I Lost My Memory and Had Too Many S-Class Girlfriends

177 – Han Seo-jun’s Memories (1)

Memory.

A memory to record and a thought to think.

“What is memory?”

A man with round glasses pushed up begins to tell a story humorously.

“To put it simply, it can be said to be a collection of information accepted by the brain or latent thoughts in the consciousness.”

A man who appears to be in his mid-to-late twenties holds onto the arms of his glasses and wipes them with a handkerchief.

“People form their thoughts, ideas, personality, values, etc. based on the memories they have accumulated throughout their lives.”

In a word, memory is the essence of a person.

“Then one question here.”

The man, who had adjusted his glasses askew, looked at my face with an incomprehensible smile.

“Can a person who has lost his or her memory really be considered the same person he or she was before losing his or her memory?”

I didn’t like the way the man sat cross-legged on the chair and cracked jokes, but for now I just listened to him obediently.

“If you could regain your lost memories, what would happen to you now?”

“… … .”

“Wouldn’t it be possible for your past personality to be superimposed and for your present self to disappear?”

“… … .”

“Or will the memories just blend together naturally?”

“… … .”

The bespectacled man looks quite pleased.

“No matter what, one thing is certain: change will happen. Whether we like it or not.”

“okay.”

I answered in a flat voice, and the bespectacled man leaned back a little more against the back of his chair and snickered.

“Welcome, Han Seo-jun. We welcome your return visit.”

“I didn’t really want to come, but I don’t have time anymore.”

“But you really came alone? Of course, I asked you to come alone. I told you last time, didn’t I? I’m Edelin Charlotte’s subordinate. Didn’t you think it was a trap?”

As this man says, coming here alone is never a good choice.

It would be much better to take them with you just in case.

But I came to see this man alone without any special countermeasures.

Because if all of this is Edelin’s trap, there’s no use bringing them in.

And if you go with them, there’s a chance that guy will run away.

It is not advisable to ignore that man’s words and act however you want.

“A trap, a trap… … .”

I slowly looked at the man’s face and then glanced around the room that looked like an office.

A rather small room.

The man just sits calmly on the chair.

He is shrugging his shoulders, wearing a white gown draped over his shoulders.

They were unarmed, so to speak.

“Well, is there any reason why Edelin would sell traps in this way?”

“Hmm?”

The man pushed up his glasses.

“If Edelin had set her mind to it, she would have been caught long ago. She wouldn’t have had to resort to such petty methods.”

As you know, the difference in power between Edelin and me is overwhelming.

No matter how much help we receive from them, there is a gap that cannot be filled.

If Edelin had actually used the Seongcheon Church to launch a surprise attack, then running away would be the only option.

… … I’ve been thinking about this for a long time, but I really wonder why Edelin just leaves me alone like this.

“Ahaha. That’s true. That’s right.”

The man kicks and bursts out laughing, wondering what was so funny.

“Yes, I actually think so too. I’ve told you several times. Either capture me when I lose my memories or manipulate my memories again.”

Again?

“I’m sure you’ve already noticed, Han Seo-jun, but I’m the one who erased your memories. Me.”

“I see.”

“If you think about it, isn’t it strange? Even if you lost your memory due to a head injury, why did only the memories before and after your regression disappear cleanly?”

There is no need to explain everything.

Because I expected that the memory was lost through artificial means, not by accident.

I couldn’t tell exactly whether it was a drug, a magical tool, or an awakening ability, but after meeting that man, I knew for sure.

That guy erased my memories, I thought.

“After I forged your memories, I tried to change them to suit Edelin’s taste.”

You tried to change it to your taste.

To be honest, it’s a bit scary.

If you had completely formatted my memories and implanted them according to Edeline’s tastes, what would I be like now?

It could have been a loyal pet.

It’s really dizzying to think about it that way.

“Are you saying you’ve already failed once?”

“Yes. Well. So in conclusion, is that it?”

That’s fortunate.

That’s fortunate, though.

Something is a bit strange.

I know that the man’s awakening ability is a memory manipulation system.

I also know that it is an ability that will make you famous worldwide in the future.

That makes sense. The bespectacled man’s name is Kim Yu-wan.

He is a person who can be said to be an authority when it comes to memory manipulation abilities.

‘But Kim Yu-wan’s ability won’t work on me?’

For me, who has freed all of Jihyun, Seoyoon, and Hwaryeon’s abilities, the awakening ability doesn’t pose much of a threat.

Even the abilities of S-ranks don’t work, so Kim Yu-wan’s current abilities are nowhere near enough.

“Are you wondering why your awakening ability worked? Ahaha. Mr. Han Seo-jun. Your ability wasn’t ‘free’ to begin with, but ‘absorption’, absorption. There’s a limit to how much you can absorb at once.”

Now that I think about it, when I fought with Hwaryeon, I couldn’t completely absorb her half-seriously extended fist.

If an S-ranked person were to truly use their ability, it would be difficult to absorb that enormous amount of power in an instant.

It depends on my ability.

“It was harder to maintain Han Seo-jun’s memory manipulation than that.”

“What do you mean?”

Maintain memory manipulation?

“Because of the nature of your ability, even if you manipulate memories, if you use your absorption ability again, the memory manipulation will be canceled.”

That could certainly be the case.

If memory manipulation is a lasting effect, then I am a lasting free agent.

Even if you somehow succeed in manipulating memories, you can just use your absorption ability again.

“So, I needed to use various methods to suppress your abilities to some extent and strengthen mine.”

“Suppress my abilities?”

“Mr. Han Seo-jun. Have you ever felt that your abilities are developing too quickly?”

Now that I think about it, the fact that I wasn’t even able to properly absorb the instructor’s abilities during my academy days suddenly surfaced.

“When Han Seo-jun first absorbed and used other people’s abilities, he could only use C~B- rank power at best, but now he can wield power that’s almost S-rank. Even if he consumed a lot of elixirs, isn’t it too extreme to say that it’s a change from just one year?”

“… … .”

The man nodded his head alone.

“Every time you use your absorption ability, the time it takes for your memories to return increases. It’s really a bit tricky for me. Personally, I was hoping that Edelin wouldn’t regain her memories until she conquered the tower.”

“Mr. Kim Yu-wan.”

“Why are you doing that?”

“Why is Edelin leaving you alone?”

“What do you mean?”

“Your abilities… are so useful.”

The ability to manipulate memories is surprisingly useful.

To be honest, if only that guy were there, he could turn any number of capable people into puppets.

There is no need to go through the trouble of taking abilities away from those with abilities and giving them to their subordinates. Instead, you can just make the people with abilities themselves your subordinates.

An ability that is virtually brainwashing.

It’s a bit tricky to use, but it’s really useful.

However, it has a fatal flaw: it is almost like a double-edged sword.

Because if that guy has other intentions, it’s dangerous in many ways, right?

Would Edelin just sit back and watch such risks unfold?

Although Edelin was a bit lax when it came to things related to me, she was quite strict with others, so if it were the Edelin I knew, I wouldn’t have left her alone.

There’s a high probability that he took the memory manipulation ability from that man and used it himself or passed it on to a trusted subordinate.

“Are you saying that my abilities could be a threat to Adeline?”

The man chuckles.

“Oh, my power is certainly threatening. If I want, I can change the memories of those with powers to my liking, just like you.”

“Then why is Edelin leaving you alone? From Edelin’s perspective, it would be better for her to take away your abilities.”

“Seeing you say that, I can definitely tell that your memory is vague, Han Seo-jun.”

“… … ?”

What do you mean?

“As Mr. Han Seo-jun said, my ability is dangerous in many ways… … Not only are the conditions for use quite strict, but manipulating the memories of someone with the ability is not an easy task in the first place. The more people who manipulate memories, the lower the efficiency and the harder it is to manipulate them properly.”

Since his memories before his regression were not complete, he only knew that Kim Yu-wan could manipulate memories, but he did not know the limitations or conditions of his ability.

Since my ability also only activates when I come into direct contact with others, Kim Yu-wan’s activation conditions may be more stringent.

“First of all, even if you manipulate memories, it doesn’t last long.”

Kim Yu-wan recited with a bitter smile.

“Mr. Han Seo-jun, you can tell just by looking at your case, right? Even if you try every possible method to manipulate your memories, you’re slowly regaining them in less than a few months… … .”

“… … .”

“The activation conditions are difficult, the duration is short… … It’s an inconvenient ability in many ways.”

“… … But I think it would be threatening enough depending on how you use it?”

“Oh, of course that could be the case, but what good would it do if Edelin took my powers away in the first place? It would take a long time for me to use my powers properly.”

“ah.”

“Manipulating someone’s memories isn’t easy. It takes a long time of training. Even if you take away my powers with great difficulty, it will take at least ten years to properly utilize them.”

“In that case, it’s better to just leave it alone and get help whenever you need it, right?”

“Yes, that’s right. Of course, Edelin’s personality didn’t leave me alone, so I guess I was kind of holding on to my lifeline? Haha.”

Is this a half-collaborative, half-threatening relationship?

“Honestly, from my perspective, it doesn’t really matter whether you win or Adelin wins. Oh, but if I had to say, maybe it would be better if you win?”

“Because Edelin, who holds my lifeline, is gone?”

“Yes, that’s right. No, wait. Thinking about your past personality, I don’t know. I wonder if you’ll leave me alone after regaining your memories.”

I don’t think they’ll just leave me alone.

I lost my memory because of this guy.

“Well, anyway, I have to be faithful to the role that Edeline mentioned.”

“If it’s your role… … .”

“Mr. Han Seo-jun, if you come to me, you will readily cooperate in helping me regain my memories.”

“Why is Edelin letting me regain my memories? There’s nothing good that could come of it for Edelin.”

“Well? How would I know what a regressor is thinking? He just does what he’s told. But let me tell you what I think. From the beginning, wouldn’t it not matter to Edelin whether you regained your memories or not?”

Does it matter whether I remember or not?

Well, considering the difference in power between them and Adelin, they might not have perceived it as a big threat, but needlessly increasing the threat factor is not a good choice.

“Or maybe somewhere deep inside you’re hoping to have a conversation with me while your memories are back.”

Conversation, conversation, la… … .

Come to think of it, Edelin always wanted to talk whenever we met.

When we met at the park.

When I sent the invitation through Charlotte.

Always wanted to talk.

“That’s ridiculous. You were already planning to erase my memories and turn me into a puppet. Why are you doing this now… ?”

“Perhaps you want to talk because you failed once.”

I really can’t figure out what Edelin is thinking.

“Okay, then I’ll ask you one last time. Do you really want to get your memories back?”

“… … .”

“The choice is yours, Han Seo-jun. Whether you regain your memories or stay still, it’s entirely your choice.”

“… … .”

There is not much time left now.

It takes too much time to naturally regain memories.

This man is the only way to restore Edelin’s memories before she completely conquers the tower.

“You’re hesitating again after coming this far. Well, it’s understandable. As I said before, this whole thing could be a trap.”

“I don’t think they’d sell such a trap now, though.”

“Ahaha. Well? Even if Edelin has the upper hand in terms of power, she’ll have to take some damage to capture you… … .”

The man smiles heartily.

“… … If I let you come to me defenseless like this and touch your memories, don’t you think I can capture you without any loss?”

“Well, that could be the case.”

My current situation can be summed up in one word: I’m stuck in a tiger’s mouth.

If all of this is a trap, I might end up being Edelin’s puppet with my memories manipulated.

but…….

“Unfortunately, I had to take a gamble. There was no hope if things continued this way.”

“That’s true. No matter how much help your women give, if Edelin puts her mind to it, it’s not hard to sort things out.”

“You take our kids too lightly.”

“I’m not taking it lightly… … It’s true, isn’t it? As far as I know, Charlotte Lesbian subdued three of those women by herself.”

“Tsk.”

If we had prepared in advance, we could have responded adequately, right?

We were pushed back because we were raided without any warning.

And Charlotte is so strong.

Isn’t Charlotte a veteran hunter with decades of experience and ranked 3rd in the world?

How can I compare myself to those women who are just entering their early to mid twenties?

“As you may know, there are many capable people by Edelin’s side. Representative examples include Charlotte, Laurent, and Camelot.”

“These are Edelin’s closest associates. I heard each and every one of them is formidable.”

Charlotte alone is enough of a headache, but oh my, two.

“That’s why I need to regain more memories. Even if it’s a trap.”

“If you’re so worried, why didn’t you bring your girls? You can prepare for any eventuality.”

No, I told you not to bring it?

“If you manipulate my memories, I might turn against you. Then I’d have to fight with those kids for no reason, and if I did something wrong, I might get seriously injured.”

“Hmm? Well, that could be the case.”

“It’s either all or nothing. I’ve already made up my mind.”

“Okay, okay. Then where should we try it?”

Kim Yu-wan slowly approached me.

I stare intently at his face as he slowly reaches out his hand.

“Don’t use your powers. Just relax your body.”

I shut my eyes tightly with those words.

I’ve scheduled a text message just in case.

If this is really all a trap and my memories have been manipulated to suit Edelin’s tastes, you should be able to figure out what’s going on to some extent through the messages I sent.

I hope they don’t suffer any major damage.

I just prayed.

– It stings.

And then the moment.

My head started to throbbing.