CHAPTER 520: SIDE STORY - BEYOND TIME (1)

0% The seemingly endless coronation ceremony had already passed by a few months ago.

One morning—

“I told you many times already, didn’t I? That’s impossible.”

“And I told you many times too! No matter how I think about it, it seems possible!”

Still half-asleep, I descended to the first floor of the mansion, only to find Serena and Irina engaged in a heated debate so early in the morning.

“It’s not happening.”

“It is happening!”

The first-floor living room was piled high with mountains of documents, and the chalkboard beside them was filled with countless formulas and calculations.

Judging by their flushed expressions, it was clear that they had encountered an academic disagreement.

The fact that they were on opposing sides was quite unusual.

Until now, the two had never clashed in this kind of situation.

Whenever Serena formulated an impossible magical equation, Irina would always find a way to make it work.

That had been their dynamic up until now.

“What are you two doing? Where is everyone else?”

“Oh, honey. We were just having a light discussion.”

“Frey? You’re up early.”

Curious as to why their flawless system had suddenly cracked, I asked out of interest.

At that, both women turned to me, their faces slightly weary.

“Ruby went out shopping. It’s her and Roswyn’s turn to prepare breakfast today.”

“The others left a little while ago too. Apparently, they lack the refinement to appreciate our high-level discussion.”

“I see.”

Rather than lacking refinement, they probably just had a survival instinct.

Whenever these two started a discussion, it was common for day and night to change several times before they reached a conclusion.

“So, what’s the topic of debate?”

“Ah, well...”

As I posed the question again, Serena gave me a slightly troubled look before answering.

“Time travel.”

“...What?”

“Frey, listen to me. Time travel might actually be possible!”

The words that came out of her mouth were so unexpected that I was momentarily dumbfounded.

Seeing my bewildered expression, Irina turned to me with an excited look.

“Roswyn taught Serena something interesting the other day. I just applied it a little differently...”

“Wake up from your dream, Irina.”

“No, just hear me out! Technically, I’ve already succeeded in time travel once before!”

If it had been anyone else, I would have just laughed it off.

But the person making this claim was none other than Irina—Serena’s equal in genius, a complete eccentric, and currently the greatest Archmage.

So, I couldn’t help but pay attention.

“Do you remember the Third Ordeal? The one I accidentally activated? The formula I created back then—it was a kind of key.”

“A key?”

“A key to bypassing the ancient magic that prevents time from being rewound in this world. In other words, a loophole in the Management System.”

“Hmm...”

“‘Hmm’ is not the right reaction here! If you think about it carefully, it’s actually simple. That is—“

From that point on, her words became a tangled mess of complicated technical jargon and formulas, making it difficult for me to follow, no matter how much I tried to concentrate.

Now I understood why everyone else had run away.

“In summary, Irina’s formula bypasses ancient magic—the fundamental laws of the world. Using that, we could theoretically travel through time.”

“...That’s exactly it, Serena!”

Just as I felt my brain overheating, Serena mercifully summarized it, allowing me to grasp the core idea.

“If that’s true, then it’s incredible.”

I said it with a smile, but if her claim was accurate, then it was truly remarkable.

To my knowledge, across all dimensions, there had never been a power capable of reversing time.

Only the system, the management system, had ever been capable of such a feat.

And yet, someone who wasn’t an omnipotent cosmic entity had found a way to manipulate it.

It would be a monumental discovery on a multiversal scale.

“I told you already. Time travel is impossible.”

“You—you literally just admitted that it is possible!”

“I was only explaining your hypothesis.”

I considered clapping in admiration, but Serena, wearing a dark expression, began refuting Irina with an unusually firm voice.

“To begin with, there are errors in your formula. Here, here, and here.”

“I-I know there are flaws in the formula! But if you refine it—“

“No. I’ve verified it several times, but no matter how I adjust it, the entire formula collapses. The structure itself is fundamentally unsound.”

“Then what about the Third Ordeal? How do you explain that?”

“The system assisted us back then, which is why it worked.”

“Are you telling me the system deliberately sabotaged itself? That it had will?”

Even under Serena’s relentless counterarguments, Irina persisted in her rebuttals.

Her eyes were gleaming—her insatiable thirst for knowledge had been ignited once more.

“Frey, does the system have a will?”

“...What?”

“You, of all people, should know the answer.”

Her scholarly drive, however, was quickly doused by the chilling tone of Serena’s voice—and by my presence.

“...It does.”

At first, I wanted to say no.

The system I had interacted with had been controlled by the Demon God, who had hidden malevolent intentions within it.

“Are you certain?”

But when I considered Glare’s existence and the being I had met at the coronation, the correct answer was obvious.

“Yeah, I’m sure.”

“Mm... I see. That’s disappointing...”

Hearing my firm response, Irina visibly deflated.

Who would believe that this dejected woman was the Great Dragon Lord?

“Besides, does it really matter? We don’t even need time travel right now. It might even be dangerous.”

“W-Well, you’re right... I suppose.”

As I patted her head reassuringly, Irina pursed her lips but eventually nodded.

Her tail, which she had temporarily retracted due to her recent surge in power, swayed gently. It seemed that a simple head pat was enough to lift her mood.

The Great Dragon Lord wagging her tail from head pats—  If the warriors of the old Nivelia family, who once fought dragons, saw this, they’d be speechless.

Or, considering the last descendant of that family still indulged in her... creative passions, they might actually enjoy it.

“I-I should head to the Magic Tower now.”

“You’re leaving already? What about breakfast?”

Still absentmindedly petting Irina, I asked with slight disappointment when she suddenly perked up and started preparing to leave.

“I’ve been really busy handling the transition at the Tower... But I promise I’ll be back for dinner.”

With a wave, Irina left the mansion.

Watching her leave, I muttered to myself.

“...Seeing off my wife as she goes to work. This feels oddly surreal like I’m some useless husband.”

“Hey, Frey.”

“Hm?”

Just as I scratched my head, preparing to leave, Serena, who had been sitting on the couch, suddenly called out to me.

“Did I do the right thing?”

“...”

Her face had stiffened slightly.

“Was it actually possible?”

“...It’s not impossible. If I dedicated my entire life to it, I might be able to complete it.”

Serena stood up and walked toward the chalkboard covered in formulas.

“But it’s too dangerous. In so many ways.”

Extending her hand, she quietly whispered—

“But... if—just if—something were to happen to us...”

Her voice trembled slightly.

“If we think about what happened a few months ago, then having an emergency plan...”

“No.”

I walked over and took her hand, smiling softly.

“That won’t happen.”

“But—“

“That’s what I gained this power for.”

At that moment, my newly acquired power flowed into her, making Serena’s eyes widen.

“Will you be leaving us?”

“This power exists so I can stay with you all.”

Serena’s teary moonlit eyes met mine.

“I will always love you, no matter how long time flows.”

And as her mana erased the formulas on the board, she whispered—

“I love you, Frey...”

“I was planning to say this when everyone was together.”

As Serena nestled into my embrace with an expression as if she had just been confessed to for the first time, I scratched my head and glanced at the now-clean chalkboard before casually asking—

“By the way, about that formula.”

“Hm?”

“Is there a chance someone else might discover it like Irina did?”

At my question, Serena shook her head.

“Irina only found that formula through an extreme series of coincidences. It’s unlikely anyone will ever rediscover it—not until the end of time.”

“And if, by some chance, someone stumbles upon Irina’s incomplete formula?”

“It would still be impossible.”

I raised an eyebrow at her firm response, but Serena only gave me a quiet smile.

“Honestly, even I wouldn’t be able to complete it.”

“Really?”

“So don’t worry.”

Only then did I finally relax, letting go of the slight tension in my expression. As we walked up to the second floor together, a stray thought crossed my mind, and I muttered under my breath—

“By the way, have you decided on names for the children? It’s been months since they were born... We should probably register them soon.”

There’s no way a genius surpassing Serena will be born, right?

“Frey?”

“Ah, yeah. I mean...”

It was a completely baseless concern—

But one that would probably be irrelevant for at least the next ten thousand years.

.

.

.

.

.

Meanwhile, near the Starlight Mansion’s forest

-  Crackle! Crackle!

In the remote, uninhabited forest, a blinding flash of light erupted for a fleeting moment, illuminating the surroundings with astonishing brilliance.

“Ugh...”

“Cough, cough...”

And as the light began to fade—

“What... What did you do, Arte?”

“This was supposed to be a game of tag, not combat training...”

“What kind of mess did you get us into this time?”

“You are so dead when Mom finds out.”

A chorus of grumbling voices from children filled the air.

“Sorry! I was trying to use a teleportation scroll, but I must have grabbed the wrong one!”

The girl they called Arte—a silver-haired girl with moonlit eyes—rummaged through her belongings while mumbling.

“But what did I even pull out? A flash scroll? No, I left that one behind... Then—wait, was it an explosive scroll?”

“W-Who the hell uses explosions in a game of tag?!”

“Tch, you just didn’t want to get caught, didn’t you?”

“...Huh?”

Judging by their skeptical glares, this wasn’t the first time Arte had pulled a stunt like this.

Then suddenly—

“Wh-Why was this in my pouch...?”

Arte, who had been chuckling sheepishly while inspecting the scroll she had just used, suddenly froze. Her pupils trembled.

“T-This was something I was researching in secret... Did it get mixed up in my stuff? Then... does that mean... this place is...?”

“Arte, explain. Now.”

“Yeah, where are we? This place looks similar to where we were, but something feels off.”

“Don’t tell me... you created another pocket dimension like last time?”

As the other children bombarded her with questions, Arte, now sweating profusely, hesitated.

“U-Um, well...”

Then, abruptly, she spread her arms wide, forced an awkward smile, and shouted—

“T-Time travel!”

A long, heavy silence followed.

“...S-Success. T-Te-hee~...”

Drenched in cold sweat, Arte stammered the word under her breath and then clamped her mouth shut, nervously gauging their reactions.

“”...””

She had desperately tried to avoid losing in a simple game of tag—

Only to accidentally drag all her half-siblings into a multidimensional catastrophe.

“”...You’re joking, right?””