Edward lay on his back in the garden grass, staring up at the sky, too exhausted to even lift a finger.
Lilith wiped the sweat from his face. "Edward, is it done yet?"
"Mm."
He forced his eyes open weakly. "Just one last step."
"Is it Bernadette?"
"No."
Edward flicked a gold coin into the air and caught it, activating [Madman to the Right] at the same time. In that instant, he felt a peculiar new energy bloom inside his mind—
Imagination.
At that moment, he finally understood how to collect imagination: by guiding and stimulating others' imagination about anything—past, future, technology, the supernatural world, love, family, friendship…everything under the heavens.
Imagination didn't come only from fantasy; it came from thought.
He sat up, extending his right hand. A Worm of Star burrowed out of his palm and dropped onto the ground. The creature writhed rapidly, expanding at a shocking pace until, within seconds, it transformed into a perfect replica of Edward.
Except its eyes were dull and lifeless—an empty shell without a soul.
"From today onward," Edward said, "you will replace me as the acting Fantasist. You will gather imagination on my behalf, and…make sure Lilith doesn't do anything reckless…"
Lilith stomped her foot. "Edward!!"
"Alright, fine," his duplicate corrected itself. "While I'm gone, you will obey Lilith."
Edward nodded. "And within the limits of your ability, guide Roselle and help him change his so-called destined fate."
A multicoloured radiance flowed from Edward's palm, injecting itself into the shell. The dull eyes gained a glimmer of life.
After a brief moment of adjustment, the double spoke calmly, "Your commands are my mission."
"Go, then."
The double bowed, then dissolved into the air.
Moments later, he arrived in the Divine Kingdom of the Evernight Goddess in the Astral Realm. Facing the tranquil darkness filled with moonflowers, night-scented grass, and many other nocturnal plants, he said respectfully, "Your Grace, I have come by order of my true body."
A silhouette manifested from the void. She said nothing. Instead, she reached out, pinched the corner of empty space as if grasping a thin veil, and gently pulled.
A sheet of "night curtain" drifted down, soft as gauze, falling over Edward's double and sinking silently into his form—
It was the power of the Evernight Goddess's Authority of Concealment.
He quietly absorbed the power, then pressed a hand to his chest, bowed, stepped back two paces, and left the Astral Realm.
———
Bernadette had felt that ever since she told her father "Old man, we are aura farming today," yesterday, he had been acting strange—several times opening his mouth to speak, only to fall silent.
What baffled her most was that the very next day, he forbade her from visiting Mr. Sparrow's house!
"I'm not listening!"
She carefully packed the puppets and past gifts she had received, lifting the bundle with care. Then she opened the window and climbed outside.
"Hmph! Trying to lock me in?!"
Bernadette clapped proudly, but at that moment a voice suddenly sounded behind her, "Bernadette. Where are you going?"
"!!!"
Her little face instantly went pale. She turned stiffly to see her father, Roselle, staring at her coldly—looking extremely angry.
"I…I just wanted to take a walk in the garden…"
"Really?"
"Really!"
Roselle suddenly shifted the topic. "But don't you think walking in the garden is very boring?"
"Huh?"
"Do you want to go out to sea again and see the mermaids?"
"Huh?"
At that moment, "Roselle's" face and body twisted, transforming into Mr. Sparrow.
"Ah!! Mr. Sparrow, it's you?!"
Only then did she realise what was happening. She puffed her cheeks at him. "So annoying! First you turned into my mom, now my dad—always trying to scare kids!"
"Hahahaha. So, do you still want to see the mermaids?"
"Yes!"
Bernadette raised her hand excitedly—then quickly asked, "Will Big Sister Lilith come too?"
"Not this time. Next time."
"…Okay."
She looked at the bundle in her hands. "I even prepared a gift for her…"
"No rush. Give it to her next time."
Edward took a step forward and extended a hand to her.
"Come."
"Let's go!"
The moment Bernadette grabbed Mr. Sparrow's finger, she found herself already standing on the deck of the Fairy Tale, surrounded by all kinds of fairy-tale characters. On a distant reef, mermaids were singing beautifully.
She immediately ran forward with a bright smile and waved energetically at the mermaids.
Edward watched her for a while with a gentle expression, then suddenly spoke, "Bernie."
"What?"
"Goodbye."
Bernadette turned back in confusion. "What?"
Edward blinked innocently. "What…what?"
"I thought I heard you say 'goodbye' just now…"
"Nope. You heard wrong."
"Oh."
She didn't think further. "I want to get a little closer."
"Okay."
Inside the captain's cabin, Lilith supported the real Edward, standing beside him. The two watched from afar as the duplicate Edward led Bernadette toward the reef, letting her admire the mermaids up close.
Lilith said softly, "See? I knew Edward would say goodbye to her one last time."
"Nope."
Edward smiled at her. "The last person I say goodbye to is, of course…Lilith."
"…"
Lilith froze. Her eyes lowered, and she suddenly buried her head into his chest.
"When will you wake up…?"
"I don't know for now. At the earliest, I'll have to wait until the next owner of the Sefirah Castle reaches Sequence 4 and reopens the deepest door within it."
"Klein?"
"Yes."
Lilith lifted her head to look at him. "Then I'll wait for you."
"Mn~"
She suddenly sighed. "I originally thought…this time, I could slowly grow up bit by bit with Edward watching me. But when you wake up again, you'll be seeing the adult me."
"It's fine. At worst, I can use Fantasy to turn you back into a child."
"…"
Edward patted her back gently and whispered, "Lilith…I'll be waiting for you in the future."
———
The Future—Year 1350, Trier
Bernadette opened her eyes. She slowly sat up from her bed, feeling as if she had just awoken from a long dream. The moment she woke, she couldn't distinguish dream from reality—scenes from the past flashed endlessly through her mind.
She got out of bed and walked to the window. Outside, the garden had returned to its familiar appearance. Lilith sat on the swing, swaying back and forth like a carefree neighbourhood girl.
Bernadette rubbed her temples, recalling a conversation she'd had with Lilith not long ago—
So Mr. Sparrow had left earlier than she had imagined. The one who accompanied her growing up and met her two younger brothers later had only been a duplicate.
So that phrase she heard on the Fairy Tale—
"Bernie…goodbye."
—had truly come from Mr. Sparrow.
It had been both a farewell…and an unannounced departure.
A wave of melancholy rose in Bernadette's chest.
"Really annoying, Mr. Sparrow."
You lied to me for so long.
"Yo, awake?"
Lilith hopped off the swing and walked over. "Want to go get breakfast somewhere?"
"Alright."
Bernadette didn't mind—she still had countless questions without answers. For example: where was her father now?
———
"Where's Roselle?"
Sitting in the dining room, Lilith took a bite of steak, thought for a moment, and said, "About that question…I actually want to tell you, but…"
"But what?"
Lilith shrugged. "I don't know either."
"You know me—I've lived for a long time, I'm the smartest kitty in the world, I can learn anything fast, do anything, ace everything…"
She rattled on for a while.
"But I really don't like anything too complicated. If I can avoid thinking, I avoid thinking. So I didn't get involved in whatever Edward and Roselle planned later."
"And Cheek kept chasing me everywhere, so I spent most of my time running and hiding."
Bernadette nodded slowly. "So Dad also learned about the future…from Mr. Sparrow's duplicate?"
"Yep."
"And the future he learned…was the past we now know?"
"Exactly~"
Bernadette fell into deep thought. After a long while, she murmured, "But he still followed that future exactly as it was. Was it to avoid a time paradox?"
Lilith propped her chin on her hands. "Who knows? You'll only find out when you see Roselle or Edward again."
"Then…Sparrow's duplicate—where did he go later?"
Bernadette voiced another long-held question.
"He vanished just before Dad was assassinated. Where did he go?"
Lilith replied, "Since he was a creation of Edward's special ability, he reached his limit around then. Before he disappeared on his own, he chose to leave and carry out his final duty."
"What duty?"
Bernadette had hardly finished asking when her spirituality reacted sharply. She turned her head to the sky outside the window.
More than ten massive Intis airships flew overhead at high speed, casting the surroundings into deep shadow.
Her expression shifted; her blue eyes darkened. Half a minute later they returned to normal, but her face showed clear surprise.
"The war has already started?"
"Yep. Feysac struck first. Backlund's already been bombed once."
"Backlund?"
Bernadette froze. "Airships flying from Feysac to Backlund have to travel hundreds of kilometers. That's enough distance for Loen to respond and shoot them down. How did they reach Backlund?"
Lilith grinned. "Yeah. Why indeed?"
"…"
Bernadette understood instantly.
"Loen permitted it? They deliberately let Feysac bomb Backlund?"
The conclusion was easy; the question was why.
The Black Emperor.
Bernadette instantly recalled the intel she had learned before—George III was attempting to ascend as the Black Emperor.
And war was the fastest way to bind the king and the kingdom together, making the people remember him.
Lilith leaned back and smiled. "You'll have to investigate that yourself~ Maybe this is the perfect opportunity for you to advance to Sequence 2 and meet Roselle."
———
[Note]: Don't forget to VOTE. It keeps me motivated.