The Fantasy World Fanatic Wants To Leave Work

47 – The Reason for the Cause (2)

At my suggestion, Alencia started to eat her fiery chicken with tuna mayo triangle kimbap. Of course, she added cheese as well.

“Combining this cereal with spiciness… it’s quite a remarkable combination. I’ll give it my approval.”

“Uh… you can just call it triangle kimbap.”

“Alright, triangle kimbap… 3 is a harmonious number. Like a chair with three legs that can remain stable even on rough terrain.”

Is this combination of fiery chicken, tuna mayo, and cheese proving to be as fantastic as even the gods would admit? I recommended it because it’s pretty risky to eat just the fiery chicken, but it seems to suit her taste.

With a very satisfied expression, Alencia carefully dipped her lips into the red sauce.

“…So, what exactly happened yesterday?”

She asked in a more serious tone during the course of our conversation.

It almost felt like she was interrogating me.

Clearly, just like Seretini didn’t evaporate the demon with her focused gaze, Alencia was also very wary of the demon.

“It might take a little while to explain. Is that okay?”

“Yes, I’ll listen while eating.”

I guess I’ve finished most of my lunch, so that works.

I started the story from the day those bright red eyes suddenly appeared.

However, no one except me could see those eyes, and I had thought little of it when there were other people in the convenience store. But yesterday, with Diana’s help, we created an illusion that made it seem like I was alone in the store, and the demon attacked the convenience store at that very moment.

According to the store manager, U.C. Convenience is protected by a system that even transcendent beings can’t easily tamper with, but the people inside it are another story.

In the end, Diana and I were swallowed by the demon into a different space and barely managed to survive with the help of Seretini.

If it weren’t for Diana, I probably would have died earlier.

I should thank her when I go to the convenience store today.

“So, as I suspected, they were waiting for you to be alone. You did well. If that elf wasn’t there, the demon would have killed you even more easily. Elves are a wise race, so they would have dealt with the demon’s attack effectively.”

Well, I’m not sure about the wise part.

It’s true that I survived with her help, but that doesn’t mean Diana is smart…

“But why would a demon want to kill someone like me, a U.C. Convenience employee? From what I’ve heard, it seems there are more than one or two victims.”

Even when U.C. Convenience first entered Universe-1221, a demon killed one of the employees, and in the end, six employees lost their lives due to the demon.

Judging by the fact that two previous managers lost their lives there, it surpassed the level of a habitual offender.

Could there be some grudge against U.C. Convenience Store?

“I cannot be certain. Currently, the Devil’s successor in Black Martop is her, but the practical leader is different due to mental issues. It was not always like this, but… It is speculated that demons have had mental problems since ancient times.”

“Is it possible that they were attacked by them after losing their lives?”

“No, she was like that even before. Maybe it started after this U.C. Convenience Store came in. I don’t have any memories, so I can’t say for sure, but I have records.”

Although Alencja wondered if there was a separate reason, she shook her head in denial.

At first, she thought that the Devil wanted to kill the employees because of the aftermath of the attack on them.

But unlike the two Transcenders from Space-1221, the Devil already harbored resentment towards U.C. Convenience Store since before.

Why was she unable to kill them so desperately?

“It is only natural for the Devil to possess a body like Ms. Alencja or Ms. Cerenety, right?”

“Yes, when I saw her whereabouts, it seemed that she had already taken control of most of her mind. Based on the fact that the past and present bodies are different, it can be concluded that there is an incarnation.”

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Still, it was unclear why the Devil wanted to kill the U.C. Convenience Store employees. However, it felt a little pitiful for the incarnation that provided her with a body.

Fortunately, Alencja’s personality seemed unaffected by the Transcenders, while Cerenety’s own personality seemed almost identical to that of an angel, unlike the Devil.

Although she had never seen the appearance of an incarnation in person, the woman in the photo that Alencja showed earlier had a somewhat sad face.

“There is one peculiar thing.”

Then, Alencja took out a small book and started flipping through its pages.

Suddenly, the sound of rustling stopped.

“What is it?”

“I cannot be certain since I have no memory, but it is recorded that after the Devil killed the U.C. Convenience Store employees, she was standing there and crying sadly.”

“…Crying? After killing them herself?”

“In my opinion, it was probably not the emotions of the incarnation that showed after the Devil finished her task. Even if I wanted to give a more definite answer, my memory… um, it seems that there are limits to understanding through written records.”

Alencja furrowed her brow while looking at the book.

“Is it because she committed murders against her will due to the Devil?”

“Perhaps it is just crocodile tears.”

Her face showed frustration and bitterness.

The emotion of trying to recall something that just wouldn’t come to mind, that was what she could see.

Cerenety seemed to remember everything about the past, but could Alencja not do the same?

Come to think of it, it seems that the current Alencja had heard about the accident where the previous incarnation had problems.

“In order to become a Transcender’s incarnation, the nature of existence must be similar to that of the Transcender. Perhaps the incarnation is not very different from the Devil. Even if that’s not the case, it can’t be avoided in the end.”

In the end, there was no choice but to accept that.

That is the sound of becoming just like the transcendent being embedded in one’s body, whether one desires it or not, after becoming a deity.

“…Um, excuse me for asking so suddenly, but do you have any memory problems, Alencia?”

“What? Me? Why do you think that?”

“Your expression doesn’t look very good. You’ve been holding onto that old and small book tightly since earlier.”

“Oh…”

I worried that I might be causing her distress by asking about demons for no reason.

“Well, I do have some memory problems. Normally, I should be able to see the visions that the gods have seen, but I cannot see them and my memories of myself are gradually fading away.”

“You mean your memories are disappearing?”

“Yes, I can no longer remember my birthplace or even the faces of my parents. No matter how hard I try to recall, I simply cannot remember.”

But the more I heard her story, the more shocking it became.

Although Alencia tried to say it casually…

“When you become a vessel for a transcendent being, your self-awareness inevitably becomes blurred. There is a tremendous difference between ordinary beings and transcendents.”

In the end, she says it with a wry smile.

It is an unavoidable matter and she tries not to worry about it, but it eventually settles deep in her heart.

Losing one’s memories is truly terrifying.

Before this, I had seen dementia patients in convenience stores.

At first, I was annoyed and inconvenienced by them, but as I continued to see those elderly patients, I suddenly became afraid of what might happen if those around me or even myself were to become like that.

Not being able to recognize even one’s own family and eventually forgetting who one is.

The best I could do for those elderly patients was to call the police and make sure they could return home.

“And the peculiar thing is not demons like me, but angels. When you become a vessel for a transcendent, your self-awareness is inevitably eroded, but the angels there completely assimilate and become no different from their original selves, whether they become vessels or angels.”

The peculiar one was Seretini, I think.

I have never been so strongly captivated by a first impression as Seretini.

It was either her suddenly smiling while holding a gun to my head, or the tiger that visited the convenience store a few days later.

Her name was definitely Amanda or something like that.

Both of them gave the impression that I would be killed because of someone in front of me.

In other words, there was a commonality in feeling a threat to life.

But the fact that both of them were close to their true selves, isn’t that proof that angels themselves are not normal? What is it that went wrong with the angels of Universe-1221 to make them like that?

“And Hyunwoo, you don’t look very happy either. If someone sees you, they might think you’re recalling a past threat to your life.”

“Ah, hahahaha… is that so?”

Surely Alencia has received divine guidance.

I wonder how she always manages to understand my thoughts so accurately.

Sometimes, I break out in a cold sweat just from thinking about it.

“So if I eventually become a deity, will my memories gradually fade away like Alencia’s? That’s quite sad.”

“Not everyone experiences that. If they are highly compatible, like an angel, they may not be affected at all. My symptoms have worsened due to an accident I had in the past.”

I guess “before Alencia” refers to the deity that was worshipped before her.

It seems like she had a terrible accident.

“Originally, even if a deity’s memories fade away, the knowledge bestowed upon them by the divine contains information about themselves. So, completely losing oneself was not supposed to happen.”

I cover the old gospel and put it carefully back into my embrace.

“But most of the knowledge I received has been discarded, so I look back at the past recorded in the gospel like this.”

I remember saying those words when I talked to Seretini.

I didn’t inherit the position of Saint normally, but rather filled in my lack of knowledge through records and literature from the past.

At first, I thought it was just a poor handover, but it was actually much more serious than that.

“…Is it not difficult for you?”

“What do you mean?”

“You mentioned that your memories are gradually fading away.”

“Actually, it’s not that difficult. Even if I forget, the memories that left a strong impression in my mind, like this, I can still know that they were connected to me, even if I forget them little by little starting from very distant past memories.”

Contrary to my worries, Alencia smiles and raises a cup ramen.

Maybe a strong impression refers to spicy taste.

“…Anyway, memories constantly go through distortion and fading, eventually becoming reminiscences.”

A warm smile, filled with the warmth of a saint.

“So, I always fill my memories in the gospel. Of course, spending time together like this with Hyunwoo is also a way to do that.”

Seeing that smile, I couldn’t bring myself to talk anymore about memories.

Despite Alencia’s warm smile, it felt like there was a chilly shadow cast over her when I saw her.

I can’t be sure if that smile truly contains her sincerity.

“Are you really not struggling? Please don’t look at me with pity like I’m some pitiful person. It, it’s a little burdensome.”

“Is there anything else you want to eat? I’ll buy it for you. My allowance is coming soon.”

“Are you really okay with that?! Hyunwoo, you are quite mean…”

It was a relief to see her at least let out a sigh and smile like that.

I almost ended up feeling anxious for no reason.