time magic changes depending on the medium. This is the connection between the medium and time magic.

Kaichens words came to mind. Creating time magic ultimately depended on the mediums earnestness. Unlike Acrab, which repeated today in hopes that tomorrow wouldnt come, time in Hoiore stood still from three months ago.

Time stopped was there a moment he wanted to last forever?

When I confessed to Kaichen and he told me he returned my feelings, I wished that moment would last forever. It was a memorable moment filled with happy feelings. In contrast, Walter was confused and tearing out his hair in agony. He didnt seem to have stopped time with such feelings.

Hnghh ImIm sorry I-I badly wished for something I couldnt want

Tears fell from his eyes as if he still had more to shed. We shouldve had a proper conversation, but I didnt think we could talk like this, so I handed him a tissue from the table as I spoke.

Sheliak came to see me and was worried because she couldnt reach you. Youve been out of touch for three months, I said, trying to turn the subject.

She-sheliak? Walter bit his lip, winced as raised his head.

Even if he was tear-stained, he was still handsome. With bloodshot eyes, he rubbed his face to wipe off the tears. Was she very worried? he asked.

What?

She was Shelly very worried?

Yes she was worried enough to come and ask me, even when were not that close. She was crying and saying winter in Hoiore would be too harsh for you. I came here because of Sheliak.

..

When I spoke about Sheliak, I noticed that Walters reaction immediately changed. I thought it was a good way to spur him on, so I told him everything that she divulged to me. To be honest, I didnt have a lot to say since I didnt speak much with Sheliak, but that alone comforted Walter greatly.

His eyes to the tip of his nose were red. I could also see his chin quivering as he held himself back from crying.

Hes a crybaby, this man.

He was the complete opposite of Sheliak, who seemed like someone who wouldnt bleed tears even if she got stabbed. To think these two were childhood friends it wasnt hard to imagine what their childhood would have been like.

Im not feeling well. Like Shelly said, winter here is unbearable. Recently my health has deteriorated to the extent that without the medicine prescribed by the doctor, its difficult to even go for a walk, he suddenly said.

..

The doctor told me that I had less than a month left.

Ah

Now, its difficult to endure each day, even when its not winter. It was very, very painful, he said, speaking with difficulty. The fact that I only have a month left and I couldnt even tell anyone. I couldnt go to my beloved Shelly and tell her that Id see her soon. If I went to see her like this Id die right in front of her eyes.

I continued listening solemnly. I couldnt even lift up my cold cup of tea.

I didnt want to feel that pain. But I missed her. I felt like dying a little more with every passing day. And as the days go by like this I feel like Im going insane.

My nose prickled as I vividly imagined the man, sentenced to death by terminal illness, longing for the woman he loved.

Just a little If I had gotten a little better, Id take responsibility for her. Just a little I asked her to wait

Is that why you accepted Momalhauts offer?

Yes. Because I thought Id be able to live! he lamented, despair in his face. They showed up a few days before I was going to die They said I could go back in time to when I was healthy I mustve been an idiot to be fooled by their sweet talk. But I had no choice but to believe them.

I wouldnt think that he was an idiot. If I were in such a situation, Id grab anything if I were given the chance to live by Kaichens side. I wouldnt hesitate, even if it was a piece of rotten rope.

I was destined to die anyway. I was born with a weak body and was told that I wouldnt live long since I was young. But I got greedy. Wishing for happiness isnt a sin he continued to mumble.

How much had he blamed himself for three months?

Like myself, Walter mustve suffered with nightmares seeing the unmoving citizens of Hoiore. He wouldnt have been able to breathe properly with the overwhelming guilt. Even if he tried to rationalize the situation by saying there was nothing he could do, he couldnt have turned his eyes away from the harsh reality.

He only wished for happiness that anyone would want, peace that anyone would enjoy.

What a pitiful man

Now I understood why he hadnt been glad to hear that I had come to save him. If time magic were to be broken and time could flow, Walters time, which had stopped flowing, would end. He was someone who shouldve died three months ago.

Walter was alive, purely because of time magic. Thanks to time becoming still since that day, the disease that ate his body hadnt progressed. The disease didnt worsen, but he didnt get better either.

If time stopped like this, I wouldnt have to die, he said. I thought about it this way. If I had known the truth of this magic, I wouldve thought a little differently, he laughed at himself, feeling foolish.

I looked at him in sympathy. How could I call him an evil person when I was no different?

I repeated the same thing every day like a parrot, and even if I became closer to the citizens of Acrab, everything would completely reset the next day. I could still talk to the citizens of Acrab, but in Hoiore, he couldnt communicate with anyone, not even for a day. He spent those three months mute and alone.