I cued up my ability without saving the current point and said goodbye to her.
“It was nice seeing you again, Rosemary. I’ll give your older brother your regards. And since I’ll be coming to rescue you soon, don’t cry there. Be brave, okay?”
Just as I was about to activate my ability—
The drawing door suddenly slammed open without warning.
“Tania!”
It was Elysion, who had apparently stormed out of House Papiope in a rush this morning.
He appeared out of nowhere, and his expression was thunderous as he strode toward me.
“You, what the hell were you thinking—!”
Huh? Why is Elysion mad at me?
When I visited him separately on this day, he’d acted like his usual self.
Before I could process it, he was already in front of me, grabbing my wrist.
Startled, I accidentally triggered the ability I had ready.
Oops.
[Time Slot 1 Loaded.]
My vision dropped, and I could tell my limbs had shrunk.
I frowned.
What the hell? Why was Elysion so angry?
The thought was fleeting. Raspie’s cold voice yanked me back to my senses.
“You need to explain what you just said.”
He didn’t know I’d met the future version of Rosemary. His face was guarded.
I slowly blinked.
“…What’s the last thing I said?”
“You asked why Rosemary left me behind!”
Oh. So that’s where it left off.
“I saw something in a foresight—something bad happening to you. So I was just curious why Rosemary, who’s alive and well in the future, didn’t do anything about it.”
“How am I supposed to believe that?”
Whether he believed me or not didn’t really matter. But still…
“I foresaw a future where your sister’s alive. So if anything, you should be hoping I’m right.”
Raspie, who so desperately wanted his sister to be alive, parted his lips—then quietly shut them again.
“Rosemary is definitely alive in the future. But… it looks like something happens to you while you’re trying to save her…”
“That doesn’t matter. I have to go save her anyway.”
Tsk.
He didn’t even know what would happen to him, yet he was still being stubborn.
Well, what can you do? You can’t stop someone who’s already decided to throw themselves into danger.
I let out a soft sigh and opened my mouth.
“Then let’s go together.”
Thankfully, Raspie’s ability—controlling demonic beasts—was one of the most overpowered ones out there, so I probably wouldn’t have to burn through many time slots.
But at my suggestion, his expression twisted with a snap.
“I don’t need that kind of help. I still can’t trust you, and if I bring you along, you’ll only slow me down.”
“Oh? And do you even know where your sister is?”
“……”
I shrugged lightly, as if I’d expected that answer, and smiled sweetly.
“Then we’re going together, right?”
✦ ✦ ✦
First, I calmed Raspie down—he looked like he might bolt out the door any second.
Then I forced him to eat the dinner he’d refused and pushed him into bed to get some rest.
The next morning.
I served him the stew and bread that the lady next door had brought over for breakfast.
He complained that there was no time for food, but when I told him we wouldn’t be leaving until he ate, he reluctantly took a bite.
He resisted more yesterday, but maybe he’d warmed up to me a little overnight.
As I watched him finally eat, a bit proud, I decided to ask what had been on my mind.
“By the way, why were you passed out near that poetry shop yesterday?”
“…I was searching for Rosemary and heard that Abiliters were being traded around that poetry shop, so I went to check it out.”
“And?”
“I hadn’t realized how worn out I was until then. But the moment I saw the shop completely empty… it just all hit me at once.”
Raspie had a lot of minor injuries, but none serious enough to knock him out.
That meant there was a high chance…
“Raspie, have you eaten anything recently?”
He slowly shook his head.
Well, yeah. One look at his gaunt frame and it was obvious.
He was an orphan and hadn’t eaten properly to begin with. Once he started looking for his sister, he must’ve given up even begging.
I was frowning at how poorly developed he looked when he set his empty dish down with a satisfied face and asked,
“But Tania, isn’t it a problem for you to do something so dangerous without your parents’ permission?”
“Huh? I think you’ve misunderstood something. I don’t have parents.”
“…What?”
“I mean I’m an orphan. And this place? Strictly speaking, it’s not even mine. I’m just staying here temporarily thanks to a kind person’s help.”
I held up my skinny arm like it was proof of the fact and showed it to him.
For once, his face looked visibly flustered as he glanced at the cleaned-off plate.
“Then… the food you gave up for me yesterday and today…”
“Never mind that. If you’re done eating, get up. We’ve got to hurry and save Rosemary—she’s probably scared out of her mind.”
I brushed it off like it was no big deal and steered the conversation away. He bit his lower lip, his expression full of complicated emotions.
“…Do we have a rescue plan?”
“You draw attention by dragging in some demonic beasts and wreaking havoc. While everyone’s distracted, I’ll slip in and get Rosemary. Something like that?”
“And how’s an Abiliter like you, with zero combat skills, supposed to save her? It’s not that easy.”
“It’s fine. I saw myself saving Rosemary in a foresight.”
He let out a quiet sigh at my remark, which left no room for argument.
“…I still don’t know if I can trust you.”
I was just about to tell him it was too late for regrets—
“But at the very least, I’m certain you don’t mean any harm.”
His eyes had wavered with uncertainty when he heard we had no real plan, but now they settled clearly on me.
“…Then?”
“I’ll follow you.”
With those words, Raspie pressed a kiss to the back of my hand, just like a knight pledging loyalty to his lord.
I stared blankly at him and thought:
‘This brat is practically fresh out the womb, where the hell did he even learn something like that?’
✦ ✦ ✦
In the deep underground, a room was packed with row after row of tight iron cages.
With every breath, the stench of rusted metal and mold filled my nose.
The Abiliter Auction House.
I’d come here to save Rosemary—and let myself get caught on purpose to act as bait.
Peering through the narrow gaps between cages, I sat down right where I was.
“So this is the so-called Abiliter Auction House… But it looks like most of the people here are just regular folks.”
I guess that made sense. Capturing Abiliters was no easy feat. It would’ve been stranger if there were a lot of them.
You’d need a decent number of ordinary people to even keep an operation this big running.
“Fucking scumbags.”
In the previous timeline, Elysion and I had torn this place to shreds.
Even though I’d walked in here voluntarily, actually being captured still made me feel weird.
As I passed by the cages, I’d spotted Rosemary huddled in a corner.
Places this big usually didn’t auction people off right away—they spent weeks running tests and appraisals to set minimum prices first.
Luckily, it looked like Rosemary hadn’t been put up for bidding yet.
Now that I knew where she was, all I had to do was get her out.
“Wonder if Raspie’s being a good boy and waiting outside…”
That was when it happened.
Amid the loud voices of the other captives, slow, heavy footsteps echoed across the underground.
Click. Clack.
An old man, walking with a cane, came into view, inspecting the prisoners inside the cages as he passed.
That intense presence and pressure unique to him.
His face was hidden behind a full mask, but I recognized him instantly.
“…Didn’t expect people-shopping to be his hobby.”
VIPs at this auction were allowed to preview items before bidding, and it looked like this old man had come to do just that.
He was someone I’d thought decently of in the future timeline, but seeing him here? Disappointing.
He kept walking without doing anything, merely inspecting the caged prisoners—until he stopped in front of me.
I guess I’d been staring at him too obviously.
“You don’t shy away from my gaze.”
His eyes gleamed with amused interest.
“Are you not afraid?”
I tilted my head, feigning confusion.
“Are you asking if I’m afraid of you, Grandpa? Or of the situation I’m in right now?”
“…Hmm. Let’s say both.”
“Well, Grandpa-with-the-creepy-hobby-of-buying-people is a bit scary, sure. But my situation? It’s actually not that bad.”
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