"Who's the girl?"
Even though Hellspawn couldn't really see who the person was behind the armor, he could sense that it was a girl. And as far as he could remember, Dmitri never had a love interest all his life, and as for Lev, he didn't really have the time to enter into a relationship. He was actually popular back then, he just didn't notice that fact since he had other goals in mind.
"She's Lev's girl, a new addition to our team. She's from the Caix Tribe, a princess, or so that's what she told me." Dmitri briefly introduced the girl to him.
"Lev, you got a girl? How? I thought you— " Hellspawn was about to ramble on when Dmitri stepped in and cupped a hand on his helmet, gesturing that he remain silent. Trusting in his friend, he nodded and allowed the two of them to explain while he listened.
"Actually, he lost his memories. It all started on his first day as a recruit." Dmitri whispered.
"What how? Was it the Council's doing?" Hellspawn whispered back. "So he forgot all his memories ever since he was young?"
"Apparently so," Dmitri replied with a crestfallen tone in his voice.
Meanwhile, Lev could actually hear what they were talking about despite their whispers but he still didn't understand a single thing. Based on Hellspawn's familiarity with him, he could feel that they were once close before, but he couldn't remember a single thing about him. There were hazy memories, sure, but nothing concrete.
"I see," Hellspawn then leaned back on his seat, just when the food started arriving at the table. He was the first one to grab one piece of Tomahawk Steak. "So, Dmitri, did you tell him anything?"
"Not yet, I figured it would be best if he hears everything from you," Dmitri answered.
"Then there's nothing to talk about." Hellspawn sighed. "Just... you know what I mean, Dmitri."
A wave of sadness hit the group as Hellspawn and Dmitri relaxed their shoulders and sighed at the same time. They know something that Lev doesn't, and somehow, they've decided to keep him in the dark. Enraged, Lev stood up and patted both of them on the shoulders. "Look, aren't we good friends? Why are you keeping these things to me? I, at least, should know what I'm dealing with."
"There's no need. Lev. You have a girl now, and you're finally starting to live a normal life. If you're being chased, just assume a new identity and move on. Here, I have a few IDs that you could use, and it won't trigger anything in the database or any system." Hellspawn continued. This time, he was the one who patted Lev on the shoulders.
"And here's a credit card. I have at least five of those and they have unlimited balance. You can spend as much as you want and it will never run out of money."Dmitri said, giving Lev a credit card and patting him on the shoulders as well.
"Look, guys, I'm willing to accept all these but let me in on this one. Don't just leave me out. I'm sure I had a clear objective back then, a reason, and even though I've lost my memories and wandered off track, this is still me, I still have something to do." Lev appealed to them, trying to change their minds since they were clearly trying to leave him out of whatever it is they were going to do.
"Honestly, I think this would be for the best, Lev. All of us, we all dreamed of living a normal life, free of the thoughts of revenge that plagued our minds. We longed to be peaceful, but no matter how hard we tried, we could never be peaceful, we could never convince our mind to be peaceful." Dmitri elaborately reasoned out.
"And you, Lev, you've been given a second chance, and you have a girl with you. This is something that we dreamed to experience for once— peace. And now you have a chance to experience it, rid yourself of the troubling past that you had."
"What are you guys talking about? I'm not his girl! Not yet, at least, but that's beside the point." Titania spoke up. "Are you really going to leave him out? Do you think the past Lev would be happy with your decision right now?"
'Yeah, you go, Titania! And what did you mean by not yet?!' Lev inwardly thought to himself but he didn't dare voice it out. They were in the middle of convincing the two to tell him about his past and he wasn't going to miss this chance.
"Lev is your friend, right? If he is, then you should respect his wishes, memories or no memories. You're only pressuring him of your own selfishness. So what if you want him to live the life all of you never had? Would that remove the chains of the past? Would that make you feel less guilty?"
The words of a royal princess from the Caix Tribe bore down on them, causing them to rethink their decisions and their emotion-driven urge to make Lev live the life they all wanted. After Hellspawn realized that Lev could finally be free of the pain caused by the past, he thought that at least, one of them could be happy, devoid of the bleak future that awaited them.
Of course, that was against Lev's wishes. Even though he lost all his memories, he still acted like the Lev they once knew.
Quite the contrary, though, Lev didn't even realize that he was acting in character. As someone who transmigrated, the only reason why he didn't want to be left out was that he was genuinely curious about his other self— the Lev that lived in this world before he transmigrated.
What he didn't know, however, is that he would come to regret this decision, or at least rethink it at the deciding time. Curiosity kills the cat, or so the saying goes.
"The girl's right. Even if Lev lived a normal life, he'd feel eternally guilty if he were to remember the past in the near future. I for sure know that Lev wouldn't want that." Hellspawn returned to his seat.
"I guess, so... are we going to tell him?" Dmitri asked the all-important question while stealing a glance at Lev who also sat down.
Hellspawn nodded, taking a bite out of the Tomahawk Steak he already reserved for himself.