Ch.11Memory Dissonance

I could tell that maybe all of this had been just a dream.

That was the small wish I held until right before falling asleep.

I wanted to dismiss everything that had happened as a nightmare and return to my normal daily life.

But.

As soon as I opened my eyes, I was greeted by the ceiling of a building that was dented and collapsed in various places.

A sigh naturally escaped my lips.

In a situation where a reality more dreamlike than a dream was welcoming me, how could I not sigh?

Just as I was rubbing my eyes and trying to get up.

“Ah?”

A strange sensation as I moved my body.

A small groan naturally escaped my lips.

It felt like someone had suddenly yanked my hair.

My brows naturally furrowed as I looked toward where the shock had come from.

“Ha…”

A sigh naturally escaped when I turned my head and confirmed what had happened.

Long silver hair and golden hair were harmoniously forming a heart shape together.

A knot that could never occur naturally.

Right now, only Aurel and I were in this building.

In other words, the culprit who had done this to our hair was Aurel.

I silently looked down at her.

A peaceful face without a trace of worry.

Judging by her slightly upturned lips, she seemed happy.

Could she possibly be having a happy dream?

I reached out and untied the heart-shaped knot.

The knot came undone easily with a smooth motion.

I couldn’t tell how long it had been tied, but thankfully, the hair was in perfect condition without any damage.

Swish- Swish-

I frowned while running my fingers through my silky hair.

When did I start caring about the condition of my hair?

I wasn’t in a good mood.

I lightly tapped Aurel’s cheek as she lay beside me.

Tap-

“Eek!”

Aurel woke up with a start at the sudden contact.

When her wide-open eyes recognized me, her lips naturally relaxed into a smile.

“Hehe… Did you sleep well?”

I was going to say something about her tying my hair, but seeing Aurel’s bright face, my mouth naturally closed.

I silently watched what Aurel was doing.

She rubbed her eyes and sat up, staring blankly at the ceiling.

How many minutes passed like that?

Suddenly, as if remembering something, she looked down at her right side hair with an urgent expression.

“Ah…”

A regretful sigh escaped at that moment.

Aurel stroked her hair as if disappointed.

I got up.

It was quite entertaining to silently observe Aurel, but since the sun had set, we needed to get going.

“Let’s go.”

I left the building with Aurel.

I was worried that other humans might come looking, but that seemed to be an unnecessary concern.

Suddenly, I thought that this world without electricity looked just like a stage with the lights turned off.

Was the dim moonlight and shortened daylight period just a device to make the protagonist of the play stand out more?

What a useless sentiment.

I shook my head while looking at the large full moon in the sky.

Come to think of it, it was a full moon.

The time when werewolves’ abilities become particularly strong.

But.

Why wasn’t this information in the memories I had absorbed?

Blood Carnival’s [Full Moon] buff wasn’t exactly a hidden Easter egg.

It was a fact everyone naturally knew. If you had ever raised a werewolf or faced one during a full moon, you would naturally know this fact.

Because it was so obvious, the game company behind Blood Carnival didn’t specifically announce this fact.

“Aurel.”

“Yes?”

“It’s a full moon.”

I cautiously brought it up, wondering if my memory might be wrong.

“Yes. It’s a beautiful full moon!”

“Werewolves will be stronger.”

“Werewolves get stronger?”

“Don’t tell me you didn’t know?”

“No! I’ve never raised a werewolf.”

I closed my mouth at Aurel’s answer.

The world had been like this for five years.

How could she not know that werewolves get stronger on full moon nights during such a long time?

Moreover, werewolves and vampires are allies.

They meet periodically and share information, so how could she not know such basic information?

Of course, a low-ranking vampire like Aurel might not know.

She would have been a newbie before the world changed like this.

“What’s strange?”

“Hmm…”

I crossed my arms and fell into thought.

The problem was Ravina’s memory.

Ravina was the leader of a vampire clan that managed a region.

That means she also met periodically with werewolves and exchanged information.

Not only that, but the amount of information her clan members regularly gathered was substantial.

“Nothing. It’s nothing.”

I shook my head and turned around.

This seemed like something I needed to confirm with other werewolves or vampires.

After that, Aurel maintained silence throughout our walk.

Judging by how she was staring blankly at the large full moon, she seemed quite taken with it.

I glanced at Aurel’s profile from time to time.

How long had we been walking like that?

While absently shifting my gaze, I spotted a bicycle inside a building.

Though it was covered in dust, the exterior didn’t look too bad.

My feet naturally headed toward where the bicycle was.

“Charlotte?”

Ignoring Aurel’s call, I examined the bicycle.

There was some rust due to lack of maintenance over a long period, but the chain area seemed fine.

If I could just solve the issue with the flat tires, it looked like I could ride it right away.

“Do you ride bicycles?”

“It should be faster than walking.”

Of course, running on two legs would be faster than riding a bicycle, but wasting energy unnecessarily would be dangerous.

“Can you find me a pump?”

“A pump?”

Aurel tilted her head at my words.

Could it be that she didn’t know what a pump looked like?

Well, if she had no interest in bicycles, it would be understandable…

As I was about to explain what a pump looked like, I shook my head at its complex appearance and said:

“Just bring anything that looks long and suspicious.”

“Okay!”

Aurel and I split up to search for a pump.

Since various maintenance tools were scattered around the bicycle, there must be a pump somewhere in this house to inflate the tires.

How much time had passed?

Aurel came running to me with something long in her arms.

“Charlotte! I found it!”

“This is…”

I let out a small groan when I saw what Aurel had brought.

Sure, I told her to bring anything long and suspicious because explaining was troublesome…

But this wasn’t a pump; it was a belt-type barrier.

Aurel was looking at me like a puppy waiting for praise.

“This isn’t it.”

“Oh…”

Aurel turned away with a dejected expression.

By the way, what did the person who lived in this house do?

Having a belt-type barrier inside the house.

How much more time passed?

Aurel came again with an excited expression, carrying another long object.

“Charlotte! I found it!”

Of course, this wasn’t it either.

What Aurel brought was one leg of a camera tripod.

“This isn’t it either.”

“Oh…”

Aurel looked dejected again.

After some more time passed, I was able to find a pump tucked away in a corner of the building.

“Aurel! Come here!”

Aurel came running immediately at my call.

She looked at the pump I was holding with sparkling eyes.

“This is a pump.”

I put the heavy pump down on the floor and extended the footrest.

Then naturally assumed the position.

Looking at the hose on the ground, I said to Aurel:

“Aurel. Can you connect that to the hole in the bicycle tire?”

“Got it!”

After Aurel diligently moved her small, soft hands, we were all set to inflate the bicycle tires.

“Phew!”

After a small breath, I began pumping.

Whoosh-! Whoosh-! Whoosh-!

I stretched my arms fully and pressed down hard each time the handle changed height.

Whoosh-!

Stretch-!

Whoosh-!

Stretch-!

After repeating this pumping motion several times, the bicycle tires were able to become fully inflated, as if given new life.

I was worried there might be a leak, but that concern proved unfounded.

Now that the tires were inflated, all that remained was adjusting the height of the seat and handlebars.

The previous rider of this bicycle must have been quite tall.

I pressed down firmly on the sky-high seat to lower it.

The same with the handlebars.

After completing all the settings, a wonderful bicycle made just for me was ready.

“You sit in the back.”

“Y-you’re letting me ride with you?”

“Would you rather walk?”

If there had been two bicycles, we would have ridden separately, but right now there was only one.

Until we found another one along the way, we had to ride together.

I sat on the bicycle and pointed to the back seat.

“Umm…!”

Aurel cautiously approached and sat on the back seat.

Then she started changing her position here and there, seemingly uncomfortable.

“If you let your clothes hang like that, they might get caught in the chain.”

“Oh! Really?”

I pointed out her attire after checking Aurel’s appearance.

That flowing skirt could get caught in the chain and cause an accident.

Aurel slightly lifted the hem of her skirt.

“Is this okay?”

I silently nodded at Aurel’s question.

Her thighs were a bit overly exposed, but I didn’t bother pointing that out.

Just as I was about to silently depart, Aurel pulled my clothes and called out to me.

“Um, Charlotte.”

“What…?”

“Is there any way to make this seat more comfortable? The skin on my thighs is bulging through the holes and it’s a bit uncomfortable…”

Indeed.

The back seat with its many holes would be uncomfortable.

I finally managed to tear my gaze away and went inside the building to get a cushion for the back seat.