“Hey, you bastard! No matter what, stealing my friend’s body, that’s the same, isn’t it?!”
Indeed. Even if it was said to be from the ‘future’, it was merely a being from where the ‘future’ would have been. The current I-an was a separate human from the future I-an.
It was after receiving a letter from the future and the intervention of a soul. Naturally, the path that the current I-an would walk was different from the path that the future I-an had walked.
Isn’t the evidence of that ‘amnesia’? This was decisive proof that the two personalities had not merged. If they had integrated into one personality, then memories would be shared.
In other words, for Reto, it was an unexpected situation where the soul of ‘future I-an’ had taken away ‘friend I-an’. It would be abnormal not to be angry.
Reto’s fragile fist swung. The man took a slight step back as if to avoid the punch. And at the moment when Reto dived in with a second punch,
Thunk! Reto’s hand was caught by the man.
A faint smile formed at the man’s lips. It was a bitter smile. Among all the faces he had shown so far, this was the closest thing to an expression.
“Don’t worry, I can’t stay long either… I’m just doing what I have to do.”
Despite the man’s explanation, Reto’s already heated mind showed no signs of cooling down. His green eyes searched for their place. Left as it was, he could feel the urge to use a scroll.
Then it happened.
With a thud, Reto’s body spun around, and the positions of the man and Reto exchanged. Reto was shoved against the wall.
His arms were bent behind him. There had been no premonition of this at all; he couldn’t even understand how this had happened. Reto groaned from the pain in his arms.
Yet his light still burned fiercely. With bloodshot eyes, Reto opened his mouth.
A growling voice, overtly hostile.
“What I have to do…? Do you know how hard I-an suffered because of that so-called ‘have to do’?! There were times he nearly died! And how much do I have to entertain your antics…!”
“If I don’t, everyone dies.”
It was a calm statement. A straightforward voice that conveyed no highs or lows.
Reto regained his composure in an instant. He sensed the deep remorse contained in that voice. His gaze, suddenly cooled as if splashed with cold water, blankly followed the man’s golden eyes.
There was no wavering. It meant truth. At least, that’s what Reto read.
He hesitated to close his lips several times.
Pressed against the wall, Reto barely managed to squeeze out a single question.
“What on earth happened?”
“Reto…”
The man murmured with a serious expression. Then he offered heartfelt advice.
“Don’t try to know too much. The world doesn’t allow it; you might get hurt.”
That was the end of it.
The man seemed to think that Reto had calmed down. He released Reto and turned away without hesitation. Reto, while straightening up, momentarily found himself unable to speak.
A tangled mass of thoughts occupied his mind.
Everyone dies, but why? And if the world doesn’t allow it, then how can only I-an know the future?
These numerous questions entangled into a mass of question marks. With the clues given so far, unraveling this tangle was impossible.
Then, there was only one answer: to gather as much information as possible.
“…Why did you come back?”
The movement of the man, who was about to take a step, came to a sudden halt.
His golden eyes glanced briefly at Reto. Fearing that his mind might change and he would leave, Reto had to ask again.
“Going back from the future to the past, isn’t it a miracle that no mortal mage can achieve? It must have taken enormous effort… Why did you have to go that far? And why you of all people?”
The man seemed to be lost in thought for a moment. His gaze shifted to the side before returning to its place.
He continued to answer in his still indifferent voice.
“…Because I’m a failure.”
‘A failure,’ he said, which was another incomprehensible statement. Reto felt a throbbing in his head.
Regardless, the man walked steadily on. Out of the alley.
Unable to guess his destination, Reto had no choice but to shout in confusion.
“Hey, where are you going?”
“To meet someone.”
He replied while waving his hand dismissively, as if to say not to worry.
“…I’m going to meet Delphine Yuridina.”
Upon hearing that, Reto could only watch his retreating figure with a dazed gaze.
That was the last.
After that, Reto said he couldn’t have another conversation with the man.
Until today, before meeting me.
Having heard all of Reto’s story, I fell silent. My thoughts were complicated in many ways. There were many aspects I didn’t understand.
I first asked Reto.
“So, the future me is different from the current me?”
“I thought so. After all, those swordsmanship department guys…”
Tsk, tsk, Reto clicked his tongue as he traced a line of light in the air with his finger. It was a drawing made of magical energy.
Although originally a technique used to inscribe magic circles, it could sometimes be used as a tool for explanation like this. A shimmering white line was drawn vertically.
Reto pointed to the bottom of the line and began to explain.
“Now, this is the past. And let’s say we continue straight to the future.”
His finger traveled along the line until it reached the top. Then he asked me.
“So how do we go back to the past?”
“Well, isn’t it just about going back to the middle again?”
Reto nodded and moved his finger to a position roughly in the middle of the line. His green eyes quietly observed me.
“Then what happens next? Do we just follow the already drawn future?”
Hearing that, I momentarily pondered, resting my chin on my hand. It didn’t require much thought. I shook my head and said.
“No, something will change, right?”
“Okay, then let’s draw a new future.”
And he sketched a new line diagonally. Suddenly, two lines branched off from the center like tree branches.
My questioning eyes turned towards Reto. It was as if he had been waiting for this moment to start explaining.
“Look. With the middle as the pivot, there are now two futures, right?”
“Since we’ve returned to the past, isn’t the first future going to disappear?”
“Think about it. What will happen to ‘me’ who has returned to the past? That first future’s outcome is ‘me,’ right?”
Upon hearing that, it made sense. I swallowed nervously and furrowed my brows.
Now I understood what Reto was trying to say. I confirmed with Reto.
“So, the diagonal future is ‘me,’ and the straight future is ‘me’ who possessed my body?”
“Exactly. Time is like a drawing of shapes that can’t be erased. Once drawn, it can never be erased. In other words, the moment that ‘I-an’ returned to the past, another world of possibilities emerged. This is the reason why you and that ‘I-an’ must be different people sharing the same past.”
If only the personalities had integrated, it would have been different, Reto murmured to himself, licking his lips.
But I still had one lingering question. The letter from the future that was currently in my possession.
The world it testified to was peaceful and happy. I hesitated and asked Reto.
“But the letter I received also came from the future. Rather, it said that if I didn’t protect that letter, the world would be destroyed…”
Reto, seemingly unfazed by that issue, pointed at the end of the second diagonal future.
“It came from here. I don’t know what you did, but the entire time axis is shaking. It’s not strange for letters to come from any world of possibilities. Of course, since you received the letter, it means that the current world is drawing nearer to that future, right?”
It was a complicated story, but through Reto’s explanation, I was able to understand it somehow.
In other words, the future ‘me’ who possessed me and the love letter from seven years into the future came from different futures.
Then was the man I saw in my dream also a future ‘me’?
I recalled the bloody landscape painting. The battlefield where ominous sounds echoed, with corpses strewn about; I could not recreate that scene without including the word ‘death.’
Thinking that it could be the end I was meant to face made my heart feel desolate. And on another front, it sent chills down my spine.
Not following the contents of the letter meant that such a future would arrive.
Just that was a significant achievement. The letters coming from the future contained numerous worlds of possibilities, so it wouldn’t be strange for there to be several senders.
Because after all, it could only be seen as a possibility.
What mattered was the content of the letter. By doing my best to follow it, I thought that the identities of my future lovers would gradually be revealed one by one.
Indeed, it made me think of Reto. I looked at my dear friend with admiration in my eyes.
He had a proud expression. It seemed he was quite satisfied with the achievements he had made.
My hand patted his shoulder. Admiring words involuntarily slipped from my lips.
“Reto, not bad, huh? Thanks to you, I got a bit of a grasp on things.”
“Well, I am somewhat talented. You owe me a drink.”
Asking for a drink was a condition I could agree to easily. Trust was firmly reflected in my gaze as I looked at Reto.
I asked him with an expectant voice.
“So, what should I do now?”
Reto smiled brightly at my question. He patted my shoulder and said.
“Well, you have to figure it out yourself.”
“…?”
At that vague response, I could only look at Reto blankly. My gaze containing some sense of betrayal.
But Reto, on the other hand, appeared incredulous. He furrowed his brows and asked me.
“Should I think about it? I don’t even know the contents of that letter yet!”
I opened my mouth to argue, but then closed it as is.
Reto was correct. To make plans, I needed information, but only I could read the contents of the letter that came from the future.
Then, was it a substitute for a final exam practical?
I thought about the information that I-an had requested from the Lady Virgin Saint. If he deemed it necessary, then that ‘orphanage’ must be related to the future.
Even if it was an event that occurred in the first future. Since I lacked detailed information, it would be sensible to start with the information he had collected.
Reto silently watched me as I fell deep into thought. Then, as though it bothered him, he cleared his throat and turned away.
“By the way, he said he was going to meet Senior Delphine, didn’t he?”
Senior Delphine… now that I think about it, I heard that she had gone missing since the Hunting Festival.
Another woman came to mind. The one who first made me aware of the possibility that a letter could fly to me from the future.
Emma.
Two choices now hung on the scale within my heart.
One was the woman, Delphine Yuridina, radiant as the sun.
The other was the girl, Emma, with a warm and kind smile that left a lasting impression.
It seemed better to meet one of them. And also, I needed to gather a team for the substitute practical exam.
I would also have to visit Senior Elsi, it seemed.
I immediately began to organize the movements in my mind.
Due to my memory loss, time was running short. The date for the substitute practical exam was just around the corner.
The remaining time until I had to finalize the practice dispatch location and gather a team was just a week.
I had to gather information and strength somehow within that time.
The smell of blood was drawing closer with every passing moment.
That evening, I went to look for Senior Delphine at Idalos Lodge. However, the news I received from the servant was exactly as I had inwardly anticipated.
“Lady Yuridina is currently hospitalized in the Temple’s Intensive Care Room…”
I crossed my arms, tapping my fingers against my arms.
Well, I thought that might be the case. I only hoped that she wasn’t hurt badly enough to end up in the Intensive Care Room.
I couldn’t anticipate how Senior Delphine would react when we met again, which made me involuntarily let out a sigh.
And I shook my head, lamenting inwardly. It was a complaint towards the future ‘me’.
What an impatient human it was, I wished just half of my love for peace would reflect on it.
It was a regrettable matter.
