It had been over a week since the battle had ended. Leo had still been unconscious for the last few days. Vonica had taken over the duties over the mage tower and Shira had been helping the citizens of Gotia as their homes were burned down.
Leo blinked as he woke up. His heartbeat steadily increased and his eyes widened as he surveyed the surroundings. He then regained his senses and realized that it was the mage tower infirmary. He slowly raised his body with fatigue covering his entire body. Bandages were tightly wrapped around his whole body making his movements seem groggy.
'Damn, it hurts'
Noir jumped out of his soul.
"Oho, Mr. It was all according to the plan has finally woken up from his deep sleep"
Leo tried to move his lips but he couldn't. He tried to say something but the words didn't flow.
"No, need to speak or should I say you can't"
Leo's expression quickly turned barren. It had only been a week according to his memories and he can't already speak?
"No worries. You should be able to start speaking after a few hours so you can communicate with me with your thoughts"
'Well what happened, could you tell me?'
"Well first you won against the sword guy but lost against the flesh monster guy"
Leo had predicted the serpent was going to lose either way so it wasn't a problem and trusted Vonica and Shira's abilities.
'Ok was he defeated'
"Yeh, yeh but the mage had some injuries. The blade girl was good so nothing bad."
Leo was relieved to hear that both of them were safe. But his condition was quite bleak.
'Is..this the backlash from using your power?'
"Yeh yeh so I suggest you don't use it that often unless absolutely necessary"
Leo went into deep thought about what Noir had said. The power he was given once entering the world had backlash so severe he could have died! If this continues he might be in danger and die in a foreign world he had nothing to do with. Leo's stomach churned in pain. Leo contemplated with a frown. He decided to grow his military strength by recruiting people from the Academy of Lewania which has many knights and mages as he read.
With this opportunity the times he might need to use his powers might be reduced making his survival, and well-being more consistent. Leo tried to clench his fist but failed.
"Also once you recover your physical strength which is in around half an hour can we tinker with that stopwatch you got from Delia"
Noir's eyes seemed to brighten.
'Fine but on one condition why do you address Delia using her name but not the others'
"Cause they are insignificant. Delia has valuable information which I was interested in and that locket was quite a peculiar object."
Leo remembered the object which Delia had tossed him. It was a locket which he had kept in his desk drawer. Of course Leo couldn't go retrieve it because of the physical strain he was in right now. He then slowly closed his eyes to rest.
____________________________________________________________________________
It had been two hours since Leo had been asleep. He had been woken up as the sunlight streamed in from the window opposite to his. He tried moving his body and thankfully he could move again with no problem. The was opened and Shira walked in her blond hair that seemed to glow in the sunlight. She bowed her head in a fifty degree angle.
"I am glad you are awake, Master Leo"
Leo tried to move his lips, tongues and tried to channel his voice.
"Yes"
Leo had spoken! His voice had seemed a bit groggy and filled with fatigue but it had worked. With excitement he had a faint smile but on the inside he was very happy.
"Would you like anything to eat"
Leo who would have normally had some bread or maybe other dishes decided to go with steak. Hunger filled his mind.
"First bring some Aurio leaf tea, then Tomatoe soup, continue with a crispy Javler, steak as the main course, and some dessert"
Tomatoe soup is basically the same as Tomato soup with just different names, and Javler is similar to fried chicken in Korea but instead fried fish with some delicious sauce. The sauce had been hidden from Leo instructed by the head chef but it always surprised Leo's tastebuds.
A few minutes later Shira came back with the tea. Leo sipped the tea. He could feel the heat entering his throat which was entering his stomach slowly after going through his intestines. After finishing his tea he felt refreshed but then Shira came with the tomato soup and Javler. The soup was crimson red. He felt an urge to puke because it was similar to blood.
"Shira I change my mind, I don't think I can eat the soup"
Shira looked at the soup and picked it up walking away. Leo licked his lips and slid his fingers through the Javler which had a dark brown color and looked very skinny. The sauce to the side had a green and white color with a tint of red. He dipped the Javler into the sauce and took a bite. His tastebuds seemed to have ascended to another dimension.
Leo then covered his mouth and chewed the food slowly and properly. After finishing he moved onto his steak finishing the scrumptious dish. His stomach felt full and his body felt energized. He then flexed the muscles on his body to see if they were in good condition.
Shira then brought Leo his clothes all of them neatly folded.
"Alright, good job. Shira you can now return to helping the citizens don't worry you only have to do that for three more days then return to your normal duties"
She then placed her hand directly above her heart and bowed, taking her leave. Leo started changing alone in the infirmary. He had been wondering why no one was here and realised this was his own personal infirmary.
His attire was now formal so he decided to go to Vonica's office. He walked up the stairs walking towards the office. After many minutes he had finally arrived. Leo knocked on the door a few times and it had been finally opened by Vonica.
"Ahh, Master Leo it seems you are awake"
"Yes, I was here to ask about the situation"
Vonica then guided him to a chair and made him sit down.
"Well, the situation is quite bad as the citizens home have collapsed merchants have fled though"
"Also, Mr and Mrs Vlaniz are to arrive in an hour to help you"
Leo froze as he heard those words.
'How do I act to show them I am the real Leo?'
Parents always know their child well, knowing their personalities and everything but how was Seul-Gi supposed to act in such an environment. He calmed down trying to recall his memory fragments. He then stopped.
"For the citizens' problems you know our guards right, we can use them as our labor force. They need physical strength so we can call it training. Besides construction do have some benefits from what I am talking about"
"Planning can be done by hiring a few architects"
Vonica nodded and silently praised Leo's quick thinking.
"So we can change that also we can have the citizens work for things like building in exchange for food"
"And as for the food inventory we can use the mage towers kitchen or ask Shira to hunt some beasts"
"Now that's solved. I have another proposition. We enter the annual Academy of Lewania job seeking festival"
"Write a letter ok"
Vonica nodded.
"Anything else?"
"No, I will be leaving now. Thank you very much"
Leo stood up and left the office ascending to his room.
'It's time to explore that stopwatch'
Every step was rapid as if he was jogging the sound echoed through the tower. Finally he reached his room and grasped for the door knob and twisted it. As he entered the room everything remained untouched.
He then sat on the chair near his desk and opened the left drawer slowly. There it was a metal stop watch its material shines bright under the sun rays. He then went near the windows and closed the curtains. And sat back at his desk observing the design of the stopwatch.
On the front it had a clock ticking it's time with the gray metal brimming with light. On the back it had carvings of a dragon, angel, demon, giants, elves, and dwarves.
Leo then slammed the stopwatch on his desk and then a compartment on the back reacted. A hole appeared on the back as the metal claws retracted. The gears and cogs inside were turning vigorously. He then took out a needle from another drawer and tried to tinker with it but suddenly his eyes turned blurry.
Slowly his eyes cleared up and he was suddenly teleported somewhere else. A world filled with cogs and gears. The noise it made was irritating his ears. Then suddenly he saw something out of the corner of his eye.
He then tried walking toward it until the ground underneath him started to turn. He looked down and saw his feet on a gear. He then looked up to see brown hair clogging the sky. His eyes widened.
He was inside the stopwatch! He then tried to maneuver his body trying not to get hit by the gears. He turned toward the direction where he saw something. Finally after many minutes which felt like hours he arrived at a single place where the cogs didn't move but looked down seeing the white floor. He then looked around and saw a massive stick circling above him.
It was in front of the stopwatch. He then did a quick scan of his surroundings and found a man. He wore a long dark blue-green robe with gold lining. He wore a monocle on his left eye and had long hair matching the Color of his robe. The sheer length of his hair was around the height of Leo.
"It's seems someone has finally come here"
"Who are you?"
This place piqued Leo's curiosity.
"Well my name is…Gelwain who is mission is just to be in this stopwatch"
He replied, with a smile and pointing his finger on his lip.
"My name is Leo and could I leave this place?"
"Yeah you can when ever you want but why not talk for a while"
Leo hesitated but what's the harm of talking to someone.
"Sure but what is this place"
"This is where I live the stopwatch"
"Even though humans might have trouble understanding it just think of it as my domain or home I reside in"
"I see"
"If you want help, I could help"
"Like what?"
Leo asked, puzzled. The man proceeded to place his hand on the white ground and a cannon appeared out of thin air.
BOOM!
A cannon ball shot out and Leo froze in place.
"You can open the stopwatch's back by knocking it two times and I can launch a cannon ball. Maybe even give you some suggestions"
Leo thought this could be beneficial. That means he would have to use his power less and that is what he exactly wants. Talking to him is by no means a waste of time.
"Alright then Gelwain, it seems I have no problems but why did Delia give this to me"
"I don't know. Maybe because she thinks this had something to do with the mystical age. Besides, I haven't talked to her directly."
Leo listened to Gelwain's choice of words.
'Directly ,huh'
"It seems your time here is limited"
Leo raised an eyebrow.
"I just took your spiritual consciousness to come here but your body is still there"
"Bye, for now!"
Leo's eyes began to turn blurry, and he regained his vision and it turned clear. He heard a knock on the door and walked toward it.
It was Shira.
"Mr and Mrs Vlaniz are waiting"