Chapter 10: Am I Experiencing Amnesia?

The Three Beasts stood outside the door, waiting anxiously and excitedly for a response.

If it had been anyone else stalling like this, they would've already kicked the door down and taken the person away by force.

But in this case, they were facing her—Esdeath only sister, her last remaining family. Even if they were given ten thousand more lives, they wouldn't dare treat Yoshino with the slightest bit of disrespect or coercion.

Creak...

After several dozen seconds, the old, worn-out door finally opened.

From behind it, Yoshino peeked out with half of her face showing. At the same time, the bunny hand puppet on her left hand was fully visible, animatedly scanning them up and down.

Even though only half of her face was exposed, the Three Beasts could immediately confirm that the person inside was definitely the one they were looking for.

"Long-lost family… You mean Tatsumi?" Yoshino asked with a hint of doubt in her voice. "What's your relationship with that kid?"

Upon hearing the unfamiliar name, the Three Beasts exchanged glances, clearly confused by what the other was thinking.

Tatsumi?

Who?

He sounds like someone close to Lady Esdeath little sister?

They mentally noted Tatsumi as their next investigation target. The most innocent-looking of the three, Nyau, took the lead and responded with a sweet smile, "No, we weren't sent by Tatsumi. We were sent by Lady Esdeath."

"Uh…"

Yoshino was stunned.

She took a closer look at the three people standing before her, and suddenly her heart jumped.

Weren't these three Esdeath side characters?

Though they were all Teigu users and served as Esdeath right-hand aides—meaning their strength wasn't weak—they were all killed by Night Raid's Bulat in one sweep and had very little presence in the original story.

That's why, when she first saw them, Yoshino hadn't immediately recognized their identities.

Now that she realized who they were, she panicked even more.

"Wait a minute—what exactly is my relationship with Esdeath?"

Her head was in utter chaos. A flood of questions surged into her mind, and she didn't know where to start.

Wasn't I from the same village as Tatsumi?

Why would Esdeath send people to find me?

And why are the Three Beasts treating me so respectfully?

Seeing that Yoshino was momentarily at a loss for words, the Three Beasts didn't rush her. They simply smiled at her, assuming she was too overjoyed to respond.

Yoshino took a deep breath, calmed herself down, and began combing through the identity that the system had fabricated for her.

Starting from her most recent memories, she traced back slowly. Bit by bit, previously fragmented memories began surfacing in her mind, giving her a clearer picture of her past in this world.

Living peacefully in a village with Tatsumi and his friends...

Being rescued by villagers and allowed to stay there...

And that was it.

She was shocked to discover that her entire past in this world only stretched back eight years.

Her earliest memory began when she was rescued by the villagers of Tam Village. Before that, there was nothing. Not a single trace of memory.

But that was impossible.

All previous identities crafted by the system had fully detailed backstories. While they sometimes had implausible or abrupt elements, they were, on the whole, quite coherent and believable.

There's no way she had just popped out of a rock.

"Am I experiencing amnesia?"

Suddenly, the realization hit her.

And with that, all the confusing questions made sense.

In the original series, Yoshino had lost all memory of her life before becoming a Spirit. So, it was completely logical for the person portraying her to experience memory loss as well. The more aligned she was with the original character, the easier it would be to play her role convincingly.

If that's the case, then it means… during the time I can't remember, Esdeath and I must've had some kind of connection?

"Um... excuse me, but isn't Esdeath a general of the Empire? Why would she come looking for Yoshino?"

Realizing her memory loss persona made sense, she naturally accepted it and had her bunny puppet ask curiously, "Yoshino and that general shouldn't have any sort of connection, right?"

"As long as you come with us to meet Lady Esdeath, you'll understand everything."

Despite Yoshino confusion, the Three Beasts didn't seem surprised.

Though they heard her claim not to know Esdeath, they didn't assume she had lost her memory. They just thought she hadn't connected the dots between the Empire's general and her long-lost sister—likely mistaking it for a coincidence of names.

They didn't intend to explain Esdeath entire history and connection right here and now. Such matters were better left for an emotional, heartfelt sister-to-sister reunion.

"Then, Miss Yoshino, please accompany us to the general's mansion."

Liver extended his hand like a gentleman, bowing as he did. The veteran general, who was ruthless on the battlefield, now looked more like an old butler caring for a noble young lady.

But Yoshino didn't respond to his polite gesture. Instead, she retreated further into the doorway.

"You people only speak in half-truths. You haven't explained anything clearly, and now you want to take Yoshino away with you? Do you think she's some clueless idiot?" said Yoshinon with a sly smirk. "Saying that General Esdeath has a connection with Yoshino is clearly a made-up lie. Your real plan is to deliver poor, adorable Yoshino to some perverted noble's mansion to do naughty things, isn't it?!"

This little girl... sure is suspicious of everything, huh?

Though they were being accused, the Three Beasts remained calm. If you have a clear conscience, you needn't fear ghosts knocking at your door.

They had done plenty of shady things in the past—including Similiar schemes—but this time, they were actually telling the truth.

"Lady Esdeath is your long-lost sister."

To ease Yoshino wariness, Nyau decided to reveal part of the truth.

"Yoshino doesn't have a sister. Hmph, if anything, Yoshinon is Yoshino sister," said Yoshinon, crossing her arms. "If you guys can't even come up with a decent lie, maybe human trafficking just isn't your calling."

"You... don't have a sister?"

They didn't quite understand the whole Yoshinon is Yoshino sister part, but they definitely grasped the most important sentence.

Wait, this... this doesn't add up.

Not only did she have the blue hair and eyes characteristic of the Parta Tribe, but her appearance was an exact match. Even the name was the same.

How could she not be Esdeath sister?

Just as the Three Beasts were about to clarify things further, a female voice rang out from behind them.

"Hey, I think that's enough."

A voluptuous blonde woman had somehow appeared at the corner of the hallway, leaning casually against the wall, watching the whole scene unfold.

"She just said she doesn't have a sister, and you're still spouting nonsense trying to abduct her? Careful or I'll call the cops on you."