Chapter 135: Chapter 136: The Glittering Golden Hour (1)

"Elizabeth!""Naru!"

Upon returning to the science prep room, Naru called out to Elizabeth. Elizabeth was propping up Tywin, who could barely walk, and seemed very relieved to see Naru.

In fact, Elizabeth had been hoping for anyone to come to her aid. Tywin was struggling to breathe, as if she could pass out any moment.The situation was too much for Elizabeth, who was only in her first year of elementary school, to handle on her own.

"Tywin can't move! Shouldn't we call the adults?"

Even as she said this, Elizabeth continued to check on Tywin's condition. She wondered if Tywin could survive until the adults were summoned, but she was not sure.

'Dad said there's a window of time to save a patient! The golden time! If the right actions are taken within that time, the survival rate goes up!'

Something had to be done for Tywin.Naru, watching that, agreed.

"Let's try giving her some water!"

Naru grabbed a beaker nearby, filled it with water from the tap, and brought it to Tywin's lips. Tywin painfully gulped down the water.

"Ma...owder..."

She was saying something in a hoarse whisper that was hard to hear.Elizabeth brought her ear close to Tywin's mouth and asked.

"What? What did you say?"

"Mana powder... if I have that... I might feel a bit better..."

"Got it! Naru, help me!"

Elizabeth looked around then. Then, together with Naru, they gathered ingredients to make mana powder, poured them into the sink, and stirred frantically to create a white powder.

They dissolved it in a beaker and gave it to Tywin which seemed to ease her breathing.

"......"

Her breathing became more comfortable, but the comfort was akin to someone preparing for their last moments in the warmth of a bed by the window. Elizabeth, who often accompanied her father to the hospital and witnessed the elderly on their deathbed, felt that Tywin's state was very similar to that.

"Tywin! You mustn't lose consciousness! Naru, what should we do? Tywin might die if we just stay like this! Naru, isn't there something we can do?"

Elizabeth thought that Naru always caused problems, but at the same time, she was the friend who always had the solutions.Hoping that Naru might know something, Elizabeth asked her, but this time Naru shook her head too.

“Naru also doesn’t know...”

“...Then Tywin...”

“But I know someone who knows how to do it! We just have to do what Tywin did! Do we still have some of the powder left?”

Naru sprinkled the powder on the floor with a swoosh. Then she picked up the candle that had been knocked over in haste and lit it.

Elizabeth realized that Naru was creating a ‘magic circle,’ identical to the one Tywin had made just moments before.Its shape and form were exactly the same.

‘I heard that drawing a magic circle is incredibly difficult.’

Elizabeth didn’t know much about magic, but she vaguely understood that it was a very challenging task.Yet, Naru was perfectly replicating what she had seen just once.

‘Now that I think about it, Naru was always good at drawing!’

It was a moment of recall when Naru had drawn Elizabeth’s face perfectly during art class. Elizabeth also remembered that the drawing Naru had made was well-preserved in a frame at her house.

“Done!”

Finally, the magic circle made of candlelight and powder was complete. However, nothing seemed to change in the situation.Something must be missing.

“What did Tywin do... Tywin...”

Naru was deep in thought.Soon, Elizabeth, who had ranked second in her entrance exam scores, exclaimed.

“Tywin chanted a spell! The spell went something like─.”

Elizabeth had a good memory. She would often memorize the names of hundreds of types of medicines and chemical supplies to help her father with his work.But because of the distressing situation, she couldn’t quite remember what had just happened.

‘What did Tywin say after making the magic circle?’

She couldn’t recall.After all, it had been a very chaotic day.

“Elizabeth is smart! You’ll be able to remember!”

Clap—Naru raised her hand and cheered for Elizabeth. Perhaps because of Naru’s encouragement, Elizabeth was able to regain some composure.

Elizabeth was a bright child.She was even predicted to rival Tywin, who was called a prodigy.

Considering the mysterious origin and identity of Tywin, Elizabeth’s brilliance to be compared with Tywin's was exceptionally remarkable.

‘I’m confident in my memorization, if nothing else. Just take your time and trace back. What Tywin had said was...’

Flash—At that moment, something on Elizabeth's head shone like the morning star.

"O twilight's end, shining morning star. I, Elizabeth, long to hear your voice. I beseech you, Epar, bestow strength upon your servant!"

Such was the incantation.But... Nothing in particular happened.When Tywin had recited the spell earlier, many things happened at once, like the colors of the candles had changed.

"What's going on? Is intonation important?"

It was a moment of perplexing confusion.That's when Naru spoke.

"O twilight's end, shining morning star. I, Naru Barjudas, long to hear your voice. I beseech you, Epar, bestow strength upon your servant!"

Fwoosh—!The window flung open on its own.Whoosh—

Like a storm was blowing, a strong wind extinguished all the candles.Elizabeth felt as if she might be blown away by the sudden gust.

Pop—Thankfully, the wind stopped.

When Elizabeth lifted her head after the gust, she felt like it had shortened her lifespan by five years, she saw a person as tall as the ceiling standing between the candles and the magic circle.

It was a woman draped in a veil like the Milky Way across her face and body.Just looking at her figure, Elizabeth closed her eyes in great fear and bowed her head to the ground.But Naru seemed unfazed.

"I want to help Tywin!"

『The child's time is running short. To gain time, you must sacrifice something precious. Naru Barjudas, daughter of Brigitte, will you become my new errand runner?』

"Errands... bothersome, but..."

『Time naturally flows like a waterfall from top to bottom... However, by sending you to the past, the flow has become mixed. Many will lose their way.』

Epar's dawn sky-like eyes twinkled.

『Can you become a guide for those who are lost? It won't be easy. The pain associated with the rising entropy...』

"Naru doesn't know about that! But I want to help Tywin!"

『Very well. Naru Barjudas, I shall take your time. And as a bonus, you will no longer be able to taste strawberries. Is that acceptable?』

"...Even winter strawberries?"

『Winter strawberries, summer strawberries, wild strawberries, forest strawberries, cave strawberries, space strawberries, etc. You will no longer taste any strawberries. It means losing something precious.』

It was shocking news.Naru could only tremble and do nothing else.

"Space strawberries! Naru didn't even know such a thing existed! Not being able to taste strawberries anymore... Uhuhu... Tywin... strawberries..., Uhuhu...."

Naru pondered for a long while.And finally nodded.

"Alright! Naru... can go on without strawberries...! From now on, I'll eat peaches...!"

Abandoning strawberries to eat peaches.Epar has lived for a very, very long time and seen many, many things, but..., even she felt a bit dizzy.Of course, that's not what's important right now.

『Very well. Then you shall become my servant for the time granted to Tywin as a reprieve. This will save Tywin. Take it.』

Rustle— Rustle—As Epar waved her hand, a piece of paper fell.

It was a thin paper.And it was also in Naru's memory.It was exactly the same as the paper Brigitte gave Naru as a gift for her school admission.

"It's a familiar contract! Naru knows this! If we each smear a drop of our blood, we can become friends! Does that mean I can make Tywin my friend like Molumolu?"

"St...Stop it...."

Tywin was startled.Tywin's body had originally contracted with Elle Cladeco.

Taking advantage of the loosened relationship with Elle due to her reduced lifespan, it seemed as if Naru was trying to steal that contract.Yes.It was like stealing the contract like a thief!

Becoming Naru's familiar!That was a more terrifying thing to Tywin than death itself, so she wanted to scream.

"St...Stop it...."

"It's okay! Naru is good at stabbing! If you stab it wrong, it'll hurt a little, and if you stab it correctly, it'll hurt a lot!"

Slash—Naru spun a butterfly knife from her pocket.And with it, she cut Tywin's palm!

"Hiiik!"

"Done! From now on, Tywin is Naru's new Molumolu!"

Naru smeared Tywin's blood on the contract. Then she stamped her own blood on it too.Woosh-.The glowing contract.Seeing it, Epar chuckled, "Hoho-."

『The contract is confirmed. Naru Barjudas, you are now my servant. It feels good to breathe the air of the mortal world for once. It's been a long time since I've manifested this clearly. Any other questions?』

Epar asked.Naru seemed to think for a moment, then parted her lips.

"Do you know where Molumolu is?"

『That's beyond what I can tell you. Now, I shall take my leave.』

* * *

Poof—With a small explosion of dust, Epar disappeared.

Now only Elizabeth, Naru, and Tywin remained.Tywin's complexion had just returned as if it was a lie that she had been breathless, and her hair color had darkened a bit past ash.Snap—Tywin grabbed Naru by the scruff.

"Idiot! Do you realize what you've done? Becoming a servant to the goddess Epar! You, until you die you will be a servant of the gods! You've become a slave!"

Demiurges.

They were neither good nor evil.Thus, their essence was chaos.To become their servant was like setting sail in a raging storm.Of course, Naru didn't care about such things.

“Tywin, I'm glad you're alive!”

Wham—Naru hugged Tywin.Of course, Tywin pushed Naru away with a look of disgust.

“Get away!”

Pop—Naru fell in the direction Tywin had pushed her.And she did not get up.Elizabeth panicked at the sight.

“Tywin! What are you doing to Naru who helped you?! You wicked girl!”

“...No, I didn't push her that hard. But it seems she's out of strength. She spoke with a goddess and even made a familiar contract. On the other hand, my body is now overflowing with strength.”

Tywin was receiving magical power from Naru.Magic power is sometimes akin to life force.

Naru was now expanding the life force of two beings.In other words, Naru's time was flowing at twice the speed.Because she was literally sharing her time and life with Tywin, Tywin couldn't understand.

“Why go to such lengths? Are you stupid?”

Elizabeth answered that.

“I've always told you. Naru is kind. That’s why she did it.”

“......”

Tywin couldn't understand.So instead of trying to understand, she just picked up Naru, who was lying face down on the cold floor.

“Naru, don’t get the wrong idea. I’m not looking after you because I’m your familiar. I’m carrying you because if you get hurt or sick, it affects my condition too.”

Of course, Naru did not reply because she was snoring in her sleep.Tywin didn't speak to Naru anymore.Instead, she talked to Elizabeth.

“You did quite well too. For a second-ranked student.”

“Hmph, I’ll be number one on this term’s exams.”

“So where did the butterfly go? Did Cecily and Hina chase after the butterfly?”

To Tywin's question, Elizabeth shook her head with a well─.Slide—The door to the science prep room opened, and Professor Isaac, the science teacher, entered.He adjusted his glasses with a meticulous look and said,

“What is the meaning of this mess? Using chemicals without permission. Follow me to the staff room!”

It seemed it would take a while to rejoin Hina and Cecily's /genesisforsaken