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***

When I opened my eyes again, I was back in a familiar setting.

It was my current room.

“Wow…”

I tried to calm my still-racing heart as I checked the hourglass. The sand, which had been full at the top, had all fallen to the bottom, leaving it empty. Looking around, nothing seemed different from before I had left for the “future.”

I quickly pulled out the paper I had kept in my bosom to check its condition. The document was intact, without a single blemish. Considering that the previous emperor had reported to Hazen, who was pretending to be a saint, that the document had disappeared, I was filled with anticipation that it might contain something extraordinary.

If I showed this to some smart people, they would quickly decipher the code and uncover their plans.

I grinned in excitement as I recalled the face of the smartest person I knew.

It was Eugene.

“But isn’t it a bit risky to show an unknown document to Eugene first?”

It wasn’t that I didn’t trust Eugene. I was just worried that the young boy might get caught up in something troublesome and end up getting hurt.

“Maybe it’s better to show it to Axel or Bael first?”

Just as I was thinking this, groaning softly, there was a knock on the door, followed by Lily’s voice from outside.

“Miss, Cardinal Bael is here. He says you had an appointment.”

The timing of Bael’s visit was perfect, so there was no need for further deliberation.

“Yes! Please let him in!”

I greeted Bael with delight. As the door opened, I saw that Axel had come in with him.

Startled by the unexpected guest that Lily hadn’t mentioned, I widened my eyes at Axel, who squinted his eyes with a rather disgruntled expression.

“Why do you look so displeased?”

“I’m not displeased, just surprised. I didn’t know you were coming in together.”

“I’m not a guest, so I don’t need permission.”

“But… this is my room, so you’re a guest too…”

As I stood there, dumbfounded, my mouth agape, Lily let out a small laugh. It seemed that, to her, my exchange with Axel felt like nothing more than a light-hearted sibling squabble.

“Shall I bring some tea, Miss?”

“Please do. But we don’t need any for Axel!”

Lily gave a small bow with a smile still on her face and quietly left. It was clear she had taken my words as a joke, so Axel’s tea would probably be served as well.

“But I was serious…”

I pouted as I sat down on the sofa, and naturally, Bael and Axel took their seats opposite me.

“How did you end up coming together?”

“I went to see Axel first.”

Bael explained the situation with a gentle smile.  

“I thought it would be best for both of you to hear what I’m about to say.”  

“It would be even better if Servian and Kirke were here too.”  

I let out a small sigh of disappointment. The more heads working on a problem, the better.  

‘Besides, when all the members of the expedition are together, I feel an inexplicable sense of reassurance that things will work out…’  

Bael seemed to share my sentiment, as a hint of regret appeared on his face as well.  

However, given the current situation, there was nothing we could do about it. Kirke was busy until the former pope’s coffin left the capital, and Servian was swamped with work at the Imperial Academy after being away for so long.  

In the end, it was up to the three of us—Bael, Axel, and myself—to take the lead.  

‘Actually, that’s not quite right. Bael has to lead the final pilgrimage, so it really falls to Axel and me.’  

I glanced at Axel with a look of dissatisfaction, scanning him up and down, and he raised an eyebrow in response.  

Pretending not to notice, I quickly turned my head and handed the document I had brought from the “future” to Bael.  

“What do you think this says? I brought it from the future.”  

“The future?!”  

But Bael seemed more intrigued by the mention of the “future” than by the document I handed him.  

Axel, sitting beside him, crossed his arms and glared at me as if to say, “What on earth are you talking about?”  

The atmosphere suddenly turned accusatory, and even though I had done nothing wrong, I felt a bit intimidated.  

I placed the hourglass I had bought from the Heaven Market in front of them and began explaining the situation from the beginning.  

I started with how I felt the need to possess some convincing abilities as a saintess to counter the “Saint of the Countryside,” and continued until I described the important event I had witnessed there.  

Bael and Axel listened carefully to my long story, then began to scrutinize the document I had handed them.  

“To think they would go as far as to use encrypted documents… What exactly is the former emperor up to?”  

“Well… it might not be the former emperor who’s pulling the strings.”  

In response to Bael’s concerned words, I cautiously offered my opinion.  

“It seemed like the one orchestrating everything was the ‘Saint of the Countryside.’ That is, the man who was impersonating Hazen.”  

The former emperor seemed more like a puppet, merely acting according to Hazen’s words.  

“That disciple of yours… what exactly is he?”  

Axel, reclining on the sofa, asked.  

I was curious about that myself, but there wasn’t much I could explain.  

“After we defeated the Mad Dragon, I settled in the countryside and immersed myself in magical research. Hazen was a boy who lived in that village. He always admired mages and begged me to take him as my disciple.”  

In my memories, Hazen was a determined and sharp-witted boy. I hadn’t intended to take on a disciple, but since he was an orphan like me, and I was getting tired of doing all the menial chores myself…  

‘I thought I might as well try taking on a disciple.’  

Hazen turned out to be a fairly decent apprentice. He kept the house clean, prepared meals, and studied magic diligently in his spare time.  

He was more like a housekeeper than a disciple, but he never complained.  

Of course, he did scold me whenever I left the place a mess.

“He wasn’t a bad kid, as far as I remember. But I never knew everything about Hazen’s background. I didn’t dig too deep just because he was an orphan.”  

I didn’t know who his parents were, when he was left alone, or anything like that. Those are topics that are hard to bring up unless the person wants to talk about them first. So, even as Greslin, until the day I died, I never really knew much about Hazen’s past.  

“I heard some things indirectly through the villagers, but all they said was that he was a quiet and kind kid. He wasn’t someone who stood out much.”  

“That’s strange,” Axel remarked curtly after hearing my story.  

“Right? Now that I’m talking about it, it does seem a bit odd.”  

For someone who had lived in that village for so long, it was strange that there was so little information about his past. But back then, I was the type to just go with the flow, so I didn’t think much of it.  

Axel clicked his tongue at me in disapproval.  

“You get yourself into trouble by taking in just anyone. How did you end up with such a strange guy as your disciple?”  

“I didn’t know back then! He was good at cleaning and cooking, so I thought he was a great apprentice,” I said, defending myself as I looked to Bael for support.  

“Even if someone’s past is shrouded in mystery, it’s not right to judge them unfairly, right?”  

“Still, it’s better to be cautious. Reshia, you’re quite famous, and you’ve got plenty of enemies,” Bael responded, siding slightly with Axel.  

My shoulders slumped in disappointment as someone I thought would be on my side seemed to turn against me.  

“Anyway, it’s good that we’ve realized now that he was a strange one. And we’ve identified him as the ‘Saint of the Countryside.'”  

“Exactly!”  

I quickly nodded in agreement with Bael’s words.  

“And if Hazen is the one leading this, then I actually feel confident. He was once my disciple, so I know his personality and abilities well. Plus, now I can see the future comfortably.”  

I shook the hourglass confidently as I lifted my chin, prompting Bael to ask with a smile, “So, do you think this hourglass is related to what happened in the past? Like when you brought back the translated prophecy from the future?”  

“Hmm… It seems like its functions are a bit different…”  

This hourglass sends me from the present to the future. But when I brought back the prophecy’s translation, it wasn’t by my own will that I went to the future.  

It’s quite similar in the sense that it sends me to the future, but…  

‘Could this hourglass have other functions that I haven’t discovered yet?’  

As I pondered this, examining the hourglass closely, a bright flash appeared before my eyes, and a message window floated in the air.

**[Message from Heaven]**  

*(Notice) Item Enhancement*  

By enhancing the “Hourglass of Rewinding Time,” you can unlock additional features (reverse function).  

Enhancement Condition: Use the “Hourglass of Rewinding Time” 100 times.  

Current Usage: 1/100 times.