Chapter 229: The Beginning of the Academy’s New Term (4)

Chapter 229: The Beginning of the Academy’s New Term (4)

If you head south along the great river that cuts through the Hawol Plain, you’ll come across the villages of the Black Cat Tribe and the Yua Tribe.

Historically, those two tribes had been at odds with each other, frequently clashing over territorial disputes... But the explorer Kayla knew a significant secret about the relationship between those two tribes.

And that was.

"Kyaa, this is it!"

When you brew a drink by mixing musk coffee cultivated by the Black Cat Tribe with black beads grown by the Yua Tribe, it created an extraordinary vodka.

"What a unique human."

"Does that taste good?"

"Tsk. Tsk."

The villagers of the Black Cat Tribe clicked their tongues as they watched Kayla drinking musk bead liquor on the ground in broad daylight.

"It's a pity they don’t know this taste."

Wanderer.

Or drifter.

Or explorer. Or a homeless person.

Or... Time traveler.

She loved wandering the world aimlessly, but due to some circumstances, she was stuck in the Karacornia Mountains for a long time.

It had been decades since she last tasted foreign liquor.

Thanks to meeting some girls with a special destiny, she successfully completed her 'business' in Karacornia and returned to wander the Hawol Plain, spending her days acquiring and drinking various liquors.

The Hawol Plain was densely populated with various tribes, each having its own distinct drinking culture, allowing her to taste a wide variety of liquors. This was why she loved this place so much.

"Hmm. It feels a bit different from the last time I was here."

Somehow, the cultures of these tribes seemed almost unified, as if a powerful ruler had appeared and united them all into one group. But that wasn’t a major concern.

"As long as the liquor tastes good, that’s all that matters!"

Returning to the Hawol Plain, Kayla wandered around, enjoying strong liquor all night long.

She frequented places known for their famous liquors or where she could brew her own.

With her bronze skin and cheerful demeanor, she would strike up conversations with anyone and make light-hearted jokes, easily making friends with the tribes. This was her secret to getting free drinks without spending a dime.

About a week passed like this.

"Ugh... What the...?"

One day, as usual, Kayla woke up on the street after drinking herself into oblivion. She wiped the drool from her cheek.

"Ugh. Hangover."

Her head throbbed as if someone was hammering her skull. Struggling with nausea, she realized that she was in a very unfamiliar place.

She didn’t like the look of it at all.

Kayla had the ability to see the past. She always witnessed the 'history.’ Because of this, she avoided places where bad incidents had happened long ago.

On battlefields, she saw the vivid sights of countless dying people, and in places struck by disasters, she heard the screams of people in anguish.

No one could endure such sights and sounds with a clear mind.

"... I’m out of liquor too."

Even though her stomach churned with the hangover, she wanted to quickly get drunk again to stay in a daze.

Struggling to her feet, she looked around.

This place was a cold, desolate ruin with no sign of life.

Even though she had been drunk, how did she end up here?

The city had been destroyed about half a year ago. Until then, it had been a lively city full of laughter.

One day. Suddenly.

A mana power plant collapsed.

The moment the power plant that supplied the city with magical energy exploded was vividly imprinted in Kayla’s eyes.

No matter how much she wanted to avoid it.

No matter how she turned away.

No matter how she closed her eyes.

The echoes of the past kept tormenting her.

"... Sigh."

Kayla plopped back down and grimaced as she felt her head throbbing.

"Isn't that obvious? The Twelve New Moon were born that day!"

"No. It’s not obvious. Despite being able to manipulate time, have you never wondered why there is a limit?"

She hadn’t.

She had never been happy with this ability in the first place, so she never thought deeply about it.

"That’s not really important."

"It’s important. The fact that the fragment, more precisely the entity known as New Moon Silver, can only see back exactly 990 years into the past.”

“Nine hundred and ninety years...?”

“Yes.”

That was the exact figure.

The limit of Kayla’s ability to see the past was indeed 990 years.

But why, of all numbers, was it 990 years and not a thousand?

“What exactly are you trying to say...?”

As he kept forcing thoughts she didn’t want to know into her mind, it started to become distressing.

She could live without knowing such facts. She just wanted to drink every day and find her own happiness.

“Destiny has begun to take a turn. You too must return to your rightful place.”

“You realize that’s basically telling me to die, right?”

“Death is not the end.”

“You’re so blunt because it’s not your end, isn’t it?”

“You need to return to your position at the right time.”

Suddenly, the atmosphere around New Moon Space changed drastically.

The bright, clear sky and clouds turned entirely gray, and Kayla felt her breath catch in her throat.

“But this time... You’re not readily accepting destiny.”

New Moon Space tilted his head as if genuinely puzzled or displeased by Kayla’s defiance and approached her.

“What drives you to act like this?”

“W-What...!”

He looked up at the sky, realized his mistake, and withdrew his aura.

The weather turned bright again in an instant, but Kayla was already far from normal.

“No matter. It’s fortunate that New Moon Silver is a coward. He even split his memories into fragments and hid them away.”

“Kuh. Ugh!”

As New Moon Space withdrew his power, Kayla collapsed to the ground, coughing violently. Tears welled up, and her whole body trembled.

Fear. Beyond mere fear... This was the emotion of someone who had glimpsed death.

‘Ah! Is this the end for me?’

Kayla closed her eyes. She had just been freed from the Karacornia Mountains and thought she could finally travel freely. She never expected to be stopped like this.

“Return to your position and do what you must.”

As New Moon Space grasped the air, Kayla’s body was sucked into another space and disappeared.

Whoosh!!

He stood there, staring blankly at the spot where she had vanished

“... As it has always been.”

Step.

Turning away, New Moon Space slowly walked through the ruins.

Because of the foolishness of New Moon Silver, he had always endured these hardships but always failed.

Yet, knowing he would fail, New Moon Space repeated the same attempt this time as well.

It was his duty and mission given to him.

Having perfectly completed his task in this place, New Moon Space traversed to the other side of space.

He had returned the fragment of New Moon Silver to where it belonged, so now it was left for New Moon Silver to find it and absorb it according to destiny.

... But he did not know.

“Hm. Playing Go alone is not fun.”