The thesis was surprisingly old.

“How old is it?”

“About 500 years old. During that time, the foundations of the modern magical system were still being established, so witch hunts for those who dabbled in sorcery were rampant.”

At that time, sorcery—now called spell craft—was considered heretical and thus forbidden.

When I learned about it at school, I thought that was just how history was.

Sometimes, what was considered “evil” in the past became “good” in the present. Even today, magic was still considered a fantastical concept, found in fairy tales.

—A curious story, isn’t it?

I knew a little about the wonders of the world.

Apparently, the soul within the king had been the same for a long time.

If succession had been progressing normally, then the concept of good and bad changing with the values and beliefs of that era’s ruler would have only been natural…

…So, what caused that soul’s perception of magic to change?

I thought that person hated sorcery, hence why he invented our current modern magic system.

These new questions also sprouted because of my encounter with Nora.

My world became brighter when I met Nora Noz, the villainess from 800 years ago.

From her, I learned that sorcery wasn’t just mere fantasy. I realized that sorcery, and that villainess, were very beautiful.

I sincerely thought that the so-called witch hunt was foolish.

If only that hadn’t happened. If only Nora Noz had never been sealed away in the first place.

—The world today would be so much more wonderful.

Then, as I thought of such things…

“…Lady Travasta, is something wrong?”

Oh no, I must’ve been daydreaming.

I’m so glad Nora is asleep right now.

After wiping away the tears that were threatening to spill, I replied to Mark, “It’s nothing.”

I borrowed the thesis again and read it…

I see.

It was difficult to comprehend without delving into the finer details, but apparently, by incorporating this formula, we could send existing formulas to the past.

It might make sense to send them to the future, but to the past?

However, it seemed that advanced magic required a certain price. And no, substituting it with a catalyst wouldn’t work, as direct human mana was essential.

“So… if I cast this spell, I’ll develop Mana Deficiency?”

Mana Deficiency was, as the name suggested, a condition in which the body didn’t have enough mana. Since mana was directly tied to life force, the symptoms would include rapid aging.

Why would we need something that harms our lives?

“Well, I’d love to set off some amazing fireworks, but is it really necessary to go that far?”

“I-I suppose so… Sorry for the bizarre topic.”

Mark hurriedly took the document away from me.

Huh? It seems that I’ve misunderstood…

Could it be…?

“Do you want to help Eivind using this method?”

Luckily, we were the only ones in the clubroom at the moment.

At my straightforward question, Mark nodded; hanging his head.

“…I thought that even if I couldn’t completely remove the curse, I could send him to another timeline. Nevertheless, I do think that the concept of time could be used for fireworks. Of course, without having to go to such lengths.”

“I see…”

Certainly, magic doesn’t have volume nor mass.

Hence why the original hypothesis for this research was that it might be possible to travel to dimensions that normally couldn’t be accessed.

I shared his desire to help Eivind.

Not only was he the person that Nora loved, I was also indebted to him to some extent.

[Who’s in love with whom?]

Oh, good morning, Nora.

Nora had woken up at just the right time. I could hear a loud yawn inside of me.

I wonder how late she stays up every night? My body isn’t too tired though, so I’m not complaining.

When Nora was in command of my body, she was always thinking about me, and was even more careful with my diet and skincare routine than I was. She would panic over a hangnail, to the point of brewing a special magic potion for it.

Still, if I spent too much time with Nora when Mark was still by my side, he would only get suspicious. I tried to maintain a low profile and looked at the thesis Mark had in his arms.

I stared at it.

I kept staring at it.

“W-what is it…?”

I glanced at Mark, who had retreated a little, this time staring at him.

As I crept closer, I smiled.

“Can I borrow that thesis?”

Of course, I’m imitating Nora.

There was only one person whom I could show the thesis I borrowed, with the promise that I would never be shared with anyone else.

[I see! How interesting! Let me take care of the research!]

In the end, I might have to ask for Nora’s help.

But still, I thought this was the most useful thing I could do for Eivind and the wonderful fireworks.

What I could do was create an environment where Nora could concentrate on her research.

---

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