"Well... sothing like that."
"Really?"
I slid my hands into the pocket of my hoodie. "Yeah, really, though..."
My voice faded for a mont.
It had been weighing on my mind for so ti now.
Was it truly possible for to conceal the fact that I wasn’t Allen?
No matter how much the diary told , I was Allen Park, not Allen Vanderbilt.
After a mont I muttered:
"...I lost so of my mories."
Quincy’s eyes widened. "What did you just say?"
I let out a weary breath. "I think it might be better if I start from the beginning?"
Quincy glanced around. When she noticed a swing in a nearby park, she pointed at it.
"Why don’t we go there? It looks like this will be a long talk."
I nodded and followed her.
’Was this the right thing to do?’ I grimaced, my eyes fixed on the back of the beautiful young woman.
The urge to sigh returned.
I was a swindler in my past life.
A thief and a criminal.
What right did I even have to feel sorry for soone?
Was it a lingering instinct from Allen?
Or was it because of the trust he had in her?
I clicked my tongue softly. ’The boss would have kicked my ass if she saw...’
My entire body stiffened.
Again.
Once more I had connected my present life to my past one.
Quincy suddenly stopped and tilted her head back slightly. "What happened?"
I forced a smile. "Nothing. Just the migraines from the awakening."
I had to let it go.
No matter how much I longed for the past, it wasn’t coming back.
I wasn’t Allen Park anymore.
I was now Allen Vanderbilt.
I sat on the swing, pushing myself gently with my feet.
"Do you believe in magic, Quincy?"
It was a strange question, but I rembered that word vividly.
The very first word this world’s novel began with.
Quincy chuckled softly. "Dummy. We use magic in our daily lives."
Shaking my head, I corrected myself. "I don’t an that kind of magic. I an sorcery, mystic arts..."
Yes, I wasn’t Allen Park anymore, but I wasn’t Allen Vanderbilt either.
Allen Vanderbilt Park, that’s what I was.
A hybrid.
The only programming mage and the legendary scamr.
Quincy’s expression shifted. "No, but what does that have to do with anything?"
What it ant was that I was going to use it to deceive her.
I was already certain all of this was my new life.
However, I didn’t know who had sent here.
Hell, I didn’t even want to think about it — when soone actually considered it, a person capable of turning a novel I had read into a world was far from ordinary.
No one could convince it was a coincidence.
Maybe Allen pulled the trigger, sure, but you don’t build a world with quantum physics or whatever.
Soone — or sothing — was clearly behind him.
Realistically speaking, what were the chances of a world existing with the sa progression as a novel?
Not just that, but a guy who’d actually read the novel landed inside it, conveniently when so demon-possessed bastard needed a scapegoat.
Yeah, right.
What this ant was there was a force behind it.
And I wasn’t even sure whether there was a force opposing them in this world.
aning: until I was strong enough, no one could discover who I really was.
Fixing my gaze on the stars glittering in the distance, I continued:
"During the ti I locked myself in my room, I began to hear voices."
This was what had truly happened to Allen.
A truth A lie = An even better lie.
"It was that voice that told about my body condition and how to fix it." I exhaled quietly. "Only after I fixed my body did I realize who the voice belonged to."
Quincy waited patiently for to finish.
I closed my eyes briefly. ’Rest in peace, Mr. and Mrs. Vanderbilt.’
Opening them again, I continued. "It was my mom and dad."
I looked away from her, as though too embarrassed to et her eyes.
"Growing up I always cursed them for dying young as hunters. Never would I have guessed they prepared sothing like this for ."
This was how Allen Vanderbilt felt.
Even the diary said so.
He regretted how ungrateful he had been toward those he loved.
And although they weren’t my loved ones yet, I planned on passing that ssage on.
Not just as Allen Vanderbilt, but as Allen Park too.
Quincy smiled warmly, turning her gaze to the sky. "I’m happy."
She inhaled deeply, her delicate palms gripping the swing’s chains. "I’m really happy."
She smirked, tilting her head to face . "I’m happy you’re back, Allen. Even if you lost your mories, we can always make new ones, right?"
’What?’
I wasn’t sure if it was her expression her flushed cheeks, her words, or perhaps her smile, but sothing inside stirred faintly.
Guilt. Happiness. Sadness. Comfort.
I wasn’t sure exactly which.
But before I knew it, I was smiling too.
’What kind of idiot just says we can make new mories?’
It was innocent.
And sohow, I wanted her to stay that way.
A soft gasp escaped . ’Am I developing a complex?’
It was absurd.
’Maybe because I’ve never been close to a girl younger than .’
Quincy, anwhile, looked lost in her own world.
She laughed freely with each swing, then with a small leap, jumped off and landed gracefully on the ground.
"Let’s work together even in the academy, okay?"
She was an odd person.
But also captivating.
"As long as you can keep up."
The mont I said those words, I rose from the swing.
Quincy puffed her chest. "Humph, is that arrogance I hear?"
I shrugged. "Maybe."
She imdiately dashed to walk beside . "I’ll be going to the academy tomorrow. When are you coming?"
"Hmm..."
That was true.
I had been too caught up in the awakening that I hadn’t thought much about the entrance exam in a week.
It was possible to enter if I went now, but that would an I had zero control over mana or even a proper grasp of how magic worked.
"A day before the exam."
Six days was more than enough ti to train.
Besides, there was still the life-draining issue I still didn’t fully understand.
Pausing mid-step, I called out to Quincy.
"Hey, Quincy."
She turned her head slightly, and I asked.
"Can you do a favor?"
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