Ch.155Chapter 155

In my dream, I saw Nutriche lying on the floor, exactly in the same position as my mistake in the dream had left her.

Looking at Nutriche’s face, strangely flushed from what had just happened, I fell into thought.

Perhaps it was the nature of dreams, where we accept even the most surreal events as normal.

Despite many inconsistencies, I had simply accepted everything without question.

Yes, the modern me who briefly appeared had never been close friends with such a beautiful woman.

Actually, I don’t think I had any real friends at all.

In that sense, the dream Nutriche showed me felt like it was soothing the wounds from that time.

It provided some catharsis by letting me vicariously experience relief from the pain and hardships I had endured.

Even knowing it was fake, washing away wounds can happen just by changing perceptions in the unconscious mind.

But how did she know about my past?

Is it because she can touch the unconscious?

This was no longer relevant to me, so she didn’t need to go to such lengths.

“Nutriche, thank you.”

“…For what?”

“I don’t know what you were thinking showing me that dream, but thanks to you, my heart feels lighter.”

If the me in that world had a girl like Chiyo that Nutriche showed me, would my life have been better?

Could I have done more productive things, found more courage to try new challenges?

To be honest, it was all pointless in the end.

To become friends with a girl like Chiyo would have required effort, and the me back then probably didn’t even have the will to try.

It was unfair to expect someone too good for me to like me without any effort on my part.

“…I didn’t exactly do it for your sake.”

“Huh?”

Her answer was different from what I expected.

What was she saying?

If it wasn’t for my sake, it seemed too obviously meant to comfort my wounds.

Honestly, until I realized it was a dream, I was feeling quite warm and fuzzy inside.

If this wasn’t for my sake, then what was it?

As I was thinking how strange this was and trying to get up to return to my original position—

Nutriche’s arm wrapped around my neck, pulled me close, and brought my ear to her lips.

Then she whispered in a somewhat provocative voice similar to when she first tied me up.

“I did it for my sake. You. Fool.”

I jumped up in surprise, and Nutriche finally rose with a satisfied smile, dusting herself off.

Not understanding what she meant, I stared at her blankly, and Nutriche sighed.

“You still don’t get it even when I say it like this? You’re completely dense.”

The scene from the dream clearly looked like Chiyo and my past self on a date.

But she said she did it for her own sake.

Which means…

“…Wait a minute.”

“I’m not going to wait.”

Nutriche said that and snapped her fingers.

A flash of light instantly enveloped both of us.

Suddenly, I found myself waking up in bed, breaking out in a cold sweat.

As I caught my breath, I hoped the dream I just had was merely an illusion.

But the dream remained so vivid, and Nutriche’s appearance in it…

I couldn’t possibly mistake that this was all Nutriche’s doing.

Which meant that Nutriche, like the other gods…

Oh no.

I’m screwed.

#

Fortunately, I was able to quickly process the shocking things Nutriche had said to me, thanks to the continuous series of surprising events.

That’s relatively speaking, of course—my head was still throbbing all the same.

Still, I couldn’t neglect my duties, so I forcibly brought myself back to my senses by slapping both my cheeks.

I had been postponing this due to the overlap of various incidents, but now it was truly time to face it.

My steps took me out of the branch office and into an alley, approaching the building I had once visited to discover Oko’s existence.

The familiarity I felt in this building must have been because of what I had experienced.

Thinking this, I opened the door and entered.

There were still no people inside.

I saw an old man silently keeping watch alone.

I used to think of him as some cult member and complained about it, but now I realized it was a scene more sacred than anything else.

Perhaps hearing my footsteps, the old man briefly paused his prayer, stood up, and welcomed me.

“Lord Tanthyn, you’ve come again. Are you here on business this time?”

“No, I came to thank you for the information you gave me last time.”

“Ho ho, this old man merely shared what might be helpful.”

Now I could see how truly humble his behavior was.

How difficult it must have been for him to proclaim Oko’s existence all alone.

He must have been full of hope that people would escape their distorted vision, seek reconciliation with the gods, and restore peace.

Looking at such an old man, I smiled with respect.

“Yes, thanks to you, I was able to learn everything about Oko.”

“I see, then that’s fortunate…?”

The old man looked up slightly, as if surprised by my choice of words.

Then, seemingly belatedly recognizing the word I had uttered, he showed a warm smile.

“…So you’ve regained your memories, my grandson.”

“I’m sorry for my unfilial behavior in not recognizing my own grandfather.”

In response to my words, grandfather merely patted my shoulder firmly with a smile.

“No, no. As long as you’ve returned safely, that’s all that matters…”

Though he tried his best to smile.

The tears at the corners of his eyes revealed how much he had suffered all this time.

All I could do was hold his hands in return.

#

“…When The Watcher concealed his traces and was forgotten from everyone’s memory, he left my memories intact to help you. Following The Watcher’s revelation, I came to Rondan to preach. When I met you again after thinking you had died, I was so overjoyed.”

Grandfather explained what had happened all this time.

Finally, everything started to make sense.

How I had been able to resist the song coming from the giant of the snowy mountains.

As expected, Oko had a plan all along.

“Grandfather, Oko is still alive.”

“Yes, I know. Otherwise, your hair color wouldn’t have changed like that.”

Grandfather answered my statement and then, with a serious expression, began to share something important.

“Raedan, listen carefully. From now on, you must not make enemies. You must resolve complaints directed at you and ensure that people will listen to what you have to say. Do you understand?”

“…Complaints directed at me?”

“You must not neglect even the smallest things. They will become major obstacles when suppressing the giant of the snowy mountains. There’s still plenty of time left. You must observe your surroundings carefully and create harmony. That was the final revelation The Watcher left with me.”

Complaints directed at me.

As far as I knew, there wasn’t really anyone who disliked me.

The entire knighthood was essentially on my side, and the people of Rondan territory had come to understand me after witnessing my life-or-death struggle.

The Huntsman, and the gods too.

But there must be some uneasy feeling, which is why Yoko left such words before disappearing.

“My grandson, I believe you can overcome this well. You’ve done well so far, so only good things remain ahead.”

“Grandfather.”

Looking at him, I smiled.

“Before I go, may I have a piece of bread?”

“…Of course. Wait just a moment.”

Grandfather entered the place where we had eaten bread before, wearing a gentle smile.

Finally.

I had found the last fragrance of my lost memories.

#

I moved along with my stomach stuffed full from all the bread grandfather had given me.

I understand he was excited that I finally remembered him, but isn’t this too much?

He’s not my grandmother, trying to stretch my stomach like rubber.

Anyway, I recalled what grandfather had just told me.

I need to resolve complaints around me.

It would be nice to know the extent of these complaints, but if we could know such things, the empire wouldn’t have frozen over like this.

Hmm.

Even trying to think simply about where such complaints might come from was making my thoughts complicated.

Right, let’s think simply.

Put differently, since there haven’t been any significant complaints so far, doesn’t that mean I’m doing well?

Usually, if nothing comes to mind, it’s fine to just move on.

I was about to take grandfather’s words as mere advice and dismiss them lightly when—

「…So, you call our plant friend, dragon friend, and even our chronicler friend all by their names?」

「…Huff. Human abandoned me. I’ve been abandoned. Now I’ll be put in a box and thrown away.」

Suddenly, a cold voice and a dejected voice maximizing its pitifulness echoed in my head.

Oh.

Um.

Found it.

One complaint I have no idea how to resolve.