It seemed that Kaichen really studied me thoroughly. I smiled bitterly. It was a relief that it was him, and not anyone else, that knew me in detail.  Even if everyone in the world knew about my terrible secrets, I only wanted Kaichen to understand. Even if he found out more secrets about me that he couldn’t make sense of easily, he would understand me far better than other people would.

“Huuf.. huff..!”

I ran through the eerie streets, but I couldn’t find the medium. The eyes of the people followed me as I ran in cold sweat. It felt like a scene from a horror movie.

“Where am I..!?”

I ran around for a long time looking for a living person, but even the rats in the alleyway were still, and there was not even a shadow of the medium. There was no wind, so I took off my thick clothes that were soaked in sweat. The sun was so warm that it was hard to believe that it was the cold northern region.

Wiping the sweat dripping down my chin with the back of my hand, I tried to calculate when the time magic had been activated. It must have been around three months ago. The snowstorm had started around that time, around the beginning of winter, which explained the warm weather.

“Haa… hah… where is he hiding…”

My poor stamina did not last long, and I shortly slumped to the ground. I glanced around.

The simple architecture was beautiful. All the buildings were made of solid wood and had spires akin to castles. Though I passed through a crowded street, it felt like there wasn’t anyone there. I couldn’t afford to leisurely admire its beauty.

‘This air is uncomfortable too, due to time magic,’ I noted. Although it seemed no different from the outside, having been trapped in similar time magic for about a hundred years, I could distinguish the subtle differences.

As I sat on the floor to catch my breath, I heard a rustling sound from a distance away. I turned my head and heard the sound of footsteps moving away, prompting me to subconsciously raise my mana.

“Wait!”

I didn’t have the stamina to run anymore! I let out a black beam of light which flew like an arrow and caught the person trying to escape. The only person who could move in a stopped world was a ‘medium’.

I let out a gasp as I looked at the man in the trap. He was terrified and pale, but he looked so pretty that the moment I saw him, my mouth hung wide open. His silky blonde hair, pale skin, and doe-like light brown eyes made him look like a prince from a shoujo manga.

‘So a man like this truly exists…’ If he hadn’t been wearing an outfit that barely revealed his upper body, it wouldn’t be strange if he was mistaken for a woman.

“Who—who are you?”

Unlike his refined appearance, he had a husky voice. I similarly remembered the moment I saw Kaichen save me. I didn’t know how long he’d been stuck in frozen time, beautiful I was him, I would’ve been rejoicing in tears to see a person who finally moves. Maybe, I would have grabbed that person by the leg and sobbed.

I spoke as I wiped the sweat from my forehead. “I’m here to save Hoiore.”

The medium shivered and bowed his head at my words. Was this person as moved as I was when I saw Kaichen, who appeared like a ray of hope between the two sides of the sky? I remembered running around, crying like a crazy woman as I rejoiced in the rain.

“Oh, I see… I expected… this day will come.”

However, unlike me at that time, this man didn’t seem so happy. He sounded perplexed, and his shoulders sagged as if he was shocked and was sapped off his energy.

“How much do you know about the current situation? Do you know… that you’re a medium of time magic?”

Not much was known about forbidden time magic. It was taboo even for wizards, and there was no way regular people had access to this information. But it would be a little different for mediums. There was a high chance that a wizard had approached him and explained it properly for the magic to manifest.

Since I didn’t have Dalia’s memories, I didn’t know the magician who had approached me or if I had even been attacked. If I had the memories, I would’ve known about Anteresse’s existence earlier and prepared for it.

‘First of all, he looks fine. He hasn’t gone crazy, right..?’

I squatted and lowered my head to make eye contact with the man as I released the trap. “I asked you too suddenly, right? I’m sorry. You’re the one who suffered the most from this magic…” I said soothingly. The man still didn’t look me in the eye.

“…..”

“What’s your name? I need your help to destroy this magic.”

“…..”

I took a deep breath as I looked at the man who continued to keep his mouth shut. It was frustrating, but I could tolerate it when I thought of how he had had to endure it alone in such a suffocating place. It would be confusing if I suddenly asked for help, so I introduced myself first.

“I’m not a dangerous person. I don’t know if you’ve heard of me, but my name is Dalia Alshine, Lord of Acrab… I’ve been stuck in time magic before, so I know how you feel.”