Chapter 125: Remembrance Time
———Jennla———
<9: 56 pm>
…I really miss it. This sort of scenery. It’s so drab, yet so nostalgic. Just sitting alone in a park, the world is silent, and the threat of monsters and demons is much less likely…
“Hey. That’s my spot.” Well, nevermind then. Who is coming to ruin my trip down memory lane?
…I think I recognize that face. It’s not like I was stuck in that other world for that long. I should be able to remember someone from a school, especially if they have a penchant for roaming around at night.
“Ah. You’re Lynda, right? How’s it going?” I greeted her, trying to sound natural. I don’t think I have talked with her much, if at all…
“You’re… Hmm… That’s weird, I haven’t seen you for what feels like forever. Were you on vacation or something?” She asked as she sat down with some distance between us. Looks like she doesn’t notice that my disappearance and return is… Why doesn’t it seem like anyone realized I was gone? That’s odd. Even my parents seem unaware of it. There’s no way they wouldn’t notice. Something weird is going on, and I don’t know who I should go to and ask.
“It’s a long story.” I said, not really sure what I should say in this situation. I mean I could recount my tales related to the other world, but at the same time… I don’t know, just don’t feel like there’s too much to say? It’s weird. For the most part I just have the feeling of ‘wanting to go back’ clouding my mind, so I don’t really feel too much of anything during my time there.
“...Say, that fight with those two. It was you, wasn’t it? When did you get so strong?” She asked, tilting her head and looking at me with a rather icy glare. Is she jealous or something?
“Yeah? They suddenly ran towards me with a really strong fighting spirit. I can’t exactly not fight back in self-defense.” It wasn’t like I was trying to show off, if that’s what she is worried about.
“Weird.” She remarked. It would be weird if not for all the other circumstances people don’t know about, but I don’t really want to talk about it if possible. Still processing everything, really. “How long have you been gone anyway? Did that snake incident disrupt your vacation plan? At least you weren’t there for the airship.”
Snakes? Airship? What is she talking about? I want to ask, but that’s going to give her even more questions to throw my way. I should go ask my friends about it later. I was planning on catching up tomorrow anyway.
“Hello?” Oh, was I keeping her hanging for too long?
“Ah. Sorry. Lots of things to think about today.” I said, hoping that would sway her to maybe drop the topic for a good long while. “...So why are you here out so late at night?”
“Could ask the same thing to you. I usually come here to clear my head whenever nonsense starts happening, you know how it goes.” I… don’t? I never talk to her that much. Only thinking of her as that one feisty-looking girl from a different classroom.
“Yeah. Sure.” I replied, not really sure what kind of response she expected out of me. “So… You don’t have any business with me, right?”
“With how my tone is right now, you really think I got a plan?” She said, sounding more irritated. “I’m glad none of this shit is really affecting anything. It makes people panic for a bit, but that’s about it. Still, what a shitshow. Was there really no way to persuade them aside from doing as they ask?”
“Well I want to talk, but neither of them are willing to listen. It really can’t be helped.” I said before taking a long sigh. It’s not exactly an elegant solution.
I’m kinda surprised both of them are so damn strong. I don’t think I’m anywhere near like the top-tier of strength. I didn’t get close even in that other world, but I’d thought I’d handle it a bit better. Maybe it’s my hesitance showing…
“...So how did that fight end anyway? I heard all of you disappeared after a certain point.” She asked. She seems quite curious about the whole deal.
“...I’m surprised all of you didn’t see what happened at the end.” I don’t even really know for sure what happened. Emmie said that ‘that person’ bailed us out before either of us could hit the ground. It took me a while to figure out since it’s been a while. “It was a draw, nothing really that exciting at the end of the day. Emmie already chose to back off, and Kenni and I couldn’t do much else aside from sulking and stuff.”
“Really? That’s quite anticlimactic. The fact no one saw it might be a blessing for your reps.” She remarked. I mean, I don’t really want to be seen in the first place? I’d rather come back discreetly. No idea why the return leaves such a spectacle. It seems to be the reason why those two immediately try to jump me. They seem way too eager for that, regardless of whatever the reasoning actually was.
“Yeah. I guess you could say that.” I’d rather not argue with her. It doesn’t look like she’s here to debate or anything. Kind of a coincidence that we met.
Anyway, in regards to my return here… I need some time to acclimate. I haven’t logged in for a long time, no idea what people online are talking about right now. I also don’t know if I need to catch up on anything. Hopefully not too much.
…Does she not have anything else to talk about, or is she lost in her thoughts? I guess she did say she isn’t here for me, probably intending to silently relax.
I guess I got a bit of time to myself to recount everything that happened…
So. I got transported to a different world… Scratch that, it was quite different, but the same kind of premise. Kinda looks like one of those typical generic fantasy settings, but that might be my bias speaking, and then a lot of stuff happened for… Huh. I wonder. It seems like I was missing here for over two weeks, but I think I was in the other world for at least… Well. It was longer than that, that much is certain.
There weren't many reliable ways to track times over there, and my phone obviously won’t work. I had to put it away for the entire duration of the trip. It makes everything feel so… Disconnected? Sudden? I’m not all too sure.
I have to become stronger, that much is certain. I don’t even really know the real reason why I was sent there. I think the summary of it is something like ‘The summoning spell has gone awry, you were quite lucky.’
I don’t really get it, but it seems my isek- Need to stop that. She said it wasn’t the case of world-hopping, but I thought that was the case for the better part of the time spent there. It’s going to take a long while to recontextualize everything, especially since she said it not long before sending me back.
There were a lot of things she said to me right before sending me back here. It's a lot and would probably help clear up a lot of confusion once I recount everything to the others…
I need some time to think back on that specific time…
<<<<< 15,154 Years ago <<<<<
<1: 52 pm>
“You packed all of your stuff, correct?” She asked with a scrutinizing gaze, those scarlet eyes look rather intimidating. “As you know, since you’re the only one who gets to keep your body after that botched summoning attempt, you’re the only one with a good reason to go back. It’d be a shame if you lost a few precious items before going back for real. I don’t do takebacks.”
“Yeah, yeah. Heard you loud and clear.” I said, hoping she’d be a bit less harsh with her tone. “Feels kinda… plain? You’re just gonna pop a spell and put me right back where I was?”
“Just to be clear, I haven’t tried anything like this before on another person. I might have an affinity for Providence Magic, but that doesn’t mean things will go smoothly.” Does she really need to say that? Just puts more needless worry on me more than anything. “And there is no need for theatrics. Do you really want something like that? I’m sure you’d rather go back home.”
“Alright, that’s fair.” I replied, not seeing the need to argue. If I get to go home, then it’s all good. “Say, everyone seems to have an explanation as to why they got here, but I don’t seem to have any good reason?”
“I might be able to figure that out in a bit. Let me check you for a moment.” She said before raising her arm towards me, I can feel the mana around me pulsating. “Hmm… How odd.”
“W-What is it?” I asked, wondering why she showed some semblance of surprise.
“Looks to me like you were a victim of Time Displacement. No worldcrossing nonsense here. Looks like you came from the future of this world, and a continent off.” …Huh? What in the world does she mean by that? “That’s weird. From what I can tell, there wasn’t any sort of time spell used, be it by the royal court in the human or elf kingdom.”
“S-So was there another party involved?” That’s a scary thought to have. As if those demons weren’t enough as is.
“Possibly. It might also be something happening on your side of time. Not that I can prove it…” She said before turning around, deep in thought. Her long flowing violet hair flowing in the wind and her long dull blue cape, just her attire overall, it really makes her look less like someone plucked from another world and more like a native… Then again, I don’t really look like I’m from modern times, if it was many months back before the Eclipse happened. “There might also be the possibility of… Hmm… That’s rather contrived, but it could technically happen…”
“...Care to tell me?” I feel like I’m the one who should be filled in on this more than the others. There’s no reason for her to not tell me.
“There is very little separation between space and time magic. Perhaps that botched summoning ritual twenty years back also ended up including you somehow. It’s meant for people from a different world, but if things went awry and there are errors, perhaps you could end up catching the wrong end of said error and getting pulled here.” That’s… one hell of a theory. “Of course, that would also mean you were quite lucky to still have your body, since others were destroyed and they need to be reincarnated less they be completely lost. Then again, being brought here against your will shouldn’t be counted as ‘lucky’ now, does it?”
“...Are there no other explanations you could think of?” That one doesn’t feel all that believable…
“If you’re talking about ones with more concrete possibilities, no, there isn’t.” She firmly replied. How can you say stuff like that with a straight face? “If there is one thing to help ease your nerves. Travel through time is way less finicky than through worlds. I could put you back to your time and place with more precision, and any errors wouldn’t be that drastic. Perhaps overshooting by a few days at most.”
“Ah. Really? That’s nice to know.” I guess they won’t have that much to worry about me being missing then, even though it feels like I’ve been here for what felt like a year at least. “...Say, there won’t be any problem with me being in the past, right? If I am really traveling through time and that’s it.”
“Time is much more stable than you realize. There are a lot of things working to make sure paradoxes can't happen. If it suddenly can, then perhaps the world is nearing its end.” She calmly explained despite how dire the topic sounds. “...Some people here might live long enough to your present day. Elves are long-lived species, and powerful beings tend to live for even longer.”
“I don’t even know how long this was in the past…” I know I have talked with my friends about magic in the past before, but no one really knows when it exists and when it disappeared.
“Some are functionally immortal, but I’m sure we’ve wasted enough time.” She said with a clear sign of disinterest. “Now then, let’s begin, shall we? I also have a place I need to go.”
>>>>> Present Time <<<<<
<10: 09 pm>
Looking back at it, I never really questioned why she knows so much. Maybe a few throwaway remarks, but nothing more than that.
I guess I do have a lot of things I never questioned. I was more worried about survival than anything. Heck, it doesn’t even look like they need my help to stop the demon invasion, and yet they dragged me along anyway.
…It really is quiet. Despite her attitude she knows how to be quiet, kinda jarring, honestly.