Reunion, However... (1)
Humpton, even with his mouth pried open by my two hands, watched his fleeing subordinates' backs with despair-filled eyes, drenched in frustration. No one came to rescue him. It wasn't fear of facing me one-on-one that held them back—more likely, they were terrified of being buried alive underground. While I dealt with Humpton, the rest had already reached the exit door from the depths below.
'Regrettable that I couldn't handle them all myself, but there's always tomorrow. Now then......'
Instead, I began rolling a far more vicious next plan around in my head. Without a trace of burden or tension. It was fascinating how my assassin's brain rolled so smoothly at times like this.
'It wasn't even a real collapse anyway.'
They were all underground when the ground shook, so they panicked thinking they'd be crushed—but by my senses, it didn't seem dangerous. Detecting air vibrations with my hearing and closely examining the subtle tremors under my feet with touch, the source wasn't deep in the earth. It was the "door that never opens," starting to creak open as I read the ancient script. Severely weathered and forged by ancient magic, its movement affected the entire underground. But at least by my intuition, it was nowhere near enough to collapse the ground.
"Grk, grh... You think this is the end?"
"What?"
"If we both survive without getting buried alive—what do you think happens then? My ankles and knees are smashed, you're fine. Anyone looking sees me as the assault victim!"
"Unbelievable. Do you even have a conscience?"
It hadn't been long since he'd promised to shut up, and here he was yapping again. But he'd at least lowered his voice this time, so as a reward, I decided to give him a "good job" stamp. Since my stamp was shaped like a footprint, I let out a hollow laugh and stomped his other ankle.
"Guh...!"
"Let's think the other way around. If we both survive, there are at least ten witnesses who'll testify about what happened here. And just so you know—I come from the Lehinar Count family."
"C-Count family...?"
Humpton's face went whiter than when I'd stomped his ankle. At this point, calling him sheet-white wasn't an exaggeration.
'Heh, this is why status matters.'
I marveled anew at the Lehinar name and continued. "So let's weigh it: a dozen witnesses testifying that a third-year commoner student bullied them, versus the youngest son of a freshman count family versus a repeat-failure third-year thug who picks fights like it's his job."
"H-How did you know about the repeat-failure...?"
"Guessed from your sorry state. Glad I nailed it."
Humpton clamped his mouth shut, as if calculating something. The vibrations were dying down anyway, and he started seriously considering life after escaping this near-death mess more than the immediate danger.
"...Sorry."
"Sorry make all this go away?"
"W-What do you mean 'all this'? This is the first time we've rounded up a crowd like this."
"True, if you'd always been this bad, you wouldn't still be at school. But is that it? Apology ends it?"
"...What do you want?"
I grabbed his shaggy hair, hoisted his head up like a dangling toy, and grinned unpleasantly. "Your subordinates who ditched you and ran—deal with them all yourself."
"A-Are you insane? Kill people?"
"Didn't say kill. But they seemed like close buddies. Shouldn't they feel at least as much pain as you have?"
I methodically crushed his ankles and knees in order. He groaned in agony and nodded vigorously. Clap clap clap clap! Instead of applauding, I slapped his cheeks to make a similar sound.
'That should do it.'
This was a side I hadn't shown while living with Liwin, Elfin, and Yustina. Nor to my current family, or the passed-out Charlotte, or anyone else. But this was the way I'd learned as an assassin.
"Uh, ngh..."
"Ah, Charlotte. You're awake?"
"Y-Yes, young master... What happened?"
"Nothing much. Now then......"
I started toward the exit but pivoted the opposite way, heading down the path where the "door that never opens" had swung wide.
"Shall we see what's inside?"
***
"Young master, is this really okay?"
"It's fine."
"There's what looks like a body over there..."
"It's okay. Not dead yet. Probably."
"Not yet...? Probably...?"
I ignored the terrified Charlotte and walked toward the "door that never opens." I'd offered to carry her, but she'd stubbornly refused and was staggering along step by step. With all the other students evacuated, the silent underground chamber felt like a place from an old elf tale—the primordial cradle where the world tree's roots were planted.
"Young master, why did that open?"
"Who knows. Guess your headbutt did the trick?"
"Me?! The door that never opens opened from my headbutt?"
"Looks like it."
Charlotte stared blankly at where the door had been. Now, it was just an ordinary door. Charlotte and I had witnessed one of Denebergen Academy's Seven Mysteries shrink to Six right on enrollment day.
"The door that never opens, how..."
"Nothing's truly 'never'."
As the door fully opened, the vibrations stopped completely. Up top was noisy, probably investigating the quake's source, but down here it was dead silent. I strode past Charlotte into the doorway.
"This is..."
Nothing special inside. A tiny room just big enough for one person to stretch out and sleep. And in the center, a crude box. Ignoring Charlotte peeking timidly from behind, I opened it alone.
Inside was a single dagger.
"A dagger?"
I recognized it at a glance. Impossible not to. I'd carried it almost daily for the ten years before my past life's death. The golden hilt ornament, the ancient script on the blade—all familiar.
But I'd dropped it in the Drelin Kingdom's capital 500 years ago at the end. How was it here?
"It's really rusted..."
"Yeah."
A familiar chill ran through my hand gripping it, drawing a low hiss from me.
'It's really you, Yustina.'
[I will wait for you forever.]
Recalling the ancient script sentence, I sank into thought.
"Uh, young master?"
"What?"
"The dagger's starting to glow...?"
I glanced back at Charlotte's call, then fixed on the dagger. As she said, the hilt was emanating golden light.
I knew reading the blade's ancient script showed a map of the kingdom's underground passages, but this...?
"What the...?"
Momentarily flustered, I calmed myself. Was I mistaken? 'No, definitely. This is that dagger.'
Concentrating my senses again confirmed it. My dagger from those ten years. Nothing about it was unknown to me. The golden glow stabilized without changing, so I relaxed and rummaged my memories. Something surfaced slowly.
A day much like this, with a similar phenomenon. A faint old memory I nearly forgot.
- "Whoa, Master! Gonna peel apples with this?"
- "Why bother when magic exists? Come see!"
- "Mister, I like green apples better than red ones..."
- "Kids! That's dangerous! Bring it here now!"
A lazy day as usual. My dagger had accidentally rolled from my pocket. The kids, unaware of its significance, tossed it around playfully. I'd never let anyone else hold it, and it was dangerous for children, so I snatched it back fast. No big deal—just everyday trivia, barely memorable now.
'If I had to pick something odd from that...'
The hilt had flashed gold then too.
- "Huh?"
Yes, memory sharpening. Gripping the glowing dagger, I'd felt something uncanny. I was me, yet peeking through another's eyes. From Liwin's view: giggling Elfin and Yustina. From Elfin's: Liwin, Yustina, angry me. From Yustina's: my face, her small hand offering the dagger.
The weirdness lasted maybe ten seconds? Short enough that I dazed out, dismissed it as hallucination, and forgot.
"But now, happening again..."
I didn't know the situation, but worth testing. Gripping the hilt of my decade-long companion, revealing yet another new side.
***
The world shifted in an instant.
Not the gloomy dorm basement anymore. A night sky ripped open like stars might pour down, flames raging fiercely below amid crumbling buildings. A once-majestic city perishing before my eyes.
'Wait, this scene feels familiar?'
No voice, no control over sight or body. But the view alone told me where this was.
'Drelin Kingdom's capital. 500 years ago!'
Not like when I died—no chase, no chaos, no fires then. This was the capital after, razed by rebels or imperial forces into ruins.
'So why am I seeing this?'
Eye level far lower than my usual view. And that odd past incident: kids briefly taking my dagger, seeing myself through their eyes. Connecting them led to an unbelievable conclusion.
'...It shows the past?'
Next instant, I realized half-right, half-wrong. As if magic triggered, new info on the dagger's function flooded my mind. Absorbing it, everything clicked.
'Not showing the past—it shows me memories of whoever held this dagger.'
If someone else grips it, their memory during that time imprints. Only the true owner—me—can access those upon reclaiming it. I'd kept it solo for ten years, so no clue about this feature.
'So the kids' views back then were their memories.'
Just seconds ago, each kid's memory flashed as they tossed my dangerous toy.
Then this was... 'Whose memory?'
The answer came as the memory's owner muttered.
"Sorry, Deneb. All this one could find was your dagger."
Familiar voice, unique speech. Instantly clear.
'Yustina?'
The young dragon—perhaps current Denebergen Academy chairwoman—stood alone in Drelin's ruined capital, blankly surveying with my dagger in hand.
Only finding the dagger meant... 'Couldn't locate the body, just this.'
The search wasn't recorded—only the moment of gripping.
'No need to feel sorry.'
Yet pity and guilt mixed as I watched Yustina silently bite her lip. I hadn't wanted to leave her either, but she'd resented my silent departure. Ten years together bridged species gaps. Leaving ancient script on Denebergen's "door that never opens" and this dagger? Likely for me.
'Did Yustina know I'd reincarnate?'
As if answering, she said, "Return to me. You will return. That's what I believe."
I smiled bitterly. She was right—I had returned. But despite vowing to find her, I hadn't. And if I did, I'd hesitate to meet. She'd be disappointed in this me.
She continued muttering. "When you return, I'll never let you go again."
Yeah, understandable.
"I'll tie you tight, lock you in a tiny room, watch you every day."
Uh, tying up's a bit much. Emotions running high...
"I'll build a prison myself so you can't flee anywhere in this world."
...What? Did she say that?
"Not necessarily a prison. I'll build a school for you, so when you return, you can never leave it..."
Wait, hold on... that's going too far...
Fizzle—!
The memory cut, snapping me back to the dorm basement. I felt Charlotte peeking behind, saw the dagger in my hand. No more golden glow.
But knowing how, I could revisit anytime.
"...What was that?"
"What? Young master, what did you see?"
I turned to Charlotte, fiddling with the hilt. "Yeah. What was that I just saw?"
The owner was definitely my Yustina. Prickly but innocent, subtly kind dragon girl. Voice, speech, everything matched.
Except... "The vibe felt... off, didn't it?"
Gazing out from the room past the "door that never opens," I thought: Maybe I shouldn't have opened this door after all.