| ARC V | Chapter 3: Thank You

 In the heart of the labyrinth city, Velen Lon, Alum found himself out on a stroll late at night. It had been a few days since he woke up. And as he walked through the buzzing streets filled with night activity. Parties of adventurers drinking and having fun at the pub were the most common sight he came across—but even in the lively atmosphere. He sighed.

 (So my mana foundation is broken—I doubt it, but perhaps it is. I don't feel the mana like I used to… it might be a problem.)

 (Of course, it is. Brat, ya can't even give me mana efficiently.) Hilos remarked.

 "….."

 The day he woke up, he'd lost his memories and even attacked Miu—reacting out of instinct when he saw a bladed object; even now, he struggled with memories, and it's not because he forgot—the opposite, actually.

 (I remember everything… somehow, there is a gap that has been filled in my heart.)

*Chuckles* 

 (I even use terms like this now. Supposedly, I'm a whole person? Still, I find it surprising that my memories aren't conflicting—rather, my feelings are a mix of everything. I feel so angry—and sad. I remember everything being sort of dull, but… I don't know.)

 As he stood still to look up at the night sky, he saw the vast, beautiful galaxy of this world. Stars glittered in the sky, and the cosmic gas clouds were as vivid as the many beautiful colours in the expansive space.

 (Despite this city being this large and bright, the night sky is still so picturesque.)

 When his gaze turned down again, he noticed a store with paintings of popular celebrities and influential figures on display—one of them was Amethely, his fiancee. Unconsciously, he placed his hand on his chest.

 (Despite how I remember everything—my feelings have changed from a dull scale to a whole spectrum. I feel excited like I never have, I feel frustration like I never have… but the thing that hasn't changed is whenever I think of her. I'm overjoyed. Happy. Warm. I don't know how to describe it, but if I were to put it into a single word. It must be love.)

 With the warmth still lingering in his heart, he continued on his stroll until, suddenly, when he wasn't paying attention, a girl almost walked into him when they met at the corner of a turn.

 "Kyaa! That surprised me…"

 A cry escaped her lips as she jerked backwards in surprise. When she was about to fall, Alum caught her by the hand. She looked at him for a brief moment before adjusting herself—letting out a small sigh and looking him in the eyes.

 "Thank you."

 "You're welcome," Alum replied and let go of her hand.

 Still, her eyes were stuck to his, and she began fidgeting a little. Alum tilted his head slightly.

 "Is something the matter?" he inquired calmly.

 Alum realised something. As vivid and distinct his feelings were, his facial muscles were still stiff, and so were his thoughts.

 (Well, nothing has changed, I suppose.)

 While he waited for the girl to speak up—it'd been silent for a moment now, but he could at least hear her out if something bothered her. She looked down, and her blond hair covered her green eyes—still, he could hear her mumble something.

 'I…I'm lost…'

 (Oh, she's lost.)

 "I see. Where do you want to go? I can take you there."

 "A-Are you sure? Thank you! You're really nice, Mister!"

 (…Mister—again? Do I look old? Huh…? Am I bothered by it? I see. It bothered me that time as well…)

 "So? Where do you want to go?" Alum flatly asked.

 "It's an inn called Wrishim," the girl said, but she added, 'Ugh…he's going to get mad when he finds out I went out for a midnight snack and got lost…' in a low voice.

 (Now that she mentions it. I'm lost as well.)

 "Mm. I'm lost too…"

 The girl stared at him for a moment, blinking. "Oh! We're lost together then!" she said while giggling lightheartedly.

 (Sigh…yer useless at times.)

 (Hilos has been using his worried speech pattern a lot as of late…)

 (What are you talking about?) Hilos raised his tone.

 (Nothing…)

 After a while, Alum and the girl managed to get to the right inn with the help of some drunks. She thanked him, and since it was very late, he returned to the hotel, sneaking in by jumping to the window he'd escaped from.

 (Well, even if my mana foundation is broken, I am an esper—and I've recovered most of my powers as well—it's quite physically as well as mentally draining, but… I shouldn't regress now that it has stabilised.)

 As he stood silently in the bedroom, he stared at his palm. A faint blue light shone as water slowly formed into a ball—levitating on top of his hand.

 (Mmm… It's quite weak, but I can still use magic by controlling the atmospheric mana. However, it's inefficient to use telekinesis like this.)

 He glanced out the window again and sighed. Through telekinesis, he moved the blanket and collapsed head-first onto the bed, burying himself in the pillow.

 (…I want to see you, Ame!)

 (TSK! What are you rolling around for!? What are ya!? A maiden!?) Hilos exclaimed in utter bewilderment.

 And so, the night passed till the next morning. Alum woke up with the chirps of lively birds, a bright sun, and a buzzing street. A yawn escaped his lips as he got out of bed. He unconsciously used telekinesis to pull his clothes toward him, and they'd dress him as he walked toward the window.

 (…Yer just lazy now, ain't ya?) Hilos remarked.

 Alum wasn't fully awake yet, but it was something he used to do. The habit had only resurfaced now that he had full access to his esper abilities.

 "Oh… I didn't realise—it seems like my body is still readjusting… Well, I did occasionally use some of these abilities, but it was mainly for calculations…" Alum said aloud.

 (Well… I still believe it's far weaker and more limiting than this world's elemental magic from what I've seen.) Hilos remarked.

 "….."

 Alum couldn't deny it. This world was filled with many different flexible types of magic, but he also admitted that the price was higher—even if elemental manipulation was like flexing a muscle in this world.

 He sighed and headed down to get some breakfast—even though he wasn't all that hungry, it had become a habit to eat with the others. But as he sat in the cafeteria with the usual people, Miu twitched, turning silent, making the other trainees look at him strangely.

 "…Good morning," Alum greeted them.

 "Oh! Al! Good morning!" Emely brightly smiled.

 "Good morning, Alum," the others greeted back. However… they noticed that his eyes were avoiding Miu—the same went for her.

 "G-Good morning!"

 Miu cheerfully smiled, but everyone could tell it was awkward compared to how it usually was. Her reaction was just too strange—they'd say nothing changed in Alum's expression, but over the past months, they've gotten to know him more, and they could clearly tell he was uncomfortable despite his expressionless face. But even so, it was easier to tell today for whatever reason—what happened? Was likely the question in their minds.

 (…She hasn't spoken to me since yesterday's incident, and it's…Awkward.) Alum thought.

 (W-What should I dooo!? It's super awkward! I unconsciously hugged him yesterday—I wasn't even sure he had amnesia then! He remembered everything too when he came to, and now I'm stuck here knowing he's an esper and that Earth was more strange than I thought! What do I dooo!?)

 At this point, Miu's eyes were spinning as she glanced over at him now and then—their eyes would meet, and both would avert their gaze from the other instantly.

 Still, only Emely didn't think anything was strange; after all, she found out that Alum could not use magic anymore. Their eyes met momentarily, and Emely's eyes were filled with pity.

 (Poor Miu, she probably doesn't know what to say to him.)

 (No, Emy, you got the wrong idea! But I'm sort of glad you did!) Miu exclaimed in her mind.

 "Hey, Miu, can we talk?" Alum suddenly asked.

 "Yes!?" she brightly replied.

 But it was clear as day to anyone who watched—she was more jumpy and more friendly. The normal her—while cheerful, is also calm in a sense. But they also knew how in love Alum was with their saint, so his having an affair was something they couldn't imagine.

 After breakfast, when everyone did personal training, Alum invited Miu to the library cafe nearby—it was public enough but also private enough so as not to make either of them too conscious about being alone with the other party.

 "I want to begin by apologising, Miu," Alum said calmly as he looked her in the eyes.

 "Ah…no, you don't have to, if there's someone that should apologise. It's me." She lowered her gaze to the table decorated with snacks they'd ordered. "I'm sorry for hugging you all of a sudden yesterday—even telling you my feelings when you're already in love with Ame."

 "Don't be. I was happy to hear you liked me like that, but I can't reciprocate your feelings. I'm sorry. I love Amethely dearly, and I don't want to make her sad."

 "Nji~hihi~ Don't apologise," Miu playfully giggled, clenching her chest tight. "Thank you…for telling me properly," she said with a shaky voice. "I already knew. But I was too scared to approach myself to get rejected… I'm sorry."

 Even if it was for a brief moment, Alum did feel a romantic attraction towards her yesterday; it had calmed down now that he properly sorted things out. Still, he wasn't going to make excuses like they were never there—but neither could he tell her there was anything there to begin with; he liked her—as a friend. Even if there were slight romantic feelings towards her at that moment, he didn't want to give her false hope.

 "Miu, you should never apologise for liking someone. I'm happy you like me. It's a warm feeling, but I do admit it made me anxious…"

 "…Anxious? You? You're always so calm and mature. I was sure you were used to rejecting girls. And you never seem worried about anything and do everything with confidence—it was unexpected," she confessed.

 Alum lightly scratched his cheek. "Well…"

 "Hehe~ there you go again, scratching your cheek when you're troubled."

 (Huh… I do that?)

 "Anyways… I also wanted to talk about my esper abilities. Sorry, it must be a lot to take in with all of this, too—we can take it another day…"

 "Oh… I don't mind. Not at all. But I was also curious, so I wanted to hear about it, actually."

 "…is that so?" Alum tilted his head.

 "Yeah, like, espers are cool, aren't they? Aww, so we had cool stuff like that in our world, too? I wish I'd known—wait, never mind," Miu retracted her words as she recalled what the regressed version of Alum said.

 "Mm. Not that it matters now, but if you knew back then, people would either think you're delusional, or you'd be kidnapped."

 "…Calling it delusional is a bit mean, don't you think? But… from the looks of it. Emely doesn't know, does she?"

 Alum shook his head. "No. She doesn't. Most of my memories regarding these powers were suppressed, and so were my abilities—and I've just gained full access to them again."

 "M-Memories? Wait… you were amnesiac this whole time?" Miu gasped in surprise.

 "…I suppose."

 "Th-Then… is something different now? Are you still you?" she queried in a voice filled with concern.

 "I'm still me. And as for change. You could supposedly say I'm more emotional? The stronger my emotions, the more powerful my abilities get, but I also lose control."

 "I see…more emotional?"

 "Yeah."

 "…nothing's really changed, though?"

 "Yeah."

 "….."

 "….."

 "Really?"

 "…I mean, even if I can feel more emotions and a wider range, it doesn't mean I'll just change and act on them."

 Hearing him say that, she couldn't help but sigh. "Well… that's such a you answer… I guess."

 "Is that so?" Alum tilted his head.

 "Yeah."

 "….."

 "Hey, Alum…"

 "Yes? What is it, Miu?"

 Miu took a deep breath and looked him in the eyes. His golden eyes captured her still, and she could see the anxiety in his eyes—something she'd never been able to do until now.

 "Thank you for rejecting me properly," Miu said, heaving a deep sigh and stretched. "N…mm…hmm. Gosh, I feel a lot better now!"

 "….."

 Alum's eyes widened for a moment before he averted them. Miu noticed, however, and grinned playfully.

 "My my, why were your gaze low for a moment? Did you remember something?"

 "…You did that on purpose, didn't you?"

 "Whaat are you talking aboout~? Well, it's not my fault you looked," she winked.

 "….."

 "Well, I have my charms—might as well show it off to make you regret it a little, right?"

 "Pff…"

 "…Pff?"

 "Pff… Haha-ah-haha. Miu, you're quite petty, aren't you? I'm sorry, I don't regret it."

 "Hmph! That was a mean way to say it! I mean, I was only teasing you a little!" Miu protested, her cheeks inflated to emphasise her full dissatisfaction, but Alum wouldn't stop laughing.

 But despite the painful feeling in her chest, there was still jittery and jumpy excitement in her heart—especially with the scene unfolding before her very eyes.

 (He's…laughing?)

 Just when she was ready to move on, just when she was ready to accept his rejection, and when he saw Alum laugh from the bottom of his heart—it was as if she'd fallen in love. Once again.

 But unbeknownst to them, a certain black and silver-haired girl happened to witness the moment unfold through the window from a distance—her eyes were wide and glued to the scene, unable to look away. Even for a moment.

 "Al and… Miu?"

 A/N

I've added cover art at the start of every arc in the first chapter title.