He didn't remember any of these memories Brynhildr was showing him. His mixed feelings quickly changed, and in the end, Klaus felt utterly bewildered.
A specific memory played out.
"Ouch, Freda!"
"Klaus, if you don't hurry up, we'll come to school late!"
The sixteen-year-old Klaus straightened the wrinkles on his long sleeve white school uniform and sighed. "You don't have to hit me every time you want me to do something."
His fourteen-year-old younger sister Freda smirked at his statement. She had pulled out her shoes from the shoe rack. Right then, Klaus could see that her ponytailed blond hair had a smooth sheen to it. It must be the new shampoo she bought the day before.
"Be careful, you two!" Their mother bid them farewell with a smile.
"I can't put it in. Klaus, help me!"
With a sharp glare, Freda turned for her brother's help. She was hopeless. Her brother looked at her wryly.
"Seriously? I'm sure I'd taught you how to do it. You're not in elementary anymore, you know." While Klaus did complain for a moment, though, he grabbed his school bag and took one stride to her side. He swept his gaze up and down.
Freda had a green jacket zipped loosely over her school uniform. Her blue eyes and blond hair were reflective of her foreign origin, unlike Klaus, who only inherited their parents' blue eyes and had black hair.
"What are you dreaming about, Klaus? My shoe!"
Annoying.
"Okay, okay." Klaus swiftly tied her white shoes and sighed afterward. "Now, whose fault that we'll be late?"
"Only a couple of minutes. You're exaggerating."
He could say the same!
Klaus watched as Freda darted out of the front door and took her seat at the back of a car waiting outside. After Klaus entered the car after her, their father smiled at them from the driver's seat.
See, unlike Klaus, who was bespectacled, his father was quite handsome. This forty-years-old man had his blond hair combed backward, and it had a slight sheen to it similar to Freda's hair. His body was well built, and this made him appear younger to most people.
It was worth mentioning that he usually drove his children to school on his way to the office. And yes, he was the CEO of a successful smartphone company. Despite his busy schedule, he never forgot his responsibilities as a parent. He would spend time with his family, especially during the holidays.
"Do you have everything inside your bag?" asked the father.
"Yes!"
"Everything is in here, Dad."
"Oh, great. Let's get going then." The father pushed the pedal, and his car started moving, gaining speed once he was on the main road.
"See you after school."
Klaus waved at Freda and his father before he went into the school building. During lunch, he quickly got up from his seat and walked briskly to the rooftop.
"Ah-ha! I knew you're here," Klaus exclaimed.
Freda was eating a flimsy sandwich all by herself when her brother barged into her private, lonely space. Though being on a rooftop alone was just not that private when anyone could come in here. The students have access to this place, and they could spend some time here whenever they feel like it.
"You're disturbing me again," Freda said with a bitter tone.
"Hmm, you don't say."
"I guess not having that many friends had made you so desperate as to spend your lunchtime with me."
"Er, well, a good brother won't let his sister eats alone. Besides, you're anemic. You need someone to check up on you."
Klaus sat next to Freda with his back against the metal railing.
Freda stared at the floor with brooding eyes. "You shouldn't have brought that up."
"Have you taken your pills this morning?"
Klaus was merely worried about her. An exemplary brother would think about his sister's health more so than her friends or colleagues would. Someone had described him as clingy to his sister. Rather than clingy, the better term for this would be "caring."
He was well aware that him coming to her side at every chance he had could be seen as annoying. Anyone would feel unpleasant if someone were to bother him or her at the wrong time.
But still, Freda's condition was not ordinary.
There had been times when she would collapse where no one was near her, and this could endanger her life. She had no friends, so the risk increased further up. It made a lot of sense for Klaus to sacrifice his own free time to be with her.
"I did take them this morning." Freda glanced at Klaus. "You don't have to worry about me too much."
"Was curious, that's all. I mean, you collapsed a few times before where no one was near you. Mom panicked when it first happened."
"So, you're saying it's my fault?" Freda switches her blue eyes to that of a menacing glare at him. "It's not your concern."
Suddenly, Klaus grabbed her hand and squeezed. "What are you saying? How can it be not my concern!? I'm your brother, and it's my responsibility to help you, Freda. We are a family, aren't we?"
Freda didn't respond as if Klaus's words had silenced her. She believed that her brother was, to her, a nuisance at school. But in truth, she never disliked his presence at all.
"Freda, do you want to get something to eat?" Klaus asked Freda as they stopped at a convenience store on their way home.
"Can we just go straight back?" Freda requested this with her sparkling eyes.
"Okay."
Once the pair of siblings arrived home, they peered into the kitchen, and as always, it was amazingly clean. Their mother worked at a telco center during the day, and when she came back home, she's a full-time housewife. Her female colleagues usually picked her up since the father is busy on the weekdays. Even though her schedule was densely packed, her children never heard any complaints from her.
"I'll help you, Mom," Klaus volunteered.
"You don't have to. I just need to boil these vegetables. But, thank you, Klaus."
"Okay, if you need my help with anything, just say it."
"That I will do." Mom motioned towards the wooden stairs, and Klaus nodded, promptly making his way upstairs.
The scene shifted back to the library.
Tears streaked down Klaus's cheeks once he realized they were all merely memories. He didn't remember this memory, and yet, it felt very familiar. Surely, he had experienced it at some point in his life, but somehow, he'd forgotten about it after some time?
Brynhildr breathed a sigh and explained in detail that the memories he saw were, in fact, the memories of his previous life. In this world he was living, his younger sister Freda was not known to be anemic.
"To put it simply, you were one of those reincarnated people I talked about before," said Brynhildr as she put a hand over her hips.
"...I"
"It is a hard thing to believe. Just so you know, I'm not the one responsible for anyone's reincarnation. That being said, think what you will. But now that you know the truth, what will you do?"
This question was so sudden that Klaus didn't know how to respond. He still had trouble trying to make sense of what Brynhildr had shown him. Abruptly, an idea came to his mind amid the uncertainties.
"YYou said I was one of the reincarnated people. That means I died in my previous life and were brought to life in this world by another... entity, right?"
"Yes, that's correct."
"Then, what about my family? Were they reincarnated as well?"
Brynhildr's lips curved upward upon hearing this. It was a simple question, but the entity found such a thing to be amusing.
"I'm not allowed to tell you such information. While I did say that, what do you think?"
"I don't know..."
"I see. Like I said before, think what you will of what I'd told you just now. I'm sure we'll meet again sooner or later, so when that time comes, I want you to do something for me."
A brilliant flash of light struck Klaus from above, and slowly, he opened his eyes.
His room's familiar ceiling greeted him, and he stood up from his bed.
"...A dream? Quite a realistic one if I have to say."
The theory that it wasn't a dream seemed stupid, but at the same time, he believed everything that happened to be true.
He remembered the Freda-look-alike girl studying at the Yokoyama Ichi Middle School. That girl acted strangely back when they met each other. Affected by what he'd experienced in his dream, he had the urge to find her.
"Freda..."