𝐌𝐑. 𝐑𝐄𝐂𝐀

ー time travel aspect certainly doesn't hurt, either..."

ー always agree to these things?" He asked his Assistant Director atop the couch and earned a nonchalant croak in turn.

"I guess you're right. I'd be insane to turn away a masterpiece in the making when it comes knocking on my door."

A chuckle came to him.

"People love a good tragedy. The ー

𝐿𝑎𝑡𝑒𝑟 𝑡ℎ𝑎𝑡 𝑑𝑎𝑦...

After finishing his workーcorrecting essays of students who, by the looks of it, hadn't so much as held a camera in their lives prior to enrolling in his courseーReca looked up at the clock.

His main actor for the day had fifteen system minutes left to arrive.

"Why do I ー

"Not too long ago," he said, tapping a finger against his chin in thought.

"...A hundred years, give or take? Some of my best works wouldn't have seen the light of day if it wasn't for her contributions."

ー duration of my stay in Penacony. I'll be expecting you there at ten in the eveningー I work better when there's no noise outside."

Jotting down the address on a smaller slip of paper, Reca left it on the table before leaving the room.

"Don't be late! I loathe tardiness."

ー chose to part with an unpleasant memory to begin with. Or a hundred, in your case," he added, looking like he couldn't decide between being excited and bursting out in tears.

This better be worth his time.

"Paperfold University, as it happens, has provided me with personal lodging for the ー

"Very good," he nodded as the paper returned to his hands and disappeared as soon as he'd added his own signature and rolled it up.

"I wouldn't recommend erasing all traces of it, anyway. There's nothing keeping you from making the same mistakes twice if you can't remember why you ー

"Excellent! I do not recall giving my number out, but this makes things a lot easier," he chuckled.

"Look at her..."

Will the entirety of the student body have seen this picture by the end of the day? Most certainly so.

ー it's truly what you want, then..."

ー pen.

"I am obligated to tell you that the process cannot be revoked and that they cannot be restored if you, for whatever reason, change your mind after the fact."

Reca ended his explanations with an impatient gesture towards the dotted line at the bottom.

"You get the gist of it. If ー

ー snatched it.

"As usual, I'll be given the rights to everything I chooseーor am given permissionーto erase from your memory," he said, sounding like he'd recited these lines a thousand times over.

The sheet of paper, which turned out to be a contract, was placed in front of Caelusー along with a ー

"I'm the 𝐛𝐞𝐬𝐭 option you got, thank you. I can think of a few others who could be swayed to take a look at it, but... the mere thought of an amateur touching this..."

He shuddered.

With a snap of his fingers, a sheet of paper appeared out of thin air and remained in a floating state until he ー

ー happens to entice you, you know where to find me, hm?

I'd be lying if I said I wouldn't love to take a closer look at this troubled mind of yours... huhuhu.

...Allow me to clear up this misunderstanding lest I disappoint you further.

I'm capable of tampering with memories of an event, not the event itselfー I could snip out those pesky bits and pieces that torment you so, but that'll only change your very own perception of what's real.

If that ー

No can doーI'm afraid changing reality isn't part of my job description.

Shame you messed up your shot at it.

ー what you're asking here. This isn't done in a single afternoon..."

ー knowing where to even start with this one.

The annoyance bubbling in his chest wasn't letting up. Something told him that it wouldn't for a while.

"Here I was thinking I'd have a simple chat with you and you're confronting me with this mammoth of a task. I hope you realize the scope of ー

...

It's a mess is what it is.

He wasn't afraid to call it thatー though not out loud out of consideration for a fledgling actor that was in a deep-enough state of distraught already.

Reca wasn't about to make matters worse if he could help it.

"Phooey..." He rubbed at his temples, not ー

Don't mind himー he comes and goes as he pleases at times.

"I hope you have a splendid day!"

"You took a picture?" He's more thrilled about that than he should be, clapping his hands together.

"That's the spirit! Seize the opportunity! I must have a copy of it."

ー Black Swan for help? Ah, don't actually answer that. I take it she denied you. I'll never understand her being such a stickler for the rules..."

ー impression I'm giving off, but I'm afraid it is plain wrong."

Crossing his arms in front of his chest, he stares at him for a while.

Despite his better judgment, he delves into Caelus's mind one more time, searching for more pieces to add to the figurative puzzle.

"Why don't you ask ー

"There's a limit to what I can reasonably deduct from what I see," Reca replied with a touch of annoyance in his voice.

"I'm not this all-knowing, all-encompassing deus ex machina that's capable of solving everyone's problems. I'm oh-so humbled by the knowledge that it seems to be the ー

👀

📸

He took a commemorative shot of it and handed it to her.

"Free of charge."

"Oho! I was wondering where she is..."

A fond smile.

"Who are we to disturb her when she's sleeping so peacefully?"

ー that," he drawled.

"Why're you asking?"

ー at the hand of memetic viruses on this planet and wasn't keen on dealing with another.

But...

"A single day and all of its possibilitiesー where others make a decision to choose one outcome, you've been through all of them. It isn't something I see every day, I'll give you ー

A humorless chuckle left him.

"I was wondering if you'd ever bring it up. I saw it the moment you first set foot into my classroom... a jumbled mess of one and the same thing."

Curiosity or not, he didn't sound as thrilled as one might've expected. He's had one too many near-death experiences ー

ー for the time being.

For what it was worth, however, he'd piqued the Memokeeper's interest with that.

"So? You said you wanted to talk to me. Talk! Contrary to what everyone on Penacony seems to believe, I'm a busy man."