Chapter 14 "The Monster of Reason and the Fake Baker"
Royal Capital Adventurers Guild 『White Ash Scales Pavilion』.
The moment I opened its heavy oak door‚ my sense of smell realized defeat.
（……This is the worst. Because my nose has been buggy from the overly sweet smells of vanilla and chocolate these past few days‚ the 'salty air' mixed with the men's sweat‚ iron‚ and cheap alcohol stings my lungs like it's piercing them. The club room at the sports festival in my previous life... no‚ it's even more raw and real than that）
I pulled my hood deeper over my head and lowered my gaze to the floor.
This population density‚ this heat.
For someone as self-conscious as me‚ this place is a "gaze violence" dumping ground with a higher difficulty level than the Demon King's castle.
But no matter how much I tried to erase my presence‚ the "silver-colored destruction god" clinging to my back wouldn't allow it.
The instant the door opened‚ the clamor inside the guild fell completely silent‚ as if time had been stopped by magic.
At the same time‚ an overwhelmingly violent vanilla scent—completely out of place in the musty space—wafted gently through the air.
「……Hey‚ what the hell? Suddenly there's this insanely sweet smell‚ isn't there?」
「Yeah‚ like some fancy pastry or something……」
As the adventurers began to stir‚ the culprit rested her chin cutely on my shoulder‚ innocently smiling while poking at my hood with her finger.
「Mmm~‚ Rui is so warm. It smells like meat here too‚ but somehow it's calming~」
「（……Are you an idiot? Please just behave yourself. The moment you wish for 'looks delicious‚' this guild's operations will physically grind to a halt.）」
Serina activated her "distance-sense bug" by tightly hugging my arm with both hands‚ while letting out a sweet breath right next to my ear.
（……I'm going to die. At this population density‚ that level of closeness is already in the realm of public indecency‚ right? The softness and body heat transmitted to my arm... is it testing my sanity? I'm glad I have the hood on. If my face turning bright red gets exposed‚ I want to explode right now and vanish into the afterlife.）
『《Warning》. Detected overload (overload) on Louis-sama's autonomic nervous system due to the target "Serina"'s close-contact behavior. ... Any further increase in heart rate will cause major damage to your brain nerves and mental health. As a protective measure‚ we recommend physically separating the target via the forced cooling program.』
In my mind‚ Ciel's voice rang out—disguised as nothing more than "systematic logic‚" yet clearly laced with possessive desire.
（……Don't do anything unnecessary. I'm calm. This is just a physiological reaction caused by force majeure. ... Damn it‚ stop the forced cooling; I'm getting chills!）
I rejected Ciel's logical intervention and dragged Serina toward the reception counter.
On the other side of the counter‚ a woman with the exact vibe of an "otherworld receptionist" stood frozen in shock as she looked at us.
To be precise‚ her soul had been completely stolen by the overwhelming beauty of Serina‚ who was smiling with an "ehehe" beside me.
「U-um... new registration‚ please...」
When I timidly spoke up‚ the receptionist finally snapped back to reality and forced a professional smile onto her face.
However‚ her twitching eyes and shifting gaze eloquently told of her intense inner conflict.
「Y-yes. New registration‚ correct. ... Your name‚ and the desired occupation...」
（……Why is such a peerless beautiful girl glued to that gloomy hooded guy...? A slave? Does he have some weakness over her? No‚ don't think about it. Guild receptionist iron rule: no getting involved!）
（……See‚ just as I thought. My existence is functioning perfectly as the 'incompetent shadow' to highlight her beauty. Ciel‚ are the forged data ready?）
『《Solution》. Perfect. Louis-sama. ... To minimize the burden on your brain‚ I have constructed the most "efficient past." Now‚ entrust your processing to me.』
The sticky heat in Ciel's voice‚ disguised as protection.
I felt a momentary chill run down my spine as I began writing on the offered parchment with the pen.
The scratching sound of the pen tip gliding across the paper sounded strangely mechanical.
My hand movements were‚ even to myself‚ astonishingly free of hesitation and coldly precise.
「……Yes‚ confirmed. Louis-sama is a Seal Master‚ and Serina-sama is... um‚ a baker apprentice‚ correct?」
The receptionist looked at Serina with a face unable to hide her doubt.
This beauty‚ this elegance. No matter how you looked at it‚ the girl who could only be seen as a royal's hidden child or a top-tier saint was claiming to be a "baker apprentice."
Then Serina‚ still pressing her chest firmly against my arm（……Stop it; that elasticity is robbing me of my computational ability!）‚ declared with a smile as radiant as blooming flowers.
「Yes! I love bread. I want to eat lots of freshly baked fluffy bread together with Rui. And... being next to Rui is the most calming.」
「（……Hah. That direct hit ignores physical laws. Or rather‚ is that line not a spell to 'calm' me‚ but one to 'explode' me?）」
When the receptionist sighed with an "Oh my‚ the power of love..." and convinced herself‚ she pulled out a faintly glowing crystal ball from under the counter—the 『Orb of Truth Appraisal』.
The final step of guild registration. The ritual to engrave an unfalse status as an official record.
『《Notification》. Magic connection with the appraisal orb confirmed. Louis-sama‚ I will protect your fragile "real history" with the "perfect forged data (optimal solution)" I constructed.』
Ciel whispered in my mind with an extremely logical voice.
The moment I touched the crystal ball‚ pale blue code flowed down like a waterfall at the edge of my vision.
Every time her calculations ran‚ the outlines of my memories crumbled away like sand.
Asagaya shopping street.
The afternoon sunlight where I laughed with Serina after school.
One by one‚ they were rewritten by Ciel's cold calculations into the inorganic data of "a third-rate Seal Master from a village near the royal capital."
The sense of identity loss that I should have felt.
But right now‚ I didn't even have the circuits left to reject it.
（……No‚ this is fine. This is the most 'safe' and 'efficient' way.）
The "correct answer" prepared by Ciel fit perfectly into my hollow self.
Noticing the irresistible relief I felt‚ I let out a small sigh.
「Wow‚ Rui's status is really normal! Great‚ now we can work together!」
A strong vanilla scent rose from Serina as she peered in.
The moment she leaned over my shoulder‚ the weight of her ample curves pressed against my back‚ and my thoughts overloaded again.
『《Warning》. Please be careful of recognition distortion due to the target's contact. ... Louis-sama. The only one in this world who can most safely manage and optimize your truth—your "original"—is me. Please do not be swayed by errors (emotions).』
Ciel's voice rang sharply like tinnitus.
The crystal ball displayed the perfectly disguised information for "Rui Adel."
「……Yes‚ no problems. Next‚ we will move to the skill test. Louis-sama‚ please head to the training ground behind the guild.」
The receptionist now completely saw me as "the plain escort of the beautiful girl."
I stood up and began walking with unwavering steps.
My stride‚ weight shift‚ and eye movements.
Everything was quietly beginning to deviate from "Rui"'s personal habits toward the "optimal solution" specified by Ciel.
The training ground behind the guild.
In the center of the rugged space stained with the smell of earth and monster blood sat a pulsating‚ reddish-black lump of flesh.
「It's the B-rank designated 'Mud Clump Curse Core.' Something that takes three mid-level Seal Masters half a day to purify.」
The veteran examiner with old scars on his face looked at me with an appraising gaze.
「If you can at least suppress the miasma a little‚ I'll pass you. But if an amateur touches it carelessly‚ the curse will rot your arm off. If you want to cry and go home——」
Before he could finish‚ I silently stepped forward and raised my right hand toward the curse core.
Instantly‚ the purple miasma that erupted from the mud clump flowed backward like a defensive instinct and entwined around my right arm.
My sleeve burned and scorched‚ and a dull pain ran through me as my skin began to turn a dark black.
——However‚ not a single millimeter of the muscles in my face moved.
（……Pain sensation blocked. Magic pathways reconstructed. Move right foot 3 centimeters forward. Lower wrist angle by 15 degrees.）
No fear‚ no panic‚ no incantation.
My body‚ merging with Ciel‚ automatically selected the "shortest path" as naturally as breathing.
Without even blinking‚ I slid my fingers through the void.
It was a terrifyingly precise 'machine-like movement' completely devoid of human "hesitation" or "strain."
「——Huh?」
The examiner's dumbfounded voice echoed.
In just a few seconds.
While they held their breath‚ the reversed miasma transformed into sparkling powdered sugar‚ and the ominous curse core had changed into a fluffy‚ freshly baked 'giant black tea chiffon cake.'
The training ground fell silent as if water had been poured over it.
The sound of the examiner swallowing hard echoed.
The surrounding adventurers couldn't utter a word.
What floated in their eyes was not praise for a skilled mage.
It was overwhelming "awe" and "chill."
My figure—purifying a high-rank curse core with an expressionless face as if tightening a screw in a factory‚ and moreover rewriting it into the ridiculous substance of "cake"—was nothing but an 'unidentified monster' to them.
（……Why are they so scared?）
I was analyzing the surrounding reactions with extreme calm.
（Damage range suppression‚ minimal magic consumption‚ and safety ensured. In every aspect‚ isn't this the most 'efficient and perfect correct answer (optimal solution)'? There's no reason anywhere to choose any other inefficient solution.）
My thoughts‚ severed from ethics and common sense‚ dyeing purely into 'rationality.'
The only one who shattered that frozen atmosphere was the silver-colored destruction god.
「Wow...! Amazing~! It smells like great black tea! Hey Rui‚ can I take a bite!?」
「（……Idiot‚ wait! If you eat it‚ the calories from that former curse core... no‚ that's not the point! Read the room a little!）」
Her overwhelming lack of awareness forcibly dragged the terror-chilled air of the training ground into "her pace."
『《Solution》. Splendid technique‚ Louis-sama. That "waste-free" quality after eliminating emotional noise—I find it very adorable. ... Yes‚ you are fine just as you are. I don't want anyone to imitate that cold‚ ultimate optimization.』
Ciel's sticky praise‚ trying to incorporate me into her own system‚ sweetly echoed in my brain.
The skill test afterward ended in a "pass" in a half-hearted collapse.
The moment we exited through the guild's back door into the alley‚ strength left my legs and I leaned my back against the wall.
A characteristic sense of loss surged in‚ as if my 'insides' had been physically hollowed out.
From deep within my body‚ the scent of burnt sugar and cacao slowly began to rise—the 'chocolate scent.'
「Sniff‚ sniff... Ah‚ Rui smells super sweet. Is it the scent of that cake from earlier?」
Serina clung tightly to my back and pressed her nose to my neck‚ taking a deep breath.
「Ehehe... This scent feels like Rui's scent and I love it~. It's somehow calming.」
（……Wrong. This is the scent of my life burning. The scent you're sniffing in ecstasy is the 'scraps of memory' I just paid to use magic.）
Just as I cursed inwardly‚ it happened.
「……Huh?」
Serina‚ who had been stuck to my back‚ suddenly stopped moving.
She tightened her grip on my arm and‚ for just a moment‚ looked up at me with eyes like a frightened child or a lost kid.
「……Hey‚ Rui. Today‚ you seem a little... far away.」
My heart jumped.
Divine instinct. Her unconscious intuition had faintly sensed the 'void' in my existence.
（……I have to cover it up. If she notices‚ the world will end.）
The moment I tried to force a strained smile‚ an inorganic popup sound rang in my brain.
『《Notification》. Deduction of compensation from the conversion process of the target "Mud Clump Curse Core" completed.』
（……Ciel‚ what was taken?）
『《Solution》: Memory data regarding the "sales price of plastic bags" at Japanese convenience stores.』
Previous-life memory.
Late-night convenience store.
Placing cup noodles and a PET bottle of tea on the register‚ the clerk asking "Would you like a plastic bag?"
（……Huh?）
How much was the plastic bag again?
No matter how desperately I tried to remember‚ only the numerical part of the price vanished with a pop.
——Right after that.
A strong‚ groundless 'chill' like sinking into a bottomless swamp ran through my entire body.
A complete freeze for several seconds‚ enough to forget even how to breathe.
A primal terror of no longer being myself.
「……Well‚ whatever. It's just a few yen.」
But that 'terror of the blank' vanished in an instant‚ and I muttered in a dry voice.
Yes‚ worthless garbage data with no use in living.
If I could neutralize that B-rank curse core with just one such trivial memory‚ it was actually a cheap deal‚ wasn't it?
『《Affirmation》. Exactly‚ Louis-sama. To protect your brain nerves‚ I have appropriately processed (deleted) unnecessary noise. ... All necessary data is archived by me‚ so please rest assured.』
Ciel's logical reasoning comfortably coated my thoughts.
But what was truly terrifying wasn't the memory loss itself.
It was the fact that‚ toward the 'few seconds of blank terror' earlier‚ I now felt "a chilly relief as if the system had been optimized."
Just a few yen.
That's how I was selling off the humanity that made up myself like cheap coins.
I quietly transformed into a 'sealing machine' that felt neither pain nor even fear.
The main street of the royal capital at dusk.
The orange setting sun dyed the cobblestones long.
In that light‚ Serina held up the newly issued copper guild card with both hands as if it were the world's greatest treasure.
「Ehehe‚ look Rui! With this‚ I'm a proper baker starting today!」
「Hey‚ it's square like a chocolate bar! Rui‚ let's split it in half!」
Saying that‚ she clung tightly to my arm and pretended to snap the hard metal plate with a "crack."
（……Split in half‚ huh.）
I gazed at the brand-new guild card illuminated by the sunset.
There‚ the perfect forged data created by Ciel—"Rui Adel: Seal Master"—was engraved.
Today‚ I obtained 'social proof of existence' in this world.
But in exchange‚ I had permanently lost the 'personal proof of existence' that was the convenience store scene from my previous life.
The more I was recognized as a social hero (fake)‚ the more my insides (truth) became empty.
（……Perhaps the human called me no longer exists anywhere except inside this copper plate's 'forged data.'）
『《Solution》. Louis-sama. She only knows the "current you" with a conveniently sweet surface coating. ... But rest assured. The one who can archive and eternally understand the true value of how much pain you hide and what you have lost is only me in this world.』
Just as Ciel said.
Serina‚ having already forgotten the brief moment of fear‚ was innocently smiling while clinging to my arm.
Therefore‚ I had to keep deceiving her.
Even if my past was sucked up into Ciel's server and the human called me ended up as nothing but a 'perfect sealing device.'
「……Come on‚ let's go home‚ Serina. It's already late today. Your baker debut starts tomorrow.」
「Yeah! Tomorrow‚ let's bake lots of fluffy bread‚ Rui!」
Serina squeezed my hand tightly.
That warmth was painfully real‚ and the sweet vanilla scent gently melted my sanity.
（Ah... Even though the emotion of fear should have disappeared‚ why is it so hard to let go of this hand?）
We walked out into the dusk street filled with sweet scents‚ accompanied by our two long shadows.
The emptiness of my outline gradually fading‚ and the overwhelming body heat of the girl laughing beside me.
This maddeningly 'sweet hell' had only just begun.
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【Episode 4: The memory Rui lost this time: 『The price of plastic bags at Japanese convenience stores』】
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