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Translated By Arcane Translations
Translator: FusionX
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Knock, knock-!
“Jun, I was in the wrong. I’m sorry for slapping you.”
Irina hung her head low as she knocked on the door.
‘I, a knight, let my emotions get the better of me…’
It was humiliating.
She, who always maintained her composure, had lost control and slapped Jun’s face.
‘But he was also wrong… playing pranks after making me worry about him being attacked by the Demon Lord…’
Still, she was the one who struck first. Apologizing was the right thing to do. Irina raised her voice.
“If… if you won’t accept my apology… you can slap me back… or take my life…! I just want to talk, Jun!”
Knock, knock-!
“Open the door, Jun! I’m sorry! I was wrong!”
Irina continued to knock, her voice echoing loudly, perhaps due to her position as the Knight Commander.
“I’m sorry! Please accept my apology!”
After repeating her apology several times, the door creaked open. A small girl peeked out.
“…Sister Knight! Be quiet!”
“Luna, is Jun inside? I need to talk to him.”
Irina reached for the doorknob.
“…Hmm?”
Why won’t it open?
She pulled, but the door remained firmly shut.
Puzzled, she looked down and saw Luna, her jaw clenched, holding the door shut.
“Luna? What are you doing…”
“D-Don’t come in! This is our house! Mister isn’t here!”
“Not here…? Is Jun really not home…?”
“No! He went out!”
“I see. When will he be back?”
“H-He won’t be back today! Or tomorrow! Mister isn’t here!”
Growl, growl-!
Luna glared at Irina, her hostility clear. Irina didn’t understand her reaction.
“Did she eat something strange? Why is she acting like this?”
“Go away! There’s no place for you here!”
“If you give me a valid reason why I should leave, I’ll leave.”
“A reason…?”
If I tell her…
Mister might regain his memories…!
‘That can’t happen!’
If he remembers his past, Mister will lose his happiness. He’ll become gloomy and withdrawn again.
Luna liked all versions of Mister, but she liked the smiling Mister the most.
“There’s no reason! Just go away!”
Slam!
Luna slammed the door shut while Irina was momentarily distracted. Irina, left alone in the hallway, felt a pang of… something.
“…I let my guard down.”
More importantly…
Luna had grown stronger. Even though Irina had been distracted, Luna had managed to quickly channel her magic power and close the door.
Her magic control was better than some of the new recruits in the Knights.
“I should have scouted her before Jun took her…”
She had missed out on a promising talent. A child with the potential to become the next Knight Commander.
Irina sighed and turned away.
“I’ll come back tomorrow.”
There were still plenty of opportunities. She would be staying in Henesys for a while due to the Demon Lord’s appearance. She would try again tomorrow.
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“Excuse me, I heard a noise outside.”
“N-No, Mister…!! Nothing happened outside…!!”
“That’s right, nothing happened.”
“But that voice sounded familiar…”
A loud voice.
It was definitely the silver-haired woman from the guild.
‘Why are they stopping me…?’
This was even more suspicious. There was no reason to stop me if nothing had happened. If they were trying this hard to stop me, it meant something had happened. But I couldn’t see what it was.
‘Sigh…’
I looked down and saw Hare clinging to my legs, refusing to let go. I had no choice but to address the situation.
“I-I won’t let go…! N-Nothing happened outside…!”
“If nothing happened, you wouldn’t need to stop me. Are you lying to me, Hare?”
“…!!”
Lie.
Hare’s grip loosened at the word.
“I-I would never lie to you, Mister…! N-Nothing happened outside, b-but… I-I did hear a noise…!”
“You idiot, Hare. This is why I didn’t want to plan this with you. How annoying.”
Sigh-
Saten glared at Hare. Hare didn’t seem to care.
“I-I wasn’t trying to lie…! Mister…! I-I’m always on your side…!”
“I know. Now, can you please let go of my legs?”
“O-Okay… Mister…!”
She was always obedient. Hare released my legs. Before heading to the front door, I asked Saten and Estia,
“You seem to know something. Should I not meet this woman?”
“It’s up to you, Brother! I don’t know!”
“I think it’s best if you don’t meet her.”
“…So you disagree.”
And Hare would side with whoever I sided with. But that wasn’t something I needed to consider.
“It’s better to ask her directly than to ask you.”
I’ll handle this myself. Don’t worry about it.
I walked towards the front door, but it was too late.
The woman was gone, and only Luna, looking rather smug, remained.
“I won! I won! Hehe!”
Had the victory lowered her intelligence?
Luna was celebrating her success.
I sighed and asked,
“What are you so happy about, Luna?”
“W-Whoa! Mister! You surprised me!”
“Did someone come by? For example…”
…the woman I saw at lunch.
Luna immediately denied it.
“N-No! No one came! Absolutely no one!”
“…So she did come.”
“Not just Hare, but Luna is stupid too. Sigh…”
Saten, caught between two terrible liars…
“This is my fault for planning this with them.”
…sighed and blamed herself.
I opened the front door.
“She’s gone.”
“I-I told you nothing happened!”
“Be quiet, you stupid chick.”
“Huh?”
“You’ll only get half your dinner tonight.”
“Ehhh…”
Trying to hide things from me…
And doing things their way…
They were getting too cocky after defeating the Demon Lord.
I slammed the door shut and shouted,
“If you try to hide things from me again…”
…don’t forget that what you desire…
…will become more distant.
Luna, whose spirits had been soaring, now looked dejected.
“Okay…”
‘Her confidence and pride are always the problem.’
They were good qualities, but… Luna had too much of them. She needed to be taken down a peg.
“Three days.”
“Three days…?”
“You’re banned from training for three days, Luna.”
“W-What…?”
“That’s your punishment.”
I left to finish my work, Luna’s confused cries echoing behind me.
“W-What…? What… uh… what…?”
It barely sounded human.
The punishment seemed effective.
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At the guild, I encountered the silver-haired knight again.
“Jun, the children were trying to stop you from going outside yesterday. Did something happen?”
“…There was a small incident.”
“I see. I understand.”
According to the children, her name was Irina.
They said we had a past connection, but… neither they nor I knew who she was.
‘How do I explain this…’
Should I tell her, “I don’t remember you. I have amnesia”? My head was spinning.
I looked at Irina.
“Are you okay, Jun? You look unwell.”
“…No, I just have a headache.”
“That can happen. Jun.”
Ahem-
Irina cleared her throat, her face slightly flushed. She looked at me with clear, unwavering eyes.
“I-I’m sorry! I made a mistake yesterday! I let my emotions get the better of me and slapped you! I apologize!”
“Oh.”
Right.
I was slapped yesterday. My cheek throbbed at the memory. Seeing the sincerity in Irina’s eyes, I simply said,
“Apology accepted.”
“…Thank you, Jun.”
Irina bowed her head in gratitude.
She was… intense.
‘It’s hard to tell her I have amnesia in this atmosphere…’
I looked around, trying to gauge the situation.
‘Why is Luna hiding over there…?’
Luna was hiding behind a tree, watching us. She looked dissatisfied, but that wasn’t important. I had one thing to do.
“…Irina. I don’t remember your last name, but… Irina.”
“…? What is it, Jun?”
“I have something to tell you.”
I gently placed my hands on Irina’s shoulders. She flinched and covered her face with her hands.
“W-What are you doing…! Y-You can’t do this to a knight, Jun…!”
“I’m serious.”
“S-Stop it…! If… if you keep doing this…! I-I won’t be able to face Aina…”
Aina?
The name sent a pang of pain through my chest, but I told Irina the truth.
“I lost my memories.”
“…What?”
“I don’t know who you are. It feels like we’ve just met.”
“…You don’t remember anything from the past? Not even Aina?”
Nod-
I nodded.
The color drained from Irina’s face, and she whispered, her expression pained,
“I hate myself for seeing this as an opportunity…”
“What?”
“…It’s nothing. Jun. Have you eaten?”
Irina asked calmly.
“If you haven’t, let’s eat and talk.”
Her eyes were serious. Luna, hiding in the distance, looked uneasy.
‘It’s hard to refuse…’
I looked at Irina, her resolve firm, and replied,
“Alright, let’s eat.”
I’ll listen to the story of my past.
What am I missing?
With that question in mind, I accompanied Irina.
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