Episode 648 What's Your Name? 2

"Oh…"

Ghislain's eyes widened in wonder.

Was this what the Saintess had meant when she said they would meet again? Had he traveled back to the past within a dream?

Unlike previous dreams, where he was merely an observer, he could now move freely and interact with others.

Ghislain grinned, amused by the novelty. However, Julien shouted in exasperation, "He's broken again! Completely useless!"

A girl standing a short distance away wore a distressed expression.

"What? Really? Why is he acting like that now?!"

She looked like nothing more than a simple village girl—clothes dusty and old, her hair tangled. No one passing by would have given her a second glance.

But if anyone knew who she was, they would fall to their knees in reverence.

"The Saintess?"

Ghislain's question made the girl recoil in surprise.

"What's wrong with him?! He's calling me the Saintess!"

The girl was holding a mace. Judging by her worn priest's robes, she seemed to be a battle cleric.

Of course, she didn't exude the overwhelming power of someone like Parniel. Her presence was that of an ordinary cleric at best.

Julien and the girl were in the midst of a fight with someone. Judging by their rough, mismatched attire and grim looks, their opponents appeared to be bandits.

Thwack! Thwack! Thwack!

Despite their youthful appearances, the duo displayed decent skill. The bandits charging at them were swiftly beaten down.

They weren't as overwhelmingly powerful as Ghislain had seen in his previous dreams, but they were still competent fighters, roughly on par with average knights.

Meanwhile, Ghislain merely stood there, fascinated by the scene unfolding before him.

"Die, you bastard!"

Suddenly, a bandit swung an axe at Ghislain from the side.

His body reacted instinctively. Spinning his staff, Ghislain struck the bandit's chin.

Thud!

The bandit collapsed instantly. Julien, noticing this, gawked in astonishment.

"What the—?! How did you do that all of a sudden?"

Ghislain didn't respond, staring at his own hands with a perplexed expression.

"This… isn't my body?"

Even as he moved, he felt an odd sense of disconnection. The proportions were off.

His hands were smaller. His arms and legs were shorter.

While Julien and the Saintess looked slightly younger than their dream counterparts, they were nearly full-grown.

But Ghislain's body felt entirely different. It was significantly smaller than his real form.

"This… could it be…"

Among the hero's companions, there had been one boy who always wore a gloomy expression. The smallest of them all—a 9th-Circle mage.

Realizing this, Ghislain immediately examined his body.

"…Oh."

Sure enough, he felt an immense magical power radiating from his heart. At the very least, he was at the level of a 5th-Circle mage.

He looked too young to be an adult, yet his magical prowess was extraordinary. A true prodigy.

"So… I've taken over someone else's body?"

It felt as though the scattered pieces of a puzzle were finally coming together.

He vividly recalled what the Saintess had told him in his dreams:

—Did you see it?

—Was it helpful to you? I was told it would be.

—I don't know you well, but my mage friend spoke of you often.

—Our friend from the future.

As Ghislain pieced it together, chills ran down his spine.

At the time, her words had made no sense. They had sounded completely absurd.

But now…

'So that's what the mage meant!'

Somehow, he was witnessing the past while inhabiting the mage's body. Not only could he move freely, but he could also communicate with others.

The mage must have anticipated this and informed the Saintess in advance. They had ensured he would see something useful.

'Could it be that I'm the one who passed it on?'

Though he didn't yet understand all the details, he could infer much based on what the Saintess had said.

"Wow, is this really possible?"

Fascinated, Ghislain examined his body closely. Julien and the Saintess watched him with expressions that screamed disbelief.

Julien suddenly shouted, "Hey! He's escaping! The boss is running away!"

"Huh?"

Ghislain turned his head. Sure enough, someone was fleeing at full speed.

Judging by his pace, the man was quite skilled. For a bandit leader, he had abilities comparable to a knight.

"Let's go after him! We can't let him get away!" Julien yelled, taking off after the man. The Saintess followed suit, and Ghislain ran after them.

Years of mercenary experience had taught Ghislain one thing: in urgent situations, action was more important than overthinking.

As he ran, he observed Julien and the Saintess with a smile.

'Is it because they're still young?'

Clearly, the hero and his companions hadn't yet reached their peak. That explained their struggle to catch the fleeing man.

'They're strong for their age, but…'

Compared to the overwhelming strength he had witnessed in his dreams, they seemed almost adorable in their efforts.

"The gap is too big! Astion! Use some magic! Slow him down!" Julien shouted, glancing back at Ghislain.

Ghislain tilted his head, as if to ask, Who's Astion?

The Saintess, running alongside him, shot him an incredulous look. "Astion is you, idiot!"

"Oh, right. That's me?"

The Saintess nodded, exasperated.

"Hmm…"

As he ran, Ghislain pondered. How was he supposed to use magic?

He didn't know any spells. What use was magical power without knowledge of the proper incantations? He could imitate spells using mana, but it would be inefficient.

After a moment of contemplation, he pulled back his staff. There was one "spell" he had learned from Jerome in his past life.

"Let's give it a shot. Magic."

Ghislain was already proficient in manipulating magical energy. Dark's power was close to magic, and his mana techniques had been inspired by magical tomes.

Drawing on his innate strength, he began manipulating his magical energy like mana techniques.

Drdrdr…

The staff in his hand trembled as his power surged, not into the staff but directly into his arms and hands.

With a swift motion, Ghislain hurled the staff forward.

Whoosh!

The staff flew at tremendous speed, striking the back of the bandit leader's head.

Crash!

"Guh!"

The bandit leader stumbled forward, blood dripping from his head. He was resilient enough to survive but visibly weakened.

The Saintess stared at Ghislain in disbelief. "What… was that? Magic?"

Ghislain brushed back his hair and replied, "Ah… you wouldn't understand. That's a technique called 'Magic Missile.'"

In his past life, Jerome had used the same excuse.

The bandit leader, staggering to his feet, tried to flee again, but Julien had already caught up.

Slash!

Julien's sword slashed across the bandit leader's back.

"Ugh…"

The leader turned, attempting to retaliate, but Julien was faster.

Shhk!

His sword sliced the bandit leader's throat. Blood sprayed as the man collapsed.

"Phew…"

Julien wiped the sweat from his brow and sighed in relief.

As Ghislain arrived, Julien fixed him with a cold stare. "That thing you just did… was that really magic?"

"Ah… When you step beyond logic, anything can be magic."

"You know you're acting really weird, right?"

"Of course. I'm fully aware."

"…."

"And by the way," Julien added, narrowing his eyes, "you're weird too."

"Me? How?"

"There's just… something about you."

Julien furrowed his brow, tilting his head in confusion. Watching his reaction, Ghislain couldn't help but grin.

'He may look like Julien, but his personality's completely different.'

The hero was brimming with passion—completely opposite to the cold, detached Julien Ghislain knew in reality.

The Saintess, having confirmed the bandit leader's death, interrupted, "We need to go save Kyle and the others!"

Julien nodded. "Right. They'll be inside."

He sprinted toward the largest building, with Ghislain following close behind. Curious, he asked the Saintess, "Who's Kyle?"

"Kyle is Kyle! What kind of question is that? Why are you acting so strange?"

"Hmm…"

Ghislain sighed internally. How was he supposed to explain this situation without sounding insane?

This wasn't his first time in a bizarre situation. When in doubt, it was best to go along with things and wait for the right moment to act.

'First, I regress to my younger self, and now I'm in the past in someone else's body. What's next?'

Taking over someone else's body was a novel experience. He wondered if the body's original owner would eventually explain everything to the others.

As they ran, Ghislain thought back to something the Saintess had said in the dream.

'At first, she didn't know me.'

Only the mage had recognized him. The Saintess had said she learned about Ghislain from the mage.

'But later… she said she knew me well.'

Could this current situation be the reason? Was it through this encounter that the Saintess came to know him?

'Ugh, my head hurts.'

Deciding to leave such questions to the mages, Ghislain focused on his task.

'Let's figure out what happened in the past.'

With that knowledge, it would be easier to confront his adversary upon returning to the present. He might even uncover additional clues—or answers to whatever Ereneth was hiding.

'But how do I wake up from this?'

He couldn't stay in this body forever. With that in mind, Ghislain reached out to Dark.

'Dark.'

—M…aster.

'Oh, you're here too?'

Dark's voice echoed in his mind. Apparently, since Dark existed within his consciousness, he had also been brought into this strange realm.

—Ugh! I thought I was going to die from dizziness! What is this place?!

Dark groaned, clearly distressed. Ghislain ignored him and asked, 'How's my real body? And the others?'

'I don't know! I got yanked here so suddenly. Hold on, I'll check.'

Dark went silent for a moment.

—M…aster…

Then, after a long pause, his voice returned—slow and labored.

'What is it? What's going on?'

—I can't… go…

'What do you mean?'

—I tried to check, but my body suddenly got so heavy! I can't move! Everything's slowed down!

'Slowed… down?'

—Yes! Time flows differently! I'm sure of it!

'Ah…'

Ghislain quickly understood. Though he had traveled to the past, it wasn't a physical journey.

This was more like a dream, where only his consciousness inhabited someone else's body. Naturally, the time flow was different.

In a way, this was a blessing.

'I guess I can relax for now.'

Time in reality was moving incredibly slowly. Even if he spent a long time here, it wouldn't matter much.

'The others will take good care of me.'

Ghislain wasn't overly worried about his real body. After all, he was surrounded by some of the continent's strongest warriors. They would keep him safe.

'For now, let's uncover the truth.'

With a sly grin, Ghislain turned his focus to the task at hand. While those in reality worried about him, he remained remarkably carefree.

That was his nature—rather than stressing, he preferred to adapt and push through.

As they ran, Ghislain asked the Saintess, "By the way… what's your name?"

Given their camaraderie, he spoke casually. The Saintess clicked her tongue and replied, "Why do you keep acting so weird? Do you really not remember, or are you just pretending?"

"Ah… there's a reason for it. I'll explain later."

He figured the body's original owner would eventually clarify everything.

The Saintess opened her mouth to retort but stopped herself, shaking her head instead. Ghislain chuckled at her reaction.

Clearly, the mage had always been a bit odd.

Letting out a heavy sigh, the Saintess finally said, "It's Deneb. My name is Deneb."

Hearing this, Ghislain's jaw dropped.

That name… it was incredibly familiar.

An astonished voice escaped him.

"My… cosmetics?"

The name of the continent's best-selling product was none other than the Saintess's name.