“So I hope the daughter of Craig never misses that opportunity.”

Was that why he called her to the tower to say this?

Alicia, feeling confused, bit her lip.

According to the old man’s words, she was someone who went against the natural order while possessing two flows.

One of the flows was said to be severed, so it must refer to a death in the past.

And the thin and slender one enduring must be referring to the present.

Does it mean that if she makes the wrong choice, the slender enduring one will be cut off?

‘What happens if that gets cut off? Do I die?’

Nothing else comes to mind.

What could be worse than facing the same unfortunate ending as in the past?

‘Then what is that opportunity he speaks of…?’

As if sensing Alicia’s question, the old man answered.

“You will know what that opportunity is when the moment arrives before your eyes, so there is no need to worry about what it might be in advance.”

“Ah… I see.”

If it’s something she’ll naturally come to know, then as the old man said, there’s no need to worry about it beforehand.

Having sorted out her mind and emptied her thoughts, Alicia was about to lift her cup of tea when-

“Ah, but I didn’t call the daughter of Craig here to say that…”

“…Pardon?”

After spouting a bunch of serious-sounding, incredibly suspicious things, that wasn’t what he wanted to talk about?

Ignoring Alicia’s gaze that couldn’t hide her astonishment, the old man coughed a few times as if nothing had happened, composed his expression, and opened his mouth.

“You know that strange monsters have recently appeared, right?”

“His Majesty calls them mutants.”

“Ah, yes. The First mentioned that.”

Although the Emperor exchanges news with the Tower of Sages, his main contact is usually the First Sage of the tower.

Recalling the contents of the correspondence shared between him and the Emperor, the old man nodded his head.

“You must also know that those mutants call out your name.”

“Yes…”

“Do you also know that they avoid fairies?”

“Pardon?”

“The climbing rose your father created to commemorate your birthday. The mutants avoid it.”

How he came to know that fact was truly by chance.

The climbing rose improved for Alicia was also sent as a gift to the Tower of Sages.

With no particular place to grow it and being told it grows well enough, they scattered the seeds to decorate the tower’s exterior as well, and without any special care, it had already been several years since it had grown lushly and covered the tower’s outer walls.

It had become so natural that they had even forgotten the fact that roses were separately planted there, but by chance, a monster—mutant—that had come near the tower chasing one of the disciples, upon seeing that fairy, took a step back, and he witnessed that scene.

“You know what’s even stranger?”

“What is it?”

“Even the black crystals couldn’t withstand being near the fairies.”

“What does that…?”

While searching the forest to investigate the mutants, the old man’s first disciple discovered suspicious black crystals and brought a few back to the tower for research.

Since they hadn’t yet obtained information from the Imperial Palace about the relationship between the black crystals and the mutants, they never thought there would be any connection between the two and did it.

But strangely, the carefully brought black crystals would disappear without a trace as soon as they entered the inside of the tower.

Having witnessed the monsters’ suspicious movements and on a hunch, they brought a few black crystals near the fairies, and starting from the part close to the roses, they rapidly turned into smoke and vanished.

“The mutants that call your name run away at the mere sight of the roses created for you, and those black crystals turn to smoke and disappear just by being near the roses.”

“So that’s why you called me to the tower?”

“Even a fool could tell that it’s related to you.”

“But the fairies… were something His Majesty ordered to be created…”

“Is there anyone who doesn’t know that the fairies are your flowers?”

No one.

From the purpose of the improvement to the process and results, everything was solely for Alicia.

Considering that the name more often used than its official name “Fairy” is “The Princess’s Flower,” it would be even more ridiculous to say it has nothing to do with her.

“So I was curious. Just what kind of person is the daughter of Craig that monsters, said to be born from feeding on human darkness, are so obsessed with and simultaneously fear?”

He wanted to see with his own two eyes what kind of person she was.

And the princess he called and confirmed possessed two flows that ordinary people could not have.

Of course, one of them was severed and could no longer continue its flow, but the severed flow was parasitically living off the other delicate and weak flow.

The old man, who could read the movements of the heavens but knew he was too lacking to read human destiny, looked at the princess with a serious face, lost in thought.

He had watched as “it,” which had lived as the long-time guardian of this mountain range, tested the visitor.

It was something the first child of the First had done, but curious about what kind of person the princess was, he pretended not to know and left it alone.

‘She has more scars than I thought, and sheds many tears.’

But she was a strong and resilient person.

She herself didn’t seem to realize yet that she had such qualities, but someday, a day would come when she would realize it on her own.

He had called her to see if she might become a calamity to the world, but the one who actually seemed dangerous was the man who had been sitting across from him until a moment ago.

‘Killian Diaz, was it?’

The old man swallowed a groan as he recalled the flow the man possessed.

A dangerous man.

One who could unleash calamity upon the world at any time for the sake of his desires.

If left alone, he was more than enough to ruin the world, but…

‘He knew it himself.’

The man who didn’t even try to hide from him just how much harm he could inflict upon this world.

The old man almost blurted out, asking if he lived like that despite knowing it so well, that’s how dangerous and tremendous the power the man possessed was.

But the only time he used that dangerously strong power was to save the princess sitting in front of the old man.

‘I should stop meddling here.’

The flow of the heavens is not something humans can change as they please just by interfering.

What the old man was allowed to do was only to “see” it, and he didn’t have the power to change it in the first place.

Nevertheless, the reason he had to call Alicia and confirm was because excessively dangerous things were gathering around her.

“Is there no way to find out how the mutants or black crystals are connected to me?”

“At least I don’t have any.”

“Then the others…”

“Even if they have the answer, they won’t meet with you. They won’t answer your questions either. They’re people who entered the tower because they didn’t want to be involved with others.”

Alicia’s shoulders slumped upon realizing she couldn’t find an answer right away.

It was certain that it was related to her, but how could it be related when she had never set foot in the northern lands, before or after the regression?

‘I have no choice but to investigate further.’

It would take some time, but she had no choice but to gather the information herself.

Of course, the one running around gathering information would be Jay, not her.

Alicia sighed and moistened her mouth with the lukewarm tea that had cooled.

“Since I called you from afar to satisfy my curiosity, if you have any other questions, feel free to ask.”

“Then…”

“Keeping in mind that you won’t find answers from me regarding the monsters.”

“Ah… then do you happen to know a way to turn back time?”

“A way to turn back time?”

“Yes, I’m curious if there’s a way to turn time back to the past and live again.”

She had simply regarded it as a blessing from God and was grateful to Him, but now that she knew the appearance of the mutants and black crystals was related to her, she realized she shouldn’t view her regression in that way anymore.

If there was a way to turn back time, it could be the cause of things that didn’t happen in the past occurring now, as they were.

“Turning back time… I think I’ve seen records of sorcerers who challenged the powers of God in the old days attempting it…”

“Can I see those records?”

“I’ll have to search for them a bit. Well, even if I find them, I don’t think I can show you the originals… If I find them, I’ll have them transcribed and sent to the Imperial Palace.”

“Thank you.”

Alicia smiled, feeling good about having caught at least a minimum clue.

Seeing her smile, the Fifth Sage “saw” a certain future that came to mind in that moment.

There is a man walking on top of the dead bodies of countless evil things.

And the beautiful woman the man holds preciously in his arms sheds endless tears and pleads for him to let her go.

The woman’s tears fall to the ground, creating a huge puddle, and that puddle turns into a swamp.

The bodies of the man and woman sink into the swamp.

Darkness, darkness, and more darkness.

At the end of the repeating darkness, the moment something appeared, the old man returned to reality and decided not to ponder what he had “seen.”

Because his long years of experience warned him not to think deeply about it.

“Be careful not to get caught.”

“Pardon?”

But the face of the woman shedding tears was so pitiful that the old man gave one small piece of advice.

When the moment comes that requires this advice, she will naturally realize it.

Recognizing that this was all he could do for her, the old man rang the bell on the table to summon his disciple.

It was time to see the guest off.

Meanwhile, the rest of the group, who had set up tents and made a campsite at the entrance of the Prisca Mountains, were each finding their own ways to endure the wait that they didn’t know how long would last.

Among them, Derek was searching the area around the campsite to resolve the unpleasant sensation that had been tugging at the back of his head these past few days.

“It feels uncomfortable at the back, like a rat has latched onto me.”

If he could just catch one solid piece of evidence, he could use his subordinates to turn the surroundings upside down.

With that thought, Derek, who had been rummaging through the nearby grass, discovered one piece of “evidence” he had been looking for between the bushes a little distance from the campsite.

“I knew it.”

A single human footprint.

Derek smiled brightly upon realizing it was the same as the one he had found near the carriage the princess was riding on the first night of the journey.