—————————————————————–
Translated By Arcane Translations
Translator: FusionX
—————————————————————–
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇
‘This is strange.’
From the moment I woke up, I felt a strange sense of unease. The man before me was unfamiliar. He seemed strong for a human, but that was all. I assumed he was a servant or a subordinate.
“Those eyes… you’re Kali. The soul transfer was successful.”
“Child… do you know me?”
“Don’t you remember me?”
“…”
The man looked bewildered, as if he hadn’t expected this situation. His face was clouded with worry.
“I am…”
He trailed off, as if unable to speak.
“You’re… my comrade! You’ve been replaced! I died and was resurrected. You resurrected me… right?”
“That’s right. I’m Mijung, one of the Four Heavenly Kings, the Necromancer.”
“…”
He finally answered, a faint smile on his face. He called me his ‘comrade,’ implying an ordinary relationship.
‘This is still strange.’
I felt another wave of unease, but I dismissed it. He was a skilled necromancer, judging by our conversation.
Even Luna couldn’t resurrect someone whose body was completely destroyed. This man, despite my weakened state, had managed to bring me back. But strangely… he didn’t ask for anything in return.
He simply handed me a warm cup of hot chocolate and stared at me with a mixture of concern and sadness.
“Are you sure you don’t remember anything? Tell me anything you can remember.”
He was fixated on my memory loss, especially on whether I remembered our relationship.
My suspicion grew, transforming into certainty. Our relationship wasn’t ordinary. Whatever it was, it involved strong emotions.
His behavior… and the way my body felt at ease in his presence… all pointed to a single conclusion.
“Human child…”
“Call me Mijung.”
“Mijung… I have a question… may I ask?”
“Anything.”
“Were… we… lovers… in the past…?”
We were lovers. I was certain of it. It was a woman’s intuition.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇
‘What is this crazy woman talking about?’
My mind went blank.
I had never been so shocked, not even when Yerina discovered my affairs (or lack thereof) and lowered her voice menacingly, not even when Jill told me she had invaded Petenburg.
“Why would you think that?”
“We… weren’t…?”
Kali looked at me with longing in her eyes. I hesitated.
What had I said when Temulen asked me what defined a person? Memories.
I had said that memories defined a person, and I still believed that. Then was the current Kali, who had lost her memories, a different person from the Kali I knew?
The Kali who had destroyed Undecided’s village, infested the World Tree, slaughtered countless elves, and committed numerous other atrocities.
If she lost her memories, would her sins disappear?
I had reached a contradiction.
Logically, the Kali before me and the Kali I knew were different people, but emotionally, I couldn’t separate them.
I wanted to agree with Temulen, to say that sins were tied to the soul, that the soul defined a person.
‘I can’t do that.’
But as a regressor, I couldn’t accept that. People changed based on their memories, even if their souls remained the same.
They weren’t the same person. The current Kali was a perfect example. She was in Nameless’s body, who liked and trusted me, so she was mistaking her own feelings for romantic affection.
The current Kali was innocent.
‘I’ll make her pay.’
She would be punished after regaining her memories. I would remind her of what she had done, of the monster she had been, of the countless lives she had taken. And then, I would give her the ending she deserved.
That was my plan.
“…Think whatever you want.”
Deceiving Kali was more difficult than I expected. I had to maintain the facade of a Heavenly King, so I ordered Undecided around, making her cast formations, pretending she was my right-hand woman.
Kali, in her current state, couldn’t sense demonic energy and couldn’t see through the formations, so she just assumed Undecided was doing something complicated.
Nameless’s body seemed to be able to handle a small amount of magical power, though she wasn’t particularly talented. I had to be careful with magic around her.
I planned to take Kali to various locations and ask her questions, gathering information.
The story I had fabricated was this, the Heavenly Kings were currently in danger due to Solra’s betrayal. Kali had been killed while trying to subdue him, and her body was handed over to the Papal Office, but I had managed to recover some of her remains.
The Papal Office was now actively hunting down the Heavenly Kings, and I was tasked with protecting them, identifying their weaknesses and protecting them from human attacks.
To do that, I needed to know everything about their weaknesses.
Kali seemed to believe my story without question.
“I’m… so sleepy… the human body… is so weak…”
I had spent the entire day maintaining my act, exhausting myself. As night fell, Kali, like any human, complained of drowsiness and quickly fell asleep.
About ten seconds later, her eyes snapped open, her gaze completely different, devoid of any intelligence.
This was Nameless.
“Woo.”
“Good work. I’m sorry for borrowing your body without permission.”
“Woo…!”
Nameless smiled and nuzzled against my hand, as if saying it was okay. I had put her through a lot. I had sealed her memories and soul, blocking her access to her body.
She could only control her body when Kali was unconscious, either asleep or knocked out. During the day, she could only watch as Kali controlled her body.
I felt a pang of guilt.
‘Who was that Nameless back then?’
I suddenly remembered the Nameless who had connected me to the other world in the dungeon.
She had spoken clearly, in a completely different tone of voice, showing me that otherworldly vision.
“Woo…?”
“It’s nothing.”
The difference was so stark, it was still puzzling.
Who was that? A fragment of Kali’s consciousness? I wasn’t sure yet. But one thing was clear, I still had much to learn about Nameless.
“Woo!”
“What?”
Nameless opened her arms and hugged me. I had been cuddling her for warmth so often that she now seemed to think my arms were her bed.
“…”
“Why are you staring at me like that?”
I turned around and saw Undecided staring at me, then quickly looking away.
She pouted for a moment, then turned back to me and whispered,
“…Be careful.”
“Of what?”
“…That… woman… is hiding… something…”
Undecided had sensed it too. I agreed. Kali was still hiding something from me.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇
I had a strange dream. A dream about the human child… Mijung.
It was hazy and indistinct, but he was definitely stroking my hair, and I was happily nuzzling against his hand.
And then I woke up.
“…?”
I felt a slight pressure, a pleasant scent, a warmth enveloping me. I opened my eyes and realized I was being held.
“H-Huh?!”
It was Mijung.
The man was holding me in his sleep. I almost screamed, but managed to cover my mouth.
‘We’re definitely not just comrades…’
Had he embraced me in his sleep? It couldn’t be a platonic relationship.
He had denied it, but perhaps it was out of consideration for me, knowing I had lost my memories.
It would be burdensome to suddenly be told he was my lover when I couldn’t even remember…
‘Memories… I want them back…’
I buried my face in his chest, listening to his heartbeat. I longed for the day when my memories would return…
“…?!”
Suddenly, two red eyes glowed in the darkness.
A blood ghoul, staring at me with undisguised killing intent!
I felt a surge of fear and quickly closed my eyes, pretending to be asleep.
This man… he wasn’t just mine.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇
Wonder how long she will continue to to think this.