Chapter 93: The Eraser Within My Mind
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 93: The Eraser Within My Mind
There are two kinds of things one doesn't know in this world.
One is not knowing the answer.
The other is not even knowing that you don't know.
The second kind of unknown seems far more vast, but surprisingly, it is closer to us than we think.
Let’s look back on our memories. If you recall your glittering childhood from long ago, you’ll surely find a brilliant memory that made you feel special.
Back then, you were the center of the world, the master of your grandest dreams, the protagonist of a magnificent epic.
But the trivialities buried within those shining memories remain hidden.
The utterly unremarkable things. The chill of a glass of water one morning, or the toasty scent of a sun-drenched pillowcase—things that color our days yet are so difficult to recall sink beneath the surface, never to rise again.
You can’t even attempt to remember them until someone brings them up. And even if you do, it’s not the memory of that day. It’s just an imagined scene, pieced together from all your experiences up to now.
Memory is just such a placid, yet merciless abyss.
So no one could possibly blame me.
Not for failing to remember something no one ever pointed out.
“Wait. Shei.”
“Huh?”
“Aren’t we forgetting something?”
The Regressor scowled in response.
“There you go again with that way of talking. Can’t you just speak plainly?”
“That way of talking? What do you mean?”
“That damned way you talk! Replacing the subject, verb, and object with ‘something’ and just leaving it as a question!”
Wincing, I quickly waved my hands in denial.
“That’s unfair. I’m only asking because I really can’t remember either! This time, at least!”
“So you knew you were doing it, you bastard.”
I was unfairly rebuked. I felt terribly wronged, but this was no time to worry about such trivial matters.
The bundle the officer had received from ‘them.’ The one she was told to open when she needed an accomplice. Inside, along with a wide, fan-shaped leaf, was a note that read, [Remember whom you have forgotten.].
The officer still hadn't remembered, but the problem was that I'd also forgotten what it was she'd forgotten. Even if I was a mind reader, I couldn't recall something I didn't even know.
But there was something, something I felt I was missing. Something quite important that had slipped my mind.
I strained to grasp the vague memory.
“What the hell is it? It had something to do with you, Shei. Shei. Can you describe your defining traits for me?”
“What the hell is wrong with you?”
“I’m in a hurry. Quickly.”
As I pressed her, the Regressor crossed her arms and fell into thought.
“My traits…?”
‘Regression… can’t say that. Devourer of fortune, keeper of a treasury. Carried by my items… Tsk. Why is this the only stuff that comes to mind?’
Her self-assessment was surprisingly honest. But that wasn't what I wanted to know.
I grunted with effort and listed off the Regressor’s traits one by one.
“Misanthropic, likes men, prickly, amputee production manager…”
“You wanna die? Why is that the crap you come up with?”
“Amputee production manager? Amputee production manager. Serial right arm killer. That's it. The right arm!”
“Is that really it? You're messing with me, aren't you?”
Messing with her? Did she think I was the kind of guy who teased people for no reason?
I wanted to yell at her, but this wasn't the time. I spun around to face the Regressor and shouted.
“The right arm! Where's the right arm!”
The Regressor’s face crumpled as she answered.
“It's on your right side. What, you want me to cut it off for you?”
“This is no time for jokes! Rasch the Undying! His right arm! Where is it?”
“…The Undying?”
Only then did the Regressor realize what I was looking for, recalling the Undying from a corner of her memory.
The right arm, rotted by a curse; the flesh, scattered to pieces; making a healing potion to cure it, and then leaving the Undying's right arm to soak in it.
But in the Regressor's memory, there was no recollection of taking the healed arm out.
Of course there wasn't. She'd just left the arm soaking in the potion and completely forgotten about it!
The Regressor sighed.
“Ah. I forgot.”
“Forgot? How could you just forget something like that!”
As I shouted in disbelief, the Regressor, looking flustered herself, fiddled with her hair and answered meekly.
“W-well, I put it in the healing potion to cure it. But when the arm kept flopping and thrashing around, it kinda makes you want to forget.”
“That's some talent you've got! Doesn't that arm walk over on two fingers and smack you when it's pissed? How do you forget that?”
“Well, it kept trying to get out of the tank of healing potion even though the curse wasn't gone, so…”
“So?”
The way her eyes darted around reminded me of Azzy pretending she hadn't done anything wrong. What on earth had she done?
“I tied it down with a chain and sank it.”
“You sank it?”
Even I wouldn't do that. When it came to drastic measures, she was in a class of her own.
“Well, fine. Let’s say that’s understandable. But you must have seen it from time to time!”
“Well, you see, the healing potion smelled so awful that I put it in a room in the corner. I even put up a barrier so the smell wouldn't get out…”
“Hey, are you sure that's curse removal? Sounds more like you just sealed it away.”
This was absurd. I thought I lived a pretty unplanned life, but the Regressor was the type to throw away plans she already had.
During the three days I was reviving Tyr's heart, the Regressor had been so curious about what was happening that she had neglected the Undying and completely forgotten about him!
I stared at the Regressor with cold eyes.
“…Shei. Do you happen to dislike Rasch?”
“Uh, actually, I'm not that fond of him.”
“Hmm. I guess liking men doesn't mean you don't have standards.”
“Stop bringing that up! I just forgot, that's all!”
‘I did lock it away somewhere I couldn't see it… Just seeing that thrashing arm reminded me of that horrible corpse golem. And after that, I was too busy with Tyrkanzyaka's heart to spare it a thought… I need to reflect. My focus was too narrow.’
She was reflecting. I guess she still had a human heart after all.
Well, what did it matter? People forget things sometimes. It's definitely not because I forgot too…
“Wait! More importantly! You're the one who used the Undying's arm! You should have remembered something too!”
…I take it back. This woman is a degenerate who doesn't even know the meaning of remorse.
Of course, I had forgotten too. As the owner of the Immortal Righty, I admit I bear a tiny sliver of responsibility.
But still.
“My situation was different from yours.”
“What kind of excuse is that? We both forgot, it's the same thing!”
“I was trying to revive Tyr's heart and nearly died without even remembering who I was. You expected me to remember some random guy's right arm on top of all that?”
“…Well.”
“I even left a note in case I lost my memories. What about you, Shei, who was perfectly sane the whole time?”
“………”
“If you have something to say, say it. Shei. Today, I'm going to weigh your conscience. I bet it weighs about as much as Chun-aeng.”
She wouldn't have a word to say even if she had ten mouths.
The Regressor crossed her arms, striking a needlessly serious pose, then casually turned and pointed outside. She was avoiding the question.
“The arm is sealed in the laborer's residence over in that corner. It's not an emergency, is it?”
“We’re quite late, but let’s go check it out.”
I headed in the direction the Regressor pointed.
In the laborer's residence, dozens of nondescript doors lined the hallway. A few were broken, some were missing entirely, but even this destruction failed to give them any character. The place was filled with signs of violence. If you hid something here, no one short of Azzy would ever find it.
“This way.”
The Regressor opened the door to a room at the very end. The moment I stepped inside, a blast of hot air washed over me.
The pungent scent of medicinal herbs stung my nose. Beyond the thick steam filling the room, I could see a square tank on the bed. I fumbled my way forward and looked inside.
In the square tank was a bubbling, clear healing potion, and submerged within it, bound by a chain, was the Undying's right arm. It looked like some kind of ancient ritual.
I turned to the Regressor without a word, and she avoided my gaze, clearly having nothing to say for herself.
I pointed a finger at the tank and said.
“You’ve just left it like this the whole time?”
“…Yeah. All I had to do was remove the curse, so I didn't need to touch it.”
“Looks like the curse is completely gone, though.”
“Yeah… I see that.”
“Why didn't you take it out?”
“I… forgot.”
“Ugh, you dumbass.”
“What?!”
She was always so sharp with her reactions at times like these. I began to unwind the chain that was tightly wrapped around the tank. With each loop I unwound, the thrashing right arm moved more and more energetically.
“Just a minute, right arm. I will grant you your freedom…”
Just as I was about to free it, the arm took advantage of the loosened chain and shot up. Like a carp, the Undying's right arm breached the surface and shot up, smacking me right on the bridge of my nose.
“Gah!”
While I was momentarily stunned, the arm landed on the floor in an instant, propped itself up, and started running on two fingers.
I clutched my stinging nose and yelled.
“Shei! Grab it!”
“Huh?”
But the Regressor had already stepped aside to avoid the arm. In the blink of an eye, the arm was out of the room and scurrying down the hallway.
I scrambled to my feet and blamed the Regressor.
“You're just going to stand there and watch?!”
“It's a little creepy… Anyway, why? That arm is going to find its owner, isn't it? Weren't you planning on reviving the Undying?”
“I was planning on reviving him! Before she got involved!”
“Huh? What are you talking about?”
“No time to explain! Where is Rasch's body right now?”
“Inside a cabinet in the classroom.”
“Why would you put it there?! It looks exactly like you're trying to hide a body!”
I immediately dashed toward the classroom, and the Regressor followed behind me, completely clueless. We both ran down the hall, following the two-fingered tracks of the right arm.
What we found when we burst into the classroom was the officer, bundle in hand, standing before a cabinet, and…
…the right arm, performing a triangle jump off the wall and flying through the air toward the Undying.
“My god. The right arm is flying.”
With that level of control, I wonder if it could manage a triple-disc, I muttered blankly.
The right arm slapped onto the Undying's shoulder socket. Having absorbed a great deal of power from the Regressor's special healing potion, the arm transferred the copious essence it held into the Undying.
It looked as if a giant syringe had been plunged into his shoulder. Each time the swollen right arm contracted, the essence soaked within it flowed into the Undying's body.
The Undying's flesh accepted the energy, and as the essence spread through his veins, life began to return to his body. And then, in a certain moment.
The Undying's eyes shot open.