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Translated By Arcane Translations
Translator: FusionX
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“That person… is the director of the National Security Strategy Agency?”
Lea’s eyes began to shake wildly.
“Yeah, I was surprised when I saw him too.”
“How on earth did this happen? How… retired, didn’t they say he retired?”
“That’s what I thought. But it seems His Excellency the President personally erased his identity. It’s a newly established intelligence agency directly under the President.”
“So, so…!”
What had happened a few months ago pierced through Lea’s mind.
Yes.
Even if she lost her memories, there was no way she could have been mistaken.
The emotions she felt at that time, the strangely familiar feeling of being drawn to his gaze, the reason she jumped in without hesitation when he fell into a life-or-death crisis.
It was because it was Luthers Edan.
It was Luthers Edan, not Captain John Hobbes.
It was just an alias!
Lea’s stiffened face brightened.
This time too, without fail, she had been drawn to him just like in the Graveyard.
Their experience accumulated through forty regressions together was indeed fate.
“Oh my, are you that happy? It seems you’ve become more attached to him now that you can’t see him than when you were at the fortress?”
“Ah, that, that’s not it….”
“It’s fine. Why are you denying it? That’s how people’s hearts are. When it passes, you regret it, you try to understand a little more, that’s what being human is.”
Drake recited bitterly.
He had also recently started re-evaluating Luthers Edan.
He might be a bit curt, uncooperative, and his stubbornness was almost world-class, but it was undeniable that it was thanks to him that everyone in the Graveyard was able to survive until the end of the war.
“How is his… condition?”
“Condition?”
Drake recalled Luthers Edan at that time.
When he first saw him in the banquet hall, he was a powerless man.
He didn’t easily react to his provocation and rather desperately avoided it.
As if he didn’t even want to face old acquaintances.
But when he was with his subordinates, he somehow looked comfortable.
Drake added with a chuckle.
“He seemed to be getting along well with new people.”
“Ah….”
“I heard last time that he lives near ‘Munston’ in the west. Wouldn’t it be nice to go see him once?”
Munston.
As soon as she heard those words, Lea grabbed Drake’s hand.
“Thank you, really… really thank you, Drake!”
“What are you so grateful for… But were you that worried? If you missed him that much, you could have told Arwen, ah.”
“You saw how unni reacted earlier.”
“Right… Arwen is particularly strict only with Luthers.”
“Once she makes up her mind, she never changes it no matter what.”
Lea, who had watched Arwen for a long time.
Even in the 34th regression, in the previous regressions, and in this regression, Arwen Orka’s personality didn’t change.
As if to prove that she was the lover Luthers cherished the most, they were both stubborn.
It could be seen as a bad habit.
In this regression, Luthers intentionally pushed her away, so there was no room for growth.
“Anyway, yeah… Recently, he’s been active under the name Werner Grimm. I don’t know if he’ll agree to meet you or not, but go and at least talk to him.”
“Ho-hopefully… did he have a girlfriend or anything?”
Even as she said that, embarrassment came over her.
Wasn’t she proving to Drake that she had personal feelings left?
But what did it matter?
It wasn’t an emotion that could be treated as just personal feelings.
For her, her first and last love was solely Luthers Edan.
“It didn’t seem like he had one. Ah, there was a woman who looked like his adjutant. She was pretty.”
“…”
Gulp.
Lea Gilliard swallowed her dry saliva.
He was originally that kind of man.
Even in the wide fortress, he had as many as three fiancées.
Of course, it wasn’t something Luthers had intended.
It was unavoidable.
There were people with whom he had formed special relationships in several regressions.
Even if Luthers pushed them away, they clung to him persistently, so it was only natural.
Memory recovery meant restoring the time he had spent with them as well, so no one could abandon Luthers.
Arwen, Lea herself, and Charlotte too.
In a way, Luthers had accepted their whims.
The reason he had three fiancées, completely detached from social norms, was in the same context.
So the three of them didn’t keep each other in check much either.
How could they selfishly demand only their own time and memories when everyone’s time and memories were important?
Because Luthers existed, their lives existed.
It was also what Lea feared the most.
Because the Luthers who had always said to move forward together didn’t choose the path of restoring their memories in this regression.
If her memory hadn’t been restored due to the activation of the Missing Protocol, Lea Gilliard would have thought of Luthers Edan as just a passing acquaintance.
“Anyway, thank you Drake. I’ll definitely pay you back for this.”
“You don’t have to pay me back.”
“And please make sure to tell unni that I said I’m sorry.”
“You should tell her that yourself… Huh? No, Lea! Are you really going right now?! Lea!!”
There was no way she would have any lingering attachment to Hoenbaren without him.
Lea waved her hand vigorously at Drake, who had a startled expression, and ran through the night streets.
Her heart was pounding at the thought of packing her bags and heading to Munston.
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Lea Gilliard, whose propulsion was no less than Luthers Edan.
So wasn’t it because she had stopped by a village near the Graveyard during a supply mission, just to see a festival?
Munston.
Once her destination was set, the rest was swift.
She packed her bags that she had left in her quarters, checked out early, and headed straight to the train station.
And she bought the fastest train ticket to Munston.
It was the first train leaving at 4:50 am.
After running for more than 6 hours again, she arrived at the small city of Munston in the Western Military District.
However, just arriving in Munston didn’t mean she could easily meet Luthers Edan.
She went around asking about Luthers.
She had gone out for civil support several times even when she was in the Graveyard.
People living in such small cities were mostly locals who had been protecting the area for a long time.
They usually knew the location of nearby military units like the back of their hand.
“There are battalions and regiments… but I’m not sure.”
“Th-then have you seen people wearing completely black uniforms from head to toe, different from the usual military uniforms?”
“Ah! If it’s black uniforms, I know well!”
Fortunately, the National Security Strategy Agency that Luthers Edan belonged to wore a different uniform from typical units.
“They often come to that pub over there. And the mart next to it.”
“Thank you!”
Lea bowed deeply, expressing her sincere gratitude.
And she stopped by a suitable motel, checked in, and unpacked her bags.
She could have directly searched for the unit.
She had heard that there was a fortress near the huge lake called Emerald in the north of Munston—now called Forbidden Lake.
People in black uniforms were said to be living there.
There was no reason to hesitate now that she had obtained important information.
But the reason Lea didn’t do that was because she knew it would be forceful.
If they were to meet, it would be best to pretend it was a coincidence.
If that didn’t work, she thought it would be enough to just watch him from afar.
Because at the banquet hall in Branberg, he was wearing a mask, so she couldn’t see his expression beyond it.
So Lea lingered around the pub and mart that people from the National Security Strategy Agency frequented all day.
In fact, she ran into people who seemed to belong to the National Security Strategy Agency several times.
And the next day.
“…!!!!!”
Lea Gilliard was able to find the person she had been longing for so much.
Even though he was far away, she could recognize him at a glance.
His hair, which had been messy and dirty, was now cut into a neat style.
The bushy beard that made him look a few years older than his actual age was cleanly shaved.
Even though he never listened when she told him to cut it so much….
Lea stuck out her lips.
But personally, she liked his changed appearance even more.
It was like seeing Luthers from the past when she was engaged to him.
Her fiancé was still handsome.
No, rather, his black hair and black uniform matched perfectly, making him look even more handsome than before.
Did his body get bigger? His shoulders were broad.
His jewel-like blue eyes were the same, she couldn’t see them well last time because of the mask.
His gaze.
His line of sight.
His gait.
The way he put his hands in his pockets.
The hand movements to clear his head whenever he thought of cigarettes.
Everything was the same as back then.
Lea, who had been blankly staring at Luthers like that, soon slapped her cheeks and came to her senses.
Whatever it was, Luthers Edan was alone now.
Moreover, for some reason, he was walking the streets alone.
Now was her chance.
Lea Gilliard quickly checked the mirror.
She checked her outfit and finished touching up her makeup.
It was her first time meeting him face to face in a long time.
She had to meet him in the best condition.
That’s what she thought, but…
“Director!”
Luthers, who had been walking ahead, turned around.
Lea, who had been about to approach him, stopped abruptly.
“Karin, I told you that you don’t have to follow me.”
“Hey, how can I let you go alone? You’re my superior. I parked the car in the parking lot.”
The woman with hair just like Luthers’ smiled brightly.
Lea Gilliard soon realized that she was the adjutant Drake had mentioned.
“But why are you going to the mart?”
“I ran out of personal groceries. I was thinking of buying some ingredients.”
“Ah?! Then you’re going to make it yourself tonight?!”
“…If you want.”
Luthers answered with a smile at the woman named Karin.
The moment she saw that, Lea had no choice but to hide in the alley.
She knew.
His gaze.
His line of sight.
The direction he turned his head.
The smile that slightly appeared.
The casually uttered voice.
Everything was the same as back then.
Except for the fact that the person standing next to him wasn’t her.
In this regression, it was an expression he had never shown them even once.
He always looked at them with a dry gaze or sometimes with a sad gaze.
“Ah.”
Lea Gilliard was gravely mistaken.
He had long left the Graveyard.
Luthers Edan.
No longer needed her.
He had truly acknowledged that they were shackles and left.
Living in the Graveyard was just to fulfill his last duty.
It was just to complete the responsibility he had promised them, the salvation of humanity.
The love engraved in it had long faded.
In a way, it was natural.
Through dozens of deaths, the love that had naturally withered away had come to a complete end with the victory he had grasped in this regression.
The heart that she had painstakingly patched up was torn to shreds once again.
The moment she realized that the fact she had been denying had become reality.
Her precariously enduring heart crumbled.
“Ah, ah… ugh… sob….”
Lea sat down on the spot and burst into tears.
“Then let’s have aglio e olio for dinner tonight?”
“Did you like it that much?”
“Of course! It was the first dish I ever ate. I’m sure Captain John Hobbes would be thrilled too.”
“If that was the case, I should have asked John to make it.”
“Hehe… Still, I’m happy just taking a walk together. The weather is nice too after a long time.”
“I agree.”
But that sound was soon buried by the voices of the two people passing through the alley.
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Four days later.
[Discharge Request]
[Second Lieutenant Lea Gilliard]
“Le-Lea?!”
The officers’ quarters that had become empty as if no one had ever lived there.
Her superior, 32nd Regimental Commander Julia Anke, stared at the letter left alone on the ownerless desk.
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Yeah I’m going to drop this one, just fucking talk to him bro wtf are you doing Lea.