Parallel Memory

“Mia, what brings you here? Is everything alright?”

“I was worried about you two!”

???

Zero and Amelia didn’t understand what Mia meant by that.

“Mia, what do you mean? Did you know that we were attacked or was it because of me being ambushed last time?”

Amelia asked.

“I saw a video.”

???

Amelia and Zero were still confused.

“There is this video that has been going viral around TwitFlick. It was Zero using his Dark Energy and I instantly knew that something had happened here.”

Mia said while displaying that video for them to see.

Amelia and Zero widened their eyes in surprise. The video was not very clear but it showed the moment when Zero used Cataclysmic Destruction.

They finally understood why Mia had come here. She found out about the situation in Sanctum Aurea from the video.

“So, what exactly happened here?”

Mia asked.

“Mia, let’s go inside first!”

Amelia said. As she knew that she had to tell Mia everything, it was important that it remained a secret.

Mia nodded and followed Amelia. Zero also followed along.

Then Saintess Amelia began to tell the whole story. From the incident that occurred when she was on the way to the battlefield and how one of the Cardinals had betrayed her and tried to kill her.

Then how Zero went to help but was captured because of her. She seemed to still feel guilty about that. But she still continued talking and how it all ended.

“After that, we focused on recovering and rebuilding the houses! We are in the midst of recovery.”

Amelia finished telling everything to Mia. She trusted Mia and even told her about Cardinal Hildred betraying them, something that she didn’t even tell the people from Church.

Mia had her eyes closed and seemed to be in deep thought. Then she opened her eyes and turned towards Zero and said, “So? What about you?”

Zero looked confused when Mia asked him. He didn’t understand what Professor Mia was asking.

“So, did you know this was going to happen?”

Mia asked.

“…”

“Isn’t this the reason why you disappeared even after seeing me in the Seraphine Training Center?”

Mia said.

Professor Mia listened to the whole story that Amelia narrated. But there was one thing that she was confused about. And that was the action of Zero.

She didn’t think it was a coincidence that Zero happened to stumble across Amelia and save her. From how hasty Zero was in escaping, Mia was sure that he knew Amelia was in danger.

Moreover, she knew that Zero’s objective seemed to have been Saintess Amelia all along. If he had something else to do, he would have gone to do that after saving Amelia.

But he remained with her for weeks. This showed that he even knew that she might be attacked in the Church. Mia was not sure but she knew that her assumption was almost correct.

“…”

Zero was deep thinking. If you asked him, he indeed knew that Saintess Amelia would get attacked but he was also not very sure. The events were similar to the novels but at the same time, changed as easily.

When Devil started being reckless and advanced into Human Domain, Zero because of his knowledge of novels, had an idea about what the Devil are trying to achieve, However, it was not certain that they would target Saintess though chances were high at that time.

So, Zero went to where the Saintess was in order to help her in case she was in trouble like in the novel. Unfortunately, the event happened just like what happened in the novel.

Zero was not sure what to say to Professor Mia. He couldn’t say that he had an idea because he had memories from his parallel self.

So, he decided to make something up and tell them.

“I wasn’t entirely certain, but I had a feeling that something like this might occur. When you examine the history of warfare between Devils and Humans, you’ll notice that the Devil always attempts to eliminate the Saintess. It occurred to me that they may be employing a similar tactic with their reckless advance into the Human Domain.”

Zero said. He tried to say something that sounded quite reasonable. He was trying to depict someone as a smart person who was able to read the plan of the Devils.

However, it didn’t seem that his words had entirely convinced Mia. She looked at Zero with doubt but didn’t think of it as lies either.

There had been many smart individuals who could easily uncover any scheme but Professor Mia felt that his action was just not something that came from assumptions like those smart people. It was almost as if he knew it would happen.

Even so, she didn’t ask further about this subject. If he didn’t tell her the truth, that was his decision. And as he said, it might be just because he thought that Amelia was in danger.

Amelia looked at the two in confusion. She didn’t quite understand what Mia was asking. She did end up getting saved by Zero but she thought it was all coincidence.

Zero was with Christian La-Minings when he came to save her. She thought that Zero stumbled upon Christian who was following Adeline, and ended up saving her. She didn’t think that much about that situation.

After all, she was in trouble and Zero did save her, so she didn’t think that there was any problem being saved. But thinking about the situation, it did seem odd for Zero to be there.

“Let’s say what you said is true for now!”

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“So, where were you for 2 years? Not only did you quit the school, you seemed to have basically disappeared from the world!”

Mia said. To be honest, it didn’t matter to her how Zero came to know that Amelia is in danger.

“I went to Tower Of Obelisk for training!”

Zero answered. He didn’t think it was something that he needed to hide. If it was before he went into the Tower Of Obelisk, then it was something that he needed to hide.

He didn’t want his enemies to know what he was doing and also because there was a risk of ambush. What if Xalvar or someone like Professor William who hated him laid traps there? What if they had tried to kill Zero before even entering the Tower Of Obelisk?

Moreover, he also had Lilith at that time. She might have been attacked by other people if they came to know her real identity. So, he had to keep quiet about his objective.

Now, it was different. He had already done what needed to be done. It was not necessary to hide the fact that he went into the Tower Of Obelisk.

!!!

“You went there? Alone?”

Mia asked in surprise.

“You could say that I had a friend.”

Zero answered. He might have climbed the Tower Of Obelisk alone for the most part, but Lilith did help him after she regained her consciousness. If not for her, Zero doubts that he would have lived on Floor 30.

“That was a stupid decision! Don’t you realize how dangerous that place is? You could have died!”

Mia exclaimed angrily.

She had also climbed the Tower Of Obelisk but with many of her friends. She knew how dangerous it was and it was definitely not a place for one person or two. It needs a well-coordinated party if one wants to survive there.

The number of dead while climbing the Tower Of Obelisk was staggering. Even if the place is considered great for getting treasures, hardly anyone comes out alive. It is easy to get greedy and further climb the Tower, not knowing one’s limits.

That caused many deaths. Even if the person is powerful, he/she would try to climb higher and higher in order to get more valuable treasure and in the process ends up getting killed by monsters.

And the danger only increases for those without a good party.

Mia was angry because Zero could have died because of going to the Tower Of Obelisk.

Zero was taken aback by Mia’s reaction. He had expected her to commend him for his hard work during the training. After all, she had always appreciated those who put in the effort.

However, instead of praise, he received a scolding from Professor Mia.

“I’m sorry,” Zero could only apologize. Reflecting on his actions, he realized that anyone who cared about him would have been rightfully angry. His decision had been reckless and could have easily resulted in his death.

Furthermore, he knew better than to argue with Professor Mia when she was upset because she was only worried about him.

Perhaps he should have explained his intentions clear to her before heading to the Tower of Obelisk. But there was no point in regretting his actions now since it was something he had to do.

“Humph! Next time, inform me if you plan to do something like this. I understand that I cannot stop you, but at least have the decency to inform me before heading to such a dangerous place. You should be aware that you could have lost your life, and no one would have known.”

Zero could feel the intensity of Mia’s concern for him, which made him feel guilty for worrying her.