295 – Promise of the Future
Finding an imitator was not easy.
I could immediately guess that he was a shadowy person who could not be found through normal routes.
The problem is that Juliet did not have a means to obtain secret information.
The only thing she had left was the ability to distort.
At first, she tried to forget it, thinking it was all just a dream.
But she could never forget the operator’s last words, which was that she would realize everything when she met the imitator.
‘Please forgive your father. Miss.’
···What did that mean?
Was the operator related to his father? So did she come to the orphanage on purpose and approach me?
My mind was complicated. No matter how much she thought about it, she didn’t think she could leave it like this and live like before.
In the end, Juliet walked into the world of darkness on her own to get clues about her imitator.
After telling the director that she had found another job, she went out every day and set foot in dangerous places.
The ability to distort was definitely a big help.
Everyone treated her like the outstanding wizard she was, and she adapted steadily to her world of mystery.
Then one day, one of her guests mentioned her story as if in passing.
“The lady uses magic quite similar to that man.”
“···That man?”
“Oh, you don’t know? “He’s a guy who recently started working, and I heard he makes counterfeit products that are so clever that they’re exactly the same as the real thing.”
The ability to create fakes. It certainly had a texture consistent with the distortion of Juliet.
Moreover, it was an explanation worthy of the name copycat, so as soon as she heard her story, she was confident that she had finally found it.
“Could you tell me more about that person?”
***
The basement of an imitator who came after a rumor.
On the outside, it was one of those buildings in London that you would normally see anywhere, but it was the same as the previous underground lab, so she carefully knocked on the door without letting down her guard.
After a while, the door slowly opened and a man appeared, hiding in the shadows inside the door.
I had already vaguely heard about it through rumors, but its appearance was impressive enough to make me cringe as soon as I saw it in person.
The sight of her with her entire body wrapped in bandages and her top hat and coat brought to mind the dual image of an Egyptian mummy and a London gentleman at the same time.
Juliet, who felt intimidated for a moment, tried to act as if nothing had happened, puffed out her chest and confidently asked.
“Is this the copycat’s basement?”
Her imitator stared at her for a moment and then answered in her calm voice.
“···I see. Is it already time for the guests to come?”
With an unknown muttering to himself, he turned and slowly disappeared into the shadows.
“Please come in.”
“H-wait a minute!”
Juliet, who had belatedly hurried into the basement and chased after her imitator, looked around her dark world and bit her lip.
In the basement, dimly lit only by dim lighting, the two sat facing each other, looking at each other.
“So what brought you here?”
The attitude of the imitator who asked for business first seemed relaxed yet somewhat lonely.
A loneliness that was difficult to describe seemed to ooze out around him.
How should I get the word out? Juliet didn’t know what to say to begin her speech, so she just gaped for a while and couldn’t get her voice out easily.
“···Do you know anything about the operator?”
At that question that was so difficult to come up with, the teaspoon that was stirring her coffee suddenly stopped.
“Oh, I see. Did she come after receiving his introduction? She’s definitely been acquainted with him for quite some time. Although I haven’t been able to see her lately due to circumstances.”
As the other person responded naturally, she could not sense any other emotions other than longing for her old friend. So Juliet hesitated even more.
What will the imitator answer to the next question?
She was more afraid than excited. Still, Juliet knew that nothing would change if she didn’t ask, so Juliet struggled to silence her.
“···The operator said that if I visit you, I will be able to understand everything. Really? “I am my parents…”
“Please stop for a moment.”
The moment she was about to say her most important point, the imitator interrupted and cut her off.
She then started talking about something that I thought was a bit out of the blue.
“I am an imitator. Everything that makes me up is ultimately just a fake imitation. “Even I am just a counterfeit for the real thing.”
Juliet frowned slightly at the difficult and difficult content to understand and swallowed her words.
“Maybe I can answer your question. But that answer may be a lie that betrays your earnest sincerity.”
“What is that… “Are you saying you’re going to answer with a lie on purpose?”
Unable to contain his excitement at the moment, he cried out emotionally, and the imitator calmly shook his head.
“That’s not what I meant. “My answer means that I will betray your sincere heart.”
“···Even if that’s the case, I want to know.”
Actually, Juliet had already guessed it to some extent.
The fact that the man in front of her could be the parent she had been searching for so long.
In addition to what the operator said, an ability very similar to his own. Although I can’t see the face behind the bandage, it seems like the age range is roughly the same.
I don’t know what the reason is. Maybe it had something to do with the whole body being wrapped in bandages.
Anything is good. I have no intention of blaming him.
I just want to know. Do you really have parents? Are you still alive in this world and why did you have to abandon yourself?
Even if the answer breaks her own heart and hurts her.
Now that she had come this far, she did not want to go back empty-handed without knowing anything.
Hearing the girl’s sincere appeal, the imitator remained silent for a moment and fell into deep thought.
“Your father is Dr. Franken, the president of the Magic Engineering Society.”
“President…”
She remembers that during her first meeting with her operator, he introduced himself as the Vice President of Magic Engineering. This means that the two were much closer than she thought.
“He developed a technology called magic engineering, but one day he suddenly disappeared. “No one knows if he went into hiding on his own or if something went wrong with his life.”
The imitator was explaining things separately to himself and Dr. Franken.
But Juliet was sure that the story was her own story.
“···Why did he leave me in the orphanage?”
“The doctor had another child. “She was my twin sister.”
When Juliet heard those words, Juliet felt her heart sink.
She says she has a twin sister? She had never even imagined it. Well, if she has twins, it would be normal for them to stay together in the same orphanage.
“The doctor could take care of one child, but it was impossible for her to take care of both together. “Those children have special powers, and until they are completely controlled, if they stay together, they become dangerous to each other.”
Bam!!
Juliet hit the table without realizing it and glared at her imitator with her bloodshot eyes.
No matter what she heard, she tried not to complain. She took it in stride and thought she could understand everything.
But this is not it.
Why… She leaves only herself and only takes in her twin sister?
Why on earth? It would have been better to leave them both in an orphanage, or at least there would have been other better ways, but why!?
“Why was it me… Why!! “I wonder if it was me and not the other twin…!!”
At her cry of indignation, her imitator looked at her with silent, sad eyes.
Her gaze was so unbearable and resentful that Juliet lowered her head, tears streaming down her face.
“Because I promised you.”
Soon, his voice was heard, with a slight tremor mixed in.
“···What?”
“You may not understand it now, but… The future you first told me that you would take on all these trials yourself. Your strong will to meet your father again creates a future that opens a dimensional gap. “I had no choice but to accept it.”
I couldn’t understand. She should have shouted at him to stop this nonsense right now.
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But Juliet felt a vague vision of a scene that could not exist in her memory.
“Her actions hurt her younger sister, so this time, you refused to give in to her wishes, saying that as her older sister, you should take responsibility.”
“What are you talking about?”
The memories in her head are distorted.
No, the distorted truth is finally starting to be revealed.
Juliet covered her eyes with her hands and clenched her teeth.
Memories of her, which she did not know who they belonged to, kept coming upon her. As the moment passed by like a flash of light, it felt so familiar and missed that she couldn’t stop crying.
Finally, she called someone’s name in a low voice.
“Eterna…”