Hermione's love for him seemed to manifest as a form of mental resonance between the two of them. Arthur was certain that Hermione could now sense his shock just as clearly as he could feel her emotions.
There were likely other effects as well—but Arthur didn't have the leisure to investigate them right now.
His mind was in complete turmoil.
Hermione… had fallen in love with him.
He had to admit that, deep down, he had entertained a bit of a "raising" mindset—but Hermione was still just a teenager. In Arthur's eyes, she was firmly in the raising phase.
Yet somehow, this girl had matured on her own.
More precisely, her mind had matured—her body, however, had not.
This development was entirely outside Arthur's expectations. At this moment, he desperately wished his system had a favorability interface, just so he could see exactly how high Hermione's affection level was.
Even without such a feature, judging by the emotions resonating in his heart, her affection was clearly hovering near the maximum.
But this was not the time to be distracted by such thoughts.
Arthur could feel fear rising from Hermione's side—fear born from his prolonged silence. She was beginning to worry that he might reject her feelings.
Arthur gently stroked her fur and spoke softly,
"Silly girl… have you really thought this through? I already have a fiancée."
Hermione lifted her head in his arms and looked at him seriously.
"I've thought about it very carefully. You're too outstanding, Arthur—you were never going to belong to just one person. Since that's the case, I'd rather secure a position closer to the front."
This way of thinking wasn't unique to Hermione.
Penelope likely thought the same way.
Hermione even suspected that the unfathomable Luna might share similar thoughts.
Arthur lightly tapped Hermione on the head and laughed,
"So in your eyes, your cousin is just that much of a philanderer?"
Hermione stuck out her tongue in her cat form. At the same time, the heavy stone weighing on her heart finally fell away.
She knew—Arthur had accepted her feelings.
She was extremely grateful that she was in her Animagus form right now. If she'd been human, she might not have had the courage to say those words aloud.
"Alright," Arthur said, regaining his composure. "We've spent enough time here. Let's move on to the next room."
They had lingered here far longer than planned, and Arthur still hadn't achieved his real objective for the night. If they delayed any longer, dawn would break.
The next room they entered was filled with clocks.
Grandfather clocks, wall clocks, pocket watches—large and small, every kind imaginable.
The ticking of countless mechanisms filled the room, like the synchronized march of soldiers—orderly, rhythmic, relentless.
At the same time, dazzling lights—brilliant as cut diamonds—leapt and danced through the air. The spectacle was even more breathtaking than the planetary chamber they had visited earlier.
At the far end of the room stood a towering, bell-shaped crystal glass enclosure, as tall as an adult. It rested on a table, filled with a constantly churning, luminous stream of shimmering mist.
Inside floated a tiny, jewel-like egg.
With a soft crack, the egg split open, and a hummingbird emerged. Carrying the broken shell, it slowly drifted upward with the current—then descended again.
As it fell, the bird's vibrant feathers gradually dulled. By the time it reached the bottom, it slipped back into the egg, and the cracks sealed themselves.
The cycle repeated endlessly.
This was the Time Chamber—the place where the Ministry stored Time-Turners.
And Time-Turners were Arthur's true goal tonight.
Time.
What a miraculous force.
To the Unspeakables, this chamber existed to study grand questions like exploring the past and glimpsing the future. In the end, their conclusion was simple: grasp the present—because the past cannot be changed, and the future cannot be reached.
But was that really the truth?
In the end, the Unspeakables had never truly mastered time. They merely played clumsily with it through Time-Turners.
And those who toy with time are inevitably toyed with in return.
If someone truly mastered time… could the past and future be altered?
Arthur didn't know.
But he was about to become someone who wielded time itself.
Time was a form of special power, and by all logic, it should be absorbable—just like the others.
Though Arthur possessed the Zen Garden, where he could freely adjust time flow, that did not mean he had mastered time.
He could only control time within the Zen Garden. Outside of it, he could merely sense time's presence—not command it.
Ever since he'd detected the time power embedded in Hermione's Time-Turner, Arthur had wanted to come here.
Time was a power no one could resist.
His gaze fell upon a glass cabinet filled with countless hourglasses.
Every single one of them was a Time-Turner.
Arthur could hardly wait.
Before beginning, he had Hermione leave the room.
He wasn't sure what effects absorbing time might cause.
If it were simple acceleration—rapid aging—that could be managed. With the Philosopher's Stone, lifespan wasn't a concern.
What he feared was temporal turbulence—being flung into some unknown era.
So Arthur explained everything to Hermione, including the possible risks, and asked her to leave.
Though worried, Hermione obeyed.
She knew that once Arthur made up his mind, nothing could stop him. All she could do was avoid interfering—and silently pray for his safety.
Once Hermione had gone, Arthur began.
He first dismantled every protective and alarm enchantment the Ministry had placed here, ensuring nothing would trigger an alert.
Then he opened the cabinet.
He took out one hourglass and shattered it.
The sand spilled out—but instead of falling to the floor, it faded midair and vanished.
At the same time, Arthur felt time around him accelerate violently.
One second outside—
Several months within.
Strangely, his thoughts weren't affected.
His mind experienced one second, while his body endured months.
In other words—his body aged by months.
It felt like time itself was punishing him for destroying the Time-Turner.
An ordinary human would have starved to death long ago.
Fortunately, Arthur had already reached the level of a demigod. Eating was no longer a necessity.
He was profoundly grateful he'd sent Hermione away. Had she remained, she would've been reduced to bones in moments.
Yet the result pleased him.
He confirmed that the Time-Turner's effect came from the sand itself.
The sand was time power given physical form. Once freed from its container, it rapidly dispersed—producing the terrifying effects he'd just experienced.
With that understanding, Arthur hesitated no longer.
He shattered every single hourglass and activated his ability, absorbing the time sand.
But this time—
Arthur overestimated himself.
Or rather, he hadn't realized that even a demigod's body had limits.
For the first time ever while absorbing special energy, he felt saturation.
His body could not absorb any more.
Yet a portion of time sand remained.
Which meant it would disperse naturally.
The result—
Arthur's body began to age at an extreme rate.
For ordinary people, this would be called aging.
For Arthur, it could only be called growth.
A normal young man would turn into a withered old corpse in under half a minute.
Arthur endured it for over a minute—
Equivalent to two to three hundred years.
When the remaining time sand finally vanished, Arthur examined himself.
He had grown several centimeters taller—now standing at roughly 180 cm, fully adult in appearance.
By physical age alone, he should've been long dead. No ordinary human could survive centuries.
But for a demigod, bodily growth meant greater power.
As his height increased, the strength within him grew denser and more profound.
The only pity—
Ranni had been in the Zen Garden.
She'd missed a perfect opportunity for growth.
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