The time when Leonardo and Signe boarded the train again was about 15 hours before her enlistment. Though 3 hours would be sufficient to reach their destination, Port Bellmayer station in the central region, they also had to consider the journey of taking trams and military escort vehicles from the urban center to enter the Port, which was the main base.
The problem was that it took more than 10 hours just to enter this Port. Within Bellmayer, which remained as a war remnant zone, there existed Lederpol, the old downtown, and Castbell, the new downtown. The rest of the areas were all classified as military control zones. This was because it was a desolate area that fully embraced the scars of war, and at the same time, a dangerous area with millions of landmines buried in the ground.
Because of this, the roads and transportation to and from the Port were limited, and recruits who were to be assigned to stationed units had to gather at Castbell to board the escort vehicles.
Signe, who had left Riverside two days before her enlistment date in anticipation of the crowds, also planned to spend a night in Castbell before entering the Port. However, when she opened her eyes on the bench, less than half a day remained, so Leonardo could fully understand her anxious feelings. This was also the reason he had left the station of beginning and end to see her off as she hurried and stamped her feet.
Though he still had many unresolved questions about the 'gift,' he promised himself to return later, believing that the castle wouldn't disappear from that place. For now, shouldn't he make sure the greenhorn enlisted on time? He didn't mind sending her alone, but since she had been delayed by volunteering to be his guide, he greatly wanted to take care of various things for her.
Fortunately, Signe, who had been nervously biting her nails, regained some stability after boarding the train and immediately eating a lunchbox and snacks. Though she glanced at her watch occasionally, she deliberately repeated positive words, saying she could enter with plenty of time an hour before.
Leonardo responded to her words while occasionally resting his chin on his hand and staring blankly out the train window. This was because his mind was still lingering in the old castle.
"So we wandered in the field for nearly 16 hours? In my memory, it seemed like only about 2 hours had passed."
Chewing on a military energy bar sold secretly by peddlers, Signe sat in her seat and recalled her memories from the field. Leonardo, who had been staring at the quickly passing scenery, shifted his gaze to her sitting across from him. Though he didn't understand why she was eating now what she would eat until she was sick of it after enlisting, he didn't particularly stop her.
"...I don't know either. Since I didn't check the time often."
"Or was I asleep for that long? Actually, I barely slept the day before yesterday because I was excited. But if that's the case, wouldn't you have slept beside me too? It doesn't make sense that you would have just waited quietly for over ten hours."
"Hey, do you think I'm like you? Falling asleep in such a suspicious place..."
Leonardo, who was about to retort in disbelief, soon trailed off. He suddenly recalled how he would sleep as if he had fainted even in the midst of enemy territory when comrades were by his side. Hadn't they even threatened that if Bay didn't wake up, they would leave him behind?
As he was momentarily at a loss for words, Signe giggled as if she had caught a weakness.
"You slept too, didn't you? The place has a nice breeze, it's quiet. The weather is clear, so time passes quickly when you take a nap, right? Still, it's fortunate that you woke up first in the middle. If we had slept through, we would have really been late. Ugh... I don't even want to imagine it."
"...."
"Though you couldn't meet your appointment in the end... In my opinion, the fact that there was no one at the station means that the person you were supposed to meet had already gone elsewhere. Who would wait in such a foggy place? We barely returned after wandering a lot."
Signe, who still couldn't remember what happened in the old castle, occasionally silenced Leonardo. After his vision was covered with light, he even doubted whether he himself had also woken up in front of the stone tablet after a long dream. But for that to be true, his memory and the evidence of the note in his pocket were too vivid, and it was strange that Signe couldn't even recall the name 'Theodore.'
"The station attendant also said that people who had recently visited the station besides us could be counted on one hand."
She seemed to have forgotten everything about the key to entering the old castle.
However, the process of reaching the answer to the riddle was impossible to deduce without hearing the hints that Signe's sister had dropped. This meant that the conversations he and Signe had had in the field were all real events, and it wasn't a problem that could be solved by his unconscious alone.
'Then it's certainly not a dream, but...'
Could this also be a device created by someone? Perhaps to take away the memories of those who entered inside, so that the gift intended for the Sun King wouldn't be defiled by others.
If so, why was his memory intact? Could it be that even his memory was partly a dream and partly reality? After all, he too clearly had a moment when he lost consciousness before opening his eyes in the old castle.
But there were other questions as well.
'The grandfather clock in the old castle struck at 4 AM. And now it's 18:00 according to Riverside time. Did it take me more than 12 hours to bring Signe out of the castle? That can't be.'
The inexplicable gap between the two points in time only fueled the confusion. Based on his perception, the time it took to return to the station was at most 1 hour, even generously estimated. He had known all along that space-time was distorted, but the disappearance of about 12 hours added credibility to the hypothesis that time flowed differently inside and outside the castle.
If so, the scenery of the old castle he had seen and the memories inside it, through what era were they passing? Had he gone back several centuries to their romance, and did it still actually exist now? Complex thoughts sprouted like bamboo shoots and became entangled.
In the midst of this, Leonardo recalled the moment when he had set out on a mission with his comrades long ago, counting the stars in the night sky on a hill lush with undergrowth. He didn't know why that day came to mind now. However, in his memory, the story that Ian, who was alive at that time, had told him remained clear.
'Leo, you know what?'
'What?'
'Those stars we see in the sky right now, they might actually be gone already. We're looking at the past of the stars.'
'...'
'They say it takes tens of thousands of years for starlight to reach this earth. So we're watching a train of starlight that has already departed, chasing the remaining soul and afterimage. Believing that the star still exists.'
'...What nonsense. Did you hurt your head during the fight earlier?'
Leonardo imagined Ian, who had been looking at the sky with his eyes shining, supporting the back of his head with interlocked fingers. He turned his head slightly diagonally and smiled gently toward him.
'It's true. That's why they say you shouldn't believe everything you see.'
'That's why I don't believe what you're saying now.'
'Please believe my words at least, Captain.'
Around that time, Leonardo furrowed his brow and closed his eyes tightly.
'...Is this also a kind of that afterimage, Ian? If I had brought that scroll, real or fake, could I have heard you answer again?'
The 'gift' embraced by the Castle of Romance might truly have been someone's 'romance' itself. Dreams, ideals, ardent wishes that one chases. The residue of flowing time, thoughts, obsessions that they had captured.
The unexpected journey that began with a single note from Alec Siles had made his inner self quite disturbed. The problem was that nothing was actually resolved. Where was the 'room of clocks' that the guy had promised for next time? Was it also a specific space within the old castle? After suffering from riddles overnight, he was now tired and no longer wanted to find the guy. Someday, he would have to put a stone in the mouth of the guy who was training him like a dog and beat him with his fist.
Leonardo, with his eyelids half-open, let his thoughts settle while aimlessly basking in the sunlight. If it was an issue that couldn't be resolved right away, it was advisable to turn off his attention for a while. For now, having left that place, shouldn't he feed his junior, who was far behind him, something more before parting with Signe?
Having reached that conclusion, Leonardo turned his head to Signe, who had been unusually quiet.
"Are you full? Is there nothing else you want to eat?"
"Oh, can I eat more? You're buying, right?"
"I've been buying all along. Why so formal now?"
Signe showed her characteristic bright smile, saying 'That's right.' Perhaps because she was simple, looking at her was good for shaking off distracting thoughts.
She got up from her seat, saying she would go to the next car to buy some snacks. Leonardo took out his wallet from the bag crossing his chest and handed her a few bills.
Signe, who had received the money, was about to move away but suddenly looked alternately at Leonardo's face and his wrist and asked:
"Do you need a band-aid or ice pack? I've been wanting to say this, but your back of the hand and wrist are red."
"Huh?"
"Did you strain yourself while carrying me?"
Instead of answering, Leonardo stared down at the back of his hand as he was about to put his wallet back. There was nothing on the right... The moment he checked the back of his left hand, his pupils reacted subtly. There was a faint red mark covering the area from the back of his hand to his wrist.
'...When did this happen?'
The mark wasn't so much swollen as it was in the form of being pressed by some pressure. Here and there, red blood spots could be seen on the pale skin where blood circulation had been cut off.
Leonardo tilted his head and covered the mark on the back of his left hand with his right hand. The area of the mark was much larger than the size of a palm.
As if a large hand had firmly grasped his hand and hadn't let go for a long time.