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

9 – 1. The Worst Reunion (9)

Sometimes we leave a part of ourselves in the past.

It is like dropping anchor.

Life is often cruel to us, and we are weak to stand alone in the storm. So, we gently let go of ourselves in the brightest days.

In order to be able to return there at any time.

However, sometimes the past takes away a part of us.

It is being enslaved.

Even in the brightest days, with just a small trigger, the past pulls us back.

The days when the sound of a breaking heart was clear.

It felt like the sky was crying.

In the midst of that, Amy stood in front of the cabin where a boy had lived.

The rain had washed away the blood the boy had shed, but it could not erase the traces of violence he had endured.

The shattered door of the cabin swayed in the wind, and rainwater collected along the groove the boy had dragged himself through.

And at the end of that groove, there was a table.

It was a table with a large executioner’s blade placed on it.

The boy’s wrists were laid there, and his severed body writhed on the floor.

Amy had made it so.

Amy knelt in front of the table.

She couldn’t shed tears after three days of crying. Amy just felt for the edge of the guillotine.

She made a vow in her heart. No, she begged herself.

If,

If the boy had survived.

If such a miracle had been granted to her.

She promised never to let something like this happen to the boy again.

She would be his shield.

She would ensure that he never got hurt again.

When she regained her senses, Amy found herself in the mountains.

Her armor was nowhere to be found, she was dressed in plain clothes, and she only had a sword in her hand.

And Ray was in danger.

With that one sentence, everything else lost its meaning.

“Ray!”

Amy shouted desperately. Attracted by her voice, the beasts rushed towards her, but Amy didn’t flinch.

She screamed as she beheaded the wolf.

“Ray! Where are you!”

The girl couldn’t keep her promise.

The fact that Ray was alive was purely coincidental.

A slip of the tongue from Irene, a porter, one day. “Rose Rem Mercenary Corps.”

Feeling drawn to that name, she began investigating the mercenary corps as if possessed.

And she discovered that the deputy commander of that place had no hands. His name was Ray.

That day, Amy crouched and cried all night. She cried out of joy.

She cried in gratitude for the fact that the boy was alive, for the fact that she could keep her promise.

The next morning, she immediately placed a request with the mercenary corps. Without even reading the contract, she signed it and asked to see the deputy commander.

She wanted to see with her own eyes, feel with her own skin and ears, that the boy was alive.

And as Amy wished, the boy appeared before her again.

In a battered state.

It was a belated, explicit statement about her guilt.

It was clear evidence of how Amy had ruined the boy’s life.

And Amy couldn’t bear it.

Just seeing him made her feel repulsive, so she kept her distance. She couldn’t even bring herself to look at his face and averted her gaze.

Unable to face the guilt, she ran away.

And once again, the price of that cowardice fell on the boy.

The day of the sorcerer commanders’ attack.

Amy remembers the boy returning, carried on the back of a savage woman, covered in blood.

The boy was breathing weakly, as if he could break at any moment.

Even with Amy by his side.

In that moment, Amy wanted to crush her own heart.

“Rem! Answer me!”

Amy screams, gripping the approaching wolf’s head, gradually trembling. Her hands start to shake.

Not from exertion, but from fear.

If she can’t keep her oath this time either, if she has to face the pale corpse of the boy.

Is there a reason for creatures like the woman who swallowed the boy’s wrists to keep living?

“Hero?”

***

I looked at Amy, who appeared before me with a fragile expression.

She looked anything but sane.

Her body was covered in scratches and bites, with no part untouched by blood.

“Rem…?”

A voice trembling like the pupils. I scratched my head and opened my mouth.

“Where did you put the armor and why are you in casual clothes? And what about the others? Surely, the hero isn’t alone…”

I didn’t see her hands and feet move. I just woke up, and she was already approaching, holding my wrist.

“Hey, Hero?”

“Aren’t you hurt?”

“No, let go of your wrist first…”

“Aren’t you hurt?”

At that moment, I felt the trembling coming from her hand. Her eyes, when I looked closely, were already dull and hazy.

I sighed.

“I’m not hurt. Nothing happened.”

It’s a lie.

I’ve already had my fair share of encounters with cultists. Blood was shed and organs were spilled. If it weren’t for Irene’s potion, I might have died…

But, I think it was a good idea not to tell the truth.

“…!”

As soon as she heard those words, Amy’s expression changed and she sank to the floor.

“Ha…ugh…!”

Her face wrinkled, and her gaze fell to my feet. Following her gaze, I too frowned.

“Did you really run all the way here barefoot?”

Bloody, swollen feet. The dangling flesh looked painfully dreadful.

“It seems like you lost your shoes while running. Are you okay?”

“What do you mean ‘okay’?”

I approached her and took out a potion and bandages from my bag.

“Give me your feet.”

“It’s fine.”

“I’m not fine. Give me your feet quickly.”

After hesitating for a while, Amy slowly extended her feet towards me. I carefully wrapped the bandages soaked in potion around her feet.

“Ugh…!”

A suppressed groan of pain could be felt.

Naturally, the question arose in my mind, countless times.

Why?

Why go to such lengths just because she lost her childhood memories?

What were those memories of her childhood?

In the first place, the me that Amy remembers was just a poor little beggar.

“Rem.”

I raised my head. I could see Amy’s distorted face.

However, that distortion wasn’t caused by pain.

“…There’s something I have to tell you, something that can’t be left unsaid.”

A voice that seemed to struggle with each letter.

I had a hunch.

What Amy is about to say is the answer to my questions. At least, it might provide some clues.

I silently watched her, waiting for a response.

“I…”

And then, a long silence.

The trembling of her foot was conveyed along my hand.

“I…”

A voice smaller than before.

Amy’s face contorted unpleasantly.

“I…”

Now her voice was barely audible.

Amidst the silence, only the sound of bandages wrapping echoed.

And Amy covered her face.

“…She was your friend. A friend from a very young age.”

It was a deeply fractured voice.

And Amy said no more.

…Why, though.

I forcibly swallowed the turmoil within me.

And pretended to be cheerful.

“Is that so? I was wondering why you were giving me so many gifts.”

After securely tying the bandage around her foot, I stood up from my seat and spoke with a smile.

“With all the gifts you’ve given me, I must have been a pretty good friend.”

“Indeed…”

“Oh, really? Could you explain more about that part?”

“…I’ll tell you later.”

It was a cheesy melodrama.

Even as I spoke, I could sense the awkwardness in my tone. Amy couldn’t bring herself to uncover her face.

As we spoke, neither of us hoped the other would believe our words.

We both, for the moment, tried to avert our eyes from the difficult matter at hand.

“Rem…!!”

Fortunately, the melodrama quickly came to an end.

With a bright light, a familiar voice reached our ears. When I turned my gaze, Clara emerged, pushing through the bushes.

Not as much as Amy, but still, it was a disheveled sight.

The body was covered in vivid bruises, and tear marks were distinct on the face.

However, Clara’s reaction upon seeing me was quite different from Amy’s.

“Oh, dear gods…!”

Bang!

Clara, who rushed towards me, hugged me without giving me a chance to react.

“Thank goodness…! Really, thank goodness…! I was so worried about you…!”

“C-Clara! Your clothes will get dirty! And, uh…!”

I stumbled over my words due to the weighty feeling in my chest.

Certainly, I used to be a small fry back in the day…!

To escape from this ecstatic yet deeply guilt-ridden prison, I grabbed Clara’s shoulders. However, Clara didn’t even flinch.

“If you were hurt again, I would…!”

“Enough of that. How about you look around?”

A cold voice instantly silenced the turbulent air.

Clara’s body stiffened, slowly detaching from mine. She turned her head to gaze at the third person who had just appeared.

“You came quickly, Parsley?”

Parsley didn’t respond to that remark. Just turned his gaze towards me, tilted his blue hat slightly, and asked.

“…Potions aren’t a cure-all.”

Unconsciously, I shuddered. How did he know?

“Come by later. I know more about potion side effects than any priest.”

“Oh, yes…”

“And Clara, can you treat Amy instead of Amy?”

Clara’s eyes, which had been glaring at Parsley, now turned towards Amy.

Amy sat on the floor with a vacant expression. Clara’s eyes paused at her bandaged foot.

“…Stay still.”

Exhaling either a sigh or a groan, Clara crouched in front of Amy.

Gradually, a white light emanated from her hand, flowing into Amy’s injured foot.

Relieved by this sight, I then turned my gaze to Parsley.

“Thanks for coming. But what about the others…?”

“Don’t worry. They’re on their way.”

And, as if to prove him, a familiar shout rang out from the bushes right next to him.

“Hyungnim!!”

I barely managed to fend off Fea’s onslaught. Fea held onto my body, looking up at me with eyes filled with tears.

“Ar-are you okay? Are you hurt anywhere?!”

“…I think I might get hurt because of you right now.”

Fea’s strength was a bit overwhelming for my frail body to handle.

“S-Sorry…!”

Whether Fea realized that fact only now or not, he quickly let me go. I spoke with a pained arm.

“The captain?”

“…He’s guarding the camp with the others. Someone has to protect the home, right?”

I breathed a sigh of relief at those words.

If the captain had come all the way here, I would have given him an earful.

“Fortunately. Well then, let’s go back to the camp.”

I turned my steps towards the camp. However, I couldn’t walk a few steps before stopping.

“Don’t you think you need to rest a bit? You should receive treatment from the aspiring saint as well…”

I turned my head and looked at Fea, who was holding onto my collar. I sighed and shook my head.

“Don’t I look perfectly fine right now?”

“W-Well, still…”

I cut off Fea’s words sharply.

“I’m fine, maknae.”

And, without realizing it, I put my hand into my pocket. A firm and smooth texture transmitted to my fingertips.

What I obtained from the headquarters of the command sorcerers.

“And, there’s something we need to discuss with the captain right away.”