“Even if You Forget, You Still Have the Same Attitude…….!”
Lucy followed a strange cry she heard echoing in the forest and found two men and a woman standing together in a small clearing.
The two men were gathered together, giving a hopeful look towards the girl with golden hair who was shouting out “Mi~!” with tears in her eyes. Though her and one of the men were differing shades of gold, the other man had bright red hair that strongly contrasted against them. The three of them were all wearing either a robe or a cape of the same color, a sight that made Lucy look to her own shoulder.
The cape she was wearing was the same color. Maybe she was somehow involved with these weirdos…….
But the second she started to think that, the gold haired woman and red haired man had both jumped at her, knocking Lucy on to her back with their impact hugs. Ril was standing slightly behind her and made a small growl out of surprise, he quickly assumed there was no hostility in the action and took a step back.
“Lucy! You’re okay, I’m so glad you’re all right!”
“Um, you are……?”
“Mi~! Miii~!”
“Eh, why are you so angry?”
The red haired man continued to call out Lucy’s name while the gold haired woman continued to rapidly fire off angry “Mi~” over and over again. Lucy wasn’t sure why, but she soon realized she was smiling and wrapped her arms around the two to bring them in even closer.
Who on earth are you? Although Lucy wanted to ask them that question, her thoughts went astray when she raised her face to talk to the one man standing alone……
*Plop*, and then a tear slid down her cheek.
“That, why I…..”
She didn’t know why tears had suddenly started to come out. Yet there they were, and even if she tried wiping them away, more quickly came to replace them. At the same time her throat started to itch, and any words she tried to make came out as just a blurred, nonsensical noise.
Who are you guys?
What kind of relationship do you have with me?
Why am I at such a place?
Even though she had plenty of questions she wanted to ask, the words wouldn’t come to her. But rather than her voice seemingly disappearing to some unknown land, it was more like any words that did come to her mind seemed somehow inappropriate.
She wanted to say something. She wanted to say something to this man in front of her whose mere appearance left her stunned and whose deep blue eyes made her feel like she was being washed away………she wanted to call out his name.
But just like everyone else here, his name was nowhere to be found in Lucy’s head, and so any time she tried to call out, meaningless dribble passed her lips in its place. It was so frustrating. Her heart was itchy and the frustration of having the words she need just outside her reach made her want to beat her head.
Her voice, her throat wanted to call out his name that badly.
“Au……..Your, name is?”
When Lucy was finally able to desperately say something, the young man in front of her narrowed his blue eyes softly. And then he made a small laugh and slowly got closer to her.
The man and woman who had been clinging closely to Lucy until now finally released her, and the lone man came forward, putting his hand out like he was a prince from a fairy tale. Lucy stared at his hand for a moment before a silent urge in the back of her mind made her extend her own.
Placing her hand in his, her heart began beating rapidly, a feeling of familiarity filling her with warmth. He was touching her as gently as if he were holding an ancient treasure, yet his grip on her fingers felt so firm that he might have never let her go.
A slender and supple yet large hand that makes you understand it belonged to a man. It would feel pleasant if such a hand were to caress you head–was what Lucy slowly started to think as she was picked up to her feet……..and was then hugged.
Strongly, almost painfully his arms wrapped around her.
Lucy’s eyes opened wide at the sudden embrace she was brought in to. She was surprised, but there wasn’t any dislike that sprung out. Rather, there was this overflowing feeling of relief, and the tears began to overflow even more.
“My name is Claudio, Claudio Barek. You don’t know my name, but I’m not the type of suspicious person who you should be reporting to the police for suddenly hugging you.”
Lucy rested her cheek on Claudio’s shoulder, laughing a bit at his joke. “Claudio, Claudio……” she continued to repeat his name, wondering why it blended into her heart so.
Ah, was that the name that refused to leave her throat and squeezed her heart? Lucy felt as if a piece of a puzzle inside her had been put in place. Even though she couldn’t remember her reason for being there, or the relationship she shared with these people, or even really who she was, she was still able to calm herself at the mere mention of Claudio’s name.
It will be fine if he’s here. I’m sure he will do something.
Along with that relief, Lucy let herself go, resting her body in his embrace, and nodding her head. “I’m back.”
She didn’t know where she had gone or where she had returned to, but she knew she was where she was supposed to be.
Either because security had tightened or because she had obtained the shield called Claudio, by the time Lucy returned to the academy there were no heavily equipped men to be seen. In their stead was the headmaster who walked forward to greet everyone back.
His face looked a little fatigued, and he seemed far more serious then his usual day to day personable self. And that was before Lucy walked up to him and said, “It’s nice to meet you,” with a grateful bow. Deep wrinkles appeared in his brow, and a pained expression came to his face. “I see,” was all he could really say before apologizing at his own powerlessness.
Lucy looked up in surprised after trying to greet the headmaster she would be studying under for the next one or two years. Inside herself, she muttered, “I guess this isn’t the first time,” but she figured she should try and get used to that feeling.
Everyone took a deep breath when they sat down on a waiting room sofa after hiding Ril behind the academy.
For the moment, any sign of urgency had passed. Of course it would be foolish to believe that everything has been resolved with this, but they at least had the room to take a breath. But Lucy still didn’t know what had happened, so she was left looking around herself wondering.
She understood that something had happened. But that was it. As far as Lucy could figure, the current situation was, “Something bad happened, but it is over for now”. And as far as she was concerned, her worm eaten memories left her unsure whether she was involved as well.
So Lucy tried to get those around her to explain the situation, and the girl named Ortensia sitting across from her wiped Lucy’s face with a fine-looking scarf as the young man named Conrad patted her shoulder.
Finally Claudio who was sitting next to Lucy held her hand in his as each of them began talking one after another.
Having enrolled at Liztena Magic Academy, she had her magical power measured, taken classes like an ordinary student, lived inside a dorm, and spent time with everyone there as friends. And then one morning a dragon appeared on campus……….Lucy couldn’t remembered any of the stories they started telling her.
Still, every now and then she would get glimpses, fragments of a memory that would pop back into focus after a part. Images of ‘hot coffee’ and ‘fried egg sandwiches’ and ‘hot tomato juice’. —The fact that most of the snapshots were of food was probably just a coincidence.—
And while trying to fill in the holes inside her worm-riddled memory, Lucy took a deep breath.
“Lucy, do you remember?”
“A little bit. When it comes to my time at school though, the details are probably……”
Probably can’t be remembered.
When those whispered words left Lucy’s lips, she felt Claudio’s grip on her hand tighten all the more. She looked over at him, and he in turn slowly moved his gaze onto her.
Then he released his hand from hers and softly began patting her head. *Pon* *Pon* *Pon* He continued to gently pat her head. What a pleasant thing, Lucy thought as she narrowed her eyes and quietly received it.
“You don’t have to force yourself to remember. If you’ve forgotten, then we can just make new memories together.”
“……..Claudio”
“I don’t mind if you forget my name. Because I’ll always be here to tell you what it is.”
So he smiled and said, and Lucy again started to feel her heart squeeze like it did in the forest and began shaking her head in a panic. Her cheeks were hot. And he had such a kind smile and such a sweet voice.
Lucy began to wonder if the two of them had been in love……..she wasn’t able to remember even that. But this feeling in her heart was unmistakably love. She loved him, it was the only reason she could think of for why her heart was so hot and sped up every time she looked at him.
Claudio kept patting her head, *Pon* *Pon*, and his smile grew even wider when he saw Lucy’s reaction.
Under those circumstances, Ortensia cut through with a loud “Mi~!” She refused to suffer through such a sickly-sweet atmosphere, and she threw out her hand to separate Lucy and Claudio before they became too close.
Ortensia ferociously hit the couch, looking arrogant and angry despite how puffy her eyes were from all the crying she had done.
“I will never forget you if you forget! Lucy was finally able to brew my family’s tea that morning, it would not be funny if I have to teach her how to do it all over again!”
“Ah, that’s right……my memory is…..”
“MI~!? You remember how to make my coffee despite just being a commoner? That’s great, then you can continue to act as my servant roommate”
“I remember that there wasn’t a single drop of coffee in it……….”
“An astonishing truth!”
What do you mean!? Ortensia began to panic, yelling ‘Mi~! Mi~! Mi~!’ crawling up and confronting Lucy head on.
On the other hand, Lucy shook her head, replying “Facts are facts,” as if the whole situation was somebody else’s problem.
The exchange was no different than any other conversation they had had the day before, and eventually the conversation devolved into Ortensia using a single word, “Mipu,” and Lucy, “If you say it like that,” hesitatingly apologizing. It would make anyone watching want to ask if she had really lost her memory.
Claudio and Conrad were both taken aback at the sudden confrontation, but they soon sat back and enjoyed the show.
Lucy and Ortensia fighting each other like this, it was a sight they had seen a number of times before. In the morning you could hear the two loudly shouting at each other. Lunch time would be filled with their bickerings on the bench, and then there were the times when the four would join together to have dinner……..it was always the same, unchanged interaction.
Lucy Blanchett had forgotten many things she would never remember again, but she would always be Lucy Blanchett.