306 – The Name You Call Me -1-

In the darkness, Mikhail stood alone.

With his head bowed.

He didn’t pay attention to me as I descended into the basement, taking a weary breath. Holding an old sword in his hand.

Mikhail, who was holding the sword that should have been broken according to the original flow of the novel, responded to my question with a long silence.

“…”

“Misa?”

“…”

—

Mikhail did not respond.

I felt a bit hurt by Mikhail’s indifferent reaction, not acknowledging my presence, but I decided to forgive his rudeness, considering the bond we once shared as friends. I was grateful that he was still here, after all.

It’s a bitter bond.

Not a sweet one.

Thinking about the academy, there wouldn’t have been any good words. Considering the bond we once shared as friends. And as a reader who loved novels, I thanked Mikhail for being healthy in many ways.

“…”

I muttered quietly as I looked at Mikhail. ‘So, what kind of prank did the Archbishop play?’ I thought.

Considering the personality of the Archbishop of Oblivion, he wouldn’t have let him go easily.

Thinking about the large-scale illusion magic cast on the abandoned village, it was even more impossible. He must have prepared something grand, but I couldn’t predict what it was.

“Sigh… It’s time to give the lady her snack.”

I grumbled softly and took a step closer to the motionless Mikhail. And then…

-Swoosh…

I could see the turbulent darkness.

The space had changed.

To be precise, it was correct to say it was a large-scale illusion magic.

“Illusion magic….”

The dark basement began to change into the appearance of an old memory, exuding a thick scent of magic.

There was a blue sky.

-Kyarrk!

And the scenery of the dusty slums of childhood.

‘Damn.’

Was it because I was momentarily immersed in the long-forgotten scenery? As a chilling wind quickly blew from my right shoulder.

-Swoosh!

I frowned and lightly dodged the approaching wind. And I could feel the blood soaking my cheek.

‘Blood…?’

I took a step back and widened my eyes as I looked at the source of the wind.

It was Mikhail.

Mikhail, with no expression on his face.

“No… Mi…Misa.”

Even if he wasn’t happy to see me, to swing a sword…

—

—

I sighed as I looked at the sword in Mikhail’s hand. The previous attack had been filled with murderous intent. Feeling Mikhail’s clear intentions, I let out a bitter smile and sighed.

“Miss Misa.”

“…”

“How can you scare people like this? I didn’t teach you the sword for this.”

A minute of silent, unanswered tension passed.

“You.”

A cold voice began to flow from Mikhail’s tightly closed lips.

“Who are you?”

“…Me?”

“Who are you to speak so familiarly?”

My mind went blank.

I wondered what kind of situation this was.

I had expected them to manipulate memories to make him attack me or turn me into an enemy… but I hadn’t thought they would create a space from our memories and erase the person named ‘Ricardo’ from them.

‘Is this some kind of trick?’

I shook my head and sighed deeply at the archbishop’s prank, which was cuter than I had expected. Unexpected variables are not very welcome.

Mikhail, who was staring at me with sharp eyes, spoke to me in a cold voice.

“How did you know my name?”

“…”

“Speak.”

‘How much does he remember?’

I cautiously asked Mikhail a question.

“Didn’t you tell me before?”

“Me?”

“Yes.”

“I didn’t even tell Egugu Minhyuk…”

“It’s not Egugu Minhyuk, it’s Lee Minhyuk.”

“How do you know Ikuminhyuk?”

“He’s my friend.”

“Hmm… Hmmm.”

Mikhail, who had been frowning and staring at me, nodded as if it didn’t matter and brought his finger to his lips, saying ‘shh’.

—

—

“Anyway, be careful.”

“Yes.”

“And keep it a secret from Ekuminhyuk.”

“Understood.”

The person in question was right in front of us, yet it was supposed to be a secret. I felt like laughing, but I kept my mouth shut at the sight of Mikhail’s serious expression.

‘It doesn’t seem like it will be resolved easily.’

After talking a bit more, it seemed that Mikhail’s memories had reverted to his childhood. The time when we lived together in the slums.

He hadn’t met the existence known as ‘Ricardo’ at the academy, and it was before he went to the convent. Mikhail, who was stuck in those memories, held my hand tightly with a bright smile.

“Follow me.”

“What?”

“I said follow me. Didn’t you come here to see Okuminhyuk too?”

“…Why does the name keep changing? There’s a perfectly good name…”

“Shh!”

Mikhail ignored my retort and spoke firmly.

“I promised to beg with Ikuminhyuk today. Ikuminhyuk gets very angry if we’re late. We have to go quickly.”

Hearing my real name from Mikhail’s mouth after a long time, I smiled awkwardly, feeling troubled.

‘What should I do?’

I could easily dispel the illusion magic.

A spell that clumsily evokes memories wasn’t a problem. What bothered me was.

“Hurry up!”

It was Mikhail’s memories that were the problem.

If I handled it wrong, he could fall into a panic, and if I recklessly tried to erase the magic of oblivion with my power, I didn’t know what might happen, so I had to be careful.

‘This is troublesome.’

The most straightforward method in this situation was.

To kill the caster of the dark magic.

In this situation, this crude method was the safest solution.

Mikhail grabbed my sleeve and looked up.

“By the way… you know.”

“Yes.”

“What’s your name?”

—

—

“…Me?”

What should I say?

“My name is Ricardo.”

“That’s a really bad name. You must have a terrible personality.”

“That really hurts.”

“Pfft…”

I nodded slightly as I watched Mikhail hide his raised lips. Whatever he was up to, I had to play along with Mikhail’s whims.

That seemed like the only way to resolve things smoothly.

I let Mikhail hold onto my sleeve and followed her lead.

‘Seeing it like this, she looks really small.’

Mikhail, who seemed rough, had small and delicate hands. They looked like they would break if I held them too tightly.

Mikhail, who was staring blankly at her hands, spoke to me brusquely as if to snap me out of it.

“Ricardo.”

“Yes.”

“Have you ever begged?”

“Um… no?”

Since I took on this name, I hadn’t begged, so it wasn’t a lie.

Mikhail looked at me, then smiled slyly and straightened her shoulders confidently. She seemed excited at the thought of showing off her seniority in begging, her steps full of energy.

“Then just trust me and follow my lead.”

“Understood.”

“The begging bowl must be sparkly.”

“Yes.”

“You have to step on it to make it look pitiful.”

“I see.”

“And…”

After talking about the principles of begging for a while, Mikhail stopped as we entered a familiar alley.

“Huh…?”

And then.

She froze in place, standing still. Like a frightened person, Mikhail couldn’t take her eyes off a corner of the alley.

I looked at Mikhail and asked why she was standing like that.

—

—

“Why are you doing this?”

“…It’s strange.”

Mikhail was trembling.

He was standing in the empty alley, staring blankly, his body shaking.

“It’s strange.”

“What’s strange?”

“It’s strange… strange… strange…”

Mikhail kept repeating the same words, then started to clutch his hair and curl up.

“I can’t see Ikuminhyuk.”

“What?”

“Here… Ikuminhyuk should be here.”

Mikhail pointed to an empty can with trembling eyes.

“Minhyuk should be here.”

“…”

“Minhyuk…”

-Bang!

Mikhail, who had been muttering to himself, threw the can he was holding to the ground and started running.

“Where are you going!!”

He ran.

Desperately.

Mikhail started running with an anxious expression, as if he had just remembered something he had long forgotten.

“Minhyuk is in danger.”

“You should at least tell me where you’re going!”

“Minhyuk is in danger… because of me.”

‘Damn it.’

What could be dangerous?

I’m healthy and fine right here.

I bit my lip as I watched Mikhail’s back as he ran.

-Bang!

“Ouch… it hurts..”

—

—

Mikhail, who had tripped and fallen to the ground, hugged his scraped knees and made a tearful face. Despite this, his expression, as he looked towards the end of the street, was filled with urgency.

“Ha… Why did you suddenly start running? You scared me.”

I sighed as I quickly walked towards Mikhail, who had fallen to the ground. I couldn’t help but be concerned for various reasons.

“Let go…!”

“Are you okay?”

“Don’t act friendly. Ugly thing…!”

“That comment is quite surprising.”

Mikhail brushed off my outstretched hand and started running again.

To a familiar place.

And to the place where my childhood ended.

“Ikuminhyuk!”

Mikhail was running.

‘Ha, really… I don’t like this kind of thing.’

“Oakminhyuk!”

No matter how many times I told him, he couldn’t call my name correctly. I shook my head and stepped into the trap set by the archbishop.

I didn’t know what he had prepared.

“…”

Thinking that this time, I would see it through to the end.

I ran towards the end of the story.

*

-Swoosh…

The annoying rain was falling again.

As expected of the archbishop who handled memories, the vivid illusion of the past made me smile bitterly.

“Huff… Huff…”

Mikhail, drenched in sweat, was breathing heavily and trembling.

“…Huh?”

Fixing his gaze on one spot.

I looked at Mikhail’s trembling shoulders and muttered in a small voice.

‘It’s been a while. Here.’

The place where I spent the longest time with Mikhail. And at the same time, the place where we had the worst farewell. Standing under the eerie shadow cast by the old bridge, I closed my eyes tightly.

—

—

And then.

“Minhyuk!!!!!!!”

I could hear Mikhail’s scream.

I.

Looked into the eyes of the middle-aged man who was squatting and stepping on my childhood head.

And the middle-aged man who met my eyes.

“It’s been a while, kid.”

He gave a fishy smile at our long-awaited reunion.