Is the Neighbor an Angel? (Part 2)

"Angel's Wisdom? Sounds like some kind of sage or grand sage skill, huh. Unlike in light novels, I'm not a shut-in, and I actually had a girlfriend (well, past tense). I'm a pretty well-adjusted person, you know."

"What's that? Don't go saying things I don't understand. Angel's Wisdom is the ability to remember everything you see, hear or read without missing a single detail. In your case, not only will you be able to recall everything you experience from now on, but you should also be able to remember your past experiences in detail. Try recalling your kindergarten entrance ceremony, for example."

Why kindergarten? I thought, but I tried to remember that time. Thinking about it, my earliest memory might actually be from my kindergarten entrance ceremony. I remember being led by my mother through the kindergarten gate. I don't recall much about the ceremony itself, but I do remember being separated from my mom and moving to the classroom with the other kids. The boy next to me started crying uncontrollably and even wet himself. That was a mess.

As I reminisced, I tried to recall the details of that day.

"Wha—!?"

The color and shape of the kindergarten gate, my mother's appearance, the scene around me—everything came back to me with startling clarity. When I looked up at my mom, I could even make out the details of her hairstyle, her makeup, and the number of petals on the flower decoration pinned to her chest.

Back then, my mom was 28 years old. Looking at her now, she was stunningly beautiful.

After the entrance ceremony ended, I was separated from my mom and led by the teacher to the classroom with the other kids.

"Ah, I think this is when the boy next to me started crying."

But as I thought that—

"Waaah! Mommy! Where's my mommy! Nooo! Mommy!"

—it turned out I was the one who started crying.

"KYAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA—!!"

Liliel's high-pitched laughter echoed around me.

"You thought it was the boy next to you who started crying, didn't you? But when you unravel your memories, it was actually you! How funny! You've been rewriting your memories to suit your convenience! You've got talent, I'll give you that!"

I was furious, but now that I thought about it, it did seem like it might have been me. I knew humans had a tendency to alter inconvenient memories, but I never thought I'd done it too...

"Ugh, just kill me..."

I muttered out of sheer embarrassment.

"You've been reading too many light novels!"

Of all people, I didn't want to hear that from her.

I shook off the embarrassment and tried recalling other memories. I could remember the exact questions from my high school and university entrance exams. I could even recall the articles, research papers, and Wikipedia entries I'd read.

"This ability is amazing."

"Right? Right? That's Angel's Wisdom for you! Now do you get how incredible I am?"

"I get that it's amazing, but why don't you seem all that smart?"

"How dare you say that! I have 18,000 years of detailed memories!"

"Ah, so you have the memories but can't use them properly. Got it, got it."

"Kyaaa! How can you say such things to an angel!?"

"..."

"You just thought something horrible, didn't you? 'An 18,000-year-old loli granny'? What do you mean, granny!? I'm youthful! Among angels, I'm considered young, you know!"

"Huh? You can even read my thoughts? I can't hide anything from you, can I?"

"Of course not! Our souls have merged, after all!"

I could practically see her smug expression in my mind.

"But it doesn't seem like you can read my innermost thoughts. Isn't that a bit unfair?"

"Hmm, I've never heard of an angel merging with a human before, so I'm not sure. Maybe it's because my soul is of a higher order than yours?"

Still, with this skill that lets me recall my past memories in such detail, Liliel's claims were starting to sound more credible.

"Anyway, it's weird just hearing your voice in the darkness. Can't you show me what you look like or something?"

"Fine. Since we might be spending 'an eternity' together, I'll show you my true form."

Particles of light gathered and gradually coalesced into a glowing humanoid shape. A halo formed above its head.

"So angel halos really do exist... But why does it look kinda hunched over?"

The glowing figure had a humanoid shape, but the details were unclear. It looked hunched, with stiff shoulders, almost like Jamila. As the light dimmed, the details became clearer.

"!!!!!!!!????"

I could see white, ominous ribs protruding from its sides, and its shoulders looked like they had giant white barnacles growing on them. Its face, pale like porcelain, was...

"Sachiel?"

It looked exactly like Sachiel, the Angel from the first episode of Evangelion...

"Oh, no, that's not it. You were imagining some weird creature when you thought of an angel, so it influenced my appearance."

Apparently, that wasn't her true form. I felt a little relieved.

The Sachiel-like creature dissolved back into particles of light and began to coalesce again.

This time, what appeared was a beautiful girl with orange hair that reached down to her waist. She looked about 15 years old and had a somewhat sharp personality. For some reason, she was wearing a white blouse and a light blue sailor-style uniform.

"W-wait, is that Asuka Langley Soryu??"

"Huh? Who's that? Seems like your imagination influenced me again. Well, this is close enough. This outfit isn't great, though. I can change it anytime, so no big deal. Is this your taste? I'll have to take a look at your subconscious later."

"Don't go poking around in my subconscious!"

"Don't be like that. Humans have a good saying, don't they? 'Wu and Yue sharing the same boat.'"

"No, that's about enemies reluctantly cooperating..."

"Or was it 'sharing the same fate'? Whatever, the details don't matter!"

It seemed like my image of an angel was influencing her appearance. Do I really think of Asuka Langley Soryu as an angel? Well, maybe it's because her way of talking reminds me of Asuka. That's probably why she ended up looking like this.