Chapter 1.4

Vol . 12 Chapter 1 Part 4

Some time prior to Schnees encounter with Hameln, Shin and Yuzuha had gone to the market, after finishing their business at the guild .

All sorts of people and species filled the market: a human girl was negotiating prices with a vendor, a male fishman was inspecting wares, a Mermaid was calling out to the passing crowd, a Beast frowning because of the pungent fish smell .

Shin looked around aimlessly, recognizing fish he knew from the game era and others he had never seen before . The great variety of foodstuffs on display also included seaweed, seafood, dried food: a collection of typical marine goods packed on the racks, a true feast for the eyes .

(All look, so tasty)

(Theres some amazing looking stuff too . Can you really eat that?)

In this world, there were many creatures with appearances barely matching their flavor, especially if they came from the sea . If they were on sale, they were surely edible, though .

(Hungry)

(Its still a bit too early for lunch . Be patient . )

(Kuu)

Yuzuha, mostly drained of all her energy, lay powerless on Shins head . Her front paws covered his eyes, so Shin gently grabbed her by the waist and moved her to his right shoulder .

We took some time back at the guild, I guess Schnees already gone?

Shin checked the map while walking down a street near the center of the market . If Schnee was close, he would see her name near her marker . All the markers he could see, however, were colored green, as in, neutral . No sign of Schnee .

He could probably find her if he expanded the maps range, but if she wasnt in the market she was probably back at Shigureya, so Shin did not search further .

Here and there, however, Shin heard men commenting things like I saw a crazy gorgeous blonde just now or That was one smoking hot body! .

He couldnt be 100% sure, but Shin felt positive that they were talking about Schnees camouflaged form . Despite always trying his best not to glance at Schnees chest, Shin couldnt help sneaking peeks from time to time . According to Filma, she had grown even more from the game era . It wasnt something Shin could forget or ignore .

what the heck am I thinking about, anyway .

A mens impure thoughts had probably affected him . Shin firmly shook his head to drive such delusions away .

The embrace at Black Priestess Shrine, the kiss at Fuji, her swimsuit figure at the Castle of the Depths .

Shin too was a man, after all: thinking of the softness of the female body and the voluptuous swimsuit figure he saw in the dungeon, he couldnt exactly keep his cool .

(Kuu, Shin, pervert . )

What!? Yu, Yuzuha, what did you just . . !?

It was like Yuzuha had read Shins thoughts: surprised, he forgot about Mind Chat and reacted loudly .

(Schnee, beautiful . Just take her . )

Thats . not so simple .

There wasnt anything he disliked about Schnee . His objective, however, was to return to his former world: he felt it wasnt right to lay his hands on her .

He knew it was cruel of him to let her have hopes about him . Even so, he did not refuse Schnees direct shows of affection .

On the other hand, if he gave up on going back and settled in this world, the dilemma with Schnee would be resolved .

In his current situation, however, it wasnt even clear why he had been transported to the current world . If he gave up and then was somehow transported to the former world, it would be simply unbearable .

(Shin, you like Schnee?)

Of co

Shin was about to say of course, when he noticed various sets of eyes looking at him as if he were weird . From other peoples standpoint, it looked like he was walking while mumbling to himself .

( . of course I do . But you know, in the game there was this thing called affection levelif that is still influencing Schnees feelings, you could say that its like I have her under mind control)

Shin switched back to Mind Chat and continued talking .

The same could be said for Shibaid, Filma and the other support characters . At the time of their creation, support characters only have the bare minimum level of loyalty .

That wouldnt be a problem if the player just wanted them to act as clerks, but if they were to fight alongside the player, as Shins support characters did, things were very different .

If the affection level was low, the range of available commands was limited .

Acting together and using items to raise affection level gradually removed such limitations .

When affection level is maxed, as proof of such bonds the player obtains a Drop of Erathem fragment . One per support character for a maximum of five, so five support characters total .

When put together, they were still not enough to forge an Ancient-grade weapon, but they were still very rare items . Some players turned them into earrings or rings and gave them to their support characters .

(Could I be twisting Schnees feelings? is what I think, sometimes . )

In the past, he had given her great quantities of affection-raising items at once, in order to increase it quickly .

In the game, it was just a stat going up, so nothing to worry about . To remove the command range limitations, to gain rare items . It was all for himself .

But this world was real . If Schnee was influenced by his actions during the game era or from the game

Looking at Schnee, Shin was starting to have doubts .

(Schnee likes Shin . Shes not controlled . )

(Well, I sure hope so . )

Shin answered Yuzuha without much conviction, his shoulders dropping . Whether he returned to his former world or not, he wanted to make that clear .

(No matter what happens, Yuzuha is with Shin . )

(You cant be sure of that . If I go back to reality, you wont be able to)

(Yes . I come with you . )

Shin objected, stating something he thought was obvious, but Yuzuha interrupted him, fully confident .

(Yuzuha wants to be with Shin, so I do . I didnt get any items . Kuu!)

Yuzuha wrapped her tails around Shins neck and pecked at his cheeks with her front paws . Her light, padded strikes tapped him repeatedly .

Yuzuha expressed that she wasnt with Shin because she was manipulated .

(well, do as you want . Its not like I have proof or anything . )

There was no way of finding out if someone was influenced or not by affection level .

Schnee said that she even remembered the first day that Shin logged in THE NEW GATE .

If so, it wouldnt be weird that she really liked him . There was the possibility that her present affection level was true affection .

It was a problem that couldnt be solved, no matter how long he thought about it .

Well, enough wandering around . Time to go back, I guess .

No sign of Schnee . As soon as Shin turned around, towards Shigureya, he received a Mind Chat message from her .

(I saw Hameln . We will come in contact soon . )

Schnees voice echoed from afar . It was a mass transmission, a message sent to all registered users .

Hameln? He cant be trying to unleash a pack of monsters here, can he!?

Shin slipped in a nearby back alley, activated Hiding and kicked the ground hard . Jumping straight above the buildings, enlarged the map, confirmed in which direction Schnee was and started running .

Contrary to his predictions, Schnee was on top of a hill near the town . Near her there was just one more marker, colored neutral green . It had to be Hameln .

There are presences of monsters around Barbatos, but its not a pack large enough to attack the city . So I guess that its not his objective this time?

Shin ran, slicing through the wind .

He tried to guess what Hameln would be trying to do, but in the end Shin did not have enough information about him . In the game, Shin had exterminated the monsters and delivered the final blow, but until the end he did not learn exactly what it was Hameln wanted to do .

A few seconds before Shin reached the hill, Hamelns marker changed to red .

Whats going on now?

The map couldnt show the markers behaviour in detail . What was clear is that Schnee had brushed right next to Hameln, then stopped .

Schnee and Hameln were on a hill of moderate height . Thinking it would be a waste of time to go around, Shin jumped down from the roof, then kicked the ground again to boost himself up, hard enough to leave a crevice .

What Shin saw on the hill was Schnee collapsing and Hameln missing an arm .

Schneeeeeeeeeeeeee!!!

As soon as he saw her, Shin found himself screaming .

His desperate call managed to barely reach her before she fell .

Smoothly, Schnees body rose again, and without a sound moved behind Hameln . Her hands gripped Blue Moon, the weapon she had dropped moments before .

!?

Hameln had been distracted by Shins shout and noticed Schnees approach only at the last moment, moving away instinctively .

Hameln had been distracted by Shins shout and noticed Schnees approach only at the last moment, moving away instinctively .

She had apparently been damaged enough to cause her to collapse . Schnees attack lacked sharpness: it only managed to wound Hamelns chest .

Hameln, now at a certain distance from Schnee, saw his coat tear in half . There was no blood, though: the slash likely failed to reach his body .

Schnee!! Are you all right!?

Yes, no problem .

Shin checked Schnees condition, while glaring at Hameln . She did not appear injured anywhere . Her level and status were the same as always too .

Quite the speedy arrival, my friend . I must say I did not think we would meet again, though .

Hameln spoke to Shin in a cheerful tone .

I couldnt care less . What did you do to Schnee?

Oh, its hardly something worth mentioning, really . I just used an affection-resetting item . Honestly speaking, I doubted it would actually work, you know . I thought you would have reset it already during that event, to collect items . It only works once, as you know .

. the Cursed Tag of Crippling!

Yes, exactly .

Hamelns smile widened and Shin materialized Moonless . He was worried about Schnees condition, but it would have been much more troublesome to let Hameln go .

Where did you get it? It should be impossible for players to create them .

The Kishimi clan, was it? Theyre in this world too, you see . The item I used is something I found in their settlement, after wiping them out . Oh, do not worry: the one I used on Schnee was the last one I had . I have no other items to reset affection level .

Hameln continued talking in a whimsical tone, but Shin did not hesitate and attacked him with Moonless .

He would not kill him, as there was information to be extracted .

Before Shin could strike, however, a shadow appeared between them .

Tch!

Shin clicked his tongue as he swung down Moonless and cut the intruding shadow in two . Because of the unexpected mass of the target, however, Shins sword slash did not have its usual speed .

The shadows identity was a monster with damage-reducing capabilities, Mad Shadow .

As the name said, its damage reduction ability allowed it to decrease the damage it received to one third, and worked both on physical and magic attacks . In addition, it could also wrap itself around swords and lances to make it more difficult to fight .

As it just happened to Shin, the monster could also slow down attack speed: it was hated by players especially when encountered in time attack events .

Its level was fixed at 100 and it had no offensive capabilities at all: on the other hand, its VIT was said to be over 800 .

The Mad Shadow didnt manage to completely wrap Shins Moonless, but lowering Shins attack speed allowed Hameln to move away from his attack range .

You probably wanted to capture and draw information out of me, but I had no intention of hiding anything from the beginning, so I guess Ill have my say and go . Its possible to make items to return affection level to what it was . Whether the item works or not, however, is all up to luck . Of all the times Ive tried it on support characters until now, it worked about half the time . Other choices would be event bosses that are not confirmed to exist here too, but you could always try looking for them, I suppose .

. why did you tell me all this?

What effect would it have on a High Humans support characters? Will it really go back? Thats what Id like to see . I did not have the smallest inkling of wanting to erase Lady Schnee . The exchange just now took me by surprise, but it would have been boring to continue . I am sure you will understand that I am speaking the truth, dear Shin?

Just as he said, Hameln probably just wanted to see the results of using the item . His words and actions seemed exactly the same as they were during the game .

For better or worse, Hameln did not seem to particularly care about anything other than his own objectives .

He frequently acted as MPK (Monster Player Killer) because he enjoyed looking at people struggle: whether his targets survived or died as a result, it was of no concern to him .

Considering his past, it did not seem like he was lying .

Well then, I shall take my leave now . Im looking forward to the next time we meet .

Hameln had been talking behind a large quantity of Mad Shadows he had summoned as a barrier, but his presence now vanished . His way of disappearing did not make it look like he had used high-speed movement or Hiding: he had probably used teleportation . Without a marker, there was no way of tracking a teleported target .

Shin took care of the remaining Mad Shadows, then talked to Schnee .

What exactly happened here?

I do not know anything more than what Hameln said . He said he used a Cursed Tag, but I do not feel anything wrong with my condition .

Schnee answered matter-of-factly to Shins question . She did not seem to be in a serious condition, nor to be enduring anything . It was probably true that there was nothing wrong with her .

Her matter-of-fact behavior, however, was a stark contrast with the usual Schnee . She was far too expressionless when talking about her condition .

. do you remember me?

I remember that you are my creator and the lord whom I should serve .

I remember that you are my creator and the lord whom I should serve .

. just that?

It has been less than an hour since I appeared on this location and begun my activities, so I would say that there is nothing more to add .

Schnee answered Shins somewhat upset question without changing her expression a bit .

Her gaze did not have the usual warmth anymore: it was simply observing the being known as Shin . Shin felt his blood turn cold .

Like that I left you in charge of Tsuki no Hokora for all that time .

Do you mean the base?

We went to Falnido, Hinomoto, lots of other places too, didnt we?

I do not remember, but

. even Filma and Shibaid?

Who would they be?

Schnees expressions clouded after Shins barrage of questions . It was not an act, she really did not know .

Are you serious . ?

Finally, Shin sighed .

Judging from her words, it looked like Schnee had returned to the stage just after a support character has been created, her memories reset . She could use her equipment without problems, so her level and stats must be unchanged .

Affection level rose little by little as the player stays logged in: if the support characters acted alongside the player or certain items are used, it can increase by large amounts .

If affection level is reset, related memories and memories experienced when affection level was high are probably erased along with it .

Schnee was Shins first support character . They were together most of the time since he started playing, so her affection level was pretty much constantly growing .

Thing would have probably been different if he just had her manage the store, but it was likely that for Schnee resetting affection level also meant erasing all her memories .

Do you have any other questions?

Well, lets wait for Filma and the others to arrive first . Let me tell you first that Filma is a support character, like Shibaid .

Support characters other than me? I am supposed to be the first in order of creation, though .

Schnee seemed puzzled to know about other support characters being created all of a sudden .

With her memories reset, it was no wonder that she did not remember about the support characters created after her .

For Schnee, the time spent in that world was almost zero . She probably found it bizarre for multiple support characters to exist .

I dont know if you will believe me, but you have actually lost your memories . Once Filma and the others learn about it, they will probably ask you the same questions I just did, but please bear with it .

Understood . I will be on standby, then .

Schnee said nothing else and fell in complete silence . It seemed she had no intention of actively engaging in conversation .

She stood upright, her hands lightly resting on her skirt, not the smallest movement . If she didnt blink, she could be passed for a very well done doll .

Kuun

Yuzuha, to whom Schnee had not paid the slightest bit of attention, emitted a lonely growl .

(Memories disappear, huh . )

Shin could have asked more questions to grasp Schnees current situation, but he didnt find himself able to . He was more shocked than expected at hearing Schnee call him lord with that blank tone and expression .

He could feel a sort of respect from her, but nothing more . The smile she had just a few hours before was nowhere to be seen .

(The Cursed Tag of Crippling . To reverse its effects, I need the Blessed Tag of Bonding, if memory serves me right . )

The item that resets affection level, officially named Cursed Tag of Crippling, had been implemented in the game during the Depths of Oblivion event .

It was used by enemies which targeted not players, but support characters, forcing their affection levels back to zero .

In more precise terms, however, their memories were not lost, but only taken away .

During this event, alongside with the Cursed Tag of Crippling an item called Blessed Tag of Bonding was implemented as well . Using it would restore the lost affection level .

If something disappears, it cant be brought back . But if its taken away, it can be taken back, and memories will return tooor so the events description said .

Other than using the Blessed Tag, the way to restore memories was to defeat the evil god the Kishimi clan venerated, the events boss . In the game, the tags had 100% success rate, but if Hameln had been speaking the truth, it was now a gamble .

During this event, many players reset their support characters affection levels on purpose, to then raise them again and obtain more Drops of Erathem . The Cursed Tags could reset affection levels only once per character . Considering the reward, it wasnt a big loss .

Other than using the Blessed Tag, the way to restore memories was to defeat the evil god the Kishimi clan venerated, the events boss . In the game, the tags had 100% success rate, but if Hameln had been speaking the truth, it was now a gamble .

During this event, many players reset their support characters affection levels on purpose, to then raise them again and obtain more Drops of Erathem . The Cursed Tags could reset affection levels only once per character . Considering the reward, it wasnt a big loss .

Shin too was no different: he had reset the affection levels of all his support characters from number 2 Filma onwards . Schnee, however, was different .

Clearing the event with a support character not affected by the Cursed Tag awarded a special reward . Shin thus did so with Schnee, his strongest support character at the time .

(Shit!! How could I have expected this!?)

Schnee, the only one among Shins support characters that could be affected by the Cursed Tag, encountered Hameln and had the Cursed Tag used on her . Shin could have never fathomed such a possibility .

Shin knew what materials were needed to create the Blessed Tag, but the Cursed Tag was not something players could create . Shin scratched his head, desperately trying to recover any useful information . He could not come up with anything, however, and eventually Filma and the others arrived .

Even after looking at Shibaid and Filma, support characters like her, or Tiera, with whom she used to manage Tsuki no Hokora, Schnees behavior did not change at all .

. it really looks like you forgot all about us .

So it seems . All I have is the impression of meeting you all for the first time .

Looks like you act and speak a bit different too .

Ever since Shin came to this world, Schnee always had a warm atmosphere, so as Filma said, her personality could have changed too .

Master .

I have no recollection of ever taking any disciples .

You simply forgot . Please remember!

Tiera kept pressing, with tears in her eyes, but Schnee was simply confused .

If Schnee hadnt saved her, Tiera wouldnt be who she is now . Having lived for so long together, it was a real shock for her to be forgotten .

Calm down, Tiera . Its not like theres no way to bring Schnee back to the way she was .

Shin told the others the information he received from Hameln . The source was an enemy, but concerning the Blessed Tag, Shin had used them too during the event, so there was no mistake .

The problem was that even using the Blessed Tag, there was just a 50% chance of it working .

In case it failed, they would have to go look for the event boss, which they were not even sure existed .

Is it really true that I have lost my memories?

Yeah . According to your memory, you just woke up in this world and fought Hameln, right? If so, it would be weird that your non-combat skills are leveled up too . Your Cooking skill is as high as IX, isnt it?

indeed, I do possess many skills that I have no recollection training . So it is true that I lost my memory .

Schnee checked her status and nodded, convinced .

Her expression barely changed, just like before, so Shin was not sure if she was really convinced or not . At the same time, he wondered if she always was so deadpan .

Filma then asked him a question .

So, do you have the item that could recover her memory?

. I dont have all the materials . Im missing something called White Scent Nectar, anyone heard of it?

Shin checked his item box, then replied to Filmas question .

Event item materials normally couldnt be used to make other items, so there was no point in gathering them in large quantities . He had something remaining from when he made Blessed Tags for Filma and the others, but it wasnt enough to make another one .

Why dont you try contacting the Golden Companys Berett, first? I suppose thats our best chance for finding it .

Yeah, thats right . Ill ask anyone I can contact first . Players like Hibineko could be carrying some too . Filma, guys, youve never heard of this item, right?

Nope .

Nor have I .

I would have said it already if I had .

Filma, Tiera and Shibaid did not seem to know either .

Filma and Shibaid, however, seemed to remember about the event, so they knew what kind of item it was .

In Tsuki no Hokorawasnt there a box materials come out of? Couldnt there be some there?

That doesnt create event-only materials . Checking the storehouse is a good idea, though . Lets take a look in Celciutos and Rashugums store too .

Thanks to Tieras mention of the material creation device, Shin decided what they would go next . He would only go visit Zigma at a later time .