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Weekend with Teacher Hop Harvey and the Weekday Expedition

The weekend spent with Teacher Hop Harvey is over, and it’s time for the weekday expedition.

To be honest, I’ve noticed that Teacher Hop seems a bit uneasy lately, so I wanted to stay in the kingdom a bit longer and meet him at least during dinner. But…

There was something weighing on my mind, so I ended up visiting Hanamana instead.

Fortunately, there was a request for extermination on the side of the Sacred Magic Kingdom, so it turned out to be a good excuse to come here.

“Is it really impossible to have both space magic and time magic aptitude at the same time?”

Hanamana was also having a busy day attending to patients at the Rehabilitation Center, but I managed to pull her away to have lunch together at the center during lunchtime.

Hanamana knows more about magic and aptitudes than anyone else, so she probably has a clear understanding about it, right?

“Yeah. I heard there are some special restrictions that prevent it.”

“That’s the first time I’m hearing that. Who said that?”

“Mirae.”

“Hmmm… It might be one of those legends passed down among humans, I guess.”

As we discussed this over lunch, Hanamana stopped eating and fell deep in thought.

It’s somewhat a relief to hear that this is the first time she’s encountering this story.

“Well, to be fair, I’ve never heard about it before, either.”

“Hanamana thinks that having both those aptitudes without any particular restrictions is unlikely, so it’s possible such legends may arise somewhere. There’s not a single documented case of someone having both aptitudes, after all.”

“Really? Not even one aptitude holder has existed?”

“Not as far as Hanamana knows.”

Not a single person has existed like that until now.

They say a space aptitude holder appears once every hundred years, and a time aptitude holder appears once every thousand years…

So, having both would statistically mean one in a million years, right?

Since humanity hasn’t even existed for a million years, it seems that person hasn’t appeared yet.

No, wait, perhaps just one. Could it be that Teacher Hop is that person?

“Thanks, Hanamana. Let’s finish our meal.”

“Zion. Are you asking this because of your senior?”

“Huh? Teacher Hop?”

“You only know one person who has time or space aptitude, and that’s your senior.”

That is indeed true.

But the teacher wants to hide the fact that he’s a reincarnator.

But why is that?

If it’s to prepare for the approaching threat, can’t he just inform me, Hanamana, and Naou that the Demon King is coming?

So, when I first came to see Hanamana because of Teacher Hop’s business trip, I tried to tell her that fact, but Teacher Hop didn’t want that.

What on earth is going on…?

“Right? The reason I asked is because Teacher Hop is a space aptitude holder. Mirae also found that story interesting when she heard it, so that made me curious if there’s really such a story. Hahaha.”

For some reason, I don’t want to tell Hanamana that the teacher is a reincarnator.

If it’s something Teacher Hop doesn’t want, no matter what the reason, I wouldn’t do it.

“But looking at someone like Kei, it seems there might be undiscovered restrictions on certain special magics.”

“Why’s that?”

“Kei doesn’t have any aptitude other than space. It’s not common for an elf to not be able to manipulate nature or elements.”

That person, the King of Elves… can’t use any kind of magic other than space.

I wonder if that’s truly a helpful fact?

Teacher Hop couldn’t use elemental magic, but he could use healing and mental magic, meaning both divine and dark attributes. So he’s different from Keineu. Also, it didn’t seem related to time magic.

But talking with Hanamana turned out to be a good choice.

I don’t know if there are such special restrictions, but the fact that no one like that has existed until now…

“I see. Thanks, Hanamana. That should be helpful.”

“I’m glad if it helped.”

Ultimately, I couldn’t confirm anything.

I think I’ve been on quite a few adventures and learned a lot of information as a hero, but…

Information regarding space and time magic aptitudes, or anything related to reincarnation, is something I couldn’t uncover.

I didn’t expect to gather confirmed information while visiting Hanamana, either.

After the lunch break, Hanamana returned to the center. It’s probably impossible to get more information than this.

So, the only choice I have left is…

‘I can only trust Teacher Hop.’

If I had to believe either Mirae or Teacher Hop, there’s no question that I would trust Teacher Hop.

I think she wouldn’t give me false information out of malice, but…

That goes for Teacher Hop as well. There’s no reason for him to lie to me…

‘Oh wait, there is!’

He does have a reason. For someone like Teacher Hop, it certainly makes sense.

The moment he sees something broken, he loses his composure.

Seeing me in that state might have made him lose his mind, leading him to want to hold onto me by any means necessary…

‘No, no, no, no, no, no! Don’t get caught up in rationality here, Zion. This is confirmation bias! I started doubting out of nowhere, and now it’s spiraling into this train of thought!’

I need to trust Teacher Hop. That can’t be a lie.

If the claim about the Demon King coming is a lie…

Then that’s okay. It’ll be a relief if the Demon King doesn’t come.

No wars will break out, and no one will get hurt. There won’t be any need to fight, and the world will remain peaceful.

But what if Teacher Hop deceived me?

Even if the Demon King doesn’t come, even if this world doesn’t need me anymore, even if I have no more work to do, even if no one remembers me… it doesn’t matter. I can live in this world without crumbling down.

But that’s because Teacher Hop is in this world.

As long as he needs me, I’m satisfied with that.

It’s my one reason to live in this world.

Now, that’s all I have left, and that alone is enough.

But what if all of that… was a lie?

My love, the time we’ve spent together, the confessions of life we shared, the oaths and resolutions we made…

If all of this happened because Teacher Hop deceived me?

‘That can’t be true. I have to believe. If I don’t, I can’t survive. This isn’t about whose words are true or how time magic works or reincarnation. It’s not even a choice. I’ve already… said I can’t survive without Teacher Hop!’

My body trembles violently, and my thoughts spiral out of control.

It feels like my head might explode, and I feel as if blood is evaporating as alcohol from my skin.

Oh no. Is this the feelings I forgot for so long? Am I going into a panic?

Sure, my body has healed, but my mind hasn’t fully recovered yet?

No, that’s not right. I’m not hurt anymore because of the scars and sorrows of war.

This is a newly acquired pain.

Perhaps it’s the anxiety of possibly losing Teacher Hop.

Teacher Hop… where are you at a time like this?

In the end, all I could do was look around in the middle of the Sacred Magic Kingdom, searching for someone who shouldn’t even be here.

Ahh, I really can’t do anything without Teacher Hop.

But I can’t live like this with such doubts.

I desperately calm my trembling body.

If I truly believe in Teacher Hop, I can’t let this fit of panic win.

I shouldn’t let my doubts about Teacher make me lose control and panic!!

Calm, calm, endure this and overcome it.

What Mirae said might actually be true, but if you think about it, it’s not necessary to be able to use time magic to be a reincarnator.

It could be that the Creator or some transcendent being is helping Teacher Hop.

Maybe he’s someone from another world, stuck in a loop that can only end by defeating the Demon King, causing him to reincarnate?

If I think about it that way, it makes sense that he was my companion. It’s because we couldn’t defeat the Demon King twice just by fighting together that he created the field of rehabilitation medicine.

And ultimately, Teacher Hop told me the last words of Iris.

That’s something only my companion would know, so…

‘But isn’t that strange? Why did he share something from the past instead of simply proving he knows the future? And Teacher Hop was with Naou until just before he came to find me. Maybe, just maybe…’

“Noooooo!!!!!!”

A nonsensical possibility springs to mind, and shouting at the top of my lungs, I pull at my hair in distress, but the thoughts won’t leave my head.

Why am I acting like this? I doubted Teacher Hop so intensely, and now I’m questioning Naou too?

Are they scheming this situation just to rehabilitate me?

If so, then maybe… maybe Hanamana too? Naou and Hanamana have been continuously encouraging my rehabilitation, so maybe they collaborated with the rehabilitation expert, Teacher Hop?

No, this isn’t it. This is really not it. This is ridiculous paranoia. It can’t be true!!

I… I believe in Teacher Hop.

I trust him more than anyone else in the world…

“Haah, haah…”

I have to face Teacher Hop directly.

I gather my resolve and steady my heart.

The only thing left for me to do is…

I have to ask directly and confront him.

If Teacher Hop finds out that I doubted him, he might feel disappointed.

But even including that, I trust Teacher Hop.

Let’s talk to him.

I’ll set things straight about everything uncertain until it’s all clear.

There’s no particular reason to ask, and there are things I didn’t ask because I’m not curious. I’ll ask all of them.

Until I’m satisfied. And until everything is clear.

It’s something I never wanted to do, but…

Now, without doing that, I can’t live.

***

“Haah…”

After finishing a day full of chaotic events, it’s quitting time.

As I step out of the center’s entrance, unexpectedly…

“Zion?”

Zion was waiting for me.

Looking precarious as if about to collapse at any moment, Zion stood there with disheveled hair and a blank look in his eyes, gazing downward, as if he had been crying, with his eyes puffy and glistening.

“Zion! Are you okay? You said you were going on an expedition to the Sacred Magic Kingdom, and you come back like this? Did you get hurt? Was there something that happened during a battle…?”

“Teacher Hop.”

With a quiet gaze, Zion looks up to meet my eyes and softly calls my name.

“I’m here. It’s okay, so just tell me.”

“You still look tired.”

“Is now the time for you to worry about me? Just look at how you’re doing…”

“Do you remember? There’s a perfect place to go when you’re tired.”

“……”

Is he not hearing my words? The conversation isn’t flowing at all.

Clearly, something’s wrong with his condition. What on earth happened? How did Zion, who was just fine, end up like this overnight…?

“We’re going to the hot spring.”

“The hot spring?”

Indeed, the hot spring is a good place as Zion said when you’re tired.

Is he suggesting we go because he feels he needs some healing?

Or is he being considerate of me? Recently, when meeting Zion, I had expressed concern, so he might be worried about how I’ve been feeling.

“Let’s go to the hot spring for a two-day, one-night trip on the weekend without taking a vacation. We can chat there. A lot. I have so many things to ask you. So even if it means staying up all night…”

Things he wants to ask me a lot about? Why all of a sudden…

Before I even had time to think, Zion’s body began to pitch forward and collapse towards me.

“Zion!”

I hurriedly caught Zion, but he had already lost consciousness.

I still can’t comprehend how we got into this situation.

First, I check vital signs quickly, and fortunately, his pulse and breathing are normal.

But he was definitely in a state of panic just now. Did he wait for me in that condition like this? How long has it been…?

“……”

Even though I have no idea what’s going on, one thing is clear: Zion suggested we go to the hot spring.

It’s a good thing to spend time together with Zion, but…

‘He said he has many questions… Did something make him curious?’

Suddenly, I also feel like I have a lot of questions now.

What on earth happened to Zion today… I think I can just ask during the weekend.

 

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