Leon, Evelyn, and I couldn't take on so many people at once.

This much was clear to the three of us. Especially since we were under orders to not kill them.

However, stalling wasn't that much of a problem.

Leon... He was the perfect meatshield.

Bang! Bang-

He didn't even let out a sound as spells rained down on me. He just stood in front of me, protecting me while...

I bit my lips and mumbled,

"Your sacrifice will not be forgot-"

"I'm not dead."

"It-"

"Go."

"Fine."

I closed my eyes and the green and red orb floated in front of me.

I brought my hands together, pulling the orbs closer as power started to surge right through

me.

It was an experience I had once felt as my entire body crackled and popped as the muscles and bones adjusted to the added strain.

The world around me slowed down as my arms bulked up.

Yellow Anger + Joy Mania

"Hoo."

With a deep breath, I pressed my foot to the side and shot towards the soldiers ahead. Bang! Bang-

Spells continued to rain down in my direction, but I was able to dodge every single one of them as I locked my sight on the nearest and weakest soldiers.

....In essence, the mages.

Those who wore heavier armor were not soldiers that I could take care of quickly.

Bang!

The ground shattered beside me as I shifted my center of gravity and direction. Several spells flew past me as I clenched my hand.

Several dozen threads shot forth, covering the surroundings as some of the soldiers were unable to act on time and were promptly cut by the threads.

"Ukeh! Akh!"

But because I couldn't kill them, I was only able to injure them.

Still, this was acceptable since I was able to ease some of the attacks that were headed my way and was able to get near the mages.

Swoosh!

Arriving behind one of the mages, I threw my fist down.

A shield formed around them the moment I attacked but it shattered almost immediately. Cra Crack!

"Akh!"

Landing a solid blow on their head, I shifted towards the next mage and repeated the same motion.

Cra Crack!

"Ukeh!"

Screams reverberated throughout as mage after mage fell under my attacks.

Despite my exhaustion, I continued to attack the nearest soldier near me which birthed more chaos as the communication between each soldier fell apart.

Cra!

I shifted from one mage to another.

Memorizing the location of every soldier that was next to me, I didn't even look before pressing my foot down and shooting their way.

Bang!

"Нааа... Наа..."

My lungs were on fire and my body started to show signs of tear.

Cra Crack!

By the time I was able to get rid of another mage, I realized that my body was extremely heavy. My 'Concept' shattered and the power boost I previously felt disappeared alongside it.

"Haa..."

When I looked around me, my heart pressed at my throat as I realized I was surrounded from all sides.

Weapons and magic spells were pointed at me.

The situation was the same for Leon who could only remain still as his eyes had returned to normal.

Evelyn wasn't faring that much better.

'Fuck...'

I cursed in my heart, looking at the numerous soldiers that we had managed to get rid of.

In total, I could count about twenty. Perhaps there were more...

I wasn't sure.

Still, feeling the numerous gazes directed my way, I didn't have it in me to feel down. I had accomplished my mission as I slumped down on the ground and smiled,

"You fools."

I mumbled, turning my attention towards the bridge.

"...You were so focused on us that you forgot that we aren't the only ones here."

As those words left my mouth, the ground trembled.

Rumble!

The faces of the soldiers before me changed. But it was too late.

Bang!

A figure appeared shortly after.

His presence was suffocating, and by the time the soldiers realized what was happening, it

was already too late-a silver gleam flashed before my eyes.

Thump! Thump! Thump!

Bodies fell one after another.

The most impressive part was the fact that none of them were dead.

I could see that they were all knocked out at once.

Clank! Clank-!

Shortly after, the vassals arrived and sparks flew in the air.

In the quiet of the night, the heavy sound of metal clashing resounded as the remaining

soldiers from the enemy camp were left helpless. Many tried to run but it was useless.

The captain didn't allow one single person to escape his grasp.

His every action was quick, and despite it being dark, it was as if he could see through

everything.

....The fight ended a few minutes after it started.

By the time all twenty remaining soldiers had been taken care of, the captain's deep voice

resounded.

"We're done."

His calm voice reached me as he collected the unconscious bodies of the soldiers and tied

them up.

I nodded faintly at him before shifting my attention away.

Leon and Evelyn approached me shortly after.

"That was quick..."

Evelyn mumbled while looking around. She seemed impressed. Especially with the captain

who appeared to be extremely competent.

'.... It looks like we really weren't needed after all.'

At a glance, it almost seemed like he could've taken care of the fifty soldiers by himself.

Leon pursed his lips before plopping onto the ground. Blood leaked from the corner of his

mouth as he let out a faint groan.

"It hurts."

"....Aftereffect of your Concept?"

"Y-yeah."

Leon groaned again, holding his head with both hands.

"Khhh."

I watched him in silence before shifting my attention away from him. While his 'no star' skill was broken, it wasn't without side effects.

Although his body remained relatively unscathed, absorbing most of the attacks, the pain inflicted wasn't shielded. Instead, it built up, intensifying, until it was unleashed all at once

when he deactivated his Concept.

....This pretty much rendered him useless for quite a bit.

"How long until you can fight again?"

"G-give me several hours..."

"...That's too much time."

We had to act fast.

If we waited a couple of hours then the people waiting at the mine would grow suspicious.

The reality of the situation was that we were only going through the motions. ....We were here to pretend like we were trying to get the mine back as fast as possible.

In reality, the miners that were currently in the mine were all trusted soldiers from the Household who were disguised as miners.

The explosives had already been planted in the mine, and all that remained was for us to lure

them in. Once we had them close, the charges would detonate, wiping out the entire army in

one devastating blow.

.... It was a ruthless plan, but it was necessary for our victory.

'Actually, that's not the problem here...'

I wanted to get into the mine.

At least... to better understand exactly what the butler meant by his words and what the liquid

the previous Julien consumed was.

I knew I'd be able to get my answers there, but if we went ahead with the plan then I'd have no

chance to find out.

"I can't believe we're going back to that place again."

Evelyn's words brought me out of my state.

I shifted my attention to her, but she didn't notice my gaze, her eyes fixed on the moon

hanging in the sky.

"How long has it been since we last went to the mine? We used to play there quite often when

we were young. I can't believe we're going to blow it up soon."

"...Almost t-ten years." Leon replied next to her. He gave me a quick glance, telling me to not talk.

I understood what he meant but Evelyn already knew that I wasn't the previous Julien. Well, in

any case, I still pretended to understand.

"We used to play hide and seek all the time. It was pretty fun, and-"

All of a sudden Evelyn paused, her brows furrowing as she turned her attention towards me.

Noticing the peculiarity in her gaze, I kept my expression firm.

Eventually, Evelyn shook her head.

"Nevermind. It's in the past. It's not worth talking about..." 'Especially since you're not him.'

She mumbled softly under her breath.

Patting her clothes she slowly stood up and headed towards the guards. I watched her back

alongside Leon who continued to stare at her before finally turning his attention towards me.

"What was she talking about?"

"....She's probably thinking about what happened in the past."

"I got that. What exactly happened?"

"Well..."

Leon frowned, his brows furrowing as he seemingly recalled what happened. Then, with a

bitter smile, he spoke,

"You kind of forced us to play hide and seek in the gold mine. In the end, we all ended up

getting lost for a long time. We were gone for so long that the family Head had no choice but

to send a rescue party to look for us."

"...Ah."

Such a thing happened?

'No, thinking about it... perhaps it was during this time that he was lost that Julien found something

within the case. The strange liquid most probably.'

Ba... Thump! Ba... Thump!

My heart rate sped up at the thought.

It felt like I was getting closer to the truth.

"How did you end up finding your way back? Did the rescue squad find you...?"

"For me, yes."

"What about me...?"

"Hmm."

Leon frowned, turning his attention towards Evelyn who was speaking to the guards.

"You can ask her. The two of you came back together."

Shifting my attention towards Evelyn, I opened my mouth but closed it shortly after. Asking

her was the same as admitting that I wasn't Julien.

While she already knew, she had no definitive proof.

...Perhaps she was baiting me into telling her.

"Haa."

I let out a long breath and leaned back on my arms while staring at the moon in the sky.

'If only there was a to look through the old Julien's memories.'

The more I learned about the previous Julien, the more shrouded his past seemed to be.

Things would've been so much easier if I was capable of looking through his past, but sadly it

wasn't possible.

The second leaf...

It didn't work for me.

I had tried it in the past, but it did nothing. It would just extinguish with each attempt.

'It didn't work for Leon as well. Is there some sort of reason for this...? The second leaf worked

with everyone that I've tried it with but Leon. The only leaf that worked on Leon was the thir

My thoughts came to an abrupt halt as my breath left my body.

A sudden thought occurred to me as I lowered my head to stare at my forearm where a clover

tattoo appeared, closely wrapped by my illusion to make it hard to see that there was a tattoo

present.

"Hoo."

I let out a cold breath as an idea sprung up in my mind.

"The second leaf didn't work on Leon, but the third leaf did. What if...'

Pursing my lips together, I looked around me before pressing my right arm against my left.

Then...

I pressed the third leaf.