Sunlight streaming through the window bars and a cool breeze.
I couldn’t help but sigh in contentnt as I enjoyed grilled at and rum.
“Ah, this is the life.”
It had been so long since I had enjoyed such an ordinary day.
The contrast with the gloomy Noark made it even more satisfying.
Well, it wasn’t like I didn’t have anything to worry about.
‘It’s already been a week…’
Auril Gabis, Liuhen Praha, Jero the Knight of Light.
A week had passed since that chaotic day when big shots were popping out from everywhere.
And…
“Sigh.”
…I was still stuck in this ti period.
“When the hell is this thing going to activate?”
I grumbled, fiddling with the Fragnt of Records, but there was a silver lining to this situation.
At least I had ti to dispose of my equipnt.
‘And I have a few guesses as to why it’s not working…’
Anyway, I decided to take a break and got a room at an inn on the surface.
Ah, for reference, it was just one room.
I wanted two rooms, but Alia said there was no need.
Honestly, I agreed.
We had practically lived together for months in that underground city.
It was a bit late to be talking about separate rooms.
“Drinking again…?”
“Oh, you’re back.”
“I told you to lock the door when I’m not here.”
Alia entered the room and casually threw her coat on the rack.
I didn’t ask where she had been since morning.
It was obvious.
She must have been secretly stalking her sister.
“Nagging as soon as you co back.”
“It’s not nagging…”
I quickly changed the subject.
“So, how’s Laura doing?”
Laura had woken up three days ago, thanks to the strong effect of the Lethe’s Blessing prototype. And she was diagnosed with amnesia by the priest who was volunteering at the shelter, believing that the na on the ID card in her pocket was her real na.
“It’s not Laura, it’s Shannon Ellaura.”
“Ah, right.”
For reference, we created the na ‘Shannon Ellaura’. We were a bit hesitant to use the ID card the old man gave us.
Alia had a hard ti switching the ID card we obtained with the one in Laura’s belongings and even modifying the patient records at the shelter.
“So how is she?”
“Unfortunately, it seems like she caught the priest’s eye. She started learning how to read today, and she’s progressing very quickly. The priest thinks it’s a sign that her mories are returning…”
“Don’t worry, that won’t happen.”
“I’m not worried about that. I’m just concerned that she’s attracting the attention of soone from the church.”
I didn’t understand at first, but then it clicked.
“Because of her essences?”
“Right. It would be suspicious for a child to have essences.”
She would probably live her life without even knowing that she had essences.
Her stats could be explained away as her being naturally healthy, and she wouldn’t be able to activate her abilities since she had no mories.
But…
“This is a bit unsettling. For her to catch the priest’s eye, of all people.”
It would be a different story if she lived a life closely connected to the church.
There was a chance that her essences would be revealed since the church had the power to remove them.
“…It seems like she attracted attention because it’s rare for soone to lose their mories.”
“So what are we going to do?”
“What can we do? We can’t just take her away.”
Alia clicked her tongue and said she would just observe for now, and I agreed.
And that was the end of that topic.
“By the way, how about changing your way of speaking?”
Alia looked at with wary eyes as I subtly brought it up.
“…My way of speaking?”
“It’s a bit too formal for companions.”
“Companions?”
“What’s with that ‘I’ve never heard of it’ expression? Don’t tell you forgot our promise—”
“No, I rember. I was just… wondering what that had to do with my way of speaking.”
“Well, it doesn’t really matter. I was just curious about how you would sound if you spoke differently.”
“…What?”
Alia stared at as if I was pathetic and then sighed.
“You… really…”
“Well, I can be curious, can’t I? You didn’t speak like that when you were younger.”
“That’s…”
Alia trailed off.
It was an unexpected reaction.
She would have usually ignored or told to stop teasing her.
“I’ll try to change my way of speaking.”
“Huh?”
“No, I’ll… try. Is this better? No, is it… huh?”
What the hell.
I was genuinely creeped out.
That’s when, as I was speechless…
“Hmm… ‘Is this better?’ sounds more natural than ‘Is it better?’ Which one do you think is better?”
…Alia started seriously contemplating her way of speaking.
“Wa, wait a minute. Aren’t you changing too easily?”
“You’re the one who told to change.”
“That’s true, but even so…”
“Don’t misunderstand. I’ve also been thinking about it recently.”
“Thinking about it?”
“…My sister would have wanted to. And besides, you said it, so I must have a problem.”
Ah…
‘I was just teasing you because the atmosphere was too gloomy.’
I quickly tried to fix the situation before it was too late.
“I don’t think it’s sothing you have to force yourself to change. What does it matter how you speak? The important thing is who you are.”
Alia, who was initially hesitant, nodded, trusting my words since I had a history with Misha.
“So you two really were in that kind of relationship.”
“Ah…”
Why did I say that?
I had never told anyone about that.
“Hmm, well, you wouldn’t say that if you didn’t an it. I understand. I’ll put the speech issue on hold for now.”
“…Right, good decision.”
I quickly moved on to the main topic.
“Anyway, now that we’ve rested enough, let’s have a proper conversation.”
“Conversation… alright.”
Alia sat down across from , and we started our eting.
______________________
The first item on the agenda was this:
“Are you really not related to the Rose Knight Order?”
“No. And we already talked about that.”
I found out later that Liuhen Praha had persistently chased Alia because he thought she was a mber of that group.
It seed like he had a grudge against them…
[I can show you what it feels like to lose sothing.]
…judging by what he said, he must have lost soone because of them.
But that wasn’t important.
“Why are you bringing this up again?”
I had dismissed it as a strange coincidence back then, but a possibility ca to mind as I thought about it.
“You said you learned Aura from a woman you t in Noark?”
“Yes, she taught a few things because she liked my eyes. But she just laid the foundation, I awakened Aura much later. But… didn’t we already talk about this?”
“That’s true.”
We had concluded back then that the woman was probably a mber of the Rose Knight Order.
However…
“But isn’t it possible that she was you?”
“…What?”
“I suddenly thought about it. It doesn’t make sense for a stranger to be that kind.”
Alia, who had been perceptive since she was young, understood what I was trying to say.
“Are you saying that’s what we have to do?”
“Yes.”
To lay the foundation for ‘Aura’ for Baby Alia.
That might be our remaining task.
However…
“Don’t worry, it’s not that.”
Alia firmly denied the possibility.
I asked for her reasoning, but she just said she could trust her and didn’t elaborate.
‘It seems like I’m really wrong… judging by how she’s reacting.’
That was good news for .
It ant we wouldn’t have to stay here for another two years.
“Then let’s move on to the next item.”
The second topic was Auril Gabis.
How would that suspicious old man affect the future?
We talked about it for a long ti.
And it ended with getting scolded.
“By the way, why did you do sothing so dangerous? It would have been better if you had just parted ways amicably.”
“What do you an? You’re saying I should have revealed my identity and face?”
“Even if you didn’t do that, you didn’t have to mock him at the end.”
“Ah…”
That’s true.
I felt refreshed back then, but it was a bit creepy thinking about how angry he must have been.
“You’re good and all, but you need to be more careful with your words and actions.”
“…Alright.”
“I won’t say anything more… but be careful. I said I would beco your companion, and that ans I’m entrusting my life to you.”
I was grateful for her trust.
‘…But didn’t she say she wouldn’t say anything more?’
“Ahem.”
I coughed and changed the subject, and then we moved on to the next item.
The core of this eting.
How to activate the Fragnt of Records.
“To be precise, I was thinking we should discuss what our task is…”
“You sound like you have an idea.”
Of course, I did.
There were a few candidates besides teaching Baby Alia the basics of Aura in two years.
And the first one was this.
“The Genesis Artifact…?”
Alia tilted her head, but she couldn’t dismiss the possibility.
Well, it wasn’t like I would be the one stealing the ‘Genesis Artifact’ twenty years later…
…but I might get involved with it sohow.
Like the ‘barbarian heart’ incident.
Although the outco wouldn’t happen for a while, I might be the one who caused it.
“Well, the Genesis Artifact is a very important item for evil spirits. It makes sense in that aspect. You’re also an evil—”
“Tsk.”
“Ah, I’m sorry. I wasn’t supposed to say that.”
Although it was a sensitive topic for , Alia quickly apologized, so I just gave her a yellow card.
Then the second possibility.
“The GM… that was the nickna of the one who inherited the gathering from Auril Gabis, right?”
“Yes.”
“But why?”
“It’s around this ti that he takes over the community.”
It was a bit of a coincidence.
Maybe I had to et the past him and do sothing to return to my original ti.
“That’s also plausible. Is there a third one?”
I imdiately presented the last possibility.
“To hide the things I’ve gathered here and send them to the future. Maybe that’s my last role.”
“Isn’t that… just wishful thinking?”
Uh, well, she’s not wrong…
“Do you have any ideas?”
“We, well… I’ll tell you if I think of sothing.”
Damn it, I was hoping for sothing good.
I was a bit disappointed, but a leader should be able to embrace their companion’s shortcomings.
“Whatever, so did you sell all the equipnt?”
“More than half of it. We could sell it faster if we lowered the price—”
“No, it’s fine if it takes ti, just sell it at the right price.”
“But there are so valuable items, wouldn’t it be better to keep a few?”
Ugh, she doesn’t know anything.
Equipnt requires maintenance.
Its value decreases over ti.
And besides, it would be suspicious if I was selling equipnt from twenty years ago, so it was better to just get rid of everything except for the Demon Crusher, which I couldn’t buy even if I had the money.
‘The problem is where to hide it…’
I was continuing my usual worry when…
“Ah, and one more thing.”
“Huh?”
“I heard sothing while I was out today. They’re auctioning a 3rd-grade essence at the central exchange.”
“What, a 3rd-grade essence? Why not the Sky Auction House?”
“It seems like the Alminus Trading Company is trying sothing new.”
Hmm, are they trying to upgrade the central exchange?
They wouldn’t be able to beat the Sky Auction House.
“So what essence is it? Ah, are they keeping it a secret until the day before the auction like the Sky Auction House?”
“Yes, but it doesn’t matter since I already know. It was a famous auction.”
Damn right, this is the perk of being a regressor.
Alia spoke as I urged her to tell with my eyes.
“It’s Vol-Herchan’s essence.”
Is this fate?
“……!!!!”
It was the essence I needed for my build.
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