Ch.180Sky

Swish-

In the late dawn hours, Theo, who was guarding the entrance, opened his eyes at the rustling sound. Through his dim vision, he saw it was Se-erin who had risen.

“Se-erin?”

Her reaction was strangely delayed. Even though he called her name, she stared blankly into space before finally shifting her gaze toward him. Theo frowned and spoke.

“Are you okay?”

“I’m fine.”

“Uh, yeah…”

The small girl, Se-erin, brushed her hair back with her tiny hand. Her memories were vague. With the help of the young man before her, she remembered her name, but that was all. In the jumbled, chaotic mix of memories, she couldn’t distinguish what was truly hers.

She had basic common knowledge. However, the problem lay in her foundational memories. She had been a mercenary, and also a merchant. Sometimes she had been a knight, and other times a warrior guarding a wealthy estate owner with vast lands.

“Hmm…”

Swish-

As she rose, she began internal meditation. Even if her foundational memories were vague, the martial arts her body had acquired hadn’t disappeared. It would be more accurate to say her body remembered.

The moment she stood up, a faint wind swirled around Se-erin.

Whoosh-!

“You’re injured.”

“Ah, y-yeah… you are hurt.”

She nodded at the familiar voice that drifted hazily. She was in an injured state. Who was the enemy? She moved her gaze to immediately detect the threat. But she couldn’t sense anything. Then, naturally, she moved to the next step.

Whoosh-

‘Ashen.’

The spreading wind expanded her detection range. Through the instantly widened area, Se-erin could gather more information—that this was a cave in some mountain, and that there were only two other living beings around her.

She felt no hostility. Either they had escaped from enemies, or they had won. Either way, it meant the fight was over. Se-erin sat down and stretched out her hand.

Swoosh-

A sword naturally flew into her grasp, settling in her arms. Se-erin gently leaned against the sword she had summoned, using it as a pillar. A languid atmosphere emanated from her softly relaxed expression and elongated posture.

Theo tilted his head as he looked at his friend. The appearance of the girl who had just regained consciousness seemed unfamiliar somehow. As if she had become a different person.

‘That can’t be…’

But he had to check. Theo swallowed dryly and asked Se-erin.

“Um… you are Se-erin… right?”

“… I believe so. No, I am. It’s a familiar name.”

“…A familiar name?”

“Various memories are mixed together. Did I hit my head during the fight?”

Se-erin explained her condition while touching her head. Among her soft, snow-white hair, a hardened scab fell off. It was a trace of minor external injury. However, the human head, especially the brain, is an organ that can suffer significant damage from even slight impacts. As expected, it seemed the shock from the fight had caused her memory confusion.

Or there could be another reason.

Sniff sniff-

Belatedly, her sense of smell detected the scent of blood. Not her own. The smell emanating from the two people with her. Traces of serious injuries.

They were all together, and all injured. Moreover, the young man before her was standing guard at the cave entrance, which meant he had a close relationship with the two people here.

“Are we comrades?”

“What…?”

“I asked if you, I, and this woman lying here are comrades.”

“… You…”

“I told you. I have a problem with my memory. I have a familiar feeling, but I can’t remember names.”

The memories were too vast for one person to hold. Se-erin couldn’t distinguish exactly which memories were truly hers among the many swirling in her mind.

Of course, she might remember names if she took time to slowly swim through her memories. But it was better to hear directly. Just as she had realized a few things the moment she heard her own name, she might recall something if she heard the names of her companions.

“Theo…”

Crackle-

It felt like lightning striking her mind. Theo, Cheong-ik, and Cheonraeseum. She had memories of being together since childhood. Comrades, or more than that—friends.

The recalled memory triggered a chain reaction. The memory extending from Cheong-ik became a beam of light, advancing through countless memories. Se-erin pointed at the woman lying beside her and said:

“Then this must be Flora.”

“Do, do you remember?”

“A little.”

She didn’t recall all her memories. She only remembered the background of the person, and the rest was just conjecture. Se-erin traced her memories in this way.

But at some point, she stopped. She had lost her way among the countless memories. Se-erin sighed deeply and said to Theo:

“Theo.”

“Yes.”

“How many days have I been lying down?”

“About a day…”

“Did Flora regain consciousness?”

“Briefly in between…”

“Hmm…”

Hoo-

Se-erin’s breathing began to change. The starlight seated in her heart rotated, activating her physical abilities. Though numerous memories were mixed together, there was one common point.

They were all memories of sword users. Thus, knowledge about the human body naturally began to form an intersection. Through this knowledge, she could accurately assess her condition.

‘Tendons in arms and legs… I’ll need to use mana. The entire meridian system is damaged. Light mana operation should be fine, but beyond that… If it’s not mana but inner force… I only have related knowledge but no traces of accumulated inner force in my body.’

In the process, she naturally applied the process of elimination. A significant portion of memories was instantly organized.

‘There’s no room for physical growth. This is my final state. No experience with romance either…’

She instantly grasped her condition. Faint starlight breath flowed from Se-erin’s mouth.

“Theo.”

“Huh?”

“Do we have somewhere to return to?”

“We do…”

“… Let’s start moving when Flora wakes up.”

***

Flora regained consciousness the next morning. The three shared what little jerky they had and left the cave.

Crunch crunch-

Se-erin, following her two friends with her short legs, spoke up. It was a question she had been wondering about since before leaving the cave.

“Theo. Flora. Did I really always maintain this hairstyle?”

With a puzzled expression, Se-erin pointed to her hair. She had gathered her naturally flowing hair and tied it up on both sides. It was a hairstyle called twintails.

“Not always. But you did it often.”

Flora answered. Her bright, beaming smile showed no hostility whatsoever. A close companion, considerable familiarity, someone trustworthy. Such a person wouldn’t lie to her.

“Hmm…”

Meanwhile, Theo just nodded slightly.

“Hmph.”

Crunch crunch

Se-erin nodded and walked forward confidently. Behind her, the barely intact cloak of Cheong-ik fluttered.

***

Se-erin crossed a large mountain range with the two. Their travel speed was ridiculously slow. All three had suffered serious injuries.

“So I came here looking for my younger sister… is that right?”

“Yes.”

“And in the process, we encountered a powerful enemy.”

“Yes.”

“I’m sorry for having such a thoughtless younger sister. And thank you both for helping me.”

Se-erin was able to learn about this incident from the two. She couldn’t remember anything, but that’s what they said. When she heard the word “younger sister,” she felt a slight tingling sensation, but that was all.

“We’re friends. Of course we’d help.”

Flora said.

Friends.

She rolled the word around in her mouth. A pleasant resonance. It seemed they usually moved together like this. Se-erin crossed the large mountain range, sensing numerous sword presences around her.

The three encountered people shortly after crossing the mountain range. They carried swords, blunt weapons, and ropes. A faint smell of blood emanated from their bodies, and blood-soaked sacks were piled up in the cart they were pulling.

Not a good encounter. Se-erin’s group naturally came to a halt.

The group at a distance also stopped.

“They have a cart. I wonder if they’d sell it to us?”

“I don’t know… but it’s definitely not a cart for transporting goods. And I don’t think we need to buy it—they seem more likely to try to put us in that cart.”

Theo and Flora naturally placed their hands on their swords. They had assumed combat stances from the moment they sensed the faint hostility. And Se-erin was no different.

Swish-

She stepped forward and placed her hand on her sword.

She moved according to what she remembered. Her legs spread shoulder-width apart, her sword raised upward, and her posture lowered. Her physical condition was terrible, and she couldn’t utilize much mana. That’s why she chose this sword technique.

Shing-!

The distant group simultaneously drew their weapons. After a brief conversation, they seemed to have made the wrong choice.

-Catch them!

-Don’t let them escape!

-Extra income!

The enemies began charging. Se-erin’s calm gaze observed the approaching foes. Then, as the enemy’s distance closed in, her sword moved smoothly against the roughly swung blunt weapon.

Se-erin’s extended sword altered the trajectory of the blunt weapon. The following attacks were treated the same way. The type of weapon didn’t matter. Maintaining her stance, she gently moved her sword to deflect the opponent’s attacks.

Her slender body never collapsed. All attacks were deflected, causing the attackers to repeatedly miss. Expressions of confusion appeared on the faces of the men who had been continuously attacking Se-erin.

For a brief moment, the forms of numerous swordsmen appeared and disappeared behind Se-erin. It was the moment a faint wind blew. After the tendons in Se-erin’s hand bulged, a rapid sword strike surged forth.

Whoosh-!

As the wind split, the five men beside Se-erin collapsed simultaneously.