Lost & Confused

An intense battle took place across a vast floor of stupidly high ceilings. Sprawling beneath were green-skinned humanoid beings alongside humans. Orcs.

Operation of Two-Headed Snake. It was an operation to conquer Deadhead Watching Keep, with the larger force attacking Riverside Iron Fortress around the same time. His party was in Deadhead.

"Damn it!" a redhead man angrily shouted as his greatsword was knocked away almost effortlessly, barely sidestepping the orc's dual-sword slash despite his impressive physique. "That move is a pain in the ass…! Isn't there any way to counteract it?!"

A girl about his age trying to tackle him from behind. But she couldn't. Zoran Zesh kept a constant check on his back, rendering her at a distance to avoid getting cut down. Their mage and the hunter were unable to do anything either. Their specialties were ranged attacks, but with such a spacious floor and no obstructed view, there was a not-small chance of their attacks reaching the ally instead, worsening the already worse situation.

A slender woman who fought alongside the redhead was equally helpless against the dual-sword spinning skill of Zoran Zesh, the Keeper of the Keep. This was the party's first experience against orcs. Even so, the Keeper of Deadhead was exceptionally strong.

There were 'others' with qualifications to stand up to the Keeper, of course. But the majority of them were already engaged in battling his elite retainers. The remaining were treated by priests or flat-out untreatable. Dead. 

Even if they could return to a state of combat, it wouldn't be easy to fight Zoran Zesh right away. Zoran Zesh's Whirlwind technique would be pushing most humans from the get-go. And there are the sneaky shamans to watch out for. Their capabilities are nearly unknown to the volunteer soldiers, making them equally troublesome opponents to deal with.

"—alright, you can go now," the party's priest pulled her hand from the brunette man's shoulder. Her voice was just a tad worried. "Be careful."

The man didn't react. "I know. Thanks for the care."

She gave him a faint smile. "It's my role. That was only natural."

"...Right."

The man in question, Kiyotaka, began to make his way to the frontline. 

Death Spots' sword was in his hand, and it had been ample to resist Zoran Zesh's ferocious attacks without fearing it would be dismembered.

'This weapon should be enough.'

"Ah, Kiyotaka!" The redhead was visibly delighted to see the man back in action. "Perfect timing— well, no, maybe not that much. Anyway, come and help us quickly!"

'Even Ken seems troubled by the orc.'

He held his physique in high regard. Though he must've admitted that that wouldn't matter much with Zoran Zesh. The same with Suzune. The orc didn't just have the right physique, but also the skills and, experience with him. The unrefined Ken and inexperienced Suzune would've naturally troubled to handle the orc's style.

Ignoring Ken, Kiyotaka dove headlong into Zoran Zesh's dual-sword spinning attack right away. 

"?!"

"Whoa!"

Suzune and Ken was understandably surprised.

Obviously, Kiyotaka threw himself with a plan in mind. He's trying to halt both of Zoran Zesh's swords by that, stopping his momentum.

Chiaki could grapple the orc from behind when the moment is right. That, or Kikyou showering Zoran with Arve magic. Even Kanji would do well if the target wasn't moving. Yousuke and Kei are ready to heal them anytime should they be injured badly.

'What am I doing all this for?' It was a question he had asked himself repeatedly. 'I figured I was searching for one.' And that was the conclusion he'd get every time.

Zoran Zesh's posture was faltering by Kiyotaka's interruption, just as he had expected. 

Ken and Suzune are the first ones to take the opportunity to go on the offensive.

'How did all this come to be here…?' 

All this had transpired in a mere two months since he'd arrived in Grimgar.

***

"Awaken."

I opened my eyes.

Who was that? I distinctly heard someone's voice. A man with a hoarse tone.

I stirred my head. Dark. But not so dark. Little light sources of candles were attached to the wall over me, cast as far as the eye could see in a fixed distance. They weren't enough to provide ample illumination to reveal my feet, but I was able to adapt to them pretty fast.

'I must be in a cave,' I concluded. 

Aside from the leaning sensation and the outline of walls shown by the candles, the ground felt just as rough. Whether it was a natural or artificial cave remained a mystery.

Before I make an inspection on where I am, I wonder how I even ended up here. 'Even that's already hard to do since I can't recall what came before this.' It's bizarre.

I wasn't particularly shaken up by that, for some reason. 

I could still remember my name, my weight, my height, and even my date of birth. But who gave me the name, how I learned that info, and where I'd been born simply doesn't register in my head.

I examined the darkness surrounding me. I can spot several moving silhouettes of humans. Seven of them, excluding me.

Someone other than me appeared to have come to the same realization. "Is there anyone else here? Other than me, of course."

"Yeah."

I responded alongside a random woman.

"I'm with you, man," responded someone else. His tone was casual but had a certain amount of perplexity embedded in it.

A different woman inquired. "Why are we here...?"

"It's truly confusing..." yet another woman trailed in. 

"...I agreed."

"The hell is this?" The last person is a man. 

That makes four men, and four women. A total of eight people counting myself.

"Um... I know this might not be helpful. But how about we introduce ourselves first?" The man who posed the question at the start advised. I was able to catch a glimpse of his gentle facial features under the faint light of the candles. "My name is Yousuke."

"Yousoke? I'm Kanji, then." a short man quickly replied.

"I… think my name is Kikyou," one of the girls joined in, speaking with a tone of uncertainty. "...that's all I remember."

"Uh, I guess mine is Kei?

"I'm Chiaki," this girl sounds nonplussed. "Now that you say it again, I 'was' unable to recall anything else than that."

"Kiyotaka," I gave a curt answer.

I turned to the only girl who hadn't introduced herself yet. She was the closest to me. 

She had nice straight length of hair, fair proportions, and a striking presence. I'm reasonably certain I was staring at her secretly, so it must have been a coincidence that she made eye contact with me at that particular moment.

"Whatever, you can call me Ken," the second last person introduced himself, audibly irritated. He might be aiming his emotions onto the present situation instead of the introductions. He had a rather conspicuous red hair.

I tore my eyes away from the dark-haired woman. It would be troublesome if she found it disturbing.

"I'm Suzune," she ended the group's introduction session shortly after. Her voice was flat as can be, displaying no trepidation. Despite the fact, I can sense that she was simply trying to hide her anxiety. "It won't do us any favors to sit idly here forever. Let's follow the candles on the wall."

No one objected. There was another path besides the one lit by candles where there was absolutely no lighting in between. It seems that no one wishes to venture that path.

'I doubt the candles were burning incessantly. Someone took care of them, and arranged them in such a way as to demonstrate that they wanted us to follow them. That is assuming that the person tending these cave candles is the same person who caused us to lose our memories. This cave structure is too unrealistic to be called natural. They might have tried to make one, and for various reasons didn't continue deeper into it.'

A truly natural cave could be just beyond the darkness. There are a number of interpretations regarding the candles' placement, and the only way to find them out is to trace them directly. The other option had an equally unclear prospect, sadly.

"Hm?" Chiaki perked up. She was walking beside me, with Suzune in the lead. "Are those lamps?"

"Looks like they are," I shrugged. "There's an iron grate in between as well."

"Is that the way out?!" Kanji shouted.

Ken clicked his tongue. "You're loud and annoying. Tone down your voice."

Suzune shoved the grate. It takes a considerable amount of force to get it to budge, it seems.

There's another corridor. No lighting this time, however.

"There's a staircase," Yousuke stated. "another source of illumination is coming from above."

'He was right.'

We progressed through the moldy corridor in an orderly fashion. Glancing back fleetingly, it seemed as though Kikyo was somewhat uncomfortable with the odor the corridor gave off. Fortunately for her, it doesn't take long for us to reach the edge.

"Man, how many doors do we have to open…?" Kanji complained, noticing another iron grate at the top of the stairs.

"That's only two," Kei shot back.

When we came in front of the grate, Suzune started pushing it open. She was trying as hard as she could but to no avail.

"Let me do it," Ken made his way to the grate. 

He tried doing the same thing as Suzune. As one might expect, the result was just as fruitless. 

Clucking his tongue, "Open the damn thing, damn it!" he struck the grate, kicking it with impressive force over and over again. His action caught the group by surprise. 

"That's enough—" Suzune moved to stop him. That's when something happens.

Ken had stopped on his own, taking a step backward. Suzune seemingly mimicked him by reflex.

Someone was coming from the other side of the gate.

That someone sounds like they're unlocking the iron grate. Fair enough, it swung open a second later with a muffled "Get out." That male's voice was definitely the one who unlocked it.

Suzune hesitantly complied with his command. Ken followed after her, as did I, and then the others.

We were led into a stone room. It was lit by lamps, and yet another staircase to the upper level was visible on one side of the room. 

When I laid eyes on the man, I couldn't tell his approximate age. His entire body was covered by metal armor. The man had a sword hanging from his waist as well.

I quickly noticed the strange looks the other group members were giving him. As if seeing something out of place. I lacked any clue as to why they reacted that way, and why I of all people was the only one who didn't reacted the same. 

The man pulled a handle of some sort on the wall. A low rumbling sound rang out as a portion of the wall intriguingly sunk into the ground. "Get out." He said again.

The wall led outside.

Suzune eyed him suspiciously. But she did as she was told. I don't see many other options, either. I do just the same. Opposing him wouldn't be too smart. It wouldn't be him alone to worry about, so to speak.

'There were too many things I couldn't decide with the loss of memories.'

A mild breeze blew through my body the instant I set foot outside the wall. Adapting my eyes for a moment, I found ourselves atop a hill. The time marks either dawn or dusk.

I examine the place we came out from a moment ago. It's a tower. We wake up under that tower. 

The hillside was filled with large white stones that seemed to surround the tower. Other than that...

"A town?" Yousuke muttered.

Across the hill was a walled settlement, buildings stuffed in one little space, creating a cramped impression. 

"Nah," Kanji responded with a solemn look. It was deliberate, so it didn't exactly fit him. "It was a starting city, man."

'I can't understand.'

Suzune observed the supposed town with a concentrated gaze. Chiaki was examining the surroundings way too much. Kei's visage was rather calm, but it's kind of obvious she only pretend, whereas Kikyou appeared as if her soul had left her body. Is she alright? She seemed to be the one who was affected the most.

Ken nodded, apparently in agreement with Kanji's words. "That sounds about right." Only for a second. He furrowed his brows after a moment of confusion. "What's a starting city?"

"Huh? Obviously I was referring to… Uh, what am I trying to say again?"

"How the hell should I know?"

'What a weird pair.'

My hearing picked up something. I turned back. The wall was closing back in. I can force myself inside before it closes completely, but of course, I have no intention of doing that whatsoever.

'That place was an enigma, first of all.'

'The unique mechanism that man showed... Was there anyone else other than him? Not knowing that much, not to mention the mechanism of the tower was still unknown, it would be a death wish act for anyone to push themselves in and, worse yet, dare the occupants.'

I didn't see anything resembling another town ahead of me. If I were to check the other side of the tower, and there isn't any, then that man might have wanted us to come close to that town, for whatever reasons. In any case, I went ahead to check out the tower to do just that. I came to a halt right away.

"—ah! You just ruined Hiyo's entrance!" 

A woman's head had poked out from behind the tower at some point. Although it was only her head, she had the striking appearance of the seven of us put together. Since when had she been there? 

"Who are you?" Suzune interrogated her.

The group, including me, was naturally suspicious of her identity.

She pulled out her entire body, hopping lightly over to us with a weird sound effect. Her outfit was as eccentric.

"Hiyo is Hiyo! There's no other Hiyo, and there never was!"

The way she moves her body, her intonation, and right up to her facial features are exaggerated. It wasn't natural, but rather intentional.

"What's with that woman?" Kikyou mumbled, frowning.

'She's just a weirdo.'

Her appearance makes her resemble a teenager the same age as us. There was nothing strange about her overall visual at first glance. However, you can spot several wrinkles on various parts of her skin if you look close enough. They don't look natural, signifying that she is not as young as she looks. 

Her actions come across as forced. When she made exaggerated body movements, I realized that her skin was unnaturally firm as well. It was as if her skin was holding back from bursting, or perhaps deflating.

"I'll be the guide for your arrival here in Grimgar!" She adopted the pose of a bowing servant. That's just one example. "Let us start the journey, shall we? Hehehe."