“For now, I think trying to get him back on track has failed. He’s not in his right mind. The magical beasts smashed up the natural sciences building he likes, so he’s going through an era of total chaos.”

“Oh dear.”

It was a worry I absolutely did not understand, but I tilted my brows like I sympathized.

In the end, Boyd couldn’t stand watching Liam sink into thought and drift toward the pond, so he swore under his breath and ran over to bring the eldest son back.

“Youngest fairy... come here.”

With a gloomy face, Liam staggered toward me and reached out.

“Sit beside me in the carriage on the way back. Give me the chance to lift the spirits of my own dejected self.”

“No thanks!”

I shouted it reflexively, then suddenly tilted my head.

“But wait, are you two going back too...?”

“The Academy collapsed, so it’s vacation! Until next year!”

“Wow....”

Winter was going to get noisy all over again!

“Ha ha! My penalty points are frozen! They’ll reset next year!”

Watching Boyd celebrate, I made a vow.

The report on their daily living conditions... the day of submission has arrived!

The evidence I’d carefully collected, all of it, right now—

“Ah.”

Come to think of it, what happened to the Rare Books Archive?

And Professor Yuliope?

I need to go! I’ve got things to do!

I tightened my shoelaces and ran.

“Ruby! Where are you going?”

“I’m busy!”

“What?!”

I was about to slip away while calling for Khalid out of habit, then froze mid-motion.

“Oh. Right. I’m not supposed to run off by myself anymore.”

I calmly turned around and looked at the ducal townhouse, standing there grand and imposing like a painting.

Leviathan, who had been sorting through paperwork in his office, lifted his head.

The patter of rapidly approaching footsteps from outside sounded very familiar.

3, 2, 1....

Instead of the office door flying open with a bang—

“Dad! Father! It’s me! Ruby! Knock knock knock!”

A chirping voice rang out from the other side of the door.

Leviathan let out a short breath of disbelief and rose to his feet. When he opened the door, he saw the round crown of a little head.

“Who taught you to knock?”

“Self-study! More importantly....”

In Rubian’s sparkling eyes was the reflection of himself leaning crookedly against the doorframe.

The tiny hand clutching his hem. The round eyes curving sweetly. The lips working nervously, about to produce the words Leviathan was always happiest to hear.

“Dad, help me!”

What a darling child.

*****

Dad called Professor Yuliope out of the Rare Books Archive.

“It’s been a while, Yuliope Moulton.”

“Ah, yes. Right. Parent.”

Yuliope gave a rough answer between coughs. He was hard at work in the Rare Books Archive again today, restoring books.

“I heard you taught my daughter how to jump rope the other day.”

Dad looked down at him and murmured in a low voice.

“I’d like you to share her progress.”

“...What?”

“I’m planning to take her north for special training.”

“What in the—”

Professor Yuliope frowned as hard as he could, but Dad kept pressing relentlessly. Step by step, each time Dad moved forward, Yuliope was pushed farther and farther away from the Rare Books Archive.

“There are various techniques, aren’t there? One-foot jumps, things like that...”

“No, ask your daughter!”

When I saw Dad flick his eyes toward me, I slipped quietly into the Rare Books Archive.

I was not going to be coming back to the Academy for a while, so I had even put on my uniform properly one last time.

“Oh, so that’s how a parent lures someone away.”

“Hurry up.”

Khalid, who had somehow taken the lead already, urged me on.

Heh, this is easy.

Was it because Dad was helping?

“At least the Rare Books Archive is still intact.”

I looked around as I spoke.

A lot of the other buildings had been badly wrecked....

“What’s the use? You said the document that woman gave you is gone.”

“Mm....”

By then, we were standing beneath the huge tree.

“I’ll just restore it!”

“...?”

I moved my magic.

In my hand was the scrap of parchment the second had given me. Still blank.

When the Mage King appeared, I had erased the writing on that paper by instinct.

Because I was afraid he might realize I had gotten hold of that record.

But....

Just as I had restored the color of my hair, I planned to restore the letters on this parchment too.

Wigeria will help me.

That sea could be stubborn sometimes, but when it came to something that would help me, it always answered willingly enough.

Fwoooosh—

My magic shone, and after a while, the vanished letters began to reappear.

Of course, ◈ Nоvеlіgһт ◈ (Continue reading) it’s not like I can use time magic like this whenever I want.

Only when it was absolutely necessary did Wigeria draw the magic circle for me.

“...You really are amazing. So that’s how you changed your hair color back too.”

Watching beside me, Khalid let out a breath of disbelief.

“Then let’s read this, shall we?”

First, I was planning to copy down the place names into my large notebook.

I sat on the ground and, using the magnifying glass I had brought with me, slowly sounded it out.

“...? Why are you reading it like that?”

“Like what?”

“No, your finger is moving the other way.”

Kal pointed at my finger tracing the letters.

“Oh, this one uses that arrangement. Ancient language has several writing orders.”

“...You don’t read all of it the same way?”

Khalid muttered that almost to himself.

“Yeah. Why? Do you have something you need read?”

“...No. Read that first.”

What was that? Was he just asking?

Anyway, I buried my nose in the document again.

Some time later—

“As expected... I have to find the hidden magic formula to complete the mark-breaking circle.”

“And that formula... is somewhere on the continent?”

I nodded.

“The words you’re copying down now?”

“They’re place names. This one says Babiles....”

I turned to look behind me at the huge sealing tree.

And at the stone stele beneath it.

“Unfortunately, what was in Babiles wasn’t the formula for the mark-breaking circle.”

It had been a time magic circle.

“But there are so many words.”

“Yeah.... Other than Babiles, I think all the rest are place names that were used in ancient times. The problem is, I have no idea what regions they mean now....”

“That’s going to take a long time.”

“Probably.”

I had to identify the old place names and search the continent too.

“I’ll handle searching the continent. You handle the ancient language.”

Kal, who had been silent until then, suddenly spoke.

“Huh?”

“You know I’m good at getting around.”

He pushed himself away from where he had been standing crookedly and walked straight toward me.

His eyes settled on my ribbon tie, which had come slightly loose, and he reached out and undid it with a smooth tug.

“I told you I’d go find everything you need....”

Those hands adjusted it neatly and tied it again in perfect order.

For some reason, I swallowed hard.

“You’re not going to tell me I can’t even do this, are you?”

“...It’s not that....”

I bit my lip lightly, then let it go. A sigh slipped out on its own.

“But I kind of don’t like the thought of being apart from you....”

At that, Khalid grinned.

“Yeah. Same.”

Just then, brilliant sunlight pouring in from the courtyard lit up his face so brightly it seemed to sparkle.

Oh no. What was this?

“My heart just—”

“What?”

“M-my, my ribbon was falling off!”

“This feels like a very familiar pattern of conversation....”

Kal scratched his cheek and tied my ribbon tighter.

Pop-pop-pop.

It felt like fireworks were going off somewhere. What was this? What was happening?

Why did he look especially handsome today?!

Is it because he said he’d go search for the magic circle for me?

Would he look cool no matter what if he promised to buy me candy too?

Huh?

At that moment, I realized this pounding feeling was actually very familiar.

And that it was probably the kind of feeling that belonged under the word fluttering....

“K-Kal.... I’m feeling weird around you again....”

“What? Again?”

No, this wasn’t awkwardness, it was—

That was when it happened.

Riiip.

“Right. The two of you do need a little distance between you.”

Khalid and I were abruptly pulled apart.

“Dad?”

Dad had appeared without me noticing. Grinning, he lifted me up in one motion and carried me far away.

“Why am I suddenly worried about the future?”

“Huh? Whose?”

What was he talking about?

“It’ll be thrilling. Very.”

Mm, his own future?

“I have no idea what you mean....”

Dad folded his arms, smiling in a complicated way.