For a few seconds that seemed to stretch into eternity, I stared blankly at the small bundle of papers as pieces of incoherent information spun wildly in my head, failing to fit together into any sort of sense.

My information was correct, and she'd succeeeded in copying the letters... even though I didn't remember ever actually giving her that information. Did Lirelle also know more than she was letting on? Did she know where to go because she recalled something about her previous failed attempt? But then... if she herself had experienced something similar, it should have been fairly obvious from the way I was acting that I remembered as well.

...So what reason would she have had to hide it from me?

Eventually, I was snapped out of my thoughts by a heavy sigh. Lirelle briefly rubbed her exhausted, reddish eyes before refocusing on me, now with a slightly softer expression. "...Look," she said after a moment, her voice tired and monotone. "I'm kind of just feeling irritable since I haven't slept. I know you're sick and you just woke up, and I won't force you to keep explaining if you're really not up for it, but this is making me anxious, so... can you please at least try to—"

"...What exactly happened last night?" Before I even realized I'd opened my mouth, I'd already blurted out the question, interrupting her.

Now she froze, uncomprehending. Slowly, she began to speak again. "Well... how much do you remember?"

I frowned, and tried once again to fight past the dizziness and scour my memory, searching for anything I might have missed... but no, my recollection still ended in the same place as before. "...We were on our way to the central hall, and I felt sick and had to sit down."

There was an awkward pause. "...And?" Lirelle prompted.

"...That's it."

Again, there was a silence that stretched just a little too long to be comfortable, Lirelle staring at me blankly. "...You're kidding."

I gave a tiny shake of my head. "I... assumed I had passed out after that."

"No, you—" cutting herself off, she bit her lip and momentarily averted her eyes, seeming to search for what to say. "...You may have been feeling ill, but you were very much awake for maybe... thirty minutes to an hour after that, at least? Your condition just kept getting worse, so you insisted that I go in alone. Said it was the only opportunity I would get." She hesitated. "...Even so, you were still thinking clearly enough to accurately walk me through a detailed set of directions, so it's really unexpected that that you can't remember any—"

A flood of relief rapidly drained the tension from my muscles, and I couldn't manage to stay upright. Collapsing back onto the bed, I shut my eyes and muttered quietly. "...Thank goodness."

"...For what?"

I didn't answer immediately. "...I was afraid that I'd failed to uphold my end of the bargain and ruined any chance of you trusting me... maybe any chance of you even being willing to listen to me."

Another long pause. "Whatever you're gonna tell me is really that unbelievable, huh?"

Allowing myself a wry smile, I reopened my eyes and absentmindedly stared up at the sky outside the window as I answered. "...I certainly wasn't dropping all those impossible hints just because I wanted to try my hand at putting your lesson into practice."

Across the room, Lirelle gave a short, noncommital hum and went silent. A quick sidelong glance showed her to be deep in thought, perhaps considering how to respond, so I just watched the clouds drifting slowly overhead and waited.

"...Well," she began after a while, drawing my attention again, "I can't say I'm prepared to just outright accept any fairy tale you give me as the truth, but..." she trailed off.

I waited a few moments, but it didn't seem like she was going to finish the thought on her own. Taking a deep breath, I pushed myself up to a sitting position again and turned to face her head on, meeting her eyes. "...But you won't dismiss it out of hand, either? No matter how ludicrous it sounds?" I forced myself to hold her gaze evenly, despite how ill I still felt. For a short time, neither of us moved or made a sound, Lirelle quietly searching my expression. 

...Finally, she nodded, apparently satisfied by whatever she'd found there. 

Relaxing, I shifted my body and sat back against the wall. "...Alright. That's good enough for me." 

The question, of course, was how exactly to begin. I chewed my lip thoughtfully.

'The archmage somehow used magic to turn back time by seven years in order to prevent the apocalypse and for some reason I seem to be the only one who remembers'? 'The survival of the human race may very well depend on me and I desperately need someone I can trust to help me figure out what the hell to do about it'?

...Even if Lirelle had already agreed to at least hear me out no matter what, I was still worried that saying the wrong thing here might ruin everything.

Swallowing anxiously, I braced myself for the doubtful reaction that was most likely inevitable. Out of nervous habit, I ran my thumb along my index finger in search of a non-existent scar.

"Three... no, four days ago now, I woke up with memories I shouldn't have." My voice was shaking slightly.  "Memories belonging to a version of myself who lived seven years in the future."

Lirelle's expression flickered with some unreadable emotion, but she remained silent, listening intently.

"I knew what you were planning last night because I remember all of it happening once before. I knew what you said to your family yesterday because I remember you telling me that story yourself. Why can I recite a lesson you never taught me? Why did Mirea point out that I'm 'significantly prettier' than I was when she saw me a few months ago? Because you did teach it to me, and because from my perspective, your instructions and advice for how to take care of my appearance and use it to my advantage have long since become second nature."

I paused to give her time to process that. After a few moments, she spoke up tentatively. "...So you're saying the reason you were so willing to trust me completely, even though we'd just met..."

I nodded. "...Is because it wasn't my first time meeting you," I finished. "You are... or were, I suppose, one of the closest friends I'd ever had... and I sincerely hope you will be again."

The room was quiet for a short while, Lirelle's face remaining carefully neutral. I could tell she didn't believe me just yet, but she appeared to be keeping to her word and at least considering the possibility, which was as much as I could really ask for.

"...What happened last night, in your memory?"

"You didn't bring me along with you, so I don't know the specifics, but you weren't able to find what you were looking for. I accompanied you for another attempt the next evening—tonight, in other words—and although we were able to locate where the letters had been kept, all the important ones had already been burned."

"And you decided to help me succeed this time because...?"

"...Because I knew it mattered a lot to you, and because I want dearly for you to trust me." I paused. "And if this manages to improve the situation with the Ielyan border even a little, then all the better."

Lirelle took some time to consider. As I waited for her to sort out her thoughts, I realized the lightheadedness clouding my mind was worsening the more I spoke, and my throat had begun to feel incredibly dry again. I closed my eyes and made myself take deep, even breaths.

Although I couldn't see her, Lirelle seemed to take notice. "...Alright, one more question and then we can take a break." Opening my eyes, I nodded, relieved... 

...but the feeling didn't last long.

Three words. 

It was just three little words, and yet it felt like they almost stopped my heart.

"...Where is Kerr?"