The Author's POV

"Junior? What are you talking about Monica?"

'Oh god.'

At Monica's arrival, the effects of Monarch's indifference wore off.

My goal was to prevent Donna from using her skill to make me talk. With Monica here, the chances of that happening were almost null to zero and thus, Monarch's indifference wore off.

"Um, Um."

Walking around me, a look of mischief appeared on Monica's face.

'What is she planning?'

Wariness flashed across my eyes.

With her hands behind her back, Monica twirled around and whistled.

"Hewww...hewww..."

Well, at least tried to. Wasted effort on her part as it just sounded like she was blowing air. She quickly gave up after a couple of tries.

She then arrived next to Donna and reassured her.

"Anyways, as I was saying. You don't have to worry about these two."

"...If you say so."

Donna nodded her head with a confused look on her face. It was clear that she was still taken aback by the news. But since Monica was the one telling her the news, she merely went along with it.

"So...is everything sorted?"

Turning her head, Donna looked at John who was slowly standing up.

Although he was injured, it wasn't that bad. Brushing her hair by the side of her ear, she sighed.

"Since he's fine, I guess everything is alright."

"Alright."

I proceeded to walk up to John. The moment I did, Donna's voice rang from behind.

"What are you doing?"

"I'm just getting my stuff back."

Bending over, I picked up the two magic cards that I used. They were still intact, but compared to the first time I used them, they shined less.

"...What are those?"

"Wow!"

Observing the cards, Monica's voice suddenly rang in front of me, startling me. Leaning forward, she curiously looked at the card in my hand.

"Is this what you used to beat him?"

She extended her hand, trying to touch the card. Moving my hand away, I glared at her.

"Hands off."

"What?"

"This is off-limit. You'll know more about it later."

"Tsk."

Monica clicked her tongue and crossed her arms. Fortunately, Monica was reasonable enough to stop. After all, there was still a crowd of people around us.

"Stingy."

She muttered under her breath. Rolling my eyes, I nudged my head in Hein's direction.

"Hein, let's go."

Lifting his head, Hein put his handkerchief away. Leaning sideways to make sure there were no smudges on his shield, only once he was sure it was shining did he finally stand up and nod his head.

"...Alright."

'I've got to have a talk with Malvil about this...It's getting out of hand.'

"If you would excuse me."

Nodding my head in Donna's and Monica's direction, I headed back upstairs under everyone's watch. As I walked up, I could feel Donna's eyes burn holes at the back of my head, but I promptly ignore it.

'She'll probably figure it out soon.'

Not like I was trying to hide it. The only reason why I was still wearing a mask was because quite a few people knew of my face, and the matter regarding 876 wasn't resolved yet.

Of course, I had plans regarding that matter.

Walking up the stairs, it wasn't long before I stopped in front of Melissa's residence. Stopping in front of her, I proceeded to hand the cards back to her.

"Here, they are not bad."

"Keep them."

But, raising her hand, Melissa passed the cards back to me. Surprise flashed across my face.

"When did you suddenly become so generous?"

Melissa's face scrunched up at my words.

"...Now why would you think I would want something you touched?"

Understanding flashed across my face.

'Figured.'

Still, I quickly retorted back. Couldn't have her out petty me.

"Why wouldn't you? Didn't you see my body?"

"Yeah, bleached my eyes after I returned home."

"Tsk."

I clicked my tongue.

From the corner of my eyes, I could see Amanda covering her eyes with her hand. Understandable, guess even she couldn't handle Melissa's pettiness.

"Anyways, keep the cards. I've got plenty of them."

"Well if you say so."

I put the cards back in my dimensional space. They may end up being useful in the future.

'Actually, I still needed to properly test the cards.'

John didn't turn out to be that good of a punching bag. It only took two cards to take him down. Was kind of disappointed. From his display, I could tell Hein was more skilled.

While in thought, flipping through her small notepad, Melissa headed back to her room.

"Okay, if you would please go away. I've got work to do."

Ci Clank—!

Before I could even say anything, the door shut with a loud bang. Shaking my head, I looked at Hein.

"What time is it?"

"About 12."

Hein replied after checking his watch.

"Hmm..."

Looking behind me, at Amanda, I asked.

"Want to go get something to eat?"

"Um."

Amanda thought for a moment before she nodded. I then turned to look at Hein.

"What about you?"

"No, sorry, I can't."

"...Oh? Got something else going?"

"Yeah, I'm supposed to meet with Leopold."

"Leopold?... Never mind, I'd rather not ask."

The withdrawal symptoms have been getting more and more severe for Leopold. It had gotten to the point where his face was sunken from sleep deprivation.

'Should I call Kevin?'

Lowering my head, I took out my communication device and messaged Kevin.

TWIIING—! TWIIIING—!

It didn't take long for him to reply. Unexpectantly he also rejected me.

[Sorry, I can't. I'm busy.]

Was a bit perplexed by the rejection, but I didn't think too much. Perhaps he was training.

"Guess he's not available as well."

Shrugging my shoulders, I looked at Amanda.

"Well, guess it's just us two."

***

With her hand on her chin, a complicated look flashed across Donna's brows.

"What's wrong?"

Walking beside her was Monica. With her hands behind her head, she had a nonchalant look on her face. Sensing something off about Donna's mood, she asked.

"Something wrong with you?"

Donna's footsteps came to a halt. Raising her head, she looked at Monica.

"Tell me, Monica. That guy from before was someone I know right?"

"...Eh?"

Coming to a stop, Monica's eyes opened up. Putting her arms away from her head, she casually looked around.

"...Am I right?"

Donna reiterated. Her tone was a lot more serious than before.

Subjected to such a tone, Monica hurriedly nodded her head.

"Yes, yes, you're right."

"Who is it?"

"It's—"

Pinching the middle of her brows, Donna raised her hand to block Monica from speaking.

"Wait, don't tell me. I think I already have an idea."

'There's only one person that would interact with Melissa and Amanda like that...moreover, that look.'

That cold and emotionless look. She thought that she was overthinking things back then, but it finally dawned on her why it looked so familiar.

If there was anyone with that look who got along with Melissa and Amanda who usually never talked with anyone, there could only be one person.

Donna lifted her head.

Turning her head back in the direction of the dorms, her amethyst-colored eyes shined.

Soon a smile appeared on her face as she muttered.

"I see...no wonder you were reacting like that."

***

Sitting inside of his own room, leaning on a chair with his arms crossed, Kevin stared at the panel in front of him.

===

[Warning.] [Warning.] [Warning.]

The time remnant has set its eyes on you.

===

The more he looked at it, the tighter the frown on his face was.

"Just what is this?"

It had been a while since he had seen this, but the sense of foreboding he got from it increased with each passing day. It was as though it was telling him that something bad was about to happen.

Kevin had been careful throughout the whole trip and the past few months, but the uneasiness within him only grew as time passed.

It had gotten to the point that he was now starting to become paranoid.

TWIIING—! TWIIIING—!

"...Hm?"

Distracting him out of his thoughts was the sound of his communication device vibrating. Lowering his head, he looked at his communication device. It was Ren.

[Do you want to have lunch with me and Amanda?]

Staring at the message, Kevin turned his attention back toward the panel in front of him. Of course, he didn't forget to send a message back to Ren.

[Sorry, I can't. I'm busy.]

TWIIIING—!

Once he did, Kevin stood up and walked in circles around the room with a thoughtful look on his face.

===

Synchronization : 27%

===

'This is the only clue I have regarding the time remnant.'

But how was he supposed to raise the synchronization rate?

He tried asking the system, but it completely ignored all of his words. Usually, it would give him answers, but this time it just stayed mute. This was another thing that increased the uneasiness in Kevin's mind.

He really had a nagging feeling that these synchronization events were really important. No, he knew that they were important.

Especially after seeing the message regarding the time remnant.

Kevin wasn't someone that liked to leave the problems for later. Ever since the appearance of the message he had been trying to find a solution to it, but despite all of his attempts, he couldn't find the answer.

"Wait...what if I used the book?"

A thought suddenly crossed his mind.

'That's right, the last time I went through a synchronization event, it was after something happened to Ren and I touched the book...which was called the time codex?'

Kevin's mind started to race. He felt like he was getting closer to the solution.

Halting his steps, he placed his arm underneath his chin.

'Time Codex...Time remnant.'

His eyes opened wide.

"What if this whatever time remnant is, is not looking for me but the time codex?...Or..."

Many ideas started to flash across Kevin's brain as he paced around the room. He was looking for the red book.

He had an inkling that perhaps he might find an answer there.

"Where did I leave it?"

But as he looked for it in his room, he suddenly noticed that it wasn't supposed to be where he originally thought it was. On his desk.

In fact, this had not been the first that this had happened.

Sometimes he would find his book a couple of centimeters away from where it was supposed to be, or sometimes it would just fall over. It didn't happen often, maybe once every few months, but now it was completely gone.

He never put much thought into it before since the book was not something others apart from him could see.

But now.

With the idea of the time remnant flashing across his mind, the uneasiness within him only grew.

"Where is it? Not here as well?"

Pacing around the room, he slowly started to panic. Flipping his whole room upside down, Kevin's breathing soon became rough.

"Haa...haa...no, no, no, where is it?"

Scratching the back of his head, he muttered.

"...It's gone."

The book was gone. No matter how much he looked, the book was gone.

'But how? Who could've taken the book? I've already tested it. There is no way anyone can see the book apart from me!'

"...Huh?"

Biting his lips hard, Kevin took a step forward. But it was then that suddenly his vision blurred. His foot stumbled slightly and the energy inside of his body suddenly drained.

Before he knew it, the ground neared his vision.

===

[Emergency quest]

Description : ∎∎∎∎∎∎∎∎∎∎∎∎∎∎∎∎∎∎∎

Synchronisation : +7%

===

"...eh?"

But just as he was about to fall, a panel suddenly popped up in front of him.

His mind was growing hazier by the second, but he was able to make out the contents of the panel.

Bang—!

Sadly, he wasn't able to see for too long as his head soon smashed against the ground and his consciousness slipped.