The Magician’s Memorial - Chapter 7



Only Krnovel

Episode 7

“Sit down.”

It was a messy room. The books piled up all over the walls and the floor caught my eye.

There were also books on the bed against the right wall. Where do they sleep?

Altera pushed the books scattered on the floor with her feet.

The feeling is completely different. Altera was a proper person. Whether he was supervising cleaning, eating, or teaching, his manners were never out of order.

But the Altera I saw in the room was the epitome of looseness.

“I know you have a lot of questions. But first, sit down and listen to me.”

After exchanging glances with Twella, he sat down on the floor.

“Now that we have guests, we should entertain them, right?”

customer?

It was a word I heard for the first time.

Altera continued speaking with a smile.

“It must be an unfamiliar word. No, I don’t think you can even recognize that it’s unfamiliar.”

“What does guest mean?”

I chose to ask questions rather than remain silent.

“You could interpret it as someone who came from somewhere else. It could be used to express friendliness, or to refer to someone who is difficult.”

Altera put down a crudely made glass. It contained light green water.

“Drink.”

Twella hesitated, but Quill lifted the glass and poured it into his mouth without hesitation.

The one who had the initiative was the other party. It was a situation where they could eliminate themselves with a single word.

Worrying was a luxury.

The moment the drink hit my tongue, my eyes widened. Unlike my tense head, my body honestly absorbed the sweet juice.

“It’s apple juice. You already know the taste, right?”

“apologize.”

As soon as the word was spoken, Altera took out something mixed with green and red as if she had been waiting for it.

It matched the shape I saw in the forest, though the color was a little different.

“The name of this fruit is apple. It is a hybrid variety, so it is very sweet.”

Crisp, Altera took a big bite of the apple.

“This tastes better than black porridge.”

Quilbian rolled the word ‘apple’ over and over in his mouth. It was strange yet familiar. His head couldn’t remember, but his tongue curled in the shape of the pronunciation as if it was familiar.

Twella also let out a sigh of admiration after drinking the apple juice.

“You should only eat food served at restaurants.” As both of you now know, that’s false. There are many foods in the world you can eat besides black porridge.”

It was true. I proved it with my body several times.

“Have you ever eaten anything other than apples?”

“I ate all kinds of leaves and grasses. Most of them were bitter and tasteless, which was a problem. And I ate silver bugs and fish.”

Quill answered, and Twella nodded in agreement.

“You ate fish? How?”

He explained the situation to Alteria, who was curious. He said that he put a small bug swimming in the stream in his mouth and chewed it.

“There is a way to eat it raw, including the intestines, but most people just eat the meat. It has to be cooked well.”

“Bake? What does bake mean?”

“You use fire. You can cook it by directly touching the fire, or you can use a pan.”

“Wasn’t it supposed to turn black and disappear when exposed to fire?”

“It will turn black, but it won’t disappear. If you get burned badly, you’ll die.”

death.

The word I was most curious about came out of Altera’s mouth.

“What is death? We’ve heard it explained to us over and over again, but we still don’t know exactly what death is.”

“That’s right! What on earth is death?”

Quill and Twella only looked at Altera’s mouth.

“Its usage varies depending on the situation, but it is usually said that something is dead when all life activities cease.”

“Life activities?”

“It’s faster to experience it than to talk about it, right? I’ll help you die for a little while. But don’t be surprised. Don’t struggle.”

Altera stood up. Quill followed suit.

“Turn around. Relax your body.”

I did as I was told. Then Altera’s arms wrapped around my neck.

“Ascetic?”

“It will be painful. But it’s okay. It’s just a pseudo-experience.”

My throat tightened. The pressure grew and I felt anxious.

“Oh, ascetic?”

It became difficult to breathe. Quill struggled despite being told in advance.

My body convulsed.

Breathe, breathe, breathe. He tried to tear off Altera’s arms with both hands, but it was no use.

Twella’s scream was faintly heard. As the vision in front of me became blurry and my whole body lost sense of touch.

Quill fell to the floor with a thud.

Drool flowed out of my mouth. I wiped my tear-stained vision with the back of my hand and looked up at Altera.

“Is this… … death?”

“It’s similar. There are various forms, so I can’t show you everything right now, but you can see that when you lose consciousness, you die.”

“What happens when you die? Are you reborn as if you have undergone a transformation? Like what the cadets experienced?”

I longed for an answer.

Altera smiled bitterly.

“Nothing is known for sure what happens after death. There is supposedly another level called the ‘Spirit World’ where all information is stored, but that is only an observed phenomenon.”

Altera continued, pointing upward with her finger.

“Some say that souls with free will are reborn into a world where everything is perfect and enjoy eternal life. Some say that there is nothing. Some say that they go through a separate process to return here. Of course, none of this has been verified.”

It was as thrilling as dipping your head in cold water. Most of the words coming out of Altera’s mouth were unintelligible. Nevertheless, the sentences shook my body and mind.

I felt a strong sense of foreboding.

I’ve heard ‘this story’ somewhere.

“ha.”

A muffled breath broke the brief silence.

Quill looked at Twella.

“what’s the matter?”

“Oh, no. It’s nothing.”

I don’t know much about Twella, but it was clear that what he just said was a lie.

It wasn’t the face of a child who had no idea what was going on. She had realized something, and she looked afraid of what she had realized.

I was about to ask again what was going on.

“It’s really nothing, really.”

It was a firm voice.

Quill was unable to say anything due to the distance that had suddenly formed.

“It must be confusing. Are you recalling memories from outside?”

It was Altera who asked the question.

Outside.

Quilbian looked at Twella cautiously at the word that was a mixture of excitement and fear.

“I don’t know. What is this?”

Twella lightly touched his head, wondering if he had a headache.

“The magic has been cracked, so it’s only a matter of time before it breaks. Fragmentary memories will suddenly come to mind, but don’t be surprised and just accept them as they are.”

Once again, a series of unintelligible words came out.

“There isn’t enough time to explain everything. I’m sure you have a lot of questions, but this is why I called you here today… … .”

Altera took out two pieces of paper. Square pieces of paper the size of the palm of one’s hand.

“Both of you, stick out your tongues.”

I stuck my tongue out as I was told.

The paper was on my tongue.

“texture.”

As Alterea spoke, snapping her fingers, the paper wrapped around her tongue.

The sloppy sensation spread across my tongue and soon reached my throat.

The warm air lingered in my mouth and then disappeared. I touched my tongue with my finger.

The paper disappeared without leaving a speck of dust.

“Now you won’t feel the bad taste when you eat food.”

I could tell what the feed was without even having to hear an explanation.

“It’s a simple spell, so it will lose its effect quickly. From now on, you two will come see me once every four days. Each time, I will rebuild the spell and answer any questions you may have.”

Altera looked at the wall. Quill also looked away. The hour and minute hands were indicating that it was cleaning time.

“That’s it for today. You’re both smart, so I trust you’ll act as usual.”

Twella, who had a complicated expression on her face, nodded heavily and went outside.

Quilbian followed suit and left the room. Twella disappeared down the hallway, running silently by herself.

What on earth did Twella come up with?

“Mr. Ascetic.”

“Just one question, just one question.”

As if he had read my mind, Altera raised his index finger and spoke.

Of the hundreds of questions, Quill spat out the one that reached his upper teeth first.

“Is Twella okay?”

“There may be some personal differences, but it’s not a big deal. Quill will experience it soon, so don’t worry too much.”

“……All right.”

Altera crossed her arms.

“Okay, let me ask you one more question. Hurry up, it’s really time to go now.”

Quill said, chewing his tongue lightly in his mouth.

“What is sorcery?”

“This is getting too long-winded, so let me just say it like this.”

Altera straightened his index finger and pointed to the end of the hallway.

“The power that makes such things exist.”

Outside the window.

What filled Quill’s retina were the legs of the moving ‘Sun’.

*

“Wow!”

Quill nervously turned around at the strong hand pushing his back. When their eyes met, Drich flinched and then smiled in vain.

“Surprise, why are you so sensitive?”

“You’re the one who surprised me. What are you doing?”

I knew I should be smiling like usual, but the corners of my mouth wouldn’t listen.

My head was so complicated.

A world made of lies, magic, the sun, and the suffering Twella.

“What the heck, what’s really going on? It’s so sharp.”

“Just like that.”

“They say there is nothing in this world that is just for fun.”

Drich touched the tip of his nose with an embarrassed face.

“It doesn’t seem like the right time to talk. Should I just leave?”

“Where are you going to turn off?”

“Anywhere.”

After saying that nonsense, he opened the door. Quilbian froze, holding onto the doorknob.

There was someone in the room.

A character far beyond expectations.

“Quilbian, Drich.”

A voice dripping with gentleness.

Deokjideokji?

Quill felt a sense of crisis. He was not the type of person to show off to. He quickly armed himself with a smile and looked at the seer who was standing with his back to the window.

“Hey, how is it here… … .”

Drich spoke stammeringly. His tension doubled as he watched his moved friend.

Everything has really changed.

Now, when I looked at the visionary, I was not filled with awe, but only with discomfort.

Quill lowered the corners of his eyes even more forcefully because it was a truth that had to be hidden.

I now know that nothing hides a lie better than laughter.

The seer approached without saying a word.

As the face he had found beautiful came closer, something occurred to Quill.

An animal that greedily eats everything. It cries loudly… … .

The seer’s nose flared. Sniff sniff, ahem. Drihi watched in awe, wondering at even that sight.

Quill lowered his head slightly and bit the tip of his tongue.

A disgusting smell emanated from the seer’s entire body.

Black porridge.

That’s what Altera called fodder.

“Well, who else uses this room besides you two?”

“no.”

“Has anyone else been in this room recently?”

Drich, who had been answering vigorously, looked at Quill. It seemed as if he knew something.

Quill stared at the seer and said.

“I have a lot of free time outside of bedtime. Is there something wrong? Just let me know and I will help you.”

“No, I came because it smelled a little. Hmm, okay.”

The seer gently tapped Quill on the shoulder and left the room. Drich ran out, saying he would follow the seer.

The room became quiet.

Quill collapsed against the wall, his mouth covered.

A voice with a melody, a voice so unfamiliar and unfamiliar, came back to me from that distant memory.

Pigs oink, pigs oink.

The guy who had been greedily eating the food in my memory raised his head.

The pig was laughing wickedly.

(Continued in next episode)