"Well... something like that."
I slid my hands into the pocket of my hoodie. "Yeah, really, though..."
My voice faded for a moment.
It had been weighing on my mind for some time now.
Was it truly possible for me to conceal the fact that I wasn’t Allen?
No matter how much the diary told me, I was Allen Park, not Allen Vanderbilt.
After a moment I muttered:
"...I lost some of my memories."
Quincy’s eyes widened. "What did you just say?"
I let out a weary breath. "I think it might be better if I start from the beginning?"
Quincy glanced around. When she noticed a swing in a nearby park, she pointed at it.
"Why don’t we go there? It looks will be a long talk."
I nodded and followed her.
’Was this the right thing to do?’ I grimaced, my eyes fixed on the back of the beautiful young woman.
The urge to sigh returned.
I was a swindler in my past life.
A thief and a criminal.
What right did I even have to feel sorry for someone? Tʜe source of this ᴄontent ɪs novel★fire.net
Was it a lingering instinct from Allen?
Or was it because of the trust he had in her?
I clicked my tongue softly. ’The boss would have kicked my ass if she saw...’
My entire body stiffened.
Once more I had connected my present life to my past one.
Quincy suddenly stopped and tilted her head back slightly. "What happened?"
I forced a smile. "Nothing. Just the migraines from the awakening."
No matter how much I longed for the past, it wasn’t coming back.
I wasn’t Allen Park anymore.
I was now Allen Vanderbilt.
I sat on the swing, pushing myself gently with my feet.
"Do you believe in magic, Quincy?"
It was a strange question, but I remembered that word vividly.
The very first word this world’s novel began with.
Quincy chuckled softly. "Dummy. We use magic in our daily lives."
Shaking my head, I corrected myself. "I don’t mean that kind of magic. I mean sorcery, mystic arts..."
Yes, I wasn’t Allen Park anymore, but I wasn’t Allen Vanderbilt either.
Allen Vanderbilt Park, that’s what I was.
The only programming mage and the legendary scammer.
Quincy’s expression shifted. "No, but what does that have to do with anything?"
What it meant was that I was going to use it to deceive her.
I was already certain all of this was my new life.
However, I didn’t know who had sent me here.
Hell, I didn’t even want to think about it — when someone actually considered it, a person capable of turning a novel I had read into a world was far from ordinary.
No one could convince me it was a coincidence.
Maybe Allen pulled the trigger, sure, but you don’t build a world with quantum physics or whatever.
Someone — or something — was clearly behind him.
Realistically speaking, what were the chances of a world existing with the same progression as a novel?
Not just that, but a guy who’d actually read the novel landed inside it, conveniently when some demon-possessed bastard needed a scapegoat.
What this meant was there was a force behind it.
And I wasn’t even sure whether there was a force opposing them in this world.
Meaning: until I was strong enough, no one could discover who I really was.
Fixing my gaze on the stars glittering in the distance, I continued:
"During the time I locked myself in my room, I began to hear voices."
This was what had truly happened to Allen.
A truth + A lie = An even better lie.
"It was that voice that told me about my body condition and how to fix it." I exhaled quietly. "Only after I fixed my body did I realize who the voice belonged to."
Quincy waited patiently for me to finish.
I closed my eyes briefly. ’Rest in peace, Mr. and Mrs. Vanderbilt.’
Opening them again, I continued. "It was my mom and dad."
I looked away from her, as though too embarrassed to meet her eyes.
"Growing up I always cursed them for dying young as hunters. Never would I have guessed they prepared something for me."
This was how Allen Vanderbilt felt.
Even the diary said so.
He regretted how ungrateful he had been toward those he loved.
And although they weren’t my loved ones yet, I planned on passing that message on.
Not just as Allen Vanderbilt, but as Allen Park too.
Quincy smiled warmly, turning her gaze to the sky. "I’m happy."
She inhaled deeply, her delicate palms gripping the swing’s chains. "I’m really happy."
She smirked, tilting her head to face me. "I’m happy you’re back, Allen. Even if you lost your memories, we can always make new ones, right?"
I wasn’t sure if it was her expression her flushed cheeks, her words, or perhaps her smile, but something inside me stirred faintly.
Guilt. Happiness. Sadness. Comfort.
I wasn’t sure exactly which.
But before I knew it, I was smiling too.
’What kind of idiot just says we can make new memories?’
And somehow, I wanted her to stay that way.
A soft gasp escaped me. ’Am I developing a complex?’
’Maybe because I’ve never been close to a girl younger than me.’
Quincy, meanwhile, looked lost in her own world.
She laughed freely with each swing, then with a small leap, jumped off and landed gracefully on the ground.
"Let’s work together even in the academy, okay?"
She was an odd person.
But also captivating.
"As long as you can keep up."
The moment I said those words, I rose from the swing.
Quincy puffed her chest. "Humph, is that arrogance I hear?"
She immediately dashed to walk beside me. "I’ll be going to the academy tomorrow. When are you coming?"
I had been too caught up in the awakening that I hadn’t thought much about the entrance exam in a week.
It was possible to enter if I went now, but that would mean I had zero control over mana or even a proper grasp of how magic worked.
"A day before the exam."
Six days was more than enough time to train.
Besides, there was still the life-draining issue I still didn’t fully understand.
Pausing mid-step, I called out to Quincy.
She turned her head slightly, and I asked.
"Can you do me a favor?"