[Such an unlucky guy.]

"Indeed."

I heard about Quinie's situation from the crow sitting by the window.

While teaching ancient language to Selena, an idea struck me, and I hurriedly assigned the task to Gregory.

The harvest was sufficient, indeed.

"...Memories."

It seems that it's possible to erase someone else's memories. I'm not exactly sure what conditions are required though.

'It seems my guess was spot on.'

I don't know a character named 'Kora'. Despite being such a rare creature, I've neither seen nor heard of her.

But if 'Kora' has already been erased from the game.

If they've disappeared from everyone's memory, never even mentioned in the game from the start.

'The protagonist, Aster, will only have a proper connection with Quinie after graduation.'

Meaning, if Kora is forgotten by everyone before that, naturally, players will also not be able to obtain information about Kora.

Thus, no one knows of Kora's existence. Not even the players.

[It seems he intends to kill Kora.]

"Exactly. It seems possible to erase an individual's memory just like that, but to erase their existence from everyone's memory, it seems a condition of death is necessary."

The crow nodded at my words. Whether it was Gregory doing so or just a reflexive action of the crow, I couldn't distinguish with my eyes.

[Erasing memories is already a formidable ability, but to erase someone's existence from everyone's memory? No matter if the condition is 'murder', is that even possible?]

Exactly.

I deeply empathized with Gregory's words and slumped down into the chair.

And muttered almost like a sigh.

"So, its a god."

[A god... You mean he has divine powers?]

I nodded.

Losing one's personal memories is one thing, but to be erased from everyone's memory?

To my knowledge, there's only one who can do that.

"The goddess of oblivion, Lethe. It must be her divine power."

[Lethe... The Lethe of 'River Lethe'?]

"Yes. They say if people drink from the waters of River Lethe before being reincarnated, they forget all memories of their past life."

This is, of course, a story within the game, in other words, this world.

A dead person drinking from the waters of River Lethe means they are forgotten not only by themselves but by everyone's memory.

What people often call 'the second death'. The notion that a dead person disappears even from the memories of the living.

That's why even a dead soul needs more than a hundred years for reincarnation. Drinking from the waters of River Lethe and being forgotten by everyone ensures that the gap with the living doesn't become too wide.

[So, the man wearing the mask kills people.]

"Right. He makes them drink from the waters of River Lethe using divine power."

[A terrifying divine power.]

But it does have a weakness. Or rather, a limit.

[Whats that?]

The River Lethe doesnt work on people who are too famous.

[Famous? Oh, right.]

Their feats are sung in peoples legends, their achievements written in literature, their heroic epics carved into the pages of history.

Even after countless years have passed, these people arent forgotten by the people. Instead, they become embellished, sanctified, and more powerful in their existence.

Although people may forget their memories, the records and historical evidence remain. In fact, only the extravagant and exaggerated records remain, making the heroes even more powerful.

Thats why heroes also cant reincarnate. You know how they say they become gods or Constellations?

[Yes, Zodiac.]

The Zodiac, the 12 human weapons designated by the Terst Empire.

Now, they just refer to the 12 strongest individuals in the Empire, but originally, like their namesake, they were to become Constellations after death. That was because of their achievements.

But that doesnt apply to me, Quinie, or Kora right now.

[So youre essentially saying that it doesnt stop them at all.]

Thats right.

If the masked man is after Kora, Quinie will probably be in danger too. If Kora dies, shell be forgotten from our memories, so Quinie will become the next target without us realizing anything strange.

But Quinie definitely still exists as a character, right?

If the man had killed Quinie like Kora, then both characters should have been unknown to me. They both would have been erased from the game.

In other words, in the original world, the man had successfully killed Kora, but failed to kill Quinie.

Or.

Did he never plan to kill Quinie in the first place?

[So what are we going to do about him? He might be wearing a mask, but I remember his build. We might be able to estimate his appearance if we know where he might show up.]

Its obvious where hell appear. At Constel.

Hes most likely a Constel student. Or pretending to be one.

He must have spread rumors about wanting to use Koras rambling to go after Quinie, so he definitely would have approached Quinie like an ordinary student.

[Then we can just ask Quinie tomorrow. He must be someone close to her.]

I told you. He can erase memories. Even after you talk to Quinie, she might not remember anything.

[What a pain in the ass.]

I thought about this for a moment.

Hes definitely a nuisance. If I make one wrong move, I could forget about him and go back to square one.

Having made up my mind, I picked up my Sage Phone.

Lets put some insurance in place first.

I sent a text to Quinie.

[Senior, can you prepare some glasses for me? Something that can always tell the time.]