Missing

"But how do we find them?" Lisa asked as she raised an eyebrow.

"I'm afraid I don't have the means to do so. One thing for sure though, is that this mirror has something to do with it." the old man answered as he shook his head.

'Well duh. Of course this mirror has something to do with it' Carla thought to herself as she rolled her eyes.

Thwack!

She suddenly felt a smack on top of her head. She held his head and turned to look at Lisa with a somewhat confused expression on her face.

"What he meant is that we have to use this mirror to find their time" Lisa explained

'No way! So this is what Rick felt back then' Carla inwardly exclaimed as she recalled the time Lisa smacked his head for seemingly no reason.

The old man had an amused expression on his face as he looked at Carla.

"But don't even know how to use this mirror" Lisa said as her brows knitted.

"Exactly. But there's no need to be worried. Their bodies came back but their time was left behind. I don't know much about Temporal magic but it's probably only a matter of time before their time returns to their bodies" the old man assured Lisa and Carla.

"Really?" Carla replied as her eyes brightened with hope.

"Yes. However, the issue would be how long it would take for their time to return to their bodies." the old man replied.

Carla's brightened expression dulled a bit after she heard the old man's words.

"What if it takes too long? Let's say it took one month for time to return to their bodies. What happens to their bodies?" Lisa asked.

"The same as when a person dies. Their bodies would rot until the point of no return. By then, they'd truly be dead, even if their time returned" the old man answered directly.

Carla's expression turned grim while Lisa's frown deepened.

"But I know two methods to preserve their bodies." the old man added.

"What are those?" Carla's expression once again turned bright. The old man saw Carla's expression and his lips curled up to a faint smile.

'This damn geezer, he's enjoying the frequent changes of our expressions' Lisa inwardly cursed the old man as her mouth twitched.

"The first one is the Luric Chambers." the old man answered directly, without bothering to mince his words.

The corners of Lisa's eyes lit up when she heard those words.

"This is going to be expensive", Lisa said as she sighed.

"Why? What's with the Luric Chambers?" Carla asked as her head slightly tilted in confusion.

"In the distant past, during the war against the Demons, Luric selected a few chambers and set up Sealing arrays on those chambers. Inside those chambers, time would flow differently. If you go inside and come out a week later, one day would have passed in the outside world. Mages and Warriors back then used to train inside those chambers to accelerate their growth in order to fight back against the Demons", Lisa explained.

"Amazing" Carla said as her eyes gleamed with respect for a while before she raised an eyebrow.

"Wait, wouldn't that mean that if we place their bodies inside those chambers, their bodies would rot faster?" Carla said before Lisa lightly smacked the top of her head.

"Stupid. If there are chambers with accelerated time, there would also be chambers with decelerated time" Lisa replied.

"Is that so? Then what about the second method?" Carla asked with a curious gaze.

"As for the second method, we just need an Ice mage who knows the spell [Frozen Coffin] or something similar. [Frozen Coffin] would prevent their bodies from rotting. Furthermore, we can feed their bodies so their body development won't be hindered. After all, this is the best way for them to " the old man replied.

"I know plenty of ice mages but I'm not sure if they know this [Frozen Coffin] spell. Is it supposed to be something difficult or rare?" Lisa asked.

"Not only is it difficult but it's also rare. But don't worry, I have a person in mind. But it would come at a cost" the old man said.

Lisa hesitated for a bit before she reluctantly sighed and said "That's fine. I'm willing to pay the price."

'But of course they'd have to pay me in the future. Can't let these brats get away with it' Lisa thought to herself.

"It's settled then" said the old man.

Shortly afterwards, the old man's eyes darted around the mansion.

'There's something more to this mansion' the old man thought to himself.

"By the way. Would you be so kind as to allow this old man to wander around the mansion, Vice Headmaster?" the old man said respectfully.

"Of course. You've been of help to me this time. I'll remember this favor. Feel free to explore the mansion." Lisa replied as she performed a slight bow.

...

Meanwhile, on a seemingly unassuming building, there were 10 kids lying on the floor unconscious. Their hands seemed to be tied with ropes on their backs.

One of them was a spiky black haired boy. Had Carla and Lisa been here, they would've recognized this boy.

Leon!

On the sides, a burly man with a tobacco smoke on his mouth sat on the wooden bench.

Suddenly, the door opened as a figure entered the building. The figure wore a black robe with a hood. His face seemed to blend with the darkness of the night.

"So these are the goods?" the figure said as he looked at the kids lying on the floor.

"1 gold per head" the burly man replied as he stood up and exhaled smoke from his mouth.

"I know", the figure replied with a dull tone. Suddenly, a brown bag appeared on his right hand. He then threw the bag to the burly man.

The burly man caught it and opened the bag, revealing golden coins inside. He then counted the number of gold inside.

"Exactly 10 figures... Very well. Take them away" the burly man said as his lips curled up to a wicked smile.

"Men, take them" the figure said as he raised he pointed at the kids. 5 figures in similar clothing then revealed themselves and carried the unconscious kids on their shoulders.

"Farewell" the figure said as he walked away along with the others.

"Still as mysterious as ever huh. That's the Shadows for you" the burly man murmured as he watched the figures disappear under the cover of the night.