Chapter 59
Chapter 59
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 59
Chapter Title: Erased from Memory
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"...So what do we do now?"
Aram's question was perfectly reasonable.
Considering the positions of the only two people whose memories had been restored, neither of them held any authority to make decisions.
Aram was just a journalist with zero connection to this sort of thing, so there was no point even considering her. And while Tae-jun at least worked in a Tales-related job, he was still a newbie.
"For now, I'll take this tissue paper with me. I won't pry into how you know about it..."
"Yes... Thank you."
Tae-jun headed back to the Bureau for the time being.
Most of the Bureau staff had taken leave to revel in the incomprehensible blessing, but there were always those who enjoyed working.
"Squad Leader, good day."
"Tae-jun? Aren't you on leave today?"
"Yes, originally I was. But I have something important to tell you."
"Something important?"
"Here, take a look at this."
"This is... blue tissue paper."
Of course, Do-hyun was there beside him.
"Tear off just one square."
"Ugh? This feels suspicious..."
Under Tae-jun's intense gaze, Se-jin reluctantly tore off one square of tissue.
At that moment, the true history began to surface in Se-jin's mind, like fog lifting.
The Tale she had been chasing wasn't some trash can, and the recent headaches had a different cause altogether.
"My skin aging wasn't because of my age!"
"Pardon? That's—"
"It wasn't!"
Se-jin's fierce glare sapped Tae-jun's will to argue.
"Do-hyun, you too—quickly!"
"Pardon? Ah, sure."
"How is it?"
"..."
"...So my muscle mass increasing so rapidly lately wasn't due to drugs after all."
"Do-hyun, do you get injections by any chance?"
"Yes."
"Ooh..."
Of course, the injections Do-hyun mentioned were nutritional supplements provided by the Bureau, but it took another week for that misunderstanding to clear up.
"Anyway, what do we do now?"
"For starters, whatever this is, we have the tissue paper."
"But as you can see..."
The problem still remained.
Before history changed, the boss who had briefly possessed the tissue paper had used up nearly 70% of it in experiments, so there wasn't enough for everyone at the Bureau.
In other words, they needed to prioritize and focus.
"Then let's give some to the Headquarters Chief first."
"..."
Se-jin fell deep into thought.
"Squad Leader?"
"No, hold on a second."
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇ A week is a time that feels both incredibly long and astonishingly short.
Once the weekend ends and a new Monday begins, you wonder when the next weekend will come, but before you know it, it's already here.
But my week somehow felt even faster than that.
Waking up to find two days had passed was maddening enough, but an entire week?
That's like going insane three times in a row and still needing to do the can-can dance on top of it.
"You didn't notice it either?"
I couldn't comprehend it, but I hadn't sensed it myself.
"Were you sleeping?"
Of course not. I don't take naps or anything like that.
So the assumption that I passed out from exhaustion and slept for a straight week was wrong.
"Can you time travel or something?"
You think I'd be able to?
"Yeah, I guess not."
It was a total dead end.
A labyrinth even harder to navigate than those cheap mazes drawn in magazines.
Let's see. For now, figuring out the reason seems tough, so think about something else first.
What disadvantages did I suffer from not doing business for a week?
If it had just been a plain week passing, there'd be the demerit of the shop starving, but it looks like a time leap happened, so pass on that.
Fundamentally, not being able to sell goods is the biggest issue, I suppose.
Nothing else comes to mind.
At least that's a relief.
Merchant.
"What?"
I'm confused too, and I get your confusion, but we have things to do.
"You're nagging me to keep doing business even in this situation?"
No, don't we have to go to the Label Library today?
Hmm?
Let's check. Based on the original timeline, a week later was the end of the month...
"Oh, right?"
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇ "Hello. It's been a month, so I've come again."
This was already my third time, so I should be getting used to it by now, but this overwhelmingly massive library still didn't feel familiar.
"...I'm sorry, but were we acquaintances before?"
"Pardon?"
What?
Are you messing with me?
But Present doesn't seem like the type to joke around.
"Is this a joke..."
Look at that expression. It's definitely not someone joking.
"Excuse me... Do you really not remember who I am?"
"Please wait a moment."
Her face twisted at my question, and she slipped between the bookshelves.
It's been nearly three months of meeting like this, and she forgot me completely?
I felt a bit hurt.
No, maybe this is for the best?
If she completely forgot me, I could just pretend not to know her and never come back...
She's taking quite a while. Maybe she doesn't remember me at all.
"Merchant, I'm sorry. To forget such an important fact."
"Ah."
She remembered after all.
"What's wrong?"
"It's nothing... Anyway, why did you forget about me?"
"I'd need more investigation to know the details. But Merchant, you were forgotten from everyone's memories for about a week. So I didn't remember you either."
"Pardon?"
"Me too! But I remembered when I read your past!"
"Even the past?"
It was the kind of statement that made a foolish groan inevitable.
"Then how did you remember me again?"
"Since our library records everything, I read the book about you."
Ah, right—that's the concept.
Gathering information from everywhere and writing down all those stories as books.
That's the Label Library.
"A week, huh..."
That forgotten period must be connected to my blank week.
Let's think. After articles about me even came out, what could erase me from everyone's memories?
A Tale or Bureau ability?
If it was just from people's memories, maybe, but even the Label Library's librarian forgetting me means it exceeded those limits.
Any clues...
"Can I read the book about my story?"
"Of course. Books exist to be read, after all."
The book the librarian brought was the same one from when I first contracted with the library.
The story recorded from the first day I met them was written partly in first-person protagonist perspective, and partly in third-person observer perspective.
The third-person parts were probably extracted from other people's stories.
"Hmm... The last week is completely blank."
"Yes, and not only that—content about the Merchant has vanished from other people's stories too. In its place, there's a Tale about a homeless man in a trash can."
A Tale about a homeless man in a trash can took my place?
That means someone replaced me with another Tale through some method.
Hmm... No matter how I think about it, I don't know the exact reason.
The fact that it was even possible is shocking.
Putting that aside, why did memories of me return?
The first thing that comes to mind is... the blue tissue paper?
Its ability is memory.
Tearing it restores forgotten memories.
I gave it to the journalist so she wouldn't forget interview details, but did it actually work?
I'll have to go outside later and check myself.
The Merchant entered the Label Library.
Is the story over here?
The rest of the pages are all blank.
"Huh? Something's written on the last page..."
Tap.
At that moment, a light impact hit my head.
"Merchant. Hello?"
"Future... is that you?"
"Yeah."
"Long time no see."
"Right. Long time no see."
"Remember what I said? That it'd be hard for you to avoid getting involved with the world."
"Yes. As you know, that turned out wrong in the end—I even cut ties with the Bureau."
"No. You're doing exactly as I said."
"Pardon?"
Future smiled just like before.
"It means you're following my story."
"What does that..."
"Future, sorry, but I'll take over the conversation from here."
The librarian's demeanor returned to normal.
"Then, please tell us the story of this month's guest."
"Ah, got it. First off—"
I told her about why I stopped dealing with the Bureau, the cop I ran into again, and those two lunatics.
Judging by her pleased expression as she listened, she must have liked the story.
"Then, we'll await another story next month. Farewell."
"Ah... What was it... Right! Shin Jin-seong! Bye!"
"Pardon?"
"Your name's Shin Jin-seong!"
Shin Jin-seong—the protagonist's name in this game.
She must have gotten confused while reading my past.
"Sorry, but Shin Jin-seong isn't my name. Simply put, he's more like an acquaintance."
"Huh? I double-checked! You wrote it yourself when we made the contract."
The book on the floor showed its first page.
That first page was the contract with the Label Library, where I had signed.
"Shin Jin-seong."
Contractor (Signature): Shin Jin-seong