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Chapter 14

After the war ended, there were so many places we said we'd go, so many things we said we'd do—so why had he been bored?

In truth, I already knew the answer.

It was likely the same reason I felt melancholy whenever those promises came to mind.

Seeing my darkened expression, Isid laughed softly and gently rubbed my forehead.

"That's just how it was back then. I was tired in all sorts of ways."

"…Yeah."

I knew it was more than that, but I could feel him trying to comfort me, so I nodded as if I didn't notice.

Instead, I made a suggestion.

"You're not going to sleep anymore, are you?"

"Not with you here."

"Then let's go to my place together."

From the start, I'd never intended to live apart from Isid. A life without him was unthinkable.

Isid accepted my proposal.

"I was planning to anyway."

His matter-of-fact answer wasn't absurd—it was satisfying. I knew he'd think the same as me.

Unlike when I'd borrowed Rani's power to come here, Isid took charge of the way back. Thanks to the magic he'd infused into me, my body felt better, but that had only been a temporary fix—and besides, when we traveled together, Isid usually handled the transportation anyway.

That's what overflowing magic is for.

"Oh, you'll need to ask Rani for the coordinates."

"No need. I know them."

I opened my mouth to say "Ah," but Isid answered lightly. I paused at his response.

"…You know? Where my house is?"

"Yeah."

I blinked and asked again, but the answer was the same.

"I see…"

I murmured somewhat foolishly and nodded.

In truth, it was foolish of me to think Isid wouldn't know the capital's coordinates.

'…He must have visited, since there's a residence in the capital.'

I now knew well that this time I was breathing and living in was a future five hundred years from the era I remembered—but experiencing the gap between me and Isid in this way felt strange.

Perhaps it was because the Isid before my eyes hadn't changed at all from before—though he'd shrunk his appearance to match mine.

"Roel."

"Y-yeah?"

At his sudden call, I snapped my head up. Isid chuckled and reached out his hand.

"Come here. You need to hold on."

"Oh, right. Of course."

I gave a slightly flustered reply and quickly stepped closer, taking his hand.

The sensation of our intertwined hands was soft and delicate, a bit unfamiliar—but just knowing it was Isid's hand put my mind at ease.

"You might get dizzy."

"I still have my memories, you know."

"You're small now. You need to be more careful."

He wasn't wrong, but… why did it feel so odd?

I made a vague expression, then nodded—and Isid laughed briefly.

But there was no time to ask why he was laughing.

Hmm—

The immense magical energy Isid drew up enveloped my entire body, and in an instant, my vision flashed white.

---

When I opened my eyes again, we were in front of the familiar estate.

"Oh… Right in front."

"I told you I knew."

"But wouldn't it have been better to go straight to my room?"

As I expressed my pure admiration, a sudden thought struck me, and Isid paused.

"…You're right."

Hearing his agreement, it was nearly impossible not to laugh.

"What's this, really? Why are you suddenly so sloppy?"

After laughing heartily and patting Isid's arm for a while, I finally calmed down and cleared my throat.

"Ahem. Anyway, that's my room over there. Let's sleep together today, and I'll tell my family tomorrow. I'll need to come up with an excuse too…"

As I said that, gesturing toward the side where my room was—

I looked up and let out a dumbfounded sound.

"Huh?"

There was a figure on the balcony of my room.

I narrowed my eyes and looked again.

"…What?"

I thought I might have been mistaken, but it was definitely a person. And they were moving…

Wait—someone's in my room at this hour?

A wave of instinctive unease washed over me.

An intruder? Considering the level of security at our house, that was about as likely as Werner becoming taciturn.

Then that—no, that person—

Just as my subconscious arrived at a possibility, goosebumps shot up my back.

"What's wrong?"

Isid slowly wrapped his arm around my trembling back.

And then—

"…Ah."

As the figure turned around, our eyes seemed to meet—and they jumped down.

"Huff."

I reflexively gasped and followed the figure with my eyes, my own widening.

For a moment I doubted my vision, but my eyesight was fine.

The person who had leaped from my balcony was—my father.

'…Oh no.'

I instinctively grabbed Isid's arm tightly.

Now, here's the problem: how bad is my situation right now?

The answer: "needless to say, very bad."

First of all, the fact that Father had noticed my absence was already disastrous—and before I could even think of an excuse, I'd been caught with Isid.

"Rowena!"

As I trembled, Father called out loudly and began striding toward us.

His face was rigid with barely concealed fury, and I reflexively flinched.

"We're doomed…"

I muttered quietly, and I felt Isid let out a small laugh.

Is this funny now? We're doomed.

I wanted to whisper that to him, but Father was closing in in real time.

And the problem didn't end there.

"Rowel!"

From my balcony, Werner and Kizef also jumped out!

'…What is this.'

Like a string of sausages, three of them from my room…

I stared dumbfounded as the two—no, three—rushed toward me.

The sun hadn't even risen yet—why were they all awake? And how had they noticed my absence? Had they known the moment I slipped out? No, that couldn't be…

In any case, the conclusion was one: 'I'm really done for.'

As I screamed internally, Father reached us, with Kizef and Werner close behind.

I gave an awkward smile and hesitantly raised my hand.

"G-good morning, Father…"

Normally, Father would have smiled faintly and lifted me up—but now he stared at Isid with an icy expression. Then he reached out toward me.

"Rowena. Come here."

His low voice was laced with clear wariness.

That sharp vigilance was naturally directed at Isid, standing beside me.

Of course, Father's caution was only natural—his young daughter had disappeared in the middle of the night and reappeared with some boy.

But the truth was, I wasn't really a child, and I'd known Isid longer than Father had been alive.

Of course, I couldn't exactly explain that.

Caught in a bind, I glanced back and forth between Father and Isid.

Father's expression was still sharp, and Isid… looked utterly unconcerned. At this moment, it seemed his attention was solely on me.

Behind Father were Kizef and Werner, looking even angrier.

"Rowel. Listen to Father. Come here now."

"Yeah. Don't stay next to some strange guy you don't even know."

A strange guy…

When I didn't move, the glares directed at Isid grew fiercer.

'…Ah, what do I do.'

I knew I'd have to explain to Father if I wanted to bring Isid home—we'd even discussed it earlier.

The only thing I hadn't anticipated was that my family would notice my absence so quickly.

By my calculations, this kind of garden encounter wasn't supposed to happen.

'How did they even find out? They shouldn't have sensed anything.'

That was very strange, but what mattered now was getting out of this situation.

After a moment of deliberation, I grabbed Isid's hand firmly. Ignoring his slightly surprised look, I blurted out:

"He's my… my only friend!"

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