episode_0022

As if entranced, I mingled my body with Yuri’s, temporarily forgetting what happened before.

That day was important.

Let’s briefly return to that night I set out to find Eve.

Even though it was quite late, Wangdo was bustling with people.

The lively atmosphere of the evening, which I had just found pleasant, only became a hindrance as I searched for someone.

“Excuse me, have you seen a girl with light sky-blue hair and an Academy uniform—?”

While Yuri stopped people passing by to ask about her whereabouts…

“Where are you…?”

I ran across the rooftops, checking the traces of mana Eve had left in the streets.

『Skill, [Mana Detection] is active.』

My [Mana Detection] skill, honed over years, has now reached an astounding level.

Basically, people leave traces of mana as they live, and the wavelength is subtly different for each person.

And now I can perceive those differences as well.

If I can only feel the wavelength of mana, it means I can distinguish people even with my eyes closed and ears plugged.

With such a useful skill, I had been diligently searching Wangdo for a while now.

‘…This isn’t right.’

The presence, breaths, and scent of people all around me… and countless mana wavelengths.

Amidst the various sensations accumulating and overlapping like fallen leaves, only Eve’s was missing.

As if she had deliberately concealed her presence, none of her mana was felt in the streets.

It couldn’t have been my mistake.

The intense shock of our first meeting.

The tingling sensation that spread throughout my body.

And the mana of the wind within the soundproof barrier I touched this morning.

Those were brief moments, but I couldn’t possibly mistake Eve’s unique, lonely, and poignant mana wavelength.

‘…Could it be?’

Could she have left Wangdo?

The thought that she might no longer be here occurred to me.

I immediately poked my head into the street and called out to Yuri.

“Yuri!!”

“-Yes, yes! Unni!”

“Take this—”

[Mana Veil].

The inscribed spell is ‘Consciousness Transmission’, shaped like a thin thread.

I rolled one end into a ball like a spool of thread and tossed it to Yuri.

“What is this?”

“Tie it around your wrist. Then we can communicate with each other from anywhere.”

“Okay.”

Watching Yuri tie the veil around her wrist, I did the same. Slowly and strongly visualizing what I wanted to communicate—

「Can you hear me?」

「Yes, perfectly!」

Our voices were transmitted along the thread of mana.

Right, communication established.

Taking the opportunity, I immediately spoke my mind.

「Check around the crowded areas—no, just ask the Adventurer’s Guild.」

「Why there?」

「Just a hunch.」

Eve’s solitary image made me think of my old main character, who started as an adventurer.

Of course, I didn’t just send Yuri to the Adventurer’s Guild at night, where those beastly offspring swarm, based only on a hunch.

At this time of day, people and information gather more easily, and I could always send a search request if necessary. Considering that, it was the most likely place to find Eve.

And, just in case…

I ran towards the south gate along Wangdo.

…

My steps were heavier than usual.

Was it because I was carefully treading unfamiliar ground, or because thoughts of Eve weighed on my shoulders?

Nevertheless, legs that had already surpassed the level of a normal human quickly brought me to the gate.

The south gate.

Beyond this lies the [Forest of Illusion], teeming with magical beasts.

It’s also a place where countless adventurers wander in pursuit of their adventures, and a gateway to the Tarun mountain range spanning the empire and the kingdom. I passed through here when I went to Hinata Duchy before.

Naturally, such an important place had a considerable number of guards. I approached cautiously, without concealing my presence.

“Excuse me.”

“…What? What’s an academy student doing here in the middle of the night?”

As expected, they found it suspicious. I told them the truth.

“My friend may have gone beyond this gate. Have you seen a girl with light sky-blue hair?”

“Um…well…I don’t really remember…”

“…Probably not?”

Their answer was unsatisfactory. I clenched my fists.

“It’s not like only one or two people pass through here…”

“She might have been wearing a hood. Could you try to remember a little more—”

“Look, I told you, I don’t know. If she was all bundled up like that, I couldn’t even see her hair, right?”

Anger welled up to my throat.

‘It’s your job to verify that…!’

I almost felt like slicing them all up, but I’m not a princess anymore.

Gritting my teeth, I calmly tried to treat them humanely.

“Then, would it be alright if I briefly investigate beyond the gate?”

“No, no. I can’t let a female student go out alone at this hour.”

“I’ll only investigate the immediate vicinity. You can come along if you want.”

“Ugh, so troublesome…”

These bastards are really pushing my buttons.

Before the guards could swarm around me for protection, I deployed the [Mana Veil].

Widely, along the path to the Forest of Illusion to maximize the chances of finding Eve’s trail.

Even as I walked beyond the gate and outside the walls, I focused all my attention, tracing the mana.

“Hey, where are you going?”

“Shut up, unless you want to die.”

“…What?”

Because those damn dogs kept snooping around, I absorbed the surrounding mana, creating a small [Mana Burst]. Just enough for a weak shockwave to go out.

Boom!

And the effect was sufficient, because the guards immediately shut their mouths.

I should have done this sooner.

I adjusted my slightly disheveled clothes and focused on the trail search again.

Gravel, soil and sand, grass, trees, and wind…

And soon I felt Eve’s sky-blue mana.

‘She was…really…in the direction of the forest…!’

But what now?

The forest is too vast to search completely, I lack the strength, and I don’t have time. I don’t have any troops to spare, and the rabble following me won’t help; they’ll just stop me from going further.

If necessary, I’ll knock them down—

「Unni! I found some information!」

Before I could take action, a message arrived from Yuri. I immediately focused my mind on the thread-phone.

「What is it?」

「Well…」

She explained the information she had obtained from the guild. I was aghast.

「…I’ll be there right now.」

Leaving the guards surrounding me, I ran back towards Wangdo.

…

…

…

Bang—

I burst through the guild doors.

“Yuri!!”

“Unni, over here!”

Karis Adventurer’s Guild.

Even though it was late, the first floor was crowded.

Most were drunks who had crawled down from the second-floor tavern.

Pushing through them, I approached Yuri.

“Let me introduce you. This is Guild Manager Katia.”

“Ah- Nice to meet you, Narias Philbrogue.”

There was another woman sitting at the table in front of the reception desk where she was sitting. I bowed to Katia, the manager.

“It’s Katia. Since you seem busy, let’s keep the introductions short…”

“What’s going on? Eve being an adventurer?”

The information Yuri had already told me was quite shocking.

「Eve Esta… is apparently a 5-year veteran adventurer.」

It’s not uncommon for academy students to become adventurers.

In the original work, my character was an adventurer after all.

However, I registered with the Adventurer’s Guild following the main storyline in my fourth year of academy.

A freshman, newly enrolled, being an adventurer—and already a veteran…

There was a reason for my strong reaction.

Somewhere deep in my mind, there are remnants of my past life’s memories. I was slowly recalling them.

‘Ugh, crap. I died again. Sigh…I have to grind the story from the beginning again…’

‘In the early game, the adventurer path is easier to level up? Bullshit. How can someone write that on the information board…’

‘As an Acast 10-year veteran, I’ll tell you. Multplayer players or weirdos trying to unlock special achievements only register as adventurers from their 4th year of academy…’

‘Newbies are getting slaughtered again today…’

Thump, thump…

A scene from my memory.

On the monitor, the corpses of novice adventurers were piled up like a mountain. Most of them had fallen for the bait of malicious users and started as adventurers without any basic knowledge.

Back then, it was just a game.

But now, I’m living in that game world.

My heart pounded.

“Ugh, ugh…!!”

『Trait, [Reborn One] activated.』

『Maintaining rationality.』

“Unni, are you alright?!”

Noticing my strange state, Yuri approached. I pushed her hand away.

“I’m fine…I’m just a little tired…”

The effect of [Reborn One]: maintaining rationality.

When I first recovered my memories, I eagerly defined my goals and began preparations.

However, not long after, I realized that this world isn’t a game at all.

My heart beats, blood flows.

This is reality.

If I die, that’s it.

Every time I strongly grasped this reality, nausea came, which subsided again with the effect of the trait.

This time, my defined limit: until my fourth year, I absolutely did not want to be involved with the Adventurer’s Guild at all. I wanted to quietly hone my skills.

‘But, I need to find out about Eve.’

I quietly vowed to do whatever it took, including becoming an adventurer.

“I’m fine now. Will you continue the story?”

“Yes…in fact, there’s probably no one in the kingdom who knows Ms. Esta well. She hasn’t been at the Karis Adventurer’s Guild long either.”

She handles various attributes of mana, doesn’t restrict herself to any particular weapon, and flawlessly completes high-rank requests without a single wound.

She even works alone.

As someone who understands the meaning of solo adventuring via the original work, this fact was even more of a shock.

And the requests she receives share something in common.

“She only accepts money as payment?”

“Yes. If you offer items, equipment, or any honors or rights as payment, she absolutely refuses…”

“Her goal is money…”

My second shock.

Those of us from wealthy families didn’t worry about Academy tuition fees.

Naturally, we had enough for our living expenses and funds to pursue our individual goals.

But Eve came from another country, and her origins are unclear. Even during diplomatic events I attended as a princess, I’d never heard of the Esta family name.

If she had truly come to the Naifrantz Kingdom alone and attended the academy…

While we had money to spare, Eve had to earn it all by herself.

A life of day and night toil. Studying during the day and working at night.

‘That’s why she was so sleepy in the morning…’

Bang—

I slammed the table.

“Th-then, I’ll be going. I can’t tell you anything more.”

“Yes- yes, I understand. Please go ahead…!”

Katia left, and only Yuri remained, quietly hugging me.

Tightly.

“Let’s go home and rest for today. And tomorrow, I’ll explain everything, why Unni was—”

And she caressed my cheek.

“Why you had that sad, scared, and angry look.”

“…….”

“Please tell me.”

Yuri’s words were so gentle and warm that I embraced her tightly.

“Should we have one more drink?”

“Yes, just one more.”

So we went up to the tavern on the second floor and ordered two drinks from the menu.

“Two Arcoholics coming up~”

It was a strong alcohol with aphrodisiac effects and memory-impairing side effects, known as ‘Devil’s Tears’. We had no way of knowing this, as it was our first time at the Adventurer’s Guild tavern.

…

…

…

Even after experiencing such an event, it’s a drink that makes you do ‘that’ all night. They should warn people who are visiting for the first time…

I almost forgot my original purpose.

I already explained everything to Yuri about the dangers of being an adventurer on our walk to the classroom. And about Eve’s harsh life. And that I need her and that I will jump into her hellish life for her.

Early morning, classroom.

Eve’s hair smelled nice; it seemed she had washed up after a job and immediately come to academy. She was so tired that she had fallen asleep on her desk, forgetting her soundproof barrier.

I gently tucked her clear, sunlit hair behind her ear.

Yuri placed her hand on top of mine.

“If Unni goes, I’ll definitely go with you.”

“That’s right.”

Because of this, I could decide.

Let’s try being an adventurer.

Even if I’m under fourth year and without the base—

I’m a multi-cycle player, a veteran.

『A sub-scenario has been unlocked: [Adventurer Registration].』