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墨書 Inktalez
"…Did you not go back to arrange for the ferry fare?" I asked, slightly surprised.
"Mm." He sat there with his usual faint smile.
"Why not?"
"Well…" He scratched his face a bit awkwardly. "To be honest, during your busy time, I thought a lot and considered many things…"
I stared at him, waiting for him to continue.
He took a deep breath and said calmly:
"You once said that as long as one stays here for a Century, they can earn a free ferry ride. However, this place is The Land of No Destiny; the longer one stays, the more memories they lose…" He looked at me with a serious gaze. "In other words, waiting for a Century is equivalent to exchanging all of one's memories for a chance to board the ferry, right?"
"So I said, so far no one has been able to do it." I sighed with a faint smile.
It was not just because this place was too boring, but also because everyone held onto memories that were precious and hard to let go of, as well as connections they were unwilling to sever. That was why no one had ever managed to stay for a Century.
After all, asking them to completely abandon those cherished memories and connections would be more painful than dying again.
He smiled bitterly.
"I suppose that's true. Even someone like me still has memories that are hard to part with… I clearly wish to sever all connections, yet I only want to keep that beautiful feeling in my heart. Is that thought too selfish?"
"No, it's only human nature."
Hearing my response, he couldn't help but smile shyly.
"Later, I thought again about what you said, that you possess the memories of this space... everything that has happened here, you will remember..." He looked at me intently. "If that's the case, I wonder if I can entrust this memory to this space, to be preserved here?"
I raised my eyebrows in surprise. This was a request I had never heard before.
"What do you want to do?"
He smiled slightly and began to recount that memory—
It was a story about how a certain Anime Character redeemed his crumbling spirit, and how he fell deeply in love with that Anime Character, only to be mocked and scorned by others...
To be honest, it felt like a common tale of an obsessed anime fan.
His descriptions of the details seemed very serious, as if he wanted to imprint them somewhere through narration, leaving some trace behind...
When he finished speaking, he sighed sadly, "Regardless of whether her existence is fictional, to me, she is the only reality. Even though I know there is no fate between us, it doesn't matter if I forget who or what; I just don't want to forget her..."
He looked at me with sorrowful eyes.
"So, if during this Century I accidentally forget her existence, I hope you can remind me at any time. Whether or not I can successfully recall her, I hope you can patiently tell me that I once loved someone so deeply..."
I silently watched him.
"Even if you do this, you still won't be able to take away this memory." Forgetting means forgetting; it's impossible to regain those memories.
"I have no fate with her. I'm not trying to cling to this memory; I simply want her to be preserved in this way, to accompany me until my last moment..." He smiled sadly. "I hope she can witness my life until the very end."
"Then why don't you choose to preserve this precious memory and return to the world to arrange for the ferry fare?" I couldn't understand.
His gaze turned once again to the misty surface of the River Styx.
"I told you, I'm not good at interacting with people," he said softly. "And you are the only person I've met so far who is truly willing to listen to me."
I found myself at a loss for words.
"Of course, perhaps in your heart you don't think so, and might even find me a bit annoying, but..." He turned his head and looked at me firmly. "I genuinely feel that if I must take a boat across the river, I hope it will be on yours."
"...Don't you think such insistence is meaningless?" I stammered, feeling flattered. "Maybe when you return to the world and come back, you'll meet a Ferryman who suits you better?"
He shook his head calmly.
"If I go back and then return, the purpose would simply be to take a boat; it wouldn't matter whether we are compatible or not."
That made sense... I fell silent.
In the end, he revealed his usual calm and polite smile and said:
"It's rare for us to have met. Although it's destined to be fleeting, I want to cherish this hard-earned connection until the very last moment..."
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