Love Letter From The Future

I open my eyes from a confused dream.

No, this is still a dream. It’s so realistic that it’s hard to accept that fact.

It was now a familiar scenery.

The endlessly stretched wasteland was devoid of any shrubs. The sun leaning towards the horizon cast a dry hue, and countless corpses received that light, creating a gloomy spectacle.

I stood absentmindedly on this land of death.

Fragmented memories fluttered chaotically like migratory birds changing their territories. Eventually, a few scenes brushed past my mind like scraps.

“Senior Elsi” had finally found a way to heal those who had become the retinue of a vampire.

The families and friends of the victims expressed their gratitude repeatedly. Senior Elsi merely made excuses, saying she couldn’t withstand my burden, but their gratitude was not unreceived.

In particular, Emma held my hand, tears welling in her eyes.

She thanked me for not giving up and expressed her joy at saving Rieri Lupeisia’s life.

It was rewarding to have meddled.

I didn’t know the detailed principles, but it seemed that Senior Elsi had figured out how to break the ‘contract’ made with the vampire. It was fortunate that the subject of the contract was already dead.

If the vampire were alive, it would have been an impossible means.

To unilaterally notify the termination of a contract, there would be no one who would quietly accept it.

In the end, it was merely a means that could not be used in the world where Senior Elsi was alive. Nevertheless, she couldn’t hide her proud demeanor.

She hadn’t forgotten the part I had to pay either.

Thus, I raised my glass in celebration. I drank and staggered into the room, feeling aftereffects on my back from the Lady Virgin Saint’s scolding.

“You’re coming often.”

My mind, lost in recollection, suddenly became clear.

That dry tone belonged solely to a man. A voice devoid of interest, curiosity, or emotion, resembling the wasteland.

My eyes glanced back. There, as always, was the man sitting on a rock.

I exhaled a weary sigh.

“…Indeed.”

“It’s not something to brush off as trivial.”

The man said this while gazing at me with even more solemn eyes, like a crow searching for food in the sky.

“The degree of fusion has become excessively high. It was already like that before, but the last battle was critical. You accepted too much of my memories.”

It was a story I had heard many times before.

Hadn’t it been said since I faced the Corpse Giant in Perkus Manor? Something big might happen at this rate.

But I was still fine.

That was the reason I could remain calm despite the man’s grave tone.

“Isn’t it not bad? You’d be lonely alone too, and now you have someone to talk to. I want to learn more visions…”

“I say again, there is no power without a price. Brat.”

Yet again, the warning I had heard several times.

This time, the man had a slightly more serious expression, as if he was troubled by the fact that my visits had become more frequent.

“Don’t forget that you lost your reason during the last battle. The boundaries between ‘me’ and ‘you’ are slowly fading.”

“Then what should I do?”

“It’s too late.”

His somewhat irritated response cut off my retort.

It was a statement too blunt.

“We can’t stop now. You’ll have to prepare your heart.”

“What kind of preparation?”

“Preparation to pay the price.”

The man didn’t tell me what that ‘price’ was.

Perhaps it’s one of two reasons.

First, maybe he didn’t know either.

And second, even if he knew, he couldn’t speak due to ‘constraints.’

It had become a familiar treatment that didn’t require me to ask. Yet, a small lingering attachment remained that I couldn’t shake off.

After a moment of silence, a question slipped from my mouth.

“…Did you know?”

“Know what?”

“The secret connected to the Haster Clan.”

Instead of sneering at the obvious question, the man turned his gaze slightly aside. His pupils dulled as he rummaged through the past.

There was no need to wait.

He opened his mouth without hesitation.

“There’s no way I wouldn’t know.”

“Why didn’t you tell me sooner?”

“You already know the answer.”

“Still, if you had given me even a small hint…!”

“Brat.”

At his one word, the heated atmosphere cooled.

The man continued to gaze at me with an unfeeling expression.

“Information related to the Seven Deadly Sins has too much ripple effect. Even if you learned of the Haster Clan’s secret, what could you do?”

“If Celin finds out about this…”

“She’ll be hurt.”

The man whispered softly, his gaze deepening with nostalgia.

Like an old man reminiscing on old memories.

“But still, she can overcome it. At least if you’re by her side.”

“How do you know that?”

The man didn’t return any answer. He merely pointed towards the sky with his eyes.

My gaze naturally followed that direction. There, memories flickered like a blurry image.

A ruthless woman with a battle axe breaking through the barrier of humans.

The black armor with a white trim indicated her affiliation.

The Empire’s Intelligence Department.

“She was one of my lieutenants.”

Though her features were somewhat harsher than now, I recognized her. I knew the woman in that image was Celin.

There were few women bold enough to smile confidently even in the battlefield.

In retrospect, it was strange.

We had been together every day, yet it had been a while since I saw Celin’s face.

For a while, I couldn’t bring myself to speak. I waited, and waited.

Eventually, the question that finally escaped was short.

“…Is she alive?”

“Who knows.”

It was a blatant evasion of the question.

A man couldn’t be so cruel as to not know the life or death of his childhood friend and subordinate.

His dry voice continued.

“Don’t rely too much on others. If there’s necessary information, you should gather it… That’s why you’ll always be a ‘brat.’”

“That ‘brat’ thing…”

“Or ‘kid.’”

As I sulked at the man’s words, I sealed my lips tightly.

Perhaps ‘kid’ would be better than ‘brat.’ I had no idea when I would be called by my name.

The man continued to speak with a tone as crisp as the sands of the desert.

“Don’t be stubborn. The connections in the world in which you live are your responsibility. If you think I’ll be your guardian forever…”

“Yes, yes. I understand.”

I had no choice but to interrupt as his nagging was about to become lengthy.

Why was he so worry-prone?

It was in stark contrast to his bleak demeanor. As I waved my hand irritably, the man’s expression became somewhat sullen.

Even this was something he wouldn’t notice unless it was me.

Having watched the man for a long time, I had an inkling. He was indeed human, pumping blood in his heart.

It was also quite fortunate.

The reason I had come here was separate. I wouldn’t have come here just to get scolded by my wife for overindulging.

I jumped into the main topic without delay.

“I heard your apprentice wanted to see you.”

He hesitated.

During that time, his body stiffened, a rare reaction, yet I continued speaking, not allowing him to escape.

“Today is too sudden, but how about tomorrow? As you said, it’s your connection in your world.”

The man’s gaze slowly turned to the side.

Hadn’t he just said that? “The connections in your world are your responsibility.”

It was indeed a correct statement. I decided to press the man further using it as leverage.

“If you’re an adult, that’s how it should be. Then I’ll consider it settled…”

And glancing.

My eyes searched the man’s expression. His face still showed no trace of emotion.

Thus, silence ensued.

After a few seconds, or perhaps minutes.

Just as I was about to urge him once more.

The man’s lips gradually parted.

“…I don’t want to.”

In the end, he resisted.

I couldn’t hold back my feelings and shouted.

“No, don’t act like a kid!”

It was a moment where he realized once again that he was ‘me.’

The eyes of the Imperial Court are everywhere.

It was a widespread rumor not only in the Empire but also throughout the continent. It seemed like a frightening tale, seemingly baseless. That meant no one could escape the Empire’s gaze.

However, few doubted the truth of such rumors.

It was understandable, considering who the Empire was.

The Empire’s royal family controlled the largest intelligence organization on the continent. Their information was not only swift but also accurate, to the point that there were tales of the Holy Kingdom or Southern Kingdoms learning about their own events later than the Empire did.

Thus, no one could be unafraid of the Empire’s gaze.

The Academy was no exception.

Even within the Academy, which had a long history as a neutral zone, there was a hidden branch of the Empire’s Intelligence Department. Though its focus was more on recruiting talents than on information gathering or various plots, it was still the Empire’s Intelligence Department.

Very few knew of its existence. Naturally, the same went for the person leading its academy branch.

Who would have guessed?

That a commoner with mediocre grades was the true dark figure of the Academy.

The so-called ‘Queen of the Martial Arts Festival,’ Neoris Findleston.

She was a cunning woman, like a viper, who delighted in deceiving others. That’s why she could rise to the head of the Academy branch.

Even within the Empire’s Intelligence Department, she was notorious and now.

“I must be crazy…”

With a loud thud, she buried her head on the desk in her office, lost in self-reproach.

A few names flashed by the mind of the woman, whose vision was confined in darkness.

Ian Fercurus, Ian Fercurus, Ian Fercurus.

“Ah, ugh, ah…”

The day the curse of jealousy struck the Academy.

Neoris’s dark history began.

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