Chapter 331: Chapter 331: To the Future (1)

Sunlight streaming through the window bars and a cool breeze.

I couldn’t help but sigh in contentment as I enjoyed grilled meat 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, Jerome 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 time period.

“When the hell is this thing going to activate?”

I grumbled, fiddling with the Fragment of Records, but there was a silver lining to this situation.

At least I had time to dispose of my equipment.

‘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 Amelia 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.”

Amelia 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 come 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 name on the ID card in her pocket was her real name.

“It’s not Laura, it’s Shannon Ellaura.”

“Ah, right.”

For reference, we created the name ‘Shannon Ellaura’. We were a bit hesitant to use the ID card the old man gave us.

Amelia had a hard time 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 memories 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 someone 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 memories.

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 someone to lose their memories.”

“So what are we going to do?”

“What can we do? We can’t just take her away.”

Amelia 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?”

Amelia looked at me 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 me you forgot our promise—”

“No, I remember. 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?”

Amelia stared at me 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…”

Amelia trailed off.

It was an unexpected reaction.

She would have usually ignored me or told me 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?”

…Amelia started seriously contemplating her way of speaking.

“Wa, wait a minute. Aren’t you changing too easily?”

“You’re the one who told me 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 me 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 something you have to force yourself to change. What does it matter how you speak? The important thing is who you are.”

Amelia, 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 mean 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.”

Amelia sat down across from me, and we started our meeting.

______________________

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 Amelia because he thought she was a member of that group.

It seemed like he had a grudge against them…

[I can show you what it feels like to lose something.]

…judging by what he said, he must have lost someone 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 came to mind as I thought about it.

“You said you learned Aura from a woman you met in Noark?”

“Yes, she taught me 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 member 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.”

Amelia, 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 Amelia.

That might be our remaining task.

However…

“Don’t worry, it’s not that.”

Amelia 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 me.

It meant 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 time.

And it ended with me getting scolded.n/ô/vel/b//in dot c//om

“By the way, why did you do something so dangerous? It would have been better if you had just parted ways amicably.”

“What do you mean? 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 become your companion, and that means 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 meeting.

How to activate the Fragment 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 Amelia the basics of Aura in two years.

And the first one was this.

“The Genesis Artifact…?”

Amelia 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 somehow.

Like the ‘barbarian heart’ incident.

Although the outcome 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 me, Amelia quickly apologized, so I just gave her a yellow card.

Then the second possibility.

“The GM… that was the nickname of the one who inherited the gathering from Auril Gabis, right?”

“Yes.”

“But why?”

“It’s around this time that he takes over the community.”

It was a bit of a coincidence.

Maybe I had to meet the past him and do something to return to my original time.

“That’s also plausible. Is there a third one?”

I immediately 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 something.”

Damn it, I was hoping for something 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 equipment?”

“More than half of it. We could sell it faster if we lowered the price—”

“No, it’s fine if it takes time, just sell it at the right price.”

“But there are some valuable items, wouldn’t it be better to keep a few?”

Ugh, she doesn’t know anything.

Equipment requires maintenance.

Its value decreases over time.

And besides, it would be suspicious if I was selling equipment 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 something 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 something 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.

Amelia spoke as I urged her to tell me with my eyes.

“It’s Vol-Herchan’s essence.”

Is this fate?

“……!!!!”

It was the essence I needed for my build.