The light underneath the cover

“Over there… I can see the border,” Astrid pointed at the horizon.

Similar to the mountains surrounding the Imperial Vascht, the border stretched beyond the horizonーnot only that, it covered the sky, casting a large shadow from the other side, which meant it was taller, bigger.

“S… so, W… we have to cross this…?” Annaliese was horrified.

I yawned, covering my mouth and fluttering my eyes trying to wake up.“Unfortunately… It is what it should be…” Scratching the side of my head.

….That reminds me, it should be around here. That location the old lady talked about from before, Charlotte’s place of death…

Raising my hand, opening my palm and casting a magic circle between my fingersーI intend to find the old field of flowers before we traverse the mountain. As who wouldn’t miss out touring old tales and stories?

But that wasn’t the real reason.

Marieka leaned beside me, checking my hand. “What’chu up to now?”

“You’ll see when we get there… I’m sure you’ll like it..”

With my right hand occupied, I summoned the jewelry from my pocket using my free hand.

“Weis.” The forest lit up white for a second, and just like before, its effects were the same.

“.....It should be around here,” Looking around my surroundings, taking a step forward.

We’re still inside the territory of Imperial Vascht. Granted we are far from the barrier, it will most certainly stay hidden to the public.

“Mistress Eilise? Where are we heading…?” Annaliese asked. “Are you okay with delaying the journey…?”

Turning at her, I assured her it wasn’t a big deal. “You see… I wanted to visit old places, given how inaccurate history books are. We’ll do a little touring here, if Marieka’s fine with it of course.”

Marieka nodded “YES! I AM FINE WITH IT! We still have more time! It’s only a 3 month evaluation before our graduation ceremony. We’re visiting a historical spot right??!!” “That’s right… You’ll like it, even though I haven’t seen it.”

Astrid was taken back by the magic I used. “That’s the first time I’ve seen Verin Zeitweise with that kind of scale… Usually it surrounds your body with mana, right…?”

“Oh that? It’s a different variant… You see, my mana is quite unstable, so I need two seals to stop it from going around the place.”

Astrid and Annaliese were taken back hearing thisーIt’s the first time they’ve ever heard of this.

Annaliese asked. “W… wait, Mistress Eilise. So… That magic circle from before was…?”
“Yeah, it’s my seal… I wouldn’t tell you how much mana I have though.” I moved and began following the location of the field.

Marieka hopped to trail behind me, leaving the two while they were frozen.

⇔ ⇔ ⇔ ⇔

Stepping in a field of flowers as the sun was setting, we looked around the horizon. The field was far from the nearest village, located in a well hidden spotーQuiet, and free of wildlife to disturb the peace. Thanks to the cold air coming from the mountains, the flowers get preserved and are unlikely to dry out.

I removed the magic circle from my hands, approaching the center of the field. Until now, no one, aside from Charlotte, and the hero has stepped foot in these flower fields.

“So, what are we supposed to do here, Eilise…?” Marieka asked.

Pausing, before I turned around to the three of them. “What you're standing on, is a pond of flowers that only two have ever stepped foot on… The former Pointed hat of Ryven, Charlotte. And the hero a hundred years ago.”

They were stunned before their faces took a sharp turn, 

“””EEEEEHHHHHHHHH????!!!!!!!””” They reacted in sync.

Marieka stuttered, shaking as she spoke. “S… so… You’re saying… This place really does have ancient history…??!!”

I nodded along to her question. “Yes… I wanted to honor her, but I didn’t expect the hero to formally be here as well… However this became Charlotte's tomb, though her body had probably decomposed by now, she wanted someone to witness the field of flowers decades ago.”

They tilted their heads in response. Marieka continued.

“Aren’t the flowers around us commonly what we see today…? Does that mean, these flowers were different thirty years ago…?”

“...That’s correct. After we left the village a week ago, I was analyzing the jewelry the old lady gave me, this one that I’m holding belongs to Charlotte.” 

I sluggishly held out the blue crystal necklace that was draped in silver coating. “And that’s when I realized, this contained magic. However, the reason why I'm saying this to you three, is because this requires using forbidden magic.”

Shaking, they became anxious about what the magic could contain.

I assured them it wasn’t anything too serious. “This magic involves turning back time, and that isn’t allowed by all means… So once again I’ll warn you all to never let anyone hear of this… Okay?”

Once again they obeyed and bowed their heads. Without wasting time, I began pouring my mana to the jewelry, glowing blue before my surroundings became pitch black, yet the flowers underneath me remained.

Confusion filled my head, till a few minutes later, everything returned to normalーExcept, I’m the only one around the field… Not only that, the flowers were different, glowing and never before seen.

It took awhile for me to conclude that these were in fact the ancient blue colored Lavandula, they went extinct exactly thirty years ago.

….Wait, I’m the only one touching the Jewelry, so that means…?

“ーSo you must be the pointed hat from the future…? I’ve been expecting you here~~, I see you have my necklace from her.” An unfamiliar voice came from behind.

I turned around slowly, and there in front was the great mage from thirty years ago… Dark hair, pink eyes, and wore a long white ruffled robe. “....You were expecting me? Thirty years from now…?”

Charlotte nodded before explaining. “Formally. Thanks to my research, I discovered how time works, and grantedーI had to know the results. I took a glimpse of the future, and there I saw what happens thirty years from now. My death, the transformation of our civilization, and there… I saw you.”

She paused. “When I had achieved the fruits of my labor… I was satisfied, and yet it was bittersweet… Because at the end of the day, what purpose will this serve if it’s not possible for me to prevent my own death? ….And when I formed the Royal Magic Organization, I had poured my knowledge for them to spread it across the world by books and grimoires, with the exception of a few...”

She continued, narrowing her eyes as she tried to hide her melancholic expression. 

“I knew the risks of revolutionizing magic, afraid of there being a war like a hundred years ago… But I trusted humanity, and that's why I forbade the use of time magic, so that no one would ever change the course of the future.”

Averting her gaze, she added. “There’s a reason for it… It’s that I trust you to unify the people… Some day… I’m sorry to have placed this burden on you. Eilise.”

After that, the two of us didn’t say anything, the air filled with awkward silence… Until I spoke about it.

“.....Is that why I was chosen regardless…? Out of everyone, why did it have to be me…? If you’ve already seen the future, then you know that I’m not the Pointed hat you’d want to fulfill this task for.” My brows furrowed.

Charlotte shook her headーher expression mixed with a hint of guilt before approaching me, tip-toeing as she touched my cheek underneath my hood. “Not at all… You’re exactly the pointed hat that I've imagined. But of course, you don’t believe that…”

“Hence why I did this… Because I saw it… You were there. Standing in front.” She whispered.

I jolted, my eyes opened… And before I’d utter another wordーIn a snap, I returned to the present… The same flowers stayed, petals flying in the air, the light from the pond of flowers illuminating the dark as the three behind me yelled in amusement.

“So pretty!!!!!” Marieka spun around. “These are ancient too!!!”

Annaliese nodded along. “I’ve never seen a flower this beautiful before… It’s hard to believe they existed.”

I stood frozen, unable to process what had happened, clenching the jewelry from my hand as my brows furrowed.

“Eilise!! Is it okay to take…” She called me, staring at my back, tilting her head. “Eilise…?”

I jolted before turning behind. “Sorry Marieka… I’m just drowsy… Yeah, these flowers are really beautiful.”

She smiled before touching a petal floating in the air. “So this is what the hero and the former pointed hat of Ryven saw thirty years ago!!”

I averted my gaze, smiling, poignant. “Mhm, this is indeed what she saw…”

“ーThat reminds me… As far as I remember, didn’t the two like each make an impact on the world…? Like the Hero unified the kingdoms hundred years ago, while Mistress Charlotte founded the Royal Magic Organization. They both changed the world!”

She paused, continuing. “And the fact that they were both here at one point is mind boggling! It’s amazing! History is SO awesome!!!” Marieka let out a squee.

“....I see, that’s cool.” I said bluntly, before stepping forward. “....We’ll head forward later, If you'd like to stay here for a little longer then I don’t mind…..”

“Of course! It’s okay to handpick a few right…?” She begged shyly.

Yawning, I nodded, giving her permission. And there she ran off with a big smile on her face… I kneeled to pluck a flowerーstaring at it as I tried to understand what Miss Charlotte meant.