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Chapter 57.2: 19-Years-Old (4)
Mer frowned in concentration, “Now then, let’s see… Oh, that’s right. Wasn’t there an example on the first day you arrived here, Sir Eugene? You looked at the recorded image of Hamel upstairs and then said—”
Eugene quickly interrupted her, “I don’t think I can remember that happening.”
“That’s fine because I can remember everything clearly,” Mer cruelly assured him. “You looked up at Hamel’s face and said that he had a charm like that of an untamable beast. Were you serious when you said that?”
Eugene couldn’t say anything in response, “....”
Mer asked, “Didn’t you feel even a tiny bit embarrassed saying that? How could you point at your own face and such a ridiculous thing?”
“What’s wrong with that? I didn’t feel even an ounce of shame when saying those words,” Eugene stubbornly insisted. “Hamel had—I mean, in my previous life, I had a face with its own certain charm about it.”
“Blegh…,” Mer covered her mouth as if about to vomit and shook her head vigorously. “Even though you’ve been reincarnated with a face like yours, how could you say something like that?”
“Whoever said that the face from my previous life is better than the one I have now? I’m just saying that Hamel’s face had its own unique charm to it,” Eugene clarified.
“By the way,” as she said this, Mer’s expression changed. She narrowed her eyes and stared at Eugene as she asked, “Why have you suddenly told me something like this?”
“There’s no real reason for it.”
“If you’re expecting something from me, then it’s useless. I really don’t know anything about Lady Sienna’s current whereabouts.”
“I didn’t tell you this because I wanted you to tell me something like that,” Eugene said as he stood up with a grin. “It’s just, I’ve been looking at you for the past two years. Although I already vaguely felt this when I first met you… I’ve realized that you really resemble Sienna. Both in looks and in personality.”
“...That’s…. That’s because I was created based on Lady Sienna’s childhood version of herself,” Mer mumbled as she turned her gaze away from him in embarrassment.
Eugene asked her, “Do you believe that Sienna is dead?”
“There’s no way she’s dead,” Mer denied vehemently.
“I also believe that,” Eugene agreed as he turned his head to look at Sienna’s portrait. “Since three hundred years have passed, it wouldn’t be strange for her to have died, but I don’t feel like that chick Sienna was someone who would have just passed away without even leaving behind a will. That goes for the rest of them as well.”
“...,” Mer stayed silent.
“Of course, since a lot of time has passed, I can’t be sure if their personalities have changed greatly. But even so, can a person ever really change completely?”
“...Do you really think so?”
“Definitely,” with a bright smile, Eugene extended a hand to Mer. “That’s why I’m going to go looking for them.”
Tap.
Eugene flicked the tip of the large wizard’s hat that Mer was wearing with his fingertips. Mer’s eyes widened to circles as she looked up at Eugene.
“Sienna, Molon, and Anise. They all must still be alive somewhere in the world… that’s what I believe. So I just need to go and find them,” Eugene declared confidently.
His large hand came to rest on top of Mer’s head. Usually, Mer would have thrown his hand off in disgust, but she wasn’t able to do so now.
“Don’t you miss Sienna as well?” Eugene asked her.
Stunned, Mer responded, “...Y-yes? I... I definitely do.”
“If that’s the case, then that’s even more reason for me to go and drag her back here. Sienna is also quite the bitch, don’t you think so? After all, she’s been neglecting the cute familiar she made herself for the past two hundred years.”
“...Please don’t insult Lady Sienna.”
“It’s fine for me to insult her. Do you know how many insults I had to endure from Sienna three hundred years ago? That damn brat, she called me a bastard and an asshole no matter what I did…. Oh, that’s right, didn’t you say you have a good memory? Do you remember that idea I brought up with you a while ago?”
“Are you talking about your suspicion that Lady Sienna is the author of the fairy tale?”
“That’s right. You might have said it was bullshit when you first heard it, but no matter how much I think about it, I can’t help but feel that it’s pretty plausible. In the first place, that fairy tale has some quite significant details for a story that was apparently stitched together from the rumors floating around.”
“What do you mean by ‘quite significant?’”
“Just what I said. In my opinion, the fairy tale was either written by Sienna or Anise. The two of them might have even written it together.”
In the face of Eugene’s agitation, Mer’s expression grew strange. As she plainly stared at Eugene’s face, she recalled the image of Hamel that had been left upstairs.
“...So, Hamel—no, Sir Eugene, according to what you are saying, Lady Sienna is the one who wrote the words ‘Sienna, I like you’ in the fairy tale?” Mer asked doubtfully.
“Those fucking words, I never said anything like that,” Eugene insisted.
Mer continued, “Then, that means Lady Sienna would have recorded you saying something that you didn’t actually say. Why would Lady Sienna do such a thing?”
“...Are you trying to fuck with me?” Eugene growled.
Mer frowned, “Please stop spouting such nonsense. I absolutely cannot imagine that Lady Sienna would add words like beautiful and elegant in front of her own name.”
Eugene hesitantly admitted, “Perhaps… Perhaps Anise was the one who wrote it. Her personality was really, well, twisted and rotten. Although that fairy tale only records Anise’s saintly appearance, the real Anise was practically an evil twin of that one.”
“Ah, yes. Of course, that’s the case,” saying this, Mer raised her hand and waved it in front of her nose.
Unsure of what that gesture meant, Eugene just blinked his eyes.
“Please take off your hand,” Mer requested.
Eugene asked, “What’s wrong? In the past, you’ve always slapped my hand away.”
“...I’m just trying to show you the respect that Lady Sienna’s comrade deserves,” Mer confessed, feeling embarrassed.
“That’s quite gratifying,” Eugene said with a smirk as he took his hand off Mer’s head.
Mer hopped off her chair and hesitated for a few moments before taking a deep breath.
“...Sir Eugene, can you swear an oath?” Mer asked.
“About what?” Eugene returned her question.
“About the fact that in your past life… you really were the Stupid Hamel.”
“I’m willing to swear, but let me just say this first. Since I’m Hamel, can you stop adding that damn Stupid epithet in front of my name?”
“Then what should I say? The Asshole Hamel?”
“How about the Amazing Hamel? Or the Wonderful Hamel?”
“It looks like you really are envious that the word ‘Great’ is stuck in front of Vermouth’s name.”
Eugene coughed in embarrassment, “Ahem….”
“In any case, if you are truly the reincarnation of Hamel… please swear an oath on it,” Mer sincerely pleaded.
Eugene slowly nodded and solemnly declared, “On my name as Eugene Lionheart, I am the reincarnation of Hamel Dynas. I swear on my blood and my name as a Lionheart that there is no falsehood in what I have just told you.”
“...Please wait one moment,” after she had received his oath, Mer turned and walked over to Witch Craft.
She raised both hands up to Witch Craft and stood there for a few minutes with her eyes closed before continuing, “...After Lady Sienna went into seclusion, several wizards dissected both Witch Craft and me on numerous occasions. However, there are still a few things they weren’t able to find. Hidden in the deepest location of Witch Craft’s storage files, there is information recorded beneath Witch Craft’s source code. And today… I will also store the news you have shared with me in that hidden location so that no one will be able to find out about it.”
Opening her eyes once more, Mer turned to look at Eugene, “...What I will be revealing from this point on… is also something that no one in Aroth has ever heard.”
“What is it?” Eugene asked.
Haltingly, Mer began to recount her story, “There is a clue relating to Lady Sienna’s disappearance. It was about a week before she… went into seclusion. At that time, I was already stored in Akron… on this very floor, and Lady Sienna was also there with me. Then suddenly… Lady Sienna collapsed into her seat with a groan.”
“...There’s no way she could have really caught an illness, right?” Eugene asked worriedly.
“Of course not,” Mer replied. “I was obviously surprised, so I asked… Lady Sienna what had happened… and she told me that one of her familiars had been killed.”
Mer hesitated for a moment, unable to continue speaking immediately, before revealing, “...It was stationed at Hamel’s grave.”
“...,” Eugene stayed silent.
“At the grave, someone had… broken in… and this caused Lady Sienna to burst into a rage,” Mer finished recounting.
At a grave? Hamel’s grave?
“I have a grave?” Eugene asked with a blank expression.
Mer took another deep breath before nodding, “...I didn’t manage to hear the full details about that either. That was also my first time hearing of Hamel’s grave. Not long after that… Lady Sienna suddenly disappeared, and I hid this conversation in the deepest depths of Witch Craft.”
Mer had a complicated expression as she explained her actions, “It was because Lady Sienna had suddenly disappeared without telling anyone. I didn’t want to distress Lady Sienna by needlessly revealing something I shouldn’t have. However… since you, Sir Eugene… are also Hamel, I feel you deserve to know.”
“...My grave…,” Eugene muttered before letting out an inexplicable snort of laughter. “I haven’t heard even a hint about it. I always thought that my corpse had been completely annihilated by Belial’s curse.”
“...Well, a lich’s curse does annihilate both the body and the soul, so I see why you would believe that,” Mer agreed.
“Usually, that’s the case. Although thinking about it, my soul remained fully intact and was even reincarnated.”
“If that’s the case, then your corpse should have also remained intact. Perhaps… right. About your reincarnation—”
“I also have my suspicions that Sienna might have been involved in it. Though I don’t know if that’s the truth just yet.”
His tomb of all places. Eugene snickered and shook his head.
“That just gives me even more reason to go looking for Sienna.”