Chapter 21
Footsteps drew near, and then Miya Belkinson knocked half-heartedly on the open door before barging in.
In her hand was a basket filled to the brim with salad buns—probably from a bakery.
“Pepe, who’s the kid? Have you had lunch?”
“Oh, Miya. Come in. There was some food left over from breakfast, so I had that. This child’s staying here for a while due to some circumstances.”
“Is that enough for a meal? Here, eat this. They say it’s freshly baked.”
Miya glanced at the child as she placed the basket on the table.
Charmant, now fairly close with Miya, greeted her, pushed the basket to one side so Jasper could eat more, and stood up.
Miya Belkinson always liked warm tea when she visited, so Charmant went to boil some water.
If nothing else, she’d taught that tea should be brewed by hand—only then does it taste right.
“Hmm, you’re filthy, kid. What’s your name?”
“What’s it to you?”
Jasper, who had been sweeping diligently, replied brusquely.
“Oh my, such a bold little thing. So you’re letting him stay here? My goodness, come to think of it, the house layout’s changed too?”
“Yeah. I figured he’d need a place to stay, so it’s temporary.”
“You sure that’s wise when you don’t even have your memories?”
At that, Charmant, who was boiling the water, paused.
Lazy Charmant. Lazy Charmant.
Along with those words, the bouncy voice of the Charmant from her visions echoed in her head.
Charmant’s eyes sparkled.
“Well, memories will return when they do. Honestly, it’s a relief! I’ve been too lazy to clean, but dust just keeps piling up!”
Just saying all that left her feeling completely drained.
She was a little surprised she could sound so peppy.
Probably thanks to the original owner’s charming, chirpy voice.
Still, Miya’s slightly suspicious gaze seemed to soften.
“Well, you’ve always been soft on kids. Let me know if you need anything. Are you sure you can manage taking care of a child when you can barely take care of yourself?”
“It’s just for a while. Thanks for worrying, Miya.”
After a short wait, the water boiled.
Charmant turned off the heat, brought out three teacups, and brewed a light herbal tea.
“Jasper, come have some tea too.”
“…Can I?”
“Of course. Come on.”
Jasper hesitated, then leaned his broom in a corner and shuffled over to sit down.
Miya’s attention was now fully on Jasper.
“So your name’s Jasper, huh? How old are you?”
“What’s it to you?”
“Oh wow, your manners must’ve run off.”
Jasper snapped again, and Miya snorted in disbelief.
“Jasper,”
Charmant called in a lower tone, making Jasper flinch.
“…Fourteen.”
Miya’s mouth dropped open.
“Good heavens, do you only act like this around strangers?”
“I—I told you.”
“So prickly. You’d better listen to Charmant, got it? If not, she might shoot poison darts at your butt.”
Miya laughed as she playfully warned Jasper.
After asking Charmant a few more questions, Miya suddenly exclaimed.
“Oh! I heard a certain mage has been visiting often lately?”
“Mage? Oh, Ahil?”
Miya nodded, eyes twinkling.
“Not really often… I asked for a favor. I have to attend a royal banquet, and as you know, I don’t remember anything. Alonso’s the one who’s attended the most, so…”
Excuses tumbled out of Charmant’s mouth.
“Hmm, not wrong. Still, unexpected. See? You said no, but you’re relying on him again.”
Charmant tilted her head at Miya’s murmuring.
“What?”
“He doesn’t like you!”
Charmant’s eyebrows shot up.
“Doesn’t like me?”
“Yeah, said you’re lazy and don’t bathe often. That’s why he didn’t like you. Mages can be fussy, you know?”
Charmant still looked unconvinced, despite Miya’s blunt claim.
That made no sense.
He never showed any signs of dislike.
He came running the moment he got the signal coin—how could he dislike Charmant Pepe?
Far from dislike, Charmant was certain they were close friends. The revelation was confusing.
Still, confusion aside, there was a factual error to correct.
“That’s not true.”
“Hm? What isn’t?”
Miya, who’d been inspecting her nails, snapped her head up toward Charmant.
“I took a bath today.”
“Huh?”
“And yesterday. And the day before. Twice a day…”
Miya blinked.
Then suddenly clapped her hands.
“Oh! That explains why you’ve been smelling so nice ever since you lost your memory!”
“……”
“Losing your memory might not be such a bad thing. Have you been working out too? Getting up early every day? And I heard you’re eating healthy lately.”
For some reason, Charmant’s ears and jaw felt hot.
To think she’d been misunderstood as not bathing until now.
Also—how did Miya know she’d been working out every morning?
Charmant almost blurted out that she scrubs thoroughly with body soap twice, but decided against it.
Instead, she gave a barely perceptible nod to Miya’s question.
After that, Miya kept asking curious questions before finally leaving.
Jasper, worn out from her interrogation, was dozing on the sofa, so Charmant sent him to bed.
Charmant sat at the table, fiddling with Jasper’s pocket watch.
‘No doubt about it.’
Whether it was the elephant figurine, the ring sold by the first customer, or today with Jasper’s pocket watch—every time she touched something with memories, she felt the same thing.
She hadn’t realized it clearly the first time, possibly shocked by the visions.
But now, after experiencing it three times, there was no mistaking it.
After seeing an item’s memory, her body filled with mana.
More precisely, it felt like her life force was being restored.
She’d especially felt it today.
After her morning workout, she’d felt oddly sluggish—thought it was just a bad night’s sleep.
But after touching the pocket watch’s memories, that fatigue vanished.
As if that missing part had been replenished.
A special ability to see an item’s memories.
‘Is this shop run to restore the life force that gets consumed?’
Honestly, the shop was so loosely managed, it was a miracle it made any money.
As Ahil and Alonso said, it wasn’t the operation of someone obsessed with wealth.
‘If not for money, this kind of management makes more sense.’
Charmant fetched a few items she hadn’t yet touched and opened their memories.
A tarnished old silver knife.
A chipped teacup like an ancient relic.
A hand-carved metal container.
All of them had memories.
“Ah.”
It was real.
After seeing them all, she felt light as a feather, full of abundant mana.
‘It’s like I’m living off memories.’
What a strange ability. Charmant had never heard of anything like it before.
Then, at 6 p.m., she locked up shop for the day, relieved it had gone without incident.
Miya’s flower shop was also firmly shut, and no one seemed to be watching her.
After carefully checking the surroundings, she cast a sleep spell so Jasper wouldn’t wake up while she was gone, then stepped outside.
She cast protective magic over the house, pulled up her hood, and quickly slipped through the alley.
* * *
“No matter when I come, it always feels peaceful here.”
Charmant paused and pulled off her hood.
Having left the village, she climbed a small hill behind it and looked down at the area around the clock tower.
Her silver-blue hair fluttered in the wind like silk under the dusky sky.
Evening was falling, and one by one, the village lights turned orange.
The quaint and warm country of Elium.
Charmant still occasionally saw the burning visions of this familiar place.
The clock tower crumbling. Buildings in flames. A hellish scene all around.
Then she’d blink—and the village would return to its peaceful state.
“I need to hurry.”
The wind blew again.
Charmant pulled her hood back up.
A faint white glow appeared beneath her feet, forming a glowing circle that vanished like smoke.
Just like that, Charmant made five consecutive spatial leaps without resting.
“Whew.”
She stopped in front of the final gate to the Soro Forest and took a moment to catch her breath.
Spatial magic was more delicate than other spells and consumed a lot more mana.
Having used so much mana in one go for the first time in a while, her chest ached like a heavy stone was pressing down on it.
She had to be ready—she could be attacked the moment she entered.
After a brief rest, she whistled through her fingers to call Bucky.
True to instructions, Bucky had been waiting in the Soro Forest and appeared within five minutes, descending swiftly.
“Wait long?”
Instead of answering, Bucky opened his beak wide.
As if waiting for the moment, Charmant reached out, and a bright red orb popped out from Bucky’s mouth.
