Chapter 30: Different Dreams (1)

Barely having gotten through the biggest hurdle, the crisis was far from over.

Until she got rid of this woman sitting in front of her, there would be no rest. Even when it seemed over, it wasn’t truly over.

Sion kept repeating this to herself as she looked across the table.

“So, you came to Anatolia because you wanted to find out who you are?”

“Yes.”

Beryl, who had now joined their table, nodded. (By the way, the attendant of Princess Isabella was temporarily handling the waiter duties.)

“Hmm…”

Isabella stared at the letter Beryl handed over, lost in thought.

It was certainly an interesting story. A mage skilled enough to completely erase a person’s past memories. And 500,000 gold. It definitely reeked of something unusual.

“As a mage myself, I know that erasing all of someone’s past memories like that isn’t easy. And for that much money…”

“There must be a great conspiracy involved. That’s for sure.”

“A great conspiracy?”

“That’s what we have to find out from now on.”

This was bad. Isabella’s curiosity switch had been flipped. And when she’s in that state, no one can stop her.

She fiddled with her hair and asked, “Is there any other keyword? Like a word that makes your head hurt when you think about it, besides Anatolia?”

“Well…”

Beryl glanced at Exia.

“If I had to say, the name ‘Beryl’ that this person mentioned earlier feels strangely familiar. It wouldn’t feel out of place if it were really my name, like there’s some sort of inherent comfort to it…”

“…!”

Exia, who had been pointed out, flinched.

Isabella, noticing the reaction, tilted her head and asked, “Wait, putting aside Sion for a moment, how do you know the name Beryl? You were supposed to be outside the palace until you were brought in by her, right? You shouldn’t have had any chance to meet her face-to-face.”

“!!!”

It was a sharp observation.

A contradiction that could shatter the story Sion had crafted from the ground up.

Seeing Exia panic and struggle to respond, Sion quickly stepped forward to handle the situation.

“Oh, that’s because it wasn’t our first time meeting, Your Highness.

I received her help a few times when sneaking out of the palace. I’d heard in advance that Beryl would be assigned as my attendant, so I spoke openly with her from the start.”

“Oh, really?”

“Yes. However, I heard a few weeks later that she suddenly submitted her resignation… I was in trouble because I lost my way to sneak out of the palace.”

“So I was wondering if I should say goodbye to Iris without saying a word, but then I thought, ‘Why not have Iris take Beryl’s place?’ That’s when I suggested it to the chamberlain and got his approval.”

“Hmm…”

Sion smoothly continued lying without missing a beat.

Of course, there were holes in this story too.

For example, if Beryl had been assigned to Sion from the start, why wouldn’t Isabella, who stuck to Sion like glue, know about it?

Or how could Beryl, who had only been at the palace for a month, get past the guards to sneak Sion out?

However, these contradictions were hard to notice and weren’t particularly decisive.

They were things she could easily talk her way out of.

More importantly, she needed to cover the big hole right in front of her. That was Sion’s judgment.

“I see… Well, I guess that explains why both of you were so surprised.

It would be shocking to suddenly see a familiar face in a foreign land.”

Fortunately, Isabella didn’t dig any deeper and nodded in agreement.

Phew, Sion quietly sighed in relief.

-“Shouldn’t we just confess the truth now? While we’re at it, we could also restore Beryl’s memory…”

Exia whispered nervously via telepathy. However, Sion shook her head.

-“No, we can’t. To explain things, I’d have to reveal that I’m the Demon King.”

-“Why…? Oh, because of the Mind Crash?”

-“Yes.”

Breaking someone’s memory is forbidden magic—it’s obviously not something that can be done with holy power.

‘Demon King Sien,’ might be able to do it, but certainly not ‘Hero Sion.’

In other words, revealing the truth would inevitably involve confessing the deception of the past seven years.

Exia pondered for a moment, then said.

– “But honestly, wouldn’t that be fine? For some reason, the princess really likes you, Sion. If you confess and apologize for deceiving her, she might understand…”

-“No, that’s a very naive take.”

“If anything, Isabella is the most dangerous one. Even if everyone else finds out, it must never be her.”

-“Why? What makes her so dangerous?” 

-“Because her affection for me is based on ‘sincerity.’” 

Sion glanced over at the princess. 

-“For seven years, I’ve built up this image of a ‘virtuous and pure saint.’ She admires me for that—nothing else. 

But if she finds out that everything was a lie? That my actions were just a façade to win favor? 

Would her feelings really stay the same? Wouldn’t everything I’ve built turn into a negative against me?”

-“……” 

Exia swallowed hard. 

It made sense.

The stronger the illusion one holds about someone, the greater the sense of betrayal when it shatters. 

After a moment of silence, she spoke. 

-“Then… couldn’t we just erase the princess’s memory, like before…?” 

-“You really shouldn’t be suggesting that as a holy sword.” 

-“B-be quiet!” 

Exia knew it wasn’t the right thing to do. Erasing memories was far from virtuous. 

But what other choice was there? If Sion’s true identity as the Demon King were exposed, her own honor for recognizing Sion as the hero would collapse too. 

Once you’ve crossed the line, doing it again becomes easier. Without even realizing it, Exia was gradually falling into corruption. 

However, Sion folded her arms and said, 

-“Yes, if nothing else works, that may be the only way. 

But it should only be the last resort. I want to get through this naturally, without having to manipulate memories.” 

-“Really? That’s unexpected. Not like you, Sion, who’s known for tossing ethics aside.” 

-“It’s not about ethics. There are risks involved with memory manipulation.” 

Sion rubbed her temples. 

-“A person’s memory is like a warehouse stacked with various items. 

If it’s well-organized, it’s easy to retrieve the memories you want.

But if it’s a mess, it becomes much harder to find anything. And using a Mind Crash to destroy memories is like intentionally smashing things inside that room and creating a huge mess. 

The problem is, ‘smashed and scattered’ doesn’t mean ‘thrown away.’ 

If by chance someone stumbles upon a piece of the debris, there’s always the possibility that old memories could resurface. 

And because of how memory works, finding just one piece could lead to a chain reaction where other connected memories come flooding back. 

Although the probability is low, if it happens, it’s immediate disaster.” 

If Sion had intended to manipulate memories, she could have done so a long time ago. 

For simple modifications, the mana cost isn’t high.

She could have adjusted the memory of someone like the chamberlain in advance and made things easier for herself. 

But a trump card is called that for a reason. 

You can’t just use it anytime, anywhere. It remains a last resort only because of its restrictions. 

-“When I did it with Beryl, I assumed we’d never meet again, so I felt safe… but now look what’s happened.” 

Sion was having terrible luck. 

It had been only a short time since the memory was broken, and she encountered the keyword “Anatolia.” 

She happened to meet a smuggler who could provide a forged student ID in the forest where her memory was erased. 

And unfortunately, the price was precisely 500,000 gold. 

Due to all these overlapping factors, Beryl, who Sion thought had been safely dealt with, reappeared before her. 

If even one of those elements had been missing, this reunion would never have happened.

It was a stroke of remarkably bad luck. 

There was no choice. What happened had happened.

‘Instead of lamenting over why I have such bad luck, it’s more constructive to think about the next step.’

Fortunately, switching gears like that was one of Sion’s specialties.

She began thinking of a way to navigate through this situation without resorting to memory manipulation.

It would be ideal if Isabella could just let this matter slide, but…

“This is… going to be fun!”

Unfortunately, she seemed to have no intention of doing that.

The princess’s eyes sparkled with excitement and curiosity.

“It’s been a while since my heart raced like this. I was getting a little bored with life here, so this is the perfect distraction.

Let’s see, Beryl, right? I’ll help you get your memories back. You have the word of Isabella, First Princess of Salem!”

“R-really? Thank you so much!”

“Oh, it’s nothing, really~”

This was bad. She had completely taken the bait.

“Sister Sion, you’ll help too, of course, right?”

“Y-yes… of course…”

With a cheerful smile, Isabella asked, and Sion forced a smile, trying to keep the twitching at bay.

The worst scenario she had imagined was becoming reality.

“Let’s see… Since the keyword we have now is ‘Anatolia,’ we should start investigating inside the school, right?

Sorry to Rosalia, but we can temporarily switch the attendant duties to this girl so we can get inside the school…”

“Oh, you don’t need to do that. I’m already a student at Anatolia.”

“Huh? Really?”

“Yes.”

Beryl nodded.

“It’s hard to explain the details, but… I spent all the 500,000 gold I got from that magician just to get the enrollment status at Anatolia.

So, I can come and go from the school freely for now. We just haven’t crossed paths because I’m in a different class from you, Princess.”

“Is that so? But if you’re a student, why are you working as a clerk here?”

“Oh, that’s…”

Beryl awkwardly explained the situation.

She had managed to buy a student ID by spending all her money, but she had exhausted her funds in the process.

She barely managed to pay for tuition, but she was running short on living expenses.

To make up for it, she had no choice but to work part-time at the café on weekends.

Isabella listened to the story.

 “If it’s money you need, I could support you. After all, I’m a princess and have plenty to spare.”

“No… I can’t burden someone I’ve just met with that much.

I chose to come to Anatolia, so I have to earn my tuition myself. I appreciate the offer, though.”

“Really? Hmm…”

At Beryl’s polite refusal, Isabella clicked her tongue in slight disappointment.

Then, after thinking for a moment, she suddenly clapped her hands as if struck by a great idea.

“Oh, I know! What if it wasn’t just one-sided help but a win-win relationship?”

“A win-win relationship? How?”

“It’s simple. If you want to make money, instead of doing part-time jobs in a place like this—”

Sion already knew what she was going to say next.

An intense sense of dread filled her inside. Please, please, let it not be that suggestion—

“You should join us and do quests together!”

Damn it, of course.

Sion sighed inwardly. Somehow, her bad premonitions never seemed to be wrong.