Chapter 63 - Rosemary

The academy's Infirmary 2.

“Welcome, Rebecca. I heard the news. You made it to the semifinals at the Peach Garden Festival? Congratulations.”

Akikira took out teacups Rebecca had never seen before.

“It's rosemary tea. They say it's good for your memory.”

“My memory?”

“Yes. Drink up.”

CLINK

Akikira set two teacups on the small table beside the infirmary desk.

“So? You didn't overdo it at the Peach Garden Festival, did you?”

“Not really. Especially against Lucia in the semifinals. Even the look in her eyes was different from usual... The moment I saw her, I knew I couldn't win.”

“Well, that's unusual. Hearing you sound so unsure of yourself.”

“Haha! I guess even I have my moments.”

“You did well. I was worried you'd lose control and start firing off spells again.”

“Oh, come on, I'd never do that! I'm a swordswoman!”

“Strictly speaking, you need to be careful with swordsmanship too.”

Akikira raised her teacup to her lips.

“I'll have to thank your patron this time. He took you along and brought you back without incident.”

“And I made the semifinals! You know, lately, a lot more people have been looking at me.”

“I imagine plenty of people already did...”

“No! I don't mean those lecherous looks!”

“So you admit there were plenty. Nothing beats being young and firm...”

“You're beautiful too. And who knows? Someone might find women your age exactly their type.”

“Yes, those people exist. The problem is, they're usually at least ten years older than me.”

“Maybe there's someone younger than you who feels that way?”

“That would be nice. If there is, I might just snatch him up and marry him.”

“Ahaha! Lucky man.”

“You got through the Peach Garden Festival without overdoing it, and you look well today, so I probably don't need to ask. Still, it's our usual routine.”

CLINK

Akikira carefully set down her teacup.

“Rebecca, what's my name?”

“You're the school nurse.”

“I mean my name.”

“Huh?”

Rebecca tilted her head.

“... My name.”

“Did I know it...?”

CRASH!

A teacup fell to the floor and shattered.

The faint scent of rosemary suddenly spread through the room.

Rosemary. Good for the memory.

“Rebecca, this joke isn't funny.”

Akikira clutched Rebecca's shoulders with trembling hands.

“I-I'm sorry. My memory isn't very good... Um... um...”

Rebecca frantically rummaged through her bag. The bag she always carried held about ten small notebooks.

She hurriedly pulled out a red one labeled “Important People!!”

“I'm sorry. Just let me look it up. I'm sorry.”

She rapidly flipped through the pages, breaking out in a cold sweat.

“I'm sorry. I'm sorry... I-I'll find it right away.”

Unable to find a clue in the red notebook, she hastily pulled out a yellow one and opened it.

“I-I'm sorry. I can... find it in a moment.”

Finding no clue in the yellow one either, she reached for a green notebook next.

Akikira caught Rebecca's wrist before she could pull it out. Holding it tightly, she looked into Rebecca's tearful eyes.

“Rebecca, every time...”

Tears pooled in her emerald eyes, making them look even more like glittering jewels.

“Have you been doing this all along...?”

Instead of answering, Rebecca hung her head.

“... That hurts.”

063

CLACK

I closed the cursed sword's case.

I decided to go to the academy at daybreak tomorrow and give it to Rebecca.

The next day, as soon as I reached the academy, the chairman hit me with something completely unexpected.

“News of our first Peach Garden Festival championship in thirty-three years spread in no time. And wouldn't you know it, the alumni association donated an enormous sum! Ahaha!”

He must have been in a good mood already this morning. His laughter was unusually hearty.

“We'll have more new students next year, and now that we have the funds, we're going to put up a new building at the academy. We'd only drawn up the plans. I never imagined everything would fall into place like this. Next year, we'll have Daywin Hall.”

“... I hope I misheard that.”

“It means we're building something named after you, Lord Daywin!”

“I refuse.”

“Ahaha, I'm afraid you don't have a choice. The alumni association specifically requested it. That's what they made their generous donation for in the first place... They were truly delighted, saying you'd given the children hope.”

The chairman nodded before I could respond, gesturing as though he would take that as my agreement.

This was driving me mad.

They thought I was nurturing talent out of the goodness of my heart.

Ridiculous. Hope?

Given how abysmal all the heroines' grades had been, I could see why it looked that way, but wasn't this a bit much?

“As I mentioned before, that was what worried me. Wasn't it unfair for students who studied hard to miss out on those benefits? But now, look!”

The chairman flung his arms wide, indicating the enormous banner stretched across the academy's front gate.

It read something about winning the Peach Garden Festival for the first time in thirty-three years.

“You've proved yourself! No one will doubt you now, Lord Daywin. I and everyone else at the academy support your good work!”

“Ah, yes...”

He could have treated me like this from the beginning.

I'd only wanted to pocket the sweet rank-up and hidden rewards. I hadn't expected even the alumni association to join in and make such a fuss.

Was the Peach Garden Festival really that important?

Wasn't it just a sports meet for kids?

Everyone seemed to care less about the sports meet itself than the distinction of winning for the first time in thirty-three years.

Well, actually... even I could understand.

If I couldn't win a single game of rock-paper-scissors in thirty-three years, I supposed winning would become a cherished ambition.

“Oh, and one more thing.”

Apparently remembering something, the chairman raised an index finger.

“It seems the alumni association would like to provide additional support for Laward. Does he need anything? Laward, I mean.”

“They'll have money left over after putting up a building? They must be wealthier than I thought.”

“I suppose so. Compared with graduates of the military academy and seminary that competed in the Peach Garden Festival, our alumni spread out all across the country. Many have achieved great success in business, and many have made a name for themselves in magical research.”

“And even those remarkable people never managed to win as students.”

“That's just how outstanding the students you selected are, Lord Daywin. Haha.”

“I'll let you know if anything comes up. Oh, more training grounds would be nice. I've heard there are scheduling conflicts with other students.”

“I see. I'll give it favorable consideration. Please feel free to tell me if you need anything else. Financially speaking, that is.”

“For now, what I have is more than enough. If I ever need a large sum, I'll be sure to let you know.”

“Excellent!”

“But Daywin Hall is still out of the question.”

“Oh.”

While the chairman wore the look of a man who'd been outmaneuvered, rapid footsteps rang out.

I turned toward the sound and saw a blonde beauty running toward us from a distance. Perhaps it was her pure white coat that made her stand out even from so far away.

Wait, had I just called her a blonde beauty?

Maybe Akikira's face stood out even more than her coat, even at this distance.

And the white coat, a little too big for her frame, flapped around her as though she'd thrown a blanket over herself—

“Chairman! I'm borrowing him for a moment!”

Akikira was suddenly right in front of me, snatching up my hand.

“What is it?”

I checked that the case was secure in my other hand and looked at her.

“Rebecca! Nothing happened to her at the Peach Garden Festival, did it?”

For some reason, she sounded desperate.

“No. She didn't use magic, and her swordsmanship was the same as usual.”

I didn't know much about swordsmanship, but that was how it had looked to me, at least. She hadn't suddenly shown any new movements or acted as if she were using a different weapon. Nothing of the sort.

“You were right, Lord Daywin. Though I hoped you wouldn't be.”

“What do you mean?”

She had rushed us along so quickly that we were already outside the infirmary.

“You asked whether I was sure she'd get better if she didn't draw on the magic and swordsmanship in her head.”

Before opening the door, Akikira stood catching her breath.

“That wasn't enough.”

Her expression darkened a little.

“If there's a fixed limit to how much she can remember, Rebecca gains new memories every day. For every memory added, something has to go. But damn it, the only memories she loses are her own. Everything that damned mage tower forced into her head stays perfectly intact...!”

“Enough.”

I stopped Akikira as her voice began to rise.

“I understand what you're saying. In short, there's been no improvement.”

“She's getting worse.”

Akikira sank into a crouch and buried her face in her hands.

“I've looked after Rebecca for a long time. Not just a day or two.”

“Yes.”

“I brought her home when she was wandering the streets with no memory. I washed her, fed her, gave her a place to sleep, and even sent her to school.”

“Yes.”

“And now she doesn't know me. Do you understand what that means...?”

“I'm sorry, but I don't.”

I gently opened the infirmary door.

“... You can tell me all about it later.”

Calling the infirmary a mess would have been generous.

Shattered pieces of a teacup. Spilled tea.

Notebooks of every color lay scattered around Rebecca, who sat slumped on the floor.

“Oh, Master.”

Rebecca looked up at me with tear-filled eyes.

Thankfully, she still remembered me, even if she'd forgotten Akikira's name.

But that fact broke Akikira all over again.

“You must be surprised to find me like this...”

All trace of her usual confidence was gone, replaced by a timid voice.

“I finally found it. Nurse Akikira... right?”

She asked me quietly, and I slowly nodded.

“Th-thank goodness... It was written here...”

She hugged the red notebook protectively to her chest.

I sat down neatly in front of her and unfastened the case. Then I rummaged through the infirmary drawers, gathering every compression bandage I could find.

I wound them around the bright red cursed sword.

“Master...?”

“This sword will help you. I know this isn't exactly appropriate right now, but if Laward recognizes it, I won't hear the end of it for a while.”

“What...?”

Only after wrapping it haphazardly until every bit of red was hidden did I stand the sword upright.

“Rebecca. Do you remember promising to tell me your secret in a month? You asked me to remember for you, in case you couldn't. I didn't understand what you meant at the time...”

Rebecca slowly shook her head.

“... I see.”

“... I'm sorry.”

“You don't need to apologize. Not anymore.”

“Anymore...?”

“Let me ask you a few things. How many spells do you know?”

Rebecca cautiously raised both hands and extended her fingers, indicating eight.

“Eighty?”

“No.”

“Eight hundred?”

“Eight... thousand.”

“Eight thousand spells.”

It was an almost unbelievable volume of data.

If she continued studying magic in the magic department, she'd become an archmage within a few years.

And then, just as in the hidden ending, an archmage would be born.

And Rebecca would die.

In the past, I'd thought nothing of a fictional heroine losing her sense of self. Now, I couldn't possibly feel that way.

Someone who seemed liable to vanish the moment I looked away was right before my eyes.

Right now. Sitting in confusion on the cold floor, close enough for me to reach out and touch.

How many notebooks had Rebecca filled to keep from forgetting the people she cherished?

And how many times had she said she was sorry?

“You know more spells than an ordinary person could memorize in a lifetime. Would you be all right with losing every one of them?”

Though she didn't quite understand what I meant, Rebecca nodded.

“Yes.”

Then she looked from me to Akikira.

“I wouldn't care if it were eighty thousand.”

Her grip on the notebook tightened.

“Master... please...”

She gripped it hard enough to crumple it.

The brightest heroine looked up at me with the most despairing face I'd ever seen.

“Please help me...”

I lifted the cursed sword and held it out to her.

Give [Madame Anne] to [Rebecca]?

“Yes.”

[Rebecca] uses [Madame Anne].

“I hope you haven't forgotten. I've told you since we first met. My role, for all of you...”

You.

“...was to help.”

Rebecca quietly set down the notebook and accepted the sword.

“Yes.”

In an instant, she wiped away her previous expression and managed a smile.

“I haven't forgotten.”

Ending (17) Locked

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Stage 3 perk unlocked.