Ardiana pondered Lucarion’s words.
A crack.
A grand spell that distorts the flow of ti was never simple.
At least, in all the history she knew, there had never been a single person capable of realizing such magic.
Ardiana stared intently at Lucarion.
‘That day, it was you too?! On the Elderin Plains, you wiped us all out...!’
That was what Ribia had said.
That Lucarion was the one who destroyed the future Tregava.
And the monster that had tried to kill both Theseos and Astie.
‘But it doesn’t add up.’
Right now, Lucarion did not seem hostile toward Tregava.
Rather, judging by the circumstances, he was still protecting Astie.
"I have a question."
As she spoke, all eyes turned toward her.
"Not about Astie. About you."
In the end, that was the conclusion.
Until now, everything Lucarion had said had only been about Astie.
How she had lived in another world.
What position the child had been left in after Theseos’s death.
And why, in the end, she had been forced to return to Tallocium.
‘But that’s not the most important part.’
What mattered now was sothing else—bringing back Astie and Theseos, who had been dragged into another world.
And for that, the caster’s intent—Lucarion’s—was the most important thing.
"Are you our enemy? As Ribia said."
Lucarion flinched.
His head slowly lowered.
"I..."
A barely audible voice slipped from his lips.
"I cannot live without Astie."
Deep confusion wavered in his eyes.
"That is all I can answer."
But for Ardiana, that was enough.
"I understand."
After answering, she turned to the others.
"When we dealt with the heart of the magic crystal, Lucarion helped ."
Silence fell over the square.
"If he truly intended to harm Theseos and Astie, he would not have helped in that situation."
Ribia, who had been listening with a frown, let out a breath.
"Ribia."
At that mont, Alleric called to her carefully.
Ribia pressed her lips together, then gave a faint nod.
"...Fine. We’ll set that aside for now."
She stood up, as if she had no other choice.
"So what do we do now?"
She looked around at the others.
"We need to bring back my lady and the squad leader, don’t we!"
And at that mont—
A faint rustling sound ca from behind.
Ribia turned and frowned.
From a crack between the stones, sothing was crawling out, swaying unsteadily.
"Kyu! Kyuuut...!"
It was Pupu, with a displeased expression.
Pupu was dragging along Tie’s small backpack.
And then—
[Oh! So you’re all here! I’ve been looking for you everywhere!]
As if waiting for that mont, Marbas rolled out of the bag.
"Look! Look at this!"
Tie stared at Grandma with wide eyes.
The old woman tapped the photos attached to the refrigerator with a scratcher.
"Can’t you see? That’s all you, Kim! Here—you’re sitting with Tie on the steps!"
Grandma pointed at a photo taken when Tie was still very small.
When she had just begun to walk—they were sitting with Papa at the entrance of the house.
"If that’s not you, then who is it!"
Grandma thumped her chest.
But Papa only remained silent.
And Tie understood him.
‘It’s very, very hard for Papa too.’
Strictly speaking, the Papa in front of her had never been to the Republic of Korea.
The one who had lived here with Tie was Papa from the future, not this young one.
"I’m going to lose my mind!"
But for Grandma, who did not know the whole situation, it was unbearable.
She rummaged through her bag and pulled out an old phone.
Wrinkled fingers opened the worn leather case and tapped the screen.
"Here, look!"
A video from the gallery appeared before Papa.
‘Bu-ba, paa! Appu-u!’
‘Oh, well done! Our Tie is so clever! Kim, did you hear that!’
‘Yes.’
Theseos watched the video in silence.
A baby wrapped in cloth babbled.
Curly platinum hair, green eyes like fresh spring shoots.
It was Tie.
And the man opposite her, unable to hide the moisture in his eyes...
"...Hah."
His head began to throb, and Theseos frowned.
‘That’s .’
And that only made it stranger.
He swore to the heavens—he had never been here.
And yet, while they were walking here, he had truly felt sothing strange.
As if every piece of the scenery felt vaguely familiar.
‘Have I really gone mad from hallucinations?’
"Here, look at this one too!"
The old woman pushed the brightly glowing phone toward him again.
Another video began to play.
‘You’re eating well, our daughter.’
Theseos was feeding little Tie from a bottle.
The girl, enjoying the milk, tightly held his little finger.
Soft breathing ca from the speaker.
The video changed.
‘Kim Tie. Papa told you—can you run by the door or not?’
‘Nooo...’
Another.
‘Rock, paper, scissors!’
‘What? Papa lost? I’ll definitely win next ti. Again!’
‘Rock, paper, scissors!’
‘Oh! Tie finally lost! Co here, I’ll tickle you.’
‘Ahaha—haha!’
The videos kept changing, one after another.
But only one thing changed in them—the child’s appearance.
In the next video, and the next.
Tie was always beside Theseos.
Theseos lying in the room in casual clothes.
Theseos playing with the child in the alley.
Theseos hugging her and kissing her cheek.
"Kim, how did you end up like this!"
With a snap, the old woman closed the phone and stared at Theseos in confusion.
Seeing her desperate expression, Tie also grew downcast.
Grandma turned to Tie.
"Does this make any sense? What kind of father forgets his own daughter...!"
Suddenly, she stopped speaking.
Her face turned serious.
She stepped closer to Tie.
"Child, then."
"..."
"All this ti... you couldn’t even call him Papa?"
Tie pressed her lips tightly together.
Her eyelids trembled, and soon tears welled up on her lashes.
"...What is this."
Grandma from 107, Chae Boksu, hurriedly pulled Tie into an embrace.
Turning her head, she saw the young neighbor standing there, frozen like stone.
Her chest felt heavy.
‘What am I supposed to do now?’
What was even happening?
Her old, rigid mind could not keep up with it.
And not only that—
‘Kim definitely died...!’
As if rembering sothing, she abruptly stood up, still holding Tie in her arms.
And hurriedly opened the drawer of the old television cabinet.
After Tie disappeared, she had kept the urn with the ashes there.
But inside, it was empty.
As if nothing had ever been there.
"W-what nonsense is this...!"
Chae Boksu swallowed and turned around.
For a mont, the mory of their first eting overlapped with Theseos’s face.
‘Hey! What are you doing right now?!’
Back then, she had been running a small street stall in the alley.
It was cold, but she had no choice—and that was why she had stopped Theseos that day.
‘In tis like these, and you’re stealing! I’ll call the police right now!’
But Theseos had not been alone when he {N•o•v•e•l•i•g•h•t} turned around.
In his arms was a baby, not even a hundred days old.
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