I Became the Childhood Friend Who Commits Sui**de

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I looked around.

It was a natural landscape that seemed hardly visited by people.

Here too, the cherry blossoms were in full bloom, radiating a pink hue.

Just as Yeon Hwa had mentioned.

“…”

It was a place I had completely forgotten from my memory.

There was no reason to remember a place I had visited for a field trip ten years ago.

Especially since an unforgettable incident had occurred there, I couldn’t help but push this peaceful scenery to the back of my mind.

But now that I was actually here, memories began to resurface.

Scenes I had forgotten were slowly coming back to me.

Perhaps this was about where the bus had dropped us off.

The mountain path was too narrow, so it seemed we had to walk.

We paused here for a moment and formed a team.

Me, Hana, and then Yeon Hwa and Sophie.

Looking back now, it was quite a dramatic combination of a team.

I even recalled the trivial memory of my classmates whispering about us.

Back then, Yeon Hwa surely didn’t let it slide and responded firmly.

I think it was at that moment I realized she might be a bit stoic, but she wasn’t a bad person.

Just a little further ahead, the gate would come into view.

But in front of us, a wire fence blocked the way.

“No entry.”

Along with that warning sign.

There was nothing incomprehensible about it.

This place had once been a training facility for academy students or inexperienced heroes.

It had already been ten years since the mana and powers had disappeared.

The gate, too, was nothing more than a shell of a door, no longer functioning.

Initially, there were attempts to understand the principles of the gate, but as time passed and brought no results, it was ultimately abandoned.

It faded from people’s memories over the long passage of time.

I looked at the warning sign in front of me for a moment, then stepped over the wire fence.

I took a leap inside and shook my hands.

This was the extent of the security.

For people, the past ten years were no longer significant.

I walked along, following the bright cherry blossoms.

I finally stopped in front of the gate that had appeared.

As expected, it was inactive. Now, it merely stood there like an abandoned ancient ruin.

“…Hoo.”

I exhaled a sigh.

Is this where it ends?

I had come here with a hopeful heart, but there was no path ahead.

I certainly hadn’t arrived here with great certainty.

But if by chance.

If there was even a slight possibility, that would be enough.

That suggestion to go on a picnic together was likely just a throwaway comment.

The question about whether it felt like a picnic when coming here was probably just a casual remark.

I knew it all.

I had no regrets.

Yet for some reason, I struggled to take a step forward.

I stood still for a long moment as if my feet had glued to the ground.

Then, slowly, I reached out and touched the gate.

Cold and stiff. Nothing particularly special about it.

I closed my eyes and focused entirely on the sensations at present.

Gradually, it felt like something was beginning to stir.

At first, I didn’t recognize what it was.

But as the flicker of a flame slowly ignited within my heart, I finally understood the essence of what I was feeling.

“…The Holy Grail.”

It was the power of the Holy Grail.

Something I had thought was lost for sure after Hana had died.

The sensation I had continually forgotten began to blaze bright, asserting its presence.

An image formed in my mind.

The scene that resurfaced whenever I used the Holy Grail.

A grail held in someone’s hand. Red wine overflowing from it.

The owner of the hand hid in shadows, so I couldn’t see their face.

But as the light brightened, the shadow concealing the face peeled away.

The owner of the hand was none other than me.

Now, after ten years, I held the grail in my hand.

As soon as I realized this, a bright light burst forth from my hand.

The gate I touched began to vibrate and hum.

Soon, light flared from the door, and the gate that had been dormant for ten years sprang to life.

“This is…”

For a moment flustered, I knew exactly what I needed to do.

Whatever the principle, the gate was open, and a path lay ahead of me.

Then, without hesitation, I stepped forward.

Towards the place where everything began, I took my steps.

*

Inside the gate.

I never thought I would return here again.

One thing was for sure; the gate wouldn’t have activated for no reason.

If Hana’s words were true, then it must be here.

Inside this gate resided the place Hana had told me about.

Where the thorny crown lay asleep.

The vast space looked exactly like the blurry memory I had.

It seemed like time had simply halted, as nothing had changed at all.

I slowly walked down the forest path filled with overgrown trees.

The inside of the gate boasted an expansive area so vast it was hard to call it the interior.

Searching this place thoroughly would consume considerable time.

But that was fine.

No matter how long it took, it would all be over within ten years.

Way easier than searching the entire Earth.

I had prepared by packing food and various survival supplies in my backpack just in case.

If I couldn’t find it at once, I could always return next time and look again.

Far better than the hopelessness I had felt before.

Then, I spotted something on the ground.

It was a worn, tattered piece of paper, a map that divided the areas within the gate.

Great. I could use this to navigate.

I immediately began my search.

I knew precisely what a thorny crown generally looked like.

Even if it looked a little different, the basic shape must be similar.

The same goes for Longinus’ spear and the Holy Grail; they didn’t completely stray from their names.

I searched and searched.

In this place, the sun does not move.

It was perpetually a fresh and serene afternoon that lasted forever.

Still, the clock worked, so I was well aware of how much time had passed.

It had already been three hours since I began searching.

Now it was time to explore Area H.

The area we were assigned ten years ago.

When we caught the monster here, I could never have imagined the disaster that was about to unfold shortly after.

I stopped reminiscing and focused back on my search.

How long had it been? I found myself stopping with a stiff expression.

As I stepped out of the narrow path, a wide plain came into view.

On one side was a beautiful lake.

Certainly, it would have once been a very beautiful place, but it was now covered in the signs of battle, making it hard to recognize its original form.

Indeed.

This was the site where the Black Goat had confronted us, and Sophie had died.

“It’s okay…”

Muttering to myself, I steadied my heart.

It was all merely a thing of the past.

And with the use of the crown, it would transform into a trivial future.

For now, I would focus solely on finding.

I searched every nook and cranny.

But I couldn’t find anything here.

After judging that I had examined everything, I was about to move on to the next area when a sudden gust of wind caused me to lose hold of the map.

“Ah…!”

Where did that wind come from all of a sudden?

More importantly, losing the map would be quite troublesome.

But the strong wind whisked the map away and dropped it in the middle of the lake.

Should I go fetch it? Since it fell into the water…

Wait a minute.

Suddenly a thought struck me and I hesitated.

There were still places I hadn’t seen and passed by.

My deliberation didn’t last long.

I quickly took off my backpack and outer clothes, plunging into the lake without hesitation.

The water was surprisingly deep.

I looked carefully at the lake’s bottom but saw nothing of particular significance.

Just as disappointment began to set in, I noticed a small hole in the wall beneath the lake.

It was big enough for an adult man to enter easily.

A strong instinct echoed inside me.

I immediately dove toward the hole.

Swimming through the deep passage, breath began to tighten, but I narrowly emerged to the water’s surface.

“Phew!”

Taking a large gasp of air, I looked around outside the water.

There was a tiny space underground.

It was so dark I couldn’t see even an inch ahead, so I turned on the flashlight I had prepared.

And there I stood for a while, forgetting to breathe.

Right in front of me was the thorny crown I had been searching for so long.

“Finally…”

Emotions difficult to articulate surged up.

My eyes welled with tears, blurring my vision.

Just as I was about to grasp the crown, I took a moment to scan my surroundings.

Something was densely inscribed on the walls all around me.

It was written in Hebrew, but fortunately, due to my previous studies, I could interpret it easily.

It was a prophecy.

The prophecy of the apocalypse that the council and the Black Goat had mentioned.

But there was even more written beyond that.

Once I read all of it, I perfectly understood what I had to do.

It wasn’t simply about turning back time.

Suddenly, the words of Longinus came to mind.

Because the world is connected; twisting through the crown wouldn’t solve everything.

Already, the past becomes the future, and the future becomes the past.

In the intertwined complexities of causality, everything could fall apart depending on my actions.

Therefore, I must not go against the original fate.

What should I do?

What must I become?

I took out what I had carried all this time.

It was the syringe that Hana had handed to me at the end.

I finally understood what this meant.

“…”

I can do anything for you.

I picked up the thorny crown and placed it on my head.

Four days passed.

I succeeded in returning to the past.