Chapter 11 - A Fragment Memory of The Past and Future

This is yet another wonderful day. I am getting used to living in this world without forgetting my purpose.

Me and Lanzhuen do not get along well whenever we’re in a group. We usually just pass each other whenever we encounter each other. It is a better action than to trash talk each other nonstop.

I’m currently spacing out while eating a snack on the kitchen island. It’s the weekend today, so I don’t have any classes.

Hmm, as far as I know, I don’t have any leads on the vampire group that killed my family. Neither did Sir Varean when I dropped by the other day at his office.

FLASHBACK

[“Sir Varean, I just want to ask if you have any leads or information about that vampire group?” I looked at him and asked.

“So far, we have nothing yet. The group’s quite skilled at hiding, so our trusted professional detectives and vampires are having a hard time tracing their whereabouts. We have to wait for a while before we take action, so all we need to do now is plan various action in case one fails.”

“Oh, is that so…. Okay then, thank you. I’ll get going now.” I said with a little bit of disappointment in my voice before standing up and exiting the room.

“Don’t let your guard down, Catte. They might be one of the people you encounter in your everyday life.” He warned me, looking straight into my eyes. I just nodded and proceeded to walk to school.]

Hmm, even professional detectives are having a hard time, huh?

Leads…. I need to find leads….

I just kept thinking about finding any leads while climbing upstairs and went inside my room. I opened the bedside drawer to get my journal. But instead of my journal, I saw a round antique-looking bronze ball with unrecognizable texts circling around it.

Huh? What is this? I don’t remember bringing such a thing into my room.

I looked around the room with my furrowed eyebrows and slowly realized what I had done. This isn’t my roo—

“Catte!? What are you doing here!?” I heard Lanzhuen's voice, so I immediately looked at the door and I saw her running towards me and quickly pushed the drawer closed and pushed me away from it.

Oh no! I’m all deep in my thoughts about finding a lead that I didn’t even realize that I took the wrong turn and entered a different room.

“Get the hell out of here!” she shouted and continued to hide the drawer behind her back.

“I’m sorry. I thought it was my room.” I apologized before walking towards my room on the other side of the corridor.

Seriously, what was that?

I thought and laid down on my bed, spreading my arms and feet.

I can’t have a peace of mind unless I make a move. Plus, I have a gut feeling that I need to find out what that is.

I got up and wore my sweatpants and usual shirt, then picked up my things and went to the library, which is a 5-minute walk from the apartment.

I looked for a free space to put my things down before going to the historical section of the library.

I saw a bunch of books about the leaders of the kingdom but I paid no interest in those. I can’t seem to find any books connected to antique objects.

I just continued to search the whole 2 aisles and I was just about to lose hope when I spotted a book just below the shelf. I immediately picked it up and read the title.

‘Reminisce the Inventions of the Past and See The Future’ with the subtitle of ‘A fragment memory of both the past and the future’.

Thank god! That is what I’m looking for!

I opened the first page and there was a text saying ‘you finally found me’.

Huh?

I continued turning the pages and it was just like a story book. It seriously tells how it was invented and the process through it.

‘The Glass of time’, ‘Fire of rage’, ‘The Dragon’s Roar’, and ‘Mother Earth’s Nature’ are the ones I’ve read so far.

I’m not reading their full history because it’ll take time. I had just continued to turn the pages when I recognized a picture. ‘The Shell of a Puppet’ was the title above the picture, similar to the round object I saw in Lanxiu’s drawer.

[During Xuie era, there was a girl who lived a rich and spoiled life as a daughter of a noble. However, she had everything that greed is not an exemption.

She wanted to rule over the land although it was impossible. One day, she met a beggar on the streets and, because of disgust, she kicked him and ruined all his things that he had invented. Of course, the man didn’t back down and retaliated by shooting a gun at the back of her knees. But rather than actual bullets, it was a long stick with a fist at the end that made the girl fall on her knees—a very offending move for the girl.

Her dad saw what happened and instead of being angry at the man, he turned towards his daughter with an angry face—which is the right thing to do. Although the girl is a spoiled brat, her father is still a respectful noble and so he commanded the girl to work for the beggar for a month to help him fix everything she broke.

Her dad thought it would be a realization for her daughter and make her understand the life under the castle—because who wouldn’t?

Unlike what her father thought, that one month was actually the way for her to execute her plan to rule over the land.

Rather than understanding and realizing the life under the castles, she discovered some procedures to invent, thanks to helping the beggar.

So much trial and error had happened before she finished the invention in secret. It is a round bronze shell.

One night, she secretly went to her father’s room to execute her plan. She saw him peacefully sleeping and walked towards him.

“Thank you for lending me your body” she said, and stored his soul into the round bronze object and unrecognizable texts appeared, then her soul entered her father’s body.

By that, she ordered their soldiers to kill all the candidates for the throne so no one would block her way as the future heir using her father’s body.

She achieved what she wanted to do and because of her, rather than the kingdom having a beautiful life with equality between noble and normal people, it became a nightmare and looked like an after-war because even the nobles were also not treated right.

She did all that. She achieved her dream.

Alone and cruelly.]

“As the 'Time' wonder, I hope ‘YOU’ can change what my Future has brought for you.” I read aloud that last part.

“What…… so the thing Lanzhuen has…. Is a shell with a soul inside?”

“WHAT THE ACTUAL FUUUCCCCKKKK!??!?” with that, I got kicked out of the library.

I’m glad I got my name registered as the borrower of that book so I can take it home and research more.

I read such a long book that I didn’t even realize it was already night time. I just bought a drink from a nearby café and went to Sir

Varean’s office to report about what I have found.

“What brought you here, Catte?” he asked and offered me a seat.

“Uh.. well, earlier I was deep in my thoughts and entered the wrong room in the apartment.” I answered, starting from how I discovered the round object.

“And then?” he asked with an expression that looked like he was asking for more.

“I saw a round bronze object in my roommate’s drawer which is actually an antique invention that has been used to store souls.” I said as I was showing him the book I found earlier.

“It was also said that the Time wonder hopes ‘me’ to change what their future brought to me.” I added.

“Are they talking about me? Or is it just a coincidence that I found the book?”

“Catte, WHY did you bring this to me? How is this connected to our objective?” He asked me back as if he was telling me that I’m straying away from the purpose of why I’m here and why I brought that to him.

“Oh! I just have a theory that maybe my roommate is connected to the tragedies that happened and she could be a lead for further investigations. And isn’t it weird that she has an antique object especially used for storing a person’s soul?” I voiced out my opinion.

“Yeah. Maybe she’s one of the members and maybe she’s not.” He answered in a-matter-of-fact tone.

“Yes?”

“Therefore, Catte Lhein, because you’re her roommate and the ‘closest’ one to her, I’m assigning you as one of the detectives to investigate her further and I’ll send two other members to help you find the other three antique objects.” He said and leaned back on his chair and with his legs crossed.

“Huh? Why even with the antique objects?” I asked with a surprised tone.

Does he trust me this much? And will those Antiques help us?

“Because you’re the only one I know who can find and be their owner. I am putting my trust in you to find those antique objects and investigate ‘The Shell of a Puppet’.”

“Okay then, I’ll just do my best.” I said and was just about to stand up when he said another thing.

“Those antique objects will come to you naturally. By the way, I’ll send the other two detectives to your apartment disguised as your friends you met at your workplace. Thank you for your hard work.”

“Noted boss. I’ll get going.” I said, and stood up to walk towards the door.

"Oh." I mumbled and stopped right before I exited.

"Hmm?"

"How will the Antiques help us?" I asked and looked at him curiously.

"We can use it once we fight with them. And by the way, inform me if your roommate is cleared or a lead." he answered calmly, so I nodded.

"All right, good night." I said and exited his office.

I also bought donuts on my way home for auntie Tina and my ‘roommate’.

There was no one at home when I came back, so I just took two pieces and placed them inside the refrigerator and just put up a note before I went upstairs.

“Now then, how can I investigate that antique object without Lanzhuen noticing?” I asked myself as I laid down on my bed and had a bite of the donut.

Now that I think of it, UGGGHHHHHHHHH I FORGOT TO GET A WATERRRRRRRR!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I furiously got up from bed and headed downstairs to get my motherfucking water.

How dare I ruin a wonderful moment? I’m just like a protagonist from a book just earlier but I forgot to bring my water!! What an idiot.

I keep mumbling to myself that I didn’t even notice a ball at the very top of the stairs and fell down because of it.

“FUUUUUCCCKKKKKKKK!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!” I furiously shouted as I rolled down the stairs and spilled my water on myself.

“Hey are you okay!?!?” a stranger worriedly walked towards me from the door. There’s also a man behind her.

K-kidnappers!?

“W-who are you!? Stay away!” I said and tried to back away from them but just squirmed in pain because I couldn’t move, and I can feel the pain when I tried to.

“Please don’t move! You’ll just hurt yourself even more.” The woman said as she crouched down to check me.

“Hey Hazuka, help me!” she said while looking at the man who was casually walking towards us with both his hands in his pockets.

“N-no…. kidnappers….” That was the only thing I said before passing out, but I still heard a faint voice of a man.

“Fool.”

-

Third Person's POV

“Come on, Hazuka. Help me carry her upstairs. You hold the feet and I’ll carry her hand.” The woman said and stood up to fix her body and held her hands up and Hazuka copied her with the feet.

“On the count of three. One.. two… three…!” the woman counted down as she prepared herself for every countdown.

“One.. two.. three..!”

“One…… two…. Three…!” the woman was slowly getting tired of carrying the body midway upstairs.

“Haaa….—AHHHHHH!!!” she sighed as he placed down the body for a moment before she tripped on Catte’s body and they both rolled down the stairs.

Hazuka sighed and climbed down to pat every part of the woman’s body slowly before he carried Catte’s body.

“Did you break your ankle?” he worriedly asked the woman, but didn’t show his worry.

“I guess not.” She stood up and leaned backward a bit to stretch her hips. “Just hurt from the impact though.” She added and patted her hips twice.

“Alright, I’ll just carry her from here. Don’t push yourself, you’ll just hurt yourself.” Hazuka said, and carried Catte’s body upstairs.

“Okay then…..” the woman said and picked up a round object before following behind Hazuka.

Once they reached her room, they placed her on the bed and the woman patted Catte’s body to see if there were any injuries and she was glad that it was just a broken ankle.

“Hey Hazuka, how to treat a broken ankle again?” she turned to the man and his face was then filled with light disappointment and annoyance with his expression, ‘are kidding me right now?’

“Uhhh… hehe, I forgot…” the woman slightly rubbed her nape and looked away while Hazuka loudly sighed before getting the emergency kit from the bathroom.

“Seriously ‘ly, how did you even become a detective when treating injuries is one of the requirements?” Hazuka asked the woman, nicknamed ‘ly, and then sat on the bed to wrap Catte’s ankle with a compression bandage.

“That’s because I’m a great and mighty detective that I don’t even need to do that because of my greatness!” ‘ly proudly said.

‘Seriously…. Why are you so cute?...’ Hazuka thought to himself.

‘ly is just fidgeting with Catte’s arm, rubbing and massaging it.

“All right. We’ll just need her to wake up.” Hazuka said after he finished bandaging Catte’s left foot.

“Uhh…. Hazuka….” ‘ly hesitantly said as she took out the round object she had picked up from earlier.

“Hm?”

“Uh.. this might be the reason why she tripped.” She said and handed it to Hazuka.

“You think?” he asked and scanned the object. “This does not seem to be a normal belonging someone would keep by their side.” He added as he tried to find a way to open it.

“Hey look. Isn’t that an antique object?” ‘ly said as she read the book without permission.

“It says here that it’s called ‘The Shell of a Puppet’. It’s also used to store a soul. Hey, do you think there’s a soul in here?” she added as she moved closer to Hazuka’s face with her sparkling eyes like she had solved a world problem.

“Hmmm… there might be.. by the way, keep your distance, dumly, you’re too close.” Hazuka answered while looking away, hiding his blush on his face by calling her ‘dumly’. Short for dumdum(dumb) Lily.

“You think? Shall we try opening it?” rather than doing what Hazuka said, she moved closer to him with her sparkling puppy eyes.

“We should not barge in into other people’s things. We should wait for her to wake up and we can talk and plan things. We’re here to help her, right?” Hazuka calmed himself down and softly said those words while looking at her straight in the eyes with gentleness.

“A-alright then…” she answered as she looked around the room.

“She’s quite clean with her things.” She voiced out her observations.

"Yeah.”

“She also doesn’t have that many belongings.” She added.

‘Seriously, she just won’t stop talking, would she?’ Hazuka thought. Everyone would have been tired of listening to Lily’s nonstop talking and would tell her to shut up. But Hazuka loves it. He loves it when she talk and would never get tired of listening to her.

“That’s a given. She did not grow up here, after all.” He just casually answered.

“Oh. Yeah right, her clothes also seem like she just borrowed them. Guess she came here by herself, huh?”

“Oh, that’s a cute bear!”

“Her phone looks expensive, Hazuka. Did she steal this?”

After almost 4 hours, Lily is starting to get bored as she can’t point out things in the room anymore because she pointed them all out.

“Ehh… what do we do now? Is she dead?” she asked as she tapped Catte’s left chest with her index finger twice.

Then she squeezed Catte’s face, then flinched when she opened her eyes all of a sudden.

"K-kidnappers… nooo….” She tried to speak loudly but ended up a whisper. She feels a slight pain every time she speaks.

“Seriously, are you still into that?” Hazuka asked incredulously.

“No.. don’t come near me… nooo..!” Hazuka’s face looked creepy in Catte’s eyes as he looked down on her with a blank expression, but looks like he’s going to kill her soon enough.

“No! We won’t hurt you!” Lily quickly defended.

“W-who are you!?” Catte asked in shock when she just noticed that there was a woman sitting beside her.

“Ah!” Lily was surprised by the sudden raise of voice.

“No…! AAAAHHHHHHH--…!!!” Catte tried to shout but it ended up a flat ‘AHHHH’ as she felt pain in her upper body.

“AHHHHHHH!!!--!!” contrary to Catte’s flast voice, Lily’s was very high pitched. She could break a glass.

“You two just need to calm the fuck down.” Hazuka interfered and placed two marshmallows each in the girls' mouth to shut them up.

“We’re sent by Sir Varean.” Hazuka just said simply. He doesn’t even need to explain that. The words themselves explain the reason why they are here.

"Oh fuck. I’m sorry!” Catte apologized, then sat and bowed slightly since she couldn’t stand that much due to her sprained ankle.

“No, I’m sorry! We didn’t introduce ourselves first, it’s our fault!” Lily also apologized and bowed 90 degrees.

“No, I’m sorry. I mistook you two for a kidnapper. I forgot Sir Varean would send two of his people. I’m really sorry!” Catte tried to bow lower.

“Ahhhhh, tonight will be a long night.” Hazuka sighed.

continue next chapter~