Chapter 60: A Pledge

Chapter 60: A Pledge

There was the slightest tinge of pain in the back of my head, something I wouldn't have noticed if I didn't pay attention to it. Though I hadn't actually started to try using Dark Arts at the time, it appeared I was successful, just that the effects were rather... extreme.

From the looks of things, the mask actually did work, just that it needed to be activated via Dark Arts, thus letting me teleport.

It made me wonder what memory I had lost.

For a second, I thought it was an illusion, but I really had teleported into the room.

Except, there was a tiny prob-

"Eeeeeeek!"

A maid literally jumped up and dropped the broom she was holding in fright because I had suddenly appeared. As if to make matters worse, the mask I was wearing began to shudder and was releasing needlessly loud crying sounds.

I really wanted it to shut up, but there was nothing I could do.

Honestly, it kind of felt like I was watching porn, but I forgot to turn the volume down, making it start out way too loud. And on top of that, for some reason, the option to turn the volume down wasn't activating immediately.

I took off the mask, took off the hood, and tried to show the maid the most reassuring smile I could muster. Though, there was a strange salty taste in my mouth.

"Hey, hey, it's just me. Nothing to worry about."

Although dazed, the maid did seem to calm down somewhat.

"A-Ah, I see. I didn't see you ent-"

"WHAT'S THE MATTER?!"

"EEYAH!"

The door slammed open, revealing Jess, while the maid jumped up in fright once more, but this time directly fainted.

An awkward smile formed on my face as I looked at her.

"Ah, don't worry, there's nothing wrong. Well, at least with me. The maid on the other hand might need some he-"

"Brother!"

Immediately, I sensed that something was wrong. Jess was looking at me with her mouth agape in a frown, as though horrified. It was almost like I had broken an arm and was just trying to act strong in front of her.

She rushed over before I could get a sense of what was going on and hugged me rather tightly.

"I'm so sorry! I've been so neglectful, how could I have let this happen?"

Thankfully, the crying from the mask had stopped by now, lasting roughly five seconds or so. However, there was a more pressing problem.

"What are you talking about? Letting something happen?"

Jess began crying herself.

"Isn't it obvious? You are crying! Just look at you!"

She took out a handkerchief and wiped at my face. It was only now that I realized that tears had covered it.

Hm. It seemed the mask had other effects too.

I quickly lifted the mask up and pointed at it.

"Wait, no this is a misunderstanding. It was actually the mask that made the crying sound with the tears."

Jess looked at the mask, then looked back at me even more pitifully.

"Brother, please. You don't have to act like this anymore! Your excuses aren't even making sense anymore."

My eyelid twitched. In hindsight, that explanation did really make no sense. If someone else presented it to me, I couldn't believe it even if I wanted to. But that was the truth!

"Ok, I know how weird that sounded, but that's actually what happened. I wasn't actually cry-"

"Brother. You don't have to say any more."

Jess cut me off, but spoke softly. Her hug became gentle, almost like I was so fragile that I would break at the touch.

"I am here for you now. Just close your eyes and calm down."

...Hm.

Well, I wonder how those guys back at the fake cult are doing. They must be startled by my sudden disappearance. As for me, it appeared I would have to deal with Jess now.

Eventually, Jess dragged me back off to the bathroom and got me to go in with her. She was even more insistent on everything this time, which made me feel a little unsettled at heart.

Jess' belief that she neglected me had definitely worsened by a great deal and it seemed nothing I would say could convince her otherwise. This was the exact opposite path that I had intended to lead her down.

Welp.

Talking to her now is useless, so I'll just wait for her to calm down a bit before attempting to resolve this. And as such, I was once again assaulted with the unforgiving hug that made me incredibly uncomfortable.

I'm not sure if I'll ever get used to this.

Soon enough, I fell asleep once more.

Then, I was brought into a dream again. A familiar pink figure had formed in front of me. Before I had even gotten my bearing he started to speak.

"That teleportation magic makes me quite curious, but I won't ask you that right now, as there is obviously a more pressing matter. Ok, I understand what you're thinking, that Dark Arts has some terrible drawbacks that make people forget who they are. But this is not true."

I rubbed the side of my head and sighed.

"Alright, I'll hear you out then."

The pink figure raised an eyebrow in surprise but continued anyway.

"For starters, Dark Arts do not fundamentally change someone's desires. Even if the memory that's taken away is related to their desire, that will not change it. That way, the personality isn't affected too much."

He raised a finger.

"Besides, don't you remember how those people in that Dark Arts cult were rather friendly? I'll have you know that I've actually seen many of those people before, and they were far from close to that amicable before. Since Dark Arts removes the memories that cause stress and tension, it makes people far less irritable and hardly engage in any conflict."

Ah. So is that why they were like that? Wait, but Bryson was the splitting opposite of that.

"So, have you been using Dark Arts too and also forgetting your memories?"

The pink figure let out a laugh.

"I've had countless years of memories. If it wasn't for erasing them, it is likely they would've gone insane from the countless years of doing nothing while my soul was sealed in a book. Besides, they are so far back that I wouldn't be able to remember them anyways."

I blinked a few times.

"Are you sure you don't regret it?"

The pink figure looked at me for a little while.

"In truth, I'm not certain if I would have the capability to talk to you if not for erasing my memories. There may have been a time where I have had regrets, but supposing that it existed, I've forgotten about it."

I took a deep breath.

"If that's the case, then I can't exactly blame you for doing such a thing. But I don't plan on using it anymore, unless the only other option is actually just death."

The pink figure looked at me questioningly.

"But why? I recall that you said yourself that the person you are is always changing, so wiping away a few memories isn't exactly removing your true self."

A bitter smile formed on my face.

"Yes, but that doesn't change the fact that there are memories that I don't want to forget. Maybe they'll end up so far tucked into the back of my head that I won't think about them for the rest of my life, but I still don't want to forget about them."

The pink figure smiled bitterly before raising a finger.

"You are overthinking it. Something I've come to realize after experimenting for countless years through others, is that the good memories are never erased. There is no need to worry."

I let out a long sigh.

"Yes, but the memory I wish to hold onto is a bad one."

The pink figure looked at me blankly for a little while.

"Did someone that you cared deeply about die? Though I don't recall you ever encountering something similar to that, know that you won't lose the memories of them. In the worst case, you will simply forget how they died in the first place, but not the fact that they are dead."

I shook my head.

"No, something like that never happened to me. From what I'm hearing, if I use Dark Arts that memory will be erased."

The pink figure's eyebrow rose.

"There is such a memory you have? What exactly is it?"

I pointed toward him with a smirk.

"What's important isn't the memory itself, but why I wouldn't want to forget it. Maybe you can try to figure that out."

The pink figure stared back blankly at me.

"I'm already at a complete loss with the first question you've given me. Did you perhaps already understand the drawbacks, which is why you rejected learning Dark Arts?"

I rolled my eyes.

"How the hell was I supposed to know? You never told me. But even if there wasn't this memory-wiping thing, the answer would still be no."

The pink figure hunched over with a frown plastered on his face.

"What is this? Why are you giving me another question when I can hardly solve the first one?" nOvε/lb(1n

I raised my lip before turning it into an exaggerated glower. Then I pointed at him like a teacher towards a trouble-making student.

"You're the one that asked for it! Plus, if you didn't erase your memories, you probably would've already understood all these things by now! If you really want to understand, then you have to stop wiping away your memories."

The pink figure was rendered speechless.

"I... never thought about it that way. Perhaps if I had discarded Dark Arts entirely, I'd be able to learn Divine Arts."

He fell into thought, and shortly after the entire dream had dispersed, making me wake up in Jess's arms once more. I didn't think about anything else before falling asleep, lest I find myself tensing up again.

...

I woke up for another day, without too much motivation to get up. However, with Jess forcing me to get up, it wasn't much of a choice.

Upon getting on the carriage off to school, I began to ponder over Bryson.

He recklessly used Dark Arts. From what I've heard, he was really into getting stronger, so while memories were erased, he retained that desperate need to get stronger. Maybe that's the reason why he became a villain in the first place.

...Phew. Thank god I didn't start practicing Dark Arts.

Maybe Bryson wasn't actually that bad. But at the same time, just losing bad memories probably isn't enough to turn a good person into a bad one. Yet while the chances are not high, I was still willing to give the actual Bryson a chance.

But how should I make contact with him? And will he even care to listen?