Moen was able to say something so high-sounding mainly because he didn't have any regrets or unresolved feelings he wanted to change.
And having watched The Flash, Moen understood one thing deeply: the consequences of changing the past… usually don't turn out the way you hope.
"No, I still can't tell you too much about the future. I can't casually change other people's lives."
Although Moen's words had almost convinced her, Erza still shook her head firmly. Her personality decided this—she refused to gamble with the future of the world.
"Let's continue studying."
Moen patted Erza's head. He didn't push her. He didn't particularly want to know what the future looked like in detail anyway. From what he had seen so far, six years from now things seemed pretty good. Wasn't that enough? It was more than enough.
Knowing all this didn't make Moen relax his standards for himself. He understood that his day-after-day, year-after-year training was the foundation that led to that seemingly good future.
Moen stopped asking, and Erza stopped explaining. The two continued studying the Time Magic Book. For some reason, looking at the contents of this book, Moen always felt like he was digging gold out of dung.
"Memory… Time. Is that the name?"
Moen scanned the words and found a piece of information that was actually useful—the magic book's name was Memory Time.
"Why is it called that?"
Erza was completely confused. It sounded more like the name of a diary.
"It seems to have something to do with how it works."
Moen kept flipping through the book. Once he found the name, everything became much simpler. More information immediately surfaced.
"When you open this book, the user will be transported to the first moment they recall. That's why it's called Memory Time."
Reading the words on the page, Moen slowly explained. This book might be better described as a "Memory Time Machine."
You held the book, recalled the past, and then as long as you opened it, you would go to the moment you remembered.
This magic book was a time machine that could only travel to the past and it could even be used by multiple people. Anyone who touched the user could travel through time together. That explained why five people arrived at the same time.
"That's an incredible magic!"
Erza couldn't help but gasp. This involved time and space magic—no wonder it was written in such an obscure and difficult way.
"Six hours… duration."
Moen continued decoding the contents. As soon as he said this, Erza immediately tensed up and leaned in to look.
"Six hours before it ends automatically. The user will be sent back to their original timeline…"
Erza read the passage out loud, her brain freezing for a moment.
"How long have you all been here?"
Moen's expression also turned serious. This auto-return function was clearly only for the user.
If time ran out and the others who came along didn't return with the user, they would be permanently left here.
"Let me think…"
Facing Moen's question, Erza calmed down. She knew she couldn't panic now—the more she panicked, the more mistakes she'd make. She and Lucy had already learned that lesson the hard way.
"Probably a little over four hours?"
Erza estimated the time. She hadn't kept track precisely; she only remembered coming over sometime around two or three in the afternoon.
"Just about. Looks like we don't have much time left."
Moen took a deep breath. He figured it out from the time he had eaten lunch—he had run into Lucy back then.
Counting the hours, about four had passed already. The sky was nearly dark.
Moen had gotten absorbed practicing "Diamond Dust Fist" today, so he ate late—around two o'clock.
"Let's go! We need to find them!"
Erza suddenly stood up, anxious. Time was running out. If they didn't find those idiots soon, they wouldn't be able to leave!
"Who is the user of this book?"
Moen closed the magic book and asked.
He suddenly thought of a plan—if the user returned first and then came back again, maybe they could take everyone back with them?
There was no reason the people who came along this time couldn't go back next time. If they missed this ride, couldn't they just catch the next? It sounded pretty reasonable.
"Natsu. Natsu is the user!"
Erza answered immediately. That crushed the plan, because the book was in their hands right now, not Natsu's. So the "next ride back" plan collapsed instantly.
"The book says the user has to hold onto it to return, because the book has to go back with them…"
Moen sighed. The only option left was to find Natsu.
Otherwise, Erza, Gray, Lucy, Happy, and this magic book would all be stuck here.
"Let's check the riverbank."
Moen suggested. If there was one place he would look for Natsu and the others now, it would be the river. Plenty of things had happened by that little river.
"Okay!"
Erza nodded. Honestly, she also wanted to go check that small river again.
Because in Erza's memories, that little river was special. When she first arrived at the guild, she would often go sit by the river alone, staring blankly at the flowing water.
And later… someone would sit there with her.
Erza's gaze drifted toward Moen, her eyes soft. The Moen who lived in her memories was a bit younger than he was now.
But no matter how time passed, no matter how people grew, one thing never changed—Moen's heart, which always cherished her deeply.
Moen led the way in front. The Magnolia City of this era was obviously more familiar to him, and Erza followed closely behind. The two of them quickly headed to the small river outside town.
On the road out of the city, they saw a carriage—without any horses—stopped beside the path, surrounded by a group of servants.
The servants crowded around in several layers, loudly shouting things like "Young lady, we finally found you!" It seemed they had been chasing after a noble young lady who had slipped out without permission.
Moen glanced inside and seemed to spot a little blonde girl, but this wasn't the time to worry about that.
With Erza, he ran straight to the river outside the city. As expected, they found the others there—Lucy, and two bruised-up guys, and also a "cat."
"…"
Seeing this scene, Moen pressed his lips together, momentarily unsure how he was supposed to even comment.
Natsu's and Gray's disguises were actually better than Erza's and Lucy's. At least the two of them had changed their hair color—Natsu with black hair, Gray with short blond hair—and their outfits looked relatively normal.
What truly left Moen speechless was the "cat."
It was Happy.
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