Time Healer Ceres

“Tsk.”

Veilks clicked his tongue and shook his head. That simply wasn’t possible.

“You’ve only made them more suspicious of you, My Lord.”

“I don’t care.”

“Pardon?”

“It’s not suspicion anymore. They already seem convinced it was me.”

“.....”

Jutel still couldn’t understand what he was trying to accomplish. Why go so far as to make her believe for certain that he was the culprit?

“I said, I don’t care.”

“But...”

“It’s almost over.”

“What do you mean?”

A faint smile touched the corners of Veilks’s eyes.

“It’s time to cure Prince Alex completely.”

“—!”

Jutel’s eyes widened. Veilks smiled more deeply and patted his shoulder.

“Tell Prince Alex to come see me soon.”

“.....”

Jutel couldn’t bring himself to answer. He could only stand there in a daze, watching Veilks disappear from sight.

***

[Meow.]

[Buu!]

“.....”

Zien quietly watched Elliet and Sooty, who were both making a fuss in front of him.

After a long moment, he cautiously reached out and stroked their heads. He seemed unsure whether he was really allowed to touch them.

How strange.

Ceres watched with interest from the side.

Well, Elliet would flirt with anyone, young or old, as long as they were good-looking. That wasn’t anything new...

But what’s with Sooty?

Sooty’s behavior around Zien was unusual. Unless Ceres told him to, he never approached anyone first or showed them any interest.

He didn’t even approach Julia on his own, despite how long they had been together. He only went to her when Ceres told him to.

But he acted differently around Zien.

I think he’s been like this from the start.

The moment Sooty saw Zien, he would go straight to him as if he knew him. Sometimes, he would even perch on the child’s head for no reason and squawk.

At first, I thought maybe he’d eaten something strange.

But as his behavior became more and more intense, Ceres began to wonder what had gotten into him.

Just look at him now.

[Buu! Bubu! Buu, bu!]

He kept babbling away, and whenever Zien failed to understand him, he would squawk again as if getting annoyed.

Sometimes he would stare at Zien as though waiting for praise. If the boy still didn’t react, he would smack him on the head repeatedly.

...Why is he like this?

Ceres really couldn’t figure him out.

“So, did that guy threaten you or something?”

Ceres had been stroking Whitey in her lap when Kainel’s voice caught her attention.

“He seemed to know me.”

“Everyone knows you.”

Ever since Veilks had visited the shop during the festival, there was only one thing Kainel kept asking about.

Ah, now I’m getting annoyed all over again.

It was about the festival results. Ceres had naturally expected her shop to win the 100,000 gold prize, but it hadn’t.

The bakery across the street hadn’t won either. The winner was a dessert café on another street. Apparently, they had been selling desserts along with temple goods.

This is all that b*stard’s fault.

She’d been so thrown off after he came by that she couldn’t properly focus on the shop, and she’d ended up losing the prize money!

Anyway, the festival was over, but Kainel still kept asking her the same thing.

What did Veilks say when he came to see her that day?

“He was talking about the ‘me’ from the past.”

“.....”

Kainel’s eyes widened slightly at her answer.

“How could he know?”

“Exactly.”

That’s what I want to know.

Veilks said that everything he’d told her was just a joke... but what if it had all been true?

Could he have been reborn, like me?

Or... maybe he’d been around all this time, just like Kainel.

“I ended up falling asleep, you see. I accidentally used too much of my power.”

He had definitely said that. That he’d fallen asleep.

Then what is he? Could he not be human?

Well, someone who could wear another person’s skin like that couldn’t be called normal, anyway.

“I’ll meet him.”

Kainel said he would meet Veilks himself.

“...What are you planning to do when you meet him?”

Ersi was the first to react, looking alarmed at Kainel’s suggestion. He had arrived shortly after Kainel, saying he had something to give Ceres.

“There are plenty of ways to make him talk.”

Ersi shook his head at the faint smile curling across Kainel’s lips.

Even after all these years, Ersi could still vividly remember Kainel hunting down every last person who had attacked Lady Grace and interrogating them himself.

“I doubt he’ll talk.”

Ceres shook her head too.

“First, we need to figure out why he’s doing all this.”

He must have a reason. Ceres needed to find out what it was, but she couldn’t think of a single possibility.

Creating the Black Forests, killing people... What could he possibly be getting out of it?

“Um...”

Just then, Zien came over after playing with Sooty and Elliet.

“It’s time for me to go to the Magic Tower...”

“Okay. Be careful.”

“Yes.”

[Buu! Buu!]

Ceres pulled Sooty away, who was still nipping at Zien’s hair as if something about him displeased him, then smoothed out the boy’s mussed hair.

[Buuuu!]

The moment Zien left, Sooty let out an even more pitiful wail.

“What’s wrong with you?”

[Buu! Buu, buu!]

...What are you even saying?

Ceres gave Sooty the cake sitting on the table. Here. Eat this and be quiet.

[Buu~]

Sooty perked up right away.

“So, you said you had something to give me?”

After Zien left, Ceres turned to Ersi and asked why he had come.

“Oh, right. This.”

Ersi had apparently forgotten about it himself. He picked up the item he’d set aside and handed it to Ceres.

“That’s...”

[An album.]

Elliet, who had somehow turned back into human form, came over to inspect what Ersi had brought. Just as she said, it was an album filled with photographs.

“After you passed away, I sorted through everything else... but I just couldn’t bring myself to throw this one away.”

“......”

The album was filled with pictures of Grace, Kainel, and...

...Artia.

Artia was in them too.

[Wow, you were this little once?]

“Sometimes I wonder if you even think of me as human.”

[Oh, please. Not sometimes. All the time.]

“......”

Ceres gave the laughing Elliet a long, pointed look.

One of these days, I’m stuffing her back into subspace.

[Whimper]

Whitey soon climbed onto the table and stared at the album, as if he were looking at something nostalgic. Airien, who had been quietly cleaning her ears nearby, seemed interested too and hopped onto the table.

Ceres was no different. Seeing the childhood photos again brought a small smile to her face.

“Is this from back then? The first time the three of us went into the mountains to gather herbs, when we were nine?”

“No, this one’s from when we were ten. It was the trip we took with Artia’s parents. Your hair didn’t reach your waist when you were nine.”

“Huh? Did I ever cut my hair this short?”

“When we were eleven. Artia accidentally burned the ends of your hair while practicing magic.”

“Oh, right. Arti got an earful from you that time.”

“He should be glad that was all he got.”

I told him it was fine, but Arti cried so hard. And you just kept yelling at him while he cried. You’re such a meanie.

“Hmm... This one. It’s from the day my grandfather gave me a sword. We took a picture to remember it, right?”

“That’s this one. This is from the day you won the Swordsmanship Tournament for the first time.”

“......”

Ceres looked up from the album and stared at Kainel.

...Seriously?

How do you remember all this? Shouldn’t I have the better memory? I was reincarnated right after I died, after all.

“Did you spend the last three hundred years looking through photographs?”

“No.”

“Then how do you remember all this?”

“I just remember when I see it.”

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