TRL 64

Chapter 64

“You slept for two whole days. Honestly, who fires twelve rounds of a magic bullet that knocks you out after just seven? Especially when your body had barely recovered from the return… Sometimes, I think you might be even crazier than Ethan.”

“Crazy? No—I made a rational judgment. Given the situation, that was the optimal way to minimize casualties and kill the Kraken. You know that.”

“Oh sure, that ‘optimal strategy.’”

Gide clenched his teeth. Rita quickly changed the subject, worried that he might bring up her death again.

“Come to think of it, the Kraken showing up means the magical contamination really has begun, right? What happened? Don’t tell me the war’s already started?”

“Not yet. The sun hasn’t gone out, and the beasts haven’t rampaged through the land.”

“But something like a Kraken just appeared out of nowhere, and it’s still not war?”

“That was probably a separate matter.”

“What?”

“There was something we didn’t finish talking about earlier, remember?”

He rose from the bed and extended a hand. Rita took it naturally and stood up. With a deepening smile, Gide led her to the sofa.

As they sat, he began to speak.

“Do not fear death. Your deaths will—”

“—become the seeds of hope.”

She completed the maxim. Gide nodded and gave a wry, almost mocking smile.

“Rita, that wasn’t some prophecy or advice from the Grand Mage. It was just wishful thinking.”

“Pascal said those words would one day save us.”

“Save us—yeah, maybe. If we truly become the seeds of hope and prevent the foretold destruction. But back then, Pascal’s words were blatant lies.”

“Why?”

“Just as you guessed—Pascal’s real reason for creating us was to rewrite history. To use us, who knew the future, to alter the past. But here’s the truth: Pascal never succeeded in returning a single person.”

“Pascal… failed to return anyone?”

“Yeah. Every single one of Pascal’s so-called children died. Not one made it back to the past. And Pascal knew it. He knew that dying in the future didn’t mean you could return. There was never any real seed of hope.”

“Wait, hold on. Then what about us? We did return. Didn’t you say the whole squad came back? Ollie, Ethan, Sarah, Iss, even Luca—all of us returned, didn’t we?”

“Of course, we all did. But that wasn’t thanks to Pascal. We made it happen. By chance, by miracle, and inevitably.”

Gide’s eyes seemed to wander to a distant place, growing dark. Rita watched him blankly until something clicked in her mind.

Something Pascal didn’t have, but the Beacon Squad did. Something that could make a miracle possible. She spoke slowly.

“The star.”

“…”

“We succeeded in returning because of that star’s power.”

“…I only realized it after you died. Your death… was different.”

“What was different?”

“You were erased from the world.”

“Huh?”

“You ceased to exist in the future—so maybe you were returned to the past instead. By accident, by miracle. We clung to that hope and worked toward it. That’s why our return was inevitable.”

Gide leaned on one arm, covering half his face with his hands, his voice hoarse.

“We took Pascal’s failed experiment and made it succeed. A true ‘return.’”

“Wait—explain properly. What do you mean I was erased? What exactly did you do?”

“Ask Ollie later for the details.”

Gide chuckled lowly and added,

“I’m not confident I could explain it properly…”

Not with a clear mind.

Because I’d probably pour out emotions you couldn’t handle. To you, I’m just your longest-standing comrade and peer.

He swallowed those thoughts and dropped his hand with a light smile.

“Anyway, bottom line—we successfully returned from the future. And now, Beacon’s mission is to stop the magical contamination and change the history of destruction. Everyone’s already working on it. We’ve even got specific goals and strategies. Want to hear?”

“Of course I do. You were gonna leave me out of the mission?”

“Honestly, I’d rather smuggle you away and lock you in a safe house somewhere.”

“You’re joking, right?”

“If I said I wasn’t, would you let me live?”

“Are you serious?”

“That’s what you get for carrying out an ‘optimal strategy’ right in front of me. After seeing that, I lost it—kept spewing nonsense.”

“I said I was sorry… So where are the others? I want to see them.”

“You’ll see them soon. Once they hear you’re back, they’ll all drop everything and come running—but we’ve also got our regular meeting on the first of the month. Better to gather then.”

“The first? That’s soon. Where’s the meeting?”

“At Iss’s flower shop in the capital.”

“…He opened a flower shop?”

“Yeah. That was the first thing he started preparing after returning. And it’s huge, by the way—more like a greenhouse than a shop.”

“Totally sounds like him.”

Rita let out a small laugh. Gide stared at her as if mesmerized, then reached up to touch the corner of her smiling lips. Rita blinked.

“What?”

“Hmm?”

“Do I have something on my face?”

“Oh.”

He looked at his own hand like it belonged to someone else, then slowly withdrew it with a faint smile.

“You just looked… beautiful.”

“Mm… well, I do have a pretty face.”

“Rita, you’ve gotten as shameless as me.”

“It still doesn’t feel like my face. It’s strange—I only see it in the mirror, so it still feels unfamiliar.”

“Which means you can make an objective judgment?”

“Exactly.”

“Too bad, mine wasn’t objective.”

“Of course not. You haven’t changed much—same face, and you’ve been living with it for four years.”

“I wasn’t talking about my face…”

Gide trailed off suddenly.

He turned to the window, his expression twisting as he radiated hostility, but with a deep breath, he reined it in.

“Gide? What’s wrong?”

“….”

After a long pause, he let out a bitter laugh.

“I swore I wouldn’t become like my father, but it’s amazing how easily I’m shaken… damn it.”

“What?”

“We don’t have much time left, Rita.”

Gide stood up, fetched a neatly folded robe from the corner, and draped it over her shoulders over her negligee.

“I have a lot to ask you. About your disappearance—was it really a kidnapping? And who is that maid who looks just like you?”

“That—”

“I’ll send an invitation to the meeting. Tell me then. Let’s meet again on the first.”

As he said that and straightened the robe around her, a loud bang sounded from outside. Gide clicked his tongue.

“Your brother’s got a temper. It’s gonna be a pain to keep this quiet.”

“My brother?”

“Yeah. Your second brother is just about to commit treason. Or maybe he already did? Witnesses, hmm…”

Rita’s face turned pale as she realized what he meant. Gide stepped to the window, grinning playfully.

“Don’t worry, Rita. Cleaning up messes is my specialty. I’ll make it like nothing ever happened.”

Then, opening the window, he looked down and waved cheerfully at someone below.

Only then did Rita realize there was someone outside. And at the same time, she realized her sensory perception had been limited entirely to indoors—a fact she hadn’t even noticed.

I didn’t notice anything outside, and yet felt no discomfort… Gide could do something like this? How? Why?

Before she could pursue those questions, someone climbed the wall and leapt through the window. Gide stepped aside with a calm smile.

It was Richard, eyes bloodshot, half-mad, clutching a sword. He perched on the windowsill, glaring at Gideon—until his eyes fell on Lillietta. His expression changed in an instant.

“Lili!”

He rushed to her and pulled her behind him, shielding her. With a face twisted with desperation and rage, he pointed his sword at Gideon.

“You bastard…!”

“Richie, stop!”

“Lili, I’m sorry I’m late. I should’ve come sooner.”

“No, wait, there’s been a misunderstanding—”

“It’s okay. I’ll take care of everything. You’ll be fine.”

Red aura rippled along the blade pointed at the crown prince. Gideon watched the siblings for a moment, then gave a relaxed smile.

“Playing the villain who kidnapped and imprisoned the princess has its charm. It’s enough to make me want to play the role properly.”