The sunlight that seeped through the window crack clung to Peril’s skin. His dazzling appearance somehow felt sacred, and for a very brief moment, I stared at him blankly.
Then Peril gently lifted one corner of his mouth.
“You do seem to have an eye for people.”
Ugh, how annoying.
It was true my gaze had been drawn to him, but Peril was so irritating that I didn’t want to admit it.
“When someone changes so suddenly, anyone would react the same way I did.”
“I’m not so sure. Your eyes looked quite tender, though.”
W-When did I ever look at him like that!
What a liar, seriously.
“This kind of joke isn’t funny, so please don’t do it again.”
“I don’t want to.”
Right, who am I to think the Tower Master would listen to me?
I took a pouch out from my arms to change the subject.
“It’s the root of the World Tree you asked for.”
Even inside the pouch, it had kept squirming, so it was believable to say it was still alive.
Peril accepted the pouch and asked lightly,
“How does it feel to have visited the world where the gods lived?”
To be honest, even the idea that gods once lived there felt like a lie.
Sure, it had long since been deserted by people, but still……
First of all, the forest itself was much smaller than I’d expected.
Did they really live there?
“It was not an easy place.”
Everything surrounding the forest felt unfamiliar. Among them, what especially struck me as odd was the presence of Eileens.
I didn’t remember the original work perfectly, but Eileens was not someone who used any means necessary to gain power.
On the contrary, she wanted to share her great power with others.
‘The priest said her name had been erased from history.’
But in the original work I remembered, Eileens was praised within the Empire.
It was described that she laid the foundation for the magic commonly used throughout the Empire.
That woman suddenly disappeared one day.
However, the Empire remembered Eileens and hoped that one day her descendant, inheriting her power, would reappear and show the greatness of magic once more.
‘That descendant of Eileens is Idette.’
The newly sprouted World Tree in the temple couldn’t grow properly, and it was Idette who resolved that.
In doing so, Idette not only brought about the flourishing of magic in the Empire once again, but also received the love of three male leads.
……That was what I remembered from the original work.
The reason Idette had been able to wake Peril from his slumber was because she inherited Eileens’ power.
‘Did the original story change because of what I did to save Grandfather?’
No. Eileens’ name had already been erased long ago.
Which meant, the original story had been distorted even before I possessed this body……
“If you speak like that so carelessly, you’ll get in big trouble.”
Peril muttered in a grumbling tone.
“I can’t tell if you’re fearless or just thoughtless.”
……Just go ahead and curse me, why don’t you.
“You’re taking revenge because I called you petty, aren’t you?”
“Revenge? As if I’d do something like that.”
Peril clicked his tongue. I let out a small sigh and brought up the topic that had been on my mind since last time.
“……So, is there a way to erase or manipulate memories with magic?”
“It’d be quicker to ask if there’s anything magic can’t do.”
“Then is it possible to recover a lost memory?”
At my question, Peril narrowed his eyes. His gaze, hard to read and revealing nothing of what he was thinking, stared straight at me.
As I swallowed dryly, Peril gave an ambiguous answer.
“It depends on the situation.”
“What kind of situation?”
“If someone deliberately tampered with your memory, then yes.”
Peril tapped my head lightly with his fingers.
“But if you erased it yourself to protect yourself, it’s more difficult.”
“But you said anything is possible with magic.”
“I never said it was impossible.”
Peril quickly countered, as if protesting.
“It is possible. It’s just that if you forcefully recover it, your mind won’t be able to handle it.”
True, magic that touches the mind couldn’t be simple.
“Then, is it possible to distinguish whether a lost memory was taken by magic or erased by myself?”
The answer came a bit slowly.
“Is that your wish?”
It seemed he was asking if I wanted to use the wish I earned from saving Idette to get that answer.
Suddenly, all the strength drained from my body.
“Wow, that’s so petty.”
“See? You’re way too fearless.”
“I’m just calling a spade a spade!”
Seriously, bringing up the wish just to avoid answering that one thing!
“Forget it. I was planning to ask for something even bigger anyway.”
“Fine, just don’t go asking someone else. Mind magic is pretty tricky.”
Eileens had mentioned something about memory, saying ‘that child.’
〈The things that happened with that child, you must not forget. You promised me.〉
Seems like there was someone else involved in the forgotten memory……
If I erased my memory myself, why didn’t ‘that child’ do anything?
If there was a promise with Eileens, it had to be something important.
Besides, the most troubling part was that I couldn’t even guess who it might be.
If they went with me to Eileens, they must have been close.
……Or maybe we both lost our memories?
I asked Peril in a crawling voice,
“Is telling me not to go to another magician a sign that recovering my memory is on the difficult side……?”
So, I did erase it myself, didn’t I?
Peril let out a dry laugh, perhaps catching on that I was trying to avoid using my wish. But it seemed he realized he had acted a little too pettily.
Maybe that’s why he answered honestly.
“……It’s not that difficult.”
Okay, so someone forcibly erased my memory.
“I take back what I said about you being petty, Teacher.”
“Oh, come on.”
Still, someone tampered with my memory?
I hadn't even imagined that.
Peril, as if to warn me, gave my forehead a flick while I was deep in thought.
“Don’t go asking weirdos and end up dumber for it—just come straight to me. Got it?”
“I swear.”
Though honestly, who knows when I might change my mind!
* * *
Of course, it didn’t take long for my resolve to completely collapse.
‘……Should I go look for another magician?’
Just like Peril said, it would be an easy fix if I used my wish. But that was my last resort.
If I truly couldn’t find a way to return home, I planned to cling to Peril as a last-ditch effort, like grasping at straws.
Sorry to Eileens, but going home mattered more to me than my memories.
As I thought that and checked the time, it was already five in the afternoon.
‘By the way, why is Rayler so late?’
She was the one who asked to go to the village festival together!
The stiflingly humid air made it hard to breathe.
Looking at the sky, it didn’t seem like it would rain either.
I moved to a cool, shaded spot. A short while later, I saw Rayler running over, waving her hands.
“Bianca!”
“……Took you long enough.”
“Sorry, sorry. There were too many people—it took a while.”
Rayler gave a sheepish smile and subtly hooked her arm through mine.
“There were a lot of events that already started when I passed by.”
“So you did have time to check them out?”
“I checked them out so I could take you there!”
Excuses, as always.
“By the way, why the sudden interest in the festival?”
It wasn’t like it was a formal ball—I didn’t think Rayler would be into a small village festival.
She never liked being too active, after all.
Looking around cautiously, Rayler whispered into my ear.
“I heard something strange will happen tonight at Whale Beach.”
Whale Beach was near the village of Dians, where the festival was being held.
At her unexpected words, my ears perked up.
“……Something strange?”
“Yeah. Our nanny used to live in Dians village.”
I asked what exactly this strange thing was, but Rayler insisted it would ruin the fun to find out now.
Well, not wrong, I guess……
“First, let’s fill our stomachs!”
She grabbed my hand and hurried forward. I let out a small sigh as I was dragged along.
Honestly, whatever it was, it didn’t matter.
I just hoped we wouldn’t run into Idette or those troublesome guys who followed her around.