At night, I asked Shirley for permission to take a bath.
Bathing in Thialis required permission because it meant leaving the house. The back door to our home was in Alton and Shirley's room, and I didn't want to bother them, so I went through the front door and walked around the house.
I looked at the firewood stacked against the back wall of the house, then at the primitive water tank.
In Thialis, there was no water system. Every neighborhood had a well, and each house owned a clean clay tank to store water, along with a wooden bucket for daily use.
Alton never neglected it. You'd never find the water tank even half-empty.
Our backyard was fenced with wooden planks. The ground was solid; no plants or grass grew there. In the center of the yard stood a clay bathtub big enough for two people, raised about twenty centimeters off the ground on four brick legs.
Under the tub, I placed the firewood, filled the tub with water, and then sprinkled some flammable oil on the wood. I struck the two stones Shirley always used to make a spark.
… … …
When the firewood burned enough and the water began to heat, I sprinkled a bit of water over the flames to cool them down, then jumped into the tub.
The moment I sank into the water was special. It was the moment warmth embraced me amid the biting cold. It was a moment that felt like a hug.
I only raised my head above the water and leaned against the edge of the tub.
Behind me was the house, and in front of me was a green hill leading to the fenced forest.
That area was protected, but still dangerous.
The main gate of Thialis was always the safest. It was the trade route and was always guarded by the village soldiers. But the other exits of the village were not so secure. Going out during the day might be normal, but at night, no one ventured out.
I took a deep breath, then exhaled calmly. My eyes wandered across the dark forest and the star-filled sky.
In my previous world, on some clear nights, you could see a few stars, but not with the brightness and size that shone in the skies of Kias. It could be due to the light pollution of modern cities in my old world. But, sadly, Earth had lost such a view.
The stars twinkled in a black sky—some far and pulsing, others close and large. The moon of Kias—if memory served—was twice the size of Earth's, but more fractured in appearance and less brilliantly white.
As I gazed at the sky, I extended my index finger in front of my eyes.
Words I'd heard earlier echoed in my mind.
"You're not a user of constrained mana, but a manipulator of free mana. To experiment with manipulation, you must understand manifestation. And to understand manifestation, you must know what you are manifesting. The trick is a blend of imagination, focus, and knowledge. Try it later," I remembered the words of the girl with crimson hair.
Free mana meant the art of manipulating mana to create whatever you desired from it. In other words, as she'd said, manifestation.
I tried to imagine smoke rising from my finger.
But it was useless…
Then the girl's words re-entered my head. Knowledge.
Maybe I needed to know how smoke emerged… or what it was made of.
…
Huh?
Mid-thought, my eyes widened at something—the steam quietly rising from the water… white, moist vapor produced by heating water to a certain point, increasing its kinetic energy.
I closed my eyes, imagining the water evaporating… then steam released from my fingertip.
Then I felt a sting on my nail.
I opened my eyes!
"Whaaa—" I couldn't contain my surprise.
Green steam was rising from my finger.
"Haha! Damn, am I gifted!" I shouted in the middle of the tub, my legs springing up with joy.
"Yes, very much so," a voice replied.
I looked ahead—and there she stood, the frail girl, facing the bathtub, her strange eyes staring at my chest as if I had no face.
A chill ran through my entire body, and I ducked into the tub. Water splashed around, droplets reaching her face.
"Why are you so startled?" she asked.
"What?! What are you doing here?" I shouted.
The girl stayed silent for a moment, then smiled.
"As if I know. I'm in an endless cycle. Why today and here? Why yesterday in the land of monsters? Why is every cycle in a different place?" She placed both arms on the tub's edge and leaned on them, revealing a mischievous grin. "But maybe this cycle will be different. In this miserable place, in this ancient body… something has appeared before me that I've never seen before. Something that cannot be a mere coincidence."
She reached out and rubbed my hair.
"Did the strands I planted fall off? Or did your father notice?"
At that moment, something changed.
Something changed around me—like life had suddenly slowed down. As if the sky, if I looked up, would appear in slow, fragmented frames.
As if the breeze I'd been feeling had become so slow it could barely move.
As if the world had become half-frozen.
And this girl before me…
She didn't seem older than twenty-five, but she was scary. Her eyes suddenly vanished, replaced by a pitch-black abyss I dared not look into for more than a second.
I lowered my head in fear.
My heart began to race.
Then, in a moment…
Everything returned to normal.
The breeze blew as before.
My vision flowed without interruption.
And when I raised my head to look at the girl, her crimson eyes were back in place, her smile now softer and more natural.
"Did your father refuse the idea of you accompanying me?"
"No—" I didn't know how to respond. Instead, I had very few options.
"Then why are you scared?"
Huh? Is this girl stupid?
"What are you talking about? Didn't you just stop time? How am I not supposed to be scared? I can barely believe I'm not dreaming!"
I couldn't hold back. My voice was a little loud. I even forgot my fear for a moment.
The girl laughed in return, then squeezed my cheeks.
"You're adorable. I'm Riam, the Time Witch," she said. "Come to the forest tomorrow. I'll teach you the basics of magic. If you don't trust me yet, just tell your father you're visiting me. He won't say no."
"Why should I come?" I asked immediately, pushing her hands away. "Who said I want to learn magic?"
"You don't want to?" Her smile vanished. "That's impossible. If you don't want it, then this whole thing is ridiculous. I'll just kidnap you and teach you."
Huhhh??
My eyes widened.
"I'm kidding, dear, kidding."
She wasn't kidding. Her eyes knew nothing of jokes. No matter what Alton said, I could never trust eyes like those.
"You will trust me," the witch said, perhaps reading my mind. "We were meant to meet, and you're meant to accompany me on my journey." Her smile disappeared once more. "Finish your bath now. We'll meet again soon."
Then she turned around.
Her frail back ascended the green hill slowly…
And I could have shouted after her. I could have told her I wasn't anyone's toy. I could have reminded myself that I was different from who I used to be in my previous world—that the choice was mine, and I would not walk a path dictated by anyone else.
But I was also smart enough to know—she wasn't something ordinary. Her vanishing eyes from moments ago… the time that almost stopped…
I wasn't in a place to argue.
In the end, I finished my bath, changed my clothes, and climbed to the attic to sleep.