Chapter 18
“Shuri! Come with us!”
At Lotte’s voice, I turned around and took her hand.
I can’t lose our adorable female lead!
Then someone grabbed my other hand. When I turned my head, I saw Ventus. He was the one holding it. I looked at him as if to ask what he thought he was doing.
“So you don’t get lost again,” he said.
Again?
The word felt loaded, but I let it slide without commenting. Turning my gaze, I looked around for Kiel.
He was following behind Lotte at a steady distance. When our eyes met, I smiled softly, but he avoided my gaze.
“Come on.”
Since I kept staring at Kiel, wondering how long he planned to keep avoiding me, Ventus tugged my right hand. I nearly stumbled from the sudden pull and glared at him.
Lotte almost fell too, you know!
Noticing my sulky look, he shrugged and pointed somewhere with his free hand.
“Huh?!”
Where Ventus pointed was my beloved shooting booth. I immediately let go of both their hands.
I’ve done this plenty of times before! Not here exactly, but still!
In every life I’d lived, I’d loved shooting galleries. The thrill of shooting and winning prizes—it was indescribable.
“Ventus, wait here with those two. I’ll be right back!”
“With that kiddie body?”
“I’m not a kid! Hey, remember I know all about your embarrassing past! And besides, there’s a way around everything.”
I glanced at Lotte and Kiel.
Kiel was holding Lotte’s hand and watching me. Our eyes met. This time, he didn’t look away first—though his cheeks seemed a little red.
“Oh, damn—!”
Ventus suddenly shoved his face close, making me flinch hard.
My gaze with Kiel broke. I glared at Ventus, then sighed. After that, I slipped into a slightly dark alley and used magic.
My viewpoint lifted. My hands became long and slender. After confirming the magic worked properly, I left the alley.
“How many shots does it take to win that big teddy bear?”
At my question, the vendor swept his eyes over me. His evaluative gaze was irritating enough that I wanted to smack him.
“One round is thirty shots, costs five copper coins. That big teddy bear is the most expensive prize—we require ninety shots to hit the center.”
I dropped fifteen coins into the tray and picked up the gun. My heart started pounding—maybe because it had been a while.
The problem was… this vendor was a scammer.
The gun looked finely made, but some parts were deliberately loose, and the adjustments were made difficult on purpose.
An eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth—and a scam for a scam.
I decided to use a trick of my own.
I let my mana flow into the air, adjusting its movement each time I fired. I guided the bullets so every shot pierced the center.
“Wow… who is that woman?”
“No one’s ever won that before. Is this even possible?”
“She should be cleaning at home instead. Tsk. Women like that are the problem—what a disgrace.”
The constant noise around me started to get on my nerves. On the 89th shot, I paused and turned around.
“Wow, sounds like a pig being slaughtered somewhere.”
After saying that, I fired again.
For the final shot, I infused extra mana and pierced straight through the target board. When I lowered the gun and turned away, no one made a sound. The area around the booth was frozen stiff.
“T-That’s impossible! How could you—?!”
The vendor’s face twisted in shock.
Yeah. Who would’ve thought someone could land ninety shots with a piece-of-crap gun like this? Sorry, but the world runs on capital and merit—and I have both.
“Wasn’t this made a little too obvious? I won the doll, so I’ll take it—and this blue sapphire necklace as a silence fee. Oh, and a word of advice: there’s no such thing as an eternal secret.”
I murmured softly, then smiled brightly.
As I walked away, the frozen booth erupted into noise again. I returned to the alley, canceled my magic, and came back out.
I worried someone might’ve seen me using magic, but thankfully, it seemed no one had.
“Lotte?”
“Shuri! You were amazing! Bang bang bang! So cool!”
How did she know it was me? Startled, I looked at Lotte, then at Ventus. He looked completely drained.
…Poor Ventus. How did that noble dragon end up like this?
Seeing his expression, I felt a rare flicker of sympathy.
“Shuri, Shuri!”
“H-Huh? What is it, Lotte?”
“Shuri, are you a mage? They said mages are super rare—this is so cool!”
Ugh, adorable!
I smiled and nodded in response.
Honestly, wouldn’t Lotte be better than a lie detector? Who could lie in front of that cuteness?
When I glanced aside, Kiel looked shocked as well.
Well? Aren’t I cool?
I shot him a look like that, forgetting entirely about feeling sorry for Ventus—but Kiel seemed lost in thought, either ignoring me or not noticing.
“Did you hear? They say a ghost appears in that cold emerald sea at night. If you look near the docks, there’s a cave—you can hear a humming sound from there!”
A man passing by laughed as he said it. His friend looked frightened and told him to stop lying as they passed us.
Yeah right. A ghost there? Surely not…
I tried to move us along, but Ventus—and even Kiel and Lotte—looked curious, their eyes shining.
I screamed internally.
Help me!
After strolling briefly through the bustling festival streets, we left and headed to the emerald sea we’d seen earlier that day.
I protested passionately, but as they say, numbers win. I lost. How was I supposed to beat Kiel and Lotte anyway?!
“Wow! Is that where the ghost appears?!”
Lotte shouted. Kiel and Ventus looked half-excited, half-curious—100% intrigued.
When I hesitated, Ventus grinned.
So annoying! Just because I’m slow doesn’t mean I’m—! I’m not that scared!
“Come here.”
Kiel took my hand and led me forward.
I was touched, but… two more steps and I felt like I’d fall into the sea…
I clung tightly to Kiel’s hand like it was a lifeline. For the record, I’m terrible with water—terrible.
I’m scared of water! I can’t float! What am I supposed to do?!
“There’s nothing here. Wasn’t it a lie?”
Ventus complained, but all my attention was on Kiel’s hand.
I hate the sea! It’s best admired from afar!
“No! It’ll come out! It will!”
While Lotte and Ventus argued over whether a ghost would appear, they somehow escalated into shoving each other.
After hesitating, Kiel let go of my hand to stop them.
Wait—hey! You can’t just leave me here!
There was no safety barrier or glass wall here.
Why not?! I don’t know! Waaaah! Someone save me!
Just then, a woooong sound echoed, and a dark shadow appeared ahead.
Why is everything attacking me at once?!
Startled, I stumbled backward—and fell straight into the water. My vision blurred, and I lost consciousness.
* * *
[Hello, my child.]
“…Who are you?”
[Curious? I am the god who created this world and watches over my creations.]
A man with long white hair—no, maybe a woman—reached out with slender white fingers and gently stroked my cheek as if handling something precious.
Contrary to my expectation that the hand would be cold, it was incredibly warm—so warm that I wanted to stay here forever. Then the god withdrew their hand.
[If you remain here, you will not be able to escape. I trust you will continue to do well, my creation, my child—Futurum Memoria.]
“What does that—!”
* * *
“Huh…?”
I blinked. I felt like I’d just been talking to someone, but I couldn’t remember anything.
Was it a dream?
I stared blankly into space until I heard a creaking door open.
“You finally awake? Hey! Why would you step backward there—damn it.”
“…Are you crying?”
Panicking, I crawled closer to him on the wide bed.
I must’ve been unconscious for days, yet my body and voice felt fine. Still, I wasn’t heartless enough to ignore a long-time friend crying.
“I’m not crying! Hey! Why do you keep hovering around that black-haired kid? What’s wrong with you?! You’ve got tons of gold! And you’ve got me—super capable, right here! Just hang out with me and live off your money! Why do you keep sticking around him?!”
…Crying while saying that makes it feel really weird.
Listening to him, I nodded without thinking—it all made sense.
I do have money and connections. Why not eat well, spend lavishly, and live as a rich unemployed person?
…But leaving felt hard. I’d grown attached.
I liked Kiel now. Not romantically—obviously. I wouldn’t feel that way about a kid.
But did he come while I was sick? He’d been avoiding me…
“As far as I know, he didn’t come even once while you were out.”
Ventus said exactly what I was wondering.
“Why bother worrying? None of them came. Just leave with me.”
He suggested it. I thought for a moment, then spoke.
“Let’s pretend I’m still unconscious. I’ll lie here for four days—see if he comes.”
I told him my plan because I wanted to believe both Ventus and Kiel… because I didn’t want to believe everything I’d done so far was meaningless.
Ventus made a wicked face, agreed, and left.
Why does that smile make me uneasy?
The next day, I pretended to sleep. I lay there all day. Only a priest came and poured holy power into me. Lotte didn’t come.
Honestly… it hurt a little.
The day after, the priest came again—morning and evening this time. I kept my eyes shut, pretending to sleep. Thank goodness for all that acting practice.
Again, no one else came.
I could accept Kiel, but Lotte too…? That was cruel.
The third day, the priest came again.
I memorized the schedule and stared out the window whenever no one was around. Not a single strand of dark blue hair appeared.
Finally, the fourth day—nothing changed. Only the priest visited, just like before.
Ventus came that evening, looking smug. I felt the exact opposite.
Honestly—yeah! I’m upset! A lot!
How could they not visit even once? I couldn’t stop grumbling as memories of our time together replayed in my head.
Fine. I’ll throw away the original story’s shackles, spend money freely, loaf around, and die rich!
Leaving behind a single letter, I left with Ventus.
At that time, I didn’t know—
That I’d been dancing in the palm of Ventus’s hand.
