9th Grade Civil Servant In Another World Chapter 225 - Epilogue (4)

Every evening, while waiting for Erika to finish her research and come home, I’d handle work in the car or often take Colin for walks.

Oh, Erika sent Colin to be adopted by us. Colin would make such a fuss with joy every time he saw me that it became too much.

Every morning I’d put a leash on Colin and walk him to work like taking him for a stroll, then bring him home at night. He’s so well-behaved and I set up a separate space for him in the office, so there haven’t been any problems yet. I’m king of the Schufaben branch, after all.

Erika’s parents had naturally noticed their daughter had a boyfriend, but they still don’t know he’s an East Asian from a foreign country.

Anyway, once I drop Erika off at home, my weekday schedule ends. I spend the rest of my time doing housework or resting.

And on weekends, I moved even busier than on weekdays.

I searched every place I could remember. Sometimes I’d even go down to distant rural villages. If it was a place where my friends had set foot, where memories remained, I’d go there no matter how far and investigate like a detective.

It wasn’t that difficult. The memories from my past life are so vivid. There’s plenty of material like wikis and biographies documenting my friends’ activities.

The first person I found was naturally, that guy.

***

Lüdelheim District 5, the media center of Schufaben. The newspaper building that publishes ‘Die Welt,’ meaning ‘the world.’

Last time I came, it was closed. So I specifically targeted a day when they’d definitely be open and all staff would definitely be gathered. There happened to be a founding anniversary event scheduled.

On the day of the event, I slipped in among the people bustling about with preparations from the afternoon and snuck into the building. If you wear a suit and sunglasses and walk around, everyone thinks you’re security—convenient.

‘All that exercise paid off.’

During the day, various distinguished guests were invited to give speeches and lectures, making it drag on boringly. When evening came and street lamps began lighting up one by one, the real party began.

After hanging around in the corridor for a while, I slipped into the event hall to find each department already gathered at their tables with drinking sessions in full swing. Schufaben people really do love their alcohol extraordinarily.

“To the path of true journalism!”

“To that!”

With my vision shielded by sunglasses, I scanned the people laughing and chattering drunkenly one by one.

Art department, typesetting, proofreading. Ah, there it is—news division. Legal, business, entertainment, sports, and when I reached the social affairs department.

I spotted a man with a familiar aura. He was holding a glass and having a serious conversation with someone next to him. I quietly approached that table and tapped Daniel on the shoulder.

“Excuse me, reporter. There’s an urgent message for you…”

“This is who I am.”

Acting serious as if something important had happened, I left the building and went into a nearby back alley, then politely handed him my business card.

“Ah, thank you. Here’s my business card. Oh, no, I mean…”

Daniel also reflexively offered his reporter’s business card. This life’s Daniel’s name was written on it, but I didn’t mind and put it in my pocket.

“Taeguk Trading Schufaben Branch Manager… But why security…”

Daniel looked like he was in his early thirties, already emanating the mature atmosphere of a seasoned reporter unlike his past life. But his kind and defenseless personality seemed unchanged.

I took off my sunglasses and faced him directly.

“Daniel.”

“Yes?”

“Daniel Hartmann.”

“What about that person— Ugh!”

His eyes widened suddenly. He pressed his trembling hand to his head as if experiencing a headache. After a long silence, he called my name in a faint voice.

“Lucas.”

It’s amazing every time I see it. Just making eye contact with me brings back memories from the past life. This has to be the aftereffects of that crazy King Leopold III or whatever his magic.

“Are you alright?”

I patted Daniel’s shoulder gently. He quietly nodded, then paused.

“Am I the first…?”

“No, the ‘real’ reincarnated Lucas was first, then Johann Werner, Erika, Colin, and now you. You get what I’m saying, right? After I disappeared, Erika spilled everything.”

“Right, Lucas was someone from another world. That souls really had switched…”

“Well, it was because of some weird magic. It’s complicated, but you’ll understand it. Now, go tell your company quickly. Say something urgent came up and you need to leave early.”

“What?”

“You need to see Erika, right? Will you feel comfortable going back to drinking like this?”

Daniel agreed.

“Lucas, you haven’t changed at all.”

“I’m not like you guys who aged and died. In my experience, I just disappeared from there and dropped into this world—it’s only been four months for me, you know? Come on, hurry. It’s time for Erika to get off work.”

***

With Daniel joining us, things flowed quite easily after that.

He became a reporter right after graduating university and had as wide a network and many sources as his long career would suggest. Having lived the longest in his past life, he remembered all the details of our friends’ activities.

Time passed slowly like that, and our friends returned one by one.

Oscar had become a dragon trainer as expected. I even found Ian right after discovering Oscar. He was a pilot who frequently visited the farm where Oscar worked. Not military—just a rich unemployed guy.

Surprisingly, Oscar was taking care of Sonya. Ian owned a dragon named Elizabeth.

I don’t know through what circumstances they ended up in the hands of their reincarnated masters, but anyway the dragons seemed to have regained their memories too, crying out happily in recognition, which was quite a surprise.

Georg was attending a pretty decent university’s journalism department, though not Lüdelheim Comprehensive University. Nina was hard to find, but unexpectedly she was right there next to him. When Georg said “Oh, could it be!” and brought his long-time girlfriend, it turned out to be Nina. They were even at the same university in the same department, which made me feel absurd.

The hardest to find was Richard.

He had become a doctor just like in his past life, but he was traveling around the world’s conflict zones doing medical volunteer work, so our meeting was delayed. If I hadn’t frantically collected every bit of information about the medical field, I might never have found him.

When they regained their memories, my friends’ reactions varied. Crying or laughing or getting angry or screaming. But there was one thing they all said as if they’d planned it.

“Brother! Why are you always so selfish!”

“That’s right, brother. Stirring up our lives like this.”

“Lucas, you really haven’t changed at all.”

“Well, Lucas is naturally like this.”

“Just as unpredictable as ever.”

The words about me being unpredictable and uncontrollable. I don’t know how many times I apologized to each person I met.

Redan Tavern gradually gained more regular customers. Since everyone has their own lives, we don’t gather every day, but whenever the time is right, we’d settle in there to drink or do our own things.

Whenever you visited Redan Tavern, you could always meet one or two former White Raven Order members.

“Please stop coming…”

The ‘real’ Lucas Redan suffered at first, but after a few months passed, he gave up as if enlightened and treated us as regular customers.

“Since you keep calling both of us Lucas and it’s confusing, couldn’t you just call me Marco instead?”

He even made this suggestion first.

Once all of White Raven Order was gathered, it became faster to find those who had been outside that boundary but connected to me.

Like Sophia Kohl, who had been working as a junior writer at a broadcasting station newsroom, or Emma who had become a bodyguard.

Meanwhile, I suffered from heavy workload as the Schufaben branch grew bigger and bigger, but I always made sure to free up weekends to meet my friends.

Well, besides work, small incidents kept breaking out so there was never a dull moment.

“Mr. Lucas! You’re truly amazing!”

It was a bit burdensome when Emma, who had been called the ‘ace of the security industry’ and even handled presidential security, started praising me with sparkling eyes after regaining her memories.

“Doctor, in my past life I never got to tell you…”

When Sophia, who had reunited with Richard, confessed that she’d actually had a secret crush on him, and it happened to be at Redan Tavern so it reached my ears, that was quite entertaining.

Well anyway, it all worked out well. In their past lives, everyone had been people who were hurting somewhere, but now they were all born into harmonious families and living happy lives.

“Is this also the influence of magic? No, no. It’s because we saved the country in our past lives.”

“What did you say?”

When I grinned, Lucas—no, Marco—tilted his head curiously.

“Oh, I said give me another beer.”

“Can’t you go home now?”

Marco sighed deeply as he served the beer. I giggled and whispered.

“Don’t want to.”

***

By the time Erika’s thesis was completed and she successfully received her doctoral degree, it had been well over a year since I’d come to Schufaben, and brilliant spring had come again.

On one sunny day, Georg and Nina’s wedding was held. Getting married right after graduating and finding jobs—they must have been really passionate.

The wedding was held in Georg’s family garden, and everyone with memories from our past life attended. Oh, naturally excluding the dragons and Johann.

Actually, by the time I returned to Schufaben, Johann had already closed his flower shop and disappeared somewhere. Or maybe he ran away from me.

‘Sharp guy.’

Since I gave him my business card, if he needs anything, he’ll probably contact me.

The wedding was absolutely beautiful.

The bride and groom read letters to each other, both families and relatives shed tears of happiness, and the lilac bouquet Nina threw landed right in Erika’s arms. After everyone’s congratulations, the reception began.

“Nina really is beautiful.”

Erika said while sitting at a garden table, watching the couple dance happily.

“Huh? You’re prettier though.”

“Gack! Cough! Cough!”

“Mr. Lucas, you’re so romantic!”

When I casually replied, Oscar, who had been drinking nearby, started suffering. Emma’s eyes sparkled again. While Daniel patted Oscar’s back, I focused on the food in front of me.

“As expected of Georg. He remembered.”

On the plate was lemon cake shining bright yellow like the sun.

It was my favorite food from my past life. Oscar had teased Georg about it, asking him to definitely serve lemon cake at the wedding. Using my name to tease him—now that I think about it, it’s funny.

“Hehe, huh, right. Georg is smart. But forgetting this would be strange. In his past life too, when he married Nina, he served lemon cake. Since you had disappeared, it was meant as a memorial.”

Oscar, who had stopped coughing, said.

“Really? I’m grateful for this. It was quite a symbolic food.”

I smiled as I ate the cake. It tasted bright yellow like sunlight.

After reuniting with my friends, I spent countless days at Redan Tavern listening to how they had lived in their past lives.

Georg and Nina got married, but lost their first baby to an incurable disease and suffered in grief.

One night, drunk Georg told me this story while crying. He confessed his fear that the same thing might happen in this life too.

“Brother, remember Theodore? My younger brother Theodore who was adopted by another family when he was little. After you disappeared, I went to look for him. He would have grown up by then, but I really wanted to find him. But when I went to that house, they said he was already dead. He went to a student protest and was beaten to death by police. I wanted to name my son Theodore if I had one. But after that, our couple couldn’t have children. Nina became unable to bear children. We lived happily together as just the two of us, but brother, I missed Theodore. I wanted to have a child too. But brother, why am I an only child in this life? Where did Theodore go?”

At that time, I read depths of life in his eyes that I couldn’t fathom.

I lived as Choi Hyeon-su, as Lucas Redan, and again as Choi Hyeon-su. Even adding those three lifetimes together, it doesn’t amount to one person’s life.

But when my friends combine their past and present life memories, they approach or even exceed 100 years.

In this life, right now, everyone is still young. Even with memories from their past lives, their bodies and brains that haven’t aged yet move cheerfully and vibrantly. But the occasional heavy anguish and wisdom unbefitting young people gave me feelings of guilt.

‘Everyone said thank you, though.’

After regaining their memories, not one friend blamed me. They all rejoiced at being freed from the discomfort that had clung to them like leeches, and were grateful to meet their past life connections again.

In their long lives, the part I occupied was only about 5 years. I was just someone who appeared briefly and disappeared, yet they all treated me as if I were a lifelong best friend.

Our bonds became more intertwined and tangled together, and White Raven Order became—no, became even more solid and closer than before.

But sometimes, very occasionally, I found myself looking back. Was it really the right thing to do?

‘Ah, I don’t know. I already did it. I should just enjoy it.’

I shook my head and finished off the cake completely, then drank lemon soda too. Speaking of lemon cake, the head chef at Rubellia’s White Palace was the best.

“There are still many people I haven’t found.”

“Who else do you want to find?”

When I muttered, Daniel turned his head and asked.

“Queen Marianne, Edvart, Ameli, and Oliver. Oliver too.”

I couldn’t find even a trace of Damier and Oliver no matter how much I searched. Maybe they weren’t reincarnated.

“It’s about time you rested a little, Lucas.”

“Rest? There’s no resting when it comes to meeting friends.”

When I answered lightly, Daniel smiled with a troubled expression.

***

Not long after the wedding, it was a weekend. I was rolling around on the living room sofa playing with Colin for the first time in a while when the doorbell suddenly rang.

“Who is it?”

Thinking it was a delivery person, I opened the door without much thought. What I saw was an elf with a sharp impression.

“Good day. Mr. Lucas Redan.”

“……”

For a moment I was so surprised I thought my heart would stop. I was even more surprised by the pure white face that appeared from behind him.

“Mr. Redan! It’s been so long!”

“Ha, ha, ha, Hannah!!”

I screamed and nearly fell over. Hannah was grinning at me, looking exactly the same as when I’d last seen her 100 years ago.

“What on earth…”

“Oh, this is Ashtard. You’ve heard of him, right?”

Of course I had. That bomb terrorist that Fael and Namir rescued from the Great Desert. He became Namir’s subordinate, I heard, but I’d never seen his face before.

“I’ve come to deliver an invitation.”

Ashtard held out a simple white envelope.

「To a friend who faithfully fulfilled our contract.」

It was written in Fa-Elhar’s beautiful script.