Memoirs of the Returnee
chapter-173

Escape (2)

“Tell me where you hid Elise, you crazy bitch──!”

As he choked the fake Elise and shouted, I was pulled out of the painting.

“……Huh?”

The Planarium dormitory.

Akane, right in front of me, narrowed her eyes. Her crimson pupils were eerie.

“Calm down.”

I blinked blankly. Zing-! I pressed my throbbing temples with my fingers.

“……Ah, my head hurts so much that I don’t even know. Can’t we just kill the ghost?”

I can resist Akane rewinding time within the frame.

But the headache is excruciating. Over and over, it feels like some thought is about to surface in my mind…….

“You can’t, idiot. The ghost already has a physical body. If you kill the ghost, the body dies too.”

“But my head feels like it’s going to explode.”

“That’s natural. Time is rewinding while you’re standing still. It’s similar to motion sickness. Just ignore it.”

Akane put a cigarette between her fingers.

“There’s no need to rush anyway. He’s already caught in the trap.”

“……That’s true.”

Right now, the ghost who imprisoned Elise has a simple goal.

‘Becoming Elise.’

If I had been fooled by him and helped the Elise in the painting escape, the real Elise would have been trapped forever. The fake Elise would have lived as the real Elise.

However, that plan has already been exposed by ‘Akane’.

Of all people, by the most dangerous mage on the continent.

“But why are you helping Elise, Akane?”

“I’m not helping Elise, I’m helping myself. I can’t lose my anchor. Besides, change your strategy. You’re too anxious.”

I shrugged my shoulders.

“How can I not be anxious around spirits?”

“Just treat it as usual. The spirit doesn’t even know it’s a spirit. It needs to remain not knowing to deceive those around it.”

Akane pointed at me with her finger.

“You have to treat Elise as Elise as much as possible, so you can find out where the ‘real’ one is.”

“……Well. Even so, there wasn’t much in the cabin, right?”

“Nothing at all?”

“From what I saw.”

“Are you sure there was nothing?”

I rummaged through my mind for a moment, but soon shook my head.

“Yes. There wasn’t anything special in the cabin…… wait.”

Then, one thing came to mind.

The ‘painting’ hanging on the wall inside the cabin.

There was another landscape painting there.

“There was a painting.”

“A painting?”

“Yes. So…….”

I looked at the painting hanging on the dormitory wall.

The landscape painting of the ghost where Elise is currently trapped. A cabin covered in snow.

I pointed at it and said.

“Inside this painting, there was another painting.”

“Hmm.”

Snap-! Akane snapped her fingers as if she understood.

“A frame within a frame, huh. It’s a famous trap. The real soul must be hidden there.”

“Do you think so?”

“The probability is the highest.”

“Then, how do I get into that ‘frame within a frame’? You’re not there, Akane.”

Akane stroked her chin, deep in thought.

“Hmm… probably Elise can do it.”

“Elise? But she’s a fake.”

“No, she’s as good as real. She believes she’s real, and all her memories are identical to the real one.”

“…Ah.”

I nodded my head.

The ‘fake Elise’ in this painting believes she’s real, and almost every aspect of her is similar to the real one.

Then, she should be able to cast magic like the real Elise.

“So, we’re going to use the fake?”

“That’s right. You understand well.”

Akane clapped her hands.

“Then, let’s go back to the beginning. From the moment you knock on the door.”

“Yes, let’s do that.”

* * *

Whooosh──!

Outside the mountain cabin, amidst a snowstorm.

Shion, having returned, knocked on the door. Not long after, Elise opened the door.

Upon seeing Shion, she gave a strangely mischievous smile.

“…What? You said you wouldn’t come.”

“I came anyway, didn’t I?”

“Hmm… come in.”

Once again, the two sat across from each other, sharing a cup of tea and conversation.

“Hey, how did you end up trapped here?”

Shion asked Elise.

Elise raised an eyebrow.

“I don’t know that myself. How did you get here?”

“You know. My body, it’s highly resistant to magic and mana.”

“Ah?”

“You also asked for my help.”

“Hm, hmm.”

Elise coughed as if embarrassed. Shion didn’t rush.

As if dealing with the usual her, with a casual yet friendly attitude….

“Anything unusual happen?”

Elise let out a small sigh.

“I was just trapped.”

“Must have been fun.”

“…Are you joking?”

“Yeah. You get it now.”

“…Ha.”

Such pointless conversations continued, and Shion occasionally rubbed his temples and forehead.

It was due to the persistent headache.

“So, Shion. This space loop…”

“Yeah. It’s probably because of a spirit.”

Finally, the main point.

Shion glanced at Elise’s face. It was a plain face.

Fortunately, she doesn’t suspect anything yet.

“There’s a spirit somewhere in this cabin.”

“So, we need to find that spirit?”

“Right.”

Finally, they were getting on the same page.

Now, somehow, he had to persuade this Elise to lead them to the desired conclusion.

Shion pretended to sip his tea while looking at the painting on the wall.

“Hey. But that, doesn’t it seem suspicious?”

A single painting hanging in the cabin.

Just like the current one, a landscape painting depicting a snow-covered cabin.

“It’s just a painting.”

“No, take a closer look.”

“Closer…?”

Suddenly, Elise froze.

“Wait.”

She abruptly stood up. Her face was creased with various doubts.

“…What?”

Shion asked, hiding his anticipation. She scrutinized the painting in front of her nose with a serious expression.

“This. It’s not an ordinary painting.”

At that moment, shivers ran down their spines──!

A severe headache surged in Shion’s mind. He stood beside her, trying hard to endure it.

“So?”

“This is… soul magic.”

“Soul magic?”

“Yes. Spiritism, which is fundamentally different from magic… but this painting could definitely function as some sort of ‘gateway’.”

Elise abruptly turned to look at Shion.

“There seems to be a spirit inside.”

Shion also hardened his expression in response.

“How do we enter?”

“Let’s find out.”

Elise imbued her finger with mana.

Sssssst…!

She blew the sparking energy into the frame of the painting. Then, soul magic writhed on the surface of the painting, like hundreds of worms squirming.

It was certainly not a spell meant for human use.

Elise nodded her head.

“Here, it seems right.”

Shion gulped down the black tea in his teacup.

“Bingo. How do we get in?”

“…Just touch it.”

Elise glanced at him and stepped aside.

“You try first.”

She seemed to doubt him again.

Absurd, but well.

“So, I just need to touch it?”

Shion poked the magic in the painting with his finger.

In an instant, he was sucked in.

“Ugh!”

Thud!

His head hit the floor. He looked around in his upside-down position.

It was the same cabin.

“What- Ack!”

“Kyak!”

The next thing he knew, Elise dropped down and her forehead slammed hard at his nose.

“Ugh…”

Shion got up, holding his face. Elise also clutched her head.

“Ouch…”

“Do you think it hurts as much as me?”

Shion looked around the interior again.

“Hey. There’s nothing here?”

“…”

Elise silently sharpened her gaze. Her eagle-like eyes thoroughly searched the area.

“Right?”

“No.”

Elise shook her head.

“Look here.”

She then stomped on the floor with her shoe.

“There’s a carpet.”

A carpet.

In it, a ‘cabin’ was embroidered.

“Oh? Could this be?”

“Right. It seems to be layered multiple times. Quite clever.”

“Pfft.”

At her words, Shion unknowingly laughed. Elise furrowed her brows.

“Why are you laughing?”

“Just. It’s funny, isn’t it? He must have hidden it so diligently.”

A prison designed by a spirit, being unlocked by the spirit itself. Nothing could be funnier, but well.

Shion quickly composed his expression.

“The spirit seems to want to play a game with us. Let’s go in quickly.”

“Why are you in such a hurry?”

“I am in a hurry.”

Throb, throb, throb…!

The headache surged again.

“My head hurts like hell right now, so I want to finish this quickly.”

“…”

Elise looked puzzled, but she quickly knelt on one knee and blew mana into the carpet.

The ‘soul magic’ inside was revealed.

She stepped back and gestured to Shion.

“You go first.”

“Hey. Can’t you go first now?”

“…”

Elise glared at him slightly.

It would be annoying if she doubted him again.

“Alright, alright.”

Shion stepped into the soul magic.

* * *

This time, it was a log cabin. A serene log cabin.

Shion looked around the interior first.

Aside from a fireplace, wooden furniture, and a bed, there was nothing else.

Whoosh-

Elise entered a bit later. Shion turned to look at her.

“There’s nothing in the cabin.”

“No.”

Had she found something again? Elise pointed somewhere.

A small picture frame placed on the bedside table.

It was a photograph. It seemed to be a picture of the interior of a one-room apartment.

“Oh~”

Shion was impressed. Elise approached it first.

Ssssssssst…….

When she infused it with magic, the soul spell spread out in blue.

Elise pointed at the picture in the frame and said,

“Go ahead. You first.”

“Hey, why don’t you go this time? Am I some kind of key?”

“…….”

At that, Elise’s shoulders shook slightly. As if I had hit the nail on the head.

She quickly smiled and replied.

“Yep. You’re sharp. So go ahead.”

“……Sigh. Fine, fine.”

Shion tapped the frame lightly.

Whoosh-!

He was sucked in again.

It was a small one-room apartment.

The surroundings were all white, and there was only one bed in the room.

But, this place was different.

The only bed in the room. On top of it…….

“……So it was here.”

There was someone.

At least, ‘something’ was there. Something that had pulled the blanket over its head.

“You hid it quite deep.”

“Indeed.”

A voice flowed in from behind. It was Elise.

“Pull back the covers.”

“…….”

I felt like a servant.

“……Yes~ ma’am.”

When I find the real Elise, you’re done for. Shion gritted his teeth and lifted the blanket.

Of course, the real Elise would be lying inside…….

“……?”

Huh.

Shion’s shoulders shook greatly. His eyes widened in shock. The hairs all over his body stood on end.

“This……”

Shion couldn’t even finish his sentence and stepped back.

Thud-

Something touched him. It was Elise’s finger.

“Move aside.”

Elise gently pushed Shion aside and approached the bed. She looked at the face lying there.

“……It’s you.”

A smile appeared on her lips. She placed her hand on ‘his’ forehead as if relieved.

“Finally found you.”

“You…….”

Shion blankly stared at her back. He couldn’t understand the situation at all.

No, the entity lying on this bed.

“It’s a relief.”

The one Elise was softly murmuring and looking at was…….

‘Shion Ascal’.

“What the hell is…….”

“There was a witness.”

“……A witness?”

“Yes. Kielli said.”

Elise tilted her head.

“‘Shion destroyed the spirit’s body, but it looked like the spirit that flowed out was absorbed by Shion.'”

She turned to look at the ‘spirit’ that had been pretending to be Shion until just now.

“So, I’ve been watching you closely. You really seemed like the real thing. Well, you would have to believe you’re the real one to fool us. It’s a basic survival instinct.”

“…….”

Elise let out a soft chuckle. The spirit glared at her slightly.

Zzzzzzzz───!

A throbbing headache once again revived the spirit’s memory.

The time when it was disassembled into 81 parts by Shion Ascal,

When it flowed into Shion Ascal’s body as a spirit that had thrown away its form,

After corroding the physical body of Shion Ascal, who had fallen into a comatose state,

Isolating Shion Ascal’s soul in this prison,

And completely transforming itself into ‘Shion Ascal’……

“That headache is a signal that you, the spirit, are trying to realize yourself.”

“……You. You pretended to be fake when you’re real?”

The spirit’s eyes were filled with disbelief.

“Yes. I needed to tempt you. To make you mistake me for a spirit. That way, you would ignore that headache. You wouldn’t realize that you’re a spirit.”

“Then, you turning back time was…….”

“An act. How was it?”

Elise wore a noble’s smile.

The spirit bit its lip. It furrowed its brows as if to deny it.

“That’s impossible. The blizzard definitely stopped-”

“You took Shion’s memory. If you took it, use it properly. I’m Elise. My speciality is telepathy.”

She could easily stop a blizzard swirling around this area.

“We planned it from the beginning with Akane. If I flick my finger?”

Snap- Elise flicked her finger.

“Time pretends to stop. If I wave my hand?”

Swoosh- She waved her hand in the air.

“Time pretends to rewind.”

“…….”

She sat on the bed and crossed her legs.

“This is a prison you designed. A prison where you locked Shion’s soul.”

She shrugged her shoulders with her arms crossed.

“We diligently investigated and found a passage to reach Shion, but there was no key.”

“……So I’m that key.”

“Yes. That’s why we brought you in. Because no one but you can open the prison you made.”

“Ha.”

The spirit let out a hollow laugh. It fiddled with its temple, where the headache had now disappeared.

“Do you have more to say?”

“……What changes by saying that?”

The spirit put its hand on the sheath of the sword at its waist.

“What changes?”

“I’m here. With a physical body──!”

It almost shouted as it drew its sword.

“I’ll behead you── What the hell is this!”

The sword was flimsy. It drooped down without even rising. It was a toy sword.

Elise shook her head as if it was pathetic.

“I told you. We planned it from the beginning with Akane. We switched that sword a long time ago.”

“……Even, even so.”

The spirit seemed flustered, but it hardened its expression again.

“Can you beat me?”

“There’s no need for me to beat you. I have no reason to fight.”

Elise pouted her lips.

“You’ve already lost to Shion once.”

And then she took something out of her pocket and placed it on Shion’s forehead. It was an object like the end of a stethoscope.

The spirit asked in an anxious voice.

“What is that?”

“I’m not sure myself. Akane developed it, it’s called a soul wave generator.”

Elise infused it with her magic. At that moment, a large wave rippled from Shion’s forehead.

Goooooo───.

“…….”

“…….”

A moment of silence.

Eventually, ‘he’ on the bed slowly opened his eyes.

“Yaaawn.”

The first words, an ear-splitting yawn.

The spirit was flustered, and Elise was dumbfounded by his overly calm demeanor.

“Are you awake?”

“……What?”

Shion Ascal’s tongue was completely loose. Elise asked with a furrowed brow.

“Are you awake, you idiot?”

“Uh…….”

Shion slowly sat up.

In the same space, he blankly stared at the spirit that had taken over his body.

“What’s this? Is it a dream?”

“You broke the spirit’s body, and the spirit flowed into yours.”

“Oh, really?”

Shion mumbled nonchalantly.

“It feels like I’ve had a really good sleep for the first time in a while?”

“It wasn’t a good sleep, you were in a coma. This guy took advantage of that.”

Shion shrugged his shoulders.

“That makes sense. With the Severing Sword and Perion…….”

The combination of ‘Severing Sword’ and ‘Perion’.

Nine vertical slashes and nine horizontal slashes in less than a second. A total of 81 divisions.

If it’s the price to pay for doing something physically impossible, it’s cheap.

Blinded by anger, he almost shattered his own body.

Or perhaps, he survived thanks to this spirit?

“So, am I in a soul state now?”

“Yes. You should reclaim your body first.”

“Okay.”

Shion got up. The spirit looked around, its teeth chattering in fear.

It seemed to be looking for an escape route, but this place was already completely sealed off.

“Hey.”

The ‘real’ Shion called out to the spirit.

“D-don’t come!”

The terrified guy swung his toy sword around, but Shion just spoke with a slightly refreshed face.

“Give me back my body.”