Chapter 115
Chapter 115
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 115
Chapter Title: Even If You Lose Your Memories, There's a Way - 2
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I had returned to the nearest lodging with Victoria and was talking with her. After all, Oblivion had been a trap set by Memoria, one of the Four Heavenly Kings.
No matter how urgent the task of killing the Demon King Ergosum was, continuing to chase an enemy who had vanished before our eyes carried too much risk.
Moreover, judging by Memoria's perverse personality, it was highly likely she would attack again, probably to steal and devour all our memories.
"…So, you're saying that to subdue the Succubus Queen, Bellamora, you initially nurtured love in the form of a contract relationship."
Victoria, who had lost all memory of subduing the Demon King with me, was showing an unexpectedly favorable attitude toward me.
Considering her original personality, I thought she would look down on or disparage a man she didn't know claiming to be her lover.
"Isn't this too close? Right now, I'm clearly a stranger to you…"
The constantly touching hair was ticklish, and the distance was so close I could even feel her breath and the pounding of her heart.
Victoria had asked me to hold her from behind, and now she was nestled in my embrace, reading through the parchment that served as proof of our former contract relationship.
Her actions and words now showed such boldness that there seemed to be little difference between the Victoria before and after losing her memory.
"Still, you are a famous hero, aren't you? I don't think Astal Kaisaros, rumored to be the continent's strongest mage, would lie to me."
"……"
"Well, there's another reason. The red bruise marks you showed me earlier were in positions you couldn't have made yourself. I suppose magic could do it… But there's no need to go through such trouble to lie, right?"
Victoria gently tickled my arm with her soft touch, and I flinched, enduring her teasing.
"See? It's so obvious that you're a virgin mage who's never even held a woman's hand in his life."
"…But I have held your hand."
"Your excuses are cute. The current me has no memory of doing that with you."
Victoria snorted happily, toying with me. Ironically, it seemed this awkwardness around women actually made me seem more trustworthy.
"Actually, I once dreamed of a life like this someday. Not a life withering away like a wildflower, using miracles for others…"
The Victoria who had lost her memory smiled more peacefully than ever before and gently grasped my hand.
"…A life where I could love someone like ordinary people, live peaceful days, grow old, and find rest."
Victoria lifted her head, met my eyes, and gave a slight smile. Her face, which would normally be covered in flowers due to the side effects of miracles, was now clear.
"Your hands are cold. There's an old saying that people with cold hands have warm hearts… It seems to be true."
Seeing Victoria repeat the exact words she said to me during our contract relationship, I almost shed a tear.
For me, who could constantly hear Victoria's inner thoughts, I realized her previous statement—'I've never fallen for someone based on appearance'—had been sincere.
"…Even if this were all just a dream and an illusion, if it's a life without flowers blooming on my body and with a lover I can lean on, I think I could die happily."
"……"
"To you, the me before losing my memory must have been a very precious existence. I'm sorry I can't live up to those expectations."
Victoria wiped the tear from the corner of my eye with her finger and apologized. Her words and actions revealed a nobility closer to that of a saint than a lover.
"No, why are you apologizing? It's my fault, my fault… I couldn't protect you…"
"I believe it was a necessary sacrifice. I heard you were developing a magic to seal the Demon King. Isn't that knowledge falling into enemy hands worse?"
"…Your safety is more important to me than defeating the Demon King. Please don't say things like that."
As I said that, I hugged Victoria a little tighter, afraid the warm feeling in my arms might disappear.
What if I failed to defeat Memoria and completely forgot about Victoria?
At the thought that the person who saved my gray life and gave me hope to live might vanish from this world, my hands kept trembling.
"Quite the greedy one, aren't you? Hehe, this feeling isn't bad either. I never thought someone would cherish me more than the world…"
Victoria curled up comfortably in my embrace, closing the distance between us instead.
Even from her perspective, having lost her memory, a man she's seeing for the first time was acting clingy.
"You know what? I've always been treated like a disposable tool for saving the world as a Saint."
Victoria slowly began telling her story from the past.
She said that in the Holy Kingdom Aurelium, she was treated almost like a second state religion, but it was similar to treating a tool that grants wishes, not a person.
"It's nice that I don't have to keep up appearances or restrain my actions for the sake of reputation in front of you. It makes sense why I liked you before losing my memory."
"But isn't that too trusting? What if I were a person with bad intentions? All men are beasts…"
Something about Victoria's behavior felt strange to me.
It felt like she was falling for me again far too quickly.
"Do you really think I'm a fool? I've already spoken with the Heavenly God Lumina. I also heard that you've done unspeakably depraved things with me."
"……"
"Do I need to provide more proof? The bite marks on your neck and shoulders are traces only a half-dragon like me could leave. And even from a distance, the scent on your body is so distinctly mine I could recognize it…"
Victoria proceeded to list each piece of evidence she had found.
Was this the reason she said she would fall in love again even if she lost her memory right before fighting Memoria?
"The handwriting on this contract is also mine. If you planned all these details, I'd actually want to applaud you for being amazing."
Victoria wore a confident expression, proudly stating the fact that she and I were lovers more than anyone.
"Moreover, I found this among my belongings."
"This is…?"
"A note with things you like and dislike written on it. It says things like making you quit drinking and smoking, or wanting to alter clothes to seduce you."
The cover was slightly worn at the corners, perhaps from frequent handling.
Victoria took out a small book she had written before losing her memory and showed it to me.
"…It also contained the contradictory desire that, even though I'm living on borrowed time, I wanted to experience love, even if briefly, with you, a man."
"……"
"Humans are truly greedy. To value my own selfish desires over the grand cause of saving the world… Don't you think that disqualifies me as a Saint?"
Victoria showed a slightly self-deprecating smile. She must know what emotions and thoughts led her to write such things before losing her memory.
"That's not true. If saving the world requires someone to sacrifice themselves from the start, then that's wrong. It's cruel to force such a thing on someone who knows nothing…"
I gently brushed Victoria's hair aside and spoke words to reassure her.
After all, Victoria never wanted to become a Saint.
She never wanted her body to turn into flowers from using miracles; she was just an ordinary person who wanted to live happily with her parents.
"How can you claim to know anything about me?"
"I know a lot. I know you tried to choose an honorable death while fighting the Demon King… I know you forcibly swallowed the pain to endure the agony of your body parts turning into flowers."
I answered Victoria's question without a moment's hesitation.
A man who wanted to die and a woman who had to die.
We were polar opposites like that, but perhaps that very difference was what drew us together.
"This is making me a bit greedy. Talking like this makes me think I shouldn't hand you over to anyone."
Thump.
Hearing that answer, Victoria slowly loosened my arms that were holding her and assumed a posture as if pinning me down from above.
"…Victoria?"
Victoria's face was slightly flushed, and the sharp pupils unique to dragons were larger than ever.
"It's the first time I've ever felt jealous of my past self. If we had time, I'd be tempted to kidnap you to some cave and build new memories."
Victoria let out heated breaths, haah, haah, unable to suppress the dragon's instinct to possess a precious treasure.
"Would you please stay still for a moment? I just want to lick your neck once. I'm curious about the taste."
Even if it was her past self she was jealous of, the love felt twisted enough to send a shiver down the spine.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇ At that moment, at the location of Oblivion, the domain ruled by Memoria, slime-forming mucus was gathering to create something.
"I'm sure I was attacked by Memoria…"
After a while, a being identical to the Saint with platinum-blonde hair and dragon horns on her head, Victoria Everhart, appeared.
"Astal? Kyle? Where did everyone go? Don't tell me they were defeated by Memoria…"
As if possessing all the memories Victoria had lost, the slime created by Memoria called out the names of the hero's party, searching for someone.
Unaware, even in her dreams, that her true identity was a fake imbued only with Victoria's memories.