Volume 6 Chapter 13 Spring Break, It Just Started... No Way
When the light that enveloped Randy and the others settled in the coffin...
"Huh?"
Randy's eyes reflected an unfamiliar ceiling.
No, to be precise, it was somewhat familiar.
The ceiling he hadn't seen in a while could not be said to have good taste.
"Is this...?"
Randy stirred and sat up.
Similarly, everyone else also rose from their coffins, scanning their surroundings.
What they saw were black walls with pulsating tubes stretching like veins.
"This is the [Tower of Time], right?"
Only Randy and Cecilia nodded in agreement to Luke's words.
The remaining members were unfamiliar with the place, and Catherine and the others didn't even know what the term [Tower of Time] meant.
Meanwhile, Catherine had a moment of remembering that day, having been told by Annabelle that the [Tower of Time] was the identity of the final [Tower of the New Moon] of the 'Seven Wonders'.
"What a flashy door."
Before Randy, who had exited the coffin, stood a door as large as the one at those ruins.
A door adorned with reliefs of the moon and sun.
And if he turned around, there were countless coffins lined up.
Despite the differing materials of the walls, floor, and ceiling, it was undeniably the same structure as those ruins.
"Ellie."
At Randy's call, Ellie silently nodded and placed her hand on the door.
With a creaking sound, the door slowly opened... Randy also placed both hands on it from behind Ellie.
Slowly, yet surely, the 3 of them──Ellie, Liz, and Randy──began to push open the sealed door.
Brilliant light poured into the room through the gap of the door, and the view beyond was completely hidden.
But Randy understood.
Beyond this door, without a doubt, was Ellie's body.
As the 3 pushed the door open, the dazzling light settled as if it were a lie, revealing a room entirely different from the interior of the tower.
A floor made of pure white marble.
A dome-shaped ceiling and walls that seemed to encapsulate the night sky.
The countless twinkling stars on the walls and ceiling illuminated a beautiful coffin made of crystal sitting at the center.
Someone gulped at the majestic presence.
Randy found even that sound to be bothersome.
The room was so wrapped in tranquility that it felt as if entry was forbidden.
"...Ah, that coffin──"
Randy managed to squeeze out a voice, and Ellie beside him nodded silently.
Everyone cautiously stepped into the room.
The sound of footsteps on the marble echoed more than expected, causing them to exchange glances and walk on tiptoes...
As if trying to be considerate of a sleeping child, all moved stealthily, but Luke, Randy, and Catherine looked like a group of grave robbers to an outsider.
The group, being considerate of the child and the grave robbers alike, arrived at the beautiful coffin containing... another beautiful woman lying within.
"What is this... it's Elizabeth with black hair!"
It was no surprise for Catherine to exclaim.
Randy and the others knew her from that day at [Tower of Time], but for someone unfamiliar, it would only be shocking.
Only Randy...
"It's completely different. Look closely. The shape of the lips, and her expression. The sleeping face is entirely different."
...He insisted to Catherine, but only he was unaware of Ellie blushing behind him.
"Ah, yes, yes. Thank you, thank you."
Catherine waved her hand dismissively with a side-eye, prompting Randy to furrow his brows and say, "Pay attention."
"As for the big guy's bragging, we found the body, but how do we return it?"
Catherine tapped lightly on the invisible wall draped over the coffin.
Whether it was a dimensional barrier or a magic barrier,
all she could conclude was that it seemed solid.
She lightly tapped again, asking, "Is this something we can break?"
"An invisible barrier..."
"Then why not just *ask someone* who knows?"
At Luke's words, Randy and Luke turned their gaze to the corner of the room.
There was nothing.
They all stared at the horizon where stars twinkled when suddenly...
"Uh-oh. Did I get caught?"
...A woman with pink hair like Catherine's, wearing red-rimmed glasses and a lab coat appeared.
"...Charl"
"Long time no see, Nora."
Ellie, breathless, looked at the woman called Charl, who was smiling.
The glasses she wasn't wearing in that video indicated how much time had passed.
"What's with those glasses?"
"Huh? Don't they look cool? I mean, it gives off a researcher vibe."
"I don't get it."
At Ellie's snort, Charlotte pouted playfully while removing her glasses and tucking them into the pocket of her lab coat.
The unexpected image of Charlotte caught everyone off guard, but Ellie, as usual, walked closer to her.
"Are you well?"
"You too, Nora."
The two shared smiles, but suddenly Charlotte's expression clouded.
"...I'm sorry, Nora. If only I had come sooner back then..."
Charlotte's face fell further, to which Ellie sighed and replied, "It's nothing. It's in the past."
"But..."
To the still-downcast Charlotte, Ellie sighed again, "You must have been busy."
Earlier, Charlotte had claimed to be a researcher.
This implied she had been so engrossed in some study that she hadn't noticed her best friend's crisis.
"Busy... I suppose──"
Charlotte averted her gaze, but her expression suggested a hint of a bitter smile.
This reaction caused Ellie's eyebrows to twitch.
"Charl, you wouldn't..."
"But I couldn't help it. *I was traveling with darling*."
With her lips pursed, Charlotte carried an undeniable sense of déjà vu.
Everyone except Catherine thought, "Oh, this must be an ancestor of hers," but none voiced it.
"What's with this 'darling' stuff? Keep the pink to your hair."
At Ellie's snort, Charlotte's eyebrows twitched again.
"Oh my, was it *too early* for little Nora?"
Charlotte, with her cheeks puffed out, said, "I lived for love."
This provocation drew a visible vein on Ellie's temple.
Ellie, maintaining a strained smile, prepared to speak.
"You lived for love, did you? Getting caught up with useless men, and each time, you come crying to me──is that what it means to live for love?"
Ellie launched her attack, causing Charlotte to clutch her chest and lean forward with a "Guh!"
"That hit. Just now..."
In front of the crouching Charlotte, Ellie laughed heartily, "Kakakaka!"
"Nora, who has never had a boyfriend, wouldn't understand."
Charlotte, grinning, delivered her own counterattack.
"W-Who says I've never had a boyfriend? I-I've at least had one or 2..."
"Just having tea together doesn't count as having a boyfriend!"
With a triumphant look on her face, Charlotte made Ellie frown, "Ughhhh."
"What's with that way of speaking? Acting all cutesy with 'noja' won't get you a man!"
At Charlotte's teasing expression, Ellie blushed and pouted, "Y-You're so noisy!"
"And what about you? What's with the 'researcher-like' act? You were probably just caught up in some silly game again."
In response to Ellie's taunt, Charlotte blushed and pouted back, "W-Well, it's cute!"
As the two began their childish banter, Randy and the others exchanged exasperated glances.
"...Principal, I heard that our ancestors were taken care of by Lady Charlotte."
"...That's just hearsay. Hearsay changes over time."
Randy subtly averted his gaze from Lucius, who nodded thoughtfully.
Even now, Ellie and Charlotte were bickering loudly, but their faces clearly showed they were having fun.
Though it was different from the image he had in mind, their ability to speak freely with each other was a testament to the trust they had built since childhood.
That said, time was running short.
Annabelle, Cory, Catherine, and Leon.
Plus, Lucius had future plans as well.
They had spent too much time solving mysteries at the ruins to linger any longer.
Feeling guilty towards the two, Randy stepped forward from the group and opened his mouth.
"Ellie"
Ellie turned around with more force than usual at Randy's call, exclaiming, "What is it!"
Her face was filled with an intense urgency.
"Sorry to interrupt the excitement, but it's about time for your body──"
"That's right."
Regaining her composure, Ellie faced Charlotte.
"Charl, I have many things to say, but first, I must thank you for protecting my body."
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