“Was this place always so treacherous?”
*Whoosh, whoosh!*
The sandstorm raged in the desert.
The traveler couldn’t help but admire the surroundings.
All around, there were heaps of sandworm corpses.
Before he knew it, the ground was stained green with blood, turning everything a shade of green.
Now, the traveler finally understood why people said to avoid Gorgan’s Rock.
The closer he got to the rock, the more frequent the sandworm attacks became.
Right in front of the rock, dozens of sandworms swarmed him in a frenzy.
He thought it would be impossible for even the greatest magician to handle so many giant magical beasts at once.
So, he thought he might need to use a little bit of Majin’s power… but…
“Phew. Done with them all.”
*Silence…*
There was no need for that.
The traveler hadn’t even lifted a finger; the boy had taken care of everything.
“Are you some famous magician from the Empire?”
“Not really, but…”
That’s not true; he’s actually a spy for the kingdom and a member of the Crow.
Hertlocker thought to himself as he jumped down from the sandworm carcasses.
With a flick of his hand, the spear of Black Steel that pierced through the sandworms’ bodies quickly disassembled and reformed in his palm.
*Hmm? That’s odd. I can see things that weren’t visible before.*
Hertlocker shuddered at the strange sensations he still couldn’t get used to.
Inside the crevice of Gorgan’s Rock, he discovered a peculiar column of light.
Approaching it as if entranced, he grabbed hold, and that’s when everything suddenly changed; things he couldn’t sense before became clear.
Monsters burrowed closer through the sand.
Without even needing to press his ear to the ground, Hertlocker could perceive their movements, speed, and direction all at once.
His eyes and ears weren’t sharper.
It was as if he could directly sense the Mana.
Thanks to that, he was able to intercept every sandworm that lunged at him.
*How did Schlus know about this…?*
It was definitely Schlus Hainkel who told him to go to Gorgan’s Rock.
He wouldn’t have told him to recklessly enter a dangerous area for no reason.
He had to have known about the presence of that column of light.
How could a guy who had never even set foot in the desert know that…?
Hertlocker’s head started to throb.
*
“Ah…”
A massive pile of mail was stacked in the mailbox.
Seeing this, Emilia frowned but quickly realized its nature and looked around.
On the surface, they appeared to be promotional pamphlets, but they clearly bore the shape of coded messages from the Intelligence Agency.
How long was that decoding document going to be, for there to be so many decoy messages?
Emilia tilted her head, carrying all the pamphlets inside.
“Let’s see…”
She spread out a paper beside her and began expertly jotting down the decoded messages.
As she decrypted, she understood why it was taking so long.
This was not meant to convey simple commands or instructions; it contained a substantial amount of information.
“Hmm… So this was what they told me to find.”
The investigation details were about the son of Mary Ayle.
Mary Ayle was previously the head dormitory manager at the Imperial University who cooperated with the Intelligence Agency, and she was said to have been assassinated to eliminate any aftermath after the infiltration plan failed.
For unknown reasons, Schlus had ordered to find Mary Ayle’s son.
It seemed there was a desperate reason behind it.
“Did he at least pass on her belongings to her son?”
That seemed plausible.
Even though he appeared calm and entirely rational, Schlus could be quite emotional.
He was the kind of fool who would bet his life over a trivial promise.
“Uh…?”
Emilia’s hand, which had been jotting down the decoding, suddenly froze.
The content had become strange.
Mary Ayle’s origin was said to be Eisburg…?
“What the…”
Emilia’s expression turned bizarre.
She hurriedly looked around.
Schlus was currently in Lichtenburg Mansion, so there was no way he could be here.
Yet, out of caution, she confirmed once more and sat back down, exhaling heavily.
“Surely… it can’t be…”
As she finished decoding the remaining messages, Emilia’s mouth dropped open.
Schlus had ordered to find Mary Ayle’s son for another reason.
The crystal-clear reason was right here.
…
…
…
A cave that could see the past.
This was the first time she had heard there was such a place in Lichtenburg Mansion.
Was Julia lying about this?
Or had I scribbled it in the setting book and forgotten?
To find out which it was, she had no choice but to go in.
The boat cut through the water as it began to enter the dark cave.
The spell of luminous magic was drawn, wrapping their surroundings in bright light.
Though it appeared the walls showed signs of being artificially carved, the ceiling undoubtedly seemed like a natural cave.
After a short distance, the shore soon appeared.
Was it really correct to call this a shore, even though it was inside a cave?
In any case, a piece of land where one could step down from the boat had emerged.
Seeing the torches hung on the walls, it was clear that something lay inside.
“Alright, hug me tight.”
“Y-yes…”
Carrying Julia, they stepped off the boat.
Of course, she didn’t forget to tie the boat with a rope to prevent it from drifting away.
Lighting the torches on both sides made the interior rather bright, giving an impression of a chilly castle corridor.
After all, this place was entirely a space carved by humans.
“This seems true.”
“Schlus, you can only see your own past here. You can’t know someone else’s past.”
“That’s what I’m here to find out. I have no memories from my childhood.”
“Ah…”
In fact, not only from his childhood but up until twenty, he had none.
Aside from the fragmented memories glimpsed through ‘Memory of True Self’, there was nothing.
Of course, not knowing didn’t hinder living at all.
Schlus was an orphan and seemed to have no family.
So there was no need for him to cling to a past.
However, as a person, there is still a duty one should fulfill.
He had to fulfill at least the minimal responsibility of taking over Schlus’s perfectly healthy body.
From that perspective, my conclusion was that I had to completely understand him.
“Is this it?”
The end of the corridor was blocked by a door.
When he gently pushed his shoulder against it, it opened easily.
Inside appeared a small room.
A translucent crystal sphere lay at its center, in a room that looked to be around one square meter.
[Quest: Use the Past Vision.]
[Difficulty: ★☆☆☆☆]
[Reward: 1 Shop Coin]
Just in time, the quest window popped up.
So this is what’s called Past Vision.
Since it had a specific name, it seemed my setting was indeed correct.
Then, it shouldn’t trigger a trap if I touch this and get trapped inside, right?
“Shall I give it a touch?”
“Wait—”
As I hesitated, Julia reached out and touched the crystal sphere.
In that instant, the walls and ceiling lit up brightly, revealing images all around.
Lichtenburg Mansion.
The young Lady Irene and the young Erica appeared.
This was undoubtedly Julia’s past.
The footage quickly rewound and, in no time, returned to the past, finally surpassing babyhood, revealing a scene of a white snowy field—
“Ah. Looks like this is the end.”
“…”
Julia quickly pulled her hand away, and the visuals stopped.
It was clear that one could indeed see the past.
The problem was having to show that to Julia as well.
For a moment, I lowered my gaze and met Julia’s eyes.
“Do I have something on my face?”
“No.”
*No big deal.*
But it would probably be tiring to hold her this way for a long time, so I decided to change positions.
I knelt before the crystal sphere, sitting Julia on my thigh, facing each other.
This way, I wouldn’t have to exert much effort, as she could keep holding onto me with just her arm strength.
“Are you okay? Is it uncomfortable?”
“I’m fine…”
Swallowing, I reached out.
I was mentally prepared.
Schlus’s past couldn’t have been smooth.
Finally, I slapped my palm over the crystal sphere.
“Whoa…”
In that moment, my vision abruptly *whoosh!* shifted.
Various images flickered and sped back.
The problem was the speed was too fast to discern the visuals.
*Can’t I control this?*
Is it impossible to fast-forward or rewind as I wish?
The visuals whimsically sped up or slowed down.
It felt like only scenes with Julia were passing by slowly, but that could just be my imagination.
Before long, the visuals returned to a time long before, back to before I had reincarnated.
*Ah.*
A scene I couldn’t overlook flitted by.
Just as I began to focus on that moment, it suddenly unraveled and began playing normally.
A snowy mountain valley unfolded endlessly.
There, I—no, Schlus—was holding a pocket watch with those tiny hands.
*Tick, tick, tick* the hand moved in my grasp.
Lifting my head, a woman was approaching, stepping across the snowy field.
“Why did you come out?”
“To say hi…”
“Hehe. You just said hi earlier.”
The woman knelt gently and met the gaze of Schlus’ low perspective.
The moment I faced that face, I felt as if I couldn’t breathe.
The hand holding the crystal sphere trembled.
I had to concentrate all my nerves to prevent breaking the crystal inadvertently.
“I don’t want to part from mom… Don’t go…”
“I’ll be back soon. I’ll be back as soon as I finish this.”
“Then take this… You have to give it back to me when you return…”
“Alright, my prince.”
Mary Ayle.
The unfortunate woman sacrificed by the Intelligence Agency’s haphazard operations.
The woman who died in my arms.
