“I’ll distract the men, please bring the young lady somewhere safe, and if anything happens, remember to pause,” whispered Noir. Before Tempus could say anything, Noir bolted off.

  The girl seemed startled from Noir’s sudden appearance beside her. But without any cue, the girl was thrown into the bush by him, right onto Tempus’ arms. Tempus now grabbed her by the shoulder gently and got face to face with the girl.

  The girl put some distance between them, although not too far and still was in the protection of the bush. Tempus observed that she wore a very long white dress that looked more brown with dirt. Tainted with a little red that made Tempus feel concerned. Despite the unruly state of her clothes, Tempus knew that her dress was not cheap. Along with her broken headpiece, he was sure she was a noble or something close to that.

  She had a round face with long soaked hair. A tiny frame with skin that’s a bit lighter than the usual Ignis region residents. But it was still tan, unlike his own pale skin. Tempus would guess that she’s just a tad younger than him, but he didn’t know for sure.

  Despite the initial shock, the girl shook the expression off into a pout not long after seeing Tempus. A strong wariness exuded from her eyes, making him feel nervous.

  “I don’t know a thing that happened. But the guy who took off earlier told me to hide you and bring you somewhere safe,” explained Tempus. When Tempus wanted to get closer to the girl, she put a knife to his throat. Tempus panicked for a moment and put his hand in the air. The girl glared at him harshly.

  “How could I trust you? You could be the one they are working with, or worse you’re from another party who wants worse than them,” she said but she faltered and hissed. She put her knife on the ground and went to pressure the wound on her side.

  “Let me help you. You will die if you keep bleeding,” Tempus brought out a bandage from his satchel. She stiffened at the sight of him rummaging through the satchel before relaxing when he brought out the item.

  “After I help you wrap this, we could part ways,” Tempus offered.

  She eyed him head to toe carefully. She huffed in conclusion but nodded. Tempus proceeded to do so and she waited in silence. “If you don’t mind me asking, how did you get this?” Asked Tempus as he carefully wrapped the bandages. She frowned, not answering.

  This story is posted elsewhere by the author. Help them out by reading the authentic version.

  “Is it those guys?” Prodded Tempus again as he tilted his head towards the direction where Noir ran off earlier. The sounds of fighting made him worried, despite knowing how capable Noir was.

  “The question of how is not really the pressing matter here. What’s important is that I'm attacked by them. There are thirteen of them, and if your offer still stands, we should hurry and go,” she said as she squatted beside Tempus and observed the fight from afar. Tempus put his hand on her shoulder, bringing her down gently.

  “Calm down, we have to find the right time,” Tempus pulled her back down, as the sounds got closer. The girl rolled her brown eyes in response.

  “I know that,” she whispered but sounded very irritated. Tempus chose to ignore it for now and focus more on surviving. It became eerily silent, with only the sound approaching footsteps.

  If anything happens, remember to pause

  But how did he pause in the first place? He did it before meeting Noir. Maybe he should do the same. He took the girl's arms and she immediately resisted.

  “Pardon me for a second, I want to try something,” Tempus let the girl frowned and ignored whatever she was going to say. He spun the pocket watch exactly like he did before and everything came to a pause.

  He looked around and saw the girl gaped. He stood up, bringing the girl by the arm and looked around. Before, he didn’t realize that he was sent out of his body, but now, he saw himself crouching in the bush. But that still begged the question whether he could bring the girl here because of his intention or a simple physical touch. Tempus shook the question out of his head when the girl besides him struggled to shake his hand off.

  “Sorry!” Tempus immediately let her arm free and felt bad about it.

  “What just happened!” the girl.

  “I’ll be honest, I have no idea-” Tempus cued her to follow him “-but in any case, let's look around,”

  The girl reluctantly followed him. They went near the riverside and saw Noir fending off twelve people. But then where was the thirteenth one? While Tempus was admiring the paused fight scene, the girl realized something and ran back to where they were. Tempus chased after her and from this angle he saw that the other foe was very close to where they were hiding. In fact, it seemed that their enemy had spotted them.

  “Can you do something with your pocket watch? Like, time travel to five minutes earlier or something?” she asked Tempus but in response he shook his head.

  “I don’t know if that’s possible, this is the first time I paused time consciously,” responded Tempus. The girl sighed. She then rubbed her forehead, her eyebrows knitted together.

  “Well it can’t be helped. How about we find a route and form a plan then?” suggested the girl. Tempus was amazed by how calm she is being in this situation.

  “Sure but if you don’t mind, could I ask you something?” Tempus asked shyly. The girl nodded her head.

  “Out with it,” she said, sharp. This girl really is a tough nut, despite wearing a very nice dress.

  “What’s your name?” Tempus felt awkward at the awkward silence that commenced right after he asked. The girl seemed to contemplate whether to tell him or not.

  “I mean what should I call you. But you know what I don’t mind if you don’t wa-”

  “Leila. Just call me that, I believe my family name does not matter,” the girl cut him mid his rambles. He stopped talking immediately and gave a smile.

  “Well I’m Tempus, nice to meet you.”