24-Hour Regression, Possession, and Reincarnation Counseling Office — Chapter 22
“……So among regression, possession, and reincarnation, yours is reincarnation.”
Lora felt as though her mind had gone blank for a moment.
‘I hoped against hope! To think it really is the “reincarnation” in the regression-possession-reincarnation trio!’
First possession came, then regression, and now even reincarnation.
‘I’m going insane!’
What on earth was going on?
Lora was bewildered, but she collected herself.
Because the third client was sitting right in front of her.
“And not long ago, I learned who my previous life was.”
But at Cross’s following words, Lora couldn’t hide her surprise.
“Kalien. Do you know of him?”
Kalien?
For a moment, Lora couldn’t recall who that was.
“Ah.”
She remembered.
“If you’re talking about Kalien—”
Cross looked at Lora. She could see his exhausted eyes.
“Yes. Please tell me exactly as you know it.”
Cross urged her to answer. Desperately.
“Without embellishment or omission, exactly as you know it.”
At his added request, Lora slowly parted her lips.
“……So, in the founding of the Clan Empire—”
Kalien.
He was a figure no one could fail to know if they read the history of the Clan Empire’s founding.
Especially if one read the biography of the first Emperor, Ren, one would see Kalien’s name dozens of times over.
“……The demon who was the greatest obstacle— no, the Death Mage— no, that hero…..”
Lora inadvertently blurted out the word “demon,” then changed to a different title upon looking at her client, and recalling the full meaning, finally blurted out the word “hero.”
Kalien.
Because in some kingdoms, he was recorded as a great hero.
Although he was recorded as a demon in the Empire’s history books.
“Lora. Don’t just look at the Clan Empire’s history books; look at those of other kingdoms as well. There will be many interesting things.”
The previous family head, her grandfather, had made Lora read various history books.
Thanks to that, Lora knew quite a lot about Kalien.
“……A hero.”
Psh. Cross let out a deflated laugh.
Keeping his gaze on Lora, he nodded.
“Yes. That demon and hero was my previous life. I was Kalien.”
……Wow.
Lora was at a loss for words.
‘The first Emperor, Ren. His greatest adversary.’
That man was none other than Kalien.
Kalien was a mage from a weak, small kingdom that the first Emperor, Ren, had toppled first.
‘There are still mages on this continent who revere him and call him the Great Mage Kalien.’
The Death Mage.
True to that epithet, Kalien was the greatest on the continent at that time when it came to “killing” and “attack.”
‘If the recorded descriptions of his magic in the history books are true, there hasn’t been a mage to surpass him in nearly 500 years.’
It was highly likely that the tremendous magical prowess recorded in the history books was true. It was recorded identically in every history book.
Kalien had hated Emperor Ren. And the Empire.
Because Ren had utterly destroyed his homeland, his acquaintances, his family, and his land.
‘The first conquest war was recorded as the only blemish in the Emperor’s footsteps.’
The first Emperor, Ren, had reduced the kingdom that was both the first step toward the Empire and its first target into cruel ruins.
The Empire’s history books had somehow left praise for him even regarding that, but other kingdoms’ history books had criticized that time mercilessly.
They said there had been no mercy or tolerance in him.
‘And the counseling records from that time remain.’
Lora recalled the records of the family head who had counseled the first Emperor, Ren.
[During the first war, the client refused counseling for the first time.]
[A typical case of a regressor, so buried in his goal that he didn’t look around him.]
The family head who had counseled the first Emperor had left records filled with regret.
[He failed to stop the client’s rampage. He had tried to stop him in various ways by mobilizing the full strength of the House, but the House’s power was too weak.]
The counselors of House Rien had not only known success.
They were also filled with failure and regret.
Even so, they left complete records. Hoping that their descendants would achieve better results.
[If only the House’s power had been a little stronger, if only I, the family head, had possessed tangible strength…… it was a moment that left regret.]
And after the first war.
[The client faced the tragedy after the war and sought advice.]
[In the nightmares the client had every night after regressing, not only the situations from before the regression but also those he had killed in the war began to appear.]
[It was a grave condition.]
Lora pushed her thoughts about the records to one side of her mind and focused on the new client before her.
“You must have had a very hard time.”
“……It’s nothing.”
Cross trailed off. His mumbled, blurred answer showed his anguish.
Looking at him, Lora continued.
“How did you know about me?”
“……After I began dreaming, I was told from time to time in my dreams to go find the House of Count Rien, so I knew.”
Indeed, this person was the third client guided by Lord Ririen.
“As I thought. Then, allow me to reintroduce myself.”
Cross saw a bright smile momentarily touch the lips of Count Lora Rien.
“Welcome, client! I am Lora, family head of House Rien who inherits the will of Lord Ririen, the god who governs time and fate, and a professional counselor for regression, possession, and reincarnation.”
Her appearance, like an official handling a petitioner, made Cross answer reflexively without thinking.
“Grade 10 administrator Cross.”
And he added.
“Ah, the reincarnator of Kalien.”
Seeing Cross answer with a slightly more composed demeanor, Lora opened her mouth. It was something she had been curious about since earlier.
“Client. I have one question. May I ask before hearing the details?”
“Ah, yes.”
Cross nodded.
Realizing that Cross’s features, now that some of his nervousness had subsided, were gentler than she had expected, Lora posed her question.
“Client, why didn’t you come when your memories first began to surface?”
Lora was truly curious about this.
‘Not just one month, but a full three months of inherited memories. Perhaps the first client should have been Mr. Cross, not Lord Ion.’
Cross seemed to be struggling with his past life’s memories even now.
There must be a clear reason he had refused counseling until now.
And there must be a reason he had endured until finally speaking up.
“Hoo, as expected, you ask about this.”
Cross let out a deep sigh. And he ran both hands down his face.
“Count, I have a dream.”
Cross’s trembling eyes looked at Lora.
At the desperate sound of Cross’s voice as he uttered the word “dream,” Lora’s heart ached. How much suffering had this person endured?
“My dream is to retire at the mandatory retirement age.”
Huh?
Lora looked up at Cross.
But he was more serious than ever, and his eyes held deep resolve and conviction.
“My dream is to live an administrative life without standing out, very quietly, as if present yet not present, retire at the mandatory retirement age, and spend a monotonous old age to the point of boredom.”
Lora suddenly recalled what Viscount Violet had said.
“For four years, he never once lost the top rank.”
She blurted out without thinking.
“Top of the academy class—”
At those words, Cross sighed.
“You must have heard it from the Viscount. Yes, that’s correct.”
Lora also remembered the other things Violet had said.
“Surely a friend who draws a grand picture from the very bottom to the very top.”
Over that memory, Cross’s firm voice overlapped.
“My dream is a tranquil life. If I had a greater goal, I wouldn’t have refused the numerous scout offers.”
“A grand picture……”
“Yes?”
“It’s nothing.”
Lora recalled Violet, who had shown considerable expectations for Cross, but only for a moment.
She spoke her honest thought in a plain voice.
“It’s a good dream.”
Lora truly thought Cross’s dream was a good one.
Being top of the academy was the result of hard work.
‘Retiring at the mandatory age isn’t easy either.’
Working at one job until retirement was difficult.
She thought of how much Cross had suffered when she met him at the Assembly of Nobles.
“Right. It’s a good dream, and a hard dream. For me.”
At Cross’s words, spoken in a slightly bitter tone, Lora sympathized inwardly.
‘He seems to know about the expectations placed on him from above.’
Well, he was smart; there was no way he didn’t know.
“Anyway, that’s why.”
Cross ran a hand down his face and paused at his glasses.
Now that she looked, the glasses seemed unfamiliar.
“To answer the Count’s question—”
Lora had asked him why he hadn’t come to see her for three months.
“I didn’t want to do anything that would stand out.”
Cross looked into empty space as if recalling the past.
“At first, I thought it was work stress. I thought it was something like, since work was hard, I was yearning for the demon Kalien.”
Lora nodded. It was entirely possible.
“There were many peers who were wary of me because of my record, and it would be strange for a commoner like me to go meet a Count. And more than anything, the fact that I, who work for the Empire, am the reincarnation of Kalien—”
Cross tightly shut his eyes.
“I wanted to hide it.”
He added in a small voice.
“It’s a country with many problems, but still, I quite like it.”
Indeed, Lora too had things she disliked while living here, but she still quite liked this empire. Good and bad always coexisted.
“So I wanted to work without causing problems, without standing out. But—”
“But?”
“After all my memories returned, problems began to arise.”