Volume 6 Chapter 38-2 Troublesome Setting, Skim Reading is Fine
"I just want to be praised a little, like 'That's amazing!'"
Catherine's reason, as always, was something Randy and the others just couldn't get their heads around.
They both sighed dramatically and looked at each other in disbelief.
"Saint is like a key, you see"
Catherine, with a pointed expression, continued, "The Cave of Saint is, so to speak, a dungeon made from the collective memories of the Saint."
"...Please translate that,"
Liz turned to Randy, and gently started to explain Catherine's words.
"Collective memory isn't just about an individual, it's about the memories and images held by a society or a specific group."
Liz continued explaining, but Randy still wasn't quite getting it.
Liz, understanding Randy's confused expression, nodded thoughtfully, putting her hand to her chin.
"For example, when you hear the word 'Saint,' what comes to mind?"
At Liz's question, Randy hesitated, glancing at Catherine before looking at Luke and Leon.
He opened his mouth.
"Dumbass"
"Pink Disaster"
"Funny guy"
"What the heck are you talking about!"
Catherine puffed up her cheeks, and Randy waved his hand dismissively. "Shut up.Just keep quiet, it's slowing things down."
"...Maybe that was a bad example."
Liz chuckled, Catherine again pointedly asked, "What do you mean?" But Randy stepped between them, blocking her.
"Alright, how about this, when you hear 'Sword Saint'?"
At Liz's question, Randy looked at Luke and Leon.
"Good with a sword"
"Sword genius"
"Super strong swordsman"
Liz explained that these similar answers were what constituted collective memory.
"So, think of it like the image society as a whole has of a specific thing or person."
"So, the Saint's collective memory is..."
Catherine was standing there, chest puffed out with a smug grin, as Randy looked at her.
"A holy maiden, a representative of the goddess, an exorcist of evil, or perhaps a pure and beautiful girl."
Catherine, still wearing a smug grin, was praised by Randy with a sigh of, "You're not even close."
Leon had to hold Catherine back as she seemed ready to explode again.
Randy turned back to Liz, accustomed to the scene.
"By the way, what Lady Catherine just talked about is more of a collective unconscious than a collective memory, I'd say..."
"Another mysterious term, huh?"
With a wry smile, Randy listened as Liz explained that the collective unconscious represents a shared awareness deeply engraved in people's unconscious minds.
"What Lady Catherine just mentioned is likely the collective unconscious that represents the concept of a Saint."
So it was a *bad question*, Liz added, to which Randy nodded, saying, "I see."
"In other words, while the memory we all shared was about the individual [Sword Saint], Miss Catherine was referring to the broader concept of the existence of 'Saints' as a whole."
"Exactly. Just so you know, the shared memory regarding the [Sword Saint] is based on the legends they achieved, which people have come to collectively remember. - It could change with new information or societal shifts, though."
On the flip side, the image of the Saint that Catherine described exists as part of the psychological structure that has been universally passed down to today, lying deep within the unconscious.
"So, in this context, the collective memory specific to Saint Catherine is..."
"A rather unfortunate Saint, perhaps?"
Randy and Liz couldn't help but laugh, prompting Catherine to raise an eyebrow and exclaim, "I can hear you!"
"I get the connection between Saints and collective memory, but..."
Randy was looking back at the cave, and it seemed Liz understood what he meant.
"You're wondering why it's only women... right?"
The semi-psychic world created by the collective memories of numerous Saints.
And the mystery remains that only women can access it.
Seeking an explanation for this, Randy and Liz turned to Catherine almost in unison.
"Memories of a woman close to the Saint are more real, right? For instance, a good friend brings clearer memories and images than a stranger you've only seen from afar. It felt like the cave acknowledges those images and memories as a part of the Saint."
Just as Randy was on the verge of getting lost again, Ellie, who had switched places with Liz, spoke up, saying, "It smells fishy."
"What smells fishy? What do you mean?"
Randy tilted his head, and Ellie simply shook hers, saying, "I can't go beyond speculation yet."
To Catherine, who had given only vague explanations, Ellie started, "Just to confirm..." regarding the rules of this cave.
"This cave allows only the Saint or women connected to her to enter. That's right?"
"Yeah. That's what I've heard."
Catherine nodded, but deep down, it would be more accurate to say she had seen it in the documentation rather than actually heard it.
"It's more like a collection of memories from the Saints and their acquaintances, rather than a collective memory, isn't it?"
Ellie nodded in agreement to Randy, who had tilted his head in confusion.
The memories held by past Saints and the women connected to them.
This place could be described as a dungeon of a semi-ethereal world that opens up when those memories gather.
"That makes it seem less like we can access the memories of the Saint..."
As Randy murmured this, a chill ran down his spine at the conclusion he reached, and he turned sharply to Ellie.
"Did you realize?"
"Of course."
He couldn't even muster a wry smile.
If Randy's guess was correct, this cave was an astonishing place.
"Miss Catherine, by the way, is this the only [Cave of Saint]?"
Catherine, slightly overwhelmed by Randy's serious gaze, slowly shook her head.
"I think I heard there are some in the Empire and Dukedom as well..."
Catherine continued hesitantly, saying that while the entrances may exist in various countries, the ultimate access point remains unchanged.
"The entrance... I see..."
What Randy was staring at, which looked like just a cave, suddenly seemed creepily ominous.
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