Taming The Villainesses

Chapter 435: The One Who Halts (10)

“No matter how you look at it, wasn’t that a bit much? Saying you’d make each of us have ten babies — there’s a limit to being manly, you know.”

“Is that really what Sir Teo said? What I heard was him asking us to endure a little longer, promising to cherish us like princesses forever.”

“To me, it sounded like he said he’d make every night fun! Though, of course, he said exactly how would be a secret!”

First Elga, then Mirna, and then Narmee spoke, one after another.

Walking inside the rift, the noble ladies were chattering about the confession I had made earlier. Whether I had truly said all those things or not, I wasn’t sure myself.

Just listening quietly made me feel rather embarrassed. So, pretending to change the subject, I looked around at the scenery and said,

“Hmm, anyway. This place is really something. I never would’ve imagined something like this existed inside the rift.”

In my eyes, I could see butterflies fluttering around. Yes, butterflies. Beautiful butterflies flitting between the flowers.

And as the existence of butterflies suggested, a vast field of springtime flowers stretched out around us, so wide that with just a light reach of my hand, delicate petals easily brushed my fingertips.

Srrk.

Ayra reached out and plucked a single red flower.

“To be honest, I thought some creepy place would show up. I never expected a flower field like this. It’s beautiful.”

It seemed the field suited Ayra’s taste quite a bit. Though it bothered me slightly that it was so vast we couldn’t even see where it ended.

Still, it was much better than some desolate dungeon. Fragrant, warm, and pleasing to the eye. Was this what the gardens of paradise were like?

But even in a place this beautiful, problems arose.

“So, where exactly are we supposed to go now?”

As Elga pointed out, there were no signs, no markers, nothing but endless fields of flowers stretching on and on.

Just—

Endlessly.

At that moment, Stella asked,

“Come to think of it, my watch isn’t working anymore. How long have we even been walking through this flower field? How much time has passed since we entered?”

She held out her broken pocket watch for us to see. No matter how much she wound the spring, the watch wouldn’t move.

Now that she mentioned it—

I couldn’t remember when we had started wandering this flower field. It felt like we had just entered moments ago... yet also like over an hour might have passed.

The others seemed just as confused.

“Didn’t we walk for, like, five minutes?”

“I feel like it’s been at least two hours.”

“I thought we’d been walking for half a day already!”

First Elga, then Mirna, and then Narmee.

Each of them perceived time completely differently. How could that even be possible? No matter how strange this place was, wasn’t the gap between five minutes and half a day a bit much?

Wondering what Ayra thought, I glanced at her. She had brought the red flower she plucked earlier up to her nose and was sniffing it intently.

Ayra said,

“It seems that here, the concept of time is all jumbled up. I’m used to it, but for those experiencing it for the first time, it must be disorienting.”

Ayra showed no sign of panic, remaining composed. She possessed the 《Clairvoyance》 talent, allowing her to see through time and glimpse the past, didn’t she?

“In this place, the flow of time doesn’t matter. It seems like it’s passing, but really, it might as well be standing still.”

Perhaps that was why Ayra could remain so unaffected even in a place where time itself was distorted. Her steadiness was reassuring, and I found myself regaining my composure as well.

I said,

“Is everyone feeling alright? No one’s feeling strange?”

Ssk, ssk.

Everyone patted themselves down, checked their bodies, and nodded.

“I think I’m fine. But it’s really weird. If time doesn’t flow here, does that mean we won’t age no matter how long we stay?”

Elga’s guess sounded plausible. If time didn’t pass, there would be no reason to age or grow old.

“With all these flowers blooming... is this the so-called paradise that the Solar Flame Sect talks about?”

At Elga’s question, Mirna glanced around before letting out a small hum of thought. Finally, after some hesitation, she answered,

“A bright field of flowers, a separate world where no one ages and everyone remains eternally young... It does resemble the paradise described by the Solar Flame Sect, but...”

Hearing her voice trail off made it clear that something didn’t sit right. Indeed, there were many aspects here that made it feel a bit off to call this place paradise.

There were no angels. No residents in white robes. No golden houses glittering in the light.

And no drinking water, no food in sight.

You couldn’t exactly live by eating flowers and butterflies, could you?

The strange thing was, despite what felt like a considerable passage of time, no one was getting hungry or thirsty.

It was a bizarre place.

Like a single, eternal moment, frozen forever within a field of flowers.

Still, its beauty was undeniable, and so, in my heart, I silently christened this nymph-friendly space “the Eternal Flower Field.”

It would be nice to bring Marmar and the other imps here someday to play.

If we ever got the chance.

Ssk.

━Gyuiing.

“Ah, Yingying!”

At that moment, Cloudling Yingying, who had been nestled in Narmee’s arms, suddenly flew off somewhere. Startled by its sudden movement, we were all thrown into confusion.

Why was it doing that?

We had no choice but to follow after it.

***

As I said before, this Eternal Flower Field was filled with nothing but colorful flowers and fluttering butterflies no matter where you looked.

It seemed like it would go on forever — or so I had judged in my heart — but as always, human expectations tend to be betrayed.

━Yingying-ying.

Cloudling, who had left Narmee’s arms, suddenly quivered, having discovered something. As we approached it—

“A campfire...?”

Whose voice was that? Elga’s? I wasn’t sure, but whoever said it, they were exactly right.

In a spot where the flowers had been flattened, there were clear traces of a campfire, like the aftermath of some alien landing site in a mystery novel.

Ssk.

Stella knelt on the ground and gently sifted through the warm-looking ashes with her hand.

“There’s still warmth here. Which means whoever built this fire hasn’t been gone long. Although, in a place where time doesn’t flow, I’m not sure how much that really tells us...”

Stella's answer trailed off uncertainly. None of us could tell how much time had actually passed since the fire was put out. But the meaning was clear.

I said,

“Someone was here. There are other people besides us.”

At that moment, Narmee, who had been looking down at the ground, suddenly pricked up like a startled cat. She stretched out a slender hand between the flowers and picked something up.

“Sis, look at this...!”

“What is it...?”

Both Narmee and Mirna focused their attention on the thin scrap of metal she had found. It was exactly that — a fragment of metal. Or to be more precise, a brooch.

The silver brooch glinted, shaped like a dragon standing tall on two legs and roaring. There was no way we wouldn't recognize it — the emblem of House Draco.

Ssk, rummage, rummage.

Mirna dug through her pockets and pulled out something of her own — another silver brooch, shaped exactly the same.

“This... is the Draco family’s insignia. Why is it here...? My father? No... maybe my grandfather? Maybe they’re nearby...!”

Mirna looked genuinely excited.

Since the campfire seemed freshly extinguished, it made sense to think that whoever dropped the Draco insignia couldn’t have gone far.

It was then that Stella spoke.

“It’s probably the group that traveled with Opal.”

Opal.

Opal von Bellhawk.

There wasn’t a soul among us who didn’t know that name. He was one of the heroes said to have defeated Solomon. A man of tremendous achievements — and a tragic end.

“Looks like Opal and his companions were here. And I think you all know why, even without me saying it.”

Just as Stella said, we could guess easily enough why they had lit a fire here.

The city of Gargarta, where the sky shattered, was said to be the place where the Demon King Solomon met his end. Somewhere here, perhaps, was the spot where Solomon had died.

Then Elga asked,

“But if someone dies in a place like this... do they actually die? I mean, isn’t this a place where time doesn’t move? What happens?”

None of us could answer her.

Because none of us had the knowledge to.

“Hmm.”

Maybe Narmee had gotten curious too, because after a long silence she said,

“Hey, if time doesn’t matter here... could it be that we might run into people like Opal or even Grandpa? Maybe it’s not impossible?”

Stella let out a long stretch.

“Well. Who knows. For now, let's follow the traces nearby.”

She brushed her palm along the scattered grass and footprints.

And so, following her lead, we chased after the trail.

Before long, something strange happened.

I had «N.o.v.e.l.i.g.h.t» thought this endless flower field would never end, but after walking a little, a structure appeared — something that looked like a temple out of myth. Or rather, the ruins of a temple.

The columns had collapsed, the roof was crumbling in places.

Grass and flowers sprouted up between the marble floors, making it impossible to tell how long it had been abandoned.

Still, it was overwhelmingly majestic.

The pillars and ceilings were so tall that I had to crane my neck just to take them in. Just imagining what it must have looked like in its prime was awe-inspiring.

As we stood in silence, overwhelmed—

“Teo, look over there.”

Ayra grabbed my arm and pointed with her hand.

There, at the far wall of the temple, was a door. A stone door designed to be pushed open from both sides.

I was strangely drawn to it, and found myself slowly approaching, reaching out to push against it.

Kuuug.

But trying to push that ancient, weather-worn door with my meager strength was hopeless. After stepping back in frustration, Mirna spoke.

“There’s writing here.”

At her words, I looked down at the ground.

Sure enough, there were crude letters scrawled in what looked like red paint — no, blood.

“This is... blood. Looks fresh, too.”

Mirna rubbed the blood between her thumb and forefinger and began reading the inscription.

“We buried history beyond this door. Those who open it without resolve shall lose all they possess—. That’s what it says.”

“That’s my grandmother’s handwriting. Isabel von Tarantella. I know it.”

At Ayra’s words, we fell silent.

We weren’t fools. We knew exactly what kind of “history” was buried beyond that door.

At that very moment—

Before my eyes, words floated into view.

『Open it.』

『Turn back.』

It had been a long time since I had seen such clear, floating letters. But the meanings of those two simple phrases were so different that I froze in place.

It felt like two different people were speaking to me at once.

“Come to think of it...”

Just as something was about to surface in my mind—

Just as I was about to take another step toward the door—

“Hey, you there."

Someone called out from behind us.

"I don't know who you are, but if you’ve got no business here, why don't you step aside?”

At that voice, I stopped moving.

Something deep within the unconscious part of my brain reverberated sharply.