Chapter 27: Interlude – Beryl’s Story

One Week Ago

“……..”

When Beryl opened her eyes, she found herself in an unfamiliar place.

It was a cliché sentence, but there was no other way to describe it.

There was no information around her that could help her properly analyze her current situation.

“Where… am I?”

Beryl mumbled, looking dazedly around the middle of a giant forest.

There were only trees.

Ahead, behind, and to the sides, nothing but trees surrounded her.

Even the place where she had regained consciousness was on a tree stump.

“Why… am I in a place like this?”

Every event had a cause.

So there must have been a fitting reason for her to be here.

But Beryl couldn’t remember the reason.

No, she couldn’t recall anything, not even her own name.

“…Ugh….!!”

Beryl grabbed her head and crouched down on the spot.

The moment she tried to think of her name, a splitting headache overtook her.

It felt like shards of broken glass were stabbing all over her brain, as if her body were rejecting any effort to remember who she was.

“Ugh… ah…”

After about three minutes of silently screaming, Beryl finally couldn’t endure it anymore and collapsed to the ground.

And then, at that moment—

“…?”

Something poked out from her waist.

Beryl slowly sat up and looked down at the object that had slipped out.

It was a leather pouch.

A bulging bundle filled with something inside.

She untied the knot and opened it.

“!?!”

An enormous amount of jewels, the likes of which she had never seen, spilled out.

Diamonds, rubies, sapphires, opals… all high-priced gems worth a fortune.

There were also necklaces, rings, bracelets, and other items made of pure gold.

Even just selling these would be enough to live comfortably for the rest of her life.

The quantity and quality of these precious metals were both overwhelming.

“…Did I steal these?”

However, Beryl couldn’t believe these jewels belonged to her.

If she had been wealthy enough to own all this, she wouldn’t have lost her memory and ended up in a place like this in the first place.

She would probably be living in a mansion, pampered and surrounded by servants.

Maybe she tried to steal them and got hit by some sort of magical spell, and as a result, ended up in this mysterious forest.

That was the best conclusion Beryl could come up with at the moment.

“Huh… there’s more in here.”

Meanwhile, she continued to search for another clue and felt something in her pocket.

It was a letter, nicely packaged in a beautiful envelope, made of high-quality stationery.

Beryl quickly tore it open to read its contents.

[To the one reading this letter,

I’m sure you must be feeling quite confused at this moment.

Worried and anxious because you don’t remember who you are or why you’ve ended up in such a place.

To get straight to the point, I am the one who erased your memory.

If you ask why, I will simply say there were unavoidable circumstances—a reason that is not easy to explain.

It may be difficult for you, who has been deprived of your memories, to accept this, but I ask for your understanding.

As a form of compensation, I have sent you a substantial amount of jewels and accessories.

If you exchange them properly, they should fetch around 500,000 to 600,000 gold—a considerable amount of luxury goods.

None of these were obtained through illegal means, so you may rest assured. I can guarantee that much.

With 500,000 to 600,000 gold, you should be able to live the rest of your life in comfort and prosperity.

Therefore, I humbly ask you to take this amount and forget your past. Seek a new life.

Should you try to dig into the past, it may result in a significant loss for both you and me. This is not a threat, but a simple statement of fact.

On the other hand, if you choose to forget the past, your life will be filled with happiness, free of worries.

500,000 gold has that kind of power.

I sincerely hope you will carefully consider which option is better and make a wise choice.

May the blessing of the Goddess be with your future.

Sincerely, 

An Anonymous Magician.]

Beryl put down the letter and quietly fell into thought.

Judging by the tone, the sender of the letter seemed to want Beryl to live in hiding.

Whether the intent was out of kindness or malice, it appeared they were trying to take some responsibility by handing her a large amount of jewels.

The problem, however, was whether Beryl could accept this arrangement herself…

“Arghhhh!!!”

Just then, a scream broke through Beryl’s thoughts.

“?!”

She instinctively stood up and turned toward the direction of the sound.

The distance wasn’t far. Judging by the volume of the sound, it was roughly 30 to 50 meters away.

If she ran now, she might be able to save whoever was in trouble.

As soon as that thought crossed her mind, her body was already moving.

Fortunately, the physical abilities of a seasoned knife fighter remained intact even after she had lost her memory.

“Is there anyone out there?! Please help me!! Please!!”

It didn’t take long for her to identify the source of the sound.

A young man with gray hair, who looked to be in his early twenties, was begging for his life.

He was desperately fleeing from something, shouting for help from anyone around him.

And behind him—

“La Hum Sree Brta Kaniya!”

“Buruchisa Ta Sobae!”

A group of goblins was communicating in an unknown language as they chased after the man.

There were about 15 to 20 of them — a challenging number for any mercenary to face alone.

Even if each one was weak, when several attacked at once, they could easily overwhelm someone and strike a vital spot.

The principle that “quantity becomes quality” applied even in small skirmishes.

Of course, that only held if they were “reasonably” skilled.

“This way! Hide behind me!”

Beryl shouted to the young man, pulling a knife from under her skirt.

Even if her mind had forgotten, her body still remembered.

It knew what needed to be done in this situation.

How to fight.

How to move.

Whether there was a chance of winning if she confronted them directly.

‘Thirty seconds should be enough.’

Beryl thought as she eyed the goblins rushing towards her.

In the next moment, the knife in her hand flew out like a flash.

A moment later—

“Thank you, thank you so much!!”

The young man, whose life had been saved in an instant, prostrated himself on the ground, bowing repeatedly.

“You are my savior!! If not for you, I would have been nothing more than lunch for those goblins!! Thank you!! Truly, thank you!!”

“No, there’s no need to thank me so excessively…”

Beryl awkwardly tried to calm the young man down.

If she left him be, he might hit his head on the ground hard enough to start bleeding.

The man’s name was Gilpy. He was a traveling merchant from Salem Ashtaria.

She was curious as to why a merchant would wander around such a dangerous forest without an escort, but Beryl didn’t ask.

He probably had his own reasons.

For now, she had her own matters to deal with.

“May I ask your name? I’d like to send a proper reward once I return.”

“Ah, well…”

Beryl looked troubled.

What should she say? That she didn’t know who she was? That she couldn’t even remember her own name?

After a moment’s thought, Beryl decided to tell the truth.

“The thing is, I don’t really know who I am.”

“What? You don’t know…?”

Seeing Gilpy’s puzzled expression, Beryl explained her situation.

She explained that she had no idea what her real name was or what her past held, and that her memory loss had been intentionally caused by someone.

After listening to her story, Gilpy crossed his arms.

“I see… So some evil magician wiped your memory and dropped you in a place like this.”

“Right. I can’t be certain that they’re evil, but…”

Beryl muttered while fiddling with the pouch she had tucked away.

She hadn’t mentioned the money.

You never knew what might happen, and greed could easily lead to trouble.

Gilpy let out a thoughtful hum.

“So, what are you planning to do now? Are you just going to live quietly as the magician wants?”

“Well…”

Beryl hesitated for a moment.

The situation was so sudden that she hadn’t yet decided what to do.

She had only just finished reading the letter when she heard the scream.

Maybe it would be best to simply follow the instructions and stay out of trouble.

However—

“If I have to say, I’d at least like to know what happened, even if I don’t regain my memory.

Living my life and dying without knowing anything would feel like such an empty existence…”

She didn’t know who she was, but she could guess that she had lived an extraordinary life.

A typical girl wouldn’t be able to throw dozens of knives at once at just 15 years old.

And with such skills, she likely hadn’t been living idly. She must have had some important role.

Maybe someone would suffer a great loss because she had disappeared.

If that was the case, she couldn’t just sit idly by, even with the large sum of money.

Gilpy nodded at Beryl’s response.

“That’s a good decision. Honestly, I was hoping you’d say that.”

“You were?”

“Yes. If I help you find your memory, it would be a small way to repay the debt I owe you for saving my life.”

“Oh? You can help me? How?”

“Well, if I put my mind to it, I might be able to figure something out.”

Gilpy stroked his chin thoughtfully.

“I’m not bragging, but I do have some knowledge about magic.

Of course, my own spells are limited to a measly few 2nd-circle spells, but…”

“But looking at your situation,” he continued, “what has happened to you is quite strange.”

“Strange? In what way?”

Beryl asked.

“Because removing specific memories from a person’s mind is not an easy task.”

The human brain is extremely delicate.

An amateur tampering with its contents is likely to turn someone into an empty shell.

That’s why the only spell that deals specifically with altering memories, Modify Memory, can only change memories of up to about five minutes.

Let alone erase a person’s entire sense of identity!

“Generally speaking, you should have ended up as a fool or a complete wreck.

But your mind is perfectly intact.”

“This means that whoever erased your memories is an incredibly high-level magician.”

“And there are only a few magicians of that caliber on this continent. Do you understand what I’m getting at?”

“Ah…!”

Beryl clapped her hands together in realization.

“So, one of the great magicians who currently exist might have been the one who did this to me?”

“That’s a strong possibility.”

Of course, the danger of investigating such information would increase, but that was a risk he was willing to take.

How could he not do this much for the person who had saved his life?

Gilpy was a man who lived and died by loyalty, and at this moment, he was more than happy to have found a way to repay his debt.

“Well, there are only a handful of magicians who could perform such an advanced manipulation.

If we search, it shouldn’t take long to find the culprit.”

“Off the top of my head, I can think of a few names — the master of the White Magic Tower, Queen Ruicelia of Alpenzia, the Winter Witch Morrigan O’Frie—”

“Or even if it isn’t his specialty, the acknowledged greatest archmage, Headmaster Mana of Anatolia…”

“…!?!”

At that moment, Beryl’s body swayed heavily forward.

“Oh!? Are you okay?! What’s wrong?!”

“N-No… it’s just…”

She didn’t know why, but the moment she heard the word “Anatolia,” her chest tightened painfully.

It felt as if her heart was being bound and squeezed by iron chains.

“…Could you please tell me more about the last one?”

“The last one?”

“About that place… ‘Anatolia.’”

Beryl panted, forcing out her words with all her strength.

She had a gut feeling that Anatolia was somehow connected to her past.

Something important had happened there, and she had gotten involved in it.

However, at her words, Gilpy made an awkward face.

“Ah, Anatolia, of all places… It’s the most troublesome in some ways…”

“Troublesome? In what way?”

Beryl asked.

“It’s the school where all the prestigious nobles of the world gather.

The security level is extremely high because of that.”

“No outsider can get past the school walls, so sneaking in would be next to impossible.”

“The only exception is to enroll directly as a student, but the admission period for new students has already ended this year.”

“Oh no, that can’t be…”

Beryl’s face showed a look of despair.

“Isn’t there any other way? Any way to get inside?”

“Well… there is one, but…”

“There is?! What is it?”

Beryl asked, rushing towards Gilpy, causing him to fluster and blush.

“W-Wait! Don’t get too excited! It’s more of a theoretical option, and in reality, it’s almost impossible…”

“Even if it’s just a theory, that’s fine! What is it? Tell me!”

“Uh, well…”

Gilpy’s eyes darted around. Should he reveal this or not?

But seeing the desperate plea in Beryl’s eyes, he finally decided to spill everything.

“…Actually, what I said earlier about being a merchant was a lie.”

“My real profession is a smuggler. I transport goods that can’t be publicly traded, moving them from place to place.”

“Oh, really?”

“Yes. That’s why I was traveling alone without any decent wagon or escort and nearly got killed by goblins.”

Gilpy sighed.

He had wanted to avoid revealing this part.

If she decided to label him as a “criminal disrupting the order of society” and try to bring him to justice, he would have nowhere to run.

Fortunately, Beryl didn’t react that way.

Instead, she tilted her head, looking confused.

“I see, I understand. But what does that have to do with our current topic?”

“Well, smugglers have their own connections,” Gilpy explained.

“There are things you can only obtain through those connections.”

“Things like what?”

“A student ID for Anatolia.”

Gilpy shrugged.

“Of course, a simple forged student ID wouldn’t get you through the front gate.

If the security could be breached that easily, it would have been breached a long time ago.

What I’m talking about is switching identities entirely with a real, current student.

In other words, one person drops out, and another takes their place.

Since the semester has just started, it might just be possible.”

“That… is that even possible?”

“Well, supply exists where there’s demand.”

“Anatolia’s diploma is a free pass to success.

Especially if you catch the eye of a member of the royal family or a high-ranking noble, it can lead to a meteoric rise.”

“Given that, the competition for admission is as tough as reaching for the stars.

So, it’s not surprising that someone would think of making a business out of it.”

“I see…”

Listening to his explanation, Beryl was certainly tempted.

Even putting aside the honor, the chance to build connections with the nobility was truly a rare opportunity.

But why did he say it was almost impossible?

When she asked about this, Gilpy sighed.

“To put it bluntly, it’s incredibly expensive.

Even the richest person would have difficulty affording it.”

“How much?”

“Hearing the amount won’t matter much. It’s better to give up and—”

“How much?”

Unfortunately for Gilpy, the girl in front of him showed no signs of giving up.

She was determined to hear the price.

Sighing, Gilpy began making a rough estimate.

“Let’s see…

First, the money for the person whose identity you’re taking over,

Then the bribes for the officials who help create the new identity,

The broker’s fee, the tuition fees, and living expenses you’d need to cover once you’re enrolled…

Considering all these extra costs, the total would be around…”

“The total?” Beryl pressed.

Gilpy ran the calculations in his head and finally spoke the figure aloud.

“Around 500,000 to 600,000 gold.”

“…”

The moment Beryl heard that, she instinctively glanced down at the pouch inside her coat.

The farewell gift left to her by the magician who erased her memory.

‘This is fate.’

Beryl felt it deep in her bones.