Majo no Tabitabi - Volume 3 - Chapter 11

CHAPTER 11

Retroactive Grief

There was a lovely city called “the Clock Village of Rostolf,” inconspicuously seated on a wide prairie belt.

Tall houses stood in neat order, and in the center of the city was a plaza, where stood a large clock tower, looming over all. At the exact moment when the girl took a seat on a bench in the plaza, the hands of the clock tower were pointing straight up at the blue sky, and the sound of a chime marking noon rang out across the country.

Distant birds scattered into the air, startled by the loud yet dignified chime that nevertheless caused everything nearby to tremble.

The girl was watching the situation idly.

She had ash-gray hair and lapis-colored eyes and was in her late teens.

She was a witch and a traveler.

The girl let out a sigh, as if the beautiful cityscape was very calming to her heart.

“…I’m hungry.”

My mistake.

She was simply hungry.

“No money…”

And she had simply run out of money.

……

Well then.

Who on earth could this girl be, this witch tormented by hunger and poverty in the middle of a beautiful cityscape?

“……”

That’s right. She’s me.

Though I wish she weren’t.

I’m gonna cry.

It’s not easy to tell you how I got to this point. Honestly, I hadn’t been paying any attention to my finances. It happens to the best of us.

Well, I continued my travels, thinking it would be all right for me to make money in the next place I visited. When I arrived here, I happened to take in a play on the subject of the “District Two Killer,” which was advertised as a famous local attraction, and then when I went to buy some bread from a roadside bread shop, still thinking about how interesting the play had been, I realized I had actually used up a lot of my money.

All that was left in my wallet were several copper coins, just barely enough to keep me alive, and nothing else. In other words, the ticket for the play had been more expensive than expected.

And that was how I ran out of money.

“……”

That story was easier to tell than I thought it would be.

And it had a very self-centered conclusion.

Since there’s no helping it, now I’m walking around the city, with the clock tower looking down on me, hoping for a moneymaking opportunity to fall into my lap.

Apparently, this town really likes this “District Two Killer” thing, because posters for the aforementioned play are plastered all over town. Come to think of it, I remember the playhouse being full when I saw the show.

“Hey, did you see the play?” “I did, I did. The final execution scene was especially great!” “It was incredible how she died so brutally, wasn’t it?” “I know!”

What the heck are you talking about? First of all, aren’t you just agreeing with one another?

I had a strong urge to question the other theatergoers.

To relay the contents of the play would be no easy feat. Nah, that’s not the case. This one was a straightforward depiction of a serial killer’s life. A common, sad tale. Although dramatized for the stage, it seemed to be largely based on a true story.

If I were to tell you the tale, it would go a little something like this:

Ten years ago, there was a young girl named Selena. She was living an average life in an average household. One day, a burglar broke into her family’s unremarkable home, and her parents, who were in the house at the time, were murdered. Selena, who happened to have been out, survived, but she lost her parents.

The pitiful girl was taken in by an uncle.

However, her woes were not over. Her uncle treated her very cruelly. Selena harbored darkness within her heart and began to hate people. She grew to despise the miserable world, from which there was no escape.

Eventually, her impulses took shape, and she stabbed her uncle. The uncle died. From that point on, she continued down a dark path. She found that she enjoyed killing people, so she began committing murders more frequently, one after the other. Before you knew it, she was being called the “District Two Killer.”

But all evil people eventually fall.

Three years ago, Selena had been captured by a young genius witch, the Lavender Witch Estelle, and executed. With this, the country became just a little bit more peaceful.

And they all lived happily ever after(?)

It was an unfortunate yet very commonplace tale of the beginning and end of an evil life.

“…Hmm.”

However, serial killers exist outside most human logic and thus seem to fascinate people. For example, when I headed for a bookstore, it was overflowing with books either detailing the deeds of Selena the killer or tossing out wild theories like, “In truth, wasn’t the District Two Killer a good person?” To make matters worse, that one had a “BESTSELLER!” sign.

Geez…

How on earth did it come to this?

I tried asking the opinion of the shopkeeper, who was dusting the tops of the books.

“I don’t really get it, either. I guess people capable of calmly pulling off things that most can’t, whether they’re good or evil, can be very interesting, I suppose.”

“Huh.”

“I guess that’s why the books sell.”

“I see.”

I felt conflicted. I thought I understood, but I couldn’t be sure.

After that, the shopkeeper asked, “So will you buy one?” and I showed him the contents of my wallet. “If you’re just window-shopping, get out of here!” he shouted angrily.

Eek!

Of course, District Two of the Clock Village of Rostolf, where the killer had done her bloody work, was jam-packed, to the point where it seemed as if it could be called holy ground for fans.

“Look! This is where Selena killed someone!” “Amazing! Ah, so she murdered someone here, huh?” “I feel like there’s a dangerous aura hanging over the place!” “Let’s lie down.” “Great idea! We can pretend we were the ones who got killed!”

I was starting to grow a little concerned. Each and every one of these people is crazy! I mean, is it okay to just lie there? It’s still the ground.

I shot an anguished look at the people as I passed them by.

Selena’s quite popular for someone irredeemably evil.

I really did not understand it.

“……”

Well, since the enthusiasm in town was already so high, though, it seemed likely that the solution to my financial woes lay in following the traces of the District Two Killer.

I noticed that, amid the many posters for the play that lined the alleyway, there was a single copy of a different advertisement.

It read:

NOW HIRING MAGES FOR VERY SHORT-TERM WORK! THIS IS YOUR CHANCE TO MAKE A LOT OF MONEY!

A lot of money? Well, now I’m interested.

“……Hmm.”

What’s more, the name on the poster had caught my eye.

INTERESTED INDIVIDUALS SHOULD COME INSIDE AT ONCE. (WINDOW-SHOPPERS: GET OUT OF HERE, PLEASE.)

That’s what was written.

Beneath it was a scribbled signature.

It was a name I had seen before.

The Lavender Witch Estelle.

Even though I was more than a little skeptical, my curiosity and my desire for money hedged out any doubts in my mind, and in the end, I found myself knocking on the door of that house.

She came out right away.

“Hey, hey. Hi there. Nice to meet you. Who are you?”

The door opened, and a girl stared at me with golden eyes as her shoulder-length lavender hair swayed in the breeze. Her robe and pointy hat were also lavender, as if to match her hair color. A star-shaped brooch dangled from the tip of her hat.

“Hello. My name is Elaina. I saw the poster outside and came.”

“You. You’re a witch, right? You’ve got the aura.”

“And you’re Estelle, right? You’ve got the aura.”

“That’s my name outside on the poster, isn’t it?”

“And you can see that I’m a witch just by looking at me, can’t you?”

“Hmm, well…” She raised her eyebrows just a tiny bit and let out a laugh. “Well, by knocking on the door of my house, at the very least, I can assume that you’re interested in the job, right?”

“I’m interested in making money.”

“So you’re looking for work.”

“If I could, I’d like to make money without working.”

“Not very motivated…” She let out a defeated sigh. “Okay. Fine. Even an unmotivated witch is still a witch. Come on in.”

“Pardon the intrusion.”

With that, she easily drew me into her house.

Even though I still knew nothing about the job.

Her house was certainly a sight. To put it kindly, it was nice and neat. To put it unkindly, the place was practically empty. Aside from some lavender flowers set beside the window, the furniture was rather minimal.

“Go ahead, sit there.”

At Estelle’s invitation, I had a seat on the sofa.

Belatedly, she carried over two teacups and sat across from me.

“Thank you.” I bowed and peered into the cup at the black tea that had been set before me. “Well then, regarding the remuneration for the job…” I quickly got to the topic at hand.

“So you’re more concerned about the payment than the task, huh…?” Astonished, she gave a weary smile. “You look quite young. How old are you?”

“Eighteen this year.”

“Oh-ho! And when did you become a witch?”

“When I was fourteen.”

“Ah. Only one year behind me.”

“…By the way, how old were you when you became a witch’s apprentice?”

“I think I was ten.”

“In other words, it took you three years, between becoming an apprentice and becoming a full-fledged witch, is that right?”

“That’s what it means. I first started practicing magic when I was eight, and in two years, I became an apprentice. Three years after that, I became a witch.”

“Well, I became a witch in one year. You’re two years behind me.”

“……”

After a brief moment of silence, I said, “How old are you now?”

“I’m nineteen.”

“Ah. One year older than me.”

“…Hey. Are you making fun of me?”

“No, no. Not at all.” Then I got back to the topic. “So what kind of job is this? Then you can tell me the details about the pay.”

“…Since you seem to be most concerned about the money, how about I start there?”

Estelle placed a bundle on top of the table and slid it over to me. Once it had left her hand, the soft bundle collapsed under its own weight and a clinking sound came from within.

A sign that it’s full of money…!

I unwrapped it right away.

“……”

It was, in fact, a ton of money. Even more than I had expected, actually.

The bundle contained a small fortune in gold coins. There were too many to count. It was so much money that I couldn’t possibly hold it in both hands.

I quickly surmised that I could live for at least three years on such a fortune, even if I went on one extravagant spending spree after another.

I was shocked, speechless.

“That’s the pay, contingent on success. If you safely complete your task, I’ll give you all of it.”

“Are you serious?”

“Very serious.”

“……”

Even I was at a loss, faced with such a fortune. “Um, what kind of job do I need to do to earn this much?”

“Hmm? You’re not having second thoughts, are you? You’ll be fine. I just want you to accompany me, Elaina.”

“Accompany, huh…? To what kind of place are we going?”

“Here.” She pointed her finger down as she answered.

“Um, inside the teacup?”

“Not there, under that.”

“Meaning?”

“We’re going to visit this city. To be more accurate, I want to visit this city as it was ten years ago.”

“Ten years ago…? What are you going to—wait, first of all, how are you planning to get there?”

“You sure do ask a lot of questions.” She laughed quietly. “You see, I’ve been working on a spell that will allow me to travel back in time, to ten years ago when I first started working as a witch in this country. To go back ten years and avoid the unhappy ending. Say, Elaina, do you know what was in this very spot ten years ago?”

“This city, but ten years younger?”

“Not only that.”

“……”

“In this city, ten years ago, that girl was here. She was here, and things were still normal.”

Then she spoke the girl’s name.

Another name I remembered.

Apparently, Estelle and Selena had been childhood friends.

They had been close since they were small, and everyone who knew them said they seemed just like real sisters. One half of the pair was a genius mage. The other half was an ordinary girl. On that point, they didn’t bear the slightest resemblance, but even so, the two of them were very, very close, unconcerned about who could or couldn’t use magic.

Then, eleven years ago, one year before Selena’s parents died, the two friends were separated.

Estelle, overflowing with genius as a young mage, had left the Clock Village of Rostolf to study magic in another country, intent on one day becoming a great witch. The two of them were pulled apart.

Estelle devoted herself to her training for five long years and eventually graduated from apprentice to full-fledged witch.

Of course, the abilities of the genius Estelle were highly valued everywhere, including the Clock Village. As soon as she returned to her hometown, she was summoned by the king, who asked her to take a position as the city’s resident witch. It was an incredible honor. She accepted immediately.

The first thing that Estelle had wanted to do was to share her happy news with her dear friend Selena. However, she knew that her former childhood friend had completely changed. Five whole years had passed, and Selena had become a serial killer, reveling in her evil deeds.

Mourning her friend’s descent into darkness, Estelle tried many times to bring Selena back, but each attempt ended fruitlessly. She even tried an intervention, but nothing could reach her old friend. No matter what she tried, Selena still saw her as just one more part of the world she despised.

And so Estelle had started working on a new spell, spending every free moment perfecting the magic.

It was a spell to reverse time.

Her plan was to travel back in time and undo the cause of Selena’s madness.

“While I was away, my friend suffered a terrible tragedy, so you see, I want to rescue her.”

“When I came to this country, the first thing I did was see a play about Selena, and—”

“Well then, you already know. Selena died three years ago. She’s not here anymore.”

“She was executed, if I remember correctly.”

“That’s right. I’m the one who executed her. After chasing her for three years, I finally caught her. I thought there might be a chance that I could bring the old Selena back, but it was no use. I had no choice. The king and all the people, they urged me on and forced my hand. In the end, I was the one who put her to death.”

“……”

“So I want to make things right. I can’t stand living in a world without her anymore,” Estelle said, biting her lip, her face contorting in pain.

I brought my now-cool tea to my lips, as a way of averting my eyes from her sorrowful expression, and then answered, “I understand the situation. However, I don’t really get what you intend to do exactly. Assuming you return to the past, why do you need my help?”

Estelle suddenly sprung up from the couch and opened a door in the rear of the room. I could see two chairs sitting next to each other in the gloomy chamber beyond.

Even farther behind the two chairs was a large furnace.

“The spell I have created is not such a simple thing, and it was not achieved without sacrifice.”

“…Meaning…?”

“When they don’t have enough magical energy, mages can sacrifice something of theirs to create some, right?”

“……Yes, that’s true.”

For example, one’s voice or one’s own memory.

Mages can conjure massive amounts of magical energy if they are willing to pay the cost. Since it’s quite dangerous—or honestly, since I’ve never cared that much about making something happen—I’ve never done it myself.

“You see, over the course of the last three years, I’ve been siphoning my own blood and stockpiling every scrap of my magical energy. It will take an astounding amount of power to travel ten years into the past.”

“……”

“But my blood and the accumulated magical energy aren’t sufficient. I’m still off by just a little bit.”

“Exactly how much are we talking?”

“Enough that if I were to pour every ounce of magic I have left into the spell, it would just barely be sufficient.”

So what you’re saying is that…

“In other words, you’ll be tapped out after you return to the past, so you want a witch by your side to protect you in case anything happens, is that right?”

“Mm. Close, but not quite.” Estelle pulled two rings out of her pocket. “Elaina, if you will just put on this ring and travel back in time with me, that’ll be enough. I’ll sort the rest out somehow.”

As she spoke, she pressed a ring into my hand. It was pretty, a small ring encrusted with jewels. It looked just the right size to wear on my pinky finger.

“And this is?”

“I made it while I was in training, to make Selena happy. With these, you can share magic between two people. I thought for sure that if Selena and I wore these rings, she might also be able to cast spells.”

“……” I put the ring onto my smallest finger. “So if I wear this, you’ll be able to draw on my magic after we travel to the past, is that right?”

“That’s exactly it. I want to meet Selena when she’s still healthy and sane.”

“…Is that so?”

She nodded slowly at my words and then asked, “How about it? Will you do it?”

I raised a hand to the ceiling. The ring sparkled on my pinky finger. “Well, I am a little curious about what this country looked like ten years ago.”

I am a traveler, after all.

We moved to the gloomy room in the back, seating ourselves on the two chairs next to the furnace. I had already more or less guessed that we would be able to go back to the past by sitting in these chairs.

“Ready?” Estelle looked at me, gripping her wand in both hands. I nodded. “All right then, here we go.” She pointed her wand at the furnace behind us. Her hands were trembling slightly.

“…Are you all right? Your hands are shaking.”

“I’m fine. It’s because of my anemia.”

“You’re sweating, too.”

“…That’s the anemia, too.”

“…You’re not all right, are you?”

“But we’re doing this. If I don’t do it when I can, I’ll lose my chance.”

“……”

“Ready?”

She asked a second time.

“Are you ready, Estelle?”

“Totally,” she answered. “I’ve been ready for three years.”

She waved her wand, and a bluish-white light shot out, aimed at the furnace.

Immediately, the lid to the furnace blew open, and the streak of blue-white light coming from her wand stretched toward it, undulating like a snake. The beam of light started looping around, forming a half-sphere with us in the center then, finally, closed us up inside it.

My vision was filled with the mysterious illumination, seeming at once both cold and warm.

Watching distantly from atop her chair, Estelle said, “Oh, sorry. I forgot one thing.”

“What’s that?”

I cocked my head.

“Thank you,” she said, and she closed her eyes.

I smiled at her.

“Don’t mention it.”

I opened my eyes to the deep chiming of a bell.

It was like waking from a deep slumber. I found myself looking at scenery no different than before. For better or worse, it was just a plain room.

Could this really be ten years in the past? Maybe it was all just a big light show.

“Seems like we were successful, doesn’t it?” In contrast to my doubts, Estelle appeared to hold a certain degree of conviction. “Look, Elaina. The room has returned to how it was ten years ago.”

“Sorry, I can’t tell what’s different.”

“It’s totally different. Here, and there, and everywhere.”

“Nothing’s changed from before, has it?”

“Well, it looks completely different to me.”

I suppose that’s natural, since she sees it every day. It makes sense that I wouldn’t be able to notice the changes.

“At least, it looks just the same to me as when I first arrived.”

“In that case, why don’t we go outside and check?”

Estelle gave her lavender-colored hair a little flip, rose from her chair, and headed outside of the house.

I followed her, closing the front door behind us.

“Hmm…” Well, what do we have here? “I think it might be a little different.”

Outside Estelle’s house, in the alleyway, the walls should have been lined with row after tedious row of posters for the play, but there wasn’t a single advertisement in sight.

And that wasn’t the only change. The city itself, which I had expected to look more or less the same, was strangely different from my recollections. For example, the name of the shop that had tables spilling into the alleyway was different. The color of the flowers blooming on the windowsill of the house was different.

The cityscape before me was rife with minute alterations.

The clock tower that could be seen over the rooftops continued to keep the time, just as it had when I had stared vacantly at it earlier. The trailing note of the chime indicating five o’clock rang in my ears.

Estelle followed my line of sight and said, “We’ve only got one hour. When the six o’clock bell finishes ringing, we will be sent back ten years into the future.”

“Will one hour be enough?”

“Unfortunately, I only have enough magical energy to keep us in the past for a single hour, but that should be plenty.” She then said, “If I have just that much time, I can make it so the next ten years simply never happen.”

Walking down the alley, Estelle opened a notebook. “The robbers should enter Selena’s house twenty minutes from now. Let’s go stop them.”

“What’s in that notebook?”

“Since I was working for the government, you see, I used my position to dig up all kinds of information about the incident ten years ago.”

“Huh.”

“In this notebook, I’ve collected evidence and eyewitness accounts. It says that in about twenty minutes, a band of thugs wearing black hoods will force their way into Selena’s house. They will murder Selena’s parents and take everything of value.”

“Hmm.”

“If we ambush the robbers, that should fix everything.”

“You’re planning to drive them away?”

“Of course. That’s why we came.” Estelle nodded vigorously. “If her parents don’t die, there’s no way that Selena’s life will go off the rails.”

“I see.”

And I suppose that, by doing all this, we’ ll also bring back all the people that Selena would have killed? I wonder what that will mean for the future. If a famous serial killer is never born, then won’t the future we return to in ten years look quite different?

At the very least, I guess they won’t be putting on that play.

I was deep in thought when Estelle spoke to me matter-of-factly. “Well, I say that, but even if I change the past here, once we go back, our future will be the same.”

“Huh…? What do you mean?”

“In other words, even if I meddle in Selena’s past here, the future where I killed her will not change. See, when I was researching time travel magic, I read through all kinds of literature on the subject. Every person who had successfully cast a spell to go back to the past all said the same thing: ‘I went back to the past, but nothing changed.’”

“……”

I had also done a little bit of research regarding spells for reversing time. Like the spell I use to heal wounds and the like—that could be said to be a type of time-reversing spell.

“So what are you telling me? That even if you try to change the past, something will cause events to play out the same way?”

Are we really continuing this conversation if, no matter what we do, no matter what we try, it all ends the same?

“That’s not it,” Estelle answered. Her light purple hair bobbed. “First of all, we won’t be able to confirm whether we did, in fact, change the past. Our past is already settled, so it can’t be changed, no matter what.”

“Hmmm…? I’m sorry, what on earth do you mean?” Wrinkles lined my forehead.

Estelle let out a little sigh of exasperation. “Let me explain it in a way that’s easy to understand. We’ll refer to the world we were living in as World A, okay? The events that occur ten years in the past in World A are already set, and we can’t do anything to change them. See, for the world we’re from to exist at all, we can’t have done anything to interfere with the past.”

“Well then, what on earth is the world we’re in now?”

“A past that we are able to interfere with, I suppose. Let’s call this World B, shall we? We were originally in World A, ten years in the future, right? Since we’ve come back to the past, this world and that world have split. Now we’ve created a World B. However, when we go back, it will have to be to World A. We can only return to the world we’re originally from.”

“……”

“So you see, no matter what we do in this world, we’ll have no way of knowing how it turns out.”

I was finally beginning to understand her explanation. That is, if I could take what she said as fact.

“So what you’re saying is that we can’t change our own past, no matter how hard we try, is that right?”

She nodded in the affirmative. “That’s right.”

“Umm, this might be kind of rude of me to ask, but in that case, does any of this mean anything?”

“That really is rather rude…”

“But it’s the truth, isn’t it? If your hypothesis is correct?”

What on earth are you thinking, meddling in the past for the sake of an unchangeable future? Won’t messing around with time magic just make the future you couldn’t salvage that much more miserable?

However…

Ignoring my uneasiness, Estelle shook her head. “There is meaning to it,” she said. “It’ll be enough for me just to know that there is a future where I was able to save her.”

After that, we walked for a while, gazing together at all the differences in the past.

That building over there is a bread shop now, but it’s closed in the future. I heard that the owner’s wife ran out one night.

You see that kid over there swinging a sword around? Ten years from now, he’ll make a splendid soldier. Apparently, it was his dream to join the military.

Estelle cheerfully told me this and that as we walked on.

“By the way, we’ll be at Selena’s house soo—”

Estelle broke off mid-sentence and suddenly came to a stop.

When I turned around to look at her, wondering what the heck had happened, I saw Estelle with her eyes wide, mouth hanging open in shock. Her attention was fixed farther down the street.

“What is it…?” I twisted my head around to follow her gaze.

A little girl had appeared. She had long, glossy hair (almost the same lapis color as my own eyes) and looked to be about ten years old. She was carrying lots of large parcels in both hands, perhaps returning from a shopping trip. She was walking along absentmindedly.

“Selena…?”

Estelle called out to the little girl. Her voice was hoarse, like she was wringing it out of her chest. She ran up to the girl, dropped to her knees in the alley, and embraced her joyfully.

“Eh…? Huh? Um, who are you, lady? Stop it, I’m scared!” The girl’s eyes were wide in panic at the sudden development. She was obviously very frightened.

“Selena. It has been so long. I’m sorry. You endured so much pain, and I never could save you. I’m really, really sorry.”

“Um, lady, who are you…?”

“Wait here, okay? I’m definitely going to save you.”

“…Are you a member of some new religion or something?”

Selena was a very levelheaded child for her age.

Releasing the little girl, who was suspicious enough to speak so directly, Estelle said, “Mm. That was a bit untoward, wasn’t it? I’m sorry.”

“It hasn’t gotten any better.”

“I’m really sorry. I just wanted to hold you for a second, that’s all.”

“Are you a new kind of pervert or something?”

“I happen to be someone who came from the future.”

“Wow…” Selena was obviously trying to wrap the conversation up quickly. “Well, that’s great, but I’m actually in a hurry right now, so…I’m sorry, but I don’t have time to hang out with you, lady.”

“…Mm. Sorry.” Estelle frowned as Selena pushed past her coldly. The witch looked a little sad as she moved out of the girl’s way.

Freed from Estelle’s embrace, Selena disappeared down the alley, looking back over her shoulder many times to verify that the strange lady who had suddenly accosted her wasn’t following.

“…Please wait, Selena,” Estelle mumbled.

I could feel the unwavering determination in her words.

“Looks like you were treated pretty coldly.”

“She was always like that. Even though she may be cold on the outside, though, she’s a very kind girl inside. I was with her every day when we were small, you know, so I know her well.”

Estelle gazed down the path Selena had taken, following her trail.

Her eyes were overflowing with affection.

We arrived at Selena’s house and quickly put our scheme to rescue Selena’s parents into action. The plan went something like this:

First of all, Estelle knocked on the door.

“Who is it?” Selena’s father came out.

“Hi. I’m actually Estelle’s older half-sister.”

“Oh. You certainly do look just like Estelle. How exactly are you two related?”

“That’s not really important right now.”

“Are you sure it doesn’t matter?”

“It’s fine. I have a message from my parents, and I’d like you to listen to it.”

“Hmm…what is it?”

“Apparently, they’ve got important business related to Estelle and are asking for both of you. They want you to come right away.”

“What’s this important business?”

“Who knows? I don’t really know, myself.”

“So you came all the way here to deliver a message that you don’t know much about?”

“That’s exactly what I did. Anyway, it sounds really urgent, so please come with me right away.”

“…Hmm. What on earth could they be up to?”

We had concocted a story to draw Selena’s parents out of their house.

And we achieved our goal.

After that, the scenario was very simple. Estelle quietly told it to me as Selena’s parents were preparing to leave.

“Elaina, you’ll stand by inside Selena’s house. I’m going to give you this notebook, so read it carefully and prepare yourself.”

“What will you be doing, Estelle?”

“I’m going to protect Selena’s parents. I don’t know what’s going to happen, now that we’ve changed their fates, I’ve got to keep them safe.”

“……”

In other words, I was stuck with the annoying job.

So I waited alone in Selena’s house, preparing for the arrival of the burglars.

To kill time, I idly flipped through the notebook Estelle had left behind, absently waiting for the moment to arrive.

“…Hmm.”

Estelle’s notebook detailed the events of ten years past—that is, the events that were about to transpire.

It would all happen several minutes from now. Burglars wearing black hoods would barge in through the front door and kill Selena’s parents. After that, they would steal all the money and valuables before making their escape. Apparently, Selena’s family was quite rich, and that’s why their house was targeted.

Certainly, the closet I was currently hiding in was stuffed with expensive-looking clothes. The dining room I could see through the small, half-open door was also incredibly extravagant and was decorated with gold and other fancy accoutrements.

I see, so they seem to be common, money-grubbing thieves.

“……”

However, there was one detail about the incident that had been bothering me. Both of Selena’s parents had been stabbed repeatedly with sharp knives. They had bled out from dozens of puncture wounds. It was a little much for a band of ordinary robbers.

Estelle also seemed to sense something was off about this. Toward the end of the notebook, she had written: Possibly a grudge. The thieves’ target wasn’t the money but the parents?

If that was true, I understood why Estelle had gone to guard the two of them, but she had left me here because it was still possible they were just ordinary robbers.

“…Hmm.”

It seemed that theory could safely be abandoned.

The ring on my pinky finger had started glowing and was emitting tendrils of blue-white smoke, stretching toward the closet door.

I could feel the magical energy being sucked out of my body.

In short…

Estelle is using magic.

I feared that…

Estelle is facing off against the murderers.

She has her quirks, but Estelle is a witch.

She’s a genius capable of traveling ten years into the past.

Could a band of ordinary robbers really give such an accomplished witch any trouble?

I didn’t think so. According to the evidence on record, both of Selena’s parents were stabbed by the same person. Even armed with a knife, the culprit would be no match for Estelle.

Consequently, I was quite calm.

Taking my time, I strolled through the evening townscape, following the blue-white smoke wafting from my ring.

This is such a pain. It would be great if she could have it all sorted out by the time I get there.

I was rather optimistic.

“……”

However, I arrived at the scene at the exact moment the ring ceased drawing on my magical energy. I found myself staring down a grimy back alley, lined with countless trash cans, and realized that everything I had imagined, all my assumptions about this case, had been completely ill-informed.

We had been wrong about everything.

“……”

Estelle and I had been utterly clueless.

“Ah. You’re the one who was with this woman earlier, aren’t you? Ahh, what a dilemma.”

Selena had not, in fact, been driven mad by the loss of her parents.

“What should I do? Shall I kill you, too?”

Even if you see someone every day, if they’re odd from the start, if the face they show the world is a fabrication, you won’t notice.

“Well, since you’ve seen me, I suppose I can’t let you live.”

In the back alley, where the rays of the setting sun did not reach, that girl’s mouth twisted into a warped little smile as she stared up at me. Her face and clothes were slick and spattered, and she clutched a dripping dagger. The girl, bathed in the blood of the three people lying at her feet, had been dyed red.

“I’m sorry, but you’ll have to die, too.”

It was the little girl whom we had just met some minutes earlier.

It was Selena herself.

It was easy to guess what had transpired before I arrived. Estelle had been on her guard for a robber in a black hood. She would never have suspected Selena.

“This one said something strange, like she was from the future or something, but is it the same for you? Huh, lady?”

Perhaps Selena had guessed something earlier, when Estelle had embraced her.

“…If I tell you that you’re right, what are you going to do?”

“Doesn’t really matter. Either way, I have to get rid of any witnesses.”

“……”

“She’s wearing a witch’s brooch, so I expected her to be awfully strong. She wasn’t much of anything, though. A trifle.”

The girl spoke, turning surprisingly cold eyes toward Estelle, who lay at her feet.

“…Why did you kill your own parents?”

Selena’s expression did not waver, even as she answered my question.

“The truth is, my parents were abusing me. So I killed them. Doesn’t that make sense?”

“……”

“Ever since I was born, I’ve been bullied by my father and scolded by my mother. My father only ever gave me dirty looks, and my mother saw me as the other woman and was jealous. Of course, outside of the house, we played the loving family, but inside, our relationship was as twisted as could be.”

“……”

“They broke me, so I broke them.”

She wore a broad grin. It wasn’t the sweet smile of a girl her age. It was a warped, repulsive mockery.

Selena slowly walked toward me.

“You surprised me, you know. The two of you came and interrupted my plan at just the right time.”

“Your plan to put on a black hood and dress like a burglar?”

“That’s right. As I suspected, you seem to know an awful lot about me. Is it because you came from the future?”

Even when the time had come, nobody had arrived to rob Selena’s house. That must have been because the person who was supposed to break in had been somewhere else at the time.

“……”

The parcel Selena had been holding when we passed her earlier had fallen to the ground. It was lying there with a bit of black cloth sticking out.

“Hey, lady. If you really came from the future, then tell me something, will you? What kind of person will I become?”

“I am a traveler. I haven’t spent much time in this city, so I don’t really know what kind of person you turned out to be.” I pulled out my wand and stood at the ready. “But I can tell you that ten years from now, when I visited this city, you had already been put to death.”

“Oh? I was killed? By whom?”

“By your closest friend.”

“I don’t have any close friends.”

“……”

“Ah, maybe you mean Estelle?” I nodded, and Selena clapped her hands, looking very, very happy. “Ah! I see, I see. I get it. The dead woman here is Estelle from ten years in the future?”

“……”

“I knew it! I thought she was.” I didn’t answer, but she must have taken my silence as confirmation. Still clapping her hands delightedly, she tilted her head and asked, “But why was I killed?”

“Because you became a serial killer.”

“I became a serial killer?”

“Yes.”

The District Two Killer.

That was her future nickname.

Strangely, we hadn’t made it out of District Two. In the end, Estelle and I had been unable to prevent the birth of a psychopath. No, it’s not that we hadn’t been able to prevent it; we were already too late.

“I see. So I become a serial killer, do I? I understand.”

We had traveled ten years into the past and found Selena already long broken.

Pointing at me with the knife, Selena suddenly leaped to her feet and rushed at me. “After all, who knew killing people would be this much fun!” she shouted.

“…!”

Then, just as I was leveling my wand at the girl closing in on me, something happened. Suddenly, the garbage cans lining the alley flew at Selena, slamming her against the wall. One after another, they smashed into her, bursting with rotten refuse and a terrible stench.

“…I won’t forgive you.”

The faint voice emanated from the other end of the stinking alley.

Gripping her wand in one trembling hand and compressing her bleeding midsection with the other, Estelle pushed to her feet. Battered as she was and despite her many wounds, she still lived.

“Ah-ha!” Selena looked up at Estelle from inside the rancid stink cloud. “What’s this? So you’re still alive. I’d better stab you a little mo—”

Estelle didn’t wait to hear the end of the sentence. She waved her wand again, and balls of blue-white magical energy rained down on Selena like a hail of bullets.

The ring I was wearing shone brighter and brighter until it was dazzling.

“Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa!” Estelle screamed and waved her wand over and over again.

“Ah-ha-ha-ha-ha! It hurts! Oh, it hurts!” Even as orbs of magic crashed into her, Selena was still smiling.

“You tricked me this whole time? You made a fool of me? I thought we were friends!”

“Ah-ha-ha! Estelle is trying to kill me! Ah-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha!”

“I thought we were friends! I thought for sure you would go back to being a good girl! This whole time, all along—you tricked me!”

“Ah-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha! Ow! Ow, ow, ow, ow! Ha-ha-ha!”

“You…you monster…!”

Then Estelle stopped, still pointing her wand at Selena. The bluish-white magical energy reached out from the wand like a wisp and wrapped its tendrils around Selena’s neck, squeezing tight.

“Ha-ha-ha-ha-ha! Ha-ha, ha—”

Estelle tilted the tip of the wand skyward until Selena was hauled up off the ground, legs dangling in the air.

“—ha, ha-ha.”

Her repulsive laugh gradually withered away.

However…

Even as she wriggled her fingers, trying to grasp at the intangible threads, even as she spit foam from the corners of her mouth, Selena was still smiling.

Looking down at Estelle, she was definitely smiling.

“…You murderer,” she whispered.

“……”

It sent chills up my spine.

If the horrible scene unfolding before my eyes continued, I would be able to do nothing but wait for the awful conclusion.

“Estelle, wait, please. Wait…this is…”

This is too much.

Even if you’re dealing with a murderer, who would want things to end this way?

I put this ring on my finger. If I take it off, it should stop supplying Estelle with magical energy. I should at least be able prevent her from becoming a murderer.

And then, after that…

After that, what on earth should I do? What kind of curtain should I bring down on a heartbreaking story like this?

……

I suppose it was a trick of my imagination. The ring that was clinging to my pinky finger refused to come off. My hand must have been trembling so hard that I couldn’t get ahold of it.

Apparently, I was more frightened of being here than I had thought.

While I was getting nowhere with the ring, Selena let out a hoarse shriek and started pawing wildly at her neck. Her voice was like a death wail, and the sound of it made me tug at my hand even more imperatively.

Several painfully long seconds passed before the ring feeding Estelle with magical energy finally came off. Tracing a red arc as it sailed through the air above the bloody scene, the ring clattered to the ground.

“Estelle! Please stop! You mustn’t do this. This is…”

I tried reasoning with her.

I tried to get her to stop and think.

But the smoke tightening around Selena’s throat did not disappear.

“I don’t need my memories with you. I don’t need anything. Everything about you should just disappear.”

Even though the ring had, sure enough, come off. Even though it was no longer fueling Estelle with magical energy.

Where on earth is her power coming from?

“I should never have tried to help someone like you. I should never have thought twice about you. I should never have felt remorse over your death.”

Estelle’s eyes, filled with pain and resentment, looked a lot like Selena’s.

At a loss for what to do, I just stood there in a daze, gripping my wand with a trembling hand. Confusion and fear bound me hand and foot, and I was frozen in place.

“Good-bye, Selena,” Estelle whispered. Her expression grew calm, as if she had given up just about everything.

And then…

A bell rang.

As the chime of the bell reverberated through the city, marking the passage of an hour, a light enveloped me and Estelle. The world outside it gradually became hazy and disappeared.

The time limit.

The smell of blood and the girl’s hoarse voice also faded.

Then, everything in front of my eyes melted into the fuzzy whiteness.

This was how the curtain came down on our story. We had traveled back in time to rescue a little girl, but in the end, we hadn’t saved anyone at all.

The sound of the bell filled the air.

When I opened my eyes, I had returned to the original world—the reality Estelle had called World A—in other words, my world.

Familiar scenery filled my vision. The empty room. The chairs lined up together. The bouquet of lavender on the windowsill.

And Estelle next to me.

“……”

She was staring up at the ceiling with vacant eyes. Her expression was blank.

I didn’t know what she might be thinking or whether I should say something.

I just waited for the time to pass.

“…Huh? What was I doing?” Finally, she opened her mouth. “Why was I sitting here…? Huh? I can’t remember.”

“…Estelle.”

“Ah, you are…Elaina, was it? What was I doing just now?”

“……”

I didn’t answer.

“I feel like I’m forgetting something…or someone…important…but what could it be? I can’t remember. What was it?”

“Don’t you remember about Selena…?” I asked.

“…? Who’s that?”

The moment she returned to the future, Estelle had forgotten about Selena and our journey back ten years into the past.

While we were talking, I realized what had happened. When I removed the ring back in the alley, Estelle had already been producing her own magical energy using an extreme method.

She had transformed all the memories of her treasured friend into magic. She must have sacrificed a good portion of her most precious memories.

Now that we had returned to the future, she sat vacantly in a daze. “I just can’t remember… It’s all very foggy. Selena, huh…? Who was that?” She looked honestly confused. “Elaina, I just can’t seem to remember. Who was that person to me?”

She searched my face with a puzzled expression.

I stood up to avoid her gaze and answered her with a few words.

“No one important. Not anymore.”

The place was a lovely city called the Clock Village of Rostolf, inconspicuously seated on a wide prairie. Tall white houses stood in neat rows, and in the center of the city was a plaza, where a tall clock tower rose above it all.

Right as I was passing through the plaza, the chime indicating three o’clock rang out. Surprised by the loud sound, distant birds scattered into the air.

I turned around and watched them aimlessly.

“……”

After all that, I had quickly taken my leave of the house, as if to run away. Of course, I hadn’t taken the reward or anything. There was no way I could accept money for a past that didn’t exist for her in the first place.

Plus, I hadn’t upheld my end of the bargain.

Well, for starters…

Imagining that we could change the past, that we could go back and somehow make everyone happy, was probably a very foolish idea. The past is past, and though we might look back on it with regret, it’s probably better not to try to redo it. Going back to fix human relationships is an altogether different matter than using a spell to manipulate time and heal wounds.

However, even if we’d had any hope of changing things, I had been totally useless while we were in the past.

I had been afraid.

Seeing people killed right before my eyes had been too terrifying, too sad.

Even if, after traveling for so long, I’ve become a little desensitized to such things.

I’m an ordinary traveler and a witch. That doesn’t mean I can do anything or that everything will always work out in the end.

In traveling to the past, I was reminded of my own immaturity.

To a painful degree.

“……”

Tepid tears followed the contours of my cheeks. As if trying to turn away from my own blubbering, I stared up at the clock tower. The trailing notes of the bell still hung in the air. The clock continued marking time as it always had.

Without ever going backward.

“…Shall we carry on?”

And then, I walked away.

Without looking back, I took one resolute step after another.