Chapter 22: Relive

Reading Settings

Translator: Soafp

---

A strange man.

A white mask, and a matching white tailcoat.

A man dressed entirely in white, in a clownish outfit that looked more suited to wedding entertainment than visiting a grave.

When he saw Nonoa, he smiled.

“Hey, Nonoa. I've been waiting for you. You're a little earlier than I expected.”

“Waiting…?”

She had come here on impulse. There was no appointment, and above all, she didn't know this man.

Her suspicion must have shown on her face, because the man raised the book he was holding and explained.

“You read Erius's letter, didn't you? He's the one who brought you and me together. I wanted to meet you much sooner, but there were various restrictions. Even borrowing the power of the book, it's difficult to meet unless it's a place like this, one connected to him.”

The book he showed her had a black cover.

In Erius's letter, there had been mention of a book that recorded causality.

Could that be this book?

But… why did this man have it?

For now, there were far too many things she didn't understand.

“Erius… drew you and me together?”

“That's right. And if you wish, I'll tell you what he experienced, and the truth. That's why I came.”

He was suspicious.

But he knew about the letter, and seemed to understand Erius better than Nonoa herself.

If she could learn more than what the letter contained…

She wanted to know.

“Please. If you know anything about him, tell me everything.”

The man nodded at her words and stepped closer.

“Understood. But his experiences are vast. If I just explained them, no amount of time would be enough. So instead, I'll have you relive his repetitions, as if you were him.”

From earlier, what the man said had gone beyond Nonoa's understanding…

In other words, it sounded absurd, and she couldn't fully shake her distrust.

But…

“Relive them? Is something like that… possible?”

“Yes. But… the burden on you will be enormous. Is that still okay?”

Despite his strange appearance, his expression showed genuine concern for Nonoa.

He didn't seem like a bad person.

Trusting her intuition, Nonoa nodded.

“Yes. If it means I can know about him.”

“Alright. But this is no exaggeration when I say it will be unbearably painful. Because… you'll experience the one hundred and fifteen deaths that Erius experienced.”

“I don't mind.”

Nonoa answered without hesitation, and the man responded with a wry smile.

“You really are alike. Stubborn, both of you.”

“That doesn't matter. Let's hurry… sorry. I don't think I'm very calm right now. I'm impatient.”

After all, she had only read the letter today.

From there, everything had progressed at a dizzying pace.

Nonoa was aware that she had lost some of her composure because of it.

“Alright, I understand. I'll touch you for a moment. Stay still.”

As he said that, the man stepped even closer and placed a fingertip against her forehead.

In that instant—

An enormous amount of memories flooded into Nonoa.

Just as the man said, they were Erius' experiences, his memories.

She felt an intense strain under the torrent of information.

Erius' anguish, the pain his body had endured, everything he experienced mixed in with her own memories.

After a while… the man pulled his finger away.

But it wasn't over yet.

She understood that unlike what she had experienced, hardly any real time had passed.

Time was precious. She wanted to know what came next, even a little.

Unable to suppress that feeling, Nonoa voiced her frustration at the man.

“Why… did you stop! I've only… died thirty times so far!”

“No. You need a break… first, take this.”

The man offered her a handkerchief tucked into his b****t pocket.

Startled, she wiped her face with her palm and found it covered in sweat, tears, and even a nosebleed.

She took the handkerchief and wiped her face and hands.

It wasn't just her face—she had sweated so much that her clothes clung to her skin, making her uncomfortable.

She placed a finger against her forehead and began chanting a spell.

“Saiki Atu Li Recovery… Noma Rise.”

A psychotropic spell she had developed during the period of emotional downturn after defeating the Demon King.

She never imagined it would come in handy at a time like this.

After using the spell to temporarily restore her mental state, Nonoa urged the man onward.

“I'm fine now. Please, continue. Quickly.”

“For crying out loud… but you should have built up some resistance by now. From here on, we'll go all at once, alright?”

“Yes.”

From the fingertip that touched her again, the continuation began.

Within the reliving, Nonoa finally joined “Dragon Fang's Bite.”

She knew she had caused Erius trouble.

But the trouble she had caused was nothing compared to what she was now seeing.

The many things she had received from Erius.

It hadn't been written in the letter, but the fact that Nonoa was alive now—that itself was a gift from him.

She should have died at fifteen, yet here she was, alive.

These five years were Erius' greatest gift of all.

And the anguish Erius felt every time he expelled Nonoa from the party.

Knowing that, even as she felt sorry, she couldn't deny that she also felt happy.

Erius truly cherished Nonoa.

Every time she was defeated by the Demon King, he suffered for her.

Reading the letter, she had known they were comrades in battle.

She knew he cared about her.

But he cared far more deeply than she had ever realized.

“I'll fill in the last ten thousand with my own sword.”

She experienced the same training as Erius, who had made that resolve.

Seeing not just his outward self but the inner workings of his sword, she came to understand him far more deeply.

And then—

Nonoa arrived at the moment of Erius's final moments.