Ch.349349. A Life Covered in Memories

An old friend has departed.

He’s truly gone.

That giant of a man, as boisterous and warm-hearted as ever, who approached me just like he always did.

‘It’s somewhat regrettable.’

Couldn’t we have exchanged a few more words? Shouldn’t I have been more curious about other stories? There would have been so much more to say.

Having only shared stories of the past before he left, the lingering feeling refuses to fade.

Perhaps because he remained unchanged, memories of Goden from before the regression unfold vividly before my eyes.

Sometimes I see the instructor nagging us to train more diligently, and other times I remember how we all doubled over with laughter when Goden, with his hulking frame, attempted embroidery. At the swimming hole, he would shout about dunking someone else but always ended up being the first one in the water.

Except for Kain, the other members were attractive women, so whenever someone received a love letter, Goden would tease them and be the first to get scolded. Conversely, I recall hearing that many people couldn’t approach us because they were intimidated by Goden.

And his lack of control over his strength—he once broke camping equipment, and when it was his turn to wash dishes, he scrubbed them so hard that the coating came off, earning him a thorough scolding from Senia.

In marketplace dealings, Charlotte reluctantly stepped in, fearing he’d be taken advantage of, only to be asked if she was his father. With Aris, he was the main target of teasing among children, suffering all sorts of humiliation.

Someone who seemed capable of anything turned out to be a clumsy, good-natured fool overflowing with humanity. When it came to paperwork, he struggled so much that I was the one who helped him most often.

As a person, his unexpected sides endeared him to others without resistance, making it easy for him to befriend anyone.

“Seeing these scenes pass by so vividly…”

Yes. They’re more than just old memories.

“Thinking about it now, each one was truly a joyful memory.”

Those memories built in Tembris were once the joy of my life.

If there’s one regret… I wish I had known sooner. After the regression, I wonder if I could have at least remained friends with Goden—that deep regret lingers.

When the time came, the two constellations appeared again.

“The time was a bit short, wasn’t it?”

“…Yes. Much too short.”

“You must have had a lot to talk about.”

“Not particularly, but… as we conversed, I kept feeling regretful.”

“I see.”

The two constellations wore faint smiles.

***

A conversation with an old friend likely began with bewilderment, spread into joy, and ended with reluctance to part. Junon’s emotional journey must have followed that path.

Though the ending wasn’t good, he recalled the happy days from his life before the regression.

“But seeing that Goden knew how I died… I assume you two told him?”

“My, I didn’t expect such a sharp inquiry so suddenly.”

Reinesia blinked in slight surprise.

“That’s right. I was the one who told him, and we arranged this meeting at Goden’s request—he wanted to meet you at least once to apologize.”

“I thought as much…”

“But Goden’s early departure also means that the burden he carried has been resolved. It means you handled it well, so don’t take it too seriously.”

“I’m not taking it seriously. As I said earlier, I just… feel regretful.”

One can sense Junon’s regret that he should have become friends with Goden in this life too.

Though they could be considered colleagues or comrades-in-arms, for him, the Tembris members were his closest friends.

‘How unfortunate.’

The Ursa Major constellation felt even more regretful because of this.

So… it was time to finally bring up this story.

“I also want to first tell you that I’m sorry.”

“Pardon? To me?”

“Perhaps the fact that you had to sever ties with dear friends despite surviving through regression… was largely due to my lack of power.”

“Ah… regarding that, it’s not just your fault, I also… hmm…”

Junon tilted his head, seemingly wondering what these gods could possibly have done wrong.

The constellation couple exchanged glances and nodded once.

The Sagittarius constellation, Reinesia, continued first.

“Everyone except you had incomplete memories because we could only permit the Clock Hand’s formation to a certain extent. In fact, since we returned only fragments of memories to each person when the time came, misunderstandings accumulated.”

Junon seemed to catch on, thinking, “Ah, that story.” His mind worked remarkably fast, calculating quickly and reaching conclusions in an impressively short time.

“…Wait, if Lady Reinesia sent the telepathic message to the members while permitting my regression… then Lord Alcaide…”

“Yes. I was the one who appointed you as God’s Apostle to face the impending crisis as Alcaide. I also restored your body at the same time.”

“…!!!”

“When you chose to jump from the hospital rooftop in South Korea, simply preventing your death would have been meaningless. Being summoned to the Kempriton Continent as Calyx with that body would have made you suffer even more. So I had to expend considerable time and power to perfectly restore your bound limbs.”

He added that despite pouring in time and power, and even delaying the summoning time to the Kempriton Continent as Calyx, the causality was so strong that he ended up summoning him as Alcaide.

As his answer concluded, both constellations said:

“”We’re sorry, Junon.””

Though the explanation was lengthy, the fact remained that gods had interfered with a human’s life, making it arduous and difficult. That’s why the two constellations were apologizing.

For a while, Junon was lost in deep thought.

The constellations deliberately refrained from reading how far his contemplation went. This time, rather than reading his mind, accepting his honest reaction was the right thing to do.

He might resent them, asking why he alone had to suffer so much. Even if not, there would be plenty of reasons for him to be angry. So the two constellations waited and waited until he spoke first.

After much deliberation, Junon quietly began.

“In a way, I once thought that because I joined the Tembris party, I met my death by my comrade’s blade. So when I got a chance through regression… I tried to distance myself from Tembris. Indeed, that was a painful memory.”

But.

“If I hadn’t met those guys, I think I might have lived a life of being pushed around alone, caught up in the nobles’ position troubles. I actually didn’t make other friends. In a way, the Tembris members were the only friends I ever made in my life.”

It wasn’t just painful memories.

“When I met Goden, he said something like this. He bowed his head and apologized, saying I must have had a very hard time. That’s when I realized. I still had happy memories too. So I might actually need to be grateful. Just by restoring my body, you allowed me to live my life again.”

He said that life in the Empire was much more satisfying than living in Korea. He was grateful that with his restored body, he could encounter various stories with friends and create such memories himself.

Junon said this with a visibly unburdened expression.

『Really. He’s just like you. Are all people summoned as Alcaide like this?』

The Sagittarius constellation, Reinesia, complained to her husband via telepathy.

He didn’t deny it. Though he now sits as a constellation, he too was once such a human.

Life isn’t always shrouded in suffering; it’s a diary where one creates memories by recalling the most joyful times. With such words, he had once made his current wife cry profusely.

Slurp-

“Oh. This has a slightly bitter taste that Goden would dislike.”

He even showed composure while taking a sip of tea. Any resentment in Junon’s heart had already been resolved.

“By the way, I’m curious about something too. May I ask?”

“By all means.”

“Renias summoned me when she was very young, I heard. Since you intervened during my summoning as Calyx, was that also why I wasn’t summoned immediately? Because you needed time to restore my body?”

The two constellations smiled.

“Half right and half wrong.”

“If you had been summoned right away, it would have been a disaster.”

“Pardon…?”

Junon looked puzzled, but the two constellations chuckled and said they wouldn’t answer that.

The conversation naturally flowed to Renias.

So then.

Slurp-

“Now, we’d like to bring up a rather important topic.”

Click. The teacup was gently set down.

***

Constellation. Gods of the highest place who occupy the positions of stars.

They call themselves the Ursa Major constellation and the Sagittarius constellation.

But apparently, even if they’re called constellations or gods, they can’t grasp and catch everything. So they say they need to tell an important story that even they didn’t know about, which has me slightly tense. I don’t know what kind of story might suddenly emerge.

…But.

“No, asking how we first met is the normal thing to do, dear!”

“Honey, isn’t asking how we became close more important than our first meeting?”

“Without meeting, there’s no way to become close! You think so too, don’t you?”

“No. Just passing by each other isn’t enough. The process of gradually getting closer is the most important thing!”

What is this about…?

Well, even people… no, even gods might be curious about things. Right, they said they couldn’t grasp everything. But for the important story to be…

‘Is this about me and Renias…?’

I’m so dumbfounded I can’t speak. The tea in my mouth feels like it might flow back into the cup.

Fine. Let’s say I understand everything. The love stories of humans might seem curious and important to different… gods!

But why? Even if the topic has emerged, why are you two fighting?

“”Junon!””

“Yes, yes?”

“What do you think? Don’t you think the first meeting is important?”

“Don’t you think the process is more important than the meeting?”

I feel dizzy. This is incomparable to Senia and Aris fighting.

I can’t help but grab the back of my neck.

“”Junon!””

They urge me to answer quickly, and a sigh escapes me.

…The only way to resolve this is…

“Um… I’ll tell you everything from the beginning, so could you please calm down?”

For me to explain everything in detail myself.