I opened my eyes just to see that I’m surrounded by trees. There’s a wide path which I’m currently standing in.

It seems that I'm in a forest.

I could only remember my name and one other thing.

But first of all, where am I? What am I doing in a forest—

“Hey! Behind you!”

A man’s voice. Accompanying his scream were multiple stomps.

It came from behind me. The sounds continue to increase by the second.

So, I turned around. And when I did, red gleaming eyes and large tusks came charging through my face.

Suddenly,

[Three white lines] – [Left turned green and the other two turned red]

These appeared in my sight. It was instinctively telling me to follow that green line.

I had no second to spare and followed the instruction that popped inside of my mind.

I hastily hopped, rolled on the ground, and landed my bottom on the dusty ground.

That was close. Too close.

Two boar-like creatures were charging towards me at full speed. If not for those lines, I would’ve been skewered right now.

“Hey, are you okay?”

A man ran beside me, faced in the direction of the boar-like creatures.

He looked younger than me. No. I haven’t seen his complexion yet.

He had a sword in his right hand. For his age which I assumed to be on the teen side, he was beefy.

He wore a sleeveless leather suit and had brown hair with a headband on.

“What are you doing here? You don’t seem to have any weapons on you. Are you here to die?”

“E-er…”

He only glanced at me but he can already tell. I’m not so sure myself if I had one though.

And yeah, I don’t have one. I just groped myself and only found a pouch belt.

Then, the boar-like creatures began to charge once more.

I was being protected by the beefy man whose stance had been engaged.

Out of nowhere, an arrow swiftly drilled the head of the first boar-like creature.

It fell on the ground, chin first. The other one behind had struck the fallen boar-like creature’s rear legs and stumbled on itself.

“YAHOO! Too bad Ranju. That one was mine”

An energetic voice of a woman echoed from the woods.

As I tried searching for her, a figure surprisingly jumped close to us.

An elf…

A petite frame. She had a bow on her left hand that wore a single piece of a gauntlet. A quiver attached on her back.

She was younger than me in terms of appearance, I think. Her skin was pale and her hair was light green, the length is about the level of her neck.

She had a pouch belt just like mine. And the same with the man who also looked younger than me.

He had the letter R stitched onto his headband.

“Hey, why did you take my kill?”

“It’s because you’re a slowpoke. You were careless too. Getting them out of the hunting grounds.”

“I did not! The Mudboars randomly changed directions. It’s not my fault.”

While they were quarreling, the other boar-like creature had gained back its position.

Um, it's not the right time to fight.

The lady elf shrugged her shoulders.

“Reasons.”

The young man noticed me and trailed my line of sight.

“I’ll take on the last Mudboar.”

He dashed and made a large swing. Slicing the mouth outwards, the boar-like creature went down with just a single hit.

Now that I see it, the other boar-like creature hasn’t gone up yet. It was taken down with a single arrow on its head.

These two are strong to be able to handle those fairly large creatures.

“May I ask, who you are?”

Already squatted in front of me was the lady elf.

“U-uh, Reiji Tatemiya.”

She was about to say something but the young man interjected while sheathing his sword.

“Hey, Aeri! Where’s Mira?”

“She’s dematerializing the Mudboars from the last spot, she’ll be here soon… So, do you have a weapon on you, Reiji?”

She asked the same one as the young man. So, my answer will remain the same. I shook my head.

“N-no, I don’t think I do.”

“Eh?! You’re entering a forest without any weapon on you? Are you insane?”

I know that’s a natural reaction. And I know this is not common at all. However, I too had the same thoughts.

She sighed.

“Are you lost? Or did you get abandoned or something like that?”

“I actually don’t know. Though, I do say that I’m kind of lost.”

“You’re weird, you know?”

“…”

That was sort of offensive but given that everything is still hazy for me, I won’t make a comment.

The elf stood up and stretched her arms.

“Maybe Mira would know what to do.”

The two started conversing at a short distance. I vaguely heard what they were talking about and it was obviously me.

The young man glanced and I awkwardly smiled at him.

It seemed that even they were puzzled by my situation.

“Finally! Aeri, Ranju. Please, at least settle them down in one place.”

Another woman’s voice. It came from my left side.

As I looked to the source, a figure of a lady in a white dress carrying a staff passed by. She was hovering like being carried by the wind.

Our eyes met.

Cute…

When she saw me, she immediately let herself down and went back for me.

She was maidenly beautiful. Her hair was black and long with two clips on each side. Her round eyes are hazelnut brown in color that states innocence.

Along with her white dress that symbolizes purity, she had a short robe that has an azure gem and ribbon attached.

“Are you alright?”

She asked me with an expression of worry as she bent forward.

She’s too close and smells sweet as well. No, I’m just too sensitive.

The fragrance lingering on her made my heart race. I even felt my head feverish.

“I-I’m fine. You don’t have to worry about me.”

A flash of light radiated from her palm.

It hadn’t directly made contact but a massaging sensation surged through me.

The small grazed that I acquired when I rolled earlier was healing over time.

Is this magic? Magic’s amazing!

“T-thank you.”

“You’re welcome.”

She replied with an adorable smile.

“Can you tell us more about yourself, Reiji?”

It looked like they finished their conversation. The lady elf requested that and alongside her was the young man.

As expected, the beautiful maid tilted her head, confused as she turned to her two companions.

I told them my story. Basically, I opened my eyes and in less than a minute I was attacked by the boar-like creatures. That’s it.

I might’ve been a suspicious person but with no weapon, I think it’s safe to assume that I’m telling the truth. At least from their perspective.

The beautiful maiden clasped her staff and displayed another worried look. The other two were perplexed upon hearing my story.

“So, you’re lost and you don’t remember anything…”

The beautiful maiden glumly said. For a short second, she gave a determined expression and bobbed her head.

“Don’t worry, we’ll help you.”

Damn. Even when she’s serious, she’s so cute.

No! Stop! There are more important things to do.

The young man stood up and held his chin up.

“It’s not like there’s an abundance in monsters lurking here in Thehill. Still, it was a little mysterious that you’re here without any weapons. I also haven’t seen any other people nearby when we entered the forest.”

He’s right about the monsters. We’ve been staying here for a certain amount of time but none of the boar-like creatures are showing up.

“Yeah, on top of that, a person with amnesia in the middle of nowhere is something you won’t see in a lifetime.”

The lady elf followed. She then pointed at my waist.

“Could you check your pouch belt, Reiji? We might find something inside there that could help you.”

There was a piece of small paper card. It’s super hard. Even if I would try to crumple it, nothing will change.

The card had the word “Storage” written in the middle and a fingerprint at the bottom right. The print was accurately close to the size of my thumb.

“A Karda and a storage one too. Do you know how to open it?”

I shook my head, rejecting her question.

“Sorry, I don’t.”

“Even materializing a Karda… We could unlock it for you but I think it’s much better if an Informant does it.”

I scrutinized over the Karda to see if I can remember how I got it. And it was a failure. No even a grain of hint at all.

I just put it back to my pouch belt again. This pouch belt must be a sort of indication of something. Beside me, the other three are all also wearing it around their waists.

“Okay. First things first. It’s our time to introduce ourselves.”

The beautiful maiden initiated.

And from their brief introduction.

The young man with the headband is Ranju.

The lady elf is Aeri.

And lastly, the beautiful maiden that healed me is Mira.

They are called Adventurers. A term that I unexpectedly had knowledge about.

The reason that they were here in the Finral Forest or so they called it was because of a mission called Quest.

I’m lucky that I’ve encountered them otherwise I would’ve been a dead man here.

“Let me dematerialize the Mudboars. After that, we’ll head back to Thehill and find a way to assist you, Reiji.”

The rest of us stood up.

“But it sure is fast for you to trust us. What if we’re bandits or something similar?”

Ranju abruptly said in an intense voice as if to intimidate me. Aeri and Mira looked at him.

“If you really were bandits then you would’ve just let me get killed earlier. Worse, robbed me of the moment we’ve met. I’m more startled that you guys would trust a complete stranger like me. I’m pretty much sure that you all should’ve been the ones to have suspicions.”

I’m confident in it. The first impression they made is what’s important. I know I can rely on them. I don’t have my memories but I do still know who’s a nice person and who’s not.

All’s well that ends well. Mira walked near the corpses of the creatures called Mudboars.

On the spot, multiple brilliant colorful lines were going inside her pouch belt. Is that also magic? What is going to happen to the Mudboars?

Seeing her pouch belt, I realized that I haven’t checked myself yet. I was occupied the whole time that it didn’t occur to me.

Light and quick taps. Apparently, I don’t have anything on my head.

I wore an inner shirt and a cotton tailcoat with a three-fourth length sleeve.

Then again, no hints of remembering. I tried to smell myself. I smell good but no memories being recalled.

“Okay. I’m all done now. Reiji, would you like to come with us—to our guild?”

Mira asked.

She finished the dematerialization…, it’s what it’s called, right? —of the Mudboars.

Huh? The Mudboars are gone. What the—?!

While I was trying to look over for the remains of the Mudboars, Ranju suggested.

“Isn’t it better for us if we head to the adventurer organization? They had all the files and documents there.”

Mira disapproved.

“No. Seemingly, Reiji’s not a registered adventurer. Us going there would only tantamount to nothing if ever. The Guild Master is a much better choice. Above all, she’s a Number. She’ll definitely have a wider information range.”

Number? Where did I hear that from? It sounds vaguely familiar.

“Is there something wrong, Reiji? You look perturbed.”

Aeri pointed out my expression.

“Ah, no. I was just pondering on how I got here.”

I made an excuse. But did I really look perturbed? I’m curious. I want to know who this Number person is.

“Everything’s been set. We’re going to the guild mansion.”

It seemed that Mira and Ranju had come to a conclusion. Ranju had agreed to her.

We strode our way out and in just a short period of time, we’re on the main road.

I just assumed it was the main road. It’s wide and clear of any obstructions like it’s constructed for the purpose of safe traveling. It even had a roundabout route to avoid the Finral Forest.

There were carriages that we’ve come across.

If I would determine the size of the road, two carriages can fit and still had space left for us to walk into.

Ahead of us were Ranju and Aeri. They were talking about the earlier incident of having the Mudboars escape.

“Come on now, you can’t do that. Having the Mudboars escape like that, oh my, what a clumsy little swordsman we have.”

“For the second time! The Mudboars changed their path, it was out of my expectations!”

Mira was just silently watching the two. All giggly and smiley.

It seemed that she’s used to this scenario.

… … …

“We’re almost there.”

Mira announced.

I think it’s roughly thirty minutes of walk. I wasn’t counting, I just randomly estimated that.

We’re at the peak of the road.

Wow! It was different from what I imagine. I thought it would only be a small town.

Massive sturdy walls surrounding a large mass of land. The outer side had a stoned pavement that leads to the entrance.

“That is the capital of this country, the city of Thehill.”

Mira uttered.

As we entered the large gate, the knights guarding on each side bowed to us.

The people here appeared to be nice and friendly.

Further advancing to the city, I can already tell that this was a busy one.

Noisy people, unlimited to and from of carriages, and a very crowded area.

I guess in any cities, the best way to attract customers is to place the shops near the entrance.

One can tell if it’s a shop if it had a signboard hanging from the ceiling.

Furthermore, other races are present: demi-human, beast-man, and elves.

But the majority of the population are humans.

It’s no use. My memories aren't returning, I guess I’m not a local here.

One thing that caught my attention though.

It was my first time seeing other races. If that really was the case. But I wasn’t taken aback by their features.

I know the difference between a cat beast-man and a cat demi-human.

A beast-man is covered in fur and has animal features while the demi-human only has animal features. Not much of a difference.

Well, it’s not like all of my memories were completely wiped out. I can still speak and understand.

It’s just my past got obliterated for no apparent reason and lastly, the mystery of going inside the forest unarmed.

Other than that, I think I’ve comprehended my status.

The three of them turned right and I followed nonchalantly as I was in deep thinking.

However, after a few steps, they stopped.

I had to blink multiple times. I had to see if what I was looking at is tangible.

A grassy field on the left and a grassy field on the right. Then, a statue of a woman in a robe and has a book in hand. Then, behind that statue. Yeah.

IT’S HUGE!

If a mansion had a variation, this would be at the highest level. Even the grassy fields are larger than the average houses we passed by.

“Don’t worry, we all had that reaction when we first came here.”

“Yeah, I second that. All the widened mouth and eyes.”

Aeri said and Ranju nodded agreeing to her statement.

I guess this is a very unusual mansion for the likes of regular people.

“It’s actually not that big.”

The three of us simultaneously looked at Mira, bewildered.

“W-what?”

… … …

From the intricate interior to the expensive-looking paintings on the wall.

I felt I was shrinking as I looked at them.

But it does confirm my thoughts. The guild that the Number is part of wasn’t just an average guild.

Just my simple intuition though.

If I were to include the main entrance, there are five pathways: the left hallway, the right hallway, the stairs, and a back door.

Mira walked towards the left hallway.

“Right this way, Reiji.”

We stopped at the farthest door and Mira knocked.

“We’re back, Guild Master.”

“You may come in.”

Replying to Mira was a voice of a woman.

After entering, a man with light-brown hair is in the far middle of the room.

Muscular frame, age around mid-twenties and dressed in a tight blue leather suit.

He’s holding some papers in his hand.

Giving a pleasant smile, the brawny man went to the right side of the table.

And now, a lady in a robe was seated behind the table.

The large window at her back shone with light. I could clearly discern her face.

Shoulder-length black hair. Oh shit! She’s got one ample chest right there… Stop!

A mole on her right cheekbone and half-frame glasses.

She’s the one in the statue albeit a little older.

And she’s the “Number” Mira spoke about.