### Chapter 319 – Miro (4) Fin
—
[User: Han Kain (Wisdom)
Date: Day 137
Current Location: Level 1, Room 105 – ‘Room of Rest’ (Miro’s Room)
Sage’s Advice: 0]
– Han Kain
A really scary story? What could it be?
Miro seemed ready to spill the beans but faltered as I approached her.
“What exactly is it?”
“A scary story.”
“So, what is it?”
Miro hesitated again, her curiosity piqued, and then suddenly blurted out at lightning speed:
“If the summoned being from the Time Redeemer dies, the original also dies!”
“Wha—what did you just say—”
If the summoned being dies, so does the original! My breath caught in my throat as I grabbed Miro’s shoulders.
“Is that true? Why—”
I quickly realized why.
Though we use the term ‘summon’ for convenience, as Grandpa pointed out, the function of the Time Redeemer is worlds apart from summoning. It’s literally borrowing your past time and calling it into the future!
The relationship between the summon and the original is that of past and future. If my past self were dead, but my future self is alive, that itself creates a paradox!
“Waaah! Why didn’t you mention something so important earlier? Did you just realize—”
At that moment, I also grasped another potential use of the Time Redeemer. If the master of the Time Redeemer summons someone who lent their time and kills them, the original can also die!
Of course, that means Miro would need to be able to kill the summon.
But the summon can’t choose the time and place of their appearance. If Miro calls them to a time and place overwhelmingly in her favor, well, the havoc would begin.
Why was Miro hiding this piece of information…?
“Why didn’t you say that earlier?”
“…”
“Did you think the others wouldn’t lend you time if they knew?”
“…”
“Or did you think we’d threaten you if we found out—”
“N-no!”
What if we considered secretly harming Miro if we felt threatened?
Many thoughts raced through my mind. One of them was that Miro had considerable intelligence. Though her personality is childish, she has a sharp mind when it comes to certain things, as evidenced in Ice Hell.
I felt a twinge of betrayal, but I also understood. The current situation must be terrifying and chaotic for her too.
When I first entered the hotel, I felt a significant threat just seeing Jinchul’s build, constantly wary that he might use violence. Miro wouldn’t be any different.
Rather than react emotionally, I needed to think rationally. Why did she speak up now instead of hiding it?
The biggest reason is that once Miro releases the summon, I would forget this conversation altogether.
But another reason might be she was weighing the pros and cons of sharing this information.
This was a moment that required persuasion rather than anger. I tried to keep my tone as gentle as possible.
“Did you feel scared talking to the hotel people earlier?”
“… A bit.”
“Still, don’t you think it’s better to share that information?”
“Why?”
I picked the most rational reason I could think of.
“Knowing this information will change our strategy when we’re summoned. If we don’t know, then the summon might recklessly think the ‘future me’ is safe even if I die and act overly aggressively.”
“For example, Jinchul might overuse stars and charge in, right?”
“Exactly. The summon needs to survive somehow, right?”
“True.”
“What happens if they don’t die but get injured?”
“I’m not sure about that…”
“We’ll need to check it out then.”
For a moment, silence filled the room. Seeing the unease and glumness on Miro’s face, I felt the need to reassure her.
“Miro, I totally get that you might be scared or wary of us. But remember one thing.”
“One thing?”
“Who were the ones that saved you from Ice Hell?”
Miro smiled brightly and answered.
“You!”
I was a bit flustered.
“I-I didn’t do it alone. We all did. The others out there were suffering from the cold and praying too.”
“Oh right, that’s true!”
“Remember that. It’s not about repaying favors or anything. Just like we believed in you and woke you up, you need to trust us too.”
“Okay! I’ll tell everyone tomorrow morning!”
There was a slight lie in there.
Honestly, I doubt that anyone among us truly believed in Miro. We just agreed to revive her out of fear of what Ahri and Grandpa might do the moment we abandoned the idea.
But these thoughts were best kept buried for now.
Just when the atmosphere started to lighten, Miro’s eyes suddenly welled up with tears. Was the physical and mental exhaustion of the day finally catching up to her?
“… How about you go to the bathroom?”
At that moment, I recalled something I needed to do alone.
“Hang on, I’ll be right back!”
…
From that brief conversation, it struck me anew.
This girl might resemble Ahri, but she’s entirely different. She’s not some ‘Administration Bureau agent’ who would just laugh off being stabbed with a knife.
She behaves age-appropriately for a middle schooler—childish yet emotional. Her thinking is fast at times, but ultimately, she lacks depth due to her inexperience.
So, it’s possible she might seem convinced in front of me now yet change her mind later when alone.
I can’t leave such an important piece of information to a middle schooler’s whims.
[User: Han Kain (Wisdom)
Date: Day 137
Current Location: Level 1, Room 105 – ‘Room of Rest’ (Miro’s Room)
Sage’s Advice: 0]
Inside my shirt, I always have a special pen that can write anything on paper like magic.
“If the summoned being dies, the original at the current time will die as well.”
After pondering, I added one more line.
“If Miro doesn’t tell this fact tomorrow morning, keep your distance from her.”
… This should do it, right?
Setting up this minimal safety precaution made me feel better. The next problem is what the Kain of tomorrow will handle—
– “Right now?”
– “Did Miro just summon me from the Time Redeemer?”
Words started appearing live on the status window. So the original was still awake and hadn’t gone to sleep yet.
…
“Yes.”
– “So Miro is hiding that information? Did you convince her to spill it tomorrow morning?”
“Yes.”
– “Wow, Han Kain! I believed in you! Good job! By the way, talking to my past self is such a fascinating experience.”
“Well, I could use this as a means of remote communication.”
– “Right? We could use it from far-off places like Room 203.”
Talking to another version of myself in a different Room 105…
It’s very, very unsettling.
What’s so funny about that jerk? He acts as if he knew all along that I was here. Believing in me?
Why the heck is there another ‘me’ here? Why is someone else watching my status?
Here I am gathering information and reassuring Miro while reducing the chances of future conflicts! But here’s the loser on the bed reaping all the rewards—
“Ugh!”
I took a deep breath, trying to calm down.
No, I can’t think like that. This way of thinking is problematic. My relationship with him isn’t about real vs. fake. Just because the fake dies doesn’t mean the real one dies too!
It’s a relationship between past and future. The Time Redeemer simply creates a sort of time-travel experience, right?
As I tried to calm my overly excited mind, the ‘me’ who hadn’t caught on yet asked a question.
– “How’s Miro? Is she okay?”
Why is that guy comfortable messaging me like this? Doesn’t he feel what I’m feeling right now?
“Remember this: You must not meet me.”
After saying that, I threw the pen on the floor and pushed the status window to the corner. The ‘other me’ seemed surprised by my words, asking something, but I couldn’t muster a response.
Just then, Miro appeared from the bathroom, looking refreshed.
“Sorry! I’ve made up my mind. I’ll tell everyone tomorrow!”
“Good call.”
“… Kain? Did something happen?”
“What are you talking about?”
“Never mind?”
The rest of the events were trivial. We chatted about our schools and what we’d do once we got outside.
Miro was incredibly curious about her ‘adult self’ from the distant future or the ‘lost past.’ Unfortunately, there wasn’t much I could share.
“It’s nearly time to part ways. Well, we’ll see each other tomorrow, anyway.”
“…”
Is there something left to say? Her expression clearly suggested she had more on her mind…
“Se-see you tomorrow!”
“Yeah. See you tomorrow.”
“I had fun today! Tomorrow’s Kain will have no idea what we did today, which is a bummer.”
When I heard that, a feeling I couldn’t quite articulate filled my heart. The fact that the other me lying on the bed wouldn’t remember the time spent with Miro…
Strangely, it made me happy. This was the end of my consciousness.
*
– Kim Ahri
Suddenly, I snapped back to consciousness. What’s this? Did Miro just borrow time from me—
“… She summoned me.”
“Yep!”
Before my eyes stood a girl who looked eerily like me. I guess I’ll have to get used to things like this. It’s bound to happen more often.
“Got something to say? Still mad about the bacon I ate earlier?”
“… I’m over it now.”
So she was actually upset about that just a moment ago.
As I reached out to ruffle Miro’s hair, she dodged away. The sight was so amusing I leaned to the side—
“…”
“Ahri?”
“…”
“Why are you looking at me like that?”
“…”
She was glaring at me.
There were definitely remnants of a much larger person being in Miro’s bed. As a Bureau agent, I could tell just by looking.
Miro noticed my gaze and panicked a bit.
“Don’t think anything weird!”
“What weird thought? You saying that just makes me think something creepy!”
“Eehh! Forget it! Clear your mind of those weird thoughts!”
“Do you really think that’ll work on me? Miro, some telekinesis should be like this.”
For good measure, I used the power of age-old blood to snap the nearby chair in half. Miro squeaked in surprise, cowering.
“Whoa! Ahri’s trying to scare me again!”
“Meow!”
I made a monster sound, scooping Miro up and rolling her into the blanket. We giggled for a while, and then Miro poked her head out from the blanket.
“Ahha! But we’re running out of time. Remember the one-hour limit to summon?”
“I felt like we had about 10 minutes together. Is time already tight? You spent half an hour with ‘someone’ earlier, right?”
“Eek!”
“Did you have fun playing with Kain?”
“Th-that’s not it!”
“… I thought you seemed like an elementary schooler just now.”
“… It was Kain, okay?”
“Got it. What else is on your mind? You didn’t summon me just for fun.”
I could tell she still had something she wanted to say.
“This information wasn’t shared with Kain either.”
“Is that a secret meant only for me? How flattering. What is it?”
Miro turned away, holding the pocket watch up to my face.
“Three sections are filled. Morning is me, noon is Kain, right?”
“Yep. The time borrowed from Kain is nearly used up, but I’ll refill it tomorrow.”
“What about midnight?”
Miro wore an expression mixed with confusion and fear.
“…”
“Who is it? Is it Jinchul? Mooksung?”
“The one stored at midnight is me.”
?
“What does that mean—”
“I’ve been stored since the moment I got this watch. The midnight person is me. My past self.”
A shiver ran down my spine. A feeling of dread for someone who should not exist washed over me.
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