The time was nine o'clock at night.
Standing in front of the dining room window, Gray gazed outside into the darkness, shrouded by a heavy rainstorm and strong winds, her fingers slightly clenched.
"Are you worried about the two of them?"
Merlin came up behind her and asked.
"It's exactly as the weather forecast said—a heavy rainstorm. I feel like it's almost a tropical storm, even though it was so sunny when they left this afternoon. But it's strange, they haven't come back yet. Dinner's already cold."
Merlin glanced at the seafood curry on the dining table, now cold, and sighed with a hint of regret. "That's Gray's homemade dish. I'll punish them later."
"Big brother and Mr. Waver must have something important to do…"
Although she said that, Gray's face and gaze were filled with worry she couldn't hide.
According to the plan, Naoki and Waver had a full schedule of classes this afternoon, with the last class ending at six. Accounting for travel time, they should have been back at the apartment by seven at the latest. But now it was nine, and if they were running late, Naoki, being who he was, would have definitely called. Yet, there was no news at all.
Merlin, of course, wasn't worried about their safety. Although there was a slight anomaly, an unexpected delay in returning home wouldn't be a big deal.
But Gray was different.
She had been brought to London by Naoki. To her, Naoki was her only connection to this world. She was like a water plant that could survive in the pond of London, all because Naoki was her root.
If that root were lost…
"I'll reheat dinner."
"Gray."
Merlin called out to Gray, who was slightly panicking and about to leave. She reached out and hugged her, gently stroking her head. "Calm down, they'll be fine. Big sister promises you."
"But sister… I'm a little scared…"
"Then how about you go to his room?"
"Huh? To big brother's room?"
Merlin nodded. "Yes, to his room. At least you'll feel calm there. Because no matter where he goes, he'll eventually return there. As long as you wait there, you'll definitely see him come home."
"Is that… really true?"
"Absolutely. And, big sister will give you another secret."
"A secret?"
Merlin leaned close to Gray's ear and whispered, "Boys, when they come home and see a girl waiting for them, they'll be really happy, especially a cute girl like Gray."
"So, if I wait in his room, he'll be happy when he comes back?"
"Oh, little Gray, come with big sister. I'll show you a way to make him even happier."
Without waiting for Gray's response, Merlin took her hand and quickly led her upstairs.
◆━⊰✧⊱━◆
At the same time, on a street near the Clock Tower, Naoki sat in a café with Waver, staring at the heavy rainstorm outside. He slumped lazily on the table. "Damn it… With weather like this, how are we supposed to get home? The weather forecast this afternoon said it would be sunny?"
"Weather forecasts are ultimately just predictions. The wind element is the freest of all elements. It's not strange for it to change into anything."
Waver also looked at the weather outside.
"But it's rare for it to change like this. And judging from the situation this afternoon, for the wind element to become so violent, there wouldn't have been enough time. The speed at which its power accumulates wouldn't be that fast."
"Explain it in simpler terms."
"Alright, let's have an extra lesson outside of class."
Waver took out a piece of paper and a pen from his work bag, drawing several dots on it, then connecting them with curved lines of varying thickness.
"Let's assume these dots represent the wind element, and the way the wind element exists is through flowing lines. Sometimes it's a stable curve, sometimes there are many waves, and occasionally spirals like this appear."
"Generally, these all occur naturally, each corresponding to certain weather conditions. For example, this stable condition usually means clear weather, waves mean windy or cloudy days… For Magi, judging upcoming weather through elemental activity is basic, though it can only predict about ten minutes ahead."
"And most importantly, changes in elements are inherited."
Inherited?
Naoki frowned. "What do you mean?"
"Take this straight line, for example." Waver drew a straight line on the paper. "This is the wind element. Assume its current strength is 1, and its rate of change is 0.5. Then, without external interference, after a period of change, the wind element's final strength will settle between 0.5 and 1.5. And when it enters the next period of change, its base strength will be a certain value within that range."
"In short, the element's strength will grow stronger. Only after a long period of accumulation, releasing the accumulated power all at once, will its strength return to its original state. Rainy seasons, dry seasons—though modern science has explained the laws of nature, for magi, it's actually just the change in elemental power."
"I see."
Naoki tapped the table, then looked out the window. "So, does that mean the wind element's power has accumulated to its limit now, ready to explode all at once?"
"No, it's still too early." Waver shook his head. "Judging from the situation this afternoon, it should take at least two more months."
"Meaning this is an abnormal situation?"
"Any phenomenon that doesn't align with natural laws, if it can't be explained with existing data, is man-made." Waver sipped his coffee. "Clearly, this is a planned storm. It seems some Magus is conducting an experiment."
"What about the secrecy and mystery?"
"In cases like this, it can only be explained as a weather anomaly."
Naoki clicked his tongue, picking up a cookie and popping it into his mouth. At that moment, his magic circuits suddenly twitched!
He chewed the cookie, swallowed, then wiped the crumbs from the corner of his mouth.
"Waver."
"I know, my magic circuits reacted too—Look outside."
As if answering Waver's voice, as soon as he spoke, it was as if the gates of hell had opened. Endless darkness instantly enveloped the entire intersection, and a sensation like jumping into a swimming pool pierced through both of their bodies.
"A barrier…"
"What a hassle…"