If you don't want to just drift through life, you have to go through time.

Time flies, the years are like a shuttle.

Four years have passed since Frilian arrived at the mountain cabin, and now it's spring again.

this day.

Philon sat on the cliff, looking up into the distance, lost in thought.

A magic book rested on her lap. A gentle breeze rustled the pages, lifting the hem of her dress and ruffling a strand of her long, purple hair, the golden lilac knot headdress on it swaying slightly.

"You've been coming here a lot lately, Philon."

"Lord Haita."

Suddenly, Haita, carrying a cane, appeared beside her, indicating that his health was deteriorating day by day.

Haita saw the magic book on Philon's lap.

"You take good care of that book."

"……yes."

Because it was a gift from Truman.

While asking Frilian to decipher the magic book, Haita also asked her to teach him magic in her spare time, but the time for instruction was extremely limited. So, during the rest of the time, Philon studied the magic book on his own.

Do it at least 3 times a day.

I already know the contents of the book by heart.

Despite such frequent use of the book, it has been well protected, which shows that Philon cherishes it very much.

Effort will naturally be rewarded.

Haita looked at the distant cliffs, where the massive rocks had been blasted to dust three years ago. That was the kind of talent Philon had. Even Frilian had to marvel at how she had covered in a year what would take an ordinary person ten years.

He knew it was thanks to Truman's magic book, but it was even more due to Philon's own hard work.

For the next three years, Philon continued to improve. However, no matter how hard she tried and how often she consulted Frilian, she still couldn't complete the assignment Truman had given her.

—Dancing on the water.

Each time, it was at some point that I fell into the water.

After a while, Philon didn't say anything, but she became very depressed and gradually stopped wanting to go.

Haita saw through her inner turmoil.

"Philan, if... I mean, if one day you gained the ability to go back in time, what would you want to do?"

"I...I..."

Philon opened his mouth several times, but said nothing.

Haita chuckled. "Does this even need to be considered? Of course, it's about changing your regrets. Like me, if I had that ability, I'd have two or three... no, even more regrets I'd want to change. Little Philon thinks the same way, right? You must also have regrets you want to change."

"……yes."

"That's exactly what Truman did."

"Lord Haita?"

The sudden appearance of the person's name caught Philon off guard.

Haita patted her head and whispered, "That's what Truman did. He wanted to go back in time to change his regrets, but he failed."

"fail……"

"That's right, it failed. I don't know exactly what happened, but when Truman came back, he just said, 'My future self is the observer, and it's because of the observation from the future that I can't change the past'... And he blamed himself for it. Philon, can you forgive him?"

"No, that's not how it works!!"

Philon shook his head violently, his emotions running high.

This was the first time she had ever been so agitated. She seemed to be desperately denying it, "This wasn't Lord Truman's fault! On the contrary, I'm very grateful to him... for giving me hope and the will to live back then!"

"Hehe, is that so? Philen is such a good girl..." Haita patted her head and noticed the lilac knot tied in her hair.

Those were Truman's favorite flowers.

Everyone encounters many unpleasant things in life, one after another. That's why lilac knots appear every year. Knots can never be completely untied; similarly, life's problems are never fully solved, otherwise, wouldn't life be too mundane and tasteless?

But this knot is not only Philon's, but also Truman's.

Indeed, he has always been like this.

Haita recalled his adventures, slowly closed his eyes, and then—

"Haita-sama?...Haita-sama! Haita-sama!!"

He fell down.

……

By the time Philon struggled to carry Haita back to the mountain cabin, it was almost evening. Frilian had wanted to ask the two where they had gone, but seeing the collapsed Haita, she knew things were more serious than she had imagined.

The two carried the unconscious Haita back to bed, gave him some medicine, and he woke up shortly afterward.

Looking at the emaciated old man lying in bed, Frillie felt a pang of sadness.

Haita, on the other hand, is quite carefree.

"Don't make that face. It's a miracle you've been able to move around normally until now."

"...I will decipher the magic book as soon as possible."

Please.

Haita did not tell Frilian that the magic book was fake, nor did he intend to tell her.

Originally, this commission could have ended once Philon was able to handle things on her own, but for someone's sake, let's keep Frillie a little longer...

late at night.

Frillie deciphers the magic book in the basement.

She had been doing this job for four years, was very familiar with it, and was nearing the end. But—

"Lord Frilian."

"Philan? Is there something you don't understand that you want to ask? Excuse me, could you please wait a moment? This matter is a bit more urgent."

She didn't turn around.

Over the past four years, Philon had also asked about magic, and Frilian had never refused to answer. However, the timing wasn't right now, and she wasn't in the mood.

"No, I've come to inquire about the magic book. I want to know if it really contains magic related to the resurrection of the dead and immortality."

"Well..."

Frilian turned her body and looked at Philon, who was trying to keep her expression calm, but whose eyes and body showed unease.

"To put it simply and bluntly, it's highly unlikely to work."

"is that so."

Philon lowered his head, as if he didn't want the disappointment in his eyes to be seen.

Frillie sensed something. She silently watched Philon, who then looked up and handed her a magic book with both hands. It was a simple-looking magic book, frequently flipped through, yet well-preserved.

"Lady Frilian, I wonder if this magic book can offer you any inspiration?"

"May I?"

"Yes. Lord Truman is an important person to me, and so is Lord Highta. I would be happy to help if I can."

"Well... let me take a look."

Frilian took the spellbook.

The spellbook had no name, and the title page simply stated "To Philon," while the contents were merely basic information about magic.

Despite this—

"Wow, this book has such a comprehensive understanding of magic that it's practically a textbook. No, it wouldn't be an exaggeration to call it the Bible. If it were to circulate, wandering magicians might flock to it and fight each other over it."

"Is it something that precious?"

"That's right. It's far more valuable than you can imagine, Philon. Even if we got it from the Continental Magic Association, it would definitely be... Ah, that's unlikely for Truman."

Frillie suddenly changed her mind halfway through her sentence. Philon found it a little strange but didn't ask.

This magic book is described as a textbook-level bible, but it only records common magical knowledge and personal understanding. Apart from that, it is simply organized in a more detailed and easy-to-understand way.

Until the last page.

"To Philon..."

It was a letter written by Truman.