I Don't Remember a Thing
I don't remember a thing.
Poke.
Poke, poke, poke.
Something thin and delicate prodded at my cheek.
I'd been mid-journey through a thoroughly enjoyable dreamland when the sensation on my face coaxed my eyes half open.
"…What exactly are you doing in the hallway?"
"Nnngh…"
Oh? Chloe.
"Good morning. To be woken by such a lovely lady the moment I open my eyes… haha, I must have saved a nation in a past life."
Chloe came into view, crouched down and studying me with a look that was half contempt, half concern.
"Hmm… Seriously, what's been wrong with you since yesterday? Have you finally lost it?"
"Calling someone mad on first meeting is rather harsh, don't you think? Kh—! It feels as if a great spike has been driven through my chest…!"
"Are you hurt somewh— Wait. First meeting? What are you talking about?"
"Hmm. Perhaps I haven't quite grasped the definition of 'first meeting.' You and I met for the first time yesterday, so first meeting seems accurate enough, doesn't it?"
"I met you for the first time yesterday? What kind of…"
Chloe muttered under her breath, as if she couldn't make sense of a word I'd said.
"Ah! Come to think of it, this is already our second encounter and we still haven't introduced ourselves. A pleasure to meet you. My name is…"
Shion. Shion Frelia. That was this body—my new name.
But I had no intention of telling her that name right now.
Life would be so much more comfortable that way.
"Hmm… What was my name again? It seems to have slipped my mind all of a sudden."
"…Look me dead in the eye."
Chloe scrunched her philtrum, seized my chin, and locked gazes with me.
"Oh my. I had no idea you were this forceful. At this rate I might just fall for you."
"Cut the word games and answer me properly. Or I'll plant a fist in you for every question you dodge."
"Eek! I believe violence is wrong."
Ignoring my frightened tone, Chloe barreled straight into her questions.
"First question. Do you actually not remember your own name?"
"Yes. It may sound idiotic to claim one can't recall one's own name, but I truly cannot remember."
"Fine. Second question. Do you know what kind of house our family is?"
"House…? Gasp—was I a noble? I did think this building looked extraordinarily luxurious, but to think I was actual nobility! My heart is racing!"
"…Last question. What happened yesterday? And why do your clothes look like that—did you play with fire last night?"
"Well, as far as my memories go, my head suddenly went fwoom and spun, and after that most everything vanished except a handful of scraps. As for the clothes, I came to and found myself like this. Then I wandered about, failed to find my room, and ended up camping out here. Ah—leaning against a manor wall may be a little too ambiguous to call camping, though?"
All lies, of course. I hadn't lost my memories at all—and I'd been dragged off by demons and fought a bloodbath for my life.
In my previous life I'd been terrible at lying. Not anymore.
Deceiver — Hero
You excel at deceiving and misleading others. In any situation, you can conceal your true self and present a fabricated persona.
The power of my trait, Deceiver.
"…I think I get the gist."
"Oh? May I eavesdrop on whatever brilliant theory you've concocted?"
"I think you've got amnesia."
Okay. Hook, line, and sinker.
The exact word I'd been fishing for left Chloe's mouth, and I whooped for joy—inwardly, of course.
Amnesia: the state of being unable to recall the past.
There was no way I could perfectly impersonate the old Shion and live that way. Slot in the convenient premise of amnesia, though, and every worry evaporated.
I don't remember a thing.
"Amnesia, you say? Hmm… Given my present circumstances, your claim does sound rather reasonable."
Chloe frowned, sighed, and muttered to herself.
"Ugh, what on earth happened to give you amnesia of all things? How can one person be this consistently useless?"
"By the way, what is amnesia?"
"Do you even have to ask that…! Haa… It's when your head is so empty that every last memory has evaporated—like yours."
"Kh—! Such a blunt condemnation… it feels as if my chest has been run through…!"
"If you don't even remember who I am, quit the theatrics."
"Oh? How sharp of you."
"This guy, seriously…"
Chloe half raised a fist, barely restrained herself—then her eyes lit as if something had just struck her.
"Come to think of it, Luin Academy opens in three days! What am I supposed to do with this idiot?!"
"Luin Academy… What sort of place is that?"
"A talent-training institution run directly by the Praon Kingdom. Wait—you do know what the Praon Kingdom is, right?"
"But of course!"
I answered with a sunny smile.
"You mean the country next door, don't you?"
"That's our country! Haa, I'm going to lose my mind."
Chloe pressed a hand to her forehead as if it were throbbing.
"That's it. Come with me."
"Pardon? What do you mean all of a sudden?"
"I'm going to make a proper person out of you. School starts in three days, and if you're still acting like a halfwit then, you'll just drag the Frelia name through the mud."
"Hmm… So in short, we're going to study. Ah—a dull ache has suddenly appeared in my left big toe…!"
"Want me to make it hurt for real?"
"Haha. I shall follow wherever you lead."
Wearing a cheerfully vacant face, I trailed after a thoroughly exhausted-looking Chloe.
This world is home to eight great nations, broadly speaking.
Nations founded by humanity—humans and their kin.
The Kirinus Empire.
The Praon Kingdom.
The Michel Kingdom.
The Arimarto Republic.
And nations founded by the gathering of various demonic beasts and demons.
Jefel.
Trahan.
Iblanis.
Zirzolt.
The four human nations and the four demon nations spent their days watching one another, forever snapping and biting. The demons sent mindless monsters to ravage human lands; in answer, humanity raised its talents and, in turn, drove steel into demon soil.
Then, in time, the hero born of the Kirinus Empire—Megan Astorius—won such renown that the continent enjoyed a brief season of peace.
And in that peaceful age, a new prodigy's wind begins to blow through Luin Academy of the Praon Kingdom!
…Or so went a certain novel.
Its title was Grand Saga. An Earth girl who'd lost herself in that story was pulled into its pages; when she opened her eyes, she found herself possessing the body of Charlotte Cervantes, a minor border noble.
Just how will Charlotte's fate change, now that she has fallen into the novel?!
That was the premise under which Grand Fantasia was released.
Yeah, even thinking it through myself, this is ridiculously complicated.
Put simply: a game where you take direct control of a character who got isekai'd while reading a novel, and you play for the ending.
At first the only playable character was Charlotte. Clear an ending with her, and another character unlocked—Jeremy Dreamore, the protagonist of the novel Charlotte had been reading, Grand Saga.
I'm pretty sure the last time I played Grand Fantasia… I was running Jeremy.
I'd raised him as an assassin-type on a shadow route. I couldn't help wondering how this world's Jeremy had grown up.
"…Are you even listening to me?"
"But of course! How could I ever let Lady Frelia's words go in one ear and out the other?"
"Then tell me what I was just explaining."
"You were covering the three great public enemies of the Praon Kingdom: demons, dark mages, and the demon-touched, were you not?"
"…Strange. You definitely looked like your mind was somewhere else."
Watching Chloe tilt her head, I raised a hand and asked a question.
"Still, Lady Frelia—there is something I am curious about. Are all demons truly evil?"
"As far as I know, yes. If a demon ever looks righteous, that appearance is surely a fabrication."
"Isn't it a little rash to decide someone's nature solely because their race is different?"
"History has always borne that out. Now then, next…"
Chloe gave my question a perfunctory answer and moved on—basic noble etiquette, things to watch out for at Luin Academy, and so on.
"In short, almost nobody at Luin Academy is going to talk to you, so don't go sticking your neck out. Keep your head down and stay quiet, and nothing will happen."
"Gasp—so I had no friends? That makes me feel a little lonely all of a sudden. Or perhaps this is the perfect chance to meet new people and make some…"
"No. Please just sit still. Hmm. You definitely weren't this much of a pain before you lost your memory."
"I hope you'll find it endearing."
"Will you look at the way he talks."
Chloe was fixing me with an icy stare when—
Knock, knock, knock.
"Lady Chloe. A guest will be arriving shortly."
A middle-aged butler with a magnificently grown mustache knocked and spoke.
"A guest?"
"Yes. The exchange student from the Kirinus Empire. It was arranged that they would stay at this manor until Luin Academy opens."
At the butler's words, Chloe's face went briefly pale; she blinked rapidly.
"Ah—right! I got so distracted by this idiot I completely forgot…! Shion! Get to your room and change—now. We don't have time, hurry!"
"To see the great Lady Chloe flustered to this degree… even I find myself looking forward to whoever this guest may be."
"Haa… You really must think I'm easy. If you've got time for word games, use it to…"
"Haha. Please, set aside your anger."
I bowed my head with a sly little smile.
"Hmm… However, Lady Chloe."
Then I let my expression turn serious.
"No matter how I turn it over, there is one thing I simply cannot understand."
I held her gaze and asked,
"Dare I… put the question to you?"
One of my eyes—usually kept in a permanent slit—opened.
The air changed in an instant.
From a breezy lightness that might have drifted away on the wind, to something cold as a naked blade.
A serpent was watching her.
Chloe sensed at once that the question I was about to ask was no ordinary one.
Dangerous.
Her body trembled, almost imperceptibly.
A brief silence stretched.
"Lady Chloe…"
I asked the trembling Chloe in a low voice,
"Where is my room?"
"Ah—"
Chloe clutched the back of her neck and collapsed.
Major Character — Chloe Frelia has collapsed due to your words and actions.
Reward: 500 Points acquired.
Oh. I didn't see that coming.