Chapter 26

Yakumo Tabito
“There are so many amazing bears.”

“Y-yeah... um, that bear is...”

“They’re so cute.”

“Oh, is that so! Thank you, Aqua!”

We returned to Miss Bridget’s house.
Aqua—the name of the elf girl in front of me being shown the bears.

I was about to ask how she knew my full name when Miss Bridget appeared.
She also said she wanted to know, and we came to the Bear-Bear House to talk in peace.

“This bear is from the west—”

“U-um, Miss Bridget.”

“Hm? What is it?”

“U-um, I wanted to know… about my identity...”

“Ah, sorry, I got a little too excited...”

Blushing Bridget: 200 points.
But if you don’t mind, let’s hold off on that for a bit.

After that, tea was prepared, and the four of us sat around the table.
Before we arrived, Milfie had quietly warned me.

(Don’t let your guard down.)

(What do you mean?)

(Because we don’t know what might happen. Some magic users can read memories. It’s possible you were deceived just by having your mind peeked into somewhere.)

(... Got it.)

This kind of caution is one of Milfie’s strong points.
But to me, Aqua doesn’t seem like a bad person.

“Thank you for the tea.—Ack, hot!? S-sorry, I have a sensitive tongue...”

“It’s *that* hot—meowww!”

“A-are you two okay? Sorry about that. Please wait for it to cool a little more before drinking.”

“Sorry, thank you.”

“Meowww...”

Yeah, she really doesn’t seem like a bad person.
She’s sticking out her tongue and fanning it. Milfie’s doing the same next to her.
Huh, are they sisters?

“Well then, I’d like to get to the point. Aqua, how do you know my name?”

“... Right. I want to explain things in order, but there are parts of my memory that are vague.”

“Your memory... is vague?”

“Yes.—May I ask you a question first?”

“Sure, go ahead.”

“Yakumo Tabito, what do *you* remember?”

“... What do I remember?”

I didn’t understand what she meant.
I tilted my head, but Aqua looked at me with a serious expression.

Then—

“Miss Milfie, Miss Bridget—you two as well.”

“Eh, m-me?”

“... What’s this about?”

“What do all of you remember?”

Again, I didn’t understand her question.
She wasn’t teasing us, but what was she trying to say?

We all shook our heads.

“... I see. Then I’ll start from the conclusion. A year ago, I have memories of traveling with all of you. Though they’re only fragments.”

“... Traveling?”

“Yes. And together, we defeated the Death General.”

Traveling? A year ago? What... what is she talking about?

“Miss Bridget, you remember Mister Tabito a little, don’t you?”

“... Yeah, only that he saved my life.”

“Yes.”

“But even I find it odd—I only have a vague memory. And that journey felt very different from how things are now.”

Hearing that, Aqua placed a hand on her chin.
And despite the timing, I couldn’t help but notice how adorable she looked while thinking hard.

“The Death General we defeated was incredibly powerful. It was like they existed solely to take lives. But the most terrifying thing was the curse magic. Magic left behind even after death. I suspect that as a result, all memories of Tabito were erased from this world.”

“... Huh? Aqua, what are you saying? This makes no sense.”

“Yeah, like Tabito said—what is... the point of all this?”

Milfie sounded a bit angry. No, she was probably being cautious.
Even so, Aqua continued.

“There is mana that drifts throughout the world. It’s likely the curse rewrote people’s memories through that. Yakumo Tabito, you were the one who finally defeated the Death General and brought peace to the world. But as a result, you were cursed. A curse so powerful, even you forgot.”

“... So you’re saying, in short, we used to travel together, but after defeating the Death General, we were cursed, and everyone’s memories of me were completely erased?”

“That’s correct. The Death General’s magic records include descriptions of such curses.”

“... Then why do you remember me? Isn’t that strange?”

“I was born with strong magical resistance. That’s probably the reason. It may be the same for Miss Bridget. Maybe there are others like us.”

I was about to deny it outright. But then I remembered.
There were others who seemed to vaguely remember me—Miri the witch, and Luna, the royal candidate.

Both of them likely have high mana.

… Still, I can’t just trust this so easily.
But then—surprisingly, Milfie spoke.

“... When I first met Tabito, I felt... a strange sense of nostalgia. Could that have something to do with it?”

“Milfie, you too...?”

This is getting fishy. Way too fishy.
But Milfie’s expression looked like she genuinely believed Aqua’s story.
Why?

“... Hey, do you remember? When I fell into that pitfall?”

“Yeah, of course I remember.”

I remember it well.
I kept thinking about it afterward.
She’s strong enough to leap several meters—so how’d she fall into a hole?

“I don’t remember anything from that moment. But the only thing I felt was sadness. It was painful, suffocating, and yet I felt like I couldn’t move from that spot. But when I met you, Tabito, I was so happy, unbelievably happy. I thought... maybe that meant something.”

“... That’s a bit of a stretch, don’t you think?”

“But when I heard Aqua’s story, it all... it all made sense.”

Cautious Milfie saying something like this is rare.

So what does that mean? That I just... lost my memory?
That I’ve been in this world all along?

Then this Death General—was defeated by *me*?

"Ah, excuse me. I greatly apologize for the delay. This is proof of the Holy God. Could you believe that I'm not lying by seeing this?"

"... What did you say?"

"Amazing... This is my first time seeing one."

At that moment, Aqua pulled out the necklace from her chest.
Engraved on it was an image resembling a goddess.
Bridget and Milfie both raised their voices at the same time when they saw it.
By the way, not that it's appropriate to think this right now, but when her chest was slightly revealed, it gave me a little jolt.

"Is that... something amazing?"

"It's something awarded by His Majesty. Only pure, righteous, and well-conducted magic users are given it."

"I’ve heard of it too. But this is the first time I’ve actually seen one."

Hah… So it’s legit, then.
… Maybe I should believe her, at least a little.

"Aqua, I—"

I told Aqua.
About the day I was reincarnated into this world.
About Miri, Luna, and then—how I reached a single conclusion.

"The day Mister Tabito supposedly came to this world… I think that’s when your memory was reset. If that’s the case, then everything makes sense."

"... So I really have been in this world for a long time after all?"

"Yes. I remember. It’s just fragmented images, but they’re definitely there."

Unbelievable.
But some things only make sense that way.
Like how naturally my body adapted to combat.

And besides, I haven’t told anyone in this world that my name is Yakumo Tabito.
Yet Aqua, who I just met, knows it—that should be impossible.

There’s only one possibility: a magic that can read memories.
I can't say it's impossible.

"Please look at this. It was in my pocket. I didn’t know what it was, but I couldn’t bring myself to throw it away. Then, when I saw a guidebook at the Adventurers’ Guild, I suddenly remembered.

That you, Yakumo Tabito, once saved my life."

"... This… Tabito..."

"Yeah… this is… there's no doubt."

What Aqua took from her pocket was a handmade guidebook.
It was unfinished, but the handwriting matched mine.

It even had notes about word-of-mouth reviews.
Places I haven’t even visited yet.

In other words, it was something the previous me had started to make.

"Hah, no way..."

I had no reason left to deny it.
This was reality.

"Will Tabito's memory come back?"

"There’s a chance it might return naturally. Or perhaps, like me, something might trigger a strong recollection.
It’s also possible the curse from defeating the Death General is gradually weakening."

After that, Aqua told me many things, but nothing triggered my memory.
By the time everything was over, it was already midnight, so I stayed another night at Bridget’s house.

But I couldn’t sleep.

I tried to jump out using Free Pin to look at the night view—but my hand was taken.
It was Milfie.

"Can I come too, meow?"

"Ahh—"

On a hill with a view of the night scenery, we gazed at the night sky.

"That was an incredible story."

"Yeah, I still can’t believe it."

"But I think I’m convinced now. I always wondered why it felt so natural for me to get along with you so quickly."

Her faint smile looked so fragile.

"This is just speculation, but… if everything Aqua said is true, then I don’t think it was a coincidence that I was in that forest."

"What do you mean?"

"I’m guessing I had this power before. But when I lost my memory, it reset. So I think I used Free Pin to jump. Right before my memory completely vanished."

"But why the forest?"

"... Maybe I believed that even if everything went to zero, starting from scratch would help my memory come back. And you followed me there, Milfie."

I have no proof.
But if I had known I was going to lose my memory, that’s what I’d have done.

"Then maybe the reason I didn’t leave that pitfall trap… was because I was waiting for you."

"Haha, maybe so."

Milfie is kind.
The me who lost my memory was basically like a baby.
So she was trying to protect me.

… I hope that's true.

"What are you going to do from now on?"

"Nothing’s changed. I’ll keep traveling. But there's one thing I’m certain of."

"Certain?"

"I think the old me was also searching for your kin. And somewhere along that journey, I fought the Death General."

"Hehe, then that makes you a really good person, doesn’t it?"

"Who knows. I might’ve just been a serious battle junkie."

There’s no problem.
This journey to find my true self has simply become a journey to recover my memories.

"I’m counting on you from now on, Milfie—is that okay?"

"Yeah! Of course it is!"

I’ll get them back.
I swear I will.

Milfie, Bridget, Aqua, and me.

Let’s think.

I don’t know how long we traveled together, but we must’ve had good enough teamwork to defeat the Death General.

That means—we were close.

Just imagining it makes me happy.

Three beautiful women, and me.

A blissful harem journey like that… there’s no way I wasn’t enjoying it.

I’m sure there were baths, and maybe even *this* or *that*.

Remember it. I have to remember it.

Aaaaaaahhh, come on meeeeeeeeeee!

Lost harem memoriessssssssssssssssssssss!

—
Bridget
★★★★★
Lost memories, huh.
I still can’t believe it, but… what were we talking about, I wonder.
Did we talk about bears, too?

Aqua
★★★★★
I was a little nervous, but I’m glad they understood.
Somehow I feel at peace. Maybe because I’m with my companions?
Or maybe… thanks to this bear body pillow?

Milfie
★★★★★
I was shocked to find out I knew Tabito.
But I’m really happy.
… Ehehe.

Tabito
★★★★★
Come back, memories, come back!
The happy memories that must’ve existed—
Come back! Come baaaaaaaack!
My harem slow life! COME BAAAAACK!!!

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