The Case of Being Reincarnated as a Heretic Mob Character in an Eroge Where Everyone is Extremely Determined - Chapter 68

Chapter 68: Reunion with the Girl

As Marietta burst out from the soldiers’ barracks into the town of Satel, she took a deep breath as if to expel the lump of suffocation from her chest.

It was a pleasant day, with the wind blowing without a chill as if being embraced by a warm mass of air.

The sky was cloudless and blue. There was no need to worry about rain.

Walking with an empty mind, feeling the pleasantness of the pouring sunlight, she expected her mood to gradually brighten, lured by the weather.

With that hope in her heart, she made her way through the town.

Marietta’s current location was the northern part of the town. While making light conversation with the townspeople and watching birds chirping cheerfully on the rooftops, she was steadily approaching the church in the central square.

Meanwhile, Oakley is having trouble because he doesn’t understand the value of the money given to him by the blond monk, as he is missing a particularly essential part of living in this world.

The knowledge he possessed was either from his previous life or the common sense within the Aaros Temple Order.

In other words, he was virtually devoid of the general common sense of the Holy Nation Geluid.

The general common sense of the Holy Nation Geluid was known to him only in part through ‘original game knowledge’ and episodic memory, which, even in the case of amnesia, is different from semantic memory that includes language and is not forgotten.

Although he had received kindness from a stranger, he was in a state where he could not make good use of that kindness.

Oakley, not knowing the value of the coins, decided to rely on the church as he had originally planned.

He thought about asking passersby, but the dramatic difference between the village and the town had heightened his wariness.

Oakley’s current location was the southern part of the city.

Wandering here and there, he seemed to be led by the flow of people, being drawn toward the central church in the heart of the town.

“So this is the Kenneth Orthodox Church. It’s my first time seeing it.”

“It took quite some time since I was walking slowly.”

Marietta had arrived at the central square in front of the church a moment earlier.

Upon seeing the splendid pure white church for the first time, Oakley stopped in his tracks before following her into the square.

Having gone ahead, Marietta walked through the church interior, where long benches were placed on either side, with fluid grace.

The girl took a seat on a suitable bench and, facing the silent stone statue of the one true God at the far end, she closed her eyes as if to offer her prayers.

Marietta was not the only one offering prayers to God early in the morning.

Many devout believers would visit the church before the sun had fully risen, just her, to offer their prayers.

Tentatively weaving through the sparse gathering of people, Oakley, too, reached out to the church door.

The heavy door creaked loudly, echoing through the quiet interior, and he put more strength into his hands as he slowly closed the door behind him.

No matter who entered, most people wouldn’t even glance their way. But today, Marietta was different.

She was irresistibly curious to know who had come in.

As if guided by fate, Marietta’s prayer was interrupted, and her eyes opened wide.

She followed the sound of footsteps with a sideways glance—looking up at him.

“—Eh?”

The girl’s red eyes wavered.

Marietta even thought she might be dreaming.

A slender frame, black hair, dull eyes.

At a mere glance, one might think this young man was ordinary, but to Marietta, he was her hero.

There was no mistake, it was him.

The man who had saved her life when the town of Daskell was collapsing, who had rescued her from the massive debris that was falling.

She had faintly thought she would never see him again, so her agitation was immeasurable.

There were two heroes in Marietta’s life.

Alfie Judgment, who had risked his life to protect her from the tragedy of Metashim, and Oakley, the young man who had saved her in the nick of time from the crisis in Daskell.

She was grateful to Celestia and Pomett, who had taken care of her until now, but these two were the only ones who had saved her from direct danger.

She had always hoped for Oakley’s survival.

She had thought about how she wanted to meet him again one day to express her gratitude.

Just when she wondered how many years it would take for a reunion, he appeared before her.

Marietta’s time stopped.

She involuntarily stood up, letting out incoherent sounds again and again.

Her absurd voice stopped the steps of the man who was passing by.

“Uh, u-uhm…”

“…?”

As Marietta’s mouth opened and closed wordlessly, the man who had stopped walking cast a puzzled glance her way. Their gazes met. Ah, it must be so. There was no mistaking it.

“—Oakley… san…?”

Finally, Marietta managed to squeeze out meaningful words.

The man who had saved her life, her savior from hell, was alive.

As she reached out to take Oakley’s hand during their first reunion in about a year, she was on the verge of tears, but his reaction was far from warm.

Even after being called by name, he looked around restlessly as if searching for someone else, giving off the impression of wondering who she was looking for.

Eventually, Oakley gently shook off Marietta’s hand and, ignoring her voice, started walking towards the monument.

Despite calling out several times and getting no significant response, Marietta stood up and grabbed Oakley by the arm to stop him.

“Hey, hey, wait a minute! Oakley-san, it’s me! Marietta! I’m the Marietta you helped in the town of Daskell! …Oh, don’t you remember?”

“…I don’t know you.”

“That can’t be…”

It seemed that he did not remember her.

The girl felt an indescribable sense of loneliness, but she thought it couldn’t be helped.

They had only met for a few minutes a year ago.

Perhaps the one who was saved remembers their savior, but the savior might not remember everyone they have saved.

However, Marietta was taken aback by his next reply.

“…Maybe this Oakley you’re talking about isn’t me. You’ve got the wrong person.”

“…Huh?”

It was beyond unexpected.

Apologetically, that’s what was said, and for a moment she was frozen in confusion and embarrassment, but there’s no way she could mistake the face of the hero etched in my memory.

Marietta made her way to the front of the face again, comparing it with the Oakley in her recollection.

(No, no, no. He looks a bit haggard, but there’s no mistaking it’s Oakley-san!)

…It’s a match.

I open my eyes wide and scrutinize every detail, from his height to the structure of his face, and they are identical as two melons from the same vine.

The atmosphere seems to have softened a bit… I feel.

“No, no, you are Oakley-san. There’s no mistake.”

“You’ve got the wrong person.”

“It’s not a case of mistaken identity!”

“…Impossible, that can’t be. Come here for a second.”

“Eh? Ah!”

As the exchange continued, Oakley’s eyes suddenly took on a serious intensity.

He pulled her out of the church and led her to a secluded spot where few eyes could see them.

There, he grabbed her shoulders firmly and brought his face close to hers.

Her body was restrained, and the face of the opposite sex suddenly closed; her heart skipped a beat from the surprise.

She was being scrutinized closely.

Wondering if there was something odd about her, she averted her eyes, and then a string of strange phrases rapidly spilled out of Oakley’s mouth.

“Do you know me?”

“Eh? Know you? You’re the one who helped me…”

“Am I named Oakley?”

“You introduced yourself with that name a year ago…”

As soon as the words ‘a year ago’ were mentioned, he fell silent as if he had lost his words to retort.

He kept frowning as he glanced repeatedly at Marietta’s expression.

Overwhelmed by his strange demeanor, she was bracing herself to kick him in the groin if he tried anything weird when Oakley, as if resigning himself, lowered his hands that had been resting on his shoulders.

“…I’m sorry for repeatedly casting doubt. The truth is, I have amnesia. I can’t even remember my own name…”

“Amnesia…!? So, does that mean you don’t remember anything about a year ago?”

“…That’s correct.”

“Ah, ah… that’s quite a serious situation…”

About the fact that my life-saving benefactor had amnesia when we reunited. That’s why our conversation felt oddly disjointed.

(What, what should I do? Even if I’m suddenly told about amnesia, my mind is all muddled and I can’t make sense of it…)

I thought it was going to be an emotional reunion, but it turned out to be anything but that.

I had planned to shower him with gratitude until he fully understood how deeply I felt…

However, if he has lost his memories, he must be facing all sorts of inconveniences.

“Oakley-san, do you remember where you live now?”

“…I don’t know. I only have this much money on me.”

Saying that, Oakley took out a sum of coins from the parcel.

It was enough money to live on for a week, but given his current situation without a home or job, it felt like an insecure amount.

Marietta decided to help him as a way of repaying her debt and thumped her chest with her fist.

“So, you mean to say, Oakley-san, that you’re in quite a bit of trouble right now, aren’t you?”

“Yes… I’m ashamed to admit it.”

“Don’t worry, please be at ease! I’ll figure something out about a place to live and money issues! Please come with me!”

“Eh, wait a minute—”

With that, Marietta grabbed Oakley’s hand and dashed back to the church.

She opened a door next to the monument and boldly proceeded into an area designated for personnel.

Marietta was a promising soldier—someone who could be considered a candidate for the Executive position—recognized by the upper echelons of the Kenneth Orthodox.

With Pomett acting as her temporary guardian, she was in an environment where she could get away with a bit of willfulness.

“Father Dordon! I have a favor to ask!”

“Hmm? Ah, Marietta-kun, what’s got you in such a hurry?”

Marietta decided to negotiate directly with Father Dordon, the administrator of the town’s church, to arrange for a bed and meals for Oakley.

It was quite a brazen request, but behind the young girl loomed the influence of Pomett Yosta, who ranked fourth in the executive hierarchy.

Father Dordon agreed to her request without showing any sign of displeasure.

“Is he a benefactor of yours, Marietta-kun… Yes, yes, let’s give him a warm welcome.”

“Is it really okay? I just showed up unannounced.”

“Of course, of course… I will prepare a room, so you go ahead and wander around town for a while.”

After giving Oakley a quick once-over, Father Dordon wiped the drool from the corner of his mouth and retreated to the back.

After stepping outside the church, Marietta began to talk in detail about the events of the previous year as she explored the town with Oakley.

A year ago, the Metashim region, Marietta’s hometown, had fallen to the Heretics and vanished from the map.

After the mysterious magic made the town of Metashim impossible to find, the neighboring town of Daskell was also destroyed in the same manner.

She had managed to survive until now, thanks to Oakley, who had saved her just before her death.

From a desire to help others as she had been helped, she volunteered for military service under Kenneth Orthodox.

Her story was a jumble of things she wanted her benefactor Oakley to hear and objective facts, but for Oakley, just learning about his past was a significant step forward.

He listened intently to her story.

However, he still didn’t understand why his past self had been in the town of Daskell or why he had returned to the hellish scene of the town, saying,

“I have something I must do.”

“Marietta-san is—”

“Just Marietta is fine. You don’t need to use honorifics with me.”

“Alright… I see. I understand, Marietta.”

“Yes!”

“I truly appreciate your kindness, but are you sure you’re okay with this? Aren’t you a soldier serving the nation right now?”

“Eh? …Ah!?”

Marietta had forgotten that she had gone out for a walk to clear her mind. What was meant to be a brief break of an hour had turned into wandering around the town until just before noon.

In terms of time, that was four hours, far exceeding Pomett’s nap time.

The moment she returned to the garrison, she would likely receive a “where have you been slacking off” iron-fist punishment from Pomett.

While suppressing her feelings of not wanting to leave Oakley’s side just yet, Marietta succinctly explained the situation and conveyed that she had to return to the garrison.

“If that’s the case, I guess this is goodbye for today. If it’s alright with you, Marietta, I’d be happy if you could visit the church when you have some free time.”

“Of course! I’ll come by a lot when I can sneak away from my boss’s watchful eye!”

“Haha, just don’t overdo it.”

After parting with Oakley, who was heading back to the church, Marietta dashed at full speed to the garrison.

What awaited Marietta upon her safe return to the garrison was the knight Pomett, who had just woken up from a three-hour nap.

Pomett stood imposingly at the entrance, her eyes bloodshot.

Despairing at the sight, Marietta, who had run straight toward Pomett, tried to catch her breath and hastily started to explain, “There’s a reason for this…”

However, there was no room for excuses after seeing Pomett exhaling deeply through her clenched fist.

The reason Pomett had been cutting her sleep short to fulfill her duties was that there were still many people in the southwestern part of the country in need of help.

Marietta’s actions were by no means forgivable.

“Did you sleep well?”

“Thanks to you, I did.”

Marietta honestly accepted the punch.

“Let’s get back to work, Marietta.”

“…Yes.”

Marietta regretted her own carelessness, thinking that the too-gentle punch was a rather lenient punishment.