Chapter 251: Recall (3)
“Mentor.”
My call slipped out in a low voice.
At that call, Berenistella’s eyes began to tremble violently, as if they had been struck by a shock beyond anything possible.
“……What.”
The voice that escaped from her mouth involuntarily had sunk heavily.
It was a voice filled with disbelief and astonishment, mixed with a confusion so deep that anyone who knew her would have been shocked.
“……What nonsense are you spouting right now, you wretch.”
She forced herself to appear calm as she spoke in a growling, menacing tone.
Even so, her voice still trembled faintly.
Seeing her reaction, I nodded slightly as if I finally understood.
‘……As expected.’
Everything—the scattered fragments of memory—began slowly returning to their proper places.
Only now did I finally realize what it was that I had forgotten.
And seeing her appearance now also confirmed that the memory I had just recalled was not a delusion or some empty fantasy.
……Moreover, once the forgotten memories resurfaced, I could hardly understand why I had forgotten such things until now, or why I had never once questioned the contradictions and inconsistencies scattered everywhere.
“…….”
Back when I was fleeing after being branded a traitor by Princess Velita.
I literally did anything to survive and ran desperately.
Not only did I defeat the bounty hunters sent to kill me, I drank filthy water, hid inside trash bins, begged like a beggar, stole when I had to—truly anything.
For the sake of survival, I threw away everything except my life itself.
Yet even then, I tried never to draw the public’s attention.
……For example, becoming a mercenary.
In a way, it was only natural.
There was hardly any other group that gathered such a wide variety of people as mercenaries.
Their abilities varied wildly, but honestly speaking, the lower-ranked mercenaries mostly lived such ruined lives that there was no polite way to describe them.
And perhaps because they accepted anyone regardless of status or origin—even criminals—it was standard practice for investigators searching for criminals to first dig through mercenary guilds.
There were even mercenaries who specialized in hunting down criminals who had become mercenaries themselves.
That alone should say enough.
‘……The bounty on my head was enormous.’
I suddenly remembered the price placed on my neck.
When word spread that capturing me would earn someone enough money to live comfortably for life, mercenaries had become frantic, turning on each other in the hunt.
Walking into such a place with my own feet would have been something only a lunatic with a death wish would do.
Unless someone truly wanted to die, there was absolutely no reason to become a mercenary.
Even without any particular circumstances, surviving long in that line of work was difficult.
But with a massive bounty attached to my head, it would have been even worse.
Back then, running across the mountains into the land of the Demons might actually have been safer than working as a mercenary.
‘……That’s how it was.’
And yet, I had become a mercenary.
No—more precisely, I had no choice but to become one.
Because of the woman standing before my eyes right now.
Berenistella.
She had urged me to take up mercenary work.
And at the time, I had no position from which to refuse her orders.
Just as I had called her earlier—
I had served her as my Mentor.
Though in truth, while we were called Mentor and disciple, in reality I was little different from someone wearing a leash she held.
“…….”
I felt the Brand near my collarbone throb faintly for the first time in a long while.
…Yes.
Because of that Brand engraved on me, she had forcibly taken me along as her so-called disciple.
At the time, I had been exhausted from the long pursuit.
Since I was likely to die anyway, I had grabbed her hand in hopes of clinging to even the faintest thread of hope.
‘And in the end, I still died with my head cut off.’
Recalling that ending I would rather forget, I let out a bitter smile.
‘But to think that person also returned.’
I looked at Berenistella again with disbelief.
I already knew that she was the last surviving Eight Demon Lord and that she possessed overwhelming power.
But to think she too could turn back time…
‘It must be certain.’
She came all the way to the Capital to find me while I was attending the Academy.
And she even bid first on the jar that should have contained the Brand.
If she had not come from the same timeline as me, that would have been even stranger.
“You had a disciple too?”
Talia Poas spoke in surprise.
Perhaps because my memories had only just returned, I did not seem particularly startled by her presence.
“Hmph.”
Berenistella snorted lightly.
“……This lady has no idea what nonsense that man is speaking.”
She lifted her chin slightly as she spoke.
“Do you truly think I would accept a mere human as my disciple?”
As she said that, she subtly surveyed the surroundings around me.
Only after confirming that I had entered here alone did she finally release a small sigh of relief.
‘……How foolish.’
What would I have done if someone had overheard me calling a Demon my Mentor?
If someone belonging to the Holy Sun Church said something like that, they would not only be expelled immediately but could even be dragged into a religious trial.
“…….”
Only after confirming there was no need to worry about others hearing did Berenistella quietly check inside her robes.
“Ah.”
She let out a small sigh.
The jar she had just won at auction was cracked and shattered.
In the previous world, it had sealed the Brand.
……And in this world, it had sealed my memories.
‘Talia.’
She had hidden it in a narrow gap and even protected it with several layers of magic just in case.
Yet Talia Poas’s magic had pierced through everything, damaging both her body and the jar.
‘In any case, she never does anything helpful.’
Grinding her teeth, Berenistella cast another spell on the jar that barely retained its shape.
Just then—
“……You don’t need to worry. No one else came this far except me.”
I spoke as I looked at her glancing around, clearly knowing what she was thinking.
And it was true.
Princess Velita had been blown away after taking a strike from the Man without a Head.
Artemia had left the battlefield to tend to her.
Lancia had tried to chase after the man as he fled, but the recoil from exhausting all her strength finally hit her, and she collapsed from exhaustion.
In the end, I alone had come here.
“…….”
Berenistella decided to remain silent.
Pretending she knew nothing, she deliberately ignored me and kept her gaze only on Talia.
‘Ignoring me, huh.’
It wasn’t anything new.
Even before, she had never treated me like a person.
‘Fine. Let’s leave it at that for now.’
I slowly walked toward her.
Thinking that there were many things we needed to talk about.
At that moment—
Drip.
Suddenly, blood began streaming from my nose.
The burden on my head from recovering my memories must have been enormous.
“……!”
Talia shrugged lightly at the sight of Berenistella flinching in surprise and raising and lowering her hand awkwardly.
Her acting really sucks.
“Cough, ahem.”
Thinking that, Talia gave a small cough and turned toward me with a charming smile.
“My dear, if you’re an uninvited guest, shouldn’t you greet people first? It seems a bit rude. Everyone here seems far more senior than you.”
At Talia Poas’s words, I realized my oversight and politely bowed to her.
“It’s been a long time, Lady Talia.”
She tilted her head curiously.
“Hmm, I don’t remember… Have we met before, dear?”
Then she added,
“From the looks of it… you’re an ordinary human. Considering the flow of time, it doesn’t seem possible that we could have had any connection.”
“We met in the Room of Memories.”
“Ah, right. The Room of Memories.”
Talia nodded.
Then she began sniffing as if trying to catch my scent.
‘Ah, that.’
In the past, inside the Room of Memories, she had instantly deduced not only my background but also that I had come from the future just by smelling me.
There was no way to stop it.
As I stared at her blankly, someone stepped forward and blocked my view.
“……How disgraceful.”
It was Berenistella.
Muttering unpleasantly, she shot words at Talia.
“As you said, if he is a junior far beneath you, do not try to intimidate him with such petty tricks. Unless the humans who preach morality have forgotten their own principles.”
“Oh my?”
Talia looked at Berenistella in surprise.
It seemed she had not expected her to intervene at all.
“I thought you might have kept one or two disciples on a whim…….”
As she spoke, Talia alternated her gaze between me and Berenistella.
“……But it seems you were more serious than I expected. Do you dislike me investigating that child so much?”
“It is not even worth answering.”
“Alright, alright. I understand.”
Talia Poas smiled slyly.
Even that expression looked incredibly charming.
“My dear.”
She addressed me.
“Normally I would have thrown you out immediately. But since you call that woman your Mentor—and she acknowledges you as her disciple—you probably deserve to remain here.”
Clap, clap.
She clapped her hands twice and continued.
“And congratulations. Or… is congratulations the right word? Either way, a human becoming the disciple of an Eight Demon Lord—there has never been a precedent.”
“How many times must I repeat myself before you understand? I told you I have no disciple.”
Despite Berenistella’s denial, Talia did not lose her subtle smile.
Speaking as though teasing a friend, she said,
“You’re fidgeting like a parent watching a child left by the water’s edge, yet you expect me to believe that?”
“…….”
Berenistella did not answer.
Instead, she snapped sharply.
“……Speak the point. You would not deliberately stall like this unless you had something to say to me.”
“You’re still quick to notice.”
Talia shrugged.
“But before we get into the details, would you mind waiting just a little longer? The parties involved aren’t quite ready yet.”
Just as she finished speaking—
From the wreckage, two people who had clearly been shattered earlier suddenly rose to their feet.
“…….”
“…….”
Their eyes were no longer empty like before.
Just like Talia’s, each of them now held light within them.