Chapter 76 – 75 – Lies (3)

Crazy? How rude. As if there’s anyone as sane and rational as me. That’s harsh.

“Crazy? What are you talking about, I’m perfectly fine. You’re the one who needs to get a grip. I’m just saying we should focus on the present, is that really something to call crazy?”
“Do you… even know what your face looks like right now?”
“My face? What about it?”

I ran a hand over my face. Hmm… I don’t know? I can still feel my smooth skin and handsome features, but my expression… what’s wrong with it?

“Your eyes… they look completely insane.”
“No way.”

What is it now? Are they going to pick on my eyes? I can’t even touch my eyes, this is ridiculous. I don’t know why Cha Hyewon is so worked up. Did she get a shock from the bitter taste of cold reality?

“You really look like a crazy person!”
“Enough already. What nonsense are you spouting?”
“Hey! Yurian! What’s your real name? The name you used in the real world.”
“……My… name. My name?”

What was my name? It definitely wasn’t a name like Yurian. I can’t remember what it was…

“……Please. Don’t tell me you forgot. Try to remember. You can remember, right?”

……My name… what was my name? Not the ‘fake name’ Yurian, but my ‘real name’… what was it?

My head hurts.
A familiar pain. A familiar ache. It’s the familiar feeling from the times when I was always thinking, worrying, and agonizing. Ah… I don’t want to think. It just hurts, it’s just painful. Why… why do I have to go through this kind of thinking, this kind of pain again?

Diana. Where’s Diana? It was always Diana who comforted me whenever I was in pain. Where is Diana…

“Snap out of it!”
“……Ah. Huh? What’s wrong?”
“What the hell happened? Why have you become so strange?”
“Me… strange? You say I’m strange?”

How hard did I struggle to adapt to this place? There’s no way I’m strange. How hard did I try to become the Saintess’s guardian… to be with Diana and Irian.

“No, I’m not strange. Ah, my head hurts. Where’s Diana?”

I don’t want to think. I don’t want to be in pain. Diana, where’s Diana? She’s the kind girl who always comforted me in times like this.

“Parents. Friends. Lovers. Anyone is fine. Pull them out of your memories. Try to remember a name!”
“……Parents. Friends. Lovers. My name. Hmm. What was it. What was it?”

I was holding my aching head and lost in thought when.

“Why are you standing on the street and not coming? What kind of fun conversation are you two having?”
“Ah, Diana. It’s nothing… just talking about a headache. My headache disappears as soon as our Saintess comes, it seems like only Diana can do that.”

It was a bit strange how Cha Hyewon was staring intently at Diana with a blank expression. Why is she staring like that?

That day’s conversation stopped there when Diana came, but the subtle awkwardness that remained kept lingering in my mind.

‘Name, name. My name… what was it?’

It’s not that I can’t remember the past. Of course, it’s inevitable that my memories are hazy since so much time has passed, but it’s not like I’ve forgotten everything that happened in the modern world.

Rummaging through my memories was quite difficult. My head was throbbing like it was going to break, and I felt nauseous like I was going to throw up, so my condition wasn’t good at all.

“Yurian. Does your head hurt?”
“Yeah. It hurts a bit.”
“Hmm. Is it like before, when your head hurt and you felt stuffy?”
“Before…? Ah, before. Yeah, it was like this before.”
“Should Diana hug you like she did back then?”

There was a time when I worried fiercely. It was a long time ago now. Being in Diana’s arms, intoxicated by her familiar scent, makes me feel cozy. Hmm, it’s comfortable as always.

The biggest reason for coming to Huran City is, of course, the Magic Tower. The purpose is to give Karsilla a chance to develop her talents in this place, where the Elemental Magic Tower, a famous magic school, is located, but that’s not the only reason.

It’s not like the Magic Tower is only in this place, and it’s not like the Elemental school is the only school, so we could have gone to a Magic Tower in another place, another school, but the reason we came here, to Huran City, is because of another reason: the dungeon.

In the underground of Huran City, which was built during the ancient empire era when a civilization with technology and scale that we can’t even imagine now flourished, like the Imperial Road called the lifeline of the continent, there is a huge underground waterway.

Now, hundreds of years after being abandoned, few people even know of the existence of the underground waterway, and it has become a den of all sorts of vagrants, wild animals, and monsters. The fact that this underground waterway is the tomb of the great lord of the ancient empire who used to rule this area is now unknown to anyone.

This dangerous dungeon, which has been forgotten over a long period of time, should naturally be discovered by obtaining clues through various quests and gradually figuring out its location, but that’s only in the game, there’s no need to do that kind of grind here. I already know the location, so I just need to go and clear it.

Unlike the previous forgotten temple, this ‘underground waterway’ and ‘ruler’s tomb’ are quite difficult dungeons, so I felt uneasy with just our group, so I called Cha Hyewon. Well, we needed the position of magistrate to entrust Karsilla to the Magic Tower anyway.

“Okay, so Karsilla. Let’s put the knuckles down and learn magic now. Got it?”
“……”

The day after arriving in Huran City.
I revealed the first purpose of coming here while talking with the group that had gathered after spending the night in a good room in the city hall, carried on the back of Cha Hyewon, who holds the title of Imperial Magistrate.

“Oh my. Did Karsilla have a talent for magic?”
“This little kid?”

Diana and Irian’s gazes were focused on Karsilla.
The person in question, however, looked displeased as she fiddled with her knuckles. Why? She’s going to appear as a powerful boss monster and unleash bizarrely powerful magic, so why isn’t she interested in magic and just goes around punching things?

“Karsilla. Do you not want to learn magic?”
“……No.”
“Then why?”
“…Knuckles.”

…Those damn knuckles. Can’t I get rid of them somehow? I don’t know why a kid with such small fists likes those ill-fitting knuckles so much.

“Daddy will keep the knuckles. I’ll give them back to you when you learn magic well. Okay?”
“……Okay.”
“Go and try learning, and if it’s still not fun, I won’t make you learn. Karsilla definitely has a talent for magic, it would be a waste to give up without even trying. Right?”

I stroked Karsilla’s head as she nodded with a pout. Still, my kid is so good and listens to me well. Karsilla, who had been sitting there with a sulky expression, tapped her thigh, and I wondered why, but it seemed like she was signaling me to loosen her legs.

As soon as I loosened my crossed legs, Karsilla quickly sat on my thigh, and I hugged her while explaining the plan to Diana and Irian.

“In order for Karsilla to enter the Magic Tower… no, not just enter, but to receive education without discrimination, the magistrate needs to help. We can’t officially reveal our identities right now.”
“Wait. I have a question.”
“What is it?”

Irian, who had been tapping the table with her finger, tilted her head.

“I’ve been wondering this for a while. How do you know the magistrate?”
“Ah. Childhood friend.”

I explained it like this to Diana before. Except for the minor details, it’s the truth, so there’s nothing to be concerned about. We’re from the same hometown, right? The hometown called reality. And being from the same hometown means we’re players, so we have the special ability called ‘whisper’.

“…Hometown? Does that mean the magistrate is also from Hespote?”
“Not really. I’m not from Hespote in the first place. I just ended up drifting to Hespote.”

However, Irian still didn’t seem to have her doubts resolved, and she was tapping the table with her finger with a slightly frowning expression.

“Hmm. Yurian, didn’t you join the Order at the age of 7? You say she’s a childhood friend, but she’s just a friend from before you were 7, right? Do you even remember? No, it’s not about the memory, but it’s strange how close you seem even though you’ve been friends for so long. Suspicious. It’s suspicious.”
“What, what’s suspicious. You’re the strange one?”

……Why is she looking at me with those cat eyes? Irian is unnecessarily sharp. Thanks to her, Diana’s eyes, who had been leisurely sipping her tea, are sparkling.

“That’s right. You two seem too close to be just childhood friends. Yurian joined the Order at the age of 7, so… if it’s before that, your memories would be hazy.”
“……Uh, well.”

What, what should I say? Why is Irian saying unnecessary things and making things difficult for me? Since she’s being annoying, she deserves a punishment.

I stretched my leg under the table and pressed Irian’s thigh with my toes. She flinched and kept glancing at Diana, looking cute. Haha, but Diana has already accepted our relationship. Of course, I won’t tell her since she’s being annoying.

I had a good idea to tease her like this when Diana is around. She usually gets angry at such actions, but since Diana is here, she doesn’t know what to do and keeps looking at her, it’s so cute. Go on and keep worrying.

“Yurian? So what is it?”
“Ah. Um… actually. We were engaged in our hometown.”

I just blurted it out. Who cares.

“E…engaged?”

Diana, who was muttering with a serious expression, seemed to be distracted by the word engaged and didn’t seem to be interested in Irian’s condition. Irian, who was sitting in front of me, was in trouble, with her legs curled up and sending me glances, but do you think I’ll let you off?

However, the interruption came not from Diana, but from an unexpected place. Karsilla, who was sitting on my thigh and munching on a snack, was frowning her cute face.

“Tsk! Bad.”
“Uh, huh? Karsilla? Were you uncomfortable?”

Karsilla was slapping my thigh with her small hands, probably because I kept moving my legs. Thanks to that, I had to retrieve my toes that were wiggling on her thigh. Too bad. If I had dug in a little more, her reaction would have been amazing.

“Engaged…”
“Why are you so serious? It’s just something from when we were very young. It’s not like it’s now. Besides, I’m a priest, so I can’t get married.”
“Ah! Th, that’s right. Priests can’t… get married.”

Why are you regretting that part? Diana, who had become strangely gloomy, was just fidgeting with her fingers, and Irian was curled up with a flushed face.

This is not a good atmosphere for a meeting. We have to go into a high-difficulty dungeon, but what is this? We should be gathering the necessary items for the strategy, discussing how to attack, what dangers there are, how to arrange the personnel and formation… is such a constructive meeting really just a dream?

……Sigh. Well, this party is one that I lead from start to finish, so what am I expecting? I should just explain.

“Okay, everyone, focus. And this is the information the magistrate brought.”
“Engaged!?”
“…I said no. Can you stop emphasizing that? Anyway. Do you know that there’s a huge underground waterway under this city?”
“……”