"Year 258 of the Continental Calendar?"
It suddenly occurred to me that the Continental Calendar had been used before the Imperial Calendar. I traced back through time step by step. The gap between where I was and Continental Year 258 was 310 years. I even used my fingers to count the days once more, but the result was the same.
"It really was three hundred years ago."
I hurriedly flipped through the other papers. Perhaps the date was written strangely only on that letter.
"December 5, 258."
"This is also the 258th year of the Continental Calendar."
“This and this too!”
I was only able to stop after checking all the documents. It was certain now. I could no longer deny that this was three hundred years ago.
'Then does that mean that kid is three hundred years old? And Eon, who knows that kid?'
It was so illogical that I didn't know where to even begin to figure it out. I realized that this was exactly the kind of moment where one’s mind goes completely blank.
A gardener, busily trimming trees, entered my blank vision.
'It's not like it's a tree; how can a person live for three hundred years? And not even age.'
I mindlessly took in the sight of branches being cut away with a crisp, rhythmic cut by the scissors.
'Considering that even that tree may not live for three hundred years.'
The trees planted along the wall from one end of the garden to the other were turning into a rounded shape. Come to think of it, even at this time, the garden was being tended like that of any nobleman's mansion. Just by looking at the winter-blooming ice flowers planted in neat rows in a diamond pattern, one could tell that care had been taken with the garden.
'But why now... No, this isn’t the time for this.'
I couldn't just sit there blankly forever. To be honest, I was an absurd existence myself. A reader possessed by a character in a novel—wouldn't even that renowned Archmage be surprised, saying this was impossible?
While organizing the documents, I put the letter that had fallen on the floor back in its place. In the process, I unintentionally read the contents.
[...Therefore, if you come this way, Archmage, it will be a great help not only to the Pardien family but to everyone on the Eastern Continent. I am well aware of the trouble of having to travel such a long distance, but...]
'Archmage?'
Saying I had read the letter unintentionally was nothing but an excuse. The way I hurriedly unfolded the letter was now clearly intentional to anyone watching. I checked the recipient listed at the very top.
[To Archmage Sally]
"To Archmage Selly."
I read the sentence I had read with my eyes out loud this time. Naturally, the meaning remained unchanged.
"Archmage Sally, Archmage Sally..."
The images of Sally that Eon had told me flashed through my mind. I had thought she wasn't an ordinary person, but I never dreamed she would be an Archmage.
Just then, the sound of the door opening was heard. I quickly put the letter down on the desk. I wouldn't be able to see it, but it could have appeared as if the object was floating in the air.
“Eon.”
It was Sally who entered the room.
'Archmage... Sally...'
I repeated the sentence I had read just moments ago to myself.
She sat down on the chair very naturally, displaying the relaxed demeanor typical of someone who has come to her seat.
"Just because he's grown a little, he doesn't say a word. I wonder who he takes after to be so disobedient."
It might have sounded like grumbling, but Sally's voice and expression conveyed the truth. She was proud of Eon, who had become able to express himself properly before she knew it.
'Is it really that Sally who made the eccentric rules of the Magic Tower?'
No matter how much I thought about it, I suspected that Eon had exploited the Archmage's name. The Sally I saw here was a gentle and kind person. She was a good guardian to little Eon and seemed to love him very much.
So I could understand why Eon was obsessed with Sally.
'If she is an Archmage, there is no need to explain her magical prowess.'
After all, it is rare to find someone who is both warm and charismatic like that. I gazed into her eyes for a long time, as if seeing the color green for the first time.
'I can't just stay here forever. It's not like I can talk to Sally either.'
I decided to look for Eon again. It seemed like I had come to the wrong place.
Judging by the recipient of the letter and her attitude, this place seemed like Sally's room rather than Eon's. To be more precise, it could be called the Archmage's office.
'If Sally is an Archmage, then Eon is...'
Eon might still be a researcher. Perhaps there was also a chance he hadn't entered the Magic Tower yet. Recalling various possibilities, I suppressed the urge to equate the little Eon with the real Eon.
Just then, Sally opened the window, so the wind blew in. I took advantage of the moment to open the door and run to the laboratory.
***
'Nothing.'
Eon was nowhere to be found in the Magic Tower. I could not find him in the laboratory, which was much smaller than the one I was in, nor on the fourth floor, which is now used merely as a guest room.
'It wasn't an unexpected situation, was it? I thought Eon wouldn't have arrived at the Magic Tower yet.'
The fact that Eon was not here could by no means be proof that little Eon was the same person. I soothed myself to calm my agitated heart.
'Shall I go to the study one last time, really one last time?'
As I stepped onto the first-floor platform, the surrounding scenery instantly scattered like dust. However, before I could even fully react, it soon returned to its original state. I looked around, but it was the exact same magic tower as before.
'What on earth was it?'
Thanks to paying close attention as if playing a hidden picture puzzle, I was able to discover that the scenery outside the window had changed. What I saw beyond the window was not bare branches, but fresh green leaves sprouting.
Come to think of it, the air was warmer than just a moment ago. Time had literally passed in the blink of an eye.
'It's not real anyway.'
Since it was just like a little kid's dream, it wasn't particularly strange that time flew by.
'Could Eon have entered the Magic Tower in the meantime?'
I was hurrying along with expectant steps.
"Waaah, I don't want to! I said I don't want to!"
The sound of a child crying echoed through the magic tower. It wasn't just crying; the sound of screaming and throwing a tantrum made me stop in my tracks and turn around. I was in front of the door on the first floor.
"Don't go! Sally, don't go!"
Little Eon was pulling at the hem of Sally's clothes.
"I can't just go because Eon is crying. So let's stop crying now, okay? Eon isn't a baby anymore."
"I don't know. I'm still a baby! So I can't do without Sally!"
"Don't be unreasonable, be a good boy, okay?"
"You said we'd go on a picnic together when the flowers bloom on that tree!"
Little Eon pointed to the big tree outside the window and said.
"The flowers will bloom next year too. Next year, we can just go next year. Right?"
"Next year? You want me to wait that long?"
Sally's attempt to soothe the child backfired. The child's crying grew even louder.
"No, no, I'll be back before then. Summer, right? When summer comes, let's go to the sea together. You saw it in the picture book yesterday, right? We can play games and build sandcastles at the sea."
Little Eon shook his head vigorously. However, it seemed that no matter how much he cried, he wouldn't be able to catch Sally. Having packed three large bags and changed into her going-out clothes, she was already fully prepared for the trip.
"Eon, if I don't go, the Tartan people might all die. Are you sure that's okay with you?"
Tartan. The letter I had read in her office came to mind. It was so far away that it was hard to gauge how long it would take from here. It would be easier if you used teleportation magic, but it seemed unlikely that even an Archmage could travel that distance in a single go.
'I can tell why the little kid is crying like that.'
"I don't know those people. I don't care if they live or die."
It was quite a harsh remark for a child who was forcing himself to eat peas out of fear of hurting the chef's feelings.
"There must be younger siblings over there, younger than Eon, who have collapsed from illness. They probably haven't even been able to eat. Is that okay?"
I was even starting to wonder by now what on earth was happening in Tartan that caused people to starve and die.
"Listen, Eon. You are a clever child, so you will understand what I am saying. Tartan needs a wizard, and not just an ordinary wizard, but a very, very great one—the strongest wizard in the world."
'Come to think of it, Tartan is Rudis's hometown, isn't it?'
The Archmage was not the only name I recognized in that letter. I had overlooked it earlier due to the shock that Sally was an Archmage, but the sender, Pardiel, was from the Rudis family.
'Ludis's family in Ludis's hometown.'
Now that I look at it, Rudis had an extraordinary connection with Eon. It even made me think that even if it hadn't been for Karina and me, it was their destiny to be entangled with Eon in some way.
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