Lethe was sleeping downstairs with Anna. The Saintess, the greatest threat to the Dark Alliance, was sitting right here in Leshill. ’This isn’t like the Dark Festival!’ She was an unauthorized trespasser.
If a battle broke out right now and Nephthys took Lethe’s life, they wouldn’t have a single ground to protest. He had to do something before an unpreventable tragedy struck. Racking his brain, Simon shouted at the top of his lungs.
"Ahaha! Lady Nephthys! It’s! Been! So! Long!"
His booming voice echoed throughout the house. Simon glanced over his shoulder and shouted as loudly as he could.
"Lady Nephthys! It’s so good to see you! What brings you to our home?!"
He enunciated every word with force, desperately praying in his heart. ’Please. Please notice.’
A loud crash echoed from the room downstairs, as if someone had heard Simon’s frantic signal.
"Huh? I’m not deaf, Simon!" Nephthys planted her tiny fists on her hips. "I’m right here. You don’t have to yell."
"Ahaha! I was just so glad to see you,"
"Richard and Anna are downstairs too, right?"
As Nephthys tried to walk past, Simon quickly blocked her path. "Lady Nephthys! Actually, there’s an urgent matter I need to consult you about!"
He had to buy time until Lethe could escape. Without filtering a single thought, he blurted out whatever came to mind. "It’s about the Bone Dragon you gave me! I recently secured an ancient drake to practice with, but it’s not easy to use dragon magic while simultaneously controlling the undead with my thoughts."
"Especially according to what Professor Aaron said..." Simon trailed off, his eyes widening in bewilderment. Nephthys had vanished.
"We can do that consultation a little later!"
She had already slipped past him and out of the room. Hopping up, she mounted the staircase handrail.
Nephthys laughed loudly, "Richard! Anna!" She slid down the polished wood like a playground slide.
’I lost her!’ Simon’s face turned ashen.
Fortunately, Richard, who had been sleeping in the living room, came running with disheveled hair. "L-Lady Nephthys? What brings you here without any notice..."
"Hiya, Richard!"
Following him, Anna rushed out of the master bedroom. "Oh my, hello, Lady Nephthys!"
"Hiya to you too, Anna!"
Richard and Anna’s eyes wavered anxiously. Judging by their tense reactions, Lethe hadn’t managed to escape yet. Anna clasped her hands together and forced a sweet smile.
"You must be hungry after coming all this way. I’ll prepare a meal right away!"
"Huh? No need for that! I’d feel bad making you cook at dawn!"
"Then how about dessert? Some snacks and ice cream?"
"Ice cream! I want ice cream!"
Nephthys’s eyes sparkled, reacting to the word ’ice cream’ on pure reflex. Having successfully drawn her attention, Anna gently ushered Nephthys toward the kitchen. "Please sit here for a moment. I’ll have it ready in no time."
"Excuse me, Lady Nephthys." Richard quickly pulled out a chair, slipped his hands under Nephthys’s armpits, and lifted her into the seat. Anna busily rummaged through the kitchen, pulling out snacks and whatever else she could find.
Humming a happy tune, Nephthys swung her feet as she waited for her ice cream. Simon, making his way down the stairs, caught sight of Lethe stealthily opening the closet door in the master bedroom. She stepped out on tiptoe, having completely suppressed her presence and divine power.
’Escape through the window, just like that!’ Simon gestured frantically. Just as Lethe was about to carefully climb out the open window...
Nephthys sniffled from the kitchen.
Then, she sniffled once more.
She let out a loud sneeze.
The entire house shook violently, as if it were about to flip over. Everything in the kitchen that had a hinge, including shelves, storage boxes, and cupboards, flew wide open with a loud clatter. Conversely, all the exterior windows slammed shut with a deafening crash. Lethe, halfway out the window, flinched and froze.
"Sniff.’ I think I caught a cold." Nephthys rubbed the bridge of her nose, her voice congested.
"I’ll eat the ice cream later. I’m tired. I’m going to sleep."
She hopped down from the chair. Richard hurriedly blocked her path and pointed down the hall.
"You must be exhausted from traveling at dawn. Please, take the guest room over there. I’ll make the bed for you right away."
"Hm? It’s fine, Richard."
Nephthys let out a massive yawn, rubbed her eyes, and waddled toward the master bedroom. "I’ll use the big bed in there. I’m small, so I only take up a little space..."
’This is bad!’
Simon jumped into her path. "Lady Nephthys! As Kizen’s Student Council President, I have something to report regarding the recent Balak incident..."
But she slipped right through. Ducking neatly between Simon’s legs, Nephthys let out another yawn and hopped onto the bed.
"I’m tired. Let’s talk later. Later."
She flopped onto the mattress, slipping under the covers with a sleepy expression. She lay flat on her back, only her small face poking out.
’We’re screwed.’
It was absolutely impossible to predict Nephthys’s actions. Fortunately, it seemed Lethe had managed to retreat into the closet before Nephthys entered, but the situation remained highly volatile.
While Simon and Richard stood frozen stiff, Anna stepped forward. "Oh my, Lady Nephthys. Some light refreshments are ready."
"I’ll eat them tomorrow, Anna," she mumbled sleepily.
"You must be very tired. It can’t be helped."
Anna set the tray down, walked over to the bed, and lay down right next to Nephthys. The little girl was breathing softly, blinking her eyes as if on the verge of sleep. "Shall I sing you a lullaby?"
Nephthys gave a small nod. Anna gently patted her stomach. "Our Lady Nephthys is sleeping soundly. Snoring softly, sleeping soundly."
Nephthys’s eyes slowly closed, and soon her breathing leveled out into a rhythmic hum. Simon and Richard breathed a heavy sigh of relief and exchanged a glance.
She seemed to be asleep, but they couldn’t afford to let their guard down. It would be harsh on Lethe, but it was best for her to hold out in the closet until dawn broke and Nephthys left.
"Mmmm." Just then, Nephthys tossed and turned, seemingly uncomfortable. Still with her eyes closed, she rubbed the bridge of her nose and opened her mouth.
She let out a massive sneeze.
With a loud clatter, every drawer and closet in the master bedroom flew wide open. And...
The door to the closet where Lethe was hiding swung ajar. Lethe, who had been wedged tightly among the blankets, tumbled out onto the floor.
"Huh? Who’s that?" As if she had been waiting for this exact moment, Nephthys sat up in bed.
Lethe scrambled backward, pressing herself against the closet frame. Nephthys curled the corners of her mouth into a sly smile.
"Ah! You’re the Saintess of Stars I saw at the Dark Festival, right? What a lucky catch!"
Nephthys immediately unleashed a massive aura of jet-black darkness. Subspaces tore open all around her, and pitch-black coffins with protruding eyes shot out from the void. "I think it would be perfectly fine to execute you right now!"
"Wait a minute, Lady Nephthys!" Simon threw his arms wide, shielding Lethe. "I..."
"We will explain the situation." Before he knew it, Richard and Anna had stepped in front of Simon.
"The children have done nothing wrong. This is just..."
"Step aside." Lethe stood up, her divine power flaring around her. The moment she touched her necklace to release its seal, a distinct star-shaped mark ignited in both of her eyes.
"This does not concern you. This is my personal matter," Lethe stated firmly.
"Lethe!"
Drawing a cold line between herself and the Polentia family, she prepared to invoke the Authority of Stars. "I do not intend to die easily, Witch of Death."
"Hmm..." Watching them scramble over each other to intervene, Nephthys wore a peculiar smile. With a sharp snap of her fingers, the eyed coffins vanished into thin air.
"Simon Polentia. Lethe Shardena." Her silver hair fluttered as she hopped down from the bed.
"I have something to discuss with just the two of you. Will you follow me?" With that, she strode out of the room.
Simon looked at Richard, who gave a stiff nod. "It seems she knew from the very beginning. I doubt there will be any major issues, so go ahead and follow her."
Simon and Lethe followed Nephthys. Lethe still hadn’t lowered her guard, while Simon was deep in thought, trying to figure out how best to explain the situation.
Just then, Nephthys glanced back. "Hehe, you don’t need to be so tense! I have no intention of interrogating you."
"Then why did you bring us all the way out here?" Lethe asked stiffly.
Nephthys smiled brightly. "Because I want to assign you a mission!"
"A mission?"
"Actually, this worked out perfectly! I was only going to entrust it to Simon, but the success rate will be much higher if the two of you go together!"
Nephthys came to a halt in an empty clearing. She closed her eyes, spread her arms wide, and cast her magic.
A brilliant golden light flashed from all directions. Nephthys was manifesting an ’ability,’ not dark magic.
The true nature of her Ability was ’Time.’ The rhythmic ticking of clock hands echoed all around them. The clearing filled entirely with magic circles and floating clocks, the physical manifestations of her power. Simon felt as if he were standing in a hall of gold.
Nephthys looked back at them, her voice dropping to a low murmur. "Have you two, by any chance, ever time-traveled before?"
Time travel.
At those words, their expressions froze.
"Uh, no, I haven’t," Simon replied, bewildered.
"Time travel? Is that not something straight out of a fairy tale?" Lethe crossed her arms, unimpressed.
"Time travel exists, and it is entirely possible to achieve." Nephthys walked around slowly, tapping the magic circles suspended in the air as if tuning them. With every tap, the speed of the clock hands changed, and the time on the surrounding clocks shifted in response.
"Then, the mission you want to assign us... Is it time travel?" Simon asked.
"That’s right!" Nephthys nodded.
However, Lethe still frowned, looking highly suspicious. "Are we logically expected to believe that?"
"Lethe, now that I think about it..." Simon broke into a cold sweat and looked at her. "...It might not have been full time travel, but I remember doing something similar."
"Excuse me?" Lethe blinked.
The first semester of his first year. The infamous Saintess Incident.
At the time, the Saintess of Purification had disguised herself as a Kizen teaching assistant and infiltrated the school, plotting to plunge it into ruin. Simon had witnessed her plan come to fruition, turning Kizen into a sea of fire. But the artifact of time Nephthys had given him activated, sending him back to the past to stop Flema’s plan.
Lethe’s expression contorted in shock upon hearing Simon’s story. "Then this time as well..."
"You remembered? Ah, of course, this will be on a completely different level from back then, when you only went back a few hours." Nephthys touched a magic circle. "Twenty-two years ago from today."
They stared in stunned silence.
"If you accept the mission, I will send you back to a timeline before you were even born. And right there..." Her eyes gleamed. "Find Richard and Anna."

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