[Shia, do you remember?]
No, I must be talking nonsense.
But it’s okay.
[You don’t have to say anything.]
[You don’t have to do anything.]
Even if you don’t know I exist, even if we haven’t met.
Even if you’re not here.
I will come to you.
Definitely, for sure.
No matter what happens, I will find you.
Because you are etched into my heart.
Because my soul’s other half belongs to Shia.
I will walk towards you, wanting to reach you again.
I will remember to kiss your hair again.
I will remember your expression, that happy face once more.
All of us together.
[This is a story that only I remember.]
We’ve met again.
Now, I’ve done it.
Of course, I don’t know what lies ahead.
What will happen…. Perhaps a more terrible ending awaits than any hellish trials I’ve endured until now.
[Shia, you always told me that happy endings are the best.]
But it’s okay, Shia.
Even if you don’t know me.
Even if you forget me.
Even if we have not met yet.
If you’re still unhappy…
If you still feel lonely…
If a corner of your heart is still empty…
I will come find you.
I will remember.
I will remember all our time together.
Even the forgotten time we had.
The story of our gloomy Hero and the witch who cannot live without you even now, and the hopeless Meat Saintess hasn’t even begun yet, right?
Of course, this will be the last time.
I have no coins left and I don’t want to turn back anymore.
Right?
[In the end, just as you said, everything will be alright… and it really is.]
So let’s…
Like the first time.
As it has always been.
And forever more.
[Let’s continue to meet throughout our lives.]
○○○○
Is it sad?
No, it wasn’t just a feeling that could be described as sadness.
A story that cannot be told to anyone in the world.
A story that cannot be acknowledged by anyone in the world.
Yeonhwa, swept away by the waves of memory, seemed to indulge in Teresa’s flood of memories while feeling sad.
And just as the beginning was sudden, the end was abrupt too.
“Alright, it’s over.”
“Ah……!”
With Teresa’s final memory of searching for Shia in a new world, Yeonhwa’s sight returned to the counseling room.
No, Yeonhwa had never truly left the counseling room.
Teresa had just shown Yeonhwa her vast memories with magic.
‘No, I think I was half-meshed into Teresa’s consciousness in the meantime…’
Though the clock measuring the counseling time hadn’t even passed three minutes, the world Yeonhwa felt within Teresa’s memories felt like it had spanned decades or centuries.
“Wasn’t that something to behold?”
The mature, elegant but desperately tragic Black Witch from the memories was now smiling in front of her as a slightly well-developed young girl.
“Boo… sniff….”
“Oh my, are you crying? I thought it would be more nauseating than touching?”
“No, not at all… sniff…”
She tasted deep memories and sadness, much too rich.
Yeonhwa too had memories of losing someone precious and falling into sadness.
Because of those memories, she had spent most of her teenage years wrapped up in sorrow and despair, clinging stubbornly to malice… Compared to her, Teresa had endured an unimaginable level of sadness and pain.
“Well, to be honest, I still have a ton of things I’m hiding. There’s a lot I want to show. I haven’t laid bare all my stories yet.”
“…I see.”
Surely wanting to see more was greedy.
“But, do you not tell Shia or Menelapie about this?”
For a moment, Teresa’s face slightly stiffened but soon returned to her usual relaxed demeanor.
Though it looked relaxed, it seemed like she was suppressing sadness disguised as calm from Yeonhwa’s perspective, who had just seen Teresa’s memories.
“……I once confessed my regression to them.”
“And what happened!?”
“At first, I felt clear and thought everything was going smoothly. Everything was smooth. But that Demon King bastard caught wind of my regression?”
“Ah……..”
“Then it got even worse. He brought in someone similar from another dimension. Humans were ruthlessly betrayed by threats and seductions… To cut a long story short, it was far more beneficial to keep my regressions hidden than to confess them. Of course, it took me around 540 times? Something like that, to figure it out.”
“I’m sorry…”
“Why are you apologizing… Anyway, we’ve killed the Demon King countless times, but that bastard is incredibly strong. Not just strong, but with each cycle, the direction of power, the composition of his legion, and the way he exists are all so different that we’ve lost sometimes even with our full-scale assaults.”
The Demon King is that kind of existence.
Unreasonable evil.
A malignant force that should not exist.
“Ah, of course, now we don’t need to all pile on together; I could take down the Demon King alone. The times we lost to him were mostly either due to age and lack of experience or because we got backstabbed.”
Speaking of backstabbing reminds me of those bastards who, after going to great lengths to save Shia, wanted to sacrifice her to the Demon King to survive!
Ha, those filthy bastards.
We tore them apart last cycle, but just thinking about it makes me feel sick and furious.
“Then can you take down the Demon King alone now, Teresa?”
“But when a new cycle starts, all that’s left for me is my memory… All of my magical accomplishments and the spells of Gongheo Gungjeon get reset, so I have to start from scratch. If only the dolls had reset with me, I really would have taken down the Demon King on my own. No, even if I could have just brought along the fake Demon King doll that Shia broke earlier with me to the regression, I would have swallowed them all!”
Well, that didn’t happen, which is why I’ve become this frustrating mess…
“And you want me to tell our gloomy Hero and that dumb Meat Saintess? Ugh, don’t even suggest that. Those troublesome gals will just become even more troublesome.”
Teresa looked towards the counseling room across the hall, where Shia and Menelapie were probably waiting for her.
Imagining the two of them waiting anxiously like a husband waiting for his wife to give birth made her chuckle a bit.
“But why are you telling me this…? Isn’t it something nobody should know?”
“You’re the first person I’ve seen like this.”
“Huh? What do you mean…?”
“You look innocent and foolish enough that I thought you’d fall for it if I spun a decent tale?”
“Eh?!”
Just kidding.
Teresa burst into laughter at Yeonhwa’s fiercely surprised reaction, then propped her bare feet on the desk, wiggling her toes.
The refined lady from the memory was nowhere to be found. The slightly debauched Black Witch felt very alien.
But Yeonhwa understood Teresa.
Assuming that memory was truth, Teresa had endured a secret and tormented suffering that she could not share with anyone in the world.
And all for just one person, Shia.
Regressing and regressing again.
“Well… what I said earlier was a joke. To tell you the truth, I haven’t undergone just a couple of troublesome incidents, but throughout eons of time, I’ve never been to this world called Earth before.”
“You’re visiting Earth for the first time?”
Teresa playfully twirled her hair with her fingers, nodding.
“How many repetitions do you think I’ve had? Most people look familiar, but you’re new. Even so, Shia and Menelapie trust you simultaneously, and while I might not believe others, I have to believe the words of the Hero and the Saintess.”
“………..”
“In short, because my Saintess believes in you, I will too. That’s all.”
Initially, Yeonhwa had suspected that Teresa might be showing her false memories.
Being a wicked Black Witch proficient in countless magics, if she had a bad personality, she could use coercive or mind-control magic to befuddle Yeonhwa’s memory for her own advantage. Perhaps she thought she could skip the Returnee registration by trickery.
However, to cast aside the memories Teresa had shown as fakes, there was a depth of cruel sorrow and pain.
In those memories, in countless worlds, there were times when Teresa had to kill Shia with her own hands, times when Shia had killed her instead, times when she was betrayed and had her heart torn to shreds.
And yet, every time Teresa met Shia again, it was new.
Even as someone merely looking over her memories, Yeonhwa knew how fast Teresa’s heart would race when she met Shia. Though it was just a memory, traces of Teresa’s nostalgia made Yeonhwa’s heart race too.
“It’s not like I came to this Earth to create a fake Demon King and grab Shia’s attention. This world was truly an uncharted territory for me. I felt like I was walking on a thorny path not knowing when and where danger might come.”
After all the effort to come this far…
To save both Shia and Menelapie, and even save the world intact this time as well.
The troublesome and filthy Demon King was defeated with far fewer losses than I had anticipated.
“So this world is also new for you, Teresa…”
“It’s completely new. I’ve never defeated the Demon King while fully restoring a world before; however, I never imagined that Shia would dive into the That Bottomless Pit and come to Earth.”
“In previous cycles, what happened to Shia?”
“Well? What do you mean?”
Teresa tilted her head, confused.
“Well, in some worlds, she wasn’t able to defeat the Demon King… and in some others, even if she saved the world, there was a malignant entity the Demon King had secretly hidden, and everyone died except for us three. In another world, the Demon King noticed my regression and tried to break my mind through torture, and Shia rescued me… and then…”
Suddenly, the laughter in Teresa’s eyes faded away.
While there were happy and joyful memories, it seemed they were fleeting, overshadowed by the terrifying and unbearable pain of unthinkable memories.
“I’m sorry…”
“Ah well… let’s leave it here. I think I’ve gathered enough information about who I am for the government records of this world now?”
“Honestly, you didn’t have to say anything at all.”
“Since I’ve come to a new world, I should at least create one ally.”
In truth, even if Teresa had said nothing and kept quiet, Yeonhwa would have allowed her Returnee registration.
“Teresa.”
“What?”
“Welcome to Earth.”
At those words, Teresa’s lips curled up.
Oh dear. What does this little brat know?
Ha, really.
After Yeonhwa had left, Teresa wiggled her toes and sank deep into her chair.
Her posture made the chair teeter precariously, and she stared at the flickering light fixture on the ceiling.
“Well…”
Teresa stopped rocking the chair and decided to leave this dreadful room.
Since the ethics review was all over, it wouldn’t be a problem for her to leave.
Creek.
Opening the door, there you were.
Shia.
“Hello.”
You don’t know, but I’ve known you for a long time.
And I really wanted to see you again.
I truly, truly… missed you so much.
But I won’t cry.
I’ve spent too much time sulking.
You once told me something like that.
[There’s not enough time to be happy.]
[Don’t be sad; let’s smile.]
Well, those are typical Saintess words, but… I don’t think that’s wrong.
Despairing, hurting, or being sad is not the time for that, at least not right now.
So, Shia.
Shia… and Menelapie.
You’re coming back to me.
Even if we’ve parted, even if I treat you cruelly in some cycle, even if in some cycle I don’t meet you, even if in others I betray you…
Still, I’ve returned to you in the end.
Shia, my Shia.
“Hey, you girls! I just finished the ethics review!”
“….Ah!”
At the witch’s words, the tears that Shia had been holding back began to pour out again.
Fearing that they would disappear again.
Afraid that our meeting had been a lie.
Yes, but Shia.
“Teresa~! So now we can be together?! It’s no problem, right?!”
“Ah, it shouldn’t be. What if there is a problem? I’ll just smash everything.”
“Hehe, you’re still the same.”
I hadn’t believed that we met again.
I couldn’t grasp it.
But there you are.
Right in front of me, coming to embrace me.
Not as a vision, but as reality.
“Ahhhh! Teresa!!!”
Ah, this crying brat.
The reason I can’t cry is ultimately because of you.
What kind of Saintess cries so much?
Well, sure… shedding tears is fine right now.
So let’s not part again.
Let’s…
Forever from now on……
BAM!
“Gyaaaaaaah! You bastards!!!”
Damn! Damn! Damn!
I can’t breathe! You bastards!!!
No, damn it, my neck, my neck!!!
Shia, you damn girl, you’re still the same now as you were before! I mean it’s nice, but this is too much!
Menelapie, you devious girl! Acting like you’re not but sneaking in and making things worse for me!
Did I come too early? Is this creepy? This gloomy girl…!!!
“Ugh, Teresa! I’m so glad, I’m so glad! Now we can be together! Huuhhh…”
“Hehe, I was worried about the younger you. But fortunately, you’ve pulled through.”
“Shut up, let me go!!!”
“Don’t you like this reunion hug?”
“Ahhh! Do you hate me, Teresa?!”
“AAAH! You troublesome brats!!!”
Ugh, damn those girls!!!
It’s fine apart from everything else, but can you two stop acting like this together?!
Does it really get worse with every cycle?
