I and the Witch of Time Who Seeks the Past

Chapter 1 — Return to the Past (2)

Winter, 1920

Snow drifted down through a hole in the ceiling. I looked up — compared to 2030, the sky was just a paler blue and the air considerably colder.

"Still winter, then."

"Mm. But I'm not sure what will happen at this time."

"1920 is the post–World War I recovery period. Britain's economy is depressed, the capitalist classes are sharply divided — many workers are unemployed, and social problems are prominent."

I suddenly remembered Lijedahl wouldn't understand much of that; if I kept explaining, she'd be completely lost.

So I stopped my long-winded lecture and turned to her.

Sure enough, she looked at me with surprised eyes.

"You... how do you know so much? I don't quite follow."

"Uh, I studied history before, and I wrote down a lot of European history. You don't need to be so surprised."

"Ah..."

She still looked a little puzzled.

"Are you a scholar?"

I couldn't help but smile wryly.

"I'm not... well, it's hard to explain. In short, this is the postwar period, and it's also a time when the Church's power is waning."

"Oh... I see."

Only then did Lijedahl understand what I'd been saying.

For now, our plan was clear: get out of here, reach the city, and begin the investigation.

"sssh... ssssh."

A faint, small rustling — like leaves. Someone else might have assumed it was the wind, but I felt a difference.

Wind would disturb a wide sweep of leaves. This sound was localized, and it didn't quite sound like leaves moving.

"Lijedahl..."

"Will, just outside the opening above us, there are two people. Their mana flow is stronger than ordinary people's."

Lijedahl noticed faster than I did, though from a different angle.

"I understand."

I picked up my pistol — It was already loaded and ready to fire.

I didn't know what the two people were here for, but it's never bad to be cautious.

"Lijedahl, tell me their route and position."

"They're slowly approaching, still some distance from the opening. And... they're two females. I can see their mana flow — it's female."

"sssh... ssssh."

They were getting closer, and the sound grew louder.

I couldn't help but adjust my aim.

"Anna..! ... Looks like...."

"Huh? Really...? What about... that magical burst...?"

I could hear their conversation, though some of the words were unclear.

It sounded like they were here to investigate.

Gradually, I began to hear their footsteps.

"Will, they've reached the edge of the opening."

Lijedahl told me their position, and by then I had a good handle on things.

"Huh? Why is there such a big hole here?"

They came nearer.

In my sight, I saw a blonde girl peering toward the hole.

"Don't move!"

I shouted.

"Yah!"

She jumped, letting out a small scream.

"What's wrong! Yona!"

"Th—there's someone inside!"

The other girl — pale blue-haired — ran over.

"Don't move! I'll shoot otherwise!"

"Eek! No, please don't shoot! We're just passing by!"

They raised their hands to show they were only passing through.

"Will, grab my hand. We'll go up."

"Now? Okay, alright."

One hand on the pistol, the other grabbing hers, I took hold.

Lijedahl floated up and carried me toward the opening; my pistol never wavered.

She skillfully brought me to the hole above, then released me so I landed on solid ground. She descended beside me in a graceful motion. Together, we looked at the two girls.

"Goodness, Anna! Is that air magic?"

“Stop talking, Jona!”

I stepped forward and finally got a good look at them. The blonde girl, Jona, had beautiful blue eyes and long, neatly arranged hair that still held a hint of childhood sweetness. She wore a white dress beneath a padded white jacket, a short white cloak trimmed with yellow, and a pair of brown wool boots.

The pale-blue-haired girl, Anna, looked different—young, but without the childishness of the blonde. Her pale blue eyes were steady, her slightly messy short hair gave her a lazy air, and she wore black half-rim glasses along with a robe that covered her entire body. The robe looked thin, yet she didn’t seem cold.

I was surprised — they looked far too young to be able to use magic.

"What are you doing here?"

Lijedahl asked, while I kept the pistol trained on them and waited for an answer.

"We were just... out on a picnic and wandered in here by accident."

"... Are you sure?"

Lijedahl's expression said plainly, ‘Could your excuse be any worse?’

Of course, I felt the same way.

"Anna, you're really terrible at lying..."

The blonde muttered to the pale-blue-haired girl.

"...Can you just be quiet for a minute?"  the blue-haired girl replied helplessly.

Ugh. What is wrong with these two?

"Lijedahl, do we really need to treat these kids like this?"

"... Maybe don't point the— uh, gun at them."

I lowered the pistol.

The girls visibly relaxed and let their hands drop.

"Be honest. I can tell you know magic. So why are you here?"

Lijedahl asked again.

The two glanced at each other, and then the blonde spoke first.

"We came to see what happened. There was a massive magical reaction here a few days ago — almost every mage in Britain felt it."

She trembled, and her hands shook.

"A magical reaction?"

Lijedahl adopted her thoughtful pose, chin in her hand.

"Oh... so the Chronomantic Clock could do this..."

I looked at the two girls. They were calmer than they had been when I had a gun on them, but still nervous.

"So you're not here to attack us?"

I asked the blonde.

"N—no, we don't know you."

Seeing how terrified the blonde was, I thought for a moment and holstered the gun.

"Whew..."

I heard both of them breathe a sigh of relief.

"Okay, what did you mean by this magical reaction?"

"Huh? You don't know? I thought you were mages too. This was an extremely rare magical reaction caused by time magic, one of the lost magics…"

I glanced at Lijedahl. She had already thought things through; she looked at me, then addressed the girls.

"So you two are mages at such a young age?"

"Mm..."

"Then why didn't you use magic when we threatened you?"

"... Because our teacher said magic must not be used to harm others."

At that, Lijedahl turned, drew closer, and in a very low voice murmured in my ear, "These two children are well educated. I like them."

"Huh? What do you mean?"

I was puzzled — like them? How so?

"I mean, I don't think they'll hurt us, and they might even be able to help us."

"How can you be sure? And what are you planning to do?"

"I want to tell them I possess time magic, and persuade them to join us."

"Is that really a good idea? We don't even know who they are."

"Let's try. I should be able to convince them. If anything goes wrong, we can always find a way out."

She'd already spoken as far as she would — I had no choice but to agree.

Then she turned back to face the two girls.

"All right. You want to know what happened here, right?"

They glanced at each other again and nodded in unison.

"Okay, then I can tell you..."

Lijedahl bent and picked up a leaf from the ground. The leaf still had some snow on it; she shook it off and held it up before them.

Gradually, the leaf started to change. It went from a moist, light green to a brittle, dry brown. Its structure began to change as well, becoming a shriveled, dead leaf.

"Wow..."

The blue-haired girl gasped.

But it didn't stop. The dead leaf slowly shifted again, regaining a faint green and some moisture, and then it returned to its original form.

"I can tell you—I was the one who caused the time magic."