“Alon. The gods of the forgotten era did not die. They are merely imprisoned in a prison of time.”

Silence settled over Reinysius’s words.

“......What does that mean?”

“I’ll explain from the beginning.”

Alon asked back as if he couldn’t understand, and Reinysius placed the Foot That Runs Through the Past on the desk.

“As you know, after you left for the Empire, I began researching the Foot That Runs Through the Past, and before long I realized a few things.”

“.......”

“First, the Foot That Runs Through the Past does not summon a soul through a medium—”

“—it’s closer to sending a transmission to an Outer God still alive somewhere.”

As Alon picked up the inference Reinysius had drawn from studying the Foot That Runs Through the Past, Reinysius nodded with a stiff expression.

“That’s right. As I expected, this object does not summon souls. It is, in the end, closer to placing a one-way transmission.”

“A one-way transmission?”

“Yes. Through a medium, it places a transmission to a specific individual somewhere. And to a living target, at that.”

He continued his explanation.

“Once I realized that, I began steadily using magic to connect to Kylrus and trace where Kylrus’s true body was.”

“.......”

“But finding it wasn’t easy. More precisely, finding the rough location was easy enough, but going beyond that was difficult. Whenever I went to that specific place, the transmission would disappear as if it had vanished. So after making various deductions, I concluded Kylrus was in a subspace.”

“A subspace?”

“Yes. It’s somewhat complicated to explain, but I think it would be most accurate to call it a subspace fixed to a particular location.”

“Can I think of it as something like a hidden world?”

“It’s a little different, but for understanding the principle I’m about to explain, that comparison would be more convenient.”

“Hmm.”

“In any case, the moment I realized that, I changed the direction of my search and began blindly digging through the coordinates of that location with magic. As a result, I was able to find Kylrus in the gap. Or rather—”

Reinysius paused for a moment to steady his breath.

“—I was able to see countless beings in a subspace, trapped in a prison of time, with time itself stopped.”

“......And you rescued Kylrus from there?”

“Yes. Though in truth, ‘rescued’ may not be the best word. Aside from time having been stopped, Kylrus was in a state close to the height of its prime.”

Alon reorganized the explanation he had just heard inside his head.

“......Were you able to determine how that happened?”

“No. I only managed to save Kylrus.”

“Didn’t you say you saw others too?”

“I did. But I could not save them.”

“Why not?”

“It’s a bit complicated, but that subspace was divided into thousands of separate spaces.”

At that new information, Alon leaned forward.

“To put it simply, even if you can see them, unless you enter the exact coordinates, you cannot interfere with the other separated spaces.”

“So you mean the subspace has to be opened from a specific location in order to save the others?”

“Yes. That’s why I couldn’t save them.”

Hearing the answer, Alon closed his mouth for a moment and stroked his chin.

Reinysius watched him for a while before speaking again.

“Still, it’s not as though I gained absolutely nothing there afterward.”

“......Did you find something?”

At Alon’s question, Reinysius nodded and set a small flask in front of him.

A flask filled with something black, surging inside.

“......What is this?”

“Magic left behind in that subspace. Most likely, it belonged to whoever opened the subspace. And I was able to make a small deduction as well.”

“A deduction?”

“Yes. It is only my personal speculation, but would you like to hear it?”

When Alon silently nodded, the dragon spoke at once.

“No matter how I look at it, it seemed like a preparation.”

“......A preparation?”

“Yes. Though I do not know what it was preparing for.”

Reinysius continued slowly.

“When I entered that subspace, it wasn’t only the gods of the forgotten era who were there. There were figures from an even older past as well—ones I had never seen before.”

“.......”

“And most of them were in the same condition as Kylrus. No wounds at all, as if they had been imprisoned in that state at the height of their prime. Among them were even some whose strength I couldn’t begin to measure.”

“......So only the strong were selected and stored there?”

At Alon’s question, Reinysius nodded.

“Yes. And if so many powerful beings were preserved in that way—”

“......then it means they were preparing for some kind of moment?”

“That’s right. Otherwise, there would be no reason to go to such lengths. Still, even my deduction has certain flaws.”

“What flaws?”

“It does not explain how those preserved strong beings receive a certain power whenever the Five Great Sins appear, and why they temporarily descend into the outside world.”

“Ah.......”

“And in the end, it also fails to explain who exactly carried out something like this.”

At Reinysius’s addition, a low sound escaped Alon.

That part did indeed feel vague, belatedly so.

As Alon sank into thought—

“Would you like to confirm it yourself?”

“......Which part?”

“The gap.”

“......Can that be checked from here?”

“I found the coordinates, so peering in is possible. Of course, that doesn’t mean we can rescue anyone.”

At those words, Alon thought for a moment.

“If it’s possible, then I’d appreciate it.”

####

That was his answer.

Immediately afterward, Reinysius began drawing a massive magic circle on the floor of the office.

A magic circle so complex that even Alon couldn’t easily make sense of it.

And then, right after that, Reinysius spoke.

“────”

Words Alon could not understand.

And yet, there was clearly a murmur filled with a magic power that could not be resisted.

And in that instant—

Crunch—!

A black point began to appear before Alon.

The tiny point suspended in midair was so small that, if one merely passed by and glanced at it, one might think, Did I imagine that?

Only for a moment.

Riiip—!

The black point that had formed slowly began to tear open, and in an instant its size started growing. Soon the entire space ripped completely apart, and a gap was formed.

A gap filled with nothing.

And then—

“You can endure about one minute. After that, you’ll be thrown back out.”

Leaving Reinysius’s explanation behind, Alon stepped into the black gap without hesitation, and what he saw was—

“......?”

Stars hanging in a sky as dark as the Abyss.

As though it were a sky from before Divine blood had fallen,

or perhaps like the sky that had spread open when Alon used Reverse Heavens—

as he looked up at that sky, Alon—

“!”

—realized it.

No, that wasn’t right.

They weren’t stars.

They were—

“......!”

Countless lives.

Lives floating there, trapped inside white glowing membranes.

Alon stared blankly at the sky.

So many lives were trapped inside white glowing membranes that they could not be counted.

And those imprisoned in those white membranes were all people Alon did not properly know.

In the first place, it would have been strange if he had.

Everyone trapped in that sky had to be beings trapped in the past.

And so, while looking up at the sky—

“......?”

—Alon felt something a little strange.

Because in a place he should never have known, for some reason he saw a figure that felt familiar.

“......That.”

No, strictly speaking, it was closer to feeling that the imprisoned figure was familiar even though it did not actually look familiar.

For some reason, that someone gave off the feeling of having been with him for a very long time.

Regrettably, from Alon’s angle all he could see was the person’s back, but even so, it felt as if he knew who it was.

No, that wasn’t it.

He knew.

And so, the moment he unconsciously tried to raise his hand—

Tap—!

“Ah......”

Alon’s vision changed.

From that impossibly familiar back—

to a familiar ceiling.

“Did you enjoy the view?”

Reinysius asked, breathing a little heavily.

“Has it already been a minute?”

“Yes.”

“Is it possible for me to go in one more time?”

“Not right now. Even so, this consumes an enormous amount of magic.”

At Reinysius’s words, Alon looked at him properly only then.

Only a single minute had passed, and yet Reinysius’s body was drenched in sweat.

‘......Even a dragon can only keep it open for about a minute......?’

That surprise lasted only a moment.

“......My apologies. Then may I ask again next time?”

“Once I’ve recovered my magic, I’ll try opening it again.”

“And—”

As he listened to Reinysius speak, Alon picked up the flask Reinysius had set out.

“—may I take this flask with me?”

“I don’t mind...... but what do you intend to do with it?”

At Reinysius’s question, Alon answered—

“I’m thinking of asking someone who might know.”

—while taking the flask with him.

####

A few days after Alon finished speaking with the golden dragon—

“Ugh— it’s finally all done—!”

“You worked hard.”

“You too, Lord Alon......”

While Reinysius recovered his magic, Alon dealt with the stack of documents that had piled up until now. At last, as if a weight had finally lifted, he slumped into his chair.

But then—

“Lord Alon.”

“Evan.”

Only for a moment, though. He naturally turned °• N 𝑜 v 𝑒 l i g h t •° his gaze toward Evan, who had opened the door and walked in.

“Yutia came to see you.”

“......Yutia?”

That was how Evan delivered a piece of news that felt a little sudden.

“Yes. Had you heard she was coming?”

Without realizing it, Alon lifted his gaze slightly toward the sky as he thought.

But he had never had any such conversation with Yutia.

“No, I don’t think so.”

He shook his head from where he sat, but soon rose from his seat.

“But if she came all this way, there’s no need to fuss over that.”

“That’s true.”

“Where is she?”

“In the reception room.”

“Then let’s go...... though.”

Alon trailed off and turned his gaze to one side.

Because Penia was there.

Penia, whose face had gone pale despite looking delighted just a moment ago that the paperwork was finally done.

“......Penia?”

“Ah, yes—”

Alon tilted his head at the sight of her seeming frozen in place.

“Is something wrong?”

“Ah, n-no....... Nothing...... right......?”

“But then why the sudden change......?”

“I think...... suddenly...... I’m feeling...... very unwell.......”

Penia spoke like someone wasting away, as though waiting for the last leaf to fall.

And then—

“L-Lord Alon? I’ll just step out for a moment, alright?”

“......Suddenly? Where to?”

“Yes! I have something urgent to take care of!”

See you later! With that, she shot out like an arrow and vanished.

Alon and Evan were puzzled by the sight of her, but soon they both shrugged.

“Let’s go.”

“Yes.”

And they headed to where Yutia was.

A little later—

“Teacher.”

“Yutia.”

Alon was able to meet Yutia.

“Have you been well?”

“Yes, of course.”

“How long has it been since you returned from the Empire?”

“Hmm— not very long, really.”

The two exchanged light greetings.

But only for a moment.

“So then, what brings you here? You can’t have fully recovered from the fatigue of the journey yet.”

At Alon’s next words, Yutia let out a low little sigh.

“Well, the thing is, I’m temporarily unable to use my residence.”

“......Unable to use your residence?”

“Yes.”

“......Ah, come to think of it, the temple.”

“That’s right, so you already knew.”

With a sad expression—

......though for some reason, there was a small, peculiar smile at the corners of her mouth as she spoke.

“So since there’s a church here, I thought I might move here temporarily.”

“To the church?”

“Yes.”

......Wouldn’t it be enough to simply move somewhere else in Rosario? A person like Yutia should have more than enough influence for that, that thought crossed Alon’s mind, but he did not bring it up.

There might be a reason she couldn’t do that right now.

And so, inwardly sighing, Alon thought—

‘Ah, right. There were the castles.’

The great castle Alon would live in was not yet completed, but all the smaller castles around it had already been finished.

“Yutia, if you’re alright with it—”

Alon began to speak.

And the moment Yutia’s sad expression was just about to soften into a smile—

Creak—

The door opened.

“Godfather, so you were here?”

“......Rine??”

Rine had entered.

“......??”

Alon was bewildered by Rine’s sudden appearance.

But after giving him a small bow—

“Oh my, Yutia, you’re here?”

—she smiled at Yutia.

“......Rine.”

Yutia, too, looked at Rine.

Their gazes tangled in midair.

And then—

“......?”

Evan began to shiver all over at the sudden chill in the room.