‘So cute.’
Lize looked at the newbie, who was glancing around with bleary eyes as if he couldn’t comprehend the situation, with a warm smile. Poke poke, her index finger jabbed at his cheek.
It was the first time she had seen such a disheveled newbie. He was a man who seemed to expect anything happening without flinching.
Except when it involved women, that is. Whenever he confronted a woman, he would look utterly embarrassed, as if he had been struck by lightning.
“What is… what is this…?”
“Oh dear, be careful, newbie. You’re going to fall.”
As he tried to rise from his seat, he staggered and was caught by Claudia, who stabilized his wobbling body.
With the weight of a grown man resting entirely on her arm, it was nothing for Claudia, who could easily handle an orc cask full of wine and swing a greatsword larger than herself.
There was no way she couldn’t support just one person.
“When did it… start…?”
“Since before this banquet. We all came to an agreement, so it hasn’t been long. At first, we didn’t particularly intend to do something like this, but seeing how things unfolded, it seemed possible.”
“So that means…”
“It started with the lord and Iris. Iris tipped me off, and I relayed it to Erica and Claudia. According to Iris, the first suggestion came from the lord himself.”
Aurora nodded. Since she proposed it, she had no excuses to make.
Claudia carefully sat the newbie back in the chair. As the hand that had been supporting him fell away, his body slumped down into the chair like a puppet with its strings cut.
“There’s no need to be so frightened about digging up a secret, newbie. That’s just how it’s phrased; the questions will be simple.”
Erica cautiously began to speak.
“You mentioned when we first met that you were cursed and lost all your memories. And then gradually, something triggered your memories to return. We confirmed through a skill-check crystal that all your stats were at 1, so there was no reason to doubt your words.”
The real issue came after. Erica let out a small sigh.
“Of course, we still completely trust you. This feeling won’t change. But I can’t shake the thought that there’s something you’ve failed to tell us. It’s not that you lied, but that you’ve hidden the truth from the very beginning. You know well that those two things are different.”
“The fact that you were cursed is likely true. However, what we want to know is not that.”
Iris added. The newbie still had a dazed look from the alcohol. He seemed to be attempting to wrack his brain, but the liquor was clearly making that difficult.
“So, who were you in your past?”
Yes, this question was the crux of the situation. Who exactly was this newbie in the past?
There were many other curiosities piling up, but the root of them all boiled down to this single inquiry. Just knowing who he was would fulfill their purpose.
“What you said implies that the memories of your past have returned, allowing you to recall all solutions. Thus, the essence lies in who you were back then. I believe it’s time you explained it to us?”
What sort of past did he bear that allowed him to recognize the actions of previously unknown monsters, entirely understand the structure of the rune dungeon, and even treat demons nonchalantly?
If all of those actions were indeed based on past memories, that person must have been an extraordinary hero.
However, no one in the empire— not even the emperor— had achieved such feats. The emperor resolved issues by crushing opponents with overwhelming power.
The newbie, on the other hand, had struggled through challenges with only the most basic capabilities.
Especially when it came to dealing with demons.
What sort of past could he have had, or what experiences did he go through, to dismiss the very arrival of a demon as trivial and calmly plan to kill the lord with it? They could not even begin to imagine.
Demons weren’t something that could simply be handled by possessing superior abilities. Even the priests of the holy kingdom had to prepare for grave sacrifices to confront such beings.
Yet the newbie remained unnervingly composed. It was from that moment that the knight commanders began to truly become curious about his past.
“Can’t you tell us what you’re hiding from us?”
Even with Iris’s polite request, the newbie simply sealed his lips tight. Those firmly closed lips showed no signs of wanting to open.
There was definitely something. The knight commanders and Aurora exchanged glances. Silence was affirming. Choosing silence rather than denying meant there was certainly something unspeakable.
Aurora stepped forward and gently cupped his cheek with her hand, locking eyes with him. The black eyes, drowsy and glazed, met the resolute golden eyes.
“Look, I don’t know what secret you’re trying to hide so badly, but we’re not trying to do anything with that information. We want to help you instead.”
“……”
“No matter what you did in the past, or who you were, we’re not going to hold it against you. Even if you really committed a crime and ended up in prison, that’s in the past. You can just move on and start anew.”
“……”
“Look around. This place can help you achieve everything you wish for. We have more than enough money, and we have power that’s decent enough, and… most importantly, we have women! If you want, you can get one right now.”
“Wait a moment, Lord. What did you just say?”
Lize abruptly cut off Aurora’s words. Her blue eyes glared at her with a growl. She seemed highly wary of her.
It made sense; the way she looked at the newbie since their first encounter regarding the demon summoning had been anything but normal, and now it seems she really held those feelings.
If you just heard it casually, it could be brushed off as simply a slip-up against Lize, but Aurora’s gaze conveyed otherwise.
It was the same glint one would see when Lize looked at the newbie, infused with a female’s emotions. At the same time, it was a gaze that felt sexual desire towards the man before her.
So, it was abundantly clear who Aurora referred to when she mentioned “women.”
“Oh dear, why’s that? I didn’t say anything wrong, did I?”
“You most certainly did. ‘We’? He’s clearly part of our Silver Dawn Knights. You shouldn’t speak so carelessly.”
“You’ll ultimately have to obey my command. Then your subordinates will become mine.”
“You’re using the same logic as that pig bastard?”
“It’s only natural, since the emperor said it back in the imperial palace. That pig bastard and I both used to live in the palace. Or do you dare to say you won’t follow the emperor?”
Flinch. When that topic came up, Lize hesitated. Not following the emperor? Such a concept was unthinkable for the Silver Dawn Knights. Contrarily, Aurora smirked in victory.
After hesitating a moment, Lize seemed to find a counterattack and took a quick glance at Aurora’s chest, smiling faintly as if to gesture that she was reluctantly stepping back.
This time, it was Aurora’s turn to flare up. She immediately understood what that look meant.
Although Aurora couldn’t be called small, she certainly paled in comparison to Lize, whose utterly ridiculous breasts rivaled her own head’s size.
From the moment the newbie began to get drunk, he had been continuously staring at Lize’s chest, so it was easy to guess his preferences in that regard.
“All right, all right. My lord, let’s stop this here. Lize, you should ease up too.”
Before the atmosphere could escalate any further, Claudia quickly intervened. This was a meeting to uncover the newbie’s secrets, not a place for fighting.
Both sides were well aware of this, so it didn’t escalate into a round two. They knew that sparring would eventually lead to them not being the ones holding the reins.
“Let’s get back on track; ultimately, what we want to know is this. Who were you in the past?”
“That… saying it means… I can’t…”
“You can’t say it? Then that means there’s definitely something, right?”
“……”
Realizing too late, his lips sealed once again, but the cat was already out of the bag. The glances exchanged among the knight commanders and Aurora shifted.
That last comment essentially indicated that there existed something he shouldn’t share with others. And that likely connected to the newbie’s past.
Finding that out would be their task from here on.
The next day, I vigorously sat up in an unfamiliar place.
‘This is ridiculous.’
The memories of last night came flooding back. I had anticipated they would be curious about my past, but I never imagined they’d go to such lengths to uncover it.
I had planned to reveal it someday, but it seemed that day was hastening much sooner than I had intended.
I felt more baffled than angry. If we were to assign blame, I was the one who initially laid the groundwork by lying. They were just trying to uncover my deception.
Though the means they used were absurd.
I couldn’t help but wonder if this was how the knight commanders felt upon hearing the rumor that I had used a demon to kill the lord.
‘Did I answer any questions?’
With my mind already foggy from the alcohol, I remembered the moment I had played along with Claudia’s banter and ended up openly admitting I had a secret.
But after that, my memory was blank.
Whether I had answered their questions or managed to keep my lips sealed was a complete mystery. My recollection had neatly evaporated.
‘Wait. Where am I again?’
I hastily looked around. The antique wallpaper and the carpet beneath me. A bed big enough for four people easily. This must be one of the rooms in the lord’s mansion.
My senses felt sharp as I checked the side. Thankfully, there was no one there. The bed was neatly made, and my clothes showed no signs of being torn or removed.
‘…Please tell me nothing happened.’
With Lize, that possibility seemed all too likely, and I found myself diving deeper into thought. Perhaps she had seduced me while I was out of it or, conversely, maybe she had been the one to take initiative.
Either scenario seemed eerily plausible.
‘What happened after that…’
“What’s up, you’re really awake? How did she know something like this?”
As I desperately tried to recall my memories, the door swung open, and in walked Lize, her face beaming with a bright smile, carrying a tray.
She wore her usual white sleeveless top and blue dolphin shorts, not the see-through dress for banquets.
“Hey, did you get me drunk to interrogate me? All five of you plotted together?”
“Oh, you remember that, huh? That’s a shame. I could only use that trick once.”
Though I wasn’t particularly angry, I felt I had to say something sharp. However, I was so taken aback by her nonchalance that the words slipped my mind completely. Besides, I owed her in many ways.
‘So, was it Lize who came out of all those numerous people?’
Lize walked over and settled beside the bed, placing the tray down. On it sat a steaming bowl of soup.
I didn’t feel particularly unwell, but the moment to get angry had passed, and I figured I should eat something, so I reached for the bowl of soup.
Slap, Lize playfully smacked the back of my hand.
As I stared at her with a puzzled expression, Lize picked up the soup bowl and held it out to me with a spoon.
“……”
My attempt to indicate I could eat by myself didn’t faze her at all.
Relenting, I obediently accepted the soup, and only then did Lize smile and place the spoon back onto the tray, opening her mouth.
“How much do you remember about what happened yesterday?”
“What do you think I remember?”
She returned the action she had done to me at the beginning of the banquet. For a moment, I thought I had struck back, but then I saw her smiling mysteriously as she directed her gaze at me.
What kind of face was that?
