Chapter 25: Chapter 24: Psychic Injury

The Hero Became a Mousegirl
Chapter 24: Psychic Injury

 

“Come on Aurii, please,” I sat on the floor in Auriel’s room, gazing up at her as she sat on her bed. 

“You just want me because you know I have Bahram’s memories,” Auriel grumbled, looking as if she was about to start crying. 

“No, I want you because I like you. Plus having someone who can disrupt magic would be amazing.” 

“You can counter magic with magic, you don’t need me.” 

“I still want you.” 

“You’ve already got Myra and the stupid vampire girl, and Kaphis. That’s four, you really don’t need me.” 

“I was going to ask Kaphis to stay behind and protect Syene. If anyone ever finds out she is helping us forge people’s batons, she could be in grave danger. I’d be a terrible hero if I allowed my adoptive mother to take on such a dangerous role and didn’t leave anyone behind to ensure her safety.” 

“I’ll protect Syene, so take Kaphis.” 

“Did I do something to make you upset at me Aurii?” 

Auriel flushed bright pink, turning so that I couldn’t see her face. “I’m not upset at you. I just, I don’t even know who I am anymore. Why do I want you to like me? Is it because you’re cute and Myra loves you? Or is it because I know you’re the same Caelan that shows up in my dreams. Do I want to follow you because I want it, or do I want to follow you because Bahram wants it? I’m so confused and I can’t stand it!” 

“What if… we could erase Bahram’s memories? Or at least contain them somehow, do you think you’d be happier that way?” 

“Of course I’d be happier that way! Is it even possible…?” 

“Well, if anyone would know it would be the vampire you’re so jealous of,” I grinned. “Mind if I ask for her assistance? I might have to explain your situation in a bit more detail than you’d like.” 

“If you can do it… but we’ve talked about it so much, wouldn’t erasing him also erase all of my memories of you?” 

“We’ll have to think about it, I’m sure if we put our heads together we can come up with something that works.” 

“Please talk to her then.” 

“Are you going to give me kisses if she can help?” 

“W-What are you talking about?!” Auriel squealed grabbing one of the pillows from her bed and tossing it at my face. 

“I was just thinking about how I wanted more pillows, thank you Aurii. This one smells like you too, since I don’t have any of Myra’s yet, I’m sure this one will be my favorite.” 

“Give it back, pervert!” 

Giggling I jumped up and tried to run from Auriel’s room, only to have her catch me by the tip of my tail. As my tail stretched out between us I felt a burst of pain from the base of my spine, intense enough to take my breath away. Stumbling backward into Auriel the two of us fell to the floor, our bodies tangled into one another. 

“That hurts a lot more than I expected it to,” I groaned, burying my face in Auriel’s chest. “Tails are such a liability.” 

“Sorry, I didn’t mean to hurt you. I thought you were resistant to pain.” 

“I used to be. Ever since I was reborn though, things hurt more than they did before,” I replied, thinking back to the pain I’d experienced just trying to get the bookshelf in the castle to open. 

“Did you lose any of your skills?” 

“No. If I had to guess it is because this body isn’t conditioned the way my previous one was. My father beat me to the brink of death quite frequently during my hero training, maybe he damaged the former me to the point that pain just didn’t register anymore.” 

“That… Caelan, I’m so sorry you had to go through that.” 

“It’s okay, the bastard’s been dead long enough that nobody even remembers him. I’ll have to change how I fight and try to limit the number of hits I sustain. Perhaps I’ll start focusing more on using magic more often than my sword.” 

“That reminds me… in my memories you have a powerful artifact sword, but I don’t see you with it now. Was it destroyed?” 

“It survived until recently, I destroyed it myself. Or at least, I think I destroyed it.” 

“If Stelyrus were to revive, could you kill it without the sword?” 

“Not now, that’s why I’m so concerned with growing stronger. It’s also why I need you Aurii, if something were to happen I’m not powerful enough to take care of everything on my own. I need all the allies I can get.” 

“Do you intend to sleep with every ally you recruit?” 

“What’s that supposed to mean? I haven’t slept with any of my allies.” 

“Myra said yesterday she found the vampire in your bed, and you slept in her room last night.” 

“We really only slept in the same bed, I don’t think it’s anything like what you’re probably imagining.” 

“Will you sleep in my bed tonight?” 

“Don’t you want Bahram’s memories to be taken care of first?” 

“I’m trying to make memories where we don’t talk about him, just in case. I don’t want to forget you.” 

“Wouldn’t you rather sleep with Myra?” 

“That wouldn’t reduce my worries that I’m going to forget you.” 

“Well, why don’t all three of us sleep together tonight? Myra and I are really small, it should be easy for all of us to fit on your bed.” 

You are reading story The Hero Became a Mousegirl at novel35.com

“You’re not going to invite the vampire?” 

“She can’t sleep, so there’s no point.” 

I allowed myself to remain tangled up with Auriel for a bit longer, enjoying the warmth of her. Unlike Cesarina’s body that was warmed with magic, Auriel’s natural body heat was a bit milder, and it came with the quiet sound of her breath, and the feeling of her chest rising and falling against me. It was soothing, but embarrassment soon took over and I couldn’t allow myself to enjoy it any longer. 

Standing I left Auriel’s pillow with her, noted my intention to find Cesarina and fled from the room. It was a bit scary to feel my heart racing as I tried to shake free of the feeling of cuddling with Auriel. Myra and I had only just begun dating, and though she often joked about harems and asking her before I was unfaithful, I didn’t want to harm her trust in me. A relationship with just her was enough, I didn’t need anyone else.

Cesarina was exactly where I imagined she’d be. Sandwiched between two massive piles of books in the manor’s library.  

“Find anything interesting?” 

“It’s all interesting,” Cesarina noted placing a marker in the book she was reading before closing it. “Even if the entire book is just the diary of a random dowager, it is interesting. I always have something to learn.” 

“Really?” I sat across from her at the table. “Well I’m glad you’re having fun, though I’ve come to you with a bit of a problem I need your help with.” 

“I’ll do anything within my power to assist you Caelan.” 

“Can you remove select memories from a person’s mind?” 

“Like blocking out something really bad that’s happened to them?” 

“Yeah, something like that.” 

“Hmm. With dark magic it is possible to obfuscate memories, it’d be like mind control, but more surgical in its application. The issue however would be that I’d have to be able to delve into the other person’s mind to make it selective. I don’t have access to magic that can do that.”

“You don’t have any spells that allow you to read minds?” 

“According to the books I’ve read, only oracles have ever had access to such magic, it’s part of the powers of clairvoyance they received. Without any oracles, or ways to mimic their powers, it’s impossible.”

“I was afraid you’d say that. I had hope because I know vampires have their own special magic for mind control, but I guess even that has limits.” 

“I’d have to bite the person I was tending to, and drain a considerable amount of their blood to read their mind like that. I have no idea what that’d do to me, and since it’d be my first time, I’m not sure I’d even achieve results if you approved it.” 

 Laying my head on the table I considered everything Cesarina had said. There were two major problems with relying on her vampirism like this. The first being, once she’d consumed blood it was possible she’d never be able to suppress the cravings for it again. The second, that we’d torture Auriel in the attempt and fail to make her suffering worth it. 

“Is there something you’d like to forget Caelan?” 

“No, something Auriel would like to forget. She’s been plagued by memories that are not her own, and she’s starting to unravel because of it. It’s pretty obvious that she’s suffering, and I hate not being able to do anything about it.” 

“Memories that aren’t her own?” 

I nodded. 

“She’s someone’s reincarnation then?” 

“You’ve heard of reincarnations before?” 

“It’s rare but those who experienced events of intense magical discharge during their lives, whether they survived or were killed during it, tend to reawaken in the future. There are only a few accounts of it happening, but I have read a couple books researching the topic.” 

“Please tell me everything you know.” 

“Well for the reincarnations I’ve read about, they all regained the memories of their former lives directly after experiencing puberty. For each of them, they retained the same physical sex, class, and race they’d had previously. Even if they were born in a completely different place, to a bloodline unique from their former selves. One of the reincarnations is quite peculiar as she was born an elf, despite having two human parents.”

“No sign her mother cheated on her father?” 

“She was a full blooded elf, not a half-elf. It’s genetically impossible.” 

“That makes Auriel a complete outlier then. She has neither the same gender, nor the same class as her predecessor. Even her race has changed, as her former self was a dwarf.” 

“Poor girl, no wonder she’s trying to free herself of the memories, they’re completely discordant with who she is. If you’d permit me a chance to return to my guild, I could look into this further. It may be possible to create a trigger for erasing the memories, something like ‘all memories where you are a dwarf should be forgotten’. Then I could remove them, without having to see them.” 

“How long should I expect this to take you?” 

“A week, maybe?” 

“That long?” 

“I want to be diligent and not just return with a half-baked solution.”

“Should we remain here and wait on you? Or would it be okay if I get Auriel signed up at the local guild and take her out on a quest or two?” 

“Feel free to do whatever your heart desires, Caelan. I can use magic to find you when I need you.” 

“Really? I thought only holy magic could be used for tracking.” 

Cesarina smiled, “my approach is pretty unique, and it only works because of how rare mousekin are in this region. I promise I can find you.” 

“Alright, return to the guild, dig up whatever you can find.” 

“Will do. Stay safe Caelan.” 

“Always.” 

You can find story with these keywords: The Hero Became a Mousegirl, Read The Hero Became a Mousegirl, The Hero Became a Mousegirl novel, The Hero Became a Mousegirl book, The Hero Became a Mousegirl story, The Hero Became a Mousegirl full, The Hero Became a Mousegirl Latest Chapter