Chapter 167 - Before the Judgment: Months After Frey's Mock Funeral
Several months had passed since Frey's funeral—or rather, the ceremony that scarcely deserved the name.
Whoooosh...!
The empire's streets, once bustling with the fervor of the great clash between the hero and the Demon King just months ago, were now swept by an icy wind.
"........."
And a flowing silence.
The children who once played in the streets, the boisterous heroes belting out songs over heavy drinks in taverns, the lovers whispering sweet nothings on benches. The warm, lively atmosphere woven from such people was nowhere to be found anymore.
It was because the radiant sun had lost nearly all its light, teetering on the brink of extinction. The empire, buried in cold and snow, had long since lost its vitality.
In the heart of the frozen imperial capital stood a half-collapsed mansion.
"Irina... do you really think this is possible...?"
"......"
Two girls with hollow gazes stared blankly at the vast magic circle filling the mansion.
"Serena said so too, and you did before."
"...What?"
Kania spoke darkly to Irina, who was etching formulas into the circle, her eyes ringed with deep shadows.
"Turning back time... is impossible."
Irina clenched her teeth at those words, then added a few more formulas to the circle.
"No... maybe, just maybe it's possible..."
"Irina, the circle's structure is too unstable. If an accident happens like last time..."
"...Yeah?"
As Kania watched her anxiously and ventured the words, Irina looked up with a blank expression.
"Then get out."
Kania flinched at that, then balled her fists and asked,
"This is our last chance. The sun will lose its light completely soon. This will be our final attempt."
"...I know."
"So, when will you activate it?"
Irina chewed her lip at Kania's question.
"...Right now."
She squeezed her eyes shut and began pouring mana into the circle.
"...Let's try."
At the same time, Kania infused black magic into it. As Irina's mana and Kania's black magic mingled,
The magic circle began to glow.
"I-Is it... success?"
"...For real?"
The girls' eyes blazed with fire for the first time in ages.
"I-If we go to the past... we have to meet Frey first..."
"W-We need to adjust our memories. Use the hint notes we prepared in advance..."
They urgently flipped through the notes they'd prepared nearby.
- CRASH -
"...Huh?"
The brilliantly glowing circle suddenly flickered, and they froze, staring at it.
Clang!!
In that instant, the magic circle collapsed.
"Ah..."
Thankfully, it didn't explode or go berserk like before.
But the sight of their final hope crumbling so futilely hurt more than any previous failure.
"........."
In the end, the two girls could only stare at the circle with dead eyes.
Proceed to the Chamber of Judgment?
[Yes/No]
"...Ha."
The transparent Frey, who had been watching until then,
"The others have already gone to the Chamber of Judgment..."
muttered darkly and reached out.
"...Guess I should head there too."
Frey hesitated slightly, then placed his hand on the Yes as
"Mind if I borrow your body for a bit?"
"Eek!"
A familiar voice echoed around him suddenly.
"W-What...?"
Startled, Frey whipped his head around.
"......Pendant?"
He spotted the pendant, which had grown steadily brighter throughout the trial and now shone brilliantly, and murmured with wide eyes.
"Before the judgment, there's something I absolutely must check."
"What...?"
His own voice, thick with darkness, emanated from the pendant.
A small miracle occurred.
"Hello."
Frey, who should have been completely erased,
"......Young Master?"
"Frey...?"
appeared before the two girls who had lost all hope.
A faintly twinkling pendant hung around his neck.
.........
"Y-Young Master... are you really the Young Master?"
"Frey...? Is it really you?"
Kania and Irina gaped at Frey.
"........."
Frey nodded slightly to them.
"Ah..."
"...For real?"
The girls, in their utterly wrecked state, uttered dazed words.
"Did the magic... succeed?"
"N-No way...? The circle collapsed, so it clearly failed..."
"But the Young Master right in front of us? How did this happen?"
"...D-Don't know. No idea."
The frantic exchange began right after.
"Y-Young Master? Are you really..."
After debating what this meant for a while, Kania cautiously reached out to Frey.
"...You?"
As her hand touched him, that part turned into sparkling Star Mana.
"........."
A brief silence flowed.
"H-How is this possible... Irina...?"
"Uh... well..."
Kania broke the silence, waving her hand through Frey's body, and Irina stammered pale-faced,
"I-I'm not sure, but... we're in the Starlight Mansion, right?"
"Yes."
"So, the time-reversal magic itself failed... but the backlash..."
"...Backlash?"
"Maybe it pulled out a phantom of Frey from the past?"
Kania's eyes widened.
"Does... that even make sense?"
"I-I don't know. But... this is definitely Frey!"
Irina shouted, deploying masses of spells around him to illuminate Frey.
"Look! Every magical and ritual scan... it's Frey!"
Even after hearing that, Kania still looked dubious.
"W-Would you... like to eat?"
She glanced at his eyes and asked.
"...Sure."
"W-What... menu?"
Kania flinched as a real reply came, then asked in a trembling voice again.
"Sandwich and coffee."
"Ah....."
As Frey ordered a familiar menu and headed to the table, she began to tremble.
"...And rye bread slathered in butter."
To her, Frey ordered his childhood favorite.
"......"
He sat at the table, silently watching the two girls.
"W-What do we do...?"
"F-First, serve him... maybe?"
A while later, the girls headed to the kitchen for the first time in ages.
.........
"Y-Young Master... here's the sandwich, coffee, and rye bread."
"I-I grilled some fish just in case..."
"........."
Familiar foods were placed before me.
"D-Do you need anything else?"
"R-Right, we still have lots of ingredients left..."
I quietly shook my head at the foods that were now memories, once torturous to eat.
"...This is fine."
The girls, watching my eyes, began whispering.
"S-Shouldn't we tell the others first...?"
"N-No, stabilization comes first."
"Huh?"
"This Frey in front of us... is too unstable. One wrong move and he'll scatter again."
Listening to them,
"...You two look like hell."
I said softly.
"A-Ah... yes."
"S-Sorry...?"
The whispering girls jumped and replied.
"Holed up in this mansion for months, no going out, just experiments?"
"T-That's..."
"Plus wounds from magical explosions everywhere... mana circuits all wrecked, and..."
I stared at them and continued.
"Above all, your hearts are shattered."
With a sigh at the end, their faces hardened.
"Trying time travel?"
"T-That..."
As I asked gently, they looked guilty.
From that, they really tried to turn back time.
But from my countless regressions and research, the world's laws block time reversal.
If it worked, I wouldn't have suffered like this.
"U-Um... Young Master."
"Frey."
As I thought that, Kania and Irina asked in trembling voices.
"What... are you exactly right now?"
"Did you... return from oblivion?"
That question brought thoughts flooding back.
How to answer?
Explain I used a pendant from some weird inspiration right before the Sun God's deletion power hit, borrowing my body from another timeline for a temporary descent?
No time for explanations.
Despite months charging the pendant for this moment, the energy drains too fast.
To meet the others, I need to hurry.
"I'll vanish soon."
I shelved what I wanted to say and got to the point; the girls froze.
"W-What do you mean?"
"F-Frey?"
As they cried out urgently, I posed one question.
"But if you sacrifice instead... that won't happen."
To the speechless girls, I began a suitable fabricated explanation, but
"In that case..."
replies came simultaneously before I finished.
"W-What do we do? What needs doing? Offer my soul? Or my body..."
"Your soul's instability was why! Take mine! Need any spells or rituals? Right now..."
They could've doubted it once, hesitated with their lives on the line, but they spoke instantly without pause...
"...Whew."
Thinking that, I began unclasping the pendant.
"...Huh!?"
Desperate cries escaped them.
"Y-Young Master! Where are you going!"
"Frey! You said there's a way! Why suddenly...!"
I looked at them leaping up and shouting.
"Don't worry."
I said calmly.
"...We'll meet again."
As those words ended, I fully removed the pendant from my neck.
I began to fade.
"A-At least eat the sandwich before you go... I practiced so much my hands remember, in case we succeeded in going back..."
"Frey!"
Kania offered the lovingly made sandwich with vacant eyes; Irina frantically pulled something from her bosom.
"I-I prepared this... for you..."
It was, predictably, a puppy love flower.
"...Too obvious."
I smiled at the flower I'd received ad nauseam across timelines.
"Thanks."
Short reply, then
"...System."
I opened the opaque window for the first time in ages.
"What, you still haven't bought this?"
The function I wanted was missing. Did this timeline's me not buy it?
Thinking that, I opened the shop and bought the skill I needed. Plenty of points stocked.
".......Ha."
Using it,
"Good..."
I murmured at the system window.
"...Three left."
Rising,
".....Young Master."
"......Frey."
I glanced at the girls murmuring blankly at the vanished sandwich and flower.
"A-Ah, goodbye..."
"G-Goodbye......"
With a smile, I stepped out of the mansion.
To restore the love of those most precious, essential for the judgment.