1
Perseus' dad now started talking in a very serious tone. Then he says-
"I never thought that... one of the great mages could be a loli hag."
"Lo-lol-loli hag?! How dare you disrespect me?! I never wanted to revert to this form anyways! Hmph!" says Aquila and looks annoyed.
"I'm sorry... Now that I think about it I only remember your first name... Aquila was it?"
"That's right... You mongrel!"
"Aquila... Aquila Shlekenspanner or something... I hope I'm right. Am I?"
A shelf filled with books starts to fly at his dad and he runs outside the room at full speed. The shelf misses him only by an inch and when he finally escapes death he gasps for breath and says while panicking-
"Um... so... Do you want anything to eat? I- I can make an extra meal for you..."
"Hmph! I won't forgive you for getting my name wrong though."
"So... what would you like to eat?"
"You'll make anything I say? Is that right?"
"Umm... I'll just make something good. No need to reply to that question." And he runs downstairs.
Perseus looks confused and asks her-
"So what is your full name?"
"... Are you really sure you wanna know?"
"Yeah. I mean names can't be scary."
"You're a good kid... My name is Aquila Schlierenzauer. Sure it wasn't hard for you to pronounce?"
"Yes! No problem! I can say your full name without getting it wrong."
"Oho! Try saying it then."
"Alright! Your name is Aquila... Schlienzauser."
"The last bit was a bit wrong... Well, whatever. Now, before I tell you what your magic is could you tell me one thing?"
"Yes. Sure."
"Have you ever used your magic? Any small signs will do as well."
"No... Ever since I came to know that I had magic I tried all the ways of using it but I just couldn't."
"You have to promise something to me then... Once I tell you what your magic is you won't use it for evil purposes. Will you keep that promise?!"
"O-ok... So what is my magic?"
She sighs and then she says-
"You have time magic... Only a handful of people in the world possess this element."
"Okay..."
"That's your reaction? I thought that you'd be more excited."
"I am excited to use it but at the same time I don't know how I use it... You have the same type of magic right?"
"I do for a matter of fact... I could teach you how to use your magic."
"Really?! Thank you very much Ms. Aquila!"
"... It's been a long time since anyone's called me that... But I prefer Aquila more than that."
"Ok... Aquila-san."
"Now... Your first task as my student is to read any one of these books and tell me what was written in them... And I want you to explain them to me briefly."
After she says that three books come flying out of one of the shelves in the room. All those books were big and thick so it didn't matter to him what he chose. He chose one of the books and looked at the title of the book. It read 'Nature, its history and applications'. He didn't give the title much thought and opened the book and starts to flip the pages.
"There are no pictures in this book..." he says with regret.
"Well, of course it doesn't have pictures... First you need education. I hope you know how to read."
"I do know how to read. Please don't mock me!"
"Fine! I'll be going to eat then." Says Aquila and walks downstairs.
She goes to the dining table and takes a seat. Then Perseus's dad keeps a plate of egg and ham in front of Aquila and says-
"Now, eat up!"
"Don't order me what to do."
"Okay... I'm sorry." He says and takes a seat next to her.
"So... I'm not forcing you to answer or anything but could you answer one of my questions?"
"Sure. Why not?"
"If you really are one of the three then why are you in this mist all alone... stranded from the real world?"
"I have my reasons for that... You sure are interested in other people's affairs, aren't you?"
"Well, just thinking about you've lived here all alone just reminded me of my past and so I brought up that conversation."
"I'll tell you the reason."
"Go on..."
"Before I say anything what's your age?"
"I'm..." and his dad takes a pause and then answers, "Where are my manners? I'm... Fin's fine. I'm 43 right now."
"Right now? Care to explain yourself?"
"I've got my own reasons for not explaining as well... So now it's your turn."
"I'm not the storyteller type of person so I'll just make it short. The three of us have curses placed upon us which doesn't let us be in the same place at the same time."
"Wait, what? That sounds almost like one of the curses from Selo..." and then Fin stops speaking.
Aquila finishes eating by that time and then she drops her fork in shock and asks him while pointing her wand at him which suddenly appears out of thin air-
"How do you know about that?! How do you know about Seloguis?! Explain yourself right now!"
"This is why I told that old guy that I'm not good at secrets!"
"I said explain yourself before I turn your time and kill you..."
"Are you sure you wanna do that in your condition?" asks Fin in a serious tone.
"How... You sure know how to surprise someone... May I ask what your last name is?"
"Harbard... Fin Harbard."
"Harbard... Looks like we'll be having a long chat today." Says Aquila as she lowers her wand.
Then Fin looks really tired and says in a depressed tone-
"I have to talk now?! A long chat? I can't sit talking through the whole day!" and he starts to throw a tantrum.
"What are you, a kid?! Stop throwing a fuss and fess up! I want to know everything about this world and the people if possible."
"What's your age?"
"6... Why the heck are you trying to ask me my age?!"
"Sixties huh?"
"Go on laugh at this old woman!"
"So it's the Origin magic after all..."
"Curse magic to be exact... A pretty devilish thing if you'd ask me."
"Devilish, huh... What if I told you that I had a magic worse than curses?"
"Worse than curses? No need. I don't need to know about magic if anything. All I need is knowledge about the world not about magic..."
"You're pretty kind aren't you? Then... What if I told you that Perseus is not related to me by blood and that I'm not human?"
"I didn't need to know all that."
"Curiosity drives a person crazy you know. It's like a double-edged sword."
They had a conversation going on for a while and then Aquila interrupts him and says-
"Alright then! I'll check up on my disciple and continue on with his progress." And she goes upstairs and peeks through the closed door.
Perseus was facing the window and sitting on the floor while reading the book on his lap. She opens the door slowly and then walks over to him. Then she stands in front of him to ask him how he was doing and she realizes that he was fast asleep. Then she bends over to see how many pages he had read and notices that he had only read till the 15th page of the book.
"967 pages to go, huh? This is gonna keep me amused for some time..." and she chuckles.
She then mutters something under her breath and then Perseus starts to float. He then moves sideways very rigorously and wakes up from sleep while screaming.
"What is happening?!"
"Some disciple fell asleep when I gave him a job... What an unmotivated disciple..."
"I did read the book..."
Then Aquila stares at him and then looks at the page opened in the book that he was reading and then stares at him once again.
"Also he lies..." and she sighs.
"I'll reduce your workload..."
"Real..."
"You'll read all the three books and tell me the most crucial part in all of them. That's all!" says Aquila and drops him.
"I'll be back by tomorrow... You better be ready by then."
All Perseus could think at the moment was-
"She isn't a girl... She's a demon..." and looks depressed as he faces his books once again.
2
Three days pass by in the blink of an eye and nothing out of the ordinary happens at the mansion. The same usual day for Aquila Schlierenzauer. She walks through the empty hallways while reading her books and takes strolls in the morning at time.
All this continued until the father and son arrived at the mansion.
"What would you both like for breakfast?"
"I'll have a sunny-side up!"
"I'll be grateful if you make any food..."
"What is wrong with you? Try to be a little more open with what you want."
"How does that matter to you?! Just shut up and make the food before I switch your food with fodder for cows."
"Oye! Oye! Don't do that! I took some time to make my majestic breakfast!"
"... You mean this bread and eggs and ham?"
"Yes, of course!" says Fin and smiles.
"What an idiot..." says Aquila and sighs.
"What will we be doing today sensei?"
"Today we'll just do some practical training... You did finish your task..."
"I'm a great disciple..."
"In three days..."
"Aren't I? Hahahaha."
"I'm grateful that you can read. Otherwise starting from 0 would have definitely killed me."
Fin serves them their breakfast. They finish eating after a while and they head outside. They walk around the lake and then they reach a field where there was no mist at all and the sun was shining brightly. There were different types and colours of flowers growing in that unusual spot.
Aquila sits on the flower bed and then says-
"The first spell that you'll be practicing is... Object Rewind."
"Object Rewind?"
"I've just put it in simpler terms for you. To learn how to use the Rewind spell on yourself you'll have to first practice it on an object. Also you're not supposed to mess with the time of an object or yourself too much in a day."
"But why sensei?"
"Think of it as this way... You spend your day normally and talk to a lot of people..."
"Uhuh..."
"But you get sent back in time to the start of the day and you have to repeat all those conversations you had that day... You'll keep looping and looping non-stop. Can you guess what happens to you next?"
"... My internal clock gets damaged?"
"Well, that's a part of it. But the most dangerous thing is that your mind that gets looped gets pressurized by the stress and you reach a point where you go insane... You can't use magic if you can't control it."
"Time magic.... It's pretty scary isn't it?"
"Well, you won't feel scared of your magic if you trust it. That's the only hint you'll get."
"Trust... my magic? But it isn't a living thing for me to trust..."
"Think about it and you might just get the answer to using your magic efficiently."
"Let's test that then... Trust your magic. Trust your magic."
Then he points his finger at one of the flowers and says-
"Time magic: Rewind."