Chapter 122 …
Olivia carefully studied Rita’s complexion before cautiously opening her mouth.
“Max isn’t a musketeer—he’s a reinforcement type, just like in the Age of Ashes. But… his friend is a musketeer. That friend told me that Max also wrote a thank-you letter to you together with him, so I brought it separately.”
“A thank-you letter? Thank me for what?”
“You saved him from a doppelgänger. The red-haired special agent swordsman. Remember?”
“…That was Max?”
“Yes. Looks like you didn’t recognize him. Well, you only know Max Pascal’s childhood face. He’s twenty-four now… his hair color has changed, and his appearance too. But once you know it’s him and look closely, you’ll realize—ah, it really is Max.”
Olivia took out the letter she had kept aside and placed it on top of the bundle. Rita read the name written on the envelope.
Maxwell Rowan.
Her head went blank.
Olivia’s subdued voice continued.
“But Rita, keep this in mind. He doesn’t know you at all. It’s better if you pretend not to know him either. ‘Maxwell Rowan’ isn’t Max Pascal. For him, the events of the Age of Ashes never happened. ‘Maxwell Rowan’ was never even summoned by Pascal.”
“…”
“It seems that unless one is a returnee, being dragged into the Age of Ashes becomes something that never happened. Only if you successfully return does that summoning become a ‘fact.’”
“…But if it works like that, doesn’t cause and effect and the flow of time become completely arbitrary?”
“Yeah, it’s a complete mess. I guess it just means that fixing the past from the future isn’t easy.”
The mage crooked her lips into a wry smile.
“What do you think it means that Pascal couldn’t return a single one of all those people? No matter what nonsense he tried by summoning heroes of the past, history itself never changed. To the point where the summoning itself became something that never existed. The fact that we succeeded is an exception in every way.”
“…”
Rita picked up the letter addressed to Maxwell Rowan.
She recalled the red-haired special agent who had vomited slime, then panicked at the sight of her and swung his sword, calling her a monster.
The Max Pascal of her memories was much younger, more boyish, but far less clumsy or rash. That blond boy had been wiser and more cautious than the redheaded young man.
Yet he died. Unlike Maxwell before the doppelgänger, the Max before the mimic died in a horrifying way.
Because the fourteen-year-old Rita Pascal who had stood beside him then was far too weak and immature compared to who she was now.
Her first encounter with a named beast. The first time she witnessed a friend die before her eyes. The reason she instinctively reacted to the scent of patchouli ever since.
Lillieta held her breath as she stared at the name etched into her nightmare, then set the letter down and exhaled.
Watching her reaction, Olivia deliberately lightened her tone.
“Well then, my friend, even if you happen to run into people you knew back then, don’t panic. Just pretend you don’t.”
“…Okay.”
“The musketeers are looking forward to your reply, so please take care of that homework. And if possible, I’d like you to help train them too… but with the ‘Actor’ operation, it’ll still be impossible for a while, even if the Special Knights are officially announced at the Founding Festival. For now, that’s the safest approach.”
Olivia clicked her tongue shortly. Rita suddenly lifted her head.
“Oli, that reminds me—there’s something I need to tell you. About a way to approach Pascal.”
Rita explained Hannah’s proposal and her resolve. Olivia’s eyes widened, then narrowed. She started to adjust imaginary glasses before stopping midway, then said:
“That’s a really useful idea.”
“What do you think?”
“What do I think? We should do it immediately!”
“There are safety and trust issues, though.”
“Safety? Well, didn’t you hear from Ethan? That guy has no intention of harming Hannah for now. She’s his blood—he’s determined to use her carefully. Which means he won’t discard her easily.”
“Hmm…”
“And if she really is the Archduke’s blood and thus becomes his daughter by status, Pascal in the Adicle faction would find it even harder to hurt her. Of course, he’ll try to exploit her in every possible way instead… but as she said, if we place restrictions, it’ll be fine. Even if she’s possessed, she won’t be able to betray us.”
“Restrictions? Do we even have the means for that?”
“They were wiped out in the Age of Ashes, but in this era, there are still ancient magical tools being excavated. One of them is called the ‘Scales of Transaction.’ It lets you trade intangible things like loyalty or life.”
“So that really existed.”
“Yeah. Pascal’s research facility had a book called Encyclopedia of Ancient Artifacts with excavation sites listed. I memorized the useful ones and found them after returning. Grace—the artifact—was also made from relics I found that way.”
“You even gathered ancient relics? You’ve been busy. Grace was incredibly useful, too.”
“Heh. I didn’t just laze around for four years, you know.”
Olivia answered with the smug look of a satisfied cat, shrugging her shoulders.
“The ‘Scales of Transaction’ were single-use tools used by the upper class of ancient civilizations for deals, so there were plenty of excavation sites. Some were already empty, but I found two and stashed them away. We can use one now.”
“Can you set a specific duration with it? Like—until Pascal’s threat disappears, you won’t betray Beacon in exchange for gold?”
“Of course. Actually, when Hannah first wrote to you—when we suspected she might be Pascal’s possession—I already considered using the Scales on her as a safeguard. But since we wanted to catch Pascal in the act of trying to possess her, I put it on hold…”
She rubbed her lips and added:
“But now that it’s clear he’s not in the future but returned with us to this era, if Hannah herself volunteers to act as a spy, it’s better to use it now.”
“…I see. But will it really be okay?”
“If you’re worried, we can assign Ethan to her as both guard and monitor. The Adicle ducal castle is so suspicious that even our ghosts couldn’t infiltrate. But if someone is inside cooperating, then investigation becomes possible. And if Hannah gets possessed, Ethan would notice immediately.”
“Yeah, that would be reassuring in many ways.”
“Though, don’t you think Ethan won’t like this mission much? That snot-container mistook Hannah for you during your return and got mad, didn’t he?”
“Well, since he did that, following Hannah and helping her is the perfect chance to atone.”
“True. If you order him, he’ll grumble but obey—because he’s Ethan.”
Olivia snorted and wrapped up the discussion.
“Then I’ll organize this and share it with the other Beacons. Once you confirm Gide’s verification results, tell Hannah… No, wait. She’ll also need an explanation about the Scales of Transaction and intel on Pascal. I’ll draft a document and send it with the Scales.”
“Alright, I’ll deliver it to Hannah. And I’ll explain to Ethan separately.”
“Good. If this works, we can scrap the Actor operation. A lot of people will be relieved.”
Olivia smiled wryly.
After Olivia left, Lillieta lay in bed recovering while working on the homework she had left behind.
Reading the musketeers’ letters—full of admiration and questions—and writing replies was unexpectedly enjoyable.
The letters from old Beacon members who had died to the Kraken in the Age of Ashes were especially moving.
To think I’d get to see them again… Of course, they aren’t exactly the same people as back then.
They didn’t know her and wrote like ordinary correspondents, but just seeing their names brought back vivid memories of their personalities, habits, strengths, and weaknesses.
This time, I won’t let them be sacrificed in vain like in the Age of Ashes. Which means… I’ll have to make them stronger.
Through those letters, Rita could roughly gauge the current level and shortcomings of the Trittoma musketeers.
Hmm, they’ll need additional training in this area…
If the Actor operation were truly scrapped, then with her family’s approval, she could bring Lascaille into the Crown Prince’s faction.
By then, the Trittoma Special Knights would be formally announced, and she could officially join as well—leading both the struggling musketeer juniors and the comrades who had never returned.
Imagining that moment, Rita unconsciously drew up personalized training plans. Even then, she still had time to spare.
It’s boring just lying down.
She had finished her homework too quickly. Wondering what else she could do from bed, she decided to review the battle from the recent Pioneering Festival.
I might’ve missed some details because of the pain.
As she retraced events, she realized that crafting hooks or sniper parts had been a little easier and faster than during the Age of Ashes.
No doubt it was thanks to her odd affinity now being beyond standard levels.
If I practice shaping with my original body, I might get even better at it. That would expand my options on the battlefield.
To achieve near-optimal efficiency even with the best choices, she needed to become stronger than ever. Especially now that there were more people to protect, and since they would eventually have to face Pascal.
