Chapter 84
The atmosphere created by the arrival of the reinforcements was a bit strange. But the most unusual aspect was not just that. A female adventurer I had met before appeared, as if by some twist of fate or coincidence, at the most exquisite moment. "Erina...?" I mutter her name from my memories, and her fierce demeanor softens slightly, showing a hint of surprise.
"Harold..." Her voice fades as she looks at me with a somewhat pitiful gaze. "What, did you two have a falling out?" Luceria’s provocative tone throws a wrench into the already odd atmosphere. She looks at us — no, specifically at Erina — with a mocking expression, as if she knew about our relationship.
It was as though she was suggesting we had a bad relationship, which made no sense. Erina and I were just passing acquaintances; our reunion here was merely coincidental. Even if Luceria was referring to our previous random encounter, it still didn't make sense; she wasn't present in this world then.
It could have been a meaningless coincidence, but her words irked me as if she knew everything about us. Then I remembered that Luceria had been speaking as if she knew me, even though this was our first encounter.
With that thought, a possibly fanciful question arose: Had I met them before? Could it be that in my forgotten memories, I knew them too? These thoughts fleetingly crossed my mind.
But even a brief reflection revealed that it was an incredibly unlikely hypothesis. I had never lost my memory, recalling everything from before and after enrolling in the academy, even my early childhood — where I was born and raised.
The idea of having lost my memory seemed far-fetched and implausible. Unless some part of my memory was intentionally erased for some reason, there was absolutely no way such a thing could have happened. Zap! "?!" Once again, a fleeting current passes by, hinting at something about to surface in my memory. It feels like there's something... something about who I was... While I can't recall it precisely, there's a vague sense that some secret is lurking.
Something... seems about to surface - "Ugh!!" But any illusion is abruptly dispelled by Erina, who clenches her teeth in anger.
In such a critical situation, it was too arrogant of me to get lost in thought. "Judging by the look on your face, am I right? Does my partner have anything to say?" Back to reality, the heavy atmosphere of the facility weighs down on us, with only Luceria appearing at ease.