245. Rina Feels Strange (2)
245. Rina Feels Strange (2)
Rina doesn't remember her past.
No, to be more precise, she doesn't remember her entire past.
Her memories were severed cleanly, as if cut with a knife, at some point in time.
Everything she'd done up to now—slaying monsters as the world's hero, judging wrongdoers, even founding Velvet Hunter Academy to prepare for the future—
hadn't actually come from any sense of justice or heroism.
Well, after all this time, it wasn't as if those qualities hadn't developed at all.......
In truth, it all began from a very personal desire: to fill the void in her memories by having others acknowledge her worth.
The Sovereign of Mana, and the world's number-one-ranked magic-type Awakener.
Magic Emperor, Rina.
She could not recall her childhood.
Except for one thing—
the locket that appeared to be a keepsake from her mother.
However, at some point during her work as a hero, Rina had lost that precious piece of memory. And, as if it had always been that way, she even forgot the locket's existence.
Until the day before,
when Jin Yu-ha suddenly showed up holding it.
'......Jin Yu-ha.'
Without a wink of sleep,
she replayed her mother's face inside the locket endlessly in her mind.
She layered protective spells over it to keep it safe from any attack magic,
applied preservation spells so it would stay like new for centuries,
and, lest she lose it again, even created hundreds of copies.
Because this was the only remnant of her past.
Once she'd finished that work through the night,
a question surfaced.
'Why can't I remember my own past?'
It was as though she
had been strong from birth.
As though she'd wielded magic as naturally as breathing from the day she was born.
As though she'd always possessed transcendent power.
But no one knew better than she did that this was impossible.
There must have been a time when she was weak.
Before her Awakening, she surely must have been nothing more than an ordinary person.
Now, that gap began to gnaw at Rina.
At the same time, a face rose in her mind.
'......Jin Yu-ha.'
Gazing blankly at the locket, she thought of the male cadet who had returned this memory to her.
The one who was impossibly insolent and always irreverent.
'Could it be that Jin Yu-ha...... knows about my past as well?'
From what she'd gathered so far, no one knew about her history.
It was as if she'd dropped into the world suddenly one day.
But, perhaps—
if it was Jin Yu-ha?
'Yes, he also correctly guessed that I can't use my power.'
He'd rattled off even that secret, which only she knew, as though it was obvious.
His exploits so far.
The way he treated her.
How he gathered his comrades.
Not one thing seemed unintentional.
Watching him, Rina had actually already reached a tentative conclusion of sorts.
'That man possesses the ability to read the future.'
But the futures he knew were not always accurate.
You could say he knows one particular strand out of the countless branching possibilities of the future.
'If so, then even if the possibility is slim, he might know about my past self.'
Because that was the past, not the future.
Watching the dawn break outside the window, she emptied her glass.
"Very well, I shall meet him and ask. Ask whether he knows anything about my past."
* * *
So Rina sought out Jin Yu-ha from the morning.
But he was not alone.
A woman with verdant-green hair was clinging to his arm.
'Cadet Im Ga-eul.'
Her special ability to wield unrefined Magic Stone energy as if it were her own was not quite her own level, but it was impressive enough that Rina remembered it.
"Hoobae~"
"Huh?"
"Would you, would you call me 'Your Majesty' just once?"
"......Ugh."
"What do you mean, ugh?! That reaction is too harsh! But I did become a king, and I've never once heard you call me 'Your Majesty,' hoobae! So just once!"
Rina, concealed by invisibility magic, shook her head in pity.
'Has she traded the intelligence that ought to support her special ability for that power......?'
Compared to spouting such foolish drivel, losing one's memory seemed a hundred, a thousand times better.
Soon, after exchanging silly banter with Jin Yu-ha while clinging to him, Im Ga-eul dashed off, as if remembering something she had to do.
'That took long enough. Wasting precious time because of nonsense.......'
Just when she was about to reveal herself—
"Benefactor."
This time, the transfer student Ichika approached Jin Yu-ha as if she'd been waiting.
'......That child's ability is also unique. It absurdly expanded the party's mobility. Well, if it weren't for Utopia, she would not have received such a welcome.'
"Oh, Ichika."
"Hug me tight."
"H-here? It's a little...... hugging where everyone can see us is......."
"Hmph."
"Still no. I'll pat your head."
"Hmph, respectfully?"
"Talking politely doesn't make it okay either."
Seeing her spout absurdities with a perfectly deadpan face drew a hollow laugh from Rina.
Having received a long head-pat instead of a hug, Ichika left with her hair now a thoroughly tousled bird's nest.
'Where on earth does he collect these screw-loose individuals......? Is it truly finished now? He has kept me waiting far too long.'
Just then, another woman approached.
"Jin Yu-ha!"
"Ah, Shin Se-hee."
"The weather is so lovely today. I packed a lunch. Would you care to eat together by the fountain just over there?"
"Lunch? Yeah, sure. Let's go."
Shin Se-hee.
Crunch.
Rina bit her lip.
"Yellow Dog! Let's have that swimming contest again. I've reserved the whole academy indoor pool."
"Huh? Swimming contest? Oh, right. Now that you mention it, Kang Poppy, you lost to me back at Haeundae. You were supposed to call me 'jagi' then. Why haven't you?"
"Th-that is! Let's just move on, or n-no! Do it again. We'll add that to the stakes and double——!"
"Hmm......."
"A-again! Anyway, again!"
Kang Do-hee.
Snap.
A vein bulged on Rina's forehead.
"Jin Yu-ha~ I bought a new camera! Please be the first subject for my brand-new camera!"
"Uh, Sofia...... Didn't you say you bought a new one last time?"
"The image quality on the lens got worse from taking way too many pictures already?"
"Don't you think it's kind of weird that it got worse in under a month......?"
"Dunno? Anyway! Hurry!"
"......Fine."
Sofia.
Clench.
Rina's fists tightened.
"Jin Yu-ha! Gukbap place!"
"Okay, let's go."
Lee Yu-ri.
Rina, who had been watching Jin Yu-ha while suppressing her frustration, soon trembled all over as if about to explode.
'Th-this bastard...... j-just how many! How many women does he have?! Is it not the Utopia Party but a harem party?!'
Watching him giggle and laugh, cycling through women all day as if he were the century's greatest playboy, made her insides churn.
'This is truly my successor......?'
At last, under the clock tower, Jin Yu-ha was alone.
Good. Now it's truly over.
As far as she knew, there was no one else from the Utopia Party who'd show up.
She could ask without anyone interfering.
Hah.......
When she let out a deep sigh and was about to genuinely reveal herself this time—
Swish─
Once again, she sensed someone's presence.
'Still......? There are still more left?! This garbage bastard, for real!!! Fine, who is it this time! I'll watch very closely now!'
But the person who appeared this time was entirely unexpected.
'S-Seol-hee?!'
She tried to teleport immediately.
But she never dreamed that Baek Seol-hee would show up here, so her reaction was delayed.
Because of that, she locked eyes with Baek Seol-hee.
"What in the world are you doing there, Chairwoman Rina?"
This was the full story of the incident.
* * *
Listening to her confession, I put on a bewildered expression.
'The Chairwoman is asking me about her own past?'
This was a development that never occurred in the game, so it threw me off.
Then it suddenly made sense.
'True, the character you control in the game just does hunter activities and happens to hand over the locket.'
It wasn't like you'd form a personal relationship with the Chairwoman and chat about this and that.
So Chairwoman Rina always stayed at arm's length, remaining a supporter and observer who simply watched over the Player's party.
'So, she came looking for me thinking I'd know something.......'
I stared quietly at the Chairwoman.
The Chairwoman's past?
Of course I know it.
It's not like I've only cleared the game to the end once or twice—no way I wouldn't.
'But is it right to tell her here and now?'
It's something she naturally remembers all on her own when it reaches the final chapter later.
'Yeah, it's too directly connected to the ending, so I'm a bit hesitant.'
If I spout off pretending to know things for no reason,
and she starts overthinking and drifts in a weird direction, or even turns dark and decides to let this damn world be destroyed—
then it's truly hopeless.
She is, no matter what anyone says, this world's deus ex machina.
Hmm.
'I can probably tell her this much, though.'
I nodded.
"Yes, I know."
"As I thought...... you wouldn't—— Wh-what?! You know?"
Rina asked back with a flustered face.
'Well, Chairwoman Rina wouldn't violate her principles and read someone else's memories on a whim, but just in case.'
Leaving her as she was, I turned my head to the side.
"Instructor, just in case the Chairwoman tries to read my memory, is there a way to block it?"
My master nodded calmly.
"It's possible. However, the duration is short, so it would be best for you to learn it separately. I'll teach you in our next training session. For now, I'll cast it."
"Thank you."
As expected of my master.
Hummm—
My master placed a hand on my head and cast a thin Mana barrier over me.
'Good, now I can rest easy.'
"Wh-what do you take me for!"
"But that's why I can't tell you everything right now. You understand what I'm saying, don't you, Chairwoman?"
"......."
Rina shut her mouth firmly.
Since she herself is under many constraints, she'll interpret it however suits her.
"However, there is something I can tell you right now."
"What...... is it?"
Rina asked me in a trembling voice.
She seemed quite nervous about receiving a clue to the past she'd completely forgotten.
'It isn't really about the past, though.'
Choosing my words, I slowly opened my mouth.
"Whatever happened in your past, Chairwoman, and whatever it was, you have always made the best choice."
"......Best?"
"Yes, the best. And I genuinely respect who you are."
This wasn't about Rina whom I'd met as a Player outside the game;
it was what I'd truly felt about Rina while living as a member of this world.
"......Respect? You respect me?"
As if she'd never expected to hear such words from me, Rina pointed between herself and me with a flabbergasted look.
"Yes. So, Chairwoman Rina, I hope you'll stay just as you are now—always the person I've known."
Rina stood and stared at me, silent as if she'd been struck dumb.
However.
"M-my student......? What do you mean......?"
To Baek Seol-hee, who had been listening nearby, it was like a bolt from the blue.