The Man’s 101st Bad Ending – Chapter 88

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Translated By Arcane Translations
Translator: FusionX
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The Moonstone did not exist in this world.

Only a few records remained that such a thing had existed, but the name Moonstone and its power had not left even a trace.

Originally, there should have been two relics in this deep area.

The Moonstone I possessed and another one.

The existence of the other one was uncertain, but after receiving Arwen’s letter, I was able to know what it was.

The Crown of Memories.

I had heard the name before, but its abilities had not yet been known in detail.

I knew it was there along with the Moonstone when I was looking for it, but at that time, I had to focus on the regression ability of the Moonstone.

So I had cut off my interest, but later, while searching for relics, I gradually learned what power it had.

The Crown of Memories had a simple power, as its name suggested.

It was a relic that restored forgotten memories.

I had tried using it before, just in case, but hadn’t achieved any particular results.

I had entered alone sometimes, and with Miragen other times.

I did hear some hidden secrets of the empire, but that wasn’t the effect I had originally wanted from it, so I couldn’t help but be disappointed.

I would probably go in this time too, but I didn’t think anything would be different.

It was better to give up expectations for these things.

Even if it was something with sufficient possibility, I started thinking it would probably fail anyway.

If there were expectations, wouldn’t there be disappointment in the end?

Even if it was impossible to completely avoid such feelings, it was better to let go than to be disappointed by something.

The carriage was quiet.

Probably because everyone knew we would arrive at our destination soon, they were each lost in their own thoughts.

Miragen would be thinking about the relic, and Adriana probably the same, but Adele’s thoughts were probably about me.

I sighed, remembering that I had been leaning on Adele’s shoulder until just now.

It reminded me of the past.

I had just fallen asleep because I was tired, but it was true that I had briefly recalled the past I had shared with Adele.

Recently, the memories of the people around me had been gradually blooming.

Like seeds waiting to sprout, they were finally blooming in my 101st life.

I didn’t know what this meant.

Maybe I was just attributing meaning to it, and in fact, everything might just be coincidence.

…But, what if.

If this really had some meaning.

I was curious about what I would face in the Crown of Memories.

Who I would go into that crown with, who would recall the forgotten memories through my regression.

That was what I was most curious about.

Clop-clop-

The carriage moved.

Even as I was lost in thought, even as Miragen looked at me with a strange gaze.

Regardless of such thoughts, it continued to move towards our destination.

I felt like the relic called the Crown of Memories kept circling in my head.

Thoughts about the two relics, the Moonstone and the Crown of Memories, which seemed like a pair, also continued.

If there was such a thing as fate, where would it lead me?

No matter how much I thought about it, it seemed certain that I couldn’t find an immediate answer.

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“There was a tower here too?”

“This was originally the capital of the empire. Now there’s only one saint, but before, weren’t there several people with such abilities?”

The deep south was one of the most prosperous places in the empire if the national power hadn’t declined, it would probably still be the capital.

But now it was just the land of different races.

A place where the empire’s power could no longer reach, the only consolation being that such towers were well preserved.

Yet they still couldn’t find some of the relics, could they?

Adele nodded as she saw the tower stretching towards the sky.

It wasn’t as tall as the Moon Tower.

The Moon Tower was built to commemorate the saint who had reappeared after a very long time.

Compared to the past when saints were abundant, it had to be built even more grandly.

“It seems certain that there’s a relic here. If we go by the records, it should be in the tower, but I’m not sure if it’s the Crown of Memories.”

Miragen’s eyes narrowed.

The location of the relic would require us to examine the entire tower.

It would have taken quite some time to examine the entire tower they first came to, so she was probably worrying about that.

I thought it would take at least two days.

The previous tower was a bit longer, but the space in this tower was very wide.

If my memory was correct, the Crown of Memories was below here.

I thought it probably wouldn’t have much effect, but shouldn’t we check it once anyway?

Maybe this time it would be a little different.

That was the possibility I wanted to confirm.

If I had to explain why I was specifically heading towards the Crown of Memories.

“I’ll go up. Last time it was downstairs.”

I nodded at Miragen’s words.

I was planning to go straight down.

Since I roughly knew where it was, there was no need to waste time.

As I was about to stride towards the tower, I suddenly wondered how Adele and Adriana would move.

Adele nodded slightly when our eyes met.

Was she saying she would go up?

It didn’t seem like she would move with Miragen, so it looked like she was planning to move alone.

Adriana naturally grabbed my arm.

Miragen stared at that blankly, but unlike last time, she didn’t cling to me, so there was nothing particularly embarrassing.

“I’ll go down with Robert. That seems to balance the numbers.”

“Alright. I’ll take care of Adriana.”

I had no intention of leaving her alone anyway.

Adele surprisingly didn’t seem to have any particular thoughts about me going with Adriana.

Miragen’s gaze briefly touched on us, but that was all.

With no one particularly stopping us, I walked towards the tower again.

I was the first to enter the tower.

Miragen, who followed, took out a bundle of papers from her chest and headed upwards, after Miragen disappeared, I moved downwards, tracing my memories.

“There are more stairs than I expected.”

“Unlike the Moon Tower, it seems the depth underground is deeper. Probably because of the relic, isn’t it?”

“Do you know about the Crown of Memories?”

After pondering that question for a moment, I decided there was no need to hide it and answered that I did.

It was information managed by the imperial family and the church, but it wouldn’t be strange for me, who was close to the Crown Prince and the church, to know about the relics.

And the person asking was Adriana.

It would prick my conscience to hide something from her.

“I know it’s an object that helps find forgotten memories. That’s probably why Her Highness the Princess wants to use it.”

It wasn’t just about securing it.

There were secrets of the empire that could be glimpsed through the Crown of Memories,

just knowing a little about this thousand-year empire could change many aspects of it.

Perhaps it would even allow her to rival Kaitel who would become Emperor.

The memories I had seen with Miragen before were like that too.

Secrets the imperial family tried to hide, and various objects created by the Moon God.

But that was what I heard from Miragen’s explanation.

At that time, I could only see part of the memories shown by the Crown of Memories.

The voice saying I lacked qualifications was vivid.

While Miragen could see it clearly, I realized that only members of the imperial family could properly see it when I could hardly see anything.

Of course, since I had found a way to break through that later, I could use that method this time.

Adriana looked at me with a strange expression as I strode forward towards the bottom.

It might seem a bit strange.

We could go slowly to look for the relic, but I was moving as if I knew the destination.

If we found the Crown of Memories, I would have to forget everything.

Anyway, since there were only stairs and walls blocking us all around here, Adriana, who had felt around with her hands, erased that doubt from her expression.

“How much further do we have to go?”

“Well… I think not much further.”

As I felt along the wall, one brick made a rattling sound when pressed by my hand.

I remembered it was around here.

If I pressed and turned the brick here, the mechanism would disappear and the relic stored in this tower would appear.

Rumble-

Adriana tightly grabbed my arm at the sudden vibration.

The tower, which had been shaking roughly as if everything around was about to collapse, suddenly became quiet.

As if what had just happened was just an illusion, Adriana spoke in the tower that had become quiet again.

“…What was that just now? And the sensation is different. Could it be, did you find the relic?”

“It seems so.”

Adriana’s gaze moved slowly as she heard my words.

I thought she would probably feel it by now too.

The void beyond, and another void that had formed again inside it.

The empty space was itself a relic.

It was a room that revived forgotten memories, a space called the Crown of Memories.

Adriana fumbled and slowly reached her hand towards the inside.

The space where there had been a wall had disappeared, leaving only a path leading to the void beyond.

Adriana opened her mouth blankly as she felt her hand brush through the air.

Now clearly feeling the energy of the relic, a pure white light began to rise slightly from her body.

“It’s reacting naturally. I couldn’t feel it even though we came this close, I never thought it would be hidden in a place like this.”

“The church couldn’t pinpoint its location either?”

“I don’t know exactly about the holy land either. I think His Holiness the Pope probably knows… but it’s my first time seeing a relic directly.”

Usually, relics were known to be in the form of tools.

The Moonstone I used was in the form of an hourglass, and most were usable objects like swords or armor.

But the Crown of Memories was different.

This space itself was a relic, so Adriana, who stepped inside, let out an exclamation.

“This is the first time I’ve felt such pure divine power. It’s like… should I say it feels like there’s another me here?”

I empathized with that too.

It was different from before when I couldn’t feel anything.

The Moonstone that still existed inside me was reacting.

Just like when I killed Theresa, mana that kept resonating was slowly flowing around.

“…I see.”

While muttering quietly, my eyes narrowed, immersed in a strange sensation.

It was different.

I couldn’t judge exactly what it was, but my senses, which had come here many times, were clearly conveying something different to me in this round.

My heart was pounding.

I realized I was feeling anxious at the strong, thumping pulse.

Just by stepping into this space, why was I feeling anxious?

Feeling something was wrong, I tried to get out.

I was about to grab Adriana’s arm and tell her we should go out for a moment.

Thud.

That low rumble conveyed one fact to me.

That the door of this space, which had been open until just now, had closed.

Even when I hurriedly approached and felt the wall, there was no sign of it opening again.

Was the anxiety I had just felt meant to inform me of this?

As I touched the wall, my head shook quietly.

“No.”

The anxiety I had felt still hadn’t disappeared.

It was as if it was warning me about what was about to happen.

As I was thinking about what it could be, Adriana’s voice reached my ears.

“Robert, can you look up for a moment? I feel like there’s a strong energy coming from above.”

“There’s nothing above-”

When we looked up at the same time, I let out a hollow laugh at the bright light trying to burst out from there.

It was the light that appeared when the Crown of Memories was activated.

It was moving without us doing anything, it had activated just by us stepping in.

As I looked at it hopelessly, I saw the light slowly enveloping the surroundings.

What could be seen in the Crown of Memories were memories made of illusions.

What that light depicted was about the forgotten memories of the empire.

However, the scenery visible from the light was different from what I knew.

When it showed the secrets of the imperial family, I had seen the imperial palace, but this time it wasn’t that place.

The scenery was so familiar that for a moment I thought the Crown of Memories had malfunctioned.

A forest I had seen somewhere, faces I had seen somewhere.

No, it was me who thought I had seen those faces somewhere.

Not the me standing here now, but the me from the past that even I only vaguely remembered.

A laugh suddenly escaped me, and I watched that scenery blankly with my lips twisted.

It seemed certain that this life was special, in this place where things that had never happened before were happening consecutively, I might have been foolish to try to deny it.

Now, at last, I felt like I could acknowledge it.

It was certain that this life was different somehow.

The scenery shown in the Crown of Memories was about my death.

It was about forgotten memories.

Indeed, it wasn’t wrong.

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