*Rumble*

As soon as the barbarian fell, kicking up dust in the air, Amelia gritted her teeth and sat down.

Is this the price of carelessness?

Her ribs were broken. Her skin, covered with blood, not only stung, but also simply ached. It seems that organs were also damaged.

I don't even know how long it's been since I've been in a similar situation.

Her body would soon recover on its own, but the long-forgotten pain was all too obvious at this moment. If she was used to anything, it was pain, which she was proud of. She didn't know why it made her laugh. Regardless of the fact that it was the result of her arrogance, it was absurd to think that it was the three-month-old barbarian who created this situation.

An interesting person.

She thought not only of his abilities, but also of his judgment of the situation, his courage and determination to put them into practice, and most importantly, his will to live.

She suddenly thought: If only we had met a little later... The results could have been different.

Of course, in reality it was implausible. When she was growing up, she was told that she had a special talent, and for 20 years she went in and out of the labyrinth.

The fact that I started thinking this way is a problem. This shows how dangerous it is.

Their first meeting took place just a month ago. During this time, he would only be able to enter the maze once. How was this barbarian transformed? A person who in the past couldn't even touch her had advanced so much.

*Shhhhh!*

His body did not die even after his head was completely blown off, and he began to regenerate his flesh. Amelia walked slowly towards him.

*Step*

Similar to the [Source of Darkness], there were several abilities that could overcome death, but it still didn't make a person invulnerable. Just look at this barbarian.

*Step*

His head had been completely destroyed, and he was now defenseless. Perhaps he had activated [Eternal Life] and recovered quickly, but it took a huge amount of time to recover from such an injury, and even that became impossible when the Soul Force (MP) ran out. This meant that she could kill him at any time. But without hesitation, she put away the dagger and took out the potion.

Clearly, they are not sent by the royal family, so there is no need to kill.

No matter what anyone said, she wasn't a murderer.

***

They were hints, voices coming from front and back at the same time. If I were smarter and calmer, I might notice a variable, [Self-Replication]. If I had done so, plans A and B would have been slightly altered as well.

However, even in this case, the results would be the same.

Feeling a strange sensation like a fragmented mind coming together, I slowly opened my eyes.

"What a monstrous regeneration ability you have.

The first thing I saw was a crazy bitch.

"One bottle of potion and you're as good as new."

"Potion...?" I asked in a cracked voice and lifted my upper body.

Only then did I notice that my neck was very wet.

It didn't look like blood...

Could it be that this woman poured a potion on me?

"Why?"

"Why didn't I kill you?"

I nodded. I was glad I was alive, but to be honest, I was sure of death the moment I passed out.

The woman watched me with an annoyed look in her eyes.

"You... Everything is the same as then.

"What?"

"Why do you always lash out at me when you see me?" I never thought I'd say that, but don't people usually think of discussing everything first?

Well, I had nothing to say to that. It's all because of my habit of always assuming the worst. I answered in a calm voice:

"Since you're planning to kill me, I thought this was the only way out.

As long as there was still the slightest chance, before the Paralyzing Poison spread even further, I decided that I had to see the end of the duel.

The woman only sighed sharply.

"Why?" I let you go last time, didn't I?

Her voice was still rough, but at the same time a little frustrated.

But in fact, I should have been upset.

"You said so yourself. As long as I know about this place, you won't be able to let me go.

If she hadn't said that, Plan C—begging for life—would have remained Plan A.

Do you think I want to fight a monster like you?

"I think I said I couldn't 'just' let you go.

This and that.

For some reason, she had shown a strange receptivity ever since, so I asked more boldly:

"So, what are you going to do with me now?"

"I have no intention of killing you. So stop your hands.

I stopped the movement of my hand, which was insidiously moving towards the mace, and said firmly:

— This is a misunderstanding.

"A misunderstanding?"

"I didn't mean to attack you unexpectedly with this. Simply-...

"Did you want to be prepared for me to change my mind?"

... Hmm, yes, that's right. The best defense is an attack.

When I didn't confirm or deny it, the woman stared at me blankly, as if asking what kind of madman I was.

"You really haven't changed a bit," Amelia said and spat on the floor.

For a moment I wondered if she was a thug, but when I looked closer, it turned out that it was blood, not saliva. It seems that my active defense before I lost consciousness caused some damage.

— ... You didn't take the potion?"

"This is my body type.

- I see.

It was a brief explanation, but he didn't say anything. Some essences imposed a penalty when mixed with potions.

In any case, let's get back to the main thing.

"Barbarian, take this."

She pulled out what looked like a magic pill from her clothes. It was dark in color and looked like the cat was vomiting its food.

"What... This is?

"It's a medicine made by an alchemist from Noark. If you accept it, it will erase your memory of the last hour.

"It will erase... my memory? Then why didn't you give it to me when we met in the Land of the Dead?

"It's not something that can be easily obtained. If they hadn't given it to me just in case, I wouldn't have it with me either.

So it was a valuable thing. But this led to another question. It wasn't what anyone in my position should be saying now, but...

"It would be much easier for you to just kill me. Why did you choose such a troublesome method?

They say that there is nothing more valuable than a human life, but this applied only to my past world. There were countless things here that were more valuable than human life. For example, above ground, many people were still losing their lives just because they couldn't pay their taxes.

But in the midst of all this, will she use such a valuable consumable to keep us alive?

I answered confidently:

"There must be some reason.

— ... Why do you think so?

"If you kill the five of us, then our equipment alone will be worth tens of millions of stones.

At my sharp remark, Amelia was silent for a while. I thought it was because I hit the nail on the head. However, the words that followed the silence were unexpected.

"What exactly do you think of me?"

"This...

While I was debating whether I should answer honestly, she cut me short.

"You don't have to say that. I think I already know.

She seemed to feel a little guilty too, but apparently she didn't want to make excuses.

"It doesn't matter. Whatever it is, think as you wish. It doesn't change anything.

Amelia bent down and forcibly opened my mouth, then shoved the pill down my throat.

The medicine quickly dissolved, leaving nothing that could even be vomited later.

"Ugh!"

It seemed to me that something was burning in my head. It was a sensation different from pain.

— ... Hey, are you sure it's only going to end up erasing memories?

"If not, do you have any other options?"

I had nothing to say to that. Seeing that I was speechless, she smirked.

"I haven't heard of any side effects. So sleep well, barbarian.

Well, in that case.

To be honest, I didn't feel any better, but I closed my eyes.

At this moment, Amelia opened her mouth as if she remembered something.

"Oh, so what was that second way?"

"Huh?" The second way?

— Two ways to make someone angry.

"Oh, that's it-...

I passed out immediately after that.

***

[[Lethe's Blessing] penetrates your soul.]

[Your soul cannot be blessed.

***

When I woke up, I was in the sewers. My removed gear was scattered all over the place, and so was the rest.

*Rumble*

Using my hands as a support, I slowly lifted my dirty body. As I put on my gear, one by one, my teammates came to their senses. They all looked confused.

"Is this the sewer...?"

"What is it?" We must now chase this villain!

"DVR!" If we check the dashcam... Damn, it's broken!

The crazy's words must have been true because the others didn't remember anything. It seems that the last thing they remembered was how they followed Hans E to his hideout.

... Why am I all right?

Even as I slowly replayed my memories, I could clearly remember what had happened before I lost consciousness.

Why?

Wait, what happened to this bitch then?

Belatedly, I remembered Eliza, and I came to my senses.

... Could it be that the woman took her with her?

At least I didn't see Eliza around now.

Hell, if I had known this was going to happen, I would have just killed her then.

"That's it, look over there!"

"Huh?" Isn't that her?

A what?

I immediately turned my head and saw a woman lying a little further away. Blonde hair covered in mud, a cute head that made me want to break it: It had to be Eliza.

Hikuroda rushed to check her pulse.

"She's dead!"

This added to the confusion.

"We've been bewitched. Why don't we remember anything, and this woman is dead?

"D-Dvalki, maybe the monster you were talking about really appeared!"

All kinds of assumptions were expressed in perplexed voices. But Brown, who managed to keep his composure, put forward a plausible hypothesis.

— ... I think it's all the work of this woman.

"What?" Eliza?

"Maybe we found her at the end of the chase and most likely won.

Brown pointed to Eliza's limbs as the basis for his claim. If it hadn't been my mace, he probably would have thought that he wouldn't have been able to crush its limbs so well.

Soon, Dvalki also found traces of [Paralyzing Poison] in the corpse and strengthened the hypothesis.

"Come to think of it, I can feel traces of my magic from this woman.

Now there was only one question left for them.

"Then why can't we remember anything?"

"If my prediction is correct, we would try to bring her back alive to the city. However... Perhaps she came to her senses and outwitted us.

It was a plausible story. If I had lost my memory too, I would have analyzed the situation in the same way.

"Definitely... If it was a little-known evil god power, then it is possible.

"Hahaha!" But seeing her dead, it seems like we've done a good job!

— ... Bjorn, what do you think?

"Well...

I pondered for a while. The conclusion they had conjectured and agreed upon was very far from the truth, as I remembered, but there was no need to tell them about it.

I think Rothmiller is right.

If it became known that I hadn't lost my memory, I wouldn't know when that crazy bitch would visit me again.

"Let's get out of here and visit the temple." Perhaps something has happened to our bodies besides the loss of memory.

At Brown's worried words, everyone quickly prepared to leave. I have finished my thoughts.

Something is hidden under the sewers, right? A secret I didn't know in this world.

I'd be lying if I said that my curiosity doesn't drive me as a long-time player of this game, but...

Let's never step in the sewers again.

My life was more important than curiosity.