112 – FAY 112

The name sounded somewhat familiar. But the man before me kept darting his eyes around restlessly, making it impossible to think for long.

I stared at the glass-bead-like eyes beneath his long, white eyelashes before asking.

“How old are you?”

“Twenty.”

“Where do you live?”

“I don’t have a fixed residence.”

“You’re a wanderer? You don’t have a home?”

“I don’t stay in one place.”

I heard he was part of the Information Guild. Was it because he had a lot of work? Or was there another reason? Seeing as he wasn’t settled, he probably didn’t have a family or a lover. A tendency to wander would be a bit problematic.

“Do you know why I wanted to see you?”

“I have an idea.”

I was planning to ask about the nature of that light and hire him one way or another, so this was good. But first, I needed to confirm one more thing. I happened to have a fever, so just as I was about to ask him to do something about it, Kyle suddenly spoke.

“Because I’m pretty?”

“……”

His expression was so serious, without a hint of a smile, that at first, I thought I’d heard things. I intensely debated whether what I had just heard was real or not. Staring at me, Kyle spoke with a grave face.

“It was a joke, but you look so serious.”

“……”

It didn’t feel like a joke at all… And since there was a tiny bit of truth to that reason, it was also true that I was flustered at being hit so close to home.

“Didn’t you call me because you’re sick?”

“That’s right.”

“And you must have been curious about the nature of that light.”

“Yes.”

I kept my face expressionless as I answered, afraid he would read my mind.

“To get straight to the point, it’s a type of magic. It’s specialized for external wounds, so it’s not very efficient for your current condition.”

“……”

But I was rendered speechless again. How long had he been watching me to know my condition?

Thinking about it, there were more than a few strange things. I had been too mesmerized by his face to think deeply, but there were certainly many suspicious points.

Could his sudden appearance and healing of me have been a deliberate act to get my attention? He might have approached me that way with some ulterior motive.

“You seem to know a lot.”

“Not really. The fact that you’re sick is obvious just by looking at you. Given your state.”

No, what’s wrong with my state?

I wanted to ask, but I did have the look of a patient.

“You seem to know me very well. Did we know each other?”

“……”

Kyle fell silent again. But that silence was as good as an answer. It didn’t seem like he had any hostility, but one could never know. Even this hesitation to answer could all be a calculated act.

There were many suspicious things, so I decided to keep all possibilities open.

“You seem to be part of the Guild. Is it possible to hold a concurrent position?”

“No. But I already quit before coming here, so it doesn’t matter.”

“You quit? Why?”

“Because I found what I was looking for.”

“……”

Could it be that what he was looking for was me? As I hesitated with a bewildered expression, Kyle asked.

“How much money will you give me?”

“What?”

“Don’t tell me you were planning to work me without pay?”

That wasn’t it, but… things were going so smoothly that I was rather flustered. I thought he would be very particular, but that didn’t seem to be the case either.

“I can provide room and board if you want.”

“That’s a given.”

“At the Guild…”

I was about to ask how much he was paid, but I shut my mouth. It occurred to me that I was a beggar without a single penny to my name. Sakira or Abyss prepared everything I needed, so I had never bought anything on my own.

They would grant my requests, but hiring a person seemed too personal. Would they grant something like this too? In the grand scheme of things, it was no different from medicine money, so maybe it didn’t matter?

Even though they told me to say whatever I wanted, I needed to consider whether it was okay for me to get used to that.

“Why?”

Kyle tilted his head when I suddenly stopped mid-sentence. As I stared at his face, I noticed a cut on his lip. A small scab had formed where I had hit him earlier.

“I’ll have to discuss the matter of your employment.”

At my words, Kyle’s brow furrowed.

“Discuss what? If someone says no, you can’t do it?”

“I suppose so. I’m living off of others right now. I don’t have any money either.”

“……”

I didn’t know what had surprised him so much, but the look on his face was a sight to behold. He seemed very flustered, so I waited a moment for him to collect himself.

But was it really that surprising? Did I have a huge amount of money before I lost my memories? The probability was high since I was likely a noble, but still.

I thought for a moment, then asked.

“Can’t you just do it for free?”

At my question, Kyle sighed as if he had no choice.

“Then give me something other than money.”

I had said it to test him, but it was far easier than I expected.

“Are you married?”

“What?”

“I asked if you are married.”

Kyle looked at me as if to ask why I was asking such a thing, then reluctantly nodded. With every answer I got, the countless hypotheses I had were being eliminated one by one.

I sorted through them again, focusing on the few that seemed most plausible.

First, it was certain that we knew each other before I lost my memories. The problem was the relationship. Whether we were on good terms or not was important, and this part was a bit ambiguous.

When I had no information, I thought that perhaps we had been married, just like many of the people who had been by my side. But the more we talked, the more that probability dwindled.

For one, if I had been married to him, there was no way Abyss or Sakira wouldn’t know. Even if we were, there was no reason for him to search for an ex-spouse for so long.

So, I began to think that Kyle might be one of the causes of my current state. He might feel a degree of responsibility and have been searching for me out of guilt.

That would explain why he started healing me without a word as soon as he met me. And why he would quit his job to stay by my side and treat me for free.

This seemed to be the most credible theory for now, but when he said he was married, another hypothesis came to mind.

Could he have been a secret lover I was having an affair with? The sheer number of people I was married to was clear proof that I was a scoundrel. Naturally, my suspicion was drawn in this direction.

Besides, if he was twenty now, he would have been only fifteen five years ago. That meant fifteen was the maximum, and we could have met when he was even younger.

I might have been a scoundrel, but even my conscience would prickle at dating someone so young, so I might have kept it a secret from those around me.

That would explain why Abyss and Sakira didn’t know Kyle.

If this was true, then I was a piece of trash that the word “trash” couldn’t even begin to describe. Could this be why they weren’t telling me about my past?

No matter how much of a scoundrel I was, it would be an ordeal to recount my trashy past in front of the person involved.

“……”

I suddenly came to my senses. Despite the rather long silence, Kyle didn’t question it and was quietly waiting for me to emerge from my thoughts. I met his gaze as he watched me as if observing a spectacle, and asked.

“Were your eyes originally brown?”

I thought they were a different color earlier. I couldn’t tell if they were reddish or bluish, but they definitely weren’t such a dark color.

At my question, Kyle suddenly popped his eyeball out with his hand.

“……?”

I was so shocked I couldn’t help but be horrified. I gasped and my eyes widened, but on closer look, it wasn’t an eyeball. Something like a shell removed from his eye rested on his finger.

One eye was brown, and the eye from which the shell was removed was red. Kyle, who was staring at me blankly with two different colored eyes, suddenly burst out laughing.

“Why are you so surprised?”

“……”

“It’s just for disguise.”

“……”

My heart began to pound loudly at the sight of his face, smiling so wide that his white teeth showed. I couldn’t tell if it was because of his smiling face or because I was shocked.

In any case, his face was bad for my heart.

“Cough.”

Or was it not? Was it just because I was sick?

I was supposed to be careful even when coughing, but it had burst out so suddenly. A strong fit of coughing made my throat feel like it was being torn apart. Just then, as I clutched my throat and waited for the pain to subside, Kyle grabbed my wrist.

The blue veins on the back of his white hand stood out prominently.

People usually went around bare-handed, so was it because he had been wearing gloves since we first met? The fact that they were black, the complete opposite of his skin tone, made it even stranger.

What was that black string on his wrist? But was he even human? Come to think of it, the shape of his pupils seemed a bit strange, and like the monsters…

“Open your mouth.”

Monster… mouth…

The words, so out of place in this situation, made my mind go blank again.