Chapter 142
“…Hahaha!”
Segleninde stood before the wide-open doors of the mansion and laughed for the first time in his existence.
There was a way. There had always been a way.
All he had to do was approach Cynthia as an empty being. With a mind as blank as a sheet of paper, he would fill it solely with her. Then… Then he would be able to understand the reason for the beating of his heart, which had shown him the outline of his own heart. He would no longer have to regard it as something alien.
He would be able to stay with her. Always.
And so, on the day that Mage Cynthia left, Segleninde made up his mind.
In the next cycle, he would erase all of his memories.
* * *
Of course, no matter how perfect he was as a being, there were bound to be flaws.
For instance, when meeting Cynthia in a completely blank state. Even if he erased his very own identity, the instincts ingrained in his body would remain. If he erased even his combat abilities or intelligence, he might end up being a burden to her instead. He might even accidentally erase his own feelings toward Cynthia.
So he cast a magical suggestion on himself. It was the same spell he had used to easily wipe out Cynthia’s companions and drive them away from her side.
Do not let Cynthia die. Kill anything that would attacked her. Cherish her.
He had cast only those three suggestions. If he tried to add any more, there was a risk that he would regain his memories too quickly.
What he worried about most was that in prioritizing the most important matters, he had neglected to add a suggestion to preserve his feelings toward Cynthia.
At least the suggestion to cherish her might help, but Segleninde’s standard of ‘cherishing’ was different from that of a human. If Cynthia’s reaction when he locked her in a room or a cell in the past was any indication, that was certainly true.
But since there was no other way, Segleninde had to hurriedly finish his other preparations and erase his own memories for this new cycle.
Once again, he intended to help Cynthia avoid dying as much as possible. To help her assimilate into this world a little more easily, he would imitate the game system with which Cynthia was most familiar and provide her with various aids.
Thanks to that, as always, Cynthia was once again completely convinced that this world was nothing more than a game.
At last, the moment she arrived at the dressing room, he erased all of his memories except for the suggestions.
“Huu……”
He heard the faint sound of a woman sighing.
He opened his eyes. And—
“……”
Regardless of suggestions, regardless of memories, regardless of anything else…
He simply fell in love.
* * *
The memoryless Segleninde was prickly.
Originally, when dealing with humans—especially with Cynthia—he would disguise himself as gentle or kind. But by nature, he was sensitive and fastidious. It was only natural for an primordial being that had reigned above all things since the beginning.
So he also forgot how to speak gently.
“…I stayed still, just to see what the hell you were up to, but who the hell are you to just go and molest someone like that?”
He was actually pleased when a beautiful woman he saw for the first time kissed him on the cheek, but what popped out of his mouth were words he didn’t mean at all.
But there was something even more bewildering. When he met her eyes, for some strange reason, he suddenly felt at ease.
“Uh, well, I, um…!”
Watching the woman anxiously dart her eyes around, searching for words, he found himself wanting to hug her.
Yet at the same time, he didn’t want to. A sharp, prickly feeling surged up, as if trying to kill the strange resonance beating in his heart.
Conflicting emotions clashed within him. The urge to criticize and condemn her, and the urge to gently take her hand, to whisper that it was alright… All these feelings collided.
It was strange. Everything was unfamiliar. He couldn’t remember why.
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