Morning Talk

I spent two hours exploring the west town before going back to the lodging house. I wouldn't have been surprised if the guys and girls had woken up, but it seemed that they were pretty tired, or had simply overslept, as they were still deeply asleep on their beds. For that reason, I decided to claim the bathroom all to myself.

The lodging house's bathroom was just an annex. Much like the rest of the building, it was poorly maintained. The smell of urine and other accumulated excrement was pungent. It had a partially deteriorated cement floor, and while having a roof to cover from rain, it'd get rough in the winter.

Each member had bought a towel for 30 coopers and soap for the boys and girls for 20 coopers (boys). There were 4 silvers and 50 coopers left in my possession. I deposited tens of coopers in Yorozu Bank with a fee of 1/100 coopers, having the rest on me at all times.

'I'd put it all on protection equipment.' That's gonna cost not just silvers, but golds. 1 gold equal to 100 silver. A long way, but whatever.

I quickly cleaned myself up, toweled myself dry, and walked out of the bathroom with a refreshed physique. 

"...Kiyotaka-kun?"

I looked over to the side. The girl had her back against the outer wall of the bathroom as she looked at me sleepily.

"Suzune."

She wore a dull green cloth outfit and short ruffled black pants. The long hair is considerably disheveled, and there's still a sleepy look on her face. It was a somehow refreshing sight. 

"You're off to bathe?" 

The girls went to the market for other daily necessities right after checking the lodge. The boys were too exhausted for that and had decided to go to their rooms instead. We were given second-hand clothing from the guild as well, but as one might expect, they were of poor quality and not so luxurious. What Suzune and I are currently wearing was given by them. Did they not buy their clothes back then?

Suzune put a hand over her mouth as she was yawning. "...I've had enough sleep, so yes. Is Kiyotaka-kun the same?"

"Yep."

"I see..." Suzune was silent in place momentarily. She seemed like she wanted to tell me something. "...Ah, sorry. You can go." 

"...Alright."

Something made her stop. 

And so, exchanging small goodbyes, we separated into our own paths. 

I had no intention of lying down on the bed. Instead, I settled down in the lodging house's courtyard. There's a stone seat exposed under the sky outside the lodging house's terrace and a table surrounded by the stone seat.

I was waiting for Suzune to be done showering. She'd have to pass through the terrace before me in order to reach her room. 'And I don't know why, but when I watch the sky, I find it calming.' 

I hadn't thought of anything particular in the time between. I heard the sound of footsteps from the bathroom before long. Suzune finished her bath quickly.

"What are you doing?" She inquired, now rejuvenated.

"Waiting for the dawn to be over, I guess," I casually responded.

Suzune strolled over and "Don't mind if I join in" took a seat next to me. She let out a soft sigh. I was able to smell the fragrance of her body, soothing. Suzune gazed upward. "...The moon is off-putting."

"Yeah," I lied. "It just doesn't feel right."

Perhaps because neither of us is a talkative individual, there was a pause that an outsider might perceive as awkward for us. I didn't feel that way myself. From her expression, Suzune was the same.

"...The Forbidden Tower," Suzune blurted something a little unexpected. "Are we coming out of there...?"

"..."

"This is odd," her voice carried frustration, albeit indistinctly. "The Forbidden Tower has no entrance or exit. We appeared on the hill of the graveyard. Prior to that— a tunnel. We went through them. But I don't recall what we were doing then. Somehow, we found ourselves on that hill for no reason."

"There's a missing piece," I agreed. "My recollections are blurry, and their order made no sense. In between us in the cave and the hill, we may have entered the Forbidden Tower at some point. How, I can't tell."

No matter how much I tried to remember, it was useless. I don't think I was capable of forgetting those memories without the help of drugs and the like. What did they use to produce this sort of effect?

The volunteer soldiers are certainly a gathering of amnesiacs brought from the hills to serve as weapons for the fortified city of Alterna. Not all of them, of course. Some found better alternatives and proceeded to take them. In fact, the volunteer soldiers were able to quit and take up more peaceful occupations if they had the means. 

'Now I had a thought...' I glanced at Suzune. "Do you really need those memories?"

"Huh?"

Up until now, Suzune had only been trying to keep herself fed. As a volunteer soldier.

I carried on. "A conspiracy of some sort is certain from Alterna's own side. They are related to the Forbidden Tower. You'd have to confront them if you wanted to learn anything about the memory. However, do you need those memories so much that you are willing to adopt methods to fight against the whole city?"

I didn't feel the need to find out my past. Still, I could sense the feeling of wrongness in letting that fact drift forever. Just a little, I had the thought that I ought to do something to bring them to light.

Suzune scrunched up her face. "...I don't." But then she sharply shook her head, as if denying it. "But, that's not correct either. To continue forgetting them."

'—are we meant to consider that normal?' I wondered.

I'm pretty sure of this.

Our memories aren't lost. They're not locked away. Just tricky to access.

Yesterday morning, regarding cosplay, Chiaki briefly recalled the definition before it vanished while she went on explaining it. Not only she, but Kanji and Kushida, who had been exchanging the word were as perplexed. Yousuke, Kei, Sudou, and Suzune had the expected reaction.

When Kanji was on the initial hill, both he and Ken forgot their understanding of what they themselves were stating and agreed with it as they tried to put it into a detailed explanation. I think it's safe to say that; the more you put your mind to that certain memory, the more distant they are for you to grab onto.

The volunteer soldiers realized that there was no point in thinking about them because they'd quickly forget about them again anyway. That said, there are bound to be a number of people who'll try to find out more about that false feeling to get a hold of the fleeing memories. How did Alterna handle those people? Before I know that much, I shouldn't be facing them yet.

We weren't originally from this place. The red crescent moon that gave my group an off-putting feeling means we're from a place where the moon isn't red. I'm pretty certain of that.

Another thing. From passing information, there's a land beyond the high mountains to the south, Tenryu, which is the mainland of the Arabakia Kingdom. The fortress city of Alterna is part of them. Alterna's purpose is to defend the fortress from enemies, I presume. 

While the mainland sounds great in the mouths of the populace, they can't afford to even send enough troops to defend Alterna's fortress. Their alternative helpers, we, are highly likely from the Forbidden Tower. That would mean Alterna is behaving separately from the Forbidden Tower.

Since Alterna and the Forbidden Tower are working independently, they must be able to compromise in some way that benefits both parties. Though only Alterna that I knew of, with the help of volunteer soldiers from the Forbidden Tower. What the other side gets is unknown.

"You shouldn't think about that for now," I told the pain-stricken Suzune. She thought about it too seriously, which would get her nowhere. "We should concentrate on getting our lives sorted out first."

Suzune pursed her mouth. "...You're right."