Chapter 152: The Solution
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 152: The Solution
The Margaret from the future—the impostor—was far more versatile than the real one. Then again, since she herself claimed to be from several hundred years in the future, it was only natural she’d be more capable than the Margaret of the present.
Her talents didn't stop at cooking; she took it upon herself to handle all sorts of chores.
"There. All clean. Yohan, how about a little drink?"
"A drink? Where would we even get alcohol...?"
"Ta-da! Romanée-Conti 2000 Jesus Edition!"
"...Seriously, who came up with that name?"
"Hm? I did, of course."
As she spoke, Margaret began to pour the wine, which gave off a sweet aroma. The scent was so intoxicating it made his mouth water instantly, and Yohan found himself giving in and downing a glass.
He didn't remember what happened next. What had he done? He'd gotten drunk, sang excitedly, and had sex with Margaret.
As Yohan and Margaret grew closer at this rapid pace, the other witches, feeling outmatched by her domestic prowess, began to sense a crisis.
Evangeline, in particular.
"Yohan, Yohan. We have a problem."
"Yes, Teacher. What's wrong?"
"Lately... Ritz has been strange."
Evangeline said, carefully whispering the secret she had discovered about Margaret.
"I've been watching her in secret, and... Ritz's hair... it's gotten shorter!"
"...Teacher, you're only just now realizing that?"
"Hm? Why?"
"It's been over a month since Margaret cut her hair."
At Yohan's words, Evangeline started humming as if to say, "Is that so?" She must have found it absurd herself.
Her long hair had been cut to shoulder-length, yet it took a whole month for her to notice? This was beyond simply being unobservant; it was the kind of thing only possible if one paid absolutely no attention to Margaret at all.
Clearing her throat with a cough, Evangeline insisted that wasn't the important part and began to share a few more of Margaret's secrets.
"Anyway! There's something strange about her."
"What's strange about her?"
"It's like... she's Ritz, but she's not acting like Ritz..."
Just as you'd expect from Evangeline, she had instinctively grasped that this Margaret wasn't the real one.
Of course, even a great witch like her could never have imagined that after her Awakening, Margaret's body had been taken over by her own self from the distant future.
"Actually, you're right. She is strange."
"Right!? I knew I wasn't seeing things!"
"It's possible we've already had this conversation."
"Huh? What do you mean, we've already had it?"
"Margaret... has Awakened."
Yohan revealed to his teacher the truth he had been hiding all this time. The reason he hadn't spoken of it was simple.
Every time he tried to ask Evangeline for help, Margaret would simply turn back time.
After a few failed attempts, he had given up on asking for help. But now—whether it was because she hadn't shown any sign of it for a month, or because she'd let her guard down—Margaret wasn't watching him.
Just in case...
But just in case, Yohan activated his Awakening ability—which completely nullified all supernatural powers in the vicinity, making magical interference impossible—and proceeded to explain everything he knew.
"Margaret... Awakened a month ago."
"...A month? Wait, it's been a whole month?"
"Yes. And on the day she Awakened... she was possessed by her future self."
"Taken over by her future self? What does that even..."
"Margaret Awakened from a witch of space into a witch of time."
Hearing this, Evangeline gasped in understanding. A witch Awakening was an unprecedented event, never before recorded in history. Anything was possible.
It was conceivable that a witch could Awaken to a completely different school of magic. Of course, Yohan, who understood the connection between space and time, didn't see it that way.
"She traveled back in time to take over the body of the present-day Margaret."
"Hmm... But even so, couldn't you just end it by nullifying her magic?"
"I could. I could render her completely powerless. But then what?"
"Huh?"
"After I use my nullification to neutralize her, what then? What happens to the original Margaret?"
That was the problem. The current Margaret's body had been taken over by her future self. He didn't know if their consciousnesses had been swapped, or if the original Margaret had been sealed away somewhere.
What if Yohan recklessly turned her into a human? Or what if he eliminated her completely?
What would happen to the real Margaret, who had vanished somewhere? He might never see her again.
"This is more of a headache than I thought."
"It is."
After hearing Yohan out, Evangeline let out a low groan and began to ponder. If Margaret could truly control time as freely as he said, the problem was severe.
It meant that whether Evangeline killed her, brainwashed her, or kidnapped and tortured her, Margaret could simply turn back time and undo it all.
A person free from time could not be bound.
But just then, an idea struck Evangeline like a bolt of lightning.
"─Yohan, you said she came from a slightly different future, right?"
"Huh? Yes. It's not just a slightly different future, it's the Parallel World Theory..."
"Whatever. The point is, she doesn't know much about this world, right?"
When Yohan nodded, Evangeline replied that was all she needed to know. Defeating the fake Margaret and rescuing the real one... it might just be possible.
"Hmm-hmm-hmm."
Margaret hummed to herself as she prepared a dinner she knew Yohan would love. Having lived with him for over several hundred years, she knew his tastes inside and out.
She even knew preferences he wasn't aware of himself—foods he had yet to try, things he didn't even know if he'd like or dislike. Margaret knew all of it, confident that she understood him better than he understood himself.
Finally... I finally found you.
In truth, this wasn't the first time she had traveled across time to find Yohan. The moment he died in her world, she had begun to wander through countless others, searching for him.
Among them was a world where Evangeline had become a demon god of love, enveloping the entire planet; a world where all of humanity had become puppets in Beatrice's grand show; and a world ruled by Hekaterina, who had become an Extraterrestrial Horror Entity.
Across so many worlds, she had finally managed to find Yohan once more.
Yohan, my love. My lover, my everything.
She would never let him go now that she had found him again. So she thought.
"...What are you doing?"
"─I am recording."
And watching her was another witch, scribbling something down. Seeing Regina behind her, recording her every move, Margaret let out a deep sigh.
"Is there any need to record something new at this point?"
"You cut your hair. For what reason?"
"Just for a change of pace. Yohan likes it, too."
"I see. Understood."
With that, Regina returned her focus to her records. Margaret knew that's just how the witch was, but having her scribbling away right behind her was rather irritating.
Frowning slightly, Margaret decided to simply ignore Regina and turned away. Dealing with a witch like her would only cause a headache.
Besides, the thought that she could just turn back time if things got difficult was ingrained in her mind.
"Regina, if you have nothing better to do, why don't you go get Yohan for me?"
"But I am doing my work."
"To me, it just looks like you're fooling around..."
"I see. It may appear that way."
"Are you messing with me...?"
Tilting her head, Margaret turned back around, her expression hardening as she saw Regina's serious face.
It was strange enough that this witch, who cared for nothing but her records, was even here. But stranger still...
What is that bitch doing?
...was the fact that she was recording her. That was the most bizarre part. Could she have realized I'm the Margaret from the distant future?
But I haven't done anything yet. I'd heard the magic of records collects information inscribed upon the world, but can it really record even the traces of a journey through time?
I don't know.
And so, Margaret resorted to the best method she had for situations like this.
"Regina? What are you doing right now?"
"As I said before, I am recording."
"Right, but—I'm already in your records, aren't I? I was just wondering what else there is to record..."
"Do you really think so?"
Regina stared at Margaret as she spoke. Margaret didn't know what was wrong, but she had a habit of turning back time the moment she sensed something was amiss.
Let's go back to before Regina started observing and recording me. I'll be more careful from then on.
But things were never that simple. So Margaret thought, staring at the Regina standing before her.
"So this is what it feels like."
She had definitely turned back time—yet Regina was still standing right in front of her.
Looking perfectly composed, as if to announce she had followed her back through time.