C379. A Birthday Without Memories (4)
Alon Palatio had completely lost his memories of the last 13 years. That is to say, Alon did not know at all what experiences he had lived through during that time.
Although Penia Crysine had explained to him in a general way what his relationships with other people were like, that was nothing more than superficial information.
And seen from that point…
One could say that the confusion in Alon's mind was only accelerating.
Alon lowered his gaze absently. There was a marriage certificate, quite dirty here and there, as if a long time had passed.
When he raised his eyes again, he saw the beastkin woman Seolrang, smiling radiantly. Her eyes shone exaggeratedly, as if she were looking forward to something with anticipation.
‘……I… planned to get married?’
Alon looked alternately at the marriage certificate and at Seolrang.
…Of course, from the position of someone who had lost his memory, he had no serious complaints regarding marrying her.
After all, his current memory was only suppressed; with time, he would recover the original one.
Besides, in Alon's judgment, Seolrang looked quite beautiful.
And although only a few minutes had passed since he saw her face, the lively energy emanating from her was surprisingly attractive to him.
Added to that was that…
Even with the little common sense Alon had at that moment, he understood something: at his age, he should already be involved in marriage matters.
No, considering the world he lived in, one could even say it was very late.
In other words, the existence of that marriage certificate was not particularly strange.
Even so…
It was undeniable that the mere existence of the document left him bewildered.
Deep down, Alon wanted to ask: “Huh? Me? Get married?”
And he also had his reasons for wanting to ask.
Alon stared at Seolrang.
She, while still maintaining her lively smile, averted her gaze to the side… anyone would say she was acting like someone who had something to hide.
But unfortunately, Alon was not in a position to ask.
Asking questions would be practically the same as announcing loudly that he had lost his memory.
Therefore, after a while looking alternately at the document and at Seolrang, with confusion behind his neutral expression…
Rustle— rustle—
Alon decided to first sign the right side of the marriage certificate.
He used the signature that Penia had taught him, the signature that the current Alon used.
And then.
“Huh?”
As soon as Alon signed the certificate, Seolrang, who until a moment ago was smiling happily, let out a strange sound.
“?”
Faced with that reaction, Alon was bewildered, but he handed her the signed document anyway.
Seolrang took it, stared at it, and then set her eyes on Alon.
“?”
She didn't say anything, but there was a huge question mark on her face. Naturally, Alon also showed doubt upon seeing her sudden change in attitude.
“?”
“??”
Question marks floated between the two, filling the office with silence. It was such an awkward atmosphere that it was hard to know who should speak first.
“U-um… why is this happening?”
asked Alon.
“Ah, eh—”
Seolrang looked alternately at the certificate and Alon's face, as if stunned. Then, after trying to come to her senses, she lost concentration repeatedly.
Step, step—
She turned around and left the office. Her eyes remained glued to the marriage certificate.
“…Seolrang?”
Alon called her, but…
She, as if hypnotized by that simple paper, left the room like a ghost.
Clack—
Watching that process, Alon…
Could feel nothing but stupor.
After that, when lunch time arrived, Alon met three more people.
The first was Nangwon.
As soon as he saw him, Alon was surprised without realizing it.
For in the game, his appearance indisputably placed him in the first place of the ugliness ranking within Psychedelia.
But the Nangwon he received in person was so extraordinary that he could compete even with Eliban, one of the playable characters.
Alon understood then how important the way one lived life was.
Afterwards, he met Radan.
Once again, Alon was surprised by how handsome he was, and even more surprised to see what he had brought: the Sea King's partner.
The length of the Sea King was comparable to the entrance that crossed the entire marquis's mansion.
But the most shocking thing was this:
The true identity of the creature living in the Palatio family pond, that creature that did cute things whenever Alon sat nearby to rest…
…was that huge monster.
The only way Alon had seen it until now was when little Blackie and Basiliora went to play at the pond and the three of them had fun together.
And the last person he met was Historia.
With her usual absent-minded expression, she approached and gently wrapped her arms around Alon's waist while saying a brief “Happy birthday.”
Then she handed him a ring and disappeared like the wind.
…In a way, since the conversation didn't last long…
For Alon, who had to hide that he had lost his memory, she was the easiest to deal with.
“Pff—”
“You look very tired, My Lord.”
While recalling all that, Alon sighed; Evan, who knew his situation, spoke to him.
“Well, yes. Having to pretend I know things I don't know…”
“Still, you've handled it quite well so far, don't you think?”
“……Do you… think so?”
Alon reviewed what he had done. …..Thinking about it, he had indeed faced things decently.
“Ah, now that I think about it—”
He remembered Seolrang's gift and was about to ask Evan, but ended up staring at him.
“My Lord? Why are you looking at me like that?”
“No, nothing—”
“?”
“—it's just that… it seems you've aged a bit.”
…“My Lord, it's been 13 years! If I hadn't aged, that would be weird, don't you think?”
“You're right. But I don't know… from my point of view, everything changed suddenly overnight, so it's somewhat awkward.”
Evan made a doubtful expression at Alon's words, but only for a moment.
“Well— you have indeed aged quite a bit.”
“…Are you done?”
“Yes.”
“And do you think you're not going to age?”
“Hm— at least less than a certain person~”
Penia intervened mercilessly.
As if they had agreed upon it, both began to hurl poisonous insults at each other.
…Alon had already seen that scene several times since he lost his memory, so he was already used to it.
While he ate something to replace lunch and watched Penia and Evan argue, Alon ended up intervening:
“How many more people do I have to see today?”
“Mm— I'm in charge of the nobles, so… there should be about four left. Thinking only of those who said they would come. Right, Evan?”
“……Yes.”
Evan nodded, but then added as if he had just remembered something.
“Ah, right. Probably one of them will arrive shortly.”
“Who?”
“Magrina.”
“Ah, her?”
Upon hearing that name in the middle of the conversation, Alon asked:
“Magrina… the Elf Queen?”
“Yes. She will probably arrive soon.”
“…Last time she didn't say anything, but… is it okay for the Elf Queen to be moving around so freely?”
“Well— I think so too, but…”
With Evan's answer, Alon showed a peculiar expression.
The Elf Queen, Magrina.
The current Alon knew nothing about her.
He only had a blurry memory that she “appeared in a DLC,” along with Penia's additional explanation.
“Are you worried?”
“……A little.”
At that response, Penia smiled as if to reassure him.
“Don't worry too much. She is not a strange person. She won't put you in a bind.”
“Really?”
“Yes.”
Given such assurance, Alon let out a small sigh of relief.
Past noon…
Just as Evan had said, Alon met Magrina.
And once again…
He couldn't help but let out an exclamation.
It was because of Magrina's beauty.
Of course, Alon had certain expectations; after all, she was the Queen of the Elves, a race famous for its beauty.
But the woman in front of him easily surpassed all his expectations.
For an instant, Alon was left speechless. Then he regained his composure and continued acting.
“Magrina.”
“Yes, Brother. I apologize for not having come sooner.”
“No problem.”
Magrina smiled sweetly.
Seeing her, Alon could only admit that Penia was right.
Among all the people who had come to see him, she was the one with the most normal attitude to hold a conversation.
‘No wonder Penia said she wasn't the strange type.’
Not that all the people who had arrived were weird, but…
Compared to common people, their reactions had been quite peculiar, so Alon relaxed a bit.
Magrina took a seat.
After looking at Alon for a moment, she cleared her throat slightly and furtively took out a magic sphere from her chest.
Wooong~ resonated the sphere.
“?”
Alon was puzzled, but soon understood.
The sphere Magrina was holding was one with a recording function.
‘…Suddenly?’
While Alon was bewildered…
“Ahem— Brother.”
“…What is it?”
“You aren't calling me like you usually do.”
“……Like usually?”
“Yes— like usually—”
Magrina, for some reason, drank some water, as if her throat were going dry.
“My dear/charming Magrina… like that… is how you used to call me.”
She finally said.
“……Pardon?”
Alon returned the question unintentionally, using a formal tone.
And in that very instant…
He remembered Penia's words:
“Don't worry. She is not the strange type. She won't put you in a bind.”
…Are you sure she isn't the strange type?
