novelraw Chapter 272: Engagement – Scars
Chapter 272: Engagement – Scars
271: Engagement – Scars
"Damn this shit game!"
Minseo cursed loudly.
Screw this piece of garbage, and damn you, main god! ─ He hurled insults, but he couldn’t hold on to his consciousness for long. Minseo faded quickly, overshadowed by Ray Dexter’s mind.
It was undeniably infuriating and left him feeling utterly betrayed. But the real victim, Ray Dexter, simply fiddled with the shattered necklace in his hands.
“What’s that? A necklace?”
“...Just something I picked up somewhere. Rera, I’m heading in first.”
As Ray took a step, he heard a clink—silver coins in his pocket that hadn’t been there before.
He felt a round object nestled against his chest as he sheathed his sword. Leaving behind Rera’s puzzled gaze, he walked away from the clearing.
But he didn’t head to his room. Ray didn’t like locking himself up. Instead, he stopped by Rera’s house and asked the lady of the house,“I’m taking some tea.”
He gathered a teacup from the kitchen.
Opening the wooden lid of a large jar, a sour smell wafted up. It was the odr berry juice that their two families had squeezed together last autumn.
Ray scooped a small amount into the teacup and, while the lady was preparing lunch, asked for hot water to dilute it.
A lot more water than juice.
With the odr tea that was closer to water than anything else, Ray returned home. In the living room, he threw a few logs into the dying fireplace and sat at the table in front, sipping quietly as he fell into thought.
He was reviewing his sparring match with Rera.
Suddenly, bizarre memories poured in. Strange memories not entirely his own—or rather, memories that included him as one of seven people.
Rev and Lena, Lean de Yeriel and Lerialia de Yeriel, Minseo, and...
Leo Dexter and Rera Ainar.
The last one was me, and so was my fiancée.
How much of this can I really believe? ─ Ray Dexter tried to find holes in the memories.
Yet his {Tracking} ability activated effortlessly. His father was currently in his study. Rera was at the window, watching him. As Ray turned his head, she quickly ducked out of sight.
Ray looked away. He was sorry, but he didn’t have the mental space to pay attention to her.
In the open living room, Ray crossed his legs and sifted through the flood of information: {Rules of the Backstreets}, {Noble Society}, {History of the Ashin}, {Hunting}, {Passing Techniques}, {Tactics}, {Command}, {King’s Blood}, {Nobility}, and {Divine Detection}... Various abilities swirled around him.
Techniques he had never learned in life, diverse swordsmanships painted themselves in his mind, but Ray found no joy in them. Each ability came attached to at least one unpleasant memory.
Ray Dexter felt the warmth of the fireplace beneath his feet and traced back through his memories. He seethed with anger at times, swallowing back tears along with the odr tea.
Eventually, Ray murmured.
“What a fool...”
It wasn’t directed at Minseo. He was talking to himself—the Leo Dexter who had no past memories. Ray drained the rest of the tea in his cup and stood up.
He had planned to go to the market with Rera.
Maybe I should go now, Ray thought, but it seemed Rera had already gone alone.
{Tracking} is useful, that’s for sure.
And when he realized she was buying a leather strap as a birthday gift for him, his melancholy mood lightened considerably. He tossed the broken necklace into the fireplace.
So, what do I do now?
Ray wandered the living room, feeling gloomy despite the good-quality furnishings. He collected his thoughts and pulled out a hand mirror.
Honestly, it’s still hard to believe.
That I’m in this situation, that marrying Rera would end everything.
But when the mirror softly glowed, reflecting a surprised young man’s face, Ray realized that belief wasn’t the issue.
In the mirror, Rev raised his arm behind him and spoke.
“Oh, Ray. Hold on. Everyone, stop! We’re taking a break here.”
The scene beyond the mirror shook violently.
Loud chatter among warriors and the neighing of horses.
“Captain! It’s an odd time, but should we prepare a meal?” called the voice of Vanne Bizaine.
Ray was speechless at the vividness of it all. Soon, the young man with the sharp brow reappeared in the mirror.
“The iteration has moved on. The mirror’s fixed. I was debating whether to throw it out when it broke last time, but lucky me. Ray, how did the rebellion... whoa?! Your name’s changed!”
“...”
“What... What’s going on? The Engagement scenario was supposed to start today... Ray, did you learn your true name in my iteration?”
“...”
When Ray Dexter remained silent, Rev also fell quiet. He studied Ray, who somehow felt unfamiliar, before asking a question.
“Who are you?”
“...I’m Ray.”
Who doesn’t know you’re Ray? What’s up with him? Rev pondered briefly and soon pieced it together.
“Your memories have returned.”
“...”
“I know. It’s disorienting at first. But you’ll get used to it. I did.”
“...I’m not so sure.”
Ray Dexter replied somewhat pessimistically. He remembered how this Rev fellow had ‘accepted’ his past, in reverse.
But he wasn’t inclined to argue about it. You’re you, and I’m me. Ray spoke up.
“This is the second iteration after yours. I don’t know where to start explaining, so I’d rather you ask questions.”
“Second iteration?! Was starting a rebellion here really that difficult?”
“No. The rebellion succeeded. In your iteration. But that wasn’t the goal we needed to pursue.”
“...Then what was?”
“Achieving Lena’s dream was the condition for the true ending. In Lena’s case, it was to become a priestess and bless you.”
Rev was silent for a long moment, seemingly overwhelmed. He closed his eyes, took a deep breath, and finally spoke in a bitter tone.
“...I see. Then, for the Engagement scenario, Rera’s dream must have been... becoming a knight.”
“...”
“But what’s the issue? You said this was the second iteration. Did Rera find out you were a Sword Master again?”
“...Yeah.”
Ray confirmed, though he didn’t elaborate further on what had happened since. He told Rev,
“Go find Harie Guidan or Lena, whichever you prefer. I’ll handle things on this end.”
Ray cut off the connection after conveying his message, and the mirror, now cracked and useless like the necklace, was thrown into the fireplace.
Sigh. I have to admit that these horrible memories flooding my mind are real.
However, Ray didn’t seem to regret it. He stared at the burning fireplace as if revisiting his memories, and a faint smile crept onto his lips.
That smile gradually widened.
Eventually, he laughed openly, showing his perfectly aligned teeth, and shivered slightly as he murmured, unlike the usual Leo Dexter who constantly lamented, “How did Lena and I end up as pawns in the main god’s game? What rotten luck.”
“Thank you, Lord.”
Having realized what he must do and why, Ray headed straight to the study. He took a moment to steady his excited breathing before knocking on the door.
- Knock, knock.
“Come in.”
His father was sitting in a rocking chair, reading a book. Ever since the Nine Days War, or rather since his mother’s death, his father had buried himself in books. Ray confessed.
“Father, I have something to tell you.”
“What is it? You seem to be in a good mood for some reason.”
“Before that, please... excuse me for a moment.”
Ray slowly drew his mother’s keepsake. Noel Dexter watched his son draw the sword with a puzzled expression, but his eyes widened in shock as the blade burst into a radiant flame. However, it was Ray’s following words that were perhaps more shocking.
“Father, I’ve received a divine message. The evil god Malhas was the one who instigated the Nine Days War, and the main god has commanded me to defeat him.”
“What in the world... what are you talking about?”
Noel shot to his feet.
The civil war sparked by the mysterious death of the young king... Noel Dexter, who had witnessed that chaotic bloodbath, often wondered what everyone, including himself, had been fighting for, and why so much blood had been shed. After losing his wife to the war, he had lived in disillusionment...
Ray spoke resolutely.
“It’s exactly as I said. Our kingdom’s current king, ‘Pablo de Klaus,’ is not human; he’s an evil god. Father, please help me.”
Ray didn’t feel the slightest hesitation in asking for his father’s help. In fact, he wondered why he hadn’t sought his father’s help sooner. There was no one in the world more dependable.
It was because he hadn’t had his past memories, but he’d been too guarded. There was also something else he hadn’t noticed due to his lack of memories.
Mother.
Minseo and the previous iterations of ‘me’ had not looked into my mother. My brave mother. Though she passed away early, she was everything to me.
Before my engagement to Rera, I lived for my mother, and even now, I miss her. Perhaps my love for Rera is rooted in my longing for my mother. Much like Rera, my mother was a warrior from the Ainar tribe who aspired to become a knight and participated in the Maunin-Reti Tournament.
My mother met my father, a knight of the Aslan Kingdom who helped organize the tournament, and they married immediately and had me. She was swept away by the Nine Days War several years later...
“Thank you again, Lord.”
Ray realized what Raising Lena truly was... and what the seemingly cruel main god had planned for them. Despite its grim nature, the game had been named Raising Lena, and it seemed they were meant to devote themselves to the Lenas without receiving anything in return.
[ Quest: Guardian, 1/4 - Barbatos ]
Perhaps there was a chance to bring his mother back to life. Ray’s heart pounded.
After they defeated Barbatos, the Childhood Friends scenario changed. Rev’s mother was alive in the place from which Barbatos had vanished, so it was clear that her death had been connected to Barbatos.
It was the same for the mother of the Beggar Siblings, Ainass de Yeriel.
Circumstantial evidence suggested that she had been killed by Prince Eric de Yeriel, a follower of Oriax. What if Oriax were to be annihilated? And if Malhas, who started the Nine Days War, disappeared, then perhaps my mother, my own mother...
Could be revived.
After finishing his conversation with his bewildered father, Ray stepped out into the clearing and burst into laughter.
Ahahaha! ‘Guardian,’ huh?
It had such a grand title, and the quest made it seem as if failing would result in the world’s destruction, but its true purpose was to bring our mothers back to life. Thinking carefully, Astroth, Malhas, and Oriax had never descended except in the previous iteration. In most of the endings, we had lived out our natural lives.
Barbatos of the Childhood Friends scenario.
Malhas of the Engagement scenario.
Oriax of the Beggar Siblings scenario.
Then why was Astroth included? Whose mother was he supposed to save? Hahaha. I suppose they expect us to take care of Astroth as a bonus in exchange for reviving our mothers.
Ray wandered around the snow-dusted clearing, unaware of the cold.
The iteration limit, the death limit, and the broken necklace still made the path ahead uncertain.
But knowing that the true ending was for the Lenas and the quest existed for the Leos made the future less daunting. If all the past struggles were simply steps to make the Lenas happy and revive our mothers,
How could we not accept that?
Ray Dexter caught a single snowflake falling from the sky in his hand. As he squeezed it in his fist, Rera appeared, calling out, “Ray! What are you doing out here by yourself?”
Without turning around, Ray spoke to his fiancée.
“Rera, let’s go to Barnaul. I’m going to visit my mother’s grave. I think... it’s finally time to go.”
“...!”
As snowflakes continued to fall thickly, the clearing where Ray’s footprints marked the ground was blanketed in white silence. Ray steeled his resolve, and Rera silently embraced him from behind.
For her fiancé, who bore so many scars.