Seeing how scared she was, I tried to calm her down.
"I'm not going to force you to say anything you don't want to," I said, staring at her.
Still shaken, she spoke.
"I-I'm sorry... I don't want to remember those things..." she said, still scared that I might retaliate.
Why does that irritate me...?
I let out a small sigh and kept thinking.
I should take it slow. As far as I know, kids and trauma don't mix well... Maybe no one really does...
Trying to push those thoughts away, I spoke again.
"I can see your memories using a skill, then?"
I asked that because I had already compiled a memory-reading ability before.
She shook her head and pulled away from me.
"It won't hurt. It's just... like watching a movie inside someone's head?"
She seemed to understand what a movie was.
Then she asked:
"Like those square things?", she asked with a bit of curiosity.
Why did that catch her attention?
I replied,
"Yeah, something like that, but only I'll be able to see the contents."
She looked a bit more at ease, though still tense, and asked,
"It really doesn't hurt?"
"No, it doesn't."
Well... at least I think it doesn't. The description said it was painless.
Lucy thought for a moment and said,
"Okay, you can do it..."
With her permission, I brought my hand close to her head. She looked visibly uncomfortable.
Sorry... Just hang in there a bit... I don't feel great about this either.
Activating the Skill: Memory Reading. I felt a wave of discomfort as strange memories rushed into my mind.
It took a while to adjust the timeline of the memories.
Once things were aligned, I searched for what I needed.
I saw her nearly being attacked by a Lantches knight.
A man she called father — Solis — jumped onto the knight who was approaching.
A woman she referred to as mother — Luna — grabbed her tightly and dragged her into the forest. After that, things became blurry.
The next clear memory was inside a hollow log, footsteps echoing outside.
Through tear-blurred eyes, she looked toward the log's exit and saw only a vague shape.
Then, more fragmented events flashed by until I caught up with the moment when a beam of light pierced the log's cracks.
She stepped out into the cold morning.
Hungry, she wandered into the forest — only to be struck and dragged to a goblin camp.
Pausing to absorb all that, I could only think,
What a mess of memories... But I can understand — the Lantches were enemies, and she went through hell.
I kept watching as the memories became clearer.
She was dragged into a large hut, where a bulky goblin was on top of a naked woman.
Without stopping, he turned his head slightly toward those who entered.
"Keke-ke," something was said, but I couldn't understand it.
She was tossed into a cage with other kids, all wearing dirty rags.
Then came the same days on repeat. Some goblins brought... food?
Others were more sadistic — poking at the kids' arms through the bars. Lucy always treated the injured ones using whatever dirty cloth she could find...
Five months passed. Then Iris appeared.
Okay, I don't need to see more... Iris already told me about that.
Stopping the memory reading, I looked at the children. They looked completely different now — healed and well-dressed.
Watching these scenes, I... didn't know what I was feeling...
Letting out a small sigh, I said,
"Alright, it's done."
She looked confused.
"Already? But I didn't feel anything."
...Didn't I say it wouldn't hurt?
"Yeah... and I can prove it. Your father is Solis, your mother is Luna, and your best friend is Tania," I said to reassure her.
"Eh— wait, so now you know everything?"
I replied flatly,
"...No, I focused only on the memories that mattered to me."
"Ah~, I see," she answered, clearly relieved.
I stood up. Livia followed, and then Lucy and the other kids got up as well.
With everyone on their feet, I said,
"That's all. I'll be leaving now."
"W-Wait, please... What's going to happen to us?"
What will I do with them? Is there something I can do?
"I don't have anything in mind..."
After a brief pause, I added,
"Maybe Iris will know what to do. If she doesn't show up, tell Talos to call her."
She seemed a little down, but I just kept walking.
Far enough away, I let my frustration out in thought.
This anger... it's building up. Hard to keep it in. I wanted to crush that head near my hand... Damn, what am I thinking? They're just kids.
Walking through the corridor, feeling calmer again, I recalled the emotions she felt during the memories.
This skill is useful, sure — reading memories is great — but it also makes you feel them...
I'll make sure never to use it on the other women Iris brought in. I might lose control...
Looking to my side, I saw Livia walking gracefully.
Watching her for a moment, I asked,
"What did you feel seeing the kids?"
"Blasphemous beings. Not creations of the Creator — they are not valid in my presence. But for my Creator, I'll endure such feelings."
Hmm, so she was holding herself back...
As night began to fall, I said,
"I guess I'll check on the others tomorr—" but Livia cut me off.
"Forgive the interruption, but I don't think that will be necessary. We only need their information, right? Iris is their hero. She can extract it more easily."
"...Right. Then I'll leave them to Iris."
Livia now seemed more pleased. We approached a safe place to use teleportation.
Like last time, she hugged me as we teleported.
Back in the small garden, she continued holding on to me.
I returned the hug for a bit — then it started getting weird.
She began blushing, breathing more heavily.
Seeing that, I glanced around for help.
This time, Shubniggurath showed up to rescue me.
Clutching her teddy bear, she stared at us and said coldly,
"Isn't that enough, Livia?"
"Hm~, didn't see you there, Gurath~," Livia paused, then teased, "Jealous?"
Shubniggurath didn't take that as a joke.
With the tension rising, I said,
"Enough. Livia, let go of me."
Hearing the command, she let go.
"I'll go to my room. Call me if anything happens."
Leaving them behind — unaware that I might've triggered a Livia I shouldn't have — I moved on.
The two stayed behind.
Livia looked frozen, but it didn't last long. She broke into a wide smile.
"Those eyes, that cold voice... That... that made me feel so warm. And earlier, that tight hug that broke my ribs... That pain, being able to feel it from Khan..."
Shubniggurath lost all interest in the pervert in front of her. With a look of disgust, she left, while Livia kept making strange noises.
As Shubniggurath walked through the corridor, she thought,
When will I get Khan for myself? Did he forget our promise?
---
Meanwhile, Khan was heading to his room, unaware of what had just happened.
Why has Livia been clingier lately? Or has she always been like this?
Continuing through the corridor, I soon reached my room door.
I stepped inside and sat on the sofa, sighing.
This is exhausting... I have bigger things to worry about. The island isn't what I thought it was. The characters might've merged with alternate versions of themselves from other projects... and that's the real problem...
Pausing and rubbing my face, I kept thinking.
That explains a lot — why my inventory's so messy. Why I have so many skills... Why didn't I think of that earlier? Maybe because of all that's happened?
Another pause. More questions. Then:
Too many thoughts and no answers won't help.
Trying to clear my head, I decided to explore the castle a bit. Opening the door and stepping out, I saw Shubniggurath staring at me.
I stared back. We stayed like that for a few seconds.
Then I broke the silence,
"What is it, Gurath?"
She said nothing — just walked up and gave a light headbutt to my chest.
I didn't understand what that meant.
Trying to figure it out...
What was that? Is she upset? Did I do something? What had I written about her again?
Thinking through the possibilities, only one thing came to mind — Shubniggurath's depression system.
To summarize: she used to be cheerful. But to walk beside me, she gave up her lifespan. It made her watch all her loved ones disappear, and her world forget her.
Trying to cheer her up, I promised to always spend time with her — and even turned it into a system challenge... I feel like a real idiot now...
To confirm my suspicion, I asked,
"I forgot about our time together, didn't I?"
She didn't speak — just made a small sound that signaled agreement.
And that confirmed what I feared... maybe the stability system for each one is active...