A time tripper is someone who gets swallowed up in a space-time hole and goes missing. They may continue to drift through the hole or be transported to a completely different era, but this is the true nature of what is known as being spirited away.
It's likely that he was swallowed up by the countless space-time holes created by the Time Hunter's ray gun.
The painting in front of him was painted by the court painter for the king and queen, who were grieving over Claire's disappearance. If the girl is an imitation of the painting, he can reach one conclusion.
To his surprise, the girl was Claire, the princess of the Principality of Arturia.
What can be inferred from this is that it was the Time Hunters who caused Claire to be spirited away.
It was a strange coincidence, but it was too convenient for the Time Hunters.
The man who had sneaked to the Principality of Arturia in a time machine to steal the painting initially disguised himself as a fortune teller in order to sneak into Arturia Castle, and was able to come and go as he pleased, claiming that Claire's disappearance was the work of a demon said to be haunting the land.
Claire has been kidnapped by the dark knight Isere.
In the near future, Isère will rise again and bring disaster upon this country.
By telling such lies, he made good use of his status as a fortune teller.
However, now that her true identity has been revealed to the Time Patrol, she will no longer be able to freely enter and leave the castle as long as she remains a fortune teller.
"Heh heh heh... Then I'll take responsibility and return it to the castle."
He must have come up with his next plan.
With an eerie smile on his face, the Time Hunter picked up Claire...
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In the southeastern part of Europe in the 13th century, a country nestled in the mountains called the Principality of Attoria.
There was a hut in the woods next to it.
The chirping of birds and the soft sunlight herald the arrival of morning.
A girl named Claire woke up on a simple bed, muttering.
"Where am I? Why am I here..."
Claire searched her memory but found nothing. She was confused in the unfamiliar cabin.
It felt like I had been asleep for quite a long time.
"Oh my, you've finally woken up?"
"W-Who is that?!"
As I was getting up, a man with a hood pulled down over his head appeared bringing me food.
His face is hard to see and he exudes a very suspicious air.
"I'm sorry for startling you. My name is Sodoro."
Next to the bed, I place a piece of crusty bread as a plate with grilled meat on it.
Then the man who called himself Sodro bowed his head.
Of course, that name is a pseudonym. The man's true identity is the Time Hunter.
However, Claire had no way of knowing about such circumstances.
"You're Lady Claire, right? We're in the Lost Forest. I found you collapsed and carried you to my house."
"Well, it's the Lost Forest?"
"Yes, do you remember what happened?"
Sodro gently urged her on, and Claire did as she was told, squeezing out her memories.
Claire's last memory was that she had definitely come to the Lost Woods.
And then suddenly a hole appeared in the sky and I was sucked up into it.
Remembering that, Claire's face suddenly turned pale.
Because I can't even understand what it was all about.
"I... who am I? What was that..."
Seeing Claire trembling, Sodro laughs.
"Perhaps Lady Claire was swallowed by the Dark Knight Isere."
"What?! That demon Isere?!"
No one in the Principality of Arturia doesn't know about it.
It is a terrifying being that absorbs the color of the world and turns living beings into stone.
Claire herself remembers seeing a painting of the demon Isere hanging inside Arturia Castle, and that sinister image immediately comes to mind.
"The truth is, there were rumors in Attoria Castle that Lady Claire had been cursed by Isere, and a fortune teller had predicted that Isere would eventually be resurrected."
"That's ridiculous! I have no place in Isère!"
Even Claire seemed quite upset at the sudden news, getting off the bed in a rage and leaving through the front door.
"Hmm, I can see the smoke from Jigokudani, so that means my castle is this way!"
I look up at the mountain and start walking, using it as a landmark, stretching up into the sky.
It comes from an active volcano called Jigokudani.
The Principality of Aturia is a land that developed around a lake that formed in a depression created by volcanic activity.
For Claire, who is familiar with the area, finding her way around is a piece of cake.
I took off running, intending to break through the forest of confusion.
"My father and mother must be worried about me. Let's hurry home."
He ran through the forest at a swift pace.
Then you come out into an open area.
"Huh?!"
In front of Claire was a dilapidated hut in the forest.
Standing nearby is the man from before, Sodro.
"When did you get there before I did?!"
"No, I haven't moved from here."
"That can't be! I was definitely running straight..."
Claire couldn't believe it and ran off towards the forest again.
Behind him, Sodro grins and touches an ornament placed next to him.
"Ah, what!? Why?!"
"Oh dear... It seems that Lady Claire has been cursed by Isere after all."
Claire returns to her original position, hands on both cheeks, a look of shock on her face. Seeing her expression, Sodro tries to hold back his laughter.
The ornament in Sodoroo's hand resembled a cat doll, and had been making a beckoning motion with its paws. Yes, it was no ordinary ornament.
It's a futuristic tool called Kam Kam Cat that summons designated humans.
Sodro, a time hunter from the future, possessed numerous tools of this kind.
Claire, unaware of this, had been called back home without even realizing it.
Not long ago, Sodro had used this tool to attract customers and make a name for himself as a fortune teller, but even he probably never imagined that it would be useful in a situation like this.
"That's so stupid, the curse of Isere..."
After that, Claire tries to run away from the house several times, but no matter how far she gets, she always ends up back at Sodro's house, and eventually she runs out of energy and collapses.
"See? You understand, right? Lady Claire has been swallowed up by Isere and cursed. You will probably never be able to escape the Lost Forest."
Sodro, the mastermind behind it all, brazenly says this, but Claire doesn't have the energy to argue back.
In fact, I have no choice but to believe that the curse was real.
"Hey, Sodro. Do you not know how to break the curse? If things continue like this, I won't be able to return to the castle. I'm sure my father and mother are worried about me..."
Sodro laughs with satisfaction as Claire looks up pleadingly.
"Hehehe, actually, Lady Claire, this Sodro isn't living in this lost forest out of madness or anything. I'm not going to hide it, I'm a wizard researching the curse of Isere."
It was extremely suspicious. Claire, who had almost believed in the curse, looked at him with a displeased look.
It seems that the lack of credibility is too apparent.