Chapter 63 - It's Called Memory Regression
As she was bewildered by his inexplicable attitude, the arm that had been gripped so tightly was gently released.
Elenoa quickly put distance between them and stared intently at Louis.
He was holding his head. He frowned as if enduring something. Eventually, his eyes turned toward Elenoa, and
"…………Elenoa?"
"Hm?"
"…………."
He muttered a small "I see," and
"I apologize for worrying you. Shall we head back now?"
He tried to return the way they came as if nothing had happened. Even Elenoa was surprised by this, and asking if he was really alright, they returned to the campsite.
After that, Louis was somehow strange.
When they arrived in the town with the inn,
"Well, regarding room assignments,"
"Excuse me, but may I borrow Elenoa for my room?"
Such incidents increased. In short, Louis wanted to keep Elenoa close by.
At night, he claimed he needed help with compounding medicines, seeking time alone with her.
If fruits were sold in town, he would say, "You like these, don't you? Here, please," and try to feed her fruit cut by his own hands, his demeanor being incredibly sweet.
The Hero's Party also tilted their heads at Louis's change, and then, one day,
Elenoa was kidnapped.
It was one of the events. Caused by a band of human thieves, with the purpose of selling off a precious fairy.
Elenoa had trauma regarding abduction by multiple men.
When the Hero's Party went to rescue her and saw her face pale and trembling, the one who flew into the most furious rage was Louis.
"You scum."
With just those words, both enemies and allies trembled, and when the two sides clashed, it was almost entirely Louis's one-sided victory.
Elenoa thought she needed to ask about the circumstances soon.
Because at this rate, the true relationship between Louis and Elenoa would be exposed. Until the very end, the two of them had to maintain the attitude of mere travel companions.
In a room at the inn, the human-sized Elenoa was being fed a slice of white peach with an "ahhn," and
"Sorcerer-sama, what has been wrong with you lately?"
"Nothing is wrong."
That couldn't be true.
"……Louis. At this rate, the Hero-sama and the others will become suspicious."
"…………."
"I don't know what you are thinking, but I am not very smart, so if there is something you want to do, I wish you would tell me."
After a short while, Louis seemed to resign himself. Looking disappointed, he said something strange: "Is it time limit?"
"Was it something like a time limit?"
"Yes. I thought it would be soon, but I wanted to spoil you until the very last moment."
"Don't joke around and speak properly."
"I am not joking. It is the truth."
His hand touched Elenoa's cheek. It slid down, and his fingertips stroked her neck.
"I do not know if you will understand, but my current state is part of an event, in game terms."
"Eh, did something happen?"
"It is called memory regression. There was such an event in this game, wasn't there?"
Elenoa looked up at Louis with a blank expression.
Amnesia, aphasia, coma, infantilism, time slip due to physical or mental damage. Whether serious or comedic, games often have scenarios that place excessive burden on characters.
In serious cases, the event exposes the character's darkness. In comedies, the protagonist's personality changes due to the shock of eating the heroine's terrible cooking, for example.
In the protagonist-gender-selectable romance RPG 'The Demon Lord and the Hourglass', memory impairment—'Memory Regression'—is implemented.
Incidentally, this occurs in Disc 3. Around the time when many enemies have been defeated and levels exceed fifty.
It is a mini-event on the way to the ruins of Grenole, seeking information on the Demon Lord.
However, it should befall the character with the highest affection toward the Hero. And indeed, it should happen when they hit their head in front of the Hero.
He seemed to be saying that the event had occurred.
In the game Elenoa knew, his personality had indeed regressed to about seven years old—but the man before her did not have such a childish atmosphere no matter how one looked at it. He had quickly understood his situation, and if his attitude toward Elenoa hadn't changed, she wouldn't have noticed the anomaly.
"……Then I'll ask bluntly, Louis-kun, how old are you now?"
"I am not the Louis you know. Therefore, even if I state my age, I honestly do not think it matters."
Huh? Elenoa's thought circuits were on the verge of short-circuiting.
Seeing her, Louis chuckled and politely mocked her.
"I will tell you various things. Suppose this place is……a world created by an individual……. Even if there were an audience watching this conversation as a story……, it……does not concern me."
"Hm?"
"……Though saying that, I hardly understand it myself……"
Elenoa still could not understand Louis, who smiled sadly while repeatedly using lines with excessive '……' ellipses.
"I am indeed the Louis of the past from your perspective. But, I am different."
The two repeated a leisurely exchange of "Past, yet different?" "Yes." "I don't understand at all." "I suppose not."
"I said memory regression, but……yes, please think of me as Louis from a timeline where I have learned a few things."
"Um, are you the future Louis-kun?"
"No."
His way of speaking was entirely elusive. But he was indeed Louis. As long as he was him, Elenoa felt some discomfort but did not try to provoke him recklessly.
"Do you regret your current situation?"
"What, all of a sudden?"
Louis glanced at Elenoa's hourglass, and
"In 'The Demon Lord and the Hourglass', the clock seems to become the reset button. 'Turn the clock over?' or 'Rewind?' Such text appears, it seems."
"Yes, I know that, but……"
Elenoa recalled the day she woke up in the Demon Lord's Castle and accepted Louis.
She had seen the reset button for the first time and opened the status screen. She had ignored it without much thought that day, but thinking calmly, it might have been a little strange.
"The condition for the reset button to appear in this world is when one strongly regrets something. The display of the reset button disappears when one reaches a happy ending—when one thinks from the bottom of their heart that they do not want to reset, it seems."
He stated it flatly, as if reading a story aloud.
Elenoa averted her eyes from him for a moment.
It was as if Elenoa, who had seen the reset button that day, 'regretted her current situation'.
But indeed, the game's reset button appears at various branching points. The time that can be rewound differs by timing, but it was often seen in scenes where the player would 'regret', such as when the party was wiped out or when a bad end was determined. The clock serves the dual role of reset button and continue.
——But.
"In the first place, I am not the 'Protagonist
"……That is"
That is.
Louis exhaled softly, and
"I had intended to say just this, but this is merely a box garden. A small world created with reference to the game world."
In the first place, this is not a game world.
He says so.
"Just as you were reincarnated as Elenoa, just as I know of the country of Japan, just as you are on the Demon Lord's side, there is a 'bug' somewhere."
"……Bug."
"It seems the conditions for resetting in this world are almost the same as in the game. If you regret and have a clock at hand, that is enough. Judging by your demeanor, you have seen the reset option at least once."
"……I have. Wait, regret, what is that?"
"For example, thinking that I……should not have met Louis."
Have you not thought such things? he asked.
He said it without changing his expression in the slightest.
It was outrageous. Elenoa immediately retorted,
"I don't regret it at all! Because I am with Louis. You gave me the hourglass, I was happy, I cried so much, you are properly with me, this time……——"
——This time?
"Eh."
She did not understand what she had blurted out.
A chill ran through her.
She could not believe herself for forgetting something important.
——Something important, something important.
For me.
I should have had many more memories.
I have many more memories.
They are very sweet memories. Very painful things. Very red, my vision swaying, smelling of blood, relieved, reassured, cruel, cold, merciless, hardly ordinary, but certainly fun, at that time, I, I, to him,
——I gave the clock. I, to him.
Memories flashed through her head. The familiar Demon Lord's Castle. Him sitting on the throne. Myself kneeling before him. Him looking down at me beautifully.
——'I may be disqualified as a guardian, but I wanted to give you this'——.
I gave him the Moon Clock. Whose memory was that?
Her head swayed, and Elenoa buried her face in Louis's robe.
She tried to steady her rough breathing. Just remembering something caused severe fatigue. She thought Louis, who stroked her back to soothe her, was indeed gentle.
Louis took parchment from his bosom. He also produced a quill pen.
Hearing him mutter "As expected of me," Elenoa raised her face, wondering what he meant. Louis answered. "Since I don't know when or where I will think of new magic or medicines, I prepare paper and pen. Indeed, I am myself."
Louis is Louis. It was a matter of course.
He wrote letters on the parchment, applied some sort of magic to fold it, and handed it to Elenoa.
"Please give this to your Louis."
"……Hm?"
"If you are concerned about anything more, please ask the Louis of this body for judgment. It is best to let him decide whether or not to inform you."
Confirming that Elenoa had received it, Louis exhaled softly.
He looked tired.
Are you tired? Her concerned gaze distorted Louis's face. He looked sad.
Elenoa was embraced directly. She only shook her shoulders in surprise, and she wrapped her arms around his back without saying anything.
"……I apologize. May I stay like this for a while?"
"It is fine."
He is him. Faced with a weakened Louis, there was no reason to refuse.
"Is your Elenoa not by your side?"
"……She is gone."
"I see, so that is why."
"Yes, I substituted you. I am sorry."
"No. Hey, Louis-boy, shall we sing a song?"
"……Please."
Somewhere, a woman laughed, "Fu."
＊
Once upon a time, in a certain place, there was one world.
The world was filled with joy, the water spirits were cool, the earth spirits were generous, the fire spirits were bold, the wind spirits were gentle, and the Spirit of Time calmly watched over the children living in the world.
Before long, humans spread throughout the world and forgot their awe of the spirits.
Humans began to destroy great nature, and the Spirit of Time became angry at this.
'Choose either eternal summer or eternal winter.'
To move time is simultaneously to move the four seasons. No one other than the Spirit of Time can do this. That spirit declared it would stop the seasons.
If that happened, humans and creatures would be troubled.
Humanity decided to offer sacrifices to be forgiven.
The sacrifice chosen was a daughter said to have the highest magic power among all humanity.
The daughter was a woman beautiful as a fairy, with hair shining silver and eyes deep blue like the sea.
When it was decided she would become a sacrifice, she said this.
'If my life saves everyone, then that is fine.
My body will vanish, but this heart will surely dwell within the Spirit of Time-sama.
With those eyes, I will watch over the world,
With those ears, I will listen to the world's voice,
With that mouth, I will sing lullabies to those who cannot sleep.'
On the last day, she smiled and went to the Spirit of Time.
Accompanying her, insisting that she must not be left alone, was her fiancé.
The daughter was brave, gentle, strong, and noble. She was a calm person admired by all.
On the other hand, some say the daughter was very weak, cowardly, and very human.
Some also say that the fiancé who accompanied her was forcibly taken away by her.