Ch.58Loss (3)

Melina sensed something strange the moment she faced Kiel.

A highly advanced question about whether the self could be divided. The fact that this question came from Kiel, who wasn’t even a mage, sparked deep interest in Melina.

Yes, interest.

‘……Interest?’

Melina furrowed her brow.

Something was off. She shouldn’t be feeling interest in the current situation.

‘Why?’

Melina questioned herself. What was wrong with finding an interesting question interesting?

That self-evident proposition was being contradicted by something deep in her heart.

But no matter how much she thought about it, she couldn’t understand why.

She was certain she had been doing something important before entering the reception room, but as soon as she faced Kiel, she had forgotten it.

‘……What was it?’

A meeting?

No. That was just part of her daily routine.

There was only one thing important to Melina.

‘……Olivia.’

Her disciple who had returned triumphantly after half a year. Steak with plenty of spices. Training. And also…

“Why does the self split?”

Melina stopped her thoughts and raised her head. Kiel was waiting for an answer.

“The reason, you ask?”

Melina stood up with an uneasy expression.

Whatever that important thing was, it wouldn’t be too late to think about it after answering Kiel’s question.

*****

The moment Olivia heard Kiel’s question, she sensed it.

This was no mere memory.

[……That’s quite the direct approach.]

A memory can only exist as a memory. It might gradually wear away with time, but it’s impossible for it to completely transform into new content.

[I’m sorry. It’s about an acquaintance.]

[……Hmm.]

And the scene unfolding before her eyes was clearly a new one. In a way, it was obvious. Among countless iterations, there had never been a time when she had pretended to have two selves.

Olivia focused and carefully observed the situation.

‘……I was careless.’

So focused on Clue #2, she had neglected to pay attention to Clue #1, which had already been completed.

‘Clue #1 could also affect other memories.’

Between one clue and another.

The “memory compression” vividly showed what had happened among the returners during the period when Olivia hadn’t appeared.

[Why does the self split?]

At this moment, Olivia could realize at least one fact: the criteria for memory compression.

Content that Olivia knew was compressed and flowed quickly, while content she didn’t know played at its original speed.

‘……Still, I didn’t expect this much.’

No matter how experienced Olivia was, it was impossible to predict all the [branches] that arose from minor behavioral changes.

She had thought Kiel would at most go to the Imperial Archives, but she hadn’t expected him to visit the Golden Tower directly.

And she certainly hadn’t anticipated that he would ask Melina questions about her.

‘……This could ruin everything.’

Kiel and Melina would be entangled at least two more times. Once when he collapsed at the Golden Tower, and again when he defeated the Great Demon Belphegor.

But if Kiel and Melina were already having such conversations, all of that might become undone.

No, it definitely would.

From this moment on, they would work together, putting aside everything else to find a way to save Olivia.

But the flow of the conversation was very different from what Olivia had expected.

[As time passes, the minds of mortals wear away quickly. Usually, the limit is a thousand years…..]

When Kiel asked, Melina answered without the slightest agitation.

‘She’s not agitated?’

There, Olivia felt a strange sense of déjà vu.

[……That’s why dividing one’s self is madness. You won’t even remember which was your original self.]

Melina was too calm, as if she had forgotten that Olivia had two selves.

[Is your acquaintance an elf by any chance?]

[No.]

[Then there’s nothing to worry about. As long as they’re human, it’s absolutely impossible. Go back to your acquaintance and tell them not to worry.]

That statement confirmed it.

At least at this moment, Melina didn’t know that Olivia had two selves.

‘Does this make sense?’

Just moments ago, Melina had been aware that Olivia had two selves. The evidence was that she had handled the paper with the fragment of truth written on it before going to meet Olivia, who had returned from training.

But now she didn’t know.

‘Are there two compression files?’

For the current situation to make sense, what was playing before her eyes had to be the compression of Clue #1.

If Clue #2 had also been applied, Melina wouldn’t be answering; she would be demanding to know who this acquaintance was.

But to say that only Clue #1 was compressed didn’t make sense either, given that Melina had known about the fragment of truth just moments ago.

Clues #1 and #2 were ambiguously mixed.

‘Could it be……’

[Currently observing ‘Melina Diviae’.]

Olivia brought up the notification window. This damn window would never give the answer first until Olivia figured it out herself.

‘Yes, come to think of it, something was off from the beginning.’

[Memories are shared between all clues.]

This seemingly simple proposition had one fatal flaw.

“What happens if I meet the same returner twice at exactly the same time?”

Let’s consider an extreme example.

Suppose she used something like Clue #8 to meet a psychopathic killer for the first time at midnight on January 1, 993. And in that first meeting, she assaulted the killer.

Then, the moment Clue #8 ended, the killer would remember Olivia as “the crazy woman who beat him up at their first meeting.”

In this situation, if she used Clue #9 to meet the killer again at exactly midnight on January 1, 993.

This time, instead of assaulting him, she has a normal conversation with the killer.

Would the killer remember being assaulted in Clue #8, or having a normal conversation in Clue #9?

It’s impossible to remember both situations simultaneously.

Because both events occurred at exactly the same time.

‘Being beaten up and having a normal conversation can’t coexist.’

To prevent this dilemma, one prerequisite is needed.

There must be a priority of application, whether for clues or the branches derived from them.

Olivia waited with a confident expression for the notification to appear.

– Ding!

[You have figured out all the secrets of the clues without any explanation!]

[The explanation of the clues is being updated!]

+

<Rules for Using Clues>

– 1. You cannot meet more than one returner at a time.

– 2. Clue usage can be skipped.

– 3. When two clues conflict, the later one overwrites the earlier one.

– 4. When branches derived from clues conflict, the branch created first takes precedence. However, this is limited to the moment of conflict.

+

After checking the notification, Olivia lowered her gaze.

[It’s time for you to leave, Duke Kiel.]

And the current situation was a branch.

Kiel was being turned away.

Though she hadn’t seen it, this was probably how it had been the first time too.

*****

Melina dismissed Kiel without a moment’s hesitation. When someone had such a fanatical expression, it was best to avoid conversation altogether.

Then Melina took out a paper from her bosom. The legacy that her disciple, who would return someday, had left for her.

The edges were worn from how many times she had unfolded it.

Although there had been no progress for a year and a half, Melina had not given up yet.

No, she couldn’t give up.

Melina spread eight sheets of paper side by side on the desk and began interpreting them in order, starting with the fragment written on the first paper.

Notes, blackboards, and the air filled with formulas. Melina continued her interpretation tirelessly. In the past, she had to interpret them one by one due to time constraints, but now that she was fully adapted, there was no reason to do so.

She could vaguely see what the next step was, but that was it.

It wasn’t enough yet.

‘……So that’s what it was.’

Only then did Melina realize what the “important thing” she had forgotten was.

To reach the truth and lighten the burden of her disciple who would return someday.

That was the most important thing that should never be forgotten…

Melina started and abruptly stood up.

‘……!’

She had forgotten.

Until just now, she had forgotten the existence of ‘Olivia’.

For a moment, she felt a chill run down her spine. Melina instinctively activated the crystal ball.

[Yes, Master. What can I do for you?]

“What, what did I just tell you?”

The secretary hesitated for a moment before speaking.

[You said that starting tomorrow, if Duke Kiel visits, I should tell him you’re away.]

“……”

[……Should I cancel that?]

Hearing the secretary’s response, Melina couldn’t answer immediately.

“……No. Do as I instructed.”

Melina instinctively felt it.

That she shouldn’t meet Kiel again right now.

But.

The next meeting came just ten days later.