I Pretended To Have Amnesia and the Hero’s Party Becomes Obsessed

4 – 1. The Worst Reunion (4)

Amy let go of Clara’s hand when they reached the deserted corridor.

“What on earth is going on here?”

Clara rubbed her reddened wrist nervously and glared at Amy. Amy met her gaze with a lowered look and spoke.

“Is it true?”

“…What do you mean?”

Beyond Amy’s cheek, the outline of her clenched teeth revealed itself.

“I asked if it was true that you and Lem were lovers.”

“…I didn’t know you had a hobby of eavesdropping on other people’s stories, sir. And, what does that have to do with you…”

As Clara continued her sentence, her thoughts reached the past.

The sight of the hero rescuing Lem.

Clara’s eyes glowed with a fiery rage.

“Could it be, sir, you knew Lem…”

“I asked the question first.”

Amy approached Clara firmly.

“Did you have a romantic relationship with Lem?”

It was the first time Clara saw the dominative side of the hero.

Confusion filled Clara’s face, and she took a step back.

“Yes, we were lovers.”

But in the next moment, Clara closed the distance between them, tilted her head up.

Amy’s fiery gaze and Clara’s cold gaze entwined in the air.

“Why? Is it not allowed?”

“When, how, where.”

A cracked voice.

Clara responded with a stern expression.

“It’s a personal story. I don’t want to answer… Ugh…!”

“Answer me.”

Amy’s firm hand grabbed Clara’s shoulder. Clara’s brows furrowed in pain, but the warrior was unfazed.

No, it seemed like he had no room to be unfazed.

“When, how, where.”

Clara glared at the hazy-eyed Amy with wet eyes.

Then, suddenly, she twisted her lips and asked.

“Then why did the warrior look at Lem and vomit?”

“…!”

A crack appeared in Amy’s previously firm pupils. Taking advantage of the opening, Clara swatted away Amy’s hand.

And, as if mocking Amy, she looked at her with disdain.

“You can’t even answer my question, warrior.”

“I should be the one asking the questions…”

“Am I the warrior’s servant?”

Unlike Amy’s trembling pupils, Clara’s eyes settled.

“Didn’t you always emphasize that we have an equal relationship?”

“…”

“It’s a personal story between me and Lem. I hope you won’t pry any further.”

And with that, Clara turned her back to Amy and coldly attacked her.

“Well, if you have nothing else to say, I’ll go back to the patient. It seems like you still have some lingering effects from your injuries.”

Amy’s eyes widened as she watched Clara leave. They shook anxiously as she got farther away.

Then, suddenly, her hand reached for the stinging pain.

Was it because she clenched her fist too tightly? Blood was seeping out of the wounds left by her nails.

And the blood that had spilled so easily slipped out of her grasp.

Despite all the calluses and scars.

“I’m sorry.”

Clara turned to Amy with a puzzled expression. Amy took out a bandage from her pocket and wrapped it around her hand as she spoke.

“But, I can’t just ignore it, can I?”

After tying the bandage, Amy looked up at Clara.

Now, with unwavering eyes, she faced Clara and said,

“If the person you promised to marry has met another woman.”

This time, Clara’s pupils shook.

***

Returning to her room, Clara wore an embarrassed expression for reasons unknown.

She briefly walked me through some hills, wished me a good rest, and quickly left the room.

A clear indication that her thoughts had wandered elsewhere.

But I didn’t hold her back. I, too, was tangled in complex thoughts.

The room now left to only Fea and me.

I checked the spare armor Fea had brought while trying to cool my head.

“So, what exactly happened?”

“What?”

I asked without turning to Fea. For some reason, Fea’s voice, sounding a bit desperate, reached me.

“Something about being in a romantic relationship with the saint.”

“It’s not the saint; it’s the prospective saint.”

“Aren’t they the same thing?”

“They’re distinctly different.”

I replied matter-of-factly, testing the new armor.

Hmm… the movement feels a bit stiff…

Did something go wrong with the knee joint bearings…

“Anyway!”

Fea slammed the desk. Only then did I raise my head to look at Fea. With an annoyed expression, Fea stared at me and asked again.

“How did you end up dating the saint?”

I looked at Fea with disdain and replied,

“…Did my childhood memories evaporate from your ears…?”

“Oh, right.”

In fact, I had hesitated for a moment whether to reveal the truth to Faye, at least as much as I did with Clara. Still, there had been years of knowing each other.

But Faye, being a persistent chatterbox, lacked the talent to keep a secret.

I didn’t want to imagine how complicated the situation would become when Clara found out about my lie.

…It already seemed tangled, to be honest.

Lovers… How on earth would I handle such a lie later?

Ignoring the impending headache, I spoke up.

“And if I were in a relationship with a clergyman, I’d probably be working at the church by now, not living like this, scraping by.”

“Ah, certainly…”

“There must have been some confusion. Maybe you mistook me for someone else.”

Please let that be the case.

Really.

Anyway, Faye nodded in apparent understanding after hearing my words. And for some reason, she seemed to wear a relaxed expression.

“Well, it’s an absurd situation. Our elder brother dating a prospective saint.”

“…As if I’m falling behind in some way.”

“Maybe it’s true.”

Some truths pierce deeply into the heart.

Watching Faye, who seemed to have lost control of her expression, I stared as she began to babble nervously.

“Originally, people should associate with those who suit them. Clergymen with clerics, mercenaries with mercenaries. That’s how marriage life is happy… Ack!”

Faye clutched her head, grimacing in pain.

“Why hit me…!”

“Enough nonsense. Come on, let’s go. We have work to do.”

I rose from the bed with determination.

“But, for the prospective saint to find stability…”

“I know my body better.”

“What are you planning to do…”

“We need to find out who those attackers were, what their purpose was, and who was behind them.”

Military mages are different from simple thieves. It means they’re not just moving for the sake of wealth.

Moreover, they left the corpse of a horse on the road, presumably to block our passage at that time.

Even though our transportation was carried out relatively secretly.

Certainly, something shady is happening without our knowledge. Perhaps related to the cargo we are currently transporting.

“Ah, the Chief has already handled that.”

I asked in surprise, “The Chief?”

“Yes, already interrogated one of the captured fellows. Unfortunately, the fellow being a low-ranking member, apart from aiming for the cargo, we couldn’t gather much.”

That lazy noble, what mischief is he up to?

I blinked and asked, “What happened after the interrogation? Where is that socialite’s kid now?”

“Well… probably in pieces, fish food by now…”

“…That person was too troublesome to keep. What’s the reward if we hand him over to the guards, by the way?”

I grumbled, not hiding my annoyance, “Anyway, since there’s nothing to do, might as well lie down and rest, huh?”

Feya looked sternly at me, tapping the bed. However, I shook my head.

“Why is there nothing to do, huh?”

“…?”

I chuckled as I put on my coat, “Gotta go squeeze some more commission out of this.”

***

The baggage carrier of the hero party, or rather Irene, looked at me with tired eyes as she set down the contract.

“…There wasn’t any clause like that in the contract.”

“No, it’s clearly stated.”

Saying so, I pointed to a section of the contract. It mentioned the possibility of additional costs depending on the circumstances.

“The threats we anticipated when our mercenary group accepted the contract were merely expected to be simple bandits or monster attacks. We had prepared our armaments and forces accordingly.”

Arms crossed, I continued, “However, yesterday, the ones who attacked us were the command sorcerers, with a clear goal of seizing the cargo.”

“…Perhaps the mercenaries were inadequately prepared.”

A slightly reproachful tone.

But I had something to say as well.

“You mentioned it was a simple transport mission, but there was no talk of a force targeting the cargo and launching an assault.”

The baggage carrier, Irene, furrowed her brow.

For a moment, she responded without concealing the fatigue evident in her eyes.

“I must inform you, it is also news to us that there are those targeting the cargo.”

Does this mean it’s not our fault, but rather a mistake on the part of the originally commissioned high-ranking individual?

I closed my eyes and took a moment to gather my thoughts. Then, in a softer tone, I spoke.

“I believe there might be a misunderstanding. I’m not here to nitpick right or wrong. I simply want to convey that in order to provide proper escort in the current situation, we would need to incur a considerable expense.”

In other words, we need to spend a good amount, so pay up a decent fee.

Irene’s brow furrowed again, and this time, it didn’t easily smooth out.

“Yes, I understand that part well enough. However, even considering that, the amount you’re proposing is excessive.”

Irene raised her pen and scribbled numbers on the paper.

“The maximum amount we can offer is around this figure.”

An amount slightly exceeding half of what I proposed.

I thought there wouldn’t be a quarrel over money in a hero party, but it seems I was mistaken.

Nevertheless, it’s fine.

This isn’t the first time I’ve fought for a commission fee.

Recalling the times I’ve managed to extract money from wealthy nobles, I smirked.

“Even for this amount, we could get a decent round of drinks…”

“Ah, Rem? When did you arrive?”

Both Irene and I simultaneously directed our gazes to one place.

There, Clara was smiling brightly, looking at me.

Surprisingly, she approached me, casually sat beside me, and then glanced at the scattered documents before asking.

“Did you come because of the commission fee?”

“Oh, yes… Since I found out that a sorcerer is eyeing the cargo, I thought we should prepare more thoroughly.”

I couldn’t hide my surprise as I answered.

Clara, after hearing my words, made a contemplative expression and then asked.

“How much more do you need?”

“Pardon?”

“Miss Clara…?”

Confusion wasn’t exclusive to me.

The porter’s face was also painted with bewilderment.

“But, the budget approved by the lord this time…”

“Hey, how about it?”

With just a single phrase, Clara brushed aside the porter’s concerns and shyly smiled at me.

“Oh, and, I want to give a token of appreciation to Rem…”

“…Yes?”

What token of appreciation?

“You really helped fend off the attack this time. You even got seriously hurt because of it.”

“It was just something that needed to be done…”

“Haha, Rem is still humble.”

No, it’s not that. It’s just that the porter’s expression was growing more troubled.

“If we go over budget again this time, the Minister… my salary… I’ve been holding back… Why does fate give me these trials…”

The porter muttered something befitting a low-ranking government official. My initial impression that he seemed more like an office clerk than a porter wasn’t entirely off the mark.

“But I firmly believe that there must be a reward for a good deed.”

However, whether or not that was the case, Clara held my hand, wearing a compassionate smile.

Her hospitable demeanor, one I couldn’t even dare to recall from our initial meeting.

All because I supposedly lost my memory, does treatment change so drastically?

What on earth is going on?

Furthermore, my confusion didn’t end there.

Suddenly, Clara wore a vexed expression and spoke.

“Speaking of that, how long does Rem plan on being so deferential to me?”

“What?”

“I told you before. You might not remember, but Rem and I had a relationship in the past. Of course, circumstances forced us apart, but…”

Her smile faded along with her words.

Yet, her melancholy was short-lived. Soon after, she offered a gentle smile.

“Still, we’re friends, right? It’s okay to talk to me comfortably, just like before.”

…I’ve only used informal speech with you once in this lifetime…?

“Or maybe, because you lost your memory not too long ago, you’re still uncomfortable around me…?”

Suddenly, Clara cautiously brushed her hand against mine. There was a natural tenderness in her deer-like eyes.

“If that’s the case, I’m really sorry. I’m just happy to see Rem…”

It was like a puppy seeking forgiveness after making a mistake.

My mouth opened sooner than I expected.

“That, no, I mean, uh, from now on, I’ll speak informally…”

Clara reflects as if the recent pained expression was a lie and inquires, “Really? Are you really going to speak casually to me from now on?”

…Damn old habits.

Yeah, I was always weak to that expression…

But, I can’t take back the words I’ve already said.

I nodded in self-reproach.

“Oh, but…”

Then, with a sudden crazy thought, I asked, “So why did you avoid me at first?”

It was a question that had lingered since the moment we first met the party of adventurers.

A question connected not only to the mystery of why the treatment was so different, considering it was just a matter of lost memories.

I earnestly looked at Clara, waiting for an answer.

But, perhaps unsurprisingly, she didn’t give me the answer I wanted.

“Oh, that’s… It felt awkward after not seeing you for a while…”

Clara avoided eye contact as if feeling embarrassed.

However, her complexion was pale, and her eyes were deeply sunken.

It means she’s lying.

“Is that so? For something like that…”

“Oh, I just realized it’s almost time for prayer…!”

I tried to pry further, but Clara abruptly stood up with an excuse.

“Well then, Rem, see you later.”

And with a faint smile, she left the room.

I pondered as I watched her leave.

Something is definitely going on.

It seems to be clearly related to my childhood memories.

However, I can’t grasp what it is.

For now, it seems I’m not disliked…

Questions that lead to more questions. Eventually, I shook my head and lightly tapped my cheek.

No, snap out of it, Rem. Focus on the task at hand.

“Then, regarding the expenses…”

I couldn’t help but stop talking when I looked at the porter.

“I miss my mother… Why am I doing this kind of work… I never wanted to be a public official… I hate the overtime… I hate writing resignation letters…”

The porter poured out his complaints, feeling the weariness of life around him as he wrapped his face. Naturally, my past self overlapped with his image.

“Why is the head of the team raising work… I want to go home… I hate overtime… I want to slap the mercenaries… Damn my life…”

In reality, I quietly closed my eyes to the ongoing nightmare. And I said in a soft voice,

“Um… then, let’s deduct my compensation from the expenses…”

The porter shivered and eventually bowed deeply, speaking.

“…Thank you very much.”

…Seems like there are people suffering from the boss’s nonsense wherever you go.