Shirone thought that Amy was joking with him.
"I'm sorry. Did I surprise you? I didn't tell you to surprise you. How was your senior year class?"
Amy looked cautious. Then, when Shirone tried to approach her, she gave him a hasty punch on the arm. The two coffee cups she was holding went flying.
Shirone had a blank expression. He couldn't see this as a joke. Amy's face was also flushed, as if she was genuinely angry.
"Who do you think you're doing this to? And why are you talking confidently to Cerielle, and what's with the nasty things you're saying to me?"
Cerielle also showed a disgusted expression, as if that wasn't true.
"Are you in the advanced class? No matter how interested you are, isn't this kind of behavior a bit inappropriate? And you should use respectful words with your elders."
Shirone was bewildered. Amy and Cerielle were acting as if they didn't know him.
"Cerielle senior, it's me, Shirone. Do you really not know me? Amy, do you seriously not know me? Are you messing with me?"
"How should I know you? If you're a student, study. Can't you tell time and place? Do I look that easy?"
Amy grabbed Shirone by the collar. She was really upset. She thought that when she reached her senior year, she would say goodbye to all the troublesome men, but who would have thought someone would follow her here.
"I wanted some peace for a while, but they're starting again. This is all because guys never change."
Amy muttered to herself and frowned.
"What? The guy? Who is that?"
There must have been a particular person involved in the reason why the male students at Chigeundae withdrew, but she couldn't remember.
Trapped by the collar, Shirone felt like his heart had been pierced. There was only intimacy in Amy's eyes.
"No... this isn't true."
Shirone shook Amy's hand off his collar.
"No! Don't lie!"
"Ouch!"
Amy squeezed his wrist and had a pained expression. However, Shirone shouted as if he hated even that appearance.
"Why are you pretending not to know me?! What did I do wrong?! If you don't like me, just say so! That way, I'll be offended too!"
"Hey, let her go!"
Cerielle pulled Shirone away. Since it was Cerielle and not someone else, Shirone couldn't even resist and crashed to the ground.
"Why are you bothering my friend? Even the elders! Where's your class? Do you really want to be reprimanded?"
Shirone looked at him with a lost expression.
"Cerielle..."
Amy's best friend. She always topped the class with her outstanding skills but was a simple girl who would shed tears while watching her romantic novels. She always cheered Shirone on, enthusiastically, whenever he took on a challenging task.
But now she was a completely different person. Her eyes burned, and her frowned lips were tinged with hostility.
Shirone shook his head. He couldn't believe it; he didn't want to believe it. This could never have happened.
"No! It's a lie!"
Shirone got up and ran. He felt like he would go crazy if he stayed here for one more second.
"Don't come back! If you keep doing things like this again, I'll tell the teachers!"
Cerielle, who waved her hands and shouted, told Amy, still frowning as if she was still angry.
"Ugh, what kind of guys do you have? His face had a kind look, but he's very stubborn. Oh my God, Amy. Are you okay?"
"Huh? Oh, I'm fine."
Amy, lost in thought, suddenly snapped out of it. But she still felt uneasy about something. It was because she felt a strange longing for Shirone as he walked away.
"Who was he? Was he acting like he really knew you?"
"I guess he just pretended to be crazy and bumped into you. Because there are a lot of guys like that these days. Lacking empathy when trying to get close to someone."
"Is that so?"
"Anyway, I'm going in. Hey, I was going to talk to you for a while, but break time's over because of the weird guy."
Even in the same graduation class, they had different specialties, so it was hard for them to find time to greet each other unless they made time for each other.
When Cerielle entered the classroom, Amy followed her. But she stopped at the classroom door and looked back to where Shirone had run off.
"..."
She stayed in her seat until the class bell rang.
***
"Why are you doing this?! What could be the reason?"
Shirone ran like crazy. After passing through the steel door and reaching the advanced class building, the class bell rang, and students entered the classroom.
"Mark! Mark!"
Mark, who was flirting with Maria, turned his head. Shirone ran towards him and asked.
"Mark! Do you know me? Who am I? Tell me quickly!"
Mark looked back at Maria, embarrassed. But she shrugged as if she didn't know either.
"Sorry... who are you?"
Shirone's heart began to race like crazy. He couldn't understand what was happening to him.
"It's me. I'm Shirone Arian!"
"This... who are you? I need to know who you are in order to have a conversation with you."
"It's me! I'm Shirone! Class Five! I took the exam with you too! Do you really not remember me?"
Mark's expression frowned. However, he couldn't argue with Class Five and politely lowered his head.
"Ah, yes. I'm sorry, I didn't know."
"That's not it! Why are you treating me like this?!"
"What are you saying? I wanted to get rid of him as per his nature, but I can't because there are people around."
"Guys, the class has started, but you haven't entered yet. What are you doing?"
Siena was walking down the hallway. Shirone ran towards her in his mood to meet his savior.
"Teacher! It's me, Shirone."
If it was Teacher Siena-nim, there was no way she would forget her. Because she was strong. She was a certified sixth-class mage. But the words that came back were very cruel.
"Shirone? There's no such student in the advanced class. Who are you?"
"Teacher, don't you know me?! It's me, Shirone!"
Siena looked back into her memories. But it was a name she didn't know, a face she didn't know.
"I think something went wrong. I hadn't heard of a first-year student coming. Are you really a student at our school?"
Mark and Maria's eyes changed abruptly. Shirone, who had suddenly become a suspicious person, suddenly got scared.
"I'm sorry! I made a mistake!"
"Hey! Stop right there!"
Leaving behind Siena's voice, Shirone ran desperately. It seemed like he knew now. Everything that had happened.
Everyone had forgotten him.
"Ugh, damn..."
He felt like a lost child. He was infinitely weak. He was afraid of everything in the world.
After entering Eastas, Shirone got lost three times before finding the Supernatural Psychic Research Society.
"My friends will be okay. Of course, why wouldn't they be?"
Weren't they joking around just a few hours ago? Even if everyone else forgot, they should remember.
When he opened the door and entered, Neid and Eruki were chatting. Then, when they saw Shirone, they both wore surprised expressions.
"Neid, Eruki, it's me. I'm Shirone."
His friends just blinked without responding. As the dam of emotions that had been blocked until now burst, tears filled Shirone's eyes.
"Why aren't you saying anything? Do you remember me? You haven't forgotten me, right?"
Neid looked back at Eruki. Then he approached Shirone, scratching his head.
"Sorry... who are you?"
Tears glistened in Shirone's eyes.
"Do you really not know? We were together until now. We studied together yesterday and the day before."
"I'm sorry, but we don't know you. Did another research society send you to spy on us? Please don't get into trouble and leave."
Eruki shouted as if he had suddenly realized.
"Wait a moment! Maybe it's possible. How did you find your way to Eastas? Tell me quickly! Who the hell are you?"
"You, you..."
Shirone's lower lip quivered. He could no longer contain his tears.
"Puh...!"
Air escaped from Neid's mouth. Then he grabbed his stomach and burst into laughter.
"Hahaha! Did you see that? Did you see that expression? It's a complete masterpiece!"
"I saw it! I saw it! He was completely terrified, you, you... Hahaha. Shirone, what are you trying to achieve by making me laugh?!"
Neid laughed so hard that he grabbed his aching stomach and staggered.
"Uh-huh, uh-huh. Oh, the more I think about it, the crazier I become! Why the hell would you do this... Ha ha ha!"
Shirone couldn't understand the situation. He couldn't even tell if this was real or a dream.
"What, do you remember me?"
"What nonsense are you talking about? Did you have a sudden nightmare? Do you know how funny your face looks right now? Hahaha!"
Shirone's pulse went haywire. It felt like the rock in his chest had finally rolled away.
"Oh, guys! Then why didn't you speak up? Why the hell did you pretend not to know me?"
"When you came in, your expression on your face was so funny that I was joking around. It was like, 'I, I am Shirone.'"
When Neid mimicked Shirone, Eruki fell to the floor again and rolled around. Shirone, who didn't even have the energy to criticize, sat down and covered his face with his hands.
"Whoa, I thought you were really scared to death."
"Take a seat for a moment. What's going on?"
Sitting on the couch, Shirone enthusiastically confessed the situation from a moment ago. At first, the guys, who were goofy, became serious when the topic of Professor Siena came up.
"Hmm, you mean even Professor Siena doesn't know you? There's no way Professor was making a joke."
Neid couldn't believe it at all.
"Is that really possible?"
"It's possible with spirit-type magic. Of course, it's doubtful if it's possible to manipulate the memories of all the students."
"Because it's possible. I've experienced it firsthand."
Eruki calmed down the agitated Shirone.
"Alright. Don't get worked up just because it's possible. Anyway, I believe what you're saying. It means that people have lost their memories of you," said Neid.
"But we remember you. Could this be a clue to the situation?"
"I think the same. I can only think of one reason why we haven't forgotten Shirone. We haven't been at the academy for two days. What the hell happened while we were absent?"
Shirone and the others were lost in thought. While they were absent, did someone manipulate the minds not only of the students but also the teachers? It was an assumption that didn't make immediate sense.
"Maybe something supernatural has occurred. If you look at examples, there are quite a few similar things in history."
Eruki was skeptical.
"Well, I believe that case also had to do with magic. Anyway, if that's the case, how do you explain that we haven't lost our memories?"
"Perhaps it's because we were at Eastas. We've been here since we parted from Shirone."
Shirone asked, "What does that have to do with Eastas?"
"It's been rumored for a long time that Eastas has mystical powers. Of course, it's just a rumor, but I'm trying to think of everything. It relates to our personal affairs," said Eruki.
"It means there's a possibility that we might lose our memories too."
"Well, I can't be sure."
There was silence. It would be sad if people couldn't remember, but it was also a problem if they lost their memories.
Neid spoke up bravely, "Still... would you like to go out and see?"
"Well, it's not something that can be resolved by hiding, right?"
The friends were right. However, Shirone, who had already been through terrible things, didn't like the idea.
"So, what if all of you forget me too? At that point, I might truly go insane."
"Let's do it. To be marked in advance. Even if you lose your memory, you can avoid the worst."