Chapter 516: Jealousy is My Power (16)
Chapter 516: Jealousy is My Power (16)
The wasteland was bleak.
The man’s unconscious was always like this. It was a desolate, parched landscape that didn't even evoke sentiments as strong as gloom or misery.
In the dead center of it, a pair of golden eyes shone alone.
It was a gaze that lacked even a flicker of emotion.
It was so dry that "withered" felt like the only appropriate description. Even a parched towel would have felt more damp than this.
But I knew.
I knew that although the man’s heart was now tattered like a rag, there was a time when it beat as hot as a sun made of flesh and blood.
He was a man who had resented God, fate, and the entire world.
He probably couldn't have endured without breaking like this.
Of course, there was no way a man like him would want my pity.
Perched atop a boulder left alone in the wilderness, he merely spat out his cold question once more.
"I asked what your angle was."
His voice was steeped in heavy fatigue.
He spoke as if I were interrupting his rare moment of leisure—even though he spent all day holed up in the depths of his unconscious, doing nothing but reminiscing about the past.
We were closer than before, but he remained a difficult man to face.
A blunt retort escaped my lips involuntarily.
"What do you mean, 'what's my angle'?"
"You wouldn't have come here otherwise. I don't know what kind of nonsense you've pulled this time, but..."
Crossing his arms slightly, the man declared in a heavy voice.
"I’m no benevolent priest, novice... I’m not someone who listens every time you feel like whining."
That was absurd.
Unable to suppress my rising irritation, I snapped back.
"What? When did I ever whine...!"
"Not too long ago."
That sharp point made me choke on my words.
Now that I thought about it, he was right.
Just as the man said, hadn't I done exactly that quite recently?
"Didn't you beg me while crying your eyes out? What was it you said? That you wanted to quit?"
"No, that was...!"
A wave of memories crashed over my mind.
At the Mountain Court, I had experienced death hundreds of times. I said 'hundreds,' but in reality, it was the repeated endurance of a pain that anyone else would only have to face once.
Naturally, there was no way I could have stayed sane.
I did have a memory of reaching my limit and blubbering.
But wasn't this playing dirty?
It was a situation no one could have endured. To specifically drag up a time when I was driven into a corner just to embarrass me...
Feeling wronged, I had no choice but to play dumb.
"...That was then, and this is now!"
A snort of derision pierced my heart.
Even the man's mockery was dry. Ultimately, flushed with shame, I had to clear my throat and change the subject.
The man was right, though.
I didn't exactly have a hobby of intentionally inhaling anesthetics to pass out.
An exceptional action like this usually came with a proper reason.
The man began to lay out his deductions one by one.
"Do you need my power?"
"No, not yet."
"Or is there a memory you need to peek at?"
"Not that either."
"Then what is it?"
Without losing his cold expression, the man asked back nonchalantly.
"I don't recall us being close enough to engage in small talk."
"I have something to ask."
"Hmm," a low groan escaped the man's lips.
He looked at me with a gaze that said this was clearly strange.
"Have you forgotten? The information I can give is limited. And the more decisive the clues I provide, the less room I have to intervene in events."
"I believe you saved quite a bit last time."
"Yes, I did. But it's not so much that I can afford to throw it away pointlessly."
It was a razor-sharp rejection.
Judging by his firm tone alone, there seemed to be no room for negotiation. The man looked away slightly, signaling his lack of interest.
"Enough clues have already been given. What happens after is up to you..."
"Is there no way to restore those taken by the vampire?"
Perhaps because it was an unexpected question, the man’s seamless flow of words cut off. His puzzled gaze turned toward me once more.
"Is there really no way? I can give you information from the future if necessary."
The man didn't answer for a long time.
He simply kept his mouth shut, quietly observing my face. After a while...
A weary sigh finally escaped through the man's lips.
"...A busybody, as always."
"It's an issue that will significantly impact the resolution of the incident."
"I'm sure it will."
Dismissing my argument like that, the man offered advice with a serious face.
"I'm giving you sincere advice: you'd be better off spending the time you're wasting looking for such a method on finding the 'vampire' instead. That's the only way to reduce the number of victims."
"The memories of when you were training in the Great Forest."
My counter stopped the man in his tracks again.
As if waiting to see what I would say next, the man remained silent and glared at me.
"The woman you called 'Junior Sister' back then—it's Senior Elsie, isn't it?"
"And if it is?"
"That 'Junior Sister' has possessed Senior Elsie."
It was a fact he might have already known.
The man often seemed to know what I was up to. He had even offered to lend me his strength while I was fighting the Saint last time.
However, it seemed he hadn't been watching for the past few days.
The crack that appeared in the man's expression made that clear. His face contorted as he fell into deep thought for a moment.
It didn't take long for him to reach a tentative conclusion.
He pressed a hand to his forehead and exhaled a pained sigh.
"...This is why I should have listened more closely to what Reto had to say."
"It seemed like Senior Elsie knew something."
The man still hesitated, unable to answer.
He seemed confused about how to react to this unforeseen situation. He looked this way and that, before finally squeezing his eyes shut.
While the man hesitated, I recalled my previous conversation with Senior Elsie.
A way to restore the victims taken by the vampire?
Senior Elsie had clearly said there was 'none.' But the gap before that answer came out had been weighing on my mind.
Though I only realized that later.
"You also had the 'Great Witch' as a master. You can't help but know a lot about the vampire and the barrier imprisoning it..."
"...Did she look alright?"
The end of his hesitation.
That was the question the man finally managed to squeeze out. The subject was omitted, but I wasn't so dense that I couldn't grasp his intent.
Hadn't I shared memories with this man, however briefly?
So, swallowing my rising curiosity, I spoke.
"Yeah. She didn't seem to have any resentment or lingering attachments."
Silence followed again.
It took several more minutes before the man's lips moved.
"...She would have to know."
Perhaps still unsure of his decision, he spoke without meeting my eyes.
I could sense a complex mix of emotions in his gaze. It was only a faint glimmer, but it was a stark contrast to his usual behavior, where he acted as if his heart had been ground down to nothing.
My surprise at the fact that he still had something that could be called 'emotion' left was only momentary.
"Because that was my 'Junior Sister’s' research topic."
At the man's subsequent confession, my train of thought came to a dead halt.
His Junior Sister's research topic?
Then didn't that mean Senior Elsie was hiding something?
Or, it literally meant there was no hope.
*
As I opened my eyes while gasping for breath, a fierce pain hammered against my skull.
Fragmented memories etched blurred scenes and sounds onto my retinas and eardrums.
"Then what is the text you left behind? What was your intention in writing it?"
"A useful formula."
The man's voice had been unwavering.
Even at the sudden mention of his first love, his agitation had been brief. Before a few exchanges could even pass, he had already regained complete composure.
"It might be useful someday. Make sure you never forget it."
It was a statement that left a strange lingering feeling.
He said it 'might' be useful, yet told me 'never' to forget it.
It was before I could even voice that question.
In an instant, the world shook.
My vision tilted like a building whose axis had collapsed. Along with a crashing sound, a familiar voice struck my ears.
[Ian, Ian... are you okay?! Wh-where... there was medicine around here somewhere...!]
Everything began to waver like a mirage.
Sensing something, I hurriedly spoke my business.
"...Your 'Junior Sister'!"
Despite the sudden anomaly, the man's expression remained unchanged.
He was merely staring at me with the same indifferent eyes as in the beginning.
I shouted, barely swallowing the nausea rising in my throat.
"Your Junior Sister... she wants to see you."
It was then.
Thump, the world shook again as if colliding with something.
Unable to endure any longer, my body collapsed onto the ground. I wanted to see the man's face somehow, but my shaking vision wouldn't allow me even that small freedom.
The only thing that reached my ears was the man's inscrutable voice.
"Well..."
It was a dry tone, neither a groan nor a sigh.
The man left an answer as cold as his voice.
"I have no desire to see her."
Before I could offer any commentary on that...
The small cracks soon began to spread uncontrollably. From there, it took only a moment for the world to shatter like a glass window.
When I came to, I was lying on a bed that reeked of medicine.
Before long, the image of a tearful Emma formed on my retinas. Only then did I grasp the situation, and a bitter smile played on my lips.
It was a bit unfortunate, but what could I do?
I didn't feel like uttering words of resentment in front of a crying Emma.
I simply pulled the sobbing Emma into my arms and comforted her for a long while.
Only after a series of consolations, hugs, and kisses did Emma finally manage to stop crying.
It was around then that I pulled out a small slip of paper.
"Emma."
"...Y-yes?"
Perhaps the shock hadn't worn off yet, as Emma replied while swallowing a sob.
I suppose I was a bit excessive.
But since I had already started...
I immediately handed the note to Emma. On it was the text the man had written on the back of the letter.
"Do you happen to know anything about this formula? You're the only expert I know..."
Dew was still clinging to the corners of Emma's eyes.
My index finger wiped away her tears for her. Accepting my touch naturally, Emma silently looked down at the writing on the note.
It didn't take long for Emma's expression to sink.
As if possessed, Emma's gaze became incredibly serious as she stared at the formula. Her attractive lips moved a few times.
Emma spoke, letting out a deep groan.
"It's such an unfamiliar formula that I'm not sure. The ingredients are all extremely rare, too... they're herbs I only managed to get recently when I was buying materials in bulk. However, if my guess is correct..."
"If your guess is correct?"
At my voice, which was tinged with unnecessary tension, Emma responded in a grave tone.
"...It looks like a drug formula. A very potent one at that."
Hearing those words, I couldn't help but squeeze my eyes shut.
It might be useful someday?
'Bullshit.'
It seemed my future self wanted to turn me into a criminal.