The truth is that the name Blessing of Lethe caught my attention from the first moment. It couldn't be a coincidence that a medicine that could erase someone's memory had the same name as a river in Greek mythology, a mythology that didn't even exist in this world. Of course, I didn't think much about it at the time. That was because it was a city where evil spirits lived openly. There would be nothing strange about that name coming out of a player's mouth at some point.
But to think that player would be me...
From the false rumor spread earlier by Felic Barker to incidents like this, the blows happened one after another and it wasn't even funny.
As I sat there staring into space, Ipaello looked at me suspiciously. «Wait a minute... How did you know about that medicine? So far it has only been distributed to less than twenty people».
Ah, eye.
«I heard Felic Barker received it from the lord of the castle».
«Hmm, ¿es así?»
Despite his slightly skeptical look, I straightened my shoulders proudly. I wasn't exactly lying. Felic Barker really had Lethe's Blessing. Of course, he did not tell me bluntly, but simply hinted that he had received as a reward a secret medicine that the alchemist had supplied to the lord of the castle.
«True, the lord of the castle seemed to be watching him with interest lately, so that might be the case». Ipaello accepted it without further argument, but I assumed he was curious about one last thing. «But where have you heard the name Blessing of Lethe?».
«I don't know, I think those guys said it. I may have heard it wrong».
«Haha, I guess they've already created jargon for it?». Soon, suspicion disappeared from his eyes. At least he had solved a problem.
Now that I was clear, I asked him my own question. «But can that medicine be used? I heard it was just manufactured. Doesn't it cause other problems?».
«There is nothing to worry about. Apart from some irregularity in the amount of memory that is erased, it has no side effects».
Irregularity, huh?
It seemed that the research needed to mass produce the medicine with consistent yield had not yet been carried out.
«But considering what most people would use it for, a side effect like that doesn't really matter, right?».
«True, but it could be defective or have no effect».
«There is little chance of that happening. In any case, it is excessively effective. And after the first test, there has never been any defective batch».
«Excessively effective?»
Like the scholar he was, the old man seemed excited as the conversation drifted toward his field of study. Ipaello asked me to wait a moment and took out a box that was stored in a corner of the workshop. «This is the first dose of this secret medicine I have ever produced». The box he opened contained a pure white pill. Although there were more than ten storage spaces except this one, they were all empty.
«It looks twice as big as the one I saw».
«Haha, it's not just the size that's big. One pill and almost all your memories will be erased».
"...¿Which?"
Would a lifetime of memories disappear if you took this thing? So it wasn't unusual to call it defective? Wait, why was he even making a mass-produced product when he had a better-performing prototype in the first place?
When I asked this out of pure curiosity, Ipaello's answer was typical of a researcher at a large company. «Ah, that's because it costs tremendous amounts of money to produce even one of these pills. The lord of the castle said that we would not reach the break-even point».
As an office worker, it was a totally understandable explanation.
True, since the medicine was originally made to be used on people who witnessed things they shouldn't have, a few days of memories would be enough.
After that, I talked to Ipaello for about five more minutes, and that marked the end of our conversation for that day.
***
Time continued to pass and soon the eve of D-Day arrived. We reviewed our plan one last time. Well, after all was said and done, the question remained whether it could be called a plan, but what could we do? Sink or swim, we had to try. Anyway, to summarize the main parts of the plan, it went like this:
First, we would infiltrate the castle and take the Records Stone Fragment. This was my only responsibility. Tomorrow there would be no troops in the castle, and Amelia seemed to think I was capable of robbing an empty house without problems. Anyway, while I was busy at the castle, Amelia would stay close to her little sister. Here arose the problem of our plan.
After meeting Amelia, we would run away with the sisters. At least, that was what we said we would do, but we hadn't planned well how exactly we would do it. Even if that old man found a way to break the Unhealthy Contract that Felic Barker had imposed on Laura, everything else would have to be left to improvisation.
Third, the Rainwales sisters would gain new identities on the surface and live happily ever after. This was the scope of our plan. To be honest, I didn't think it would turn out well at all. The problem wasn't that it wasn't detailed enough. The problem was that the most important component was missing.
«A timeline once observed cannot change».
No matter what happened in the past, the future followed the same thing, and even now there were small towns in the area. Walkie y Raven, the barbaric hearts and even the Bendición de Leteo; if you had so many examples, Amelia tendría aún más. It was felt in déjà vu several times each day lived, remembering its subsequent experiences.
Grifo.
Just then, something touched my forearm. When I turned my head to the side, I could see Amelia handing me a bottle of alcohol.
«…¿For me?»
«Sí.»
«Of nothing?» I asked incredulously.
«Tomorrow is D-Day», Amelia responded, expressionless.
«I mean, still...»
«I have something to tell you too».
Oh, you should have said it from the beginning.
I grabbed the bottle and uncorked it, laughing as I did so. Since he couldn't get drunk, he wanted me to drink instead. Well, even if you were sober, it was easier to talk if the other party was drunk.
«Hah...» I drank half the bottle in one gulp and said, «What do you have to say? It's important?»
«Not exactly. But... I feel like I haven't been able to talk to you properly lately». Amelia avoided my eyes as she spoke. Was she embarrassed now?
«Hey... C-True...» That embarrassed me for some reason too. Was it because of the alcohol?
Ugh, this drink is very strong. And super bitter too.
Just when I was going to ask her where the hell she got this drink from, Amelia called me by name. «Yandel».
«I thought you wanted us to use pseudonyms even at the inn.»
«That ends today, anyway. Even if someone finds out, there will be no problem».
«...So what do you want to talk about?»
«There's something I have to tell you», Amelia said, before quickly correcting herself. «Actually, it's more of an apology».
«...An apology?» I had a sinister feeling as soon as I heard that. And as always, my instincts never led me astray.
Thud, roll.
The half-empty liquor bottle fell from my hand and rolled on the floor. Ha, no wonder the drink was so bitter.
«What have you put in it?» I asked, resting my practically paralyzed arm on my thigh.
Amelia's face remained expressionless as she responded. «All the medicine I have that is not life-threatening». Saying something like that with that expression on her face made her really look like a serial killer. But despite the chill that ran down my spine, I was able to learn one thing.
So he's not trying to kill me.
I shook the small emergency hammer I was carrying in my thigh sheath like a dagger, as hard as I could. Unfortunately, the attack failed.
¡Whoom!
Amelia leaned her upper body back and the hammer hit the empty air. «I knew you'd do that as soon as you put your hand down».
Considering that I used a surprise attack every time we fought, it seemed like she was able to guess what I was trying to do just by looking me in the eyes. «Damn». My muscles lost strength and my body staggered as I stood up, but Amelia stopped me from falling to the ground.
Yes, I knew I would do that.
«Ah...!» Taking advantage of the fact that she was supporting my weight, I quickly moved my arm to put pressure on Amelia's neck. The technical term for this movement was triangular choke. But this woman was not so easy to beat, unfortunately.
¡Bang!
A powerful blow landed on my temple and my body was thrown back. As my head turned, I saw two women in front of me. It seemed like he had managed to summon a double in that brief moment to kick me high in the head.
I'm finished.
In addition to being high, my head was also injured and my body was not moving at all.
«...You never make things easy». Amelia sneered, picked me up and laid me on the bed. Then a one-sided monologue began. «I'm sorry. It seems I can never be your comrade».
I used my last remaining strength to grab Amelia's wrist when she turned around. «You... what... are you trying to... do?».
Amelia didn't answer. He just took his hand off me and put the equipment on piece by piece with a stern expression. He looked like he was about to enter combat.
«Open the drawer when you wake up».
That was the last thing I remembered.
***
Amelia Rainwales looked in the mirror. She then smoothed her clothes and combed her hair back. That revealed the scar on his ear, which had been cut off a long time ago. It was a wound that certainly would have become a flaw if she had wanted to live a typical woman's life, but as it stood, she couldn't even call it a loss. I had had to sacrifice a lot more to be here today.
However, for some reason, he found it difficult to leave. Because? Amelia stood in front of the mirror and analyzed her emotions. It wasn't because I was afraid. After that fateful day, for her life was nothing more than a means to an end, and it still was even if nothing changed today, which meant that decades of effort in pursuit of a single goal would serve no purpose. nothing.
I wasn't afraid of failure. Rather, that in itself would be almost salvation. As he ran into the future non-stop, he desperately waited for this day to come. At the very least, he could hold on to the fact that he never gave up trying to protect her. So what was it? What the hell was holding her back?
Amelia turned around and there was the sleeping barbarian. The tense expression he had when he asked him what he planned to do had disappeared and he was even snoring, dead to the world.
Step step.
Amelia approached the bed and opened the bedside drawer. Then he placed the note he had written before inside and turned around. At that moment, he remembered a conversation he had had a few months ago.
«If I can save your sister and take care of the logistical obstacles once we get back to our time...».
«... ¿Sí?»
«Then join my clan».
Even the memory of his offer was absurd. It didn't make any realistic sense. But if she would allow herself to imagine it for a moment... it would have been quite nice. Every day he spent exploring the maze with this foolish man would have been filled with all kinds of surprises. Yes, without a doubt...
«Ah...»
That's when Amelia realized why she couldn't move her feet. It was out of remorse, a lingering remorse for a future that would never come.
But feelings were just feelings. If his feet were heavy, he had to use more force to move them. I couldn't stop walking.
Crunch
He took a moment to catch his breath in front of the door and turned the knob tightly. When he came out, he could see that the chaos had already begun.
«¡F-Fire!»
Flames were growing in the eastern district. Amelia moved quickly through the crowd that filled the street. Although he had lied to that man and told him it was tomorrow night, in reality D-Day was today.