[THEORY] He remember everything.
So, it's pretty much taken as fact that Qifrey has been wiping Olruggio's memory over and over for years, right ? After all, this is what we're presented with in the events of the story : Qifrey has been wiping Olruggio's memories every so often, whenever he cracks under the pressure and guilt and confesses everything to him, so that he avoids turning into a silverwood tree.
Recently, I stumbled on a Youtube comment that said something along the lines of :
"What if, subconsciously, Olruggio has been trying to develop a kind of magic that could burn the tree inside of Qifrey and save him, even though he doesn't remember ?"
I've been thinking about that comment for a while, and I agree : I think it's likely that, narratively, Olruggio's experiments on fire magic, and notably, on a kind of fire that doesn't burn people, serve to create fun, lighthearted moments in the show, and a connection between him and Coco's love for magic, getting the audience to warm up to him that much faster.
More than that though, I do think that it will all pay off in Olruggio inventing a kind of fire that can burn a silverwood tree, without harming a human. I think this is where these fun moments of Olruggio overworking himself innovating on fire magic are all leading up to.
But, and this is the most important part, I don't think it's subconscious at all : I believe that Olruggio remembers everything.
As memorable and emotional a chapter it was, there is one detail about chapter 92 that always struck me as interesting : Olruggio never actually draws the spell to make him forget in front of Qifrey, he leaves to the Tower of Tomes, and when he's back, he's already drawn it.
Now, keep in mind that in order to save Qifrey, there's no need for Olruggio to actually forget anything, all that's needed is for Qifrey to believe that he's been erasing Olruggio's memories.
Now, I don't think there's anything wrong with the spell Olruggio drew, after all, the spells Qifrey would use later to erase his memories are probably not that same exact spell, so even if Olruggio had purposefully misdrawn the seal that first time, his memories would still end up erased later.
It does strike me as odd that Olruggio, who is such a gentle and benevolent soul, would agree to have his memories wipe entirely, after all, that would mean giving up on the possibility of saving Qifrey completely himself : If he can't remember, he can never find a way to actually save him for good. What I think he actually did, is exploit a mechanic that we've already seen before in the manga.
In chapter 28 of Witch Hat Atelier, Coco comes up with a way to reverse, albeit temporarily, the effects of the spell affecting Euni. The inverted seal isn't considered Forbidden Magic, and doesn't require being tattooed on the skin, but only kept in contact with it. In this case, it's not as potent as the original seal used, so it can't fully reverse it.
What I'm proposing is this : While he was away at the Tower of Tomes, Olruggio prepared a seal to erase his own memories, but also came up with an inverted seal to prevent the spell from actually working.
We know that inverted magic is a niche kind of magic, one that most people wouldn't even consider using. I think that, taking advantage of this, Olruggio has been keeping an inverted memory erasure seal pressed against his skin at all times, maybe on the bottom of his shoes, or maybe on the inside of his belt or something, to make Qifrey think that he's erasing his memories, occasionally pretending to uncover his secret so that Qifrey can feel better momentarily.
One of the biggest tells, in my opinion, is that when we get Olruggio's internal dialogue when they arrive in the underwater city, the one thing that he's shocked by is Qifrey's declining vision, which he wouldn't know about, even with his memories intact, and Qifrey using his students as tools, which he'd have even more reason to suspect if he was aware of Qifrey's obsession.
There's also Olruggio "forgiving Qifrey every time". Of course, the intended reading is that Olruggio is so nice that he chooses forgiveness every time, but it would make perfect sense for Olruggio, in the rare moments he can actually comfort Qifrey, to do so, knowing that it was all hid idea in the first place.
I think that beyond just taking a hit for him, Olruggio and Qifrey are true "partners in pain", as Qifrey believes that he's been erasing Olruggio's memories, and that he can't tell him the truth, and Olruggio wishes he could tell Qifrey that he never forgot anything, but he can't until he's found a way to permanently save him. This fits more than just Olruggio blissfully unaware of everything, and Qifrey going through the "suffering builds character" loop x1000 imo.
It also gives more agency to Olruggio's character, makes their relationship that of equals in the grand scheme of things, and would make for a cool twist, as well as justifying a way for Qifrey to be saved before it's too late.
Posted Aug 12, 2026, 2:09 PM UTC