We were anxious and confused.

“The only thing that can handle time is a holy god or devil.”

“There’s no way that the devil can break the barrier, right?”

“It might be possible. If removing the barrier is advantageous, they might do it.”

“But, Eustave. In todays time, divine intervention is impossible. They agreed not to exert direct influence on the world after the ancient times.”

“Oh, so they had that agreement.”

“No. It could be possible.” Idris pointed at the ‘frozen night’. “Not much is known aboutits intended purpose. It’s a huge space, and all we know is it came from the ancient times, and that the devil made it.”

“Then, can that be a passage for the intervention of the devil…?”

“It’s just a guess for now.”

“We’re in trouble…”

If Siezion hadn’t blocked it, something scary might have popped out. Why is something like devil was involved all of a sudden?

“If this happens… the threat of time to Siezion escape itself may be intentional.”

“It’s better to close ‘Frozen Night’.”

“Can you close it?”

“I’ll try to close it as much as I can. Eustave, call in the other mages. We’ll be making an elaborate barrier fromula. If necessary, I will participate.”

“Okay, master.”

“We need to relocate our room, Vianne.”

“Where?”

“To the top of the tower.”

“The top…”

The top again? She lived there in her past life and now she is about to live there again in her present life.

“Okay.”

I was a little nervous, but I agreed.

***

About two weeks have passed since then.

Bang!

I fired a steady shot and then swung around to a more relaxed stance. A magenta-colored magic passed over my head. My next attack waws launched almost instantly. I raised my hand to set up a shield, and fired two more shots in a row.

However, all three shots were either missed or blocked. One was obliterated midway through.

“Hey!”

Even my shield was broken. He was really strong! I barely managed to block three consecutive attacks.

“Hey! You’re too hard on me!” I shouted in annoyance.

“I don’t know who you’re going to fight in the future, but you can’t beat them if you lost to me.” Eustave replied simply.

Andthe worst part was… Eustave hadn’t even made a single step.

“When I fight with a mage like you, my goal is to endure for even one more second! It’s not about winning!”

“Don’t you have to accumulate at least 10 seconds?”

“Touché”

“Right now, I’ve set my magic to crumble as soon as it reaches you. It’s relatively slower. But you can’t avoid it,” said Eustave like a strict teacher.  

“Even in practice, you’ll have to be much more desperate than this.”

“Yes, okay. I know… But let’s rest a little.”

“Sure. If I push you any further, I’ll be killed by my master.”

Eustave stopped, and I let out a sigh of relief.

“Are you going to make a joke about that?”

He always made that joke to me. Eustave smiled cheekily like a haughty villain.

“Now you know? You’re late.”

“Idris will probably laugh out loud when he heard it.”

“Is there a time where he laughed out loud?””

“Yes. Sometimes? Not often.”

“I didn’t know he was capable of such a thing.” Eustave sighed as if he were exhausted.

I knew for sure when I came to Mage’s Island. The Idris that I knew was very different here. I wondered how big of a gap it was, but it was also because of love.

I was loved by the villain.

Hm? No, wait a minute…

I loved the villain!

Wait, this is weirder! Damn!

“How did this happen?”

“What do you mean?”

“Oh. It’s nothing. I’m just talking to myself.”

 “I see.”

My life right now was a little strange. After thinking about it, I sat down and took a break.

My physical strength had not yet returned completely. I can consume mana little by little now, so I no longer faint. However, it slowed down my recovery speed.

But I would be fine soon. I could go back to the empire.

That was my mindset for my training.

Thanks to this training, I learned that Eustave was a stricter teacher than Idris.At first glance, Idris appeared stricter than Eustave, but he was so sweet in front of me. They couldn’t be compared.

Nevertheless, was Eustave teaching me this way because that was how he learned? It was something I considered as well.

Come to think of it, I knew of Idris’s past, but I didn’t know Eustave’s. I had seen him as often as Idris since I came to Mage’s Island.

“You said you lived on Mage’s Island since you were young, right?”