The morning in the northern region began with a chilly mist.
This land rarely saw a clear sunrise, and the heavy, frost-like fog that clung to every surface gave the surroundings an oppressive atmosphere.
Florin stirred awake, pushing her blanket aside. She glanced at the spot where Baek Yu-Seol was supposed to have slept.
However, there wasn't a single trace of him having been there overnight.
Instead, a blanket left on the sofa hinted that he'd chosen to sleep there instead, likely so she could have the bed to herself.
"Oh, you're awake? Want to have breakfast?"
Baek Yu-Seol appeared, towel-drying his hair. He waved her over to the dining table, where a covered tray of dishes waited.
"You're up early."
"I don't sleep much."
Despite having gone to bed later than her, he had still woken up earlier.
Florin got up, walked over to the window, and pulled it open.
A cool breeze swept in, filling her lungs with refreshing air.
But as she looked out, she couldn't help but recall the city she had seen yesterday… and how different it felt today.
Scars now marked the buildings scattered throughout the city.
Those scars, which hadn't been there the day before, looked as though they had been carved by a blade.
It was obvious they were the remnants of a battle. A battle that had taken place the previous night.
"… What happened yesterday?"
Baek Yu-Seol paused, still holding a plate in one hand, and scratched his cheek.
"Well… 'Hunters' showed up. I think one of them might've recognized your face."
"It's because of me, isn't it? I can fight too, you know."
"Hmm. I'd rather you didn't."
He didn't directly say it was because she was weaker without the World Tree's protection, but the implication was there.
"Why not?"
Baek Yu-Seol's expression turned unusually serious.
"Because… protecting a woman in battle just feels… cool. Heroic, even."
The absurdity of his response made Florin burst into laughter.
"Let's just eat."
"Sure."
As Florin took her seat at the table, Baek Yu-Seol handed her utensils.
"We'll head to the abandoned mine after we pick up a few supplies… nothing fancy, just the essentials."
"Do you think… More uninvited guests will show up tonight?"
Baek Yu-Seol shrugged and bit into a piece of bread.
"Hard to say. I cleared out their base, but I can't be sure. Those guys are like cockroaches. You never know if they're truly gone."
"But if they come back again…"
"Then I'll just crush them all again."
"I-I see…"
Hearing Baek Yu-Seol speak so casually, as if dealing with enemies was no different from swatting flies, Florin felt a strange mix of emotions.
***
Clatter. Clatter—!
The steady rattling of the train reverberated through the cabin, and the world beyond the windows blurred past them.
"Ugh…"
"Huff…"
Hong Bi-Yeon glanced at the two girls… one with blue hair and the other pale and slender. They were fast asleep while leaning against her shoulders.
For a moment, she thought about pushing them off but decided against it.
These girls, despite their smaller frames, were about to undertake an enormous task.
Understanding the gravity of their shared mission, Hong Bi-Yeon reluctantly let them rest.
Crossing her legs, she finally opened a book… a luxury she hadn't indulged in since she first fell ill.
Strangely, the words came into focus with unexpected clarity.
Her headache was gone.
It wasn't that she had suddenly recovered.
Rather, it was thanks to Flame's magic… a mysterious blessing that numbed her pain without fully curing the fever.
True to Flame's warning, her body still radiated heat, but at least she didn't need to rush to the temple anymore.
'I'll handle this fever myself… somehow.'
She just had to endure the discomfort.
Flame had cautioned that the effects wouldn't last long due to her natural resistance to blessings, but as long as it held for today, that would be enough.
'It might've been smarter to save this for the ball… but it can't be helped.'
The ball. It was the most important day of her life.
A one-time remedy like this might have been best saved for that event.
But she had no regrets.
Clatter! Clatter—!
The train sped along the tracks.
That's right.
Hong Bi-Yeon wasn't riding in her royal family's exclusive carriage anymore. Instead, she had abandoned her original plan to visit the temple and boarded the train with Flame and Eisel.
Truthfully, she had little choice; ever since Flame spoke of the Star Archive last summer, she hadn't been able to forget the visions of a boy who rewound time thousands of times to save the world.
That memory - of his repeated race against fate - still lingered, pulling her in like a magnetic force.
"Mmm… Ugh…"
Flame woke up at last, stretching her arms with a satisfied groan. Right beside her, Eisel roused as well, mirroring Flame's stretch in perfect unison.
"We're already here… Hong Bi-Yeon, wake up. It's time to get off."
"Yawn… Are we there already? Hey, wake up. We're getting off."
Seeing the two shorter girls making noise on either side of her gave Hong Bi-Yeon a sudden urge to set them on fire… but she resisted.
She was more mature than these brats.
She was a princess of the great Adolevit royal family, after all.
"I'm getting off first."
"Huh? Wait a second!"
"Let me just grab my stuff…!"
While the other two wrestled with their towering backpacks, Hong Bi-Yeon simply picked up a small, elegant handbag.
She stepped off the train and raised a hand to shield her eyes from the sunlight, letting the warm breeze flow over her like a gentle welcome.
She hadn't realized just how long it had been since she last left the dormitory.
As she brushed her hair back over her shoulders and walked forward, dozens of eyes immediately turned to her.
Sure, there were plenty of beautiful people in the world.
But Hong Bi-Yeon carried an aura… something other ordinary beauties simply couldn't replicate.
She drew people's attention like a powerful magnet… or like gravity itself.
Despite wearing no more than a simple outfit - plain jeans, a white short-sleeved shirt, and a diagonal handbag - she still carried herself with a regal poise that made even high-end designer gowns seem dull by comparison.
"… Are you trying to hold a fashion show all by yourself or something?"
Flame finally emerged from the train, hauling a massive backpack. She couldn't help but chide Hong Bi-Yeon, who looked effortlessly glamorous just standing there.
But Hong Bi-Yeon simply shrugged.
"I don't see any point in avoiding a little attention."
She wasn't even posing dramatically… her hand was raised to shade her eyes from the sun, a stance that should have downplayed her presence.
Yet she still stood out in the crowd. If she had truly dressed to impress, she probably would've stopped traffic.
"Honestly, you two look more out of place wearing your school uniforms on a trip."
"Stella's student uniforms double as excellent combat gear."
Eisel chimed in, somehow managing to balance her enormous pack despite her slight frame. She wasn't wrong; they hadn't come here for sightseeing.
"Hm… Maybe I should just buy a robe from a luxury store nearby."
Of course, Eisel's earlier statement about their uniforms being functional only applied to students with limited funds.
In reality, society had no shortage of robes far superior to Stella's uniforms.
Most students simply couldn't afford them, making the school uniform the most practical and cost-effective option.
But Hong Bi-Yeon? She didn't need to worry about budgets.
Proving her point, she headed straight into an upscale shop renowned for blending fashion with magical functionality, so prestigious that even Eisel's eyes widened in recognition.
A short while later, Hong Bi-Yeon emerged from the store…
Wearing none other than a denim jacket.
The denim jacket paired perfectly with her tight-fitting jeans, accentuating the lines of her legs.
The jacket was cropped short, revealing the curve of her waist beneath the snug white shirt.
It wasn't exactly revealing, but it still raised the question. Did that outfit offer any protection at all?
"… Didn't you say you were going to buy a robe?"
"Yeah. This is a robe."
"It's a special robe designed by the artisans at Lonely Robe in collaboration with item alchemists. Its performance matches - or even surpasses - traditional robes, but with added style."
"… I see."
She seemed unusually chatty, likely in a good mood after her purchase. It was hard to argue, though; she looked fantastic. The ensemble made her look more like a college student headed to a spring festival than a battle-hardened mage. Beside her, Flame and Eisel appeared even more combat-ready, stark in contrast.
"Sigh, she's really in her own world."
Hong Bi-Yeon even hummed a tune. She was clearly cheerful.
But thinking about how she had been bedridden for the past few weeks, Flame couldn't bring herself to scold her.
Instead, Hong Bi-Yeon's excitement felt oddly endearing… like watching an overjoyed little sister.
"Let's keep moving. We only have two days this weekend."
"Right. We can't afford to miss class on Monday."
Flame adjusted the watch on her wrist, summoning a holographic map that shimmered in midair. Every detail of their route was clearly marked.
"This is… The Barangka Cliffs."
"Yep. That's our destination."
"Wait… Barangka? As in those cliffs stretching thousands of kilometers along the northwestern edge of the continent?"
"So you're not just a pretty face,"
Just as Eisel had pointed out, the map showed the cliffs dominating nearly half of the displayed area.
Beyond them, there was nothing but the open sea.
"It's said that the long-lost divine artifact of Silver Autumn Moon is resting somewhere along these cliffs."
"… The divine artifact of Silver Autumn Moon?"
"Yep. And I doubt even Silver Autumn Moon knows about it."
That's because this artifact was like a hidden piece in the novel.
Back when Flame had read the novel, she hadn't thought of it as Silver Autumn Moon's artifact.
There had been no explicit mention of it in the story.
But now, Flame was sure of it.
'It was the only item in the novel that could reverse time.'
She didn't know the precise conditions for activating it, since in the original story, Eisel had awakened its power by pure chance. But here, she planned to use the Fragment of Constellation to ensure it worked. She had to succeed in rewinding time… truly rewinding it this time, not merely sending her consciousness into a faint echo of the past.
'I need to know my past.'
"Are you sure this is the fastest route? I've ridden more trains than I can count."
"You've just been roaming around aimlessly. Stick with my plan."
Having these two chatterboxes along for the ride wasn't part of the original plan, but in truth, she didn't mind. Traveling with companions, no matter how noisy, was far more reassuring than going alone.