Chapter 85 – The Cross of Memories #4
The next morning, as soon as I woke up, I went to see Rebecca.
She needs to tell her about her quest so she can set off with peace of mind.
Rebecca, who was in her room, looked surprised when she heard my explanation.
“You’re going to do a quest with that ‘blonde’? Just the two of you?”
“Yeah. I guess I can’t help it because of the order of the church. I can’t take you on this quest. I’m sorry it’s a fixed party.”
“Dah, it’s not really something to be sorry for. There’s no law saying that it’s a fixed party and always move together. You don’t have to explain that to me. But blonde hair.”
“Do you care?”
Rebecca was always wary of Kate. To the point that when she runs into Kate, she suddenly starts fighting. Shall we say that she does not mix well like water and oil? She thought that maybe she could stop me from leaving Rebecca.
“…Because I don’t care? Do I look like such a narrow-minded person? Actually, I might have cared about it before I dated you.”
Rebecca added her words as she pondered.
“Because the blonde hair gave us free tickets to the play. So there’s no need to be too wary.
“We’re not meeting in person.”
“Then it doesn’t matter! You can go! I said it would be over within a day. When we get back, let’s go out and have a meal together. Make sure to tell us what the two of you did together.”
Fortunately, Rebecca didn’t stop me. The gift of tickets to the play seemed to have loosened her guard against Kate.
She didn’t tell Rebecca that she was actually my classmate at orphanage. Because that was just my guess. It would be enough to tell him when he came back after finishing the quest.
“Bye!”
After saying hello to Rebecca, I went back to my room and packed my gear to explore the aqueduct. Things like lanterns, raincoats, and boots. And he didn’t forget to take special herbs to chase away monsters.
After pushing the exploration equipment into the backpack.
I arrived at the Adventurer’s Guild in the afternoon.
‘Are you here already?’
I thought you arrived pretty early.
Kate was already waiting for me in front of the guild building.
A blonde-haired nun who might be from the same orphanage as me.
Did you ask me if I had ever seen my cross?
I was ready to give Kate her answer.
“You’re here-“
Kate, who was sitting on a bench in front of the building, greeted her as she looked at me as she approached.
Somehow her usual high tension subsided and it was Kate who looked at me with her nervous eyes. Kate ran her fingers through her crucifix around her own neck.
“So did you remember? About the cross.”
“I remembered, but.”
I sighed and opened my mouth. If my guess is correct, Kate doesn’t just want to hear her answer about her cross. Her reply that she had seen the cross was not enough.
“Why don’t you just be honest? Would you recognize that I’m from the same orphanage as you? It’s the Evergreen Orphanage that threw that toy cross.”
“…”
“Among my peers, there were about three blonde girls. Were you among the three? Answer me quickly.”
Kate listened to me and she took a few deep breaths.
Then she opened her mouth with a look of supreme satisfaction.
“That’s the answer- Evergreen Orphanage! You just remembered!”
As she spoke, Kate reversed the cross she was holding in her hand. On the back of the cross was the initial E, very obscurely embedded. Initials embedded in handmade toys from Evergreen Orphanage. The moment I checked it with my own two eyes, I was finally convinced that Kate was from the same orphanage.
“It’s a relief! It’s a bit sad to explain with my own mouth.”
“Are you sad?”
“I recognized Mongma-nim, but it’s unfair that Mongma-nim keeps not recognizing me. I even gave you hints.”
I was taken aback by Kate’s words.
Are you saying that you harassed me by asking meaningful questions simply because you were unfair? Thanks to this, I was tired because I couldn’t sleep at night. Looking under my heavily shadowed eyes, Kate giggled.
“Of course you don’t know! I’ve changed a lot compared to the old days! I’m not the sullen kid I was back then.”
“Hasn’t it changed too much? All the blonde girls in the orphanage are skinny.”
In the orphanage where food was scarce, all the children were skinny. I was the only one who could notice my muscles swollen like a golden sun.
Kate, who also grew her breasts and grew into her easy-to-delivery body, could call it cataclysmic.
“After being adopted into the church, a lot of things have changed. I can eat as much as I want, I can sleep well, and my skin has improved. I’ve even got a nice new name for her, Kate!”
“You mean she even changed her name?”
“Yes, it’s amazing. My life changed in an instant. I can’t believe that I went from being a poor orphan to a noble nun overnight!”
“What was her original name?”
“It’s Jenny.”
Jennie.
My memory was fuzzy, but it seems that there was definitely a girl with that name among my classmates.
Was it a very short, talkative blonde kid?
At some point, I became invisible.
She never thought that would have been her adoption into the church.
“Oh, Jenny.”
“Do you know me? Mongma-nim.”
“No, you don’t know?”
“Oh.”
“I only know his name. I can’t even remember what kind of kid he was. I was always alone in the orphanage. I hardly ever talked to my classmates. As you know, I’m a dreamer.”
I pointed her finger at the horn, and Kate nodded her head knowingly.
“Of course, Mongma-sama doesn’t know me. But I know Mongma-sama well. About the Mongma-sama from my childhood.”
Kate looked at me and smiled broadly.
“Because I’ve always watched from afar, Dream Maiden.”
“I, you said you were watching me?”
I couldn’t help but be taken aback by Kate’s words.
That this girl was watching me when I was a child. For what reason would you watch a lonely dreamer? I had a question, but I couldn’t get an answer right away.
Kate shut her mouth and for a while she just stared at me.
As if reminiscing about the old days.
*
There was silence between me and Kate for quite some time.
I sat down next to Kate on her bench and waited for her answer. While waiting, I couldn’t help but be caught up in all sorts of delusions.
Doesn’t it mean that the girl always watched the boy?
Could this be the green light Kate is sending me?
I already have Rebecca?
However, no matter how long I waited, there was no sign of an answer. I couldn’t hold it in any longer and turned to Kate and opened her mouth. In this way, I decided to ask her straight-forward about what would bother her.
“Did you really like me?”
“Nope.”
“Ouch.”
A resolute denial!
At my question, Kate drew her X by crossing her arms. At that moment, I blushed and couldn’t lift my head at her. I was very embarrassed to hear the answer. It’s to the point where I want to hide in a mouse hole like this.
Where would it be if I told you that I liked it?
“The dreamer back then… Was like a clown to me!”
“You’re a clown!”
“Just looking at it makes me laugh, but what can I do? When I was young, Dreamgirl was a really eccentric kid. When I was alone, I did all sorts of weird things and muttered strange things to myself! I laughed when I saw it, and it drove me crazy!”
Was I like Kate’s laughing bell?
Certainly, when I was young, I was a kid who did a lot of bizarre things.
There was no way I, who had memories of my previous life, would act the same as the other children. I thought it was a national rule that if I was reincarnated in another world, there would always be perks. He did all sorts of eccentricities to discover that perk.
Whenever I have a chance, I recite a second grader-like incantation.
Try standing on a handstand in the middle of the night to communicate with your guardian angel.
Like finding a smartphone somewhere and digging the ground with a shovel.
I think I’ve checked everything that could be a special feature of all creatures in the other world. Sadly, none of them fit.
Even that commonplace status window didn’t appear for me.
“Keuk, keuk keuk. It still makes me laugh when I think of Mongma-sama back then.”
Kate glanced at me and giggled.
I, who was listening, was laughing furiously to the point of fury.
“Knock-knock-knock.”
This is the first time I’ve really wanted to hit a woman.
I really wanted to punch Kate in the stomach.
“Is it funny? Is it funny!”
“No, so, Mongma-nim! What is the status window? I still remember it? The status window that Mongma-nim used to call me without even trying! All the children in the orphanage wondered! What the hell does the status window mean!”
“…It’s a magic spell. Calling it makes me feel at ease.”
“Is it like the native language of the dreamer clan?”
“You can roughly say that.”
He let out a sigh and nodded her head.
I never thought that the dark history of my childhood would choke me now. The status window was a habit I always muttered to myself. I always shouted out with the slightest hope for the special reincarnation.
Of course, there was no rattle.
I stared at Kate, who was still smiling.
Because there was something I wanted to ask Kate.
“Then what were you wary of when you first met me? When I joined the guild escort quest. As soon as you saw me, you sprinkled holy water on me. Since then, I’ve been avoiding you.”
“Because I didn’t recognize Mongma-sama from the beginning either. It was so long ago that I couldn’t remember. I realized after escorting the corps ended and returned to Yoensu. Mongma-nim was my classmate at the orphanage.”
“After the escort quest is over?”
I took note of Kate’s words.
It happened when I visited the church to get holy water.
After we met again, all of a sudden, Kate stopped distancing herself from me.
He even stopped me from arguing with church members.
What did Kate say to her church members then?
– This is someone I know well!
– I’m definitely not a bad dreamer to scare the young nun.
– As a nun, I can vouch for it.
“It’s not coming.”
Could it be that it wasn’t Gura, but that it was sincere?
Did you really know me well?
I was shocked and couldn’t keep my mouth shut.
“Then why did you pretend not to know me until now? You just have to tell the truth that you are a classmate of the orphanage. I think I misunderstood because of that.”
“I wanted Mongma-sama to realize it on her own. Well, in the end, I spoke first.
Soon, Kate got up from her bench and stretched her face with a refreshing expression.
“…I feel relieved after telling you everything!”
It seemed that the story Kate wanted to tell was over.
“Honestly, I’d like to talk more about the old days with the dreamer, but it’s time to move on! If you want to destroy the totem in the culvert and return within today.”
That’s right.
It was nice to meet an old colleague, but now the quest came first. In order to explore the complex underground waterway, we have to start now. On the way, we’ll have to stop by the general store to get Kate’s probe fitted.
It was the moment when I silently stood up from the bench.
Kate looked back at me and opened her mouth.
“Ah, there’s something I want to hear from Mongma-sama before we leave.”
“What do you mean?”
“Now that I’m asking you, will you call me by my first name? Kate!”
Call me by name?
Come to think of it, had she never called Kate by her first name?
That was when I hesitated for a moment with her mouth open.
Kate thrust her face toward me.
She held her face up to my nose and looked at me eagerly.
The distance where you can feel each other’s breath.
I couldn’t help but be embarrassed because I thought my lips would touch if I didn’t care.
“…Kate.”
The moment her name was called, Kate responded with a soft smile.
“You finally called me by my name.”
But even after the name was called.
Kate didn’t want to get away from me.
He was just staring at my lips.
As if there was something more to be desired.
