“This is my first time ever hearing about that kind of ability.”

“Think about it carefully. You probably don’t remember because you lost your memories.”

“I may not remember things well but I’m pretty sure no such ability exists.”

“Urgh, I’ve never been in this kind of situation before. Even when I was with my sister.”

As far as I know, Knox didn’t have the ability to attract monsters. By the way, how were we going to get past that black crowd of gllyluses.

Facing each other, we made a silent promise to keep quiet. However, we couldn’t just stay at the abandoned house to kill time.

Knox will turn into a child when the sun rises. I don’t know when Knox’s cycle started but I’m sure that today was not the end of it. Even if I was wrong and today was the end of his cycle, I could not stay here just believing in an assumption.

There may be an abundance of herbs here, but there was no food nor drinking water. Unlike my house, the abandoned house did not have a well.

“What do you think about staying here for a day?”

“No.”


I shook my head firmly.

“If we just stay here and wait, we would be losing our stamina. So, we have to get out of here now.”

“Do you have a plan?”

At that moment, Knox grabbed his sword. But no matter how good he was at the sword; he would find it hard to handle that many monsters without his memories.

Scanning the garden carefully, I saw something hidden inside the fence. I ran quickly and looked at the red flowers.

“Knox, do you remember me talking about the poisonous plants in the forest? This was what I was talking about, Tethes!”

I exclaimed as I pointed at the flowers to Knox who ran after me. Next to the red flowers, lay the remnants of the exploded fruits.

“When the Tethes’ fruit bursts, the liquids and gases it releases are poisonous to both humans and monsters.”

“More poisonous than the powder that you threw?”

“Yup. Even if the effects are temporary, the poison is real. Don’t get too close. It explodes upon touch.”

“How do you plan on using it?”

After pondering over it, I asked carefully.

“Can you remove the fruit from the branches without touching it?”

The faster he swung his sword, the faster the fruit would break off from its branch. Let alone a sword, I found it difficult to even cut leaves from plants without my hands shaking.

Tak.

“Is this okay?”

Before I could even finish speaking, Knox snapped the branch.

… Was this even possible?

Didn’t you say that you didn’t even remember how to wield a sword?

“It doesn’t smell.”

… How can a person without his memories wield a sword so well? Towards the man who had no difficulty chopping off branches, I could only gaze and leave my mouth agape in astonishment.

“I think the more I use the sword, the more I remember how to wield it.”

Once I heard those words, I froze. This can be dangerous…

For a person with short-term amnesia, by showing them places they have been before or food they have eaten can help them regain their memories. I think the same thing was happening now.

Belatedly realising my mistake, I was handed the fruit while lost in thought.

I wasn’t digging my own grave, was I? But now wasn’t the time to be thinking about that. Let’s think about it later on.

“There’s an entrance over here and another one over there.”

I arrived in front of the fence. I walked over carefully so that the branches wouldn’t shake.

“Luckily, the gllyluses are all crowded over this side. Knox, do you see that big stone over there? Could you bring it over?”

I pointed at a stone that was a big as his head.

“When I give you the signal, throw it at this flat stone over here. After you throw it, run towards the other entrance.”

“Why do I have to throw the stone?”

“Gllyluses are monsters with developed sense of hearing and smell. The smell of the Tethes is enough to distract them but we’ll have to make sure they don’t hear us as well.”

The bird that gllyluses originated from already had developed hearing. The gllyluses evolved and inherited a lion head at a later time.

What if gllyluses that were able to survive the Tethes fruit come chasing us down, after hearing the noise we made?

“Throw it loudly.”

Knox, who understood the purpose of the stone now, nodded.

I took a deep breath before taking three steps back. As soon as they started gathering on one side again, I threw the fruit as hard as I could. The fruit was not supposed to be held by my hand, but the situation was too urgent for me to do anything about it.

“Knox, now!”

Kuang!

The stone Knox threw with all his might shattered upon impact. And it was very effective. I mean, how strong is he? I staggered a bit as my ears were still reeling from the volume of the sound.

“Hold me tightly! Like just now.”

“Huh?”

Knox hoisted me up. Then, he held me in his arms as he ran towards the other entrance. Fortunately, our plan was a great success and we had no gllyluses chasing us.

“Which way do we go? Remember we used a different entrance this time.”

“Take a right from here.”

“You sure?”

“Yes! Trust me. I memorised the way.”

As I was held in his arms, my amazement towards him just grew with every passing minute.

I mean, how could this be the ability of a single person?

Knox didn’t slow down a single bit even though he was carrying me and a book. At this point, I think it was fairer if I were to compare him to a beast.

In the novel, excellent magicians were known as Sode Experts who can use and control their magic well. Obviously, Knox was very proficient in magic.

I realised now that his power comes with both strength and stamina.

Before long, we spotted a familiar fence amidst the forest. I immediately felt relief and tried to get up. Knox called me.

“Amy, don’t move. … There’s something behind us.”

“What?!”

When I turned around in a hurry, I saw gllyluses chasing us.

The monsters were either limping or had their eyes half-closed, still not completely unaffected by the Tethes. But their dark red eyes showed that there was something wrong.

“I-I think we gave them an overdose of the poison.”

The gllyluses that were trying to fly looked as if they were addicted to Tethes.

“We can make it if you can just hold on. Or if we can just reach the fence before they…!”

“I would love to run faster but this is the fastest I can go.”

Tethes was a kind of poison that would penetrate the body and paralyse it.

As time passed, it was clear that the gllyluses that froze from time to time were about to collapse onto the ground soon.

But they were getting close. Just then Knox suddenly stopped.

“Amy, run ahead!”

In front of two gllyluses, Knox raised his rusty sword. With one hand, he cut down the two gllyluses with a groan. This was the first time I ever heard him groan.

As I turned my head, I found a gllylus that was right behind me.

“… This is not working out. Grab on.”

“Huh? W-wait!”

Knox ran with all his might and smashed through the fence with his sword.

Kuagh. Kudduck!

The wooden fence collapsed helplessly against his strikes, before we collapsed with our backs on the ground.

Kyeek.

The gllylus that had just narrowly missed us screamed. Its screams resonated greatly, but they fortunately could not reach us anymore.

Haa. Haa.

The quiet garden was filled with only the sounds of our breathing. My chest moved up and down as I raised my head.

A harsh and low hiss tickled my ear.

Ddok.

Droplets of sweat fell from the tip of his skin smoothly. I tried to stand up but couldn’t. That’s because his arms were still holding me down.

“… We did it.”2

“… Yeah. I don’t think I can do it ever again.”

Like the first time we met, I looked up at Knox who trapped me underneath him. I could see the scarlet light creeping up over his shoulders. It looked like we were just in time.

“Uhm, Knox… You weren’t hurt, right?”

“I was just about to ask you the same. I’m not sure. I think I’m fine.”

His hand gently grabbed mine. He turned my hand over, showing my palm which had become swollen as if it had been stung by a bee. It must have been from that time when I grabbed the Tethes fruit directly.

“Oh this. Uhm, it doesn’t hurt that much.”

Quickly, I hid my hand from him before smiling awkwardly. But after seeing my wounds, his expression didn’t look good.

In our brief silence, all I could do was look around.

“… If you’re going to be like this.”

“Knox?”

I couldn’t breathe for a moment.

“Didn’t you tell me that I wasn’t special to you?”

While I stuttered in reply, his purple eyes seemed to pierce right through me. So, I turned my head.

His words seemed to insinuate that I knew that he was the Grand Duke, so, I had to reply quickly to hide my prickly insides.

“That’s why I said that… you were special.”

“Weren’t you only referring to the fact that I could change into a child during the day? I don’t think that’s what you actually mean though.”

I felt as if I was receiving a lot of fastballs today. Why are you doing this to me?

As soon as I was about to ask what he meant by that, his hair suddenly dropped towards me.

“Amy. I’m not a child.”1

His breath was so close to me that I could only swallow mine.

“O-of course, you’re not a child. I-I also knew that.”

He was close enough that if I were to move even a little, our noses would touch.1

… For some reason, I was smelling something sweet. He had been running all this time, so was it from here? Even if I tried to avoid his eyes, his eyes captured mine refusing to let me go.

“You picked up an adult male, didn’t you?”

“Uh-uhm, yes… An adult. I picked up an adult.”

“That’s right. I’m not actually a child like you see me in the day. I don’t even remember anything that happens during the day.”1

What did he want me to say? I really didn’t know why he was doing this to me. I haven’t even heard a word of gratitude from him yet.

It’s natural to feel gratitude for the person who picked you up from the forest. But who knew he wouldn’t even thank me? Though I knew he was emotionless. If he had his memories, he was a man that would have just asked for what he wants.

So, it wasn’t easy for me to guess what he wanted me to say.

“Look… I don’t know what you want me to… say, Knox. Can’t you tell me what you want?”

“What I want…”

As I picked up my courage to look at him, I immediately regretted it. Looking at me, he tilted his head before swooping down to whisper in my ear.

“Sleep next to me tonight.”2

“Okay. Wait, what?!”1

My eyes widened. I thought I heard it wrong. But when I looked into his sincere eyes, all my worries disappeared. Only then did I get what he was trying to say, amazing myself.

“… The bed is too big.”1

“… W-wait, no way is your bed too big.”

I turned my head, preventing him from coming any closer as I said my piece.

“The only time when I can see you is at night. Why do you keep avoiding me?”

“W-when did I ever avoid you? I mean, why is your face is so close and are your cheeks red?”1

“… It’s nothing. I probably got a little hurt somewhere.”

“A little!”

“It’s not important.”

“No! It is very important.”

“Amy.”

… What was he going to say with such an expressionless face, yet a fierce gaze?

“To a person like me who had lost his memories, you’re the only person I know.”

As his handsome face got closer, I tried to put some distance between us by moving backwards.

“Do you not know? Or are you pretending to not know?”

“…”

But the distance between us gradually narrowed.

“I won’t do anything so… sleep next to me.”1

The moment the tips of our noses touched and we finally got closer, Knox powerlessly dropped on top of me.

“Knox? Knox! Wake up!”

No wonder his eyes were out of focus! He didn’t have any energy left.

As I remained crushed under his large body, I frowned. But then, I noticed. His body temperature was abnormally high. I could see a huge gaping wound on his back.1

“… Claw marks.”

I thought of the gllylus that had been chasing us down till the end. A simple claw mark couldn’t have caused such a high temperature. It must have been because the gllylus were addicted to Tethes, causing Knox to receive some of the symptoms as well.

“You said you were only a little hurt.”

I said, knowing he couldn’t hear me.

How was he only a little hurt?

As I struggled to get out of my position, I touched his forehead before checking his breathing and his pulse. It wasn’t too difficult to determine his condition. Because a long time ago, my sister also got sick from this poison. I had to move him inside quickly.

While I tried to roll his body over, the book that we had taken from the abandoned house slipped out of his pouch and the necklace fell out of my pocket. I picked them up and placed them at the back of the house.

Now, how do we get him inside the house? It was impossible for me to lift him with my strength alone.

“Ah, I know. If he would turn into a child…”

I froze as I saw the sky that had gradually brightened without me knowing.

“It’s morning?”

Was it 7 or 8 in the morning? Anyways, it was way past the time Knox was supposed to change.

“Why, is he still the same?”

Knox did not change. Staring at him with a shaky gaze, I grabbed his hand.

… Has his cycle ended?

No. That’s not possible.

But if it is true, this was going to become a big problem moving forward.

I knew this would happen one day, but I didn’t know this would happen so quickly. I even wished that he could remain as a child half the time.

“Uh…?”

I could only stare blankly as I grabbed his hand and, at some point, his head.

Saaaaaaa—

… Knox is turning into a child again?

It was my first time seeing him change. He gradually grew smaller before stopping to the size of a child, his clothes looked like a quilt on his body. Before I noticed I was staring at a small child who was breathing in huffs.


I looked at my hand.

“I have been holding his hand for a while now… No way.”

With my trembling hands, I grabbed his as I watched the sleeping child still breathing harshly.

T-the heck. There was nothing wrong.

Relieved, I removed my hand.

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The light from the sun seemed a bit dim today. That was strange. Why didn’t he change immediately after the sun rose? A long time had passed since it first became morning…

At the sight of the laying child, I muttered.

“… What’s going on?”

Why did he become a child only after morning had come?

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