Volume 3 Chapter 46 It's Different From What I Expected
After finishing the group photo, Randy and the others finally started to break down the dragon materials.
"Hey, they call it dragon skin, but isn't it 'scales' instead?"
Next to Randy, Liz looked up at the giant body and tilted her head, asking, "I wonder?"
"Oh, Ellie said there's a really thin layer of skin under the scales."
When Randy heard that, he said, "Oh," and peeled off a scale from the dragon. Blood slowly oozed out from the gap where the scale was removed.
"Skin?"
"They say it's pretty thin, so we need to be careful with it."
Liz gave a wry smile, and Randy replied, "Hmm," while looking at the tip of the scale he just took off. Sure enough, there was a thin membrane attached. It seemed really thin considering it was on that giant body.
"Please wait a moment... I'll separate everything."
With that, Liz started breaking down the huge dragon. She neatly separated the scales, bones, meat, blood, horns, fangs, and claws, and what was left was...
"It shrank a bit."
...a piece of skin about the size of a large blue tarp. The thin skin had shrunk to be thicker for durability, making it much smaller than you'd expect from the dragon's surface area.
"They say we can manage with 4 people."
Liz said to leave it to her, and Randy remembered to take more photos of the inside of the tower for Annabelle and Cory. After taking a good number of pictures and almost running out of film...
Just as Ellie said, they managed to create enough Coats of Time with the other materials stored in the tower's center.
The pitch-black cloak was simple, with a hood that covered everything from head to toe. It looked just like the robe needed to enter the [Tower of the New Moon].
"A black robe... it's possible that ancient humans saw this."
Thinking of the 'Seven Wonders,' Randy put on the Coat of Time. Unlike a regular robe, it felt thin but gave a strong sense of protection. However...
"Hey, there's a pervert here."
...Randy, wearing the cloak with no shirt, looked like a pervert, which was a problem.
"Who's the pervert?"
Randy furrowed his brows and noticed something.
"Hey... what happened to your torn-up jacket?"
Luke, who was supposed to have a ripped outfit, was now looking neat and tidy.
"Of course, I brought a spare."
With an exasperated look, Luke said, "And you think there's a size for a giant like you?"
Randy reached out, saying, "Let me borrow one."
"Are you stupid? There's no size for someone like you."
With a sigh, Luke continued, still looking annoyed, "Didn't you say back at the old school that we needed a spare? Is that bag around your waist just for show?"
"It's not for show."
Pouting, Randy pulled out his usual iron lump from his magic bag──useful for many things──and several snacks, which he called emergency food.
"...You're really an idiot."
"I'm not an idiot. Emergency food is a must for exploring."
As Randy continued to pout, Luke held his head in his hands, thinking back to when they went to explore Beast Forest, and Randy had brought a bunch of snacks, calling them "emergency food."
While Harrison and Luke brought spare weapons and herbs, those snacks had actually come in handy at times. Remembering that, Luke smiled and said, "I guess I am a bit hungry," tossing one of the snacks into his mouth.
"Hey, idiot Luke, that's my favorite!"
"I don't care. I like it too."
As if the fierce battle they just had was a lie, the two started joking around again, making Liz and Cecilia laugh. Everyone filled their stomachs with Randy's so-called emergency snacks.
"Alright, let's get ready to jump back in time."
Before they knew it, the atmosphere felt like the school terrace again, and the 4 of them relaxed as they headed toward the back door. They passed through the door and arrived back in front of the oval device.
Now it was Ellie's turn to work, and everyone quietly watched as she operated the device. Ellie was focused for a while, but then she let out a sigh that sounded relieved.
"More trouble again?"
Randy tilted his head, and Ellie stepped aside to show him the words displayed on the oval device.
'Durability Insufficient'
Randy frowned at the words.
"What does that mean?"
"It's about the tower's durability. We probably pushed it too hard."
Maybe it was Randy and the others who went crazy against the dragon. Or was it because they forced their way into the tower?
Anyway, it seems the tower's durability is lacking. According to Ellie, to travel back to the past... about 1,200 years ago, the tower's current strength isn't enough. The longer the time travel, the more energy it needs. The tower isn't strong enough to store that energy for time travel.
"So, you mean we messed up the item-making for traveling..."
"That's just backwards."
Randy and Luke slumped their shoulders. Ellie laughed a bit at herself, saying, "If it were about ten years ago, it would have worked." But even if they went back ten years, Ellie would still be stuck in the shrine's seal. It wouldn't help her at all.
"What if we just wait for the tower to recover?"
They said the tower is like a living thing. So, Randy hoped it would have some self-repair ability, but he didn't notice Luke quietly muttering, "Ten years..." at the back.
"At the very least, it will take ten years."
"Looks like we need ten years too..."
The consequences of their wild actions mean they have to wait ten years. For a moment, Randy thought about warping ten years ahead and finding the tower fixed, but the tower would still be in the same place. Even if they went ten years into the future, the tower would still be the same. In fact, it might even get weaker from the travel.
It's frustrating, but they did what they could.
"Guess we have no choice. Should we head back today?"
"Yeah. We also need to decide what to do with the dragon materials."
Ellie flicked her cloak, and Randy nodded, "That's true." All the materials were already stored in Liz's item box.
Thanks to the dimension magic that Ellie modified, the item box's capacity increased a lot, so it could hold the dragon materials without any problem.
"For now, let's eat the meat."
"What about the scales and claws──."
"Excuse me!"
Everyone turned to Luke, who suddenly interrupted.
"Sorry, Lady Eleonora. I know this is selfish, but... is it possible for you to send me back 7 years?"
With a serious look, Liz sighed and said, "I'll at least hear your reason."
"I just want to apologize to someone... no, to my mother."
Luke talked about his mother, who passed away about 7 years ago. She had been weak for a long time, and the stress from Luke's relationship with the noble family took a toll on her health, leading to her death.
In her last years, she spent most of her time bedridden at home.
"On the day my mother died, I had a fight with her..."
It's a common story. He ran out of the house, played with Randy, and when he came back in the evening... there was no mother to say "Welcome home." All he saw was his mother lying in bed, surrounded by many people, looking peaceful.
Luke completely lost the chance to apologize to her.
"So... if possible, I want to say sorry to her."
Luke spoke with a pained but somewhat shy expression, and Ellie stayed silent.
After a moment of silence, Luke's voice trembled as he said, "Um, if it's not possible──"
Ellie let out a big sigh.
"Do you know the risks of interfering with the past, Luke?"
Luke silently shook his head at Ellie's serious expression.
"Even if it's something small, interfering with the past can change the future a lot."
There's even a chance he might not be able to return to this world. Luke's eyes widened at that thought. Even Ellie planned to just peek at what happened through the dimensional barrier. Hearing that made it even more serious.
"So, I can't just accept your proposal easily... but──."
Ellie sighed again and looked at Luke, saying, "If you agree to my conditions, I might consider it."
"What are the conditions...?"
Luke swallowed hard.
"'You cannot change the future where someone dies.' You can only meet your mother. And you must keep this a secret."
Ellie, who had just crushed Luke's "maybe," looked away a bit, feeling sorry.
"Even if a dying person has a little confusion in their memory, if no one talks about it, it won't really affect the future... I think."
They could barely move now.
And if no one talks about it, something inside that person will change, and they'll just die like that.
That's what Ellie probably meant.
(It was like going to see Grandma or something...)
Randy understood it that way. Of course, reality isn't that simple, but Ellie said, "If it's just a small change, we can expect time to bounce back."
In the big picture, even if there are tiny differences in the past, time as a whole tends to flow towards a big event. Randy guessed that right now, it would likely converge towards a moment that would be remembered in human history.
"That said, if the conditions I mentioned earlier aren't met, know that this time will never come back."
Luke silently nodded at Ellie's words.
So, Luke's "Sorry, Mom" plan was quickly put into action by Ellie and Randy.
Ellie set the time and conditions.
Randy gave detailed instructions about the location of Luke's childhood home.
Finally, they finished preparing, and everyone took their seats following Ellie's instructions.
"Is everyone ready?"
Ellie sat in the middle, while Randy still complained, "I want to sit in the middle too," but no one paid him any mind.
Sitting in the central chair, Ellie touched the crystal in front of her and spoke.
"Everyone, hold on tight... Time-travel magic 'Time Crossing' activated!"
As soon as Ellie's magic activated, a huge black vortex appeared outside the glass window. Only Randy was actually excited about the scene and Ellie's announcement.
In front of him was the glass window.
There were multiple seats.
In Randy's mind, this place felt like a bridge, and he imagined the top floor transforming like an airplane, diving into the swirling time vortex. So he muttered, "System all green" to himself...
"Huh? It's not transforming?"
Randy muttered. Just then, the whole tower started moving as if it was being sucked into the vortex.
"Hold on tight!"
"That's what the chairs are for, right?"
The 3 of them understood, but Randy was still confused.
"No, no, no, no, no!"
Randy gripped the chair tightly and checked his seatbelt, his eyes wandering over the console. He was looking for a launch button, but unfortunately, there was none.
'Route: Seven years ago, Dukedom of Highland... Destination: 1,200 years ago, ■■■■──Due to low durability, part of the sequence has been changed. It will only connect to the era.'
"What!?"
"Huh?"
"What does that mean?"
Inside the tower, being dragged along, the other 3 looked up in surprise.
They shouldn't be able to travel to the time when Ellie was alive, but the magic they had input earlier was activating, even if it was in an incomplete form.
"I don't know, but I can't stop it now!"
The tower, pulled into the time vortex, was finally swallowed by it headfirst.
Amid the distorted scenery, everyone screamed. Except for one person...
"No, no way! It should turn into an airplaneee!"
...only Randy's soul-crushing shout felt out of place.
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