"Ha…ha…haha!"
Who would have known that in reality...La Vie en Rose was still standing despite all the destruction.
I thought everything would be destroyed, considering this place was abandoned after the demon attack, which in reality...according to Enver's words, was a genocide.
"Ha…" At least that didn't change from the original story. But still...If, according to Enver, La Vie en Rose diverted the attention of demons thanks to the protection of its moon goddess, how could someone bring demons to La Vie en Rose? Is there someone— "…"
Yes. There is someone.
"…" Enver looked at me, with a face that could be described as somewhere between worried and annoyed.
"W-What?"
"Do you have Elmetron's memories?" His question made me...consider it. At first I tried to recover them, but I simply couldn't; there's still something blocking it, and yet, I don't know exactly how to unlock them.
I denied it. "No. Every time I try to access his memories, it seems like something is blocking it…"
"Liam Yoon Hee, what about her?" Huh? He really knows all our members...
"Ah…she already did it...rather, since I met her, she always had memories of her character, and a few days ago she fully recovered her memories." I was glad she achieved it, I know how much she values her memories. "She even mentioned…that there is an ending to this story that even I don't know."
Enver remained silent for a few seconds, then spoke again. "No, you should know it, but you shouldn't remember it."
"Eh?" What does that mean? Up until now, I've been able to remember absolutely everything from my past life, so how can I not remember something so important? "But I have all my memories—"
"No," He stated, while standing with his arms crossed. "Something that differentiates you from Liam Yoon Hee is that when she came to this world, she had half of her memories from her past life, but she also had the complete memories of her character; whereas you only have memories of what I assume is half of your past life, but not those of your character."
"…"
I suppose he has a point. Honestly, I never thought of it that way...
"First, recover the memories of your past life, and perhaps you can recover those of your character, and that will help us know what the hell to do with this fucking world."
Us? "Are you willing to work with us?"
He seemed to hesitate for a second. "No. It will only be a pause in our fight against you, at least if you are able to give us useful information. Not your team, not Randy Bornman, not Anser...only you."
Just me, huh?
Certainly, only I have the answer to what the future holds for this story, so you're right, I should focus on recovering my memories; perhaps with that requirement, I can unlock the rest memories.
"So, start looking for a way to recover your memories, get out of here now." He said, kicking a stone, managing to hit me with it on the calf.
So, with no other option, I had to obey him...
"You remember the way back, right?"
"Yes, I remember!" It wasn't for nothing that I was visualizing the whole surroundings...besides, surprisingly, Enver's base isn't that far from La Vie en Rose. As if he were the guardian of La Vie en Rose.
So, I simply left him behind, going back to Anser and July 14.
_
I set that condition, even though I doubt he will actually follow it.
And really, I don't care. What really worries me is what he will do once he recovers the memories of what Elmetron was.
"…"
I don't know Jeon Kwonoo well enough to know what he will do once he recovers his memories, much less what he will do once he has access to all of Elmetron's memories.
I don't know who Elmetron really is, but if my intuition isn't deceiving me, I can't help but suspect that Elmetron had something to do with the La Vie en Rose incident.
And who knows, if he manages to recover his memories, what if he does the same thing again?
Especially since Jeon Kwonoo was too compatible with the body of a villain like Elmetron, so much so that even the rest of Elmetron's soul didn't expel the foreign soul, but instead turned it into one.
"Boss," Yanshan appeared behind me; I wasn't surprised, he had been following us the whole time. "Do you think Kwonoo was responsible for the La Vie en Rose genocide?"
Of course; I told Yanshan everything that happened that day, he is a spirit of Yomi, so I had faith that he would help me find Ellie's soul, but it didn't happen.
At least, he hasn't managed to find her yet.
"I suspect he had something to do with it; but he's not directly responsible." Of course not, to have ended up dead, it's clear that once Elmetron had done his job, the real culprit wanted to get rid of him, and perhaps the culprit is closer than Jeon Kwonoo thinks.
"…" Yanshan seemed to think of something. "I thought you were going to steal his Anser."
"'His'?" Since when do we talk about people's lives as property? "He's not his, and he's not mine either, it belongs to Ellie if anything, she gave birth to him. And as much as I distrust Jeon Kwonoo, I can't keep Anser away from him when Anser believes I'm bad."
I know I'm bad. Maybe seeing it from...his perspective. I ordered the murder of his stepfather Sherly, as well as his acquaintances.
"…"
However, I had no idea that he was still alive.
And it truly makes me feel relieved to see that Ellie's sacrifice and disappearance was worth it.
He looks alot like her.
"Change of objective; stay day and night watching Anser. If Jeon Kwonoo tries to attack him or harm him in any way, don't hesitate to intervene and seal Jeon Kwonoo away. Understood?"
This is all I can do. In the meantime, I'll do everything in my power to secure this world for Ellie's greatest love. Just as she would have wanted.
"Yes, boss."
Yanshan disappeared into the shadows, and I looked at that cabin where Ellie used to be, and in front of that cabin; that tree where I always watched her.
If only...she had the power to change the world, Ellie would now be happily chatting with Anser—or Sh'ual, as she always wanted to name him.
But I suppose there are some things that fate doesn't want to change.
***
The rustling of tree leaves.
The air blows so gently...
It was just what Randy Bornman needed to meditate.
Since his passive power of 'omnipresence' had been failing, he discovered that by meditating he could at least recover it for a few moments.
So, he had been meditating very regularly.
He opened his eyes and looked behind him; he sensed the presence of his secretary. "Yes?"
The man seemed surprised, but at the same time, he knew that was nothing; what was expected of the great Randy Bornman. "E-Ehem, It's time for your treatment, Mr. Randy."
And behind him, another member of his Rosicrucian sect entered, carrying with him on a tray a cup of tea and on a white ceramic plate a small red pill.
"Oh," Randy hated being interrupted, even if it was for something related to his health. Although, he simply hide it with a smile. "Thank you, you can go, keep working. There is no time to lose when Ji Noo needs us."
The two members nodded and left, closing Randy's office door behind them.
"…"
And once alone, Randy took the pill, putting it in the cup of tea and letting it dissolve. "Not even in my past lives did I have to stoop to taking something like that..." Anyway, I didn't even know why suddenly there were more curious things in this timeline than in the other timelines. Besides, nobody seemed to question it; he noticed it from the toys that Sherly and he bought for Anser, and now...this new medicine among the pharmacists. What will happen now? Will they replace the use of carriages and demonic horses with giant, self-moving machines? "Tsk…"
He doesn't want to make a big deal out of it, but it bothers him when he has to use those things.
So he simply closed his eyes again, and continued meditating.
He had to at least get into Karmen's mind; which he used to monitor what Joakim was doing. But in the case of The Sect of Wisdom and Redemption, it was now impossible for him to know what the leader of the sect, in this case, Renato, was doing. With Layla it was easy, they were both in the same sect years ago, so it was easy for him to get into Layla's head to know what she was doing or who she was with.
And for some reason, Renato did...want to question him.
Renato seemed unwilling to let any of his members into his office unless it was Joakim—according to what he saw when he got inside the head of one of Renato's sect members, who were also once his members—, it was strange; he knew that all the leaders, both sect members and leaders, knew of his power of omnipresence, and they even allowed them to be used to find out where, with whom, and who they were talking to. And Renato, knowing that all too well with Layla, didn't allow it?
And that only made Randy suspect that he was hiding something from him.
And Randy hated secrets.
And it was amidst these thoughts that Randy felt a pang in his heart—no, it wasn't the cursed energy that was almost taking over his body, but rather...
…Someone had—
"The parchment!"
Someone broke the spell. But supposedly no one knows that Lahn created the parchment himself! Much less that it's just a spell pretending to be an ancient one...Mandeleine perfected it, Randy perfected it using all of Renato's mana! So...who could have done it?
"…"
There was a traitor...wasn't there?
Randy never showed the scroll to anyone; other than, of course, the late Layla, Sherly and Renato, as well as Ji Noo. It was even Layla who offered to hide him at her base, since her base is the furthest base of all, and is also hidden in a large, old tree. Nobody even knows where in the Sect of Wisdom and Redemption base he hid it, so...how?
"…"
The only one who can is his ally; Ji Noo.
"No…" Ji Noo seemed very convinced that the scroll was the original; he should never have suspected it! Much less that he could have infiltrated the late Layla's base and gone to destroy the parchment. "What does he have to gain from that?" That parchment contained only remnants of mana from its former sect members, including the mana of Mandeleine and Renato, who are dead.
Unless some of the aforementioned dead are still alive...it was impossible for anyone to destroy it.
"Damn…" But what if he was one of those wizards? Those slippery, damned...and stupid wizards... "…What the hell is wrong with them?" He didn't mess with them, why they were bothering him? "Hah...one day I'll find them and make them pay for all the shit they've done..."
His heart began to ache, but he didn't care, so he got up from the mat where he was meditating and went to the tray with the medicinal tea.
"Damn it! Those fucking idiots!" And he threw the tray to the floor, breaking the ceramic cup and plate, and the liquid splattered like blood on the floor. The liquid was no longer consumable, and only served as a mirror to reflect Randy's sudden despair at seeing one of the best parts of his plan thwarted. "What will they think of me? Will they know I was a fraud? What can I say? Fuck, fuck…"
Whoever it was, if the truth comes out, Randy is very, very scared.
He didn't want to reveal the final part of his plan, but apparently, he needs to. "Hah…hah…" Especially now, since a problem has arisen with his damned heart, which was still human. "Damn you too, you imbecile..." He lost all his humanity, but his heart still struggled to feel something. Pathetic. He's already lost everything, so why does he care about that now?
"…"
If anyone confronts him about it, he will do what he always does; he will deny everything, pretend he knows nothing, and even hypocritically send his people to discourage them from pursuing the topic.
And to be extra sure, he'll have Anarxie attacked by demons anyway; even with the smallest amount of Randy's cursed energy, those savages will come running toward the source of cursed energy.
If it worked more than twice, it will work a fourth time.
Everyone prioritizes the imminent danger over something as trivial as a fake parchment. Anyway, Randy Bornman is the Almighty in this world!
"Hehe…idiot…" Worrying about something like that wasn't worthy of a being who was almost—no, a god like him, right? If anyone confronts him, he can kill them, and make everyone forget about that life quickly. "Ha…"
However, he still didn't know what to do about the sudden heart problems that started happening to him.
"Mr. Randy! Is everything all right?!" His secretary came in, and quickly went to him, and carefully helped him to his feet, holding his arm. "Oh no...what happened?! Did you feel unwell? Do you want me to call our sect's pharmacist?!"
«Shut up, shut up, shut up.»
"H-Hah…It's not necessary, thank you…" Of course, it wasn't necessary; once the final part of his plan was complete, he would never need pills or a damn pharmacist chasing after him again.
"I'll call someone to come clean up this mess...please, Randy, let's go out to your balcony, let some fresh air help you out a bit..."
Recovering was the last thing on his mind.
According to the pharmacist, because of everything that happened, especially Sherly's death, his heart broke; literally.
Every strong emotion Randy experiences, even if it's happiness or ecstasy, can cause him to have a sudden heart attack, and consequently, his death, forcing him to reincarnate again.
And he didn't want that; this was the first timeline in which he got a clue about what his end would be, and he wouldn't die, at least not until he knew about that end.
Once Ji Noo fulfilled his demands, he would simply kill him, and then commit suicide.
But not now, so he must stay alive.
"Please stay here, Mr. Randy—"
"Just go the fuck away, damn it..." A murmur escaped without even realizing it.
"Excuse me…?"
So, he simply disguised it with another comment. "Just be careful not to cut yourself. Okay~?"
"Oh," he couldn't ask Randy what he said; that would be questioning a god. And he wasn't that stupid. "O-Okay…"
And he left him alone on the balcony.
"…"
He just hoped Ji Noo wouldn't take too long.
He couldn't bear a life without Sherly any longer. And without his friends, yeah, yes...them too, yes...
"My, my…" Now, he knew he needed to feign ignorance, to know nothing about the parchment, at least until someone mentioned it; and whoever did, would be stupid enough to do so.
So, he would continue meditating, to see if that would also help him calm down; he couldn't allow himself to appear rude or intimidate his people, that would damage his perfect reputation.
"Your office is clean, Mr. Randy."
"Oh? Thank you! You're so efficient~"
"Did you take at least some of the medicine before it fell from the tray?"
Of course he would never take that shit. "Yes~"
***
They had been waiting for at least half an hour.
"…"
And it's not like either of them has the social skills to chat just to pass the time. Although, Anser was willing to start a conversation...it was July 14 who was drawing in the dirt with his sharp nail.
"…"
So Anser peeked out to see what he was drawing.
It looked like a family drawing; July 14 carrying Liam, Gene, Ji Noo, and him, Anser, but underneath him…the bodies of several people, including Frederick, in the pile. "..." For a moment he thought it was cute, but he forgot that July 14 was still a demon.
Although, he was curious...was he created to be a demon?
"July 14."
July 14 turned to look at him, frowning. "What?"
"How were you created?" Perhaps it was when he was a fetus? Or was his creation entirely artificial?
"Hmm...I think Hyung said they unearthed a corpse...and from that corpse, they created me, but using demon blood so I could be immortal."
It turned out to be more gruesome than Anser had imagined.
"…"
"Oi, why do I feel like my explanation didn't convince you, huh?!" He sighed, then crossed his arms and pouted. "Even so...I don't know why they called me July 14...I don't know if it has any meaning or anything like that..."
"I feel like it's more of a label."
"…I don't want to hear you! I want to believe that my name has a powerful meaning!"
Anser sighed. Although, he didn't feel so bad.
Talking to others who weren't sect leaders or Ji Noo felt good. He felt like he belonged somewhere, and he couldn't help but smile slightly to himself. He was proud of himself; in his head he was saying «You did great this time, Anser, you managed to talk to someone».
"Why are you laughing to yourself? Idiot…"
Although, for some reason, he didn't want to stop talking now that he had gotten an opportunity. "July is a month of the year, for Catholic people, it's a good month to celebrate their god, it's usually sunny and you can travel to many places..."
"What is a month?"
Ah yes, in this world, there is no such thing as months, but rather changes in the moon.
"…?" And even Anser doesn'tknow why he mentioned something like that, even though he'd never seen anything like 'months' before.
"Hah…you're an idiot…" July 14 snorted, but still, he thought about Anser's words. "So...maybe my name is a date?"
Anser nodded, "Yeah…Although, I don't know exactly what happens on July 14th."
But at least it was a relief for July 14 to know something about who he was. So, maybe he wasn't wrong after all; and his name does have a depth that perhaps only Enver knows.
"I see…"
And Anser noticed that he was curious; he was curious to know who he was, and well...Anser could feel empathy for him. "You can ask him." Even if he distrusted Enver, if it gave July 14 peace, then he wouldn't stop him.
July 14 turned to look at him, but seeing that he was serious, he kept his cruel comments to himself, and instead...felt a little embarrassed.
"…"
So he looked away, erasing his drawing.
"I'll do it, but not because you give me permission or anything like that...it's because I want to!"
Anser nodded, still smiling gently. He wouldn't pressure him; he knew what it felt like to be pressured when you weren't ready to talk or explain how you felt.
"Hm."
And that's when they saw Ji Noo arrive, panting, as if he had run a marathon.
They both got up, and it was Anser who went towards him. "Jeon…"
"And Enver?" July 14 asked, walking towards him.
Ji Noo caught his breath, and then spoke: "Enver stayed over there..." He pointed behind him, between the trees. "He told me to go alone, so I guess he must be there—"
And quickly July 14 ran in that direction, kicking up dirt from the ground and shaking the bushes.
"Huh?" Ji Noo didn't understand the urgency; just as he was about to go after him, Anser grabbed his arm. "Eh?"
"He needs to ask Enver his own questions, let's leave them alone," He said, in a voice that was surprisingly gentler than usual. "Let's stay together a little longer before we continue with this, shall we?"
Ji Noo looked at him, then smiled slightly, and sighed.
"Ah, yeah…sorry, sorry…"
Ji Noo was so used to going to take care of everyone that he almost instinctively went after July 14.
In any case, both July 14 and Enver had a history, one that they didn't know about, and perhaps shouldn't have, since neither July 14 nor Enver have mentioned anything about it.
"Let's collect food for Mayu..."
"Eh? I thought you two had already done it."