I Finished Saving the World, But Then I Picked Up a Girl With Amnesia - Chapter 11

The conversation dragged on longer than expected.

The sun had set, and the sky outside was completely dark. Holding glasses of alcohol, Knight-chan and I stepped out onto the terrace. The cool breeze felt refreshing against our alcohol-warmed bodies.

“Red Hair-chan fell asleep, huh?”

“Getting full and passing out like that—she’s just a kid, isn’t she?”

“She’s adorable, though.”

“No argument there.”

“Still, it’s hard to really grasp the fact that she has amnesia.”

“Yeah, since she can carry on conversations just fine. Talking to her doesn’t feel off at all.”

“Where did you save her?”

“On the outskirts of my town, between the forest and the wilderness. She was on horseback, running from pursuers.”

“Knowing you, I bet you beat up all the pursuers and just left them there, didn’t you?”

How does she know?

I shrugged my shoulders and took a swig of my drink. Knight-chan and I have known each other since we were kids clinking juice glasses, but drinking together like this makes me realize how much we’ve grown.

“Sage-chan scolded me for it too.”

“Well, of course.”

“Do you think you can look into Red Hair-chan’s situation?”

“If I reach out to the knights in that area… Don’t expect too much, but I’ll give it a shot.”

“That’d be a big help.”

Knight-chan’s position is a bit complicated. As a princess of a neighboring kingdom, she became the lord of this land as a reward for her role in defeating the Demon King. This means she’s far from the royal capital and its internal power struggles, earning trust from the peripheral nobles. In contrast, Sage-chan is fully ingrained in the capital’s political battles. They’re polar opposites in that sense.

Still, Knight-chan is incredibly reliable.

“But this is more important, isn’t it?”

Saying that, Knight-chan pulled out a note from her pocket. Written on it was the only clue we had so far—the name of Red Hair-chan, which I couldn’t read because of my curse.

“Searching the kingdom’s entire registry by just her name is going to be tough, but…”

“I don’t care if it takes time.”

“…Yeah, you’re right.”

Her translucent golden hair swayed in the breeze as she stared intently at the name written on the note.

The name I couldn’t read.

Without thinking, the question slipped out of my mouth.

“What kind of name was it?”

“Huh?”

“Red Hair-chan’s name. Was it pretty, or did it have a nice ring to it?”

“…Hmm.”

The girl who’d been smiling brightly ever since I arrived suddenly let that light fade from her expression.

“So you forgot my name, but her name is what interests you?”

The lively flow of our conversation came to an abrupt halt.

The short distance between us, as thin as a door, closed completely, and her shoulder brushed against mine. With the hand not holding her glass, her fingers lightly pinched the fabric of my clothes, hesitating.

“I mean, that’s not…”

“Just kidding. Sorry, I didn’t mean to say something mean.”

With that, her tone quickly returned to normal.

Her smile returned too. But it wasn’t the bright, cheerful one from before. Her azure eyes seemed to look right through me, as if they could see into my very thoughts.

“…I’ll go grab us something to snack on.”

Leaving those words behind, her swaying golden hair disappeared from view.

I hadn’t seen that look on Knight-chan’s face in a long time. No, I hadn’t just seen it—I’d been the one to cause it.

“…Man, I’m the worst.”

I downed the remaining liquid in my glass in one gulp.

Damn it. I can’t even taste the alcohol now.

“…Haa.”

Maybe I said something unnecessary because I got carried away and drank too much. My vision felt unsteady, like the world was spinning.

The strength left my hand, and my glass slipped from my grasp.

“…Huh?”

I dropped the glass. It shattered on the ground.

The sound registered in my mind at the same time as the strength left my knees.

“Rest well, ‘ ‘-kun.”

That voice was the last thing I heard before I lost consciousness.