Once I realised what was truly meant by ''relinquish power'', I acquiesced.


    I was not supposed to order these people around.


    It was never going to work out from the very beginning.


    So, I would let them go.


    I won''t distance myself from them since that would be impractical and frankly impossible, but we will live separate lives.


    When they are available I will use them, but other than that, they might as well not exist.


    I will do my own thing and they can do theirs.


    I won''t one-sidedly press them to play a role in my plans any longer.


    Because, it''s become clear to me that continuing to go down such a path would only bring disaster.


    The only ones who remained by my side were the ones I intended to have from the start.


    Sana and Sona.


    The only two I had gone out of my way to save and take care of because I needed them.


    The only two who relied on me just as I relied on them.


    The only two who had a rightful place by my side.


    Unlike the volatile others, contentious and unreliable, the twins have always been straightforward, honest, and loyal.


    Haha.


    It''s ridiculous, honestly.


    I never realised it until now, but apparently I was making things far more complicated than they needed to be.


    That''s right.


    Since the start, there was never a need for me to have anyone else.


    I''ve never relied on someone like that before, but I must admit, it''s a nice feeling, albeit strange.


    A feeling as if I''m invincible.


    I see it now.


    This is the way it always should have been, and the way it always will be from now on.


    That scene showed to me by Liam''s Measurement will never come to fruition.


    There''s no way I would let it happen.


    After all.


    From the very beginning and all the way until the very end.


    Sana and Sona.


    So long as I have those two, I can''t lose.


    ?─────?─────?


    In the following days, there were a few changes I decided to make.


    "Close the contracts...? Like, all of them??"


    Emir stared at me in disbelief, his mouth gaping.


    "...Is this related to what happened the other day? But, what about everyone else?"


    "Do I need to explain? You saw what happened; clearly, we can''t work together anymore. So, terminate the contracts. I already know that you''re capable of doing it without consequence to either party; do it."


    "..."


    "I''m not going to ask you twice."


    "Ahh... Okay... Honestly, I didn''t think it was going to last for long, anyway, and I always felt uncomfortable about some of them..."


    Nodding my head before taking my leave, the interaction ended there.


    Now, all Absolute Contracts tied to my name would be terminated, and I would no longer be held back by any such unnecessary obligations or restrictions.


    This was the main thing I wanted to ensure was done, and now that it was sorted, I could focus on what lies ahead.


    I thought about forcing Emir to keep the fact of the contracts'' termination a secret, but I knew he would never listen to a command of mine if the result was a potential sabotage to those he cared for, even if it were a risk to his life.


    He would immediately realise that I would only give such an instruction if I had intended to trick everyone, and in that case, he would just tell them despite my warning.


    Ironically, the fact that I didn''t indicate that I wanted him to keep it a secret meant there was less reason for him to talk about it to anyone since there would be less reason to care.


    Thus, for now, there would not be much change.


    Ultimately, to keep everything under the radar until the time comes when all can fulfil its intended role, things will remain mostly as they have been.


    There is the matter of the Absolute Contract with Minami, but things have progressed much too far for her to do anything about it anyway; if she were to try and punish me for abolishing the contract we made all that time ago, the repercussions on her end would be much higher than what it would be worth.


    For that reason, I don''t think she would confront me about it even if she found out the contract was terminated.


    We can still work together without such a thing, anyway, at least for now.


    However, one thing I will not bend on is the matter of the I.M.E. drug I have been working hard to perfect.


    From now on, I will take it with me everywhere I go.


    Having it on me at all times is far safer than leaving it within the unattended laboratory at home, where anyone could enter and anything could happen at any time without my knowledge.


    It also means that, in the very worst case of an emergency, I can just take the drug then and there if the need for it arises.


    Naturally, it carries a certain level of risk, but if the alternative is me losing, then no price is too high.


    Finally, Atsuko Fushigimi.


    Ever since we abducted her, she''s been constrained within the ''anti-Space room'' developed by myself and Sophie as a prisoner.


    She remains there even now, and to be honest, I have no intention of letting her free.


    So long as she continues to exist within my custody, Saburou can''t afford to take any risky moves because he knows well what I wouldn''t hesitate to do if he steps out of line.


    In any case.


    Like this, a few relatively ordinary days passed, until the weekend.


    ?─────?─────?


    Sunday.


    Ding-dong~!


    That woman stood in front of me yet again.


    "..."


    "Good morning!"


    This time, before she had the chance to invade the house, I pushed her outside and crossed the entryway, closing the door behind me.


    Click.


    Only when the two of us didn''t run the risk of attracting unwanted attention did I open my mouth.


    "What do you want?"


    "I wanted to invite you to come out with me."


    What?


    An absurd reason came out of her mouth.


    "Why?"


    "What do you mean, ''why''? I want to spend time with you because I''m your fan, right?"


    "Are you telling me to believe you have no ulterior motives?"


    "Of course! I don''t want to do anything sketchy that''s going to put you in danger, alright? I''m not you, you know. Really, I want to spend some time with you. Also, you know that I''ll do my best to protect you from harm, so in case anything does happen, you''ll be fine."


    "..."


    "You were about to go out by yourself anyway, weren''t you? So, it''s not a bad deal for you either if I come along."


    None of her words were a lie, nor was she particularly incorrect.


    Looking down, it was indeed obvious that I was intending to head out by the shoes and winter coat I wore, as well as the bag slung over my shoulder.


    It makes me wonder if she chose this timing to invite me because she already knew I was planning to head out.


    That damn future knowledge...


    Anyway, it was true that she had no intentions to do anything that would put me in harm''s way. On the contrary, she intended to protect me in the event that anything dangerous happened.


    If I looked at it a different way, I wonder...


    "Did you choose today as the day to accompany me because you knew something would happen?"


    Unable to contain my burning desire to uncover the truth of the person in front of me, I asked her.


    "...A-ahaha. Well, maybe something will happen? It shouldn''t be anything dangerous, so don''t worry about it."


    So she said. Truth confirmed it not to be a lie, but that wasn''t enough to satisfy me.


    "If it wasn''t going to be dangerous, then why are you here?"


    She said she was going to protect me, so the mere fact she is going to be present indicates that something dangerous enough to elicit her protection is going to happen.


    "Hm? Ahh..."


    She hesitated for a moment, seemingly caught by my question.


    "Well, you never know how the future will unfold, right?"


    "..."


    She showed a small, seemingly sad smile.


    Now, I was the one caught by what she said.


    That''s right.


    Even someone like her, who came from the future and had witnessed it develop with her own eyes.


    Even to someone like that, the future was unpredictable.


    She was absolutely correct. sea??h thё ηovёlFire .net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    It''s not particularly surprising.


    It just means the nature of time itself is chaotic, I suppose.


    If you think about it, it should be obvious.


    What hasn''t yet happened, hasn''t happened, after all.


    And, if something hasn''t happened, does it mean anything could happen?


    Even if someone travels to the past from the future, what was once the past all of a sudden turns into something that never existed.


    If someone like that then acts in a way contrary to how the ''future past'' originally occurred, then there''s no way that things could remain the same.


    Travelling to the past, then acting such that the future changes.


    If that happens, and the future does change, then how can the person have gone into the past to change the future in the first place?


    All of a sudden, the future becomes one where that person has no need to change the past, or one where they physically cannot, and thus they never travel back in time to change it.


    A scenario where the act of changing the past itself makes it so that change is impossible.


    The Grandfather Paradox.


    But, was it really a paradox?


    If it was truly something impossible, then not just Araceli Arévalo standing next to me, but Azaki Kiryuuin also shouldn''t exist as they are.


    "Huh? Where''re you going?"


    "Away."


    Without warning, I started to walk towards the city centre. Araceli called out to me as she hurried after.


    "What about me?"


    "..."


    Pausing for a second, I cast a sideways glance at her.


    "...Leave or follow. I can''t do anything about it anyway."


    "Oh. I''ll come with you, then."


    Yet again, she presented a bright smile.


    Turning my gaze away from this enigmatic anomaly of a person, I spat a final word.


    "Just make sure you do your job if something happens."


    Regressors and the related time paradoxes that never triggered for some reason.


    "Yes, don''t worry. As a fan, I would never let you down."


    "..."


    Sighing internally, I didn''t know what to think about the whole situation anymore as we silently walked along the peaceful street.


    Nevertheless, the more I had the time to think about it, the more I wondered.


    Was it really something so simple as time regression?