WCSVL 05

Chapter – 05

The Spirit of Time.

Morning sunlight filtered through the trees in sparkling beams.

Together with the magical beast that had unexpectedly proven itself a loyal companion—now renamed Kotarou (by Ruri)—she was searching for medicinal herbs and edible plants in the forest.

She didn’t know which plants were medicinal or edible in this world, but the spirits that always clung to her would explain and teach her as they went, so there was no worry about mistakenly picking something poisonous.

“What about this one?”

“*It’s safe.*”
“*The texture is interesting—*”

The spirits themselves didn’t eat or drink, but they existed everywhere and shared information among themselves. Even spirits living in remote places would receive information about various things from those living near humans.

She’d heard that the forest was full of magical beasts, but Kotarou turned out to be at the top of the food chain—a surprisingly powerful creature. When she praised him, he puffed up with pride.

At first, Ruri had been too frightened by his appearance to even approach him, but she’d gradually grown used to him. When scolded, he’d droop his tail and look dejected; when praised, he’d wag his tail like a happy dog. Kotarou’s emotions were so easy to read that she’d even started finding him cute.

Once the basket he was carrying in his mouth was full, they headed back to Chelsea’s house. Chelsea had rewritten the barrier around the house so Kotarou could enter as well.

In front of the house, Chelsea had spread out a large cloth and was waiting for them.

“I’m home.”

“Oh my, you’ve gathered quite a lot.”

They emptied the basket onto the cloth and began sorting everything by type. These items were to be sold at the market in the town they were heading to.

What’s more, that town was home to many demi-humans, so the prospect of meeting them had Ruri in high spirits since morning.

As she hummed while sorting, Chelsea looked at the items she’d brought back and his face twitched.

Ruri didn’t know it, but most of what she’d picked up on the spirits’ instruction were highly potent medicinal herbs and fruits that rarely appeared on the market. Chelsea roughly calculated their value and felt dizzy.

*(I need to teach this girl the value of things quickly, or it’s going to become a serious problem.)*

Whether the spirits were trying to please her or not, there were even herbs that shouldn’t grow in this season. Selling such rare items in large quantities would inevitably draw attention.

If she caught the eye of someone with ill intentions, it would be dangerous.

In this case, what Chelsea was worried about wasn’t Ruri herself, but the impact that the spirits—who would move to protect her—would have on those around her.

Chelsea decided not to sell everything, only about half. He stored the rest by opening a spatial rift and tossing them inside.

Ruri’s eyes went wide at the glowing tear that suddenly appeared in an otherwise ordinary spot.

“Chelsea! What is that? That!”

“What do you mean? I just opened a space.”

“How?!”

After giving her an odd look, he realized that what was common sense to him wasn’t to her, and nodded in understanding.

“This works by reaching out to the Spirit of Time and connecting to the dimension where it resides. Anything placed inside this space is frozen in time—it doesn’t age or decay.”

“Can I do it too?”

“Give it a try.”

Perhaps because she could easily imagine it from the games she’d played in the past, she effortlessly created a glowing circular rift before her. It felt like it drained more magic than usual, but the excitement of seeing the rift made her forget that in an instant.

“Whoa—!”

Seeing Ruri create it so easily, Chelsea let out a wry laugh.

Ignoring Chelsea’s reaction, Ruri, driven by curiosity, stuck her head into the glowing rift.

Chelsea’s eyes nearly popped out of his head. From the outside, it looked like a headless torso sitting there—quite a horror scene. Chelsea frantically pulled her body back out.

“Whoa! What are you doing all of a sudden?!”

“That’s my line! What on earth were you thinking?!”

“I just wondered what it looked like inside.”

“Only a fool sticks their head into a spatial rift!”

“Really?”

How terrifying ignorance could be.

Unlike the horrified Chelsea, Ruri tilted her head innocently and continued, “But…”

“It’s actually quite spacious and bright inside, you know?”

“Huh?”

“Come on, Chelsea, take a look too.”

She pushed the reluctant Chelsea toward the glowing rift. Though he resisted with all his might, his curiosity got the better of him, and he cautiously placed his hands on the rift, held his breath, and thrust his head in.

“What a surreal sight…”

Watching the headless Chelsea, Ruri realized that this must have been how she looked too. With an indescribable expression, she watched as Chelsea pulled his head back out, looking dazed.

“Chelsea?”

She waved her hand in front of his face, and he snapped back to reality.

“Are you okay?”

“Yeah, I’m fine. Just a little surprised. I never imagined the inside of a spatial rift would look like that.”

“You’ve really never gone inside before?”

“I suppose it’s what you’d call a fixed mindset. I assumed it was impossible. Besides, the spaces I can create aren’t very large, so I couldn’t have fit anyway.”

Ruri thought for a moment. She wanted to go all the way inside, but from Chelsea’s reaction, she couldn’t be certain it was safe. She didn’t want to do anything dangerous, but at least she’d confirmed she could breathe when she put her face in.

“Hmm… I want to go in, but what should I do?”

What if the entrance closed the moment she went in and she couldn’t get out? As she agonized over it, the spirits giggled and spoke to her.

“*It’s okay.*”
“*She says come in.*”

“Come in…? Who?”

“*You’ll know if you go.*”

Reasoning that if the spirits said it was fine, it probably was, she enlarged the rift enough to enter and jumped in.

Inside was the same spacious area she’d glimpsed before. The walls, floor, and ceiling were pure white, and the ceiling was high. It resembled a large warehouse, yet it was bright enough to see everything clearly, even though there were no lights or fixtures emitting illumination.

Chelsea followed her in.

“Amazing.”

“By the way, who was it that called us here?”

“*It was me.*”

A third voice echoed directly inside their heads, and the two of them startled, trembling as they looked around frantically.

Then, seemingly from nowhere, a beautiful woman appeared—her body translucent.

“GYAAAAH! A GHOST!!”

Ruri let out a yell unbefitting of a young woman and hid behind Chelsea, shaking like a leaf.

“Calm down! It’s not a ghost—it’s a spirit!”

“A spirit…?”

Ruri cautiously peeked out from behind Chelsea. There stood a young woman, probably not much older than Ruri, with long pure white hair and golden eyes, wearing a somewhat troubled expression. Though her body was translucent, the wings sprouting from her back were the same as those of the spirits that always surrounded Ruri.

“But… she’s completely different in size…”

The spirits Ruri knew were all small enough to fit in the palm of her hand, but this woman was about the same size as Ruri or Chelsea—a normal human size.

“*Those little ones are lesser spirits. I’m a higher-ranking spirit than them. A spirit’s appearance changes depending on the power they hold.*”

Realizing it wasn’t a ghost, Ruri calmed down and apologized for making such a fuss.

“I’m sorry.”

“*It’s alright.*”

“*So the rumors are true—you really do possess tremendous magical power. There are very few who can create a space this large. I heard about you from the spirits outside and wanted to meet you. I can’t go out to that space, you see.*”

The spirit wore a somewhat lonely expression.

“Why not? We’re connected to the outside right now—why not come out with us?”

“*…Thank you. But I am the Spirit of Time. I cannot leave this dimension.*”

“The Spirit of Time?!”

Chelsea’s sudden outburst made Ruri flinch.

“Chelsea, don’t suddenly shout like that—you scared me.”

“How could I not shout! This is the Spirit of Time—a spirit said to never show itself before humans, practically legendary!”

“Huh.”

Ruri’s complete lack of comprehension made Chelsea slump his shoulders in defeat.

“There’s no point explaining it to you, is there…”

“Yeah, I only just learned about the Spirit of Time, after all. …By the way, since you’re the Spirit of Time, can you speed up or rewind time? Like, see the world ten years from now?”

The word “time travel” crossed Ruri’s mind, and her heart swelled with excitement.

“*Manipulating time requires an enormous amount of magic. Even using the magical power of everyone in the world wouldn’t be enough to move all of time itself.*”

“But time is stopped in here, right?”

“*This is my domain—the realm of time and space. It’s separate from the outside world, so it’s not bound by the flow of time. That’s why, when I connect it to that world, anything placed inside stays exactly as it was when it entered.*”

“So if I stayed in here, I wouldn age at all?”

“*Well, yes, but I don’t recommend it. If a living being stays in this world for too long, it has adverse effects on the mind. They go mad, or become a hollow shell…*”

At those unsettling words, both Ruri and Chelsea went pale.

“Then we need to get out, now!”

“Yeah, let’s hurry.”

As they rushed to leave, Ruri glanced back and saw the spirit’s lonely smile—and it struck her heart like a blow.

“Hey, are you alone in here? What about the other spirits?”

“*It’s just me. Sometimes the spirits from outside tell me about the world, but I can never meet them.*”

“How long would it take for the effects to show in this world? Would a few hours be okay?”

“*Huh? Ah, I think it should be fine as long as it’s not every day. You have strong magic, so you’d likely be less affected than others…*”

Hearing that, Ruri’s mind was made up.

“Then I’ll come visit you sometimes.”

The spirit’s eyes went wide.

“*Ehh…*”

“I’m going to town soon, so I’ll buy some fun games and things. Look forward to it.”

“*You’ll… come see me?*”

“Of course.”

Overcome with emotion, the spirit covered her face with both hands as tears streamed down her cheeks.

“*Th-thank… you…*”

They said goodbye to the spirit, who expressed her gratitude in broken words, and stepped back outside.

Chelsea gave Ruri a reproachful look. It wasn’t entirely safe, so his concern was understandable—but Ruri had no intention of changing her mind.

“Are you really sure about this?”

“I couldn’t just leave her alone…”

Her lonely expression had reminded Ruri of herself.

The loneliness of having friends and lovers who would immediately become obsessed with Asahi, leaving her with no one she could truly trust. Though their situations were different—and Ruri still had her family, so she hadn’t been completely alone—she understood the ache of longing for connection.

Chelsea said nothing more.

That day, following the pet she’d gained, a tearful friend was added to Ruri’s life.