Chapter 148
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 148
Chapter Title: Memory
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After the White Gluttony was slain, some of the people who had lost their memories had regained what they had forgotten.
That meant Ha Yuri had regained her memory as well.
The very memory she had so desperately wanted back.
"I've come to talk with Ha Yuri. Is that alright?"
"Who... Ah, you're Lee Yun-seong of Eternity, right?"
"Yes."
"... This way."
Following the adjutant's guidance, I found Ha Yuri sitting on a rock with her head bowed low.
"What? Why are you like this?"
"......"
"... Ha Yuri?"
'What...'
I stopped mid-sentence.
Because Ha Yuri was crying. Her face twisted in some indescribable expression.
"You... what's wrong? Are you okay?"
"......"
'What the...'
For a split second, my body trembled. A sticky killing intent was emanating from Ha Yuri.
Her tear-streaked, contorted face made it clear her emotional state was far from normal.
'Damn it... what the hell happened?'
"You..."
"......"
"Why are you like this? You have to tell me so I can understand."
"......"
Ha Yuri kept silent, and it was driving me insane with frustration.
There had to be something going on for her to act like this, but I couldn't do anything until she spoke up.
I could have ordered her to talk, but I didn't.
Even someone as dense as me could instinctively sense this wasn't the time.
"Haa..."
I knew in situations like this, the best thing was to wait quietly. So I sat down on a rock nearby and waited in silence for a long while.
After some time passed, Ha Yuri finally parted her tightly clenched lips.
"... I got my memory back."
"I know. Of course you did. The White Gluttony is dead."
"I... I had forgotten something really important."
"....."
"You said it, right? That you could tell me what memory I'd lost. So I thought about it your way and figured out why I hated dark sorcerers—it was connected to the memory I'd forgotten..."
"Yeah. So? What's the root reason you hated dark sorcerers? You know it now."
"... Do you know I came to this world with my little sister?"
"What?"
I couldn't help but be taken aback. I'd never heard Ha Yuri had a sister.
"What do you mean? You had a sister?"
"Funny, right? What I'd forgotten all this time was memories of my sister."
"......"
'That doesn't make sense. Even if she forgot about her sister, how could no one around her have known until now?'
"That... calm down first and explain. If you lost memories of your sister, how come no one around you knew anything?"
"Because it was from back then. It happened less than a year after I arrived here."
I listened quietly as Ha Yuri continued.
"At the time, I hadn't formed my clan yet, and my talents hadn't fully awakened. I was still in my first year, wandering without a place to settle, joining random parties here and there. That's when I met my sister."
Meeting family from Earth in Eras was rare, but it did happen.
Sometimes like Yu-rim and Yu-hyeon, arriving at the same time and same training facility. Other times, like what Ha Yuri described, running into them separately.
"My sister... she wasn't exceptionally talented, not even as a compliment. But I was a mage starting to stand out, so I carried the weight of two in parties, letting her tag along."
For some reason, I could already picture the ending.
No, just seeing that Ha Yuri's sister wasn't by her side now made it obvious.
"The five-person party including me and my sister got captured by a group of dark sorcerers on the way to a dungeon. I barely escaped, but..."
The ending was obvious without her saying it.
"... The rest died."
Even if they had survived, a horrific fate would have awaited them.
Ha Yuri nodded through her sobs at my words.
"What about the culprits? Do you know who they were?"
"... They're already dead. The dark sorcerer group we wiped out at the palace recently—they were the ones."
"What?"
I was stunned by Ha Yuri's words.
She was saying the dark sorcerer group I reported through Sharis had killed or abducted her sister.
'Probably killed. It's been so long.'
"I... I've lost my target for revenge too. What am I supposed to live for now...?"
Ha Yuri's eyes were unfocused. The gaze of someone who had lost everything.
I hadn't meant to, but I'd inadvertently taken away her revenge target.
She didn't blame me for it, but it still left a strange feeling in my chest.
'No. Thinking about it, she still has a revenge target.'
"Ha Yuri."
"... What? Come to mock me?"
"What?"
"You hate me, don't you? This must be great for you. The woman who once acted all high and mighty around you has truly lost everything now."
"......"
"Ahaha... That's right, isn't it? Now I'm just a slave to one man. If you order it, I have to do anything. Bark if the master says bark, grovel if he says grovel... that's the kind of slave I am. And I've lost my sister too?"
Ha Yuri seemed completely given up on everything.
"To you or anyone else, how pathetic must I look? What... what am I supposed to do? What should I even do here...?"
'She's lost her reason.'
From Ha Yuri's position, staying rational was impossible.
She was essentially my puppet, and the memory she'd just regained was like a bomb dropped on her life.
"I... I've lost everything. My clan? I don't... need it anymore... "
From my perspective, Ha Yuri was a valuable asset.
Someone with her level of combat power that I could use at will was incredibly rare.
'She can't break down like this. It's too much of a waste.'
I approached Ha Yuri, who sat there in a daze, and spoke to her.
"Why is it all over? Don't you still need to get revenge?"
"Ahaha, revenge? There's no one left to take it out on..."
"No, the palace announced they'd exterminated that dark sorcerer group, but they didn't get all of them."
A spark lit in Ha Yuri's eyes at my words.
Like a flame igniting in embers about to die out.
I had to fan that spark.
Letting Ha Yuri's fire go out would be a waste—she was too useful in many ways.
"... What do you mean? Not all of them were exterminated?"
"Everything except the leader. Yeah, except for the leader."
"That leader... is he an old man?"
"Yeah. How'd you know? They didn't announce anything about the leader."
At my confirmation, Ha Yuri's face twisted ferociously.
Like she was dying to kill that old man.
"That old monster... he took my sister for dark magic experiments. I have to kill him, no matter what it takes."
'Should I be happy about this or not?'
It was absurd how things had lined up like this.
Ha Yuri had a sister, and that sister had been killed by the exact dark sorcerer group Sharis was in.
I'd reported Sharis, leading the palace to raid them. The leader escaped, and that sole escapee was Ha Yuri's sworn enemy.
'What a... Huh? Wait a minute.'
Suddenly, my expression hardened.
Because I'd realized one thing that needed attention.
'Damn it, Sharis...!'
Of course, Ha Yuri wouldn't recognize Sharis working by my side—it's not her true appearance.
The problem was if Sharis had any involvement in what happened to Ha Yuri's sister.
She was definitely part of that group, and even if less than the others, she'd surely committed atrocities.
'... She didn't react much when she saw Ha Yuri, so maybe no connection, but I should check.'
For now, I set aside thoughts of Sharis and focused on Ha Yuri.
"Where did that old monster flee? Tell me what you know. Please..."
"Hm..."
'I don't know much myself.'
The palace had basically given up tracking the escaped leader now that the group was dismantled.
As I sat there unsure what to say, Ha Yuri dropped to her knees, bowed her head to the ground, and spoke.
"I'll do anything. No, you can do whatever you want with me now if you wish, but if you give me info on that old monster, I'll devote my remaining life to you sincerely. So..."
'What, what is this? Why is she doing this?'
"No... wait a..."
"All I can offer is this wretched body and soul of mine, but please... I beg you..."
"Hold on, this looks bad. Stand up first and we'll talk."
"No. I won't move until I get a firm answer. Please..."
Ha Yuri was being stubborn despite my words.
"I never said I wouldn't help. I'll help, so stand up already. It's uncomfortable to watch."
"R-Really? You'll help? I... I have to avenge my sister. No matter what, I have to..."
"Hoo... Fine, just stand up."
Ha Yuri glanced at me warily as she rose.
She knew I could control even her actions, so she probably figured I'd order her not to do something pointless.
"But I need to make this clear. Saying I'll help doesn't mean I know where that old monster fled to."
"... Huh?"
"I mean I won't stop you from getting your revenge, and I'm willing to assist. I don't know where he's hiding now, but I can at least help you track him down."
"Ah..."
"You're in no position to go blabbing anyway, so I'll tell you this: I have a private intelligence clan operating in secret."
"... An intelligence clan?"
Ha Yuri looked utterly confused.
It wasn't technically my clan—it was Ruska's—but hers was mine anyway.
"Yeah. So I can offer some help. For now, let's prioritize developing the Swamp of Oblivion."
"... But I'm not in any state to care about that crap right now!"
'Yeah, of course you'd say that. I'd be the same.'
She'd just learned who killed her sister—not even a friend, her own flesh and blood.
I'd flip out just like her.
The issue was we couldn't act on it right now.
"You want revenge for your sister? I get it completely. I'd want to rip them apart too. But we're in the middle of developing the Swamp of Oblivion right now, aren't we? Let's finish this first."
I said it in case Ha Yuri tried to ditch the development team for revenge.
She was the commander of the second sector development team. Her leaving would cause unimaginable chaos.
I could order her not to, but for a proper development, we needed her willing effort.
"You get what I'm saying? I understand your feelings, but let's think about priorities first."
"... Okay. But you have to keep your promise after the Swamp of Oblivion is done. No, I'll trust that you will."
"Naturally."
I'd have to ask Sharis personally about that old monster anyway.
'But first, confirm if she's connected to Ha Yuri's sister's death.'
If she was, deciding what to do would give me a headache.