Chapter 172: In the Memory


Chapter 172 – In the Memory


Myne kept staring at me for a while .


However, she seemed to not recognize me .


Albeit feeling troubled by that, I took the initiative to approach and greet her .


[Yo, Myne . ]


[… . . who are you?]


Of course… .


It’s just like with Greed . In this world, this would be our first meeting .


Yosh, if this world is truly inside Myne’s mind, then the first thing I need to do is to get along with her . Otherwise, we wouldn’t be able to talk properly .


Still sitting while hugging her knees, Myne sat still on the floor .


[My name is Fate . ]


[Earlier today, I met Kairos-san by chance on the battlefield . He then brought me here . What about you, why are you here?]


[I fought Kairos and lost . He took Sloth away from me . ]


[So you’re here because he won’t return it to you?]


[That’s a problem . ]


I sat next to her, watching the ongoing construction work .


[Where are you from?]


She’s probably curious about my appearance . Kairos said earlier that my black hair and black eyes are unusual . It’s a dead giveaway that I’m not a Gallian .


[I came from a place far, far away from here . ]


[A rural area?]


It’d be difficult to explain if I said that I came from the real world .


Meanwhile Myne’s heart was still trapped in the past .


I suppose I had no choice but to try and blend into this world for now .


[Kind of? This place doesn’t seem like a place where people should live either though?]


[It wasn’t like this in the past . There used to be a large city spreading over the area . Kairos and the others have been building everything from the rubble . ]


[Who is this enemy Kairos is fighting against?]


[The enemy is not a particular person . He was fighting against a country called the Gallian Empire . And I’m just a prisoner of war . ]


So they’re fighting against a country?


On that scale it can no longer be called simple battle . It’s on the level of war already .


In any case, I’m more concerned about Myne’s status as a prisoner of war .


[You look quite free for a prisoner . ]


[I lost against him and thus had nowhere to go . That man knows that as well . ]


Nowhere to go… So apparently Myne was an a.s.sa.s.sin sent by the Gallia empire .


[You too, don’t seem like you have any idea why you are here . ]


[Is it that dangerous to be here?]


[Yes, it is . Moreover, I can feel that you have similar power to us . Very similar to Kairos actually . ]


[Is that why you are willing to talk with me?]


Myne nodded quietly . Apparently in this world, mortal sin skill holders could still sense one another when nearby .


I also felt that sensation . It’s like a magnet attracting each other .


Once you get close, it’s hard to set away .


[There is that . And, for some reason… I feel calm when I’m talking to you . Have we… have we met before?]


Her crimson eyes were scanning my face .


Does this mean she still retains part of her future memory despite being trapped in the past?


What should I do? How should I answer?


Before I could say anything else, Kairos already called to the both of us .


[You two, it’s meal time . Need to fill up that empty stomach . ]


[I don’t want to fight anymore . ]


[Don’t give me that . We need your strength . Fate’s too . ]


Kairos got Myne back up to her feet .


And pushed her from behind while saying,


[You say all that, yet you eat more than anyone else here . ]


[Guh . ]


I knew that as well . She’s truly a big eater .


As I watched Myne walking ahead, Kairos spoke to me .


[She eats even more than me, someone with Gluttony skill . ]


[Just wondering, but where do you get your food?]


[From the empire . We were able to procure some during the previous battle . ]


[That… you mean . ]


[Perhaps it’s because of the Gluttony skill . But I simply can’t have enough to fill my stomach . You don’t want to know how it’s like . ]


[Kairos…what in the world are you?]


[Alright then, eat up . Otherwise you’ll get nothing . ]


The meal wasn’t particularly delicious to be honest .


Kairos let out a hearty laugh, telling me that it doesn’t matter as long as it fills the stomach .


Myne who sat beside me also ate quietly . I see…at this point she probably had already lost her sense of taste, so it also didn’t matter for her .


Perhaps Kairos also thought that I was the same .


[Is it really delicious, Myne?]


[Worse . The food in the facility is better . ]


[What?]


[You can tell the taste of the food?]


[Obviously . This taste isn’t something I can stay silent to . ]


[Really!?]


[How loud . ]


She got annoyed .


But as it turned out, Myne still had her sense of taste .


Then when did she lose it?


Her personality was still the same even now .


[If you like it, then you can have my share . ]


[Ooh . ]


With bright eyes, she started eating the rest of my meal . Of course, Myne had already finished hers .


Kairos laughed as he watched us .


[Now I feel like I should surrender my portion as well . She’s just that feisty despite being a prisoner, ain’t she? Are you fine with that, Fate? Won’t you get hungry later?]


[I’m used to it already . ]


Hearing my reply, the man laughed once more .


[That’s something you should never get used to though . ]


Both of us watched Myne going through her meal merrily .


[At this rate, she’ll ask for more servings . Ain’t that right, Fate?]


[I think so too . ]


[She always do that . ]


After eating her fill, Myne returned to her usual spot .


But Kairos wasn’t going to let her go without a teasing .


[Full already? Nn? What’s wrong?]


I looked at him, something piqued my interest .


[Kairos-san, why do you keep fighting?]


[I wonder why… At first it was to stay alive . And it’s still to stay alive . I’m not fighting for some sort of n.o.ble goal or anything . ]


Kairos then looked around, towards the people working on the construction sites .


[Then somehow, I became part of this big family . ]


[To live?]


[Yeah . To live like a human being . All of us here were formerly the empire’s toys . We chose to escape, got here, and fought to keep our freedom . You remember that machine angel from the previous battle?]


[If we didn’t escape, we might end up becoming that thing . ]


According to him, human experiments were commonplace in the empire .


Humans living there had ranks a.s.signed to each of them from the time of their birth . The lowest rank didn’t even have basic human rights .


They’re willing to do anything to understand how the system behind skills, the so-called blessing of G.o.d, actually worked .


It’s said that the research was meant to understand the mechanic on how a person could be born with a particularly strong skill .


Apparently, the people here were able to escape with the help from the researchers who disagreed with the experimental methods .


[The person who helped me escape back then was already dead . But his last words,『Live on』left a huge impression on me . Everytime Gluttony skill almost overwhelmed me, those words were what kept me from going over the brink . ]


Kairos seemed to have a better control over the Gluttony skill than me .


However, his condition might be similar to mine .


[You too… Gluttony skill is just troublesome, isn’t it?]


[You should know about it the most, right? I never consider this skill as some sort of a blessing . It’s more like a curse . What about you, Fate?]


[I…I’d be lying if I say that I don’t consider it as such . But without it, I won’t be able to protect the people who are important to me . Even now, I still feel inadequate . ]


[I can understand that feeling . ]


As far as I knew, Gallia perished .


Kairos and his group might’ve won the war . But he’d lose his life for it .


I’m pretty sure that’s the case because it’s what Greed told me .


Suddenly, I felt myself being watched again . When I turned around, there was Myne, staring at me intently .


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