Chapter 378. A Birthday Without Memories (3)
“They say the eldest brother has the memories of when he was a child again.”
Due to the shocking news from Magrina, perhaps caused by the last resort thrown by the desperate Rine, who couldn't come here.
The atmosphere, which was noisy just moments ago, sank suddenly.
“…What is that supposed to mean?”
Radan asked, adopting a serious expression. Magrina sighed and explained.
“It is exactly as I said. The eldest brother lost his memories. To be more exact… his memories regressed about 13 years.”
A declaration that confirmed the fact as if stamping a document.
The room plunged into silence once again.
What broke that silence was:
“Don't tell me… did someone attack the Master?”
Seolrang, who first showed a surprised expression like Radan, had now been left with an expressionless face, without a trace of emotion.
“Huh?”
“The brother—”
“Was he attacked?”
Perhaps Seolrang's words became a trigger.
With a single phrase from her…
From those who kept silent until now, a fearsome energy began to emit.
No—
Magic began to overflow.
Kwaa-jijijik—!
Just by releasing their magic, the nearby terrain began to deform in a matter of seconds.
“Who was it? Who dared to touch the boss—?”
“…We'll have to kill them.”
The sound of cracking rumbled, and the surrounding trees began to fall, generating a gigantic boom. Something so big that—
KUNG!
Even to Alon's ears, who knew nothing, although distant, that sound arrived.
“Hmm— monsters fighting?”
“Is this…?”
“Sometimes, when huge monsters fight, it sounds like this. But… this zone shouldn't have large monsters.”
Just as Alon frowned at the explanation from Penia, with whom he was handling official matters—
“Wait a moment, calm down everyone.”
“And how are we supposed to calm down now?”
“……It would be better if you listen to everything first before getting angry.”
Magrina cooled the overheated atmosphere.
If she let them be, they would destroy the entire forest and go look for any possible aggressor of Alon.
With a serene voice, Magrina began to explain the cause of the current situation.
About 10 minutes passed.
“…I see. So the brother temporarily regressed 13 years seeking a magical achievement. But due to an accident, that state was prolonged too much.”
“Exactly.”
“Then, he wasn't attacked by anyone.”
“No.”
“Wow… and here I was thinking anything—”
Ryanga sighed and continued:
“Then, why are you telling us?”
“Of course there is a reason.”
“What is it?”
“Right now, the eldest brother hasn't revealed to anyone that he lost his memory.”
….Yes, if this becomes known now it would have very negative repercussions outside.
Magrina nodded at Deus's words.
“That's why I'm telling you guys first. If the Marquis has strange behaviors… you must, at least…”
“Pretend we know nothing, right?”
“Correct.”
At that affirmation, everyone in the room nodded.
“If we react strangely to that, we would raise suspicions.”
“I'll keep it in mind.”
“Me too.”
“Alright, I'll do the same.”
The atmosphere relaxed suddenly.
It didn't even seem like minutes ago they were emanating magic capable of tearing anyone apart.
“Then… is there nothing more to report?”
“No.”
“Good, then I'll take my leave.”
“Me too!”
“Me as well.”
“I must go. I still have things to prepare.”
They left one after another, waving goodbye.
Historia was the last one, waving her hand as if saying "byeeee" before disappearing.
Magrina sighed watching her leave.
With that, the “superficial” tasks were complete.
She recalled the scene from a moment ago.
Although they said goodbye calmly knowing it wasn't anything serious, each one… left with a peculiar look.
The look of someone who believed that this moment was a perfect opportunity to do something.
Magrina cleared her throat without realizing it.
…To be honest, as soon as Rine told her the news, she had also made her own “preparations.”
“…I wish tomorrow would arrive quickly.”
She murmured that and disappeared into the forest.
And so, no one remained in the place.
Late at dawn.
Alon, still awake, was alone in his office—Penia wasn't there either—thinking.
About magic.
‘What should I do?’
Except for the first week dedicated to adapting to this changed world,
The other 3 weeks Alon spent thinking solely about magic.
More exactly:
Seeking a way to eliminate the weaknesses of the Phrases (어구) and the Hand Seals (수인) that he used.
For that he had drunk the regression potion through Penia.
But regrettably—
In those 3 weeks he hadn't obtained any clue.
It was logical, in a way.
The regression potion worked by temporarily erasing memories and returning the mind to childhood, to thus find invisible paths based on a child's imagination.
Children have a richer imagination than adults.
It was even said that a Magic Tower Master achieved results using it, so the potion was undoubtedly useful.
But that was among common mages— even among those who reached the 8th Circle.
For Alon, it wasn't.
Think about it.
The tower masters used the potion seeking the imagination of their childhood.
But Alon… never had the imagination of a child of this world.
Because he came from a game.
In other words:
He didn't have that imagination to recover.
He only had memories worn down to the extreme.
So he couldn't obtain the imagination expected from the potion.
That led him to wonder if his “future self” had been foolish enough to do something meaningless.
But he soon discarded that idea.
His future self wouldn't take the potion ignoring something so basic.
Therefore, he concluded that he had taken it despite knowing that.
‘Could it be that the reason was to erase the game knowledge?’
For that,
Alon reviewed his memories.
The vivid memories of the spells he had seen in the game had become incredibly blurry.
As if he had seen Psychedelia in an old book.
That is to say,
Before drinking the potion, he had deliberately erased his knowledge about the game's magic. As if waiting for something.
Past Alon noticed that only 3 weeks later, and started to reflect.
….And until now he had achieved nothing.
‘…Why did I erase my game knowledge?’
He asked himself the question again for the tenth time. Obviously, without an answer.
“Hu—”
The only conclusion he reached was:
His future self believed that “game knowledge” was unnecessary—or worse, an obstacle—to overcome his current problems.
Feeling his eyelids drop, Alon got up and looked at the night sky.
Unlike the sky he saw a month ago—
There were no stars. Only the moon.
While contemplating it, he decided to go to sleep.
Even while walking to the room, his thoughts did not cease.
The next morning.
Even though he couldn't sleep from thinking about magic, he woke up early.
‘Today… is my birthday.’
Remembering it weighed on his soul. Today he would have to fool everyone who visited him.
‘…They explained more or less everything to me, but…’
He had heard from Penia the names of those who would come today, and those who could come.
But obviously…
Just by hearing names, he wasn't going to become an expert at lying, something that always went wrong for him.
‘It will be heavy…’
He drew the curtain as always, and there was the peaceful landscape of the village and the statue that looked like the Dictator of the North.
The statue… was there.
As always.
In the same place.
But Alon looked at it astonished because—
“…Did it get bigger?”
The statue… was bigger than before.
Did I see it wrong? he thought.
He blinked several times and observed it again.
The posture was the same.
He directed his gaze toward the auction house. He knew the statue measured approximately one and a half times the height of the building.
And then…
“…Double?”
After several comparisons, he had no choice but to accept the impossible:
The statue had grown.
An hour later.
“Greetings, my Lord Marquis.”
“……Ah, yes, Deus.”
Alon looked at Deus with a neutral expression, hiding his surprise.
‘How handsome.’
Unlike the game, where he appeared horrendously ugly, Deus Makalian was incredibly handsome. Of a beauty that would make anyone turn around.
Alon observed him surprised until—
“So, what did you think of my gift?”
“Gift?”
“Yes. The statue.”
“Ah.”
Alon understood.
The one responsible for the statue growing was Deus.
He didn't even have time to wonder how such a thing had changed without making noise.
“Yes, since the Marquis liked it so much, this time I made it bigger.”
That his future self loved that absurd statue of the Dictator of the North…
Left him even more surprised.
But he couldn't show it.
“...Thank you.”
He replied feigning normality, although he thought: “I like that?”
“Then, for next time shall I prepare two more?”
“…Two… more of those?”
Yes! Because the Marquis loves them! He has always loved them!
Faced with that enthusiasm, Alon felt extreme confusion.
“…Yes, well… I suppose that would be fine. I like them, after all.”
And so he replied.
Then—
“I knew it! The Marquis loves statues! I'll get to work!”
While Deus withdrew with a proud expression…
Alon, behind his expressionless face, felt fear of what his future self had come to be.
And at that moment—
“Master! This!!”
“...This?”
“It's a gift…!”
This time it was Seolrang who brought a present.
“The gift… the one the Master wanted!”
…A marriage application.
‘What is this…?!’
Alon's mind clouded over.
