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"Thank you, Shion. I feel a little calmer now."
Orun, who had been crying with his voice suppressed, finally stopped and pulled away from me as he spoke.
I wished I could have held him just a little longer. What a shame.
"I see. That's good."
When I smiled at him, Orun's face flushed with embarrassment and he turned his gaze slightly away.
"Hey, Orun. Won't you tell me what happened to you?"
As soon as I asked, a shadow gradually crept over Orun's expression.
He hesitated for a brief moment, but then began to speak haltingly, recounting the events that had led him here.
I sat down beside him and listened quietly, offering small nods and sounds of acknowledgment as he continued.
What Orun described was shocking: the Cyclamen Order had ravaged Tsutrail, slaughtering even his disciples and comrades. He also told me that just before returning to Tsutrail he had made contact with Christopher Chris.
"In the end, they tried to kill me too, but Grandpa protected me."
"Who exactly is this 'Grandpa' you keep mentioning?"
Both of Orun's grandfathers should have already passed away.
The question slipped out before I could stop myself.
"…Ah, I guess it's fine to tell you, Shion. Grandpa is Cavadele Evans."
"Cavadele Evans? You mean the famous magic tool craftsman!?"
"Figures you'd know him too. Yeah, it's the one you're probably imagining."
The revelation left me speechless from sheer shock.
Because he was…
Watching me, Orun continued.
"Anyway, right after that Grandpa vanished, and the next thing I knew I was here."
When he finished speaking, Orun clenched his right hand so tightly it trembled. It was easy to imagine the complex swirl of emotions churning inside him, far too heavy to put into words.
(Cavadele Evans disappeared, and we ended up here. So that's what happened.)
"Thank you for telling me. …I'm sorry for making you remember such painful things. But because you shared all that with me, I finally understand what kind of place this is."
"Really? Where are we?"
Orun latched onto my words immediately.
"If I had to describe it in the most fitting way, I'd say this is the 'netherworld'—Kakuriyo. It's a place completely separated from our original world in both time and space."
Even before hearing Orun's story, I had been wondering about something.
Why were only the two of us present here…?
But after listening to what had happened right before Orun arrived, everything clicked into place.
"First, let me confirm something. Orun, how much do you know about your own childhood? Specifically, about the time before you became an explorer?"
If Orun's account was accurate, then I had been asleep for nearly half a year.
And during that time, he had already made contact with Chris and heard a rough outline of his past.
It was a little frustrating that things had progressed without me, but at least it gave me this chance to talk with Orun slowly and properly. …Whoops, getting off track again.
"…I don't know any of the details. I was told that before I became an explorer, the place where I lived was attacked by the Order and… everyone was killed. …Hey, Shion. Were you and I… acquaintances?"
Orun asked the question hesitantly, almost fearfully.
Hearing him ask something like that again made me painfully realize just how completely he had forgotten the past, and a wave of melancholy washed over me.
"…Yes, that's right. We were what you'd call childhood friends. We lived in different places, but we played together all the time. With Oliver and the others too."
"I see… So I even forgot about my childhood friend. …Sorry about that."
Orun's shoulders slumped apologetically as he spoke.
I shook my head gently.
"No, it's okay. As frustrating as it is, [Recognition Alteration] is incredibly powerful. It couldn't be helped. —More importantly, do you have any headaches or anything? When overwritten memories receive strong stimulation, it can cause something like a rejection reaction and trigger intense pain."
When I checked on his condition, Orun tilted his head with a puzzled expression.
"…Now that you mention it, I don't have any headaches at all. When Christopher told me about the past or when I was in Tsutrail, the pain was so bad it made even moving feel like a chore. But right now I don't feel any pain whatsoever. There's still this foggy sensation in my head, though."
Had Orun's body begun to adapt? Or was it because of this place? Either way, it was a welcome development.
"That's good. Then we can talk about this more deeply."
"More deeply?"
"Yeah. —About your ability, Orun."
According to Chris, the [Recognition Alteration] that the wicked woman Philly had cast on Orun was designed to prevent him from accurately recognizing his own ability.
Normally, ability users could come to understand their own power through some small trigger.
However, Orun's understanding had been deliberately blocked by that woman. Chris believed this was also the reason why his childhood memories had become so muddled.
And yet Orun was unquestionably using his ability…
That meant that, even unconsciously, he was maintaining some form of internal consistency in his recognition.
If Orun could once again accurately recognize his true ability, it might not be impossible for him to regain his memories.
"What do you think your ability is, Orun?"
"I believe it's [Gravity Manipulation]."
"…I see. [Gravity Manipulation], huh… That interpretation is broad enough to cover a lot."
When people thought of [Gravity Manipulation], the closest example was Felix Roots Kreutzer, the Empire's [Hero].
Last year, Orun had fought against Felix.
At the time, I had honestly believed Orun would lose.
In the end he had defeated Felix, but that might have been the result of Orun, cornered and desperate, instinctively using his ability to find a way out.
Still, since he couldn't recognize his real power, he had probably forced consistency by convincing himself it was [Gravity Manipulation].
"From the way you're reacting, I take it my ability isn't actually [Gravity Manipulation]?"
"Right. It's not. Your ability is… [Shinra Bansho]. It's the same ability as the [Hero of the Fairy Tales], said to be the primordial ability, the origin of all abilities."