Interlude 28
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The Guildmaster’s room at Greeneyes.
Madison has already left, leaving only Purume, the room’s owner, present.
She’s doing nothing, leaning back heavily in her chair in front of her desk.
Her mind is preoccupied with the recent discussion.
Remembering the Chancellor’s face from earlier, a bitter feeling rises from deep within her chest.
The expression on his face when Purume asked if Yamada was the key player in conquering the dungeon was particularly striking.
When she asked for the name of that person, overlapping his words of denial, Chancellor Madison’s expression was like that of someone considering a person with a mental illness.
In the end, the talk with Chancellor Madison only left Purume with an overwhelming sense of futility.
After the meeting, not in the mood to work, Purume returns home.
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Purume is no longer in the mood to eat.
She takes out chilled milk from the refrigerator, sits at the table, and pours it down her throat.
At that time, Madison had said:
「Lady Purume, you’ve been a bit too busy lately.
Perhaps we’ve entrusted you with too much. Regarding the issue of excessive dungeon births, we’ll decide on a new division of roles at a later date, and I’ll report back to you then.」
Realizing it was all futile, Purume stopped pursuing the matter further and simply agreed to his proposal.
Just as she’s thinking this far, she feels a warm sensation under her nose, and shortly after, the headache that has been tormenting her lately strikes.
The trigger for the headache — it’s when Purume dwells on two memories.
Purume En Dynast.
She was the only person who retained two completely different sets of memories from the day of the hero summoning from another world until today.
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Purume possessed two completely different memories of the same period.
One was that Hero Ryūgūin became the center of the hero party, and through his heroic efforts, numerous dungeons were conquered.
Of course, in this memory, it was Ryūgūin who got along well with Angelica, and it was he who researched magic with her.
The other memory is that it wasn’t Ryūgūin who played an active role, but the Holy Knight Yamada, who has now fled from the party and gone missing.
While the main flow of events is the same, there are naturally some differences between the two memories. However, since that day — the day the hero party conquered the Blade Dungeon — memories that shouldn’t have existed certainly sprang up in Purume’s mind.
And it was these memories that were placing a tremendous burden on her mental and physical state — especially her brain.
Her body and mind worn down by this unprecedented abnormal situation.
Purume could no longer confidently say which memories were the ones she had actually experienced.
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Purume presses a cloth under her nose to wipe away the blood, takes out a headache medicine from the shelf, and swallows it.
The pain is intense, and she remains crouched down for a while, but as the pain subsides and she regains control of her body, she finally stands up, changes into her nightgown, and jumps into bed.
As she calms down, she starts feeling sleepy, perhaps due to her daily mental and physical exhaustion, but there was still much to think about.
The core of this big problem is 「not being able to believe in oneself.」
Madison was the only person who knew both boys, and moreover, was the most trustworthy person who grasped the events of their approximately two years.
He had been the one Purume had been sharing information with until now.
He was supposed to be her lifeline.
And yet—
She remembered Madison’s expression at that time.
Hadn’t his expression spoken volumes?
What are you talking about?
That good-for-nothing Holy Knight Yamada as the key player in conquering the dungeon? Don’t be ridiculous.
Even you, Lady Purume, must have gone mad from overwork, haven’t you?
Though he didn’t say it out loud, Purume understood Chancellor Madison’s feelings well.
Perhaps that’s why a single image suddenly appeared in Purume’s mind. The Madison she had just met earlier said:
— That’s right, you’re the one who’s mistaken
The world declared.
— So it’s okay, just accept it
More than anything, another Purume patted her on the shoulder.
— If you do, there won’t be any problems.
Even Ryūgūin, who was at the center of it all, and Angelica, whom she had once cared for deeply, were proudly claiming these achievements as their own.
All people, including herself, say so.
The entire world says so.
If that’s the case, then it must be the truth—
— Just as she was about to convince herself of this, the core part lurking within Purume spoke up.
Purume tightly closed her eyes and shook her head several times as if resisting.
Don’t listen to easy opinions.
Don’t seek instant salvation.
Just as she had once taken in and cared for the mistreated Angelica, Purume’s deep-seated sense of fairness and her spirit of facing others sincerely prevented her from compromising or indulging at the very last moment.
If she were to allow it—
— But why me?
A somewhat weak-looking, simple boy asked in a troubled manner.
— Well, you know, we might be in for a long relationship. Please take care of me. Let’s save the world together!
He firmly grasped the hands of Purume and Angelica, not refusing their request, even though at that point Angelica was just a beginner mage.
If this memory about the Holy Knight is correct, and I let myself be swayed to the easier path, I would be doing something irreparable.
Making a mistake is absolutely not allowed.
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Purume turns over once in bed.
Would the key to unraveling and solving this situation be the Holy Knight Yamada, who has now disappeared?
In memories that she can no longer be sure are real or fake — when Purume visited Angie and young Yamada with souvenirs, he smiled shyly, somewhat embarrassed.
For some reason, she remembered his gentle expression.
Before she knew it, Purume had fallen asleep.
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