“That’s impossible… If that’s the case, couldn’t there be things like this under all the rifts we’ve eliminated so far? Even just counting roughly, that would be dozens… no, hundreds!”

Mishuan spoke heatedly, unwilling to believe it. Meanwhile, Kalaian, who had been seriously thinking while looking at the bead, spoke calmly.

“This must be what caused the monster to appear last time.”

“Yes, there wasn’t any other medium that could have caused a monster to appear.”

Kalaian slightly narrowed his eyes and asked in a subdued voice.

“Then, Miss Aristena, do you think there’s a possibility this bead could transform back into a complete rift?”

“That… can’t be completely ruled out…”

Aris froze as she was giving her opinion to his question. For a moment, it felt like a chill crawled up her hand and across her entire body.

As Mishuan said, if these beads existed beneath other places where rifts had disappeared… Even if it was only in some cases, there would still be several of them. And if they were to transform into rifts…

Aris was struck with a shock like being hit on the back of her head. The horror made her skin crawl and her hands tremble uncontrollably.

‘Could this be what caused that great catastrophe when I died?’

No matter how she thought about it, the scale of that catastrophe couldn’t have been caused by just one rift. It truly seemed like they had poured out in masses from everywhere, overwhelming the knights until they were pushed back to the imperial capital…

If Kalaian’s suggestion was possible, though she couldn’t be certain, something clicked into place. These beads located throughout the western region had simultaneously transformed into rifts and spewed forth monsters.

Aris looked at them, her face pale. She was probably the only one feeling such extreme terror about what would happen in the future, having returned from that time.

“We can’t rule out that possibility. We might need to get rid of this…!”

“Then I’ll try to break it.”

Kalaian drew the sword at his waist. Someone of his skill should be able to shatter this bead.

Aris held out her hand holding the bead and asked.

“What if trying to break it causes something worse to happen?”

“Then we’ll handle it. Like we always do.”

Aris nodded at his casual response. Though it was a nonchalant answer, nothing could have been more reassuring.

She passed the bead to Kalaian’s outstretched hand, but at that moment, the bead passed through his hand and dropped to the floor.

“Huh, why did this happen…?”

Confused, Aris picked up the bead and tried placing it in Kalaian’s hand again. She thought perhaps he had accidentally dropped it. But once again, the bead passed through Kalaian’s hand and fell to the ground.

This time Kalaian tried to pick it up himself, but the bead couldn’t be grasped, as if it had no physical form.

“Mishuan.”

“Yes, I’ll try.”

Mishuan stepped forward and attempted to grab the bead. But it kept passing through his hand as well, making it impossible to pick up.

“…I suppose since this is related to rifts, we can’t touch it. Originally, humans can’t pass through or touch rifts.”

“What? Then does that mean I’m not human…?”

Aris, who had just bent down to pick up the bead, asked with shocked eyes. Kalaian was a bit flustered.

“That’s not it… It seems you’re just a special case, Miss Aristena.”

“That’s right, Doctor. Isn’t this fortunate for us? Since you can handle it, we should be able to dispose of it.”

“Yes…! Then I’ll give it a try.”

Aris recalled the most powerful destruction magic she knew. It was a spell she had discovered and learned from Andre’s library, only to be scolded for learning something she shouldn’t use.

Slowly recalling the magic formula, she partially removed the protective magic circle she had placed on the bead’s surface, then fired the spell at it.

The bead began to shake and vibrate.

‘Please just break without any problems…!’

While she was desperately hoping this, the golden magic surrounding the bead suddenly deflected somewhere. Soon after, a huge explosion was heard in the distance. Startled, they looked over to see half of a distant mountain peak had disappeared.

“…Wow, how did you do that? I’d like to learn that too, Doctor.”

“Oh no… I’m so sorry!”

She hadn’t expected the magic to deflect like that. Aris hurriedly used restoration magic to easily restore the mountain. Fortunately, it hadn’t flown toward any people or villages.

Mishuan, who had been amazed by Aris’s magic, sighed briefly.

“It seems even the Doctor’s magic doesn’t work.”

“It looks like breaking it will be difficult…”

Aris recalled the voice she had heard earlier. It had clearly told her not to waste effort — was this what it meant?

“Since we don’t know what might happen, how about collecting these in one place?”

“That’s… too dangerous. We can’t even destroy them, and to gather them in one place… If these beads really do transform into rifts, it would be disastrous.”

Though it was practically a certainty to her, Aris held back her words. She might know the future, but they didn’t. And even if she told them, they might think she was strange.

And that voice had said it too. Take it and examine it carefully. And when the time comes, you must throw it away. That clearly meant to keep them separate.

After placing protective magic around the bead again, Aris said.

“For now, I should at least take this one and research it.”

“You’re going to take this? You mean, to your laboratory?”

“Yes, we need to investigate it. And… I think it will be fine for a while.”

At least until that ‘time’ the Sword of Time had mentioned comes. Whether that was when the great catastrophe would occur or some other time, she couldn’t know.

Aris held the bead and looked at Kalaian.

“Your Highness, please allow me to take this for investigation. I beg you.”

“Doctor, no matter what, it’s too dangerous. Your Highness probably…”

“You may do so.”

At Kalaian’s simple answer, Mishuan looked at him with shocked eyes. Regardless, Kalaian continued speaking while looking at Aris.

“I believe Miss Aristena can achieve results. I trust your judgment.”

“Ah…! Thank you. I will definitely do so!”

Aris bowed in gratitude and placed the bead in a glass bottle from her bag, sealing it well. Meanwhile, Mishuan looked at Kalaian with eyes full of things to say. He lightly ignored Mishuan and turned his head away.

“We found a clue faster than expected.”

Aris spoke, sounding relieved. Though future events were frightening, this was somewhat reassuring. If they had missed this without knowing, something terrible might have happened.

“Let’s head back down. There don’t seem to be any more clues.”

“Yes, let’s do that.”

When they arrived at the inn, it was already evening. Though there were still many overwhelming matters, Aris felt at ease having found something, and after resting briefly in her room, she came out for dinner.

Going downstairs, besides Mishuan who always dined with her, she saw an unexpected figure.

“His Highness will be joining us for dinner today.”

“I see…”

Aris glanced at Kalaian before sitting across from him. He had insisted on eating alone until now, so what wind had blown today?

As if reading Aris’s thoughts, he spoke when their eyes met.

“Since you achieved results today, Miss Aristena, I thought we should share in the joy. It’s also the day our investigation ended.”

“Results… Not at all. We haven’t really learned anything properly yet.”

“Miss Aristena is very modest. You could be a bit more confident. I came here partly to commend your hard work, so please don’t feel burdened.”

“Then… alright…”

Kalaian opened a bottle of wine he had prepared in celebration. The mention of commendation made Aris feel a bit shy, but she gladly accepted the wine he poured.

“Doctor, please eat well since you’ve worked so hard. It pained my heart to see you climbing the mountain with such difficulty…”

“Sir Mishuan, I was completely fine, yet you keep treating me like I’m weak.”

“To say you were completely fine… didn’t I practically have to carry you every time we reached the peak?”

Mishuan said teasingly with a smirk. Aris glared at him with slightly pursed lips in mock anger.

“That was almost at the beginning. I manage just fine now.”

“I understand. Please calm your anger, esteemed Doctor Aristena!”

Aris couldn’t say anything to Mishuan’s words as he smiled brilliantly with a smug face. Seeing how he always smoothed things over with compliments while smiling prettily like this, he seemed to know very well how to use his face to advantage.

Aris turned her attention to Kalaian, who was quietly listening beside them.

“Come to think of it… I should thank Your Highness again. If you hadn’t saved me then, something terrible would have happened. Thank you, Your Highness.”

“You don’t need to thank me so much.”

“No, you’re my savior, and a hundred thank yous wouldn’t be enough.”

At Aris’s words, Kalaian’s hand holding his cutlery paused for a moment. Soon, a faint smile appeared on his lips. He looked at Aris with sincere eyes.

“I should be the one thanking you, Miss Aristena.”

Their small celebration continued without boredom thanks to Mishuan’s wit.

Late into the night, Mishuan, who had drunk too much, went out for a walk saying he needed some fresh air. Aris and Kalaian also wrapped up and headed upstairs to return to their rooms.