On the small hill.
The members of the enforcement squad looked at one another.
A long time passed.
The young witch with the pointed chin finally spoke in a dreamlike voice:
"—Captain, what just happened?"
Her voice was very soft, so soft that it seemed she feared disturbing some dreadful existence. As she spoke, she looked around in confusion at her companions, her eyes full of helplessness. "Why do I remember... that we already entered Ancient Castle, completed the seizure mission, detained Barov's Grand Wizard, and then..."
Her voice grew quieter and quieter until it vanished completely in her throat.
The wizards as young as she was were equally at a loss.
They gripped the spellbooks in their hands, the talisman pouches at their waists, and everything else they could hold onto, as though doing so could give them even a little peace of mind.
The veteran wizards, meanwhile, all wore livid expressions as they looked toward the middle-aged wizard at the head of the group.
Only the squad's sole Diviner let out a quiet sigh.
He tucked his hands into his sleeves. The Crystal Ball within continued to rotate slowly, giving off a gentle faint light. "—Dean of the Edge has reset the Timeline."
He paused. Without looking at the shocked expressions of the younger wizards, he turned instead toward the distant Ancient Castle and added softly, "We will probably need to... repeat the previous process... or rather, 'roughly' repeat the previous process..."
After saying that, he paused again, withdrew his gaze, and looked at the middle-aged wizard leading the group. There was neither blame nor questioning in his eyes, only a faintly meaningful look. "...You should be able to guess why this happened, shouldn't you?"
The middle-aged wizard nodded silently. His unfocused eyes stared at the grass beneath