It felt as though I had awakened from a dream that had gone on for an impossibly long time.
A violent wave of exhaustion coiled around my head the moment I woke, as if I had just pulled an all-nighter.
After barely gathering my weary thoughts, I habitually cast Refresh, a Second-Circle wind spell, on my head.
“......”
...What? Why isn't this working?
The moment the spell that had practically become part of my daily life failed to activate, a flicker of bewilderment rose in my mind.
Fortunately, it was not difficult to determine why the spell had failed.
“...Where did all my Circles go?”
My magic circles, which I had built all the way up to Ninth Circle through every hardship imaginable, had all vanished, leaving behind only a single First Circle.
They had disappeared so cleanly that not even a trace of their destruction remained, as though nothing beyond the First Circle had ever existed in the first place.
And I immediately realized that was not the only strange thing.
The moment I raised my head and looked around, I recognized this place as an all-too-familiar scene.
The far end of the third floor of the Ferdalos manor. The private room of Conrad Ferdalos, the eldest son.
If the black-haired man reflected in the mirror truly was me, then this room was unmistakably the room I had used in the past.
On top of that, I discovered that my body had also become considerably younger.
There was only one conclusion I could draw from the evidence before me.
“Time regression...?”
Time-regression magic, a domain of divine law that no one should dare touch.
Even after reaching the realm of a Ninth-Circle Archmage, I had never properly understood even time magic itself, let alone time regression.
But there was no other way to explain this situation except that I had traveled back in time.
I had thought it strange that the relic possessed a form I had never seen before.
If it was a relic connected to time magic, it made sense that its method of use had been so difficult to decipher.
Still, I had never imagined it would do more than simply turn back the time of the world around me. It had rewound my body itself as well.
There was a reason forbidden ancient magic like this had not been passed down.
The instant magic like this became commonplace enough for any mage to use, the chaos it would bring would be beyond imagination.
And to add to that, I was truly fortunate to have been the one who discovered it.
After all, the fact that I had regressed to the days when I was a measly First-Circle mage meant that I had returned quite far into the past.
The wretched and hopeless future I had witnessed at the very end had yet to happen.
In other words, I had been given one chance to change the future that awaited me.
I called it one chance for a reason: my instincts as a mage told me so.
Even if I got my hands on the mysterious ancient relic that had activated by chance, I could not guarantee that I would be able to activate it again.
More importantly, if I attempted time regression even once more, my soul would surely be unable to endure it.
My flesh may have returned to the vigorous body of my youth, but my soul, the only part of me unaffected by the time regression itself, must have borne the full backlash from using the relic.
If I used the same time regression even once more, I would probably fail before it even succeeded, and my soul would wander the rifts of time forever.
“...So, what year is it exactly?”
Judging by the view outside the window, it seemed to be winter.
And since my Second Circle had not yet opened, there was a strong chance that this was the winter break of my first year at the academy.
“...Let's open my next Circle first.”
My mind felt as though it were dying, but my body should at least have been well rested after sleeping.
I could probably unlock the Second Circle even in this condition.
I drew a four-stage magic formula in a 2×2 grid in the air, then activated a chained spell of Light-Water-Wind-Arcane.
At once, I felt mana wrap around my body.
The Second Circle, which had taken me ages to obtain in my previous life because I had wasted so much time, was absorbed into my body in an instant.
“It has been a long time since I felt this.”
Naturally, the first thing I did after unlocking the Circle was cast Refresh, the spell that had failed a moment ago.
The instant the spell activated, some of the exhaustion that had plagued me faded, allowing me to recover enough to properly gather my thoughts.
“While I'm at it, I should go ahead and build up to Third Circle.”
If I followed my heart, I wanted to return to Ninth Circle in a single leap and reclaim my former realm.
But without any special preparations, Third Circle was the highest magic circle I could create.
Beyond that, I would need an environment with abundant mana resonance, along with the necessary materials for raising my Circle.
I decided to stop at Third Circle, the highest I could reach bare-handed.
The method for unlocking the Third Circle was a nine-stage spell-linking formula.
It required a nine-stage magic formula arranged in a 3×3 grid.
The first was Fire. The second was Light.
After that, I arranged seven more elemental spells into the smoothest possible sequence, shaping a chained spell formula that continued through all nine stages.
On the first day of my regression, having returned as a soon-to-be second-year academy student, I became a Third-Circle mage.
***
I had recovered my magic circles and cleared my head to some extent.
Now, the first thing I had to do was determine the exact month and date.
Through the power of an ancient relic that had activated by chance, I had somehow succeeded in returning to the past.
But if I remained still and did nothing, I would only repeat the tragedy of my previous life.
To correct the future that had gone wrong, I had to begin by fixing everything within my reach, one thing at a time.
It was not only Stella. There were many other things I had to do.
In particular, there was more than one part of the past concerning the House of Ferdalos and its territory that had to be changed.
This was the winter break of my first year at the academy, when I had briefly returned home to help manage the territory.
I would have to resolve what I could, one thing at a time.
After changing out of my pajamas and into everyday clothes, I opened the door and stepped outside.
The moment I did, I came face-to-face with someone I had missed so deeply that it felt as though I had not seen her in years.
“Did you sleep well, Brother?”
My younger sister wore her hair half braided and half left loose, a style that seemed to balance noble refinement with a manager's practicality.
Her light blond hair resembled Father's, and she greeted me that morning with a faint smile.
The instant I saw her face, a strange feeling surged from deep within my chest.
“Delphina.”
“Yes, Brother.”
“It has been a long time. Let me hug you just once.”
“What...?”
Delphina tilted her head as though she had no idea what I meant, but my arms were already spread as I approached her.
Fortunately, she neither avoided nor rejected me, and quietly stepped into my embrace.
“Sorry, Delphina. Just let me stay like this for a moment.”
“Did you have a nightmare, Brother?”
“Yes. A terrible nightmare I never want to have again.”
“If embracing me seems as though it will calm those feelings, you may borrow my shoulder for as long as you need.”
Delphina, far more composed than her pathetic older brother, did not become flustered by my sudden childishness.
Instead, she calmed and comforted my confused heart.
Thanks to her, the turmoil that had filled me immediately after returning to the past soon settled.
“Sorry, Delphina. I suddenly did something strange.”
“Not at all, Brother. Even you must sometimes have days when you wish to lean on someone.”
My little sister truly was an angel.
If I looked in a mirror right now, I was probably making quite a sorry face.
In any case, meeting Delphina presented the perfect opportunity, so I immediately asked her for the information I needed most.
“Delphina, what month and day is it today?”
“You returned from the academy the day before yesterday, Brother. That would make today the final day of December.”
“Thank you, Delphina.”
Relieved to realize that it was not too late, I immediately headed toward the staircase leading upstairs.
“Brother? What about breakfast?”
“Sorry. Tell Hadi I'll come down a little late today.”
There was something so important that even starting immediately would barely be soon enough.
A meal could obviously come later.
After climbing the stairs to the upper floor, I stood before the bedchamber of the Viscount and Viscountess Ferdalos on the fourth floor.
Knock, knock.
I called to Mother inside with two knocks.
“Mother, may I come in?”
“Conrad? Come in.”
After receiving Mother's permission, I entered the room.
The first thing I saw was Viscountess Tanasia lying in bed.
Two maids had already been attending to her illness since early that morning.
“What brings you here so early, Conrad?”
The face of Mother, whom I had not seen in nearly ten years, looked just as it did in my final memory.
She was terribly gaunt and sickly.
That was only natural. She must already have been unable to rise from her bed for three years.
The tragedy had occurred three years before this point.
Mother, an Archmage and magical researcher, had been researching new magic as usual.
She had proceeded without noticing a fatal error in the mana formula she had constructed.
And that particular spell happened to be a Grand Spell that required almost all the mana in her body to activate.
She had used the flawed Grand Spell without any safeguards, and the consequences had inevitably turned into tragedy.
The backlash had completely ruined Mother's mana circuits.
Every movement sent stabbing pain through her entire body, leaving her unable to use magic and barely able to move at all.
As a fellow mage, I knew better than anyone the agony of damaged mana circuits, even when the damage lasted only briefly.
After suffering in that state for three years, anyone would have ended up looking as she did.
“Mother.”
“Yes, my son?”
“I would like to speak with you alone for a moment. Would that be all right?”
Mother immediately glanced toward the maids.
“Mary, Biz, would you leave us for a moment?”
““Yes, Lady Tanasia.””
The two servants left the room without delay.
It was the effortless composure of someone born a noble, unlike Father, who had been born a commoner.
The door closed behind the two of them, leaving only Mother and me in the bedchamber.
She shed a layer of noble decorum, smiled at me, and asked,
“What did you wish to tell me, my son?”
“Mother, could you give me your hands for a moment?”
“My right hand? Or my left?”
“Both, please.”
I clasped the slender, pale hands she extended toward me.
Through one hand, I slowly sent my mana into her.
Through the other, I drew out the tainted mana pooled inside her body.
“Son? What are you doing...?”
“Please stay still for a moment, Mother. It'll be over soon if I concentrate.”
Repairing mana circuits after they had been damaged was not particularly difficult.
In my previous life, my own mana circuits had once been damaged, and I had been treated without difficulty with the help of a companion.
One had to inject another person's mana into the body of the one whose mana circuits had been damaged, while simultaneously extracting and purifying their corrupted mana.
The treatment itself required only enough mana and the skill to control it.
The problem was that this method was a secret art passed down only among the elves living in the World Tree Forest,
and was almost entirely unknown to outsiders.
Fortunately, I had returned to this life with that knowledge.
There was no reason to hesitate when I could save the life of the mother I had once been forced to give up on.
“......”
Fortunately, both my mana and my magical talent had been inherited directly from Mother.
The circulation and purification of mana proceeded far more smoothly than they would have with anyone else.
When the procedure ended after roughly thirty minutes of concentration with our hands clasped, Mother's expression, previously twisted by pain, had become noticeably more comfortable.
“How do you feel, Mother?”
“Conrad, did you just... repair my mana circuits?”
“Yes. Still, you must not use magic at all today, just in case.
Rest for the day, and if any discomfort remains, please tell me again tomorrow.”
“......”
“I'll be going now. I'll tell Mary and Biz to bring breakfast when they return.”
Mother was left speechless by the small miracle I had performed.
Until just before I stepped out of the room, she remained in a daze, staring blankly into the air.
“Conrad.”
“Yes?”
“Thank you, my son.”
She thanked me with a smile and faint tears in her eyes.
“It was nothing. Rest well, Mother.”
After meeting Mother's eyes one last time, I stepped out of the bedchamber.
Deep in my heart, I felt satisfied by the first future I had changed since returning to the past.