’t inherit her mother’s personality.”

“Ugh, just imagining it gives me chills...”

As their expressions paled slightly at the thought—

“NOW!!”

Arte suddenly shrieked and flung the teleportation scroll into the air.

“I finally understand where I stand... but I also now know what heights I must reach.”

As Arte collapsed, exhausted, Idea muttered under his breath while gazing at Isolet.

“...Thank you for teaching me yet again.”

“Hm?”

“Sometimes, retreat is also—“

And in the next moment—

“—a strategy!”

Idea swung his sword, launching an attack—

“Not so fast—“

“HYAAAAA!!!”

Just as Isolet prepared to counter, Spinne and Ikela unleashed their full power, forcing her back.

“...A good attempt, but I’m still fine.”

Isolet quickly regained her stance, her expression calm and composed—

- CRACKLE!

“Oh.”

In her line of sight, the teleportation scroll split in half, glowing brightly.

“Bye-bye~!”

“Wait—“

- FLASH!

In an instant, the children vanished before their eyes.

“...What... was that?”

“No clue. But it wasn’t a dream.”

“They were... suspicious.”

After scanning the area one last time, the women shook their heads and continued their walk.

“...Serena said to just entertain them and let them go.”

“Her students, maybe?”

“Who cares? Let’s go eat.”

“Ferloche, you’ve been eating a lot more lately.”

“Yeah. Because of you buying so much stuff, our grocery run took way longer than it should have...”

“Everyone! Next time, just call the guards! And for the love of the gods, keep the existence-erasing barrier active at all times! You keep disabling it because it’s ‘annoying,’ and that’s exactly why things like this happen—“

“Roswyn, you’ve been nagging a lot more these days.”

By then, the sun had already climbed high into the sky, shining brightly above them.

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-  Crash!!

“Wahhh!”

“Urgh—!”

The moment their teleportation was completed, the children crashed onto the floor in a tangled heap.

“Ugh, get off me!”

“Arte... was this really the best you could do?”

“It was a rushed scroll, okay?!”

“I mean... the fact that you managed to draw a teleportation circle on a blank scroll is already impressive...”

Still dazed from the spell’s aftermath, the children groaned as they started bickering again.

“Wait... where are we?”

“Where else?”

“”...!?””

At the unexpected voice, they froze and quickly scrambled to their feet.

“You’re in the first-floor hall of Starlight Mansion.”

“M-Miss S-Serena...?!”

“Shhh! You idiot!”

“W-Why are you here...?!”

Serena sat cross-legged in a chair, calmly glaring at them.

“B-But I set the teleportation coordinates for the training ground... why are we here—?!”

“Because I interfered.”

“H-Hik—!”

Arte, drenched in cold sweat, stiffened as Serena rose from her seat and began approaching her.

“I have eyes and ears across the entire Empire.”

“Ah...”

“Which means at this point in time, there is nothing that happens in this Empire that I do not know.”

At her chilling statement, the children all instinctively mirrored Arte’s pale expression.

“I don’t know about the future you came from...”

“H-How did you know—“

“Frey just observed a disturbance in the space-time continuum.”

“”...!””

The children’s faces grew even paler.

“A few uninvited guests from the future have thrown the balance of space-time into disarray.”

“T-That can’t be...”

“The very existence your father sacrificed everything to destroy might begin resurrecting. This is a very serious matter.”

Hearing that, Arte trembled, lowering her head.

“I... I only researched it out of curiosity... I didn’t mean for this to happen...”

“”...””

“...We’re really sorry.”

Serena, watching Arte’s pitiful figure, let a small, gentle smile grace her lips.

“What’s done is done. There’s no turning back now.”

“Ugh...”

The other children, looking equally dejected, suddenly paused—realizing something felt off.

“...That smile. That’s the smile Miss Serena makes when she’s lying, isn’t it?”

“Shhh, just stay quiet.”

Catching onto the situation, they wisely decided to step back and observe Serena and Arte’s exchange.

“How do you feel right now?”

“I-I’m sorry. Really...”

“No. Tell me how you feel.”

As Serena’s voice softened, Arte, still sniffling, mumbled.

“...I regret it.”

“I see.”

“H-Hik—“

When Serena reached out her hand, Arte instinctively flinched and squeezed her eyes shut.

“Remember that feeling.”

“...Huh?”

Instead of punishment, Serena gently patted Arte’s head, her voice warm and soothing.

“The regret, the desire to fix things no matter what. That’s an important lesson we’ve learned over countless years.”

“...Sniff.”

At her comforting tone, Arte wiped her nose and nodded.

- Flick!

“Oww!”

Serena lightly flicked Arte’s forehead before turning away.

“Now, it’s time to fix this problem.”

“F-Fix it?”

“Of course. We have to fix it.”

Arte, wide-eyed, turned to Serena, who walked towards the chalkboard in the room.

“A resolved regret is a lesson that stays with you forever.”

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“It’s... finished...”

“It seems so.”

Some time later.

“...Does anyone here understand that?”

“I doubt it. Aside from those two, probably no one...”

“Not even Nox or Rozalin, I bet...”

Covering the entire chalkboard, the completed equation was a masterpiece of calculations, its complexity far beyond the comprehension of ordinary minds.

Piled high next to it were countless torn and crumpled scrolls, the silent casualties of their relentless trial and error.

Had this been attempted by anyone else, it would have taken years, but when two of the greatest geniuses in history combined their intellect, the impossible became reality.

“Hmm... but what’s this part?”

“Ah, that part... this?”

Serena, admiring the astonishing outcome, paused at a section she hadn’t contributed to and pointed it out.

“I’m locking the timeline.”

“Locking it?”

“Yes. So that no one—no matter how powerful—can ever tamper with this era, not from the past nor the future.”

“Oh?”

Arte, clearly nervous, started explaining with a hesitant voice.

“No entity, not even those from the Outside, will be able to cross this boundary.”

“I see. You’re ensuring stability within this timeline.”

“Y-Yes! Exactly!”

As usual, the other children watched in confusion, unable to follow the intricacies of Arte’s explanation, but Serena’s eyes sparkled with understanding.

“Since... since I learned my lesson, I thought I should... put it into practice...”

“You’ve done exceptionally well.”

“Ehh...”

Serena gently embraced Arte, who froze for a second before melting into the warmth.

“Thanks to you, I can feel truly at ease now.”

“T-Thank you...”

For once, Arte—perhaps having matured slightly—spoke with an uncharacteristically polite tone of gratitude.

But then, she hesitated, her face clouded with worry.

“B-But... what if I fail?”

“Hm?”

“What if... what if I make another mistake and cause another imbalance in time and space?”

“It’s good that you’ve grown more thoughtful, but you shouldn’t doubt yourself so much.”

With a soft chuckle, Serena nudged Arte’s back.

“After all, this is our work. Ours. No one else’s.”

“Oh...”

“So don’t let fear weigh you down. Be confident when you activate it.”

Encouraged, Arte took a deep breath, gripping the completed scroll tightly.

Then, turning to face the gathered children, she lifted it with determination.

“Once you all return, I will erase my memories of this.”

As she stood at the center of the group, Serena spoke calmly, her tone gentle yet firm.

“B-But...”

“If we’re doing this, we should do it thoroughly—all the way to the end.”

Arte’s hands shook slightly as she began tearing the scroll.

“T-Then...”

“...”

“Goodbye!!!”

- RIIIIIIP!

At Arte’s cry, the scroll tore apart, and in an instant, an otherworldly light flooded the entire mansion.

“That’s a relief.”

Watching from a step back, Serena smiled peacefully, then reached into her robes and pulled out a scroll of her own—one designed to erase memories.

“It seems that in the future... we’re all still living happily together.”

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-  BOOM!!!

“...Huh?”

As the blinding light enveloped the children, Serena slowly tore the memory-erasing scroll.

“Wait for us!!!”

“What?”

Her focus snapped toward the suddenly flung-open mansion door.

- Rumble, rumble, rumble...!

Before she could process anything, three small figures came racing toward the disappearing children at full speed.

“W-Wait, when did you three get here?!”

“Don’t tell me they got caught up in this too!?”

“Weren’t you supposed to be in tutoring?!”

“W-Well... the game of tag looked fun, so we snuck out to watch...”

Compared to the fading figures of the older children, the three newcomers looked much younger—small, adorable, and completely unaware of what they had just done.

“There was a big flash, and then we fell here...”

“We didn’t know what was happening, so we were hiding on the hill...”

“You could’ve been left behind! What if you got separated—?!”

While the older children panicked, Serena’s gaze slowly turned blank as she stared at the tiny intruders.

“...Huh?”

And with good reason.

Because despite bursting into the mansion in a panic...

She could sense it.

The unmistakable Star Mana flowing within these three strange yet familiar children.

“...Wait a moment.”

And not only that—their hair.

“Aegis, did you cry again?”

“U-Uuuh...”

“No more crying. You’re the only prince of Cloud Kingdom—you can’t just cry all the time...”

“T-That’s a secret...”

The shy little boy, looking away bashfully, had icy blue hair that seemed... eerily familiar.

“Miyu, this is the third time already...”

“I won’t tell anyone about this if you don’t tell anyone we ditched our lessons. Deal?”

The mischievous girl, white and silver-haired, with sharp fox-like ears that reminded Serena of someone very specific—a certain doctor with a clinic near the mansion.

“Gloria, say hello.”

“E-Ehehe...”

And the last one—the slightly clumsy, grinning little girl—scratched her head awkwardly as she looked up at Serena.

Her messy, brown-and-silver-mixed hair... was way too familiar for comfort.

“These...”

Still staring at the place where the children had disappeared, Serena realized—far too late—that she had failed to stop herself from tearing the scroll completely.

- RIIIP!!!

“That pervert...!”

Moments later, despite losing all memory of the incident, Serena stormed into Frey’s room on instinct.

“S-Serena?! What’s with you all of a sudden—“

“Shut up and lie down for a second.”

“...Huh? Why?”

“I just suddenly feel like having a second child.”

“...!?!?”

And so, taking full advantage of the temporary disappearance of the firstborns, another line of Frey’s children was conceived that very night.