Episode 33

“He’s pretty strong, isn’t he?”

The owner of a roadside stall, who had somehow brought a large boulder in front of him, spoke to Igon without fear.

His cheeks were red, probably from having had a drink.

“Why don’t you give it a try? No one has moved the boulder yet.”

“Yeah, you might be able to move it.”

“There are 40 segels on the line here.”

Other men standing next to the stall owner also chimed in.

I worried that Igon might be offended by their casual remarks and watched his face.

Thankfully, he seemed to pay little attention to their provocations.

Other than his usual stern expression, he showed no signs of discomfort and ignored the men’s comments.

“What, are you a coward?”

“Hey, what’s the point of that big frame? The lady’s too good for you!”

The men laughed loudly.

A lady?

Not knowing how to react, I just rolled my eyes.

Should I ignore them like Igon?

I was about to quietly walk past when Igon stopped.

“Igon?”

Then he strode towards the stall.

“Are you going to try?”

Without a word, Igon nodded.

What was he thinking?

“Alright, the entry fee is 5 segels.”

‘What an easy business.’

I didn’t underestimate Igon’s strength, but it was clear that the boulder was fixed in place so it couldn’t be moved.

“…Igon.”

I called him softly, meaning to tell him not to do it.

But before I could stop him, Igon had already pulled a small coin from his pocket and tossed it.

“Pretty lady, are you worried about your groom?”

One of the stall owner’s friends approached me.

I stood still, not looking at him.

“But up close, your friend looks very handsome…”

Just as the stall owner started to comment on Igon’s appearance, Igon lifted the boulder effortlessly with both hands.

Everyone, including me, the stall owner, and his friends, widened our eyes in shock.

“What the…”

Boom.

Igon dropped the boulder back onto the ground and turned his head towards me.

“Step away.”

As soon as those words left his mouth, the man next to me quickly stepped back with wide strides.

After confirming the man had moved away from me, Igon extended his hand to the stunned stall owner.

“Give me the 40 segels.”

The owner’s face, which had turned pale, now turned ashen.

In disbelief, he looked back and forth between the boulder and Igon for a long time.

Apparently needing to test it himself, he kicked the boulder hard with his foot.

“Aaah!”

The boulder didn’t budge, and the owner screamed, clutching his foot.

“No…, no way…”

One of the owner’s friends handed Igon a pouch of money on his behalf.

He too looked at Igon repeatedly in disbelief.

Igon took the pouch and approached me, draping his arm over my shoulder.

“Eve.”

“…?”

“Tell me what you want to eat. I’ll buy everything with this.”

His face was beaming with a smile as he said this.

I had thought he seemed bored since he didn’t show as much excitement as I did at the festival, but that wasn’t the case.

He was enjoying himself while pretending otherwise.

I suddenly remembered that he had a strong competitive streak.

“Hey, you there, with the strength! Come over here and arm wrestle!”

Someone else on the side of the road called out to him.

Grinning widely, Igon walked over to where he was being called.

It was a childlike side of Igon that was hard to believe in someone so ascetic and noble.

Igon won about twenty arm wrestling matches in a row, earning the title of “Arm Wrestling King.”

After conquering the arm wrestling challenge, we used the prize money to buy food.

We first bought some fruit to refresh ourselves, then shared pickled vegetables.

The generous spirit of the harbor town festival was evident in the food.

Everything was delicious, but the best was the whole fish skewered and grilled.

We bought one and shared it; the mild, savory flavor of the white fish, combined with the smoky charcoal aroma, was incredibly tasty.

“You’ve got something on your face.”

Igon lifted his hand to wipe around my mouth.

It seemed I had some soot from the fish.

“Here, too.”

As Igon reached out to me again, women wearing flower crowns passed between us.

I knew their mischievous intent as they smiled and looked back at Igon.

They were being playful.

As another group approached, I wrapped both arms around Igon’s arm.

“Why?”

Igon, clueless about what was happening.

I clicked my tongue inwardly.

In the capital, Igon was perfect.

If the word “noble” jumped out of the dictionary, it would look like Igon.

“Do you want to watch a play?”

I pulled his arm.

We ran across the market and squeezed through the crowd to find seats.

The male lead was telling the female lead that he had to leave.

“Keep watching. I’ll get us something to drink.”

Igon left, and I propped my chin on my hand and watched the play, feeling thirsty.

The street play seemed to be halfway through already.

‘Why isn’t he back?’

He should have been back by now, but there was no sign of him returning.

No way.

Had he been caught by those women wearing flower crowns?

Feeling anxious, I stood up and headed towards the food stalls to find Igon.

He was nowhere to be seen.

Someone with his appearance shouldn’t be hard to spot.

I scoured the alleys looking for him, glancing at the corner where fortune tellers were seated as I passed by.

“Miss.”

Surely, they weren’t calling me.

Yet, I turned my head at the voice that had lodged in my ears.

A young man, too young to be doing this sort of work, sat robed.

Olive green.

I remembered people who wore robes like that.

If my memory was correct, it was wizards who wore such robes.

“Miss.”

He called out to me again.

It was me he was calling.

His eyes were looking elsewhere, but his slowly raised finger pointed directly at me.

“…Me?”

“Yes, you.”

Hearing his answer, I took a tentative step closer.

Curiosity piqued.

He didn’t seem particularly dangerous.

There were many people around, and just a few steps away, another fortune teller was reading a couple’s future.

“You… are one who cannot forget.”

One who cannot forget?

I froze.

The words from the fortune teller were unfamiliar.

But from those words, I could guess what he was trying to say.

“You have memories. Memories from another world, not this one.”

As soon as he finished speaking, chills ran down my spine.

I didn’t know what expression I had on my face.

I had so many questions, but no words came out.

Standing there, pale-faced and wide-eyed, I stared at the fortune teller.

He was telling me I had memories from a past life.

“I know. It must be shocking. I, too, am the same. One who cannot forget.”

I couldn’t speak.

I had considered that there might be someone in this world like me.

But I had never imagined meeting them like this.

I sank to my knees in front of the man.

“…Are there others like us? I mean, like us…”

“I don’t know. You’re the first I’ve met. I’m physically impaired, so I can’t go out to meet people unless they come to me.”

Physically impaired?

I finally took a closer look at the man’s face.

Where his eyes should have been, there was nothing.

“…You’re blind.”

“Yes… I’ve been like this since birth.”

But how did a blind man know at once that I had memories of a past life?

I tilted my head, wondering if he had some special ability.

“How did you know I am one of the ‘ones who cannot forget’?”

“When you passed by, I saw an unusual color mixed with your aura.”

“Color?”

“I can vaguely see the aura of people. Most ordinary people here have a flickering grayish light, like a flame. But you have a different color mixed in—gray with a very, very dark hue.”

It was hard to believe, but he was the first person to talk about such things.

Moreover, he claimed he also had memories of a past life.

“Where are you from?”

“Do you know Xanadu?”

“No.”

It was a place I’d never heard of.

It certainly wasn’t Earth or Korea.

“What kind of place was Xanadu? My past life was on Earth, in Korea.”

“Earth? Korea? I’m sorry, I’ve never heard of them. Xanadu, where I lived, had no social hierarchy among people. Medical science was so advanced that it could create new eyes for someone like me who was blind.”

His story didn’t sound like the ravings of a madman.

While the place I knew had no social hierarchy or the ability to create new eyes, I was familiar with a society where medical advancements could cure almost any illness.

“In Xanadu, there were beasts like here, but no wizards. At first, the thought of living with my disability was daunting.”

“It must have been… The place I lived in didn’t have such advanced medical technology, but it also didn’t have magical beasts or wizards.”

“Oh, adapting here must have been very difficult for you.”

This was the first time I heard such a comforting remark.

I had hardly ever spoken about my past life to anyone, but it was the first time someone seemed to understand.

I felt tears welling up.

I buried my face in my hands.

I could feel my breath quickening.

Memories of the difficult and painful days due to having past life memories flooded my mind.

I wasn’t alone.

There was someone else like me.

Yes, this person might know something.

He hadn’t mentioned anything about a ‘book’ or an ‘original story,’ but perhaps he could provide some answers.

First, I had to ask about the things that puzzled me the most.