Chapter 3.32 - Monday, July 18th, 5.03pm

By the time we reached home— it's already evening and way over lunch time.

Stay strong, my rumbling stomach.

"… I'm back," I murmured as I entered my house.

We left Dómr's daughter outside at the front yard to let her munch on that disgusting Cithaeron lion's meat.

"Oh, welcome back." That man came to us from the kitchen. "Here."

He tossed two large-sized hamburgers to us, where I caught it.

"From Burger Centuries?" I murmured when I look at the logo on the wrapped paper. "Despite memory loss, you sure know how to pick an expensive meal. Here, Restia."

I tossed one of it to Restia.

"Not me. That's the closest restaurant to your villa." He retorted. "It's fast food."

"Villa?"

"Yeah, villa." He repeated. "V, I, L, L, A."

I thought what dad brought is a regular house. It's surprising that he brought a villa.

"…Did my dad leave anything there?" I asked.

"None." That guy shakes his head with disappointment. "Seems like it's empty for weeks— dust has been piling up."

…The last time dad teleported is at the end of last month.

"…………"

Knowing the answer, Restia looks depressed.

Trying to cheer her up, I gave her a head pat as we walked towards the dining room.

"What about those clothes of yours?" I asked him.

He brought a set of new clothes— not just any clothes, he got a suit, and it looks freakishly expensive.

What on earth did he brought with my money?

When I thought that, he then walks next to me, seeming to have a lot to talk about.

"This suit is from Rozen & Alice Tailor— come to think of it, I wondered why but they gave me a discount for this suit. The shopkeeper's not even a living being… something like a moving human-sized doll."

"Something like a doll…? Are you talking about automaton dolls?" I replied.

Or automata, in short.

"I don't care." He said, looking disgusted for some reason. "The only scary thing is that moving human-sized doll looks just like a human— none of her looks like a doll."

"Then how do you know she's not human?"

"Her voice suddenly stuttered and came to an infinite loop when she's measuring my size. Another doll then came in her place and fixed her. It even stripped her naked and open the artificial skin on her back— blergh…!"

He looks like he's on the verge to puke.

"Seems like you had a hard time," I said.

I sat at the dining table with Restia next to me. And him, on my opposite.

"Ehem, I was so shocked that I watched her fixing her body for nearly ten minutes before I left." He added.

"I take that back." I immediately uttered while glaring at him. "Wow, you look like you are having fun staring at her artificial chest, isn't it?"

"Whoa, hold it. I need to reject that statement." He retorted. "I'm just curious that she looks completely like a human on the outside— well, the insides are unexpected."

I wondered what sort of 'insides' did he saw. Perhaps he saw artificial organs or mechanical parts— but I'm not going to ask further since I'm currently eating a burger.

"Just admit it," I told him. "It's normal for a man to follow their instincts."

CREAK.

Restia instinctively got further away from him.

Yes, just stay away from him, Restia.

"Yeah, well, I think I'm married."

He showed his left hand, or rather, his left ring finger.

…There's a tan line indeed.

"Okay, I will correct myself," I murmured. "Just admit it. It's normal for a man to follow their instincts even if they are married."

"I should've just starved you to death." He immediately retorted.

I sway around my burger in front of his eyes, then I took a big bite.

"Too bad you didn't," I remarked while chewing on the burger.

"Tsk." He clicked his tongue, breaking eye contact.

Somehow, his eyes later then peeked at me for a while, then he decided to talk again as if that annoyance he felt just now have vanished in thin air.

"To be honest, I really didn't feel anything when I look at that doll— despite it had an ideal body, but a doll is still a doll. Nothing changes."

"Honestly speaking, you are the type to be submissive to your wife." I corrected him.

"Stop retorting every word I say…!" He yelled, looking annoyed.

"Hahaha."

"…Sigh."

Heaving a tired sigh, he stared at the window, where the yard is, and placed his left hand on his forehead, seemingly getting a headache.

It lasts about three seconds or so until he looks at me again.

"What about you?" He asks.

Swallowing the food in my mouth, I lick my lips to wipe the sauce on my mouth.

"Erm, this is what I've got for now…"

I told him about my discussion with the magical beasts, not skipping a single detail. Because even if he had lost his memories, I hoped that he could give me some handy suggestions.

"Hold it— you are leaving the leopard just like that?" He asked.

"…Yeah. If that leopard can't put on that act, she would definitely come looking for me without a doubt."

"Why would she?"

"Because if she fails to make up with the Black Cat, White Snake will be in danger. She couldn't possibly put any harm to Dómr either— that's why she needs to find me, that's why I need your help."

"No way." He rejected flatly. The way he raises his hands looks like he's telling me not to drag him into this. "I'm not supposed to put a leg into your test."

"You aren't. Stopping Dómr is your job." I reminded him.

"Over my dead body!" He uttered. "My job is to free him from the brainwashing, not stopping him!"

"But the problem is, you can't. He's strong— he's too strong. Even if the cat, snake, leopard, rabbit, and even his own daughter add up, it's nowhere enough…"

"E, Eh?"

He seemed dumbfounded for a moment— only for a moment.

"No way! That's ridiculous! I'm not going to fight that monstrous thing!"

He's terrified— he's really terrified of it.

"It's not, it's not— I just need you to stall him with your martial arts."

"You telling this to a person with Amnesia?!"

'That's me', or so his gestures tell me.

"You fought off his daughter, who is almost 25 times your size, even if injured. I think your body still remembers how to repel an enemy to some extent. And besides, it's your job to stop him." I reminded him once again.

"Ehh…"

His facial expression looks like it's telling me 'it's such a bother'.

I need to convince him.

"If you don't, someone would die out there!"

"Death is just a matter of time. There's no point for me risking my life to do something as absurd as this— ARGHHHH…!?"

Before he could finish, he suddenly had a severe headache.

"GUH………!"

It was so painful that he fell from his chair and crumpled into a ball on that spot.

Instant karma helped me.

"HUFF— HUFF— ARGHHHH— GUH…………!!!"

He's rolling back and forth on the floor because of the pain.

It might be heartless of Restia and me not to lend a hand, but to us, this is a normal reaction that we'd see every day.

This pain is stress occurring in the brain when memories return. It happens to me every day.

"HAH— HAH— HAH— HAH—"

When his pain subsided, that man musters his strength to climb up to his chair.

I finished the last piece of my burger without even bothering to bat an eye on him.

"You idiotic brat…" He uttered. "… aren't you heartless to leave a person in pain alone…?"

"Hahaha, this means you are just as heartless as me," I replied.

With an exhausted expression, he stared at me and gave a thought for a moment.

"Yeah, yeah… instant karma, huh. I understand." He murmured while folding his arms, leaning onto his chair. "…I can help you— however, I have conditions."

"Yeah, yeah… You could stay here until your memories recover— hold on— 'conditions'? Aren't you greedy?"

…Next time, I should be careful before accepting it. Even if he had amnesia, I can't let down my guard at all.

"I want to feed that pink rabbit."

"…!?"

Obviously, I was dumbfounded.

BOP BOP BOP.

I came back to my senses when the Fortune Rabbit on my lap is stomping her feet on my lap. When a rabbit's feet are stomping, this means she's scared.

"…………"

However, I still remained speechless for a moment.

"…Seriously?"

It took me a while to utter that word. His demands hit me hard for good.

"There's nothing wrong to feed a rabbit. Just take is as a sudden urge of mine." He said.

…He looks deadly serious.

Alright, I will keep my mouth shut before he demands anything else.

"In that case, please bear with it," I said to the Fortune Rabbit on my lap. "He's not a bad person."

Just seconds before she could hop off, I lifted her.

"…?"

However, another unexpected situation occurred.

Instead of receiving the Fortune Rabbit from my hands, he stretched his right hand to his right.

"Just a second."

Hearing that, I placed the rabbit on my lap once again, holding her carefully to prevent her from escaping.

"?"

When I turn to where he's looking, a carrot came flying from the kitchen.

WHAP.

He caught the carrot just like the way Thor caught his hammer.

"When feeding a rabbit, a carrot is a must." He told me.

…And here I thought rabbit feeds on grass.

That said, he approached the rabbit and squatted down.

"Come on, open your mouth— it's a carrot."

He poked the carrot to her mouth, and as expected— she refuses to accept the carrot from a stranger.

"It's a carrot, don't you know what's a carrot?" He muttered. "Argh…! Just eat it already you stupid rabbit!"

CHOMP.

Annoyed by his constant poking, Fortune Rabbit takes a bite— on his finger instead of the carrot.

"OWW…!"

He flung his hand from the pain.

I caught the carrot he threw and fed it to my rabbit.

"Hah." I deliberately laughed. "That's what you get for being rude to my rabbit."

That said, Fortune Rabbit turns her body to the other side with her butt facing him, enjoying the carrot I gave her.

Hey, they are being rude to each other.

This is quite fun to watch.

"Cheh."

Failing miserably, he then returns to his chair with an annoyed look.

"…Back to our topic," I said to him. "When the Snow Leopard Queen comes, I need you to restrain her."

"Eh…?"

I suddenly hear a voice coming next to me.

"What's wrong, Restia?" I turn to face her.

"Why are you doing this to her, big brother?"

Right, I'd say I'd leave everything to Restia earlier on. Let's hear what she has to say.

"I know she did nothing wrong. But she's overprotective of the White Snake and Dómr. She might kill the Black Cat when things got tensed."

"She won't."

Restia looks very certain.

However, I could feel some hint of unsureness.

If I want to leave everything to Restia for good, I need to shred off every last bit of that hesitation.

"Understand the consequences, my cute little sis— you can't afford to make the even tiniest mistake. There's no room for excuses for this as one small mistake would've ended their lives."

"Big brother… I…"

Her voice eventually went silent.

…Not good. It's pushing her backwards.

"What's wrong? Aren't you very confident a second ago? Where did all that go? If you can't do it, then don't interrupt me—"

"Trust me! You said you'd leave things to me, didn't you!?" She then yelled at me.

I know it wasn't intentional, but still, it succeeded to did some damage to my heart.

Thankfully, I'm not Nightwalker.

"…Hehe, if you say so," I murmured, patting her head.

"…Mn. Thank you, big brother."

Without saying anything excessive, she rests her head on my shoulder.

As I thought, she knows I'm helping her.

"Blegh. Disgusting." That guy on my opposite muttered while making a disgusted look.

"Mind your own business. This is family love." I retorted while stroking Restia's head.

"Whatever. Just as you were saying, why do you want me to restrain her?"

"Whoops. My cute little sister is in charge now— if you want to discuss, you discuss with her." I replied. "On the other hand, it's time for your therapy, so would you come with me?"

"Therapy? If you say so…"

After placing the rabbit on Restia's lap, I took that guy to the living room.

"And here I was wondering what kind of therapy you are going to do to me. As expected, we'd go back to magic spells again." He uttered.

It's like he's saying, 'Ah, shit. Here we go again.'

… I'm not really bothered by it.

"Give me a second…" I said, flipping across the pages on the grimoire. "Yup, right. What you are going to do, is…"

While facing him, I pointed at the title of that spell.

‘Auto convaluisset magicae’

"Self-recovery magic?" He murmured.

"That's right. Your body is heavily injured and poisoned, so in this spell, you are going to consume around ninety percent of your mana for self-recovery until you recovered."

"何!?"

(Nani!?)

(What!?)

…Why is he speaking that language all of a sudden?

Nevertheless, I could tell that he's astonished.

"Why are you getting so worked up for? You still have ten percent of your mana left as spare." I answered.

"Why ninety percent?" He asked. "Can't I just consume all of my mana? That would've made it faster."

"Because if you used up all your mana, you are going to get symptoms like extreme headache, dizziness and mental depression due to mana deficiency. Either one of those could break your concentration on your self-recovery magic."

"Very well. What should I do?"

…He looks like he's in pain.

"…Gather and compress forty-five percent of your mana on palm, like how Restia did in the morning."

"Are you kidding me? How the hell do I know how much is forty-five percent?!"

"How would I know?! I'm mana-less. You are asking the wrong person…!"

"Cheh, whatever. That ball of mana? Here goes…"

Once he breathes in, he closes his eyes, extending his right hand with his palm facing up.

I gradually saw a ball of golden mana gathering on his right palm.

…Looks legit this time.

"Now, crush the ball with your hand—"

"Hey, this isn't vitality energy." He interrupted.

"Obviously, I know it isn't!" I retorted. "It says here to crush that ball and inhale the concentrated mana essence into your lungs and your stomach."

I showed him the contents.

"…………"

After staring for about three seconds, he made a face that looks like it's saying 'what a pain'.

Nevertheless, he crushed the mana ball afterwards and inhaled deeply.

"Oh, wow. It feels warm—"

BAM!

I landed a palm strike on the centre of his chest, where the core of his mana is located.

"—Arghh!? WHAT ARE YOU DOING— HOT HOT HOT!!! IT'S FREAKING HOT!!? IT FEELS LIKE I'M BURNING FROM THE INSIDE!!?"

This is to forcefully scatter the mana from the outside to react with the mana on the inside.

"Repeat after me—"

"Convaluisset…!" (Recovery…!)

Before I could tell him the incantations, he was one step ahead of me and chanted the self-recovery spell.

He only stared at the contents for about three seconds. Does he have a photographic memory…?

That guy soon sat on the ground lifelessly with his shoulders shrugged, looking half-dead.

"It's normal that you'd feel tired for now. You will be in this state now until your body has fully recovered." I told him.

"…Get me water." He murmured, while dragging his body to the sofa.

"Alright."

I peeked on Restia and the Fortune Rabbit before I went to the kitchen. Looks like they are getting along.

"…!"

The ripped walls, the punctured floor— the kitchen is restored…!?

Not only that, the food supplies are restocked.

… It's apparent that he's the one who did it, and he didn't say anything about it.

When I sat beside him and handed over the cup to him, I offered my gratitude.

"…Thanks," I said.

"Well, well. And here I thought you are going to prostrate in front of me…" He muttered with a smirk.

"If I didn't consider the fact that I saved you, I would've done so."

"Heh. Hehehe." He deliberately lets out a creepy laugh.

"…Something wrong with your head?"

"Hmm? Not me. You are the one who's sick in the head." He said.

"Hmm?"

I was a little surprised by his statement.

"You don't behave like a kid. Not even a prodigy had a head like yours."

"…If there's a prodigy, then Restia is probably one. I was merely taught well by my dad. He might be your best friend, too."

"Well, ain't I lucky if I have a friend like that." He murmured, looking sarcastic. "What on earth did your father even teach you?"

Dad taught me a lot. But if it were in a simpler term, then it's probably…

"Both sides of the world, and also the truth of it," I answered.

"Both sides… as in? The bright and dark side?"

"…Yeah."

"What about your little sister…?"

"She didn't want to learn about the dark side too much. There are too many unbearable contents. Compared to me, her life is much more blessed."

"…No wonder." He murmured.

"You aren't that much different from my dad either," I said. "Out of all of dad's friends, you are the only one who chose to become my examiner."

"I might've regretted it now. Only a madman would've accepted a request like this." He looks disconcerted. "I wonder what kind of person am I before I lost my memories."

"Pfft— a madman."

"Ha, ha, ha. Very funny." He made a speechless look with hints of annoyance. "Hmm…? Your little sister's here."

"… It's almost dusk, big brother…" Restia told me.

I overlooked the time.

"…Such a pain." I deliberately heaved a heavy sigh. "Anyways, give me my phone."

"… What's wrong with dusk?" He asked, looking bewildered while tossing my phone to me.

"There's nothing wrong with dusk," I replied. "The only thing wrong here is me. Just as you said— I'm sick in the head."

As expected of his reaction.

"…What a surprise." He murmured with his eyes widened. "What's wrong with your brain?"

"Due to some circumstances which I was not even sure of, I had this seal on me that gave me the DID, also known as Dissociative Identity Disorder."

"Dissociative Identity Disorder…? Hmm, I don't think that's it. The DIDs are associated with overwhelming trauma such as abuse, medical procedures, or experiences of war. You are a kid, and I believe you had a blessed family."

He knows what the DID is? What on earth is his profession…?

Never mind, this helps a lot.

"Indeed. My case is completely different after all."

"Right. First of all, who are you? How old are you?"

"I'm the whole, original personality. My name is Lucifer Nightwalker von Nightmare, and I'm ten."

"Urk, what…? Your dad must be playing a trick on you. Who in the world would put their own child's name as the fallen angel who abandoned his name…?"

"Shut up. My dad's name 'Lucione' had the same meaning as mine."

I wonder why, but I could tell he's trying to hold back his laughter.

…I guess he's laughing at both of our names.

"…Very well. How many so-called 'identities' do you have?"

"Instead of identities… they are more like my halves."

"Halves? Of you? This means... a total of three identities?"

"If you put it that way. Also, I share their memories."

"Tell me about them."

"My first half, you could call him Lucifer Nightwalker and obviously, he's ten. He's a coward without a sense of pride nor ego. He gets depressed easily whenever he was getting yelled at, and he would always be ordered around like a slave, even if it's an unfair arrangement."

"…Are you sure he's not a masochist?"

"…But it's exactly because he's a coward; he would always avoid standing out or getting himself into trouble. Even if he gets into one, he would always decide the safest plan that could get him out of trouble— and when it comes to family and friends, he would never abandon them. He's a damn good person."

"I see. What about the other one…?"

"My second half, huh. You could call him Lucifer Nightmare… on second thought, call him 'scum' from now on."

"Wow. You are indeed a masochist."

"Shut up," I uttered with a speechless look. "Whenever I think of him, my blood boils— I want to skin him alive…!!!"

"Pfft— it means you want to skin yourself alive…"

He's on the verge to laugh.

…I don't have the mood to get angry anymore.

"…He's usually a calm and collected individual with a bottomless amount of confidence and knowledge that shows an unrivalled prowess— but whenever he gets emotional, he would become completely hot-headed and cloud his judgement."

"Looks like his cloudiness got him into trouble, isn't it?"

"…Tsk."

Though a part of me doesn't want to tell him because of his annoying behaviour, but since he's dad's friend, I told him what happened during the past three days, starting from 15th July.

That guy silently listened to every word I said down to every single detail. He didn't interrupt me either.

"…Three times, huh." He murmured. "And the last bullet even pierced through on her shoulder."

"He's unforgivable!" I uttered.

"Well, if that last shot hit her somewhere lethal instead of her shoulder— I wonder what will you do by then?"

"…Thankfully, it didn't."

"Because you are the one who shot her, is it not?"

"…What do you mean…?"

"If your memories are connected to them… then you could probably tell. He fought for so long— without eating or drinking, and he even suffered a terrible injury. I believe even an adult would've had their hands trembling by then. Adding the sudden development of your little sister's situation, I'm rather surprised how he could even aim with such a heavy hunting rifle. It's a miracle that he was able to make an accurate shot at that point, given his hazy mind."

"There ought to be a better way other than shooting her…!"

"Of course, there are. There are tons of ways. But what's done already done. You can't start over, and there are no 'if'. That's exactly why this world had such a thing known as 'regret' and 'remorse'. And in your case… your regret is that you've hurt her. And what you should seek right now is supposed to be 'forgiveness' instead of 'blaming'."

"… That's the reason why history has been repeating itself, again and again."

"Pardon…?"

"…We ask for 'forgiveness' too easily, like a beggar bowing their heads and extending their hands in humble receipt. If I made the same mistake over and over… will you forgive me again and again? Even if you could, I'm sure there's one day you will be tired."

"…………"

"We are fools. If we ask for 'forgiveness' just like that without truly repenting and reflecting on ourselves, we would surely commit the same mistake twice. That's exactly why a necessary 'punishment' is needed. Nightmare will, and must shoulder the punishment of his consequences as a reminder so that the same thing would never happen again!"

"…too harsh."

"Eh…?"

"You are being too harsh on yourself."

"If I can't even take care of myself, how could I even look after of my family…?!"

"By then, your mind would come to a breakdown before you even knew it. When that time comes, how can you even take care of them?"

"…Are you telling me to give him a chance?"

"Well, since 'Ruby' is the cause of this, why not give him a period to look for her…? If they could find her within a limited time, forgive them by then. If not, then it's your choice— how about it?"

"Hmm… it sounds like a good idea. But I won't allow anyone to tell him about this— Nightwalker included. If they really do repent, I'm sure they could find Ruby in no time."

"No objections."

"I repeat, don't intend to tell them about this, especially YOU, my cute little sis," I uttered. "Even if we are siblings, I will punish you nevertheless."

"…Uuh…!" Restia silently nods her head with pity.

"I'm sorry… I didn't mean to scare you."

I hurriedly hugged Restia and gave her more head pats.

"Actually, what are you doing fiddling with your phone all this time?"

"Duh, it's a warning to that blasted Nightmare."