The Name You Call Me -1-
In the darkness, Mikhail stood alone. Head bowed. She paid no attention to me as I descended into the basement, drawing in labored breaths. In her hand, she gripped an old sword.
The sword that should have been shattered according to the original flow of the novel. Mikhail, holding that very blade, responded to my question with nothing but a long silence.
"Miss Misa?"
Mikhail offered no reply at all. Even though someone had come, her indifferent reaction—pretending not to know me—was a little hurtful. Still, remembering that we had once been friends, I decided to forgive her rudeness. After all, I was grateful she was still standing here in one piece. It was an ugly sort of affection, not a pretty one. Thinking about what happened at the academy, she probably wouldn't have had anything nice to say anyway.
Remembering the bond we'd shared as friends—and from the perspective of a reader who had loved the novel—I had come to save Mikhail. So I expressed my gratitude that she was still healthy in so many ways.
I looked at Mikhail and muttered under my breath.
So what kind of trick did the Archbishop pull?
Considering the personality of the Archbishop of Oblivion, there was no way he would have let her be taken so easily. Especially after setting up that large-scale illusion magic in the abandoned village. He must have prepared something truly grand, but I couldn't guess what it was.
"Haa... It's almost time to give the young lady her snack."
I grumbled quietly and took a step closer to the motionless Mikhail. And then...
-Shwaaaaaaaa...
I saw the darkness twist violently. The space itself had changed. More precisely, it was a large-scale illusion magic.
"An illusion spell, huh..."
The dark basement began to transform, carrying the thick scent of magic, into a scene from an old memory. A blue sky appeared. The dusty landscape of the slums from our childhood.
Fuck.
Had I been briefly lost in sentiment at seeing a sight I hadn't encountered in so long? A chilling wind rushed in from my right shoulder.
-Swoooosh!
I frowned and lightly dodged the incoming gust. Then I touched the blood that was now stinging my cheek.
Blood...?
Taking a step back, I widened my eyes as I looked toward the source of the wind. It was Mikhail. Mikhail with no expression on her face whatsoever.
"Wait... Mi—Miss Misa."
No matter how unwelcome I was, swinging a sword at me was a bit much. I let out a sigh as I looked at the blade in Mikhail's hand. The attack just now had clearly carried killing intent.
Feeling Mikhail's obvious hostility, I gave a bitter smile and sighed again.
"Miss Misa."
"How can you scare someone like that? I don't remember teaching you the sword so you could do this."
About a minute of silence passed without an answer.
"You."
A cold voice finally flowed from Mikhail's tightly closed lips.
"Who are you?"
"...Me?"
"Why are you acting so familiar when I don't even know you?"
My mind went completely blank. What kind of situation was this? I had expected memory manipulation that would make her attack me, or even turning my existence into that of an enemy, but...
I never imagined he would create a space from our memories and completely erase the person named Ricardo from them.
So that's the game he's playing.
The Archbishop's prank was cuter than I'd anticipated. I shook my head and let out a deep sigh. An unexpected variable was never a welcome thing.
Mikhail, who had been staring at me with sharp eyes while I stood there dazed, spoke to me in a cold voice.
"How do you know my name?"
"Tell me."
I wonder how much she remembers.
I carefully asked Mikhail a question.
"Didn't I tell you before?"
"I did?"
"Yes."
"I never even told Eguguminhyuk..."
"It's not Eguguminhyuk, it's Lee Min-hyuk."
"How do you know Iku Min-hyuk?"
"Because he's my friend."
"Hmm... Hmmmmmm."
Mikhail, who had been frowning and staring at me intently, nodded as if it didn't matter and brought a finger to her lips with a soft "Shh."
"Anyway, be careful."
"Yes."
"And it's a secret from Eku Min-hyuk."
"Understood."
The person in question was standing right in front of her, yet she was talking about keeping it a secret. I almost laughed, but seeing Mikhail's serious expression, I kept my mouth firmly shut.
This isn't going to be easy to resolve.
After talking with her a little more, it seemed Mikhail's memories had reverted to her childhood. Back to the days when she lived with me in the slums. Before she met the person named Ricardo at the academy, before she went to the convent.
Mikhail, trapped within those memories, smiled brightly and tightly grabbed my hand.
"Follow me."
"Pardon?"
"I said follow me. Didn't you come here to see Okeu Min-hyuk too?"
"...Why does his name keep changing? He has a perfectly normal name..."
"Shh!"
Mikhail completely ignored my question and stubbornly continued.
"I promised to go begging with Iku Min-hyuk today. He gets really mad if you're late. We have to hurry."
Hearing my real name come from Mikhail's mouth after so long, I could only smile awkwardly, feeling troubled.
What should I do?
I could dispel the illusion magic right away. A half-baked spell that forced someone to relive memories wouldn't be any problem. The only thing that concerned me was...
"Hurry up!"
Mikhail's memories. If I handled it wrong, she could fall into a panic. And if I recklessly tried to erase the oblivion magic with my own power, I had no idea what might happen. So I had to be careful.
This is troublesome.
The most straightforward solution in this situation was to kill the caster of the black magic. In the current circumstances, that crude method was the safest way to resolve things.
Mikhail grabbed my sleeve and looked up.
"By the way... you know."
"Yes."
"What's your name?"
"...Me?"
What should I say?
"It's Ricardo."
"What a terrible name. You must have a really bad personality."
"That comment is pretty hurtful, you know."
"Pfft..."
I watched Mikhail try to hide her upward-curving lips and gave a small nod. No matter what scheme was at play, I needed to go along with her tantrums. That seemed like the only way to resolve this smoothly.
I let her keep holding my sleeve and moved along with her touch.
Looking at her like this, she really seems so small.
The Mikhail who had always seemed so tough had such small, delicate hands. It felt like they would break if I squeezed them too hard.
Mikhail noticed me staring blankly at her hand and spoke to me gruffly, as if telling me to snap out of it.
"Ricardo."
"Yes."
"Have you ever begged before?"
"Um... no?"
It wasn't a lie. Since taking on this name, I had never gone begging.
Mikhail looked at me, then grinned and proudly squared her shoulders. She seemed excited at the chance to show off her seniority in the art of begging, putting extra strength into her steps as she moved forward.
"Then just trust me and follow along."
"Understood."
"The begging can has to be shiny no matter what."
"Yesss."
"You have to step on it and crush it so it looks pitiful."
"I see."
"And..."
Mikhail chattered on for quite a while about the fundamentals of begging, but when we entered a familiar alley, she suddenly stopped walking.
"Huh...?"
And then.
Her body stiffened completely, and she stood frozen in place. Like someone overcome with fear, Mikhail couldn't tear her eyes away from one corner of the alley.
I looked at her and asked why she was standing like that.
"What's wrong?"
"...It's strange."
Mikhail was trembling. She stared at the empty alleyway with a dazed expression, her whole body shaking.
"It's strange."
"What's strange?"
"Strange... strange... strange..."
Repeating the same words over and over, Mikhail eventually grabbed her hair and began to curl up.
"I can't see Iku Min-hyuk."
"What?"
"Here... Min-hyuk is supposed to be here."
Mikhail pointed at an empty tin can with a trembling finger, her pupils shaking violently.
"Min-hyuk is supposed to be here."
"Min-hyuk..."
-Clang!
Muttering to herself, Mikhail suddenly threw the tin can in her hand to the ground and started running.
"Where are you going?!"
She ran. Desperately.
Mikhail began sprinting with an urgent expression, as if she had suddenly remembered something she had long forgotten.
"Min-hyuk is in danger."
"You have to at least tell me where you're going!"
"Min-hyuk is in danger... because of me."
Damn it.
What could possibly be dangerous? I was standing right here, perfectly healthy. I bit my lip as I watched Mikhail's back while she ran.
-Clang!
"Ugh... it hurts..."
Her foot caught and she fell to the ground. Mikhail hugged her scraped knee, her face crumpling like she was about to cry. Yet her expression as she stared toward the end of the street was still filled with urgency.
"Haa... Why did you suddenly start running like that? You scared me."
I ran quickly toward Mikhail, who had fallen, and let out a sigh. In more ways than one, I couldn't help but pay attention to her.
"Let go...!"
"Are you okay?"
"Don't act so familiar, you ugly bastard...!"
"That comment is also quite shocking."
Mikhail shook off my outstretched hand and started running again. Toward a familiar place. Toward the place where my own childhood had ended.
"Iku Min-hyuk!"
Mikhail was running.
Ha, seriously... I really don't like this kind of thing.
"Okeu Min-hyuk!"
Even after being corrected so many times, she still couldn't get my name right. I ruffled my hair and stepped into the trap the Archbishop had prepared. I had no idea what he had set up, but...
This time, I would make sure to put a definitive end to it. With that thought, I ran toward the end of the story.
-Shwaaaa...
That damn rain was falling again. True to his role as the Archbishop who governed memory, the illusion that vividly recreated the past made me smile bitterly.
"Huff... Huff..."
Mikhail, drenched in sweat, was breathing raggedly, her shoulders trembling.
"...Huh?"
Her gaze was fixed on one spot. I looked at Mikhail's shoulders, which were shaking like a leaf in the wind, and muttered quietly.
It's been a while. This place.
The place where Mikhail and I had spent the most time together. And at the same time, the place where we had our worst farewell.
Standing beneath the gloomy shadow cast by the old bridge, I squeezed my eyes shut. And then.
"Min-hyuk!!!!!!!"
I could hear Mikhail's desperate scream.
I looked at the middle-aged man who was stepping on the head of my younger self and crouching down. The middle-aged man, whose eyes met mine, gave a twisted smile at our long-awaited reunion.
"It's been a while, kid."