The plain was desolate.
The man’s unconsciousness had always been like this. A barren and dry landscape where even feelings of depression or gloom did not arise.
In the middle of it all, golden eyes shone alone.
It was a gaze that felt devoid of any fragments of emotion.
It was so dry that one could say it was withered. Even dry towels would be more moist than this.
But I knew.
Now, although the man’s heart was ragged like rags, there had been a time when it beat hotly like the sun, made of blood and flesh.
He was a man who blamed gods, fate, and the world.
He could not have survived without being broken in such a way.
Of course, the man wouldn’t want my pity.
Sitting atop a rock left alone in the wasteland, he merely uttered a cold question again.
“I asked what your intentions are.”
His tone was steeped in deep fatigue.
As if I had interrupted the man’s reverie. There I was, stuck in the depths of unconsciousness all day, reminiscing about the past.
Although we had grown closer compared to before, he was still a difficult man to face.
A blunt retort slipped from my lips.
“What do you mean by intentions?”
“If it weren’t for some reason, you wouldn’t have come here. I don’t know what foolishness you’re up to, but…”
Leaning slightly with crossed arms, the man declared in a heavy voice.
“I am not a kind priest, you know. I’m not someone who will listen to you every time you want to whine.”
It was absurd.
I couldn’t help but retort as I suppressed the swelling emotions inside me.
“When have I ever whined…!”
“Just the other day.”
His sharp remark left me momentarily speechless.
Come to think of it, he was right.
Hadn’t I done just that not long ago?
“Didn’t I cry and plead? What did I say, that I wanted to quit?”
“No, that’s…!”
A wave of memories crashed over me.
In the Mountain Court, I had experienced hundreds of deaths. While the term ‘hundreds’ was used, it meant I repeatedly endured pain that anyone else would only experience once.
Naturally, there was no way I could maintain my sanity.
I did remember crying and pleading when I reached my limit, indeed.
But was it not too mean-spirited?
It was a situation that anyone would struggle to endure. To bring up such a time when I was cornered and humiliate me like this.
I had no choice but to feign innocence in my resentment.
“…That was then, and this is now!”
A scoff from him pierced my heart.
He was a man whose laughter was as dry as his demeanor. In the end, I had to clear my throat in embarrassment and change the subject.
He was right.
I had no hobby of inhaling anesthetics to faint on purpose.
In such exceptional behavior, there was usually a valid reason accompanying it.
The man began to draw out his deductions one by one.
“Do you need my power now?”
“No, not yet.”
“Or do you have some memories to spy on?”
“That’s not it either.”
“Then what is it?”
Without changing his icy expression, the man asked indifferently.
“There’s no memory between us that we are close enough to share a conversation.”
“I have a question.”
Hmm, a sound of hesitation escaped from the man’s lips.
He clearly wore an expression of puzzlement.
“Have you forgotten? The information I can provide is limited. And the more decisive clues I give, the less room I have to intervene in the matter.”
“I thought you saved a lot last time.”
“Right, but it’s not to be wasted meaninglessly.”
It was a rejection as sharp as a knife.
With that firm tone alone, there seemed to be no room for negotiation. The man turned his gaze slightly away, showing indifference.
“Enough clues have already been given. The rest is up to you…”
“Is there no way to reverse those turned by vampires?”
Perhaps it was an unexpected question.
The man’s words, which had flowed smoothly, came to an abrupt stop. His gaze turned back to me with surprise.
“Is there really nothing? If necessary, feel free to give me information from the future.”
The man remained silent for a long time.
He simply kept his mouth tightly shut, quietly observing my expression. After a while…
Finally, an annoyed sigh escaped between his lips.
“…You really are meddlesome.”
“This is a matter that could significantly impact solving the case.”
“Will it?”
With that, he brushed off my argument and advised with a serious expression.
“I sincerely advise you that instead of seeking such means, it’s better to find the ‘vampire’. It’s the only way to reduce the number of victims.”
“The memories from when you were training in the Great Forest.”
At my response, the man’s words fell silent again.
He stared at me, maintaining his silence, as if he were waiting to see what I would say.
“That woman you referred to as ‘apprentice’ back then, it was Senior Elsi, right?”
“So?”
“That ‘apprentice’ has possessed Senior Elsi.”
It was a fact he might have already known.
He often seemed to be aware of what I was doing. He even offered to lend me power during my previous clash with the saint.
However, it seemed he hadn’t been aware for the past few days.
Just by looking at the cracks in the man’s face, I could tell. He contorted his face, lost in thought for a moment.
It didn’t take long for him to reach a potential conclusion.
He pressed his forehead with one hand and let out a painful sigh.
“…I should have paid more attention to what Reto had to say.”
“That Senior Elsi seemed to know something.”
The man still hesitated, unable to respond.
He appeared confused about how to react to a situation outside of his expectations. He turned his gaze this way and that, finally squeezing his eyes shut.
While the man wavered, I recalled my previous conversation with Senior Elsi.
A way to reverse the victims turned by vampires?
Senior Elsi had clearly said “there is none.” But the gap in time before that answer came out lingered heavily on my mind.
It was a fact I realized later on.
“You too had the ‘great witch’ as your teacher. You had to know a lot about the spells holding the vampires captive…”
“…Does it look like I’m doing okay?”
The end of his hesitation.
Finally, the man managed to spit out a retort. The subject was omitted, but I was not someone who could miss the intent behind it.
Hadn’t we shared memories, even if temporarily?
So, I had to swallow my rising curiosity and speak.
“Yes. You didn’t seem to have resentment or lingering feelings.”
And then, silence fell again.
It took several more minutes before the man’s lips began to twitch.
“…You can’t help but know.”
He spoke without meeting my gaze, perhaps still lacking certainty in his decision.
I sensed a complex emotional state in his eyes. Although it was merely a faint shadow, it was a stark contrast to his usual behavior, which seemed to be worn down.
For a brief moment, I was surprised to find that he still had something that could be called ’emotion’.
“It was the subject of the ‘apprentice’s research’.”
At the man’s subsequent confession, my thoughts ground to a halt.
If it was the research subject of the ‘apprentice’…
Then it meant Senior Elsi was hiding something.
Or, quite literally, it was hopeless.
*
As I gasped and opened my eyes, fierce pain crashed against my skull.
Fleeting memories imprinted blurred scenes on my retinas and eardrums.
“Then what about the phrase you left behind? What on earth was your intention in writing it?”
“A useful recipe.”
The man’s voice was unwavering.
Despite the sudden invocation of my first love, his turmoil was brief. Before the conversation exchanged a few times, he had completely regained his composure.
“It might be useful someday. Just make sure you never forget it.”
His words left a strange echo.
To say it might be useful one day, yet to insist that I never forget it.
Before I could articulate such doubts in my mouth…
All at once, the world quaked.
Boom, and the axis of my vision tilted like a crumbling building. Amidst the rupture, a familiar voice hit my ears.
[I-an, I-an… Are you okay?! Where… There should be medicine around here…!]
Everything began to dissolve like mirage.
Sensing something, I rushed to get the words out.
“…Your ‘apprentice’!”
Perhaps due to the sudden change, the man’s expression remained unchanged.
He stared at me with the same indifferent gaze as before.
Swallowing back the nausea rising in my throat, I shouted.
“Your apprentice wants to see you.”
That was when it happened.
Boom, and once again, the world shook as if colliding with something.
My body, unable to endure any longer, collapsed onto the ground. I desperately wanted to see the man’s face, but my trembling vision denied me that small freedom.
All that reached my ears was the man’s inscrutable voice.
“Who knows…”
Not a mutter, nor a sigh, but a dry tone.
He left a cold response as chilling as his tone.
“I don’t want to see her.”
Before I could comment on that, the small cracks began to spread uncontrollably. It wasn’t long before the world shattered like a window.
When I came to my senses, I found myself lying on a bed reeking of medicine.
Before long, the image of Emma, who was sobbing, registered in my retinas. Only then did a bitter smile appear on my lips as the situation sank in.
It was somewhat regrettable, but what could I do?
In front of the crying Emma, I had no thought of uttering words of blame.
I could only hold the weeping Emma in my arms and soothe her for a while.
After some consolation, hugs, and kisses, Emma finally managed to stop crying.
It was around that time when I took out a small note.
“Emma.”
“…Uh, yes?”
Perhaps still shaken, Emma responded, swallowing back her sobs.
Had I gone too far?
But now that I had started, there was no backing down.
I directly handed her the note. It had the phrase written on the back of the letter by the man.
“Do you perhaps know about this recipe? You’re the only expert around me…”
Emma still had dew in her eyes.
My index finger brushed away her tears. Accepting my touch naturally, she silently gazed down at the words in the note.
It didn’t take long for her complexion to drain.
Staring at the note as if entranced, Emma’s eyes turned incredibly serious. Her alluring lips twitched several times.
With a deep groan, Emma finally opened her mouth.
“It’s a recipe I don’t recognize at all because it’s so unfamiliar. The ingredients are also extremely rare, and I obtained the herbs just recently in bulk…”
“According to your predictions?”
With unnecessary tension in my voice, Emma responded seriously.
“…It looks like a recipe for a drug. A pretty potent one at that.”
Hearing those words, I couldn’t help but shut my eyes tightly.
Maybe it would be useful one day?
‘This is ridiculous.’
It seemed that the future ‘me’ wanted to turn me into a criminal.
