episode_0177

I slowly looked around.

“… … .”

What can I say, it was a dizzying sight.

It was a strange scenery reminiscent of the border that Veluid and I passed before entering the center, that is, the crater.

The thing itself existed properly.

There were buildings, a lake, and a forest.

The problem was that most of them were distorted.

Trees sprouted out of nowhere on buildings, buildings sprouted out of nowhere on the lake, and in the forest, there were no tree stumps, only branches and leaves.

It was a sight that anyone who saw it could not help but feel strange.

Seeing that strange sight, I realized that I had truly entered Mary’s mind.

This was my first time entering a person’s mind.

However, there was an unfounded belief that not everyone’s mental world was like this.

Perhaps it was because Mary’s mind was not sound.

“… … .”

After looking around the interior for a while and gathering my thoughts, I quickly took a step forward.

There is no time.

I had to wake Mary up before it became irreversible.

Since I didn’t know how time passed in this place, I had to hurry even more.

I don’t know where Mary is in this world, but there was a clue.

Before coming here, I heard a brief explanation from Veluid.

he had said

Considering Mary’s condition, it is highly likely that her spirit is sleeping in the deepest part of this world.

Using those words as a cue, I started to walk faster.

Toward the inside, where Mary would be.

***

As we moved in, the surrounding scenery continued to change.

Mountains appeared, fields appeared, ordinary villages appeared, and bustling cities appeared.

Of course, most of them had something strange about them, just like the sight I saw in the beginning.

For a while, I continued to go inside, feeling a strange feeling that suited such strange scenery.

“… … .”

For the first time since entering this world, I stopped walking.

It was because a familiar sight caught my eye.

A sight I have seen many times, and even just recently.

The entrance to the city of Perdion appeared before my eyes.

Perdion was not distorted like other scenes I had seen so far after entering Mary’s mind, but had the same shape as the scene in my memory.

Of course, there is a possibility that the inside was deformed, but at least on the outside, there seemed to be no major problems.

Why does Perdion maintain its original form, unlike other landscapes?

The answer was, of course, I didn’t know.

Is it because the sight of Ferdion is familiar to Mary, or is it because it occupies an important place in Mary’s mind?

Maybe not both, maybe both.

However, one thing seemed certain.

The city I see in front of me, the city I must step into from now on, feels different from the places I have passed by so far.

“… … .”

I stopped for a while and looked at the entrance to Perdion.

I soon started walking again, and before long, I entered the interior of Perdion.

And at that moment, the atmosphere around changed.

If it had only been strange so far, the atmosphere here was strange, dark, and gloomy at the same time.

I immediately recognized the cause.

It was because there were no people in sight.

Perdion, a large city built around the Academy, is home to a large number of people, as befits its name.

There are literally so many people that it fills this huge city.

That’s why Perdion was a place full of people wherever they went.

However, there was not a single person in Perdion that I could see right now.

No, beyond people, there wasn’t even a living thing to be seen.

The scene was strange and at the same time eerie.

It was a time when I was looking at the strange scene of Perdion with narrowed eyes.

Suddenly, it got dark.

There were pitch black clouds in the sky that had been blue just a moment ago.

And, at the same time.

In a completely still metropolis that did not appear to be a living thing, something moving appeared.

shadow… It would be closer to say that, but strictly speaking, it was different from a shadow.

In the first place, a shadow can only be created if there is a body, and it does not have such an ominous color.

At first, there was only one shadow that caught my eye.

However, the moment I blinked, it multiplied into two, and the next moment it became ten.

After blinking a few times, an ominous shadow had already filled this wide city.

“… … .”

When I saw that scene, I recognized it.

Finally, the real suffering has begun.

Before coming here, Veluid said.

It is highly likely that the fact that Mary does not open her eyes is due to the ‘measures’ taken by the religious leader, and the impact of this will inevitably have an impact on Mary’s mental world.

And, because of that, Mary’s mental world will be very dangerous.

───.

In the blink of an eye, the ominous shadows that occupied Perdion let out strange cries.

From that cry, I could feel the clear hostility of the shadows towards me.

They were alert and hostile.

Me, the intruder of their nest.

“… … .”

I felt pressured.

It wasn’t just the pressure of the shadows.

In this city itself.

No, it was the pressure felt from the world itself.

This world itself was against me.

Feeling that intense pressure, I thought,

Veluid’s judgment was right.

Perhaps if it were someone other than me, I wouldn’t have been able to withstand this pressure.

Unable to bear it, his spirit itself would have been torn apart and collapsed.

Veluid and Ethan were probably no exception.

In the first place, being opposed by a single world is not a pressure that a single human being can withstand.

However.

I am.

As for me, it was a different story.

Under the pressure of the shadows and the world that seemed to crush my soul, I closed my eyes and began to concentrate.

With concentration that went beyond the human realm and reached the transcendental realm, I established my will and intention in my heart.

My intention to fight against this world that is hostile to me.

And, the will to save Mary at all costs.

Finally, when I opened my eyes.

Before I knew it, I had a sword in my hand.

A hero’s sword that looked very familiar to me.

“… … .”

Raise your head.

────.

I saw shadows gathering towards me, crying unpleasantly.

Looking at them.

I held the sword in my hand tightly.

***

Mary was looking at memories of the past.

He just stood there blankly, watching his memories flow by.

What is this situation?

Why is he doing this?

Such a question arose in her mind, but Mary could not think of an answer.

I felt like something had happened.

I felt like I had met someone.

However, no matter how hard I searched my memory, I could not recall what it was or who it was.

Mary continued to search her memories for a while, but soon gave up on finding the answer.

No matter how hard I tried, I couldn’t recall that memory.

‘I guess it doesn’t matter.’

It was because I thought that it didn’t matter which answer was given.

In a daze, Mary watched her memories flow by.

“Mary Blue Noah, your grades went up again.”

I remember receiving praise from my professor for improving my grades.

“Oh my. Good morning, Miss Mary.”

I remember saying hello to a noble lady whom I got to know after entering the academy and whom I got along well with.

Various memories flowed like the surrounding scenery passing by while riding the tram.

and.

“The weather is nice today, Miss Mary.”

A familiar voice was heard.

When I turned my gaze in that direction, a handsome young man with a tall and neat appearance caught my eye.

It was a familiar face, Alexis.

“… … .”

Alexis wasn’t the only one.

Cedric suddenly appeared without even a trace and was standing next to him.

“How are you feeling today?”

Chris greets me with a calm face.

“… joy. You look like a goofball today too.”

There was even Wilhelm, who came towards her with his usual frown and a curt, uncharacteristic greeting.

It was a familiar sight by now.

At some point, these four started hanging around her and talking to her more often.

Looking at that face, Mary thought again.

That he had made friends with absurd people.

Alexis is the prince of a country, Cedric is the disciple of the sword saint, Chris is the disciple of the magic tower master, and Wilhelm is the grandson of the greatest merchant on the continent.

Even in the academy, where only people with outstanding backgrounds gather, they are truly special people with backgrounds that stand out.

They were people who could be said to be above the clouds, whom the original Mary would not even dare to get close to.

But for some reason, we developed a friendship that went beyond saying hello to the point where it would be no exaggeration to say that we hang out together every day.

At that fact, Mary once again felt a fresh emotion.

If you think about it, a lot happened.

Suddenly, she thought of something like that.

More than a year has passed since I entered the academy.

And, a lot of things happened during that time, which can be said to be long or short.

He helped Wilhelm escape from an attack by unknown people.

He helped Chris, who almost lost his body to a forbidden old book.

I broke through a closed dungeon with Cedric.

I escaped the collapsing dungeon with Alexis.

Really, a lot happened.

Mary searched through her memories with many different emotions.

‘… … uh?’

One thing I noticed was strange.

That she couldn’t even remember someone’s face that appeared in her memory.

It wasn’t because it was just a passing relationship, a mere face-to-face meeting.

Rather, that someone frequently appeared in her memories.

It is no exaggeration to say that every time, there was always someone in her strong memories.

However, Mary could not recall that face.

I couldn’t remember that name either.

It was strange.

It was a strange thing.

That’s why I was worried.

Mary began to search her memory to recall that face and name.

However, no matter how much I went back and searched through my memories, that face did not become clear.

“We welcome your admission.”

Even though her memories went back to the day she finally entered the academy, Mary couldn’t recall that face.

Eventually, Mary began to trace her previous memories.

A carriage heading to the academy.

The day I received notification that I had been accepted to the academy.

The day I first decided to apply to the academy.

The memories of the past unfolded before my eyes as clearly as if they had happened yesterday.

And, although there was someone in all those memories, that face was still not visible.

The surrounding scenery began to accelerate.

She went back in memory, over a year or two.

The day I became an adult.

The day I first learned magic.

The day I was scolded for breaking my father’s favorite vase.

The day I tripped over a rock and my favorite clothes were ruined.

To the past, further into the past, she rewound her memories.

Numerous scenes and faces passed before my eyes.

So, how much did it bother my memory?

Finally, the scenery stopped.

And, it wasn’t until then.

Mary could clearly see the face of that ‘someone’.

“… … .”

Looking at the black-haired, dark-eyed boy who seemed to be six or seven years old, who looked at him with distant eyes that did not suit his age.

Mary was finally able to come up with that name as well.

Wade Heblon is an infinitely familiar, yet somehow nostalgic name.