The old, dirty room was now unrecognizable as the dirt and dust lingering in the area had now been swept away and brought out by Syalt's wind magic. 

Having magic truly was convenient. All the rubbish was neatly placed inside some trash bags and placed directly beside the door. 

With a combination of water magic, along with a broom he had found, Syalt began sweeping the floors, making sure not to leave a single speck of dust. 

Even the walls were clean, somehow. Syalt managed to replicate the same texture using nature and earth magic, and had quite literally, "repainted" the place. 

Next, he went over to the kitchen and used a bit of water magic to clean the dishes! 

"This is supposedly what people use to eat their food out of. But why are there so many? I'm pretty sure only I live here."

After washing the dishes, (and breaking a few) Syalt once again sweeped the house to make sure he had really cleaned everything.

Now the place looked like it belonged to a king! Everywhere he looked, Syalt could see nothing but cleanliness! In fact, it was so clean that the floors were sparkling. Or at least that's how it looked in his eyes. 

Syalt hadn't realized it, but he lived in a somewhat decent place, now that it was properly cleaned. 

The only thing left to do was to bring the trash bags out to the front and have them lined up and ready for the garbage truck which would come soon, according to his calendar. 

Syalt was planning on lifting all the trash bags simultaneously using his magic, but soon gave up on that thought. The humans in this world weren't able to perceive the Aether around them, much less use it.

If he were to be spotted using his magic by some bystander, he would be labeled as one of those freaks he heard about from Tresroot.

Ding! A short alarm came from his phone. It was neatly placed on the desk earlier when Syalt had started cleaning. 

He went over and picked it up. He wasn't entirely sure how to operate the thing, but at least he knew the basics.

"Let's see… forty notifications? Does he not pay attention to his phone?"

Syalt wondered what the former "Syalt" had been doing before he took his place. He didn't seem like the type to socialize, based on how many missed calls there were, most of which were labeled, "Landlord." 

"Landlord… isn't that what they call the person who owns the buildings the tenants live in? I should reply quickly. She seems mad."

Alongside the unanswered calls, there were dozens of messages, those also left on read. Almost all of them were questions on when he would pay this month's rent. 

Some were blatant threats to kick him out of his house, although Syalt could feel no enmity from the messages. In fact, he felt that the Landlord was hesitant to actually kick him out. 

But Syalt didn't want to risk it. He decided he would reply right after he finished taking out the trash. 

And so, he headed for the door. Trash bags, numbering in the tens, crowded the exit, making it difficult for Syalt to reach for the doorknob without stepping foot in the pile of rubbish. 

With a bit of wind magic, he pushed most of the bags to the side, and took as much as he could carry into his free arms. 

The handful of junk in his hands obstructed his view of the door, but after a bit of fiddling, he was able to open it. 

And what was on the other side was something he did not expect. 

Just outside his front door, a woman of his height stood, her expression clearly displeased. Her arms were crossed, and her mood exuded an almost sassy tone. 

Her hair, which ran across her back, was in a shade of dark brown.

Syalt looked the girl up and down. She was wearing what seemed to be a school uniform, from what he could remember. 

'So this means she's a student. Is it fine to go to school and manage the property? I wonder how she manages that.'

"Are you going to keep staring at me like that, Syalt? I'm telling you, I can't keep this up for any longer! I need this month's rent!" 

Syalt didn't know how to respond. For all he knew, this girl was probably in a bad relationship with his old self. 

"I— who are you?" Syalt managed to blurt out. 

He couldn't think of anything to say that might help him in this situation, so he went with something that would leave a lot of questions. 

"Don't act like that again! This is, what, the tenth time you've faked losing your memories? I might've fallen for it the first time, but it won't work!"

"I don't remember you, really." 

"That's enough playing! And your room! How many times have I told you to clean up! The neighbors have been complaining about the smell coming from your area—"

The girl was about to continue, but stopped upon catching a glance at the inside of Syalt's room through a crack in the door. 

"What… did you do to the place?" She pushed the door open, leaving Syalt dumbfounded. 

 "The walls! They're so… clean! When did you have time to get a new paint job?" The girl ran towards the closest patch of wall and began admiring the expertly "painted" wall. 

Using a mixture of nature magic and earth magic, Syalt had completely remodeled the place. Unlike before, the walls were now brand new. 

"And this atmosphere… it's so tidy! The dishes, they're clean! I can see some were broken from the shards of porcelain scattered on the floor, but they're clean and put away nicely! What did you do to Syalt?!" She turned back to the confused Syalt, who was still standing outside.

"I don't recall entering a tenant's room without permission one of the privileges that come with being a Landlord." 

"That's not important! Who are you?! Syalt would never clean his room, much less take out the…" The girl looked to Syalt's feet, where bundles of trash were gathered. "...trash." 

"I'm Syalt of the Akuzu family, miss. I'm telling you, I do not remember who you are." 

"You seriously don't? Compared to your last stunts this does seem more believable… but I'm not convinced yet! Let's get you to a doctor. There, we can see for real if you're faking!" 

"I see. If I remember correctly, then is this one of those tests where the doctors will scan my brain for any damage?" 

"Yeah! Geez, even the way you speak is so different. Come on, let's go! I don't want you closing the door on me again." The girl went back to Syalt, and took his hand, pulling him out of the room.

"But I have to take out the trash…" 

"There's no time for that! I can't have you escaping on me! Now, let's go!"

***

Once the girl had brought him out to the street, Syalt was finally able to ask her some questions. 

"What's your name?" 

"Me? Akari." 

"Is that it? Do you have a last name, Akari?" 

"It's Misuzu."

"I see. Akari, do you know where we are right now?" 

"Huh? You don't even know your own address?"

"I do, but I want to know what country we are in." 

"We're in Tokyo, Japan. Where else would we be? There's no other place in the world where you'd have this many people crowded into such a small space." 

"That's wrong, Akari. Places like Singapore and Hong Kong are even more densely populated, to name a few." 

"I was just speaking metaphorically!"

"That's not how speaking metaphorically works." 

"I know, you idiot! Gosh, you're even more annoying than your past self." 

"So does that mean you admit that I have lost my memories?" 

"Not yet!"

"I see."

The streets of Tokyo were quite busy at this time of the day. Crowds of people scrambled in groups, always bigger than twenty. These large groups would then form into even larger ones, once the street lights turned red and the pedestrians were allowed to cross. 

So it was kind of difficult for Syalt and Akari to navigate the roads, considering how it was basically rush hour. Office workers and students alike would constantly bump into each other, halting their pace almost to a halt. 

It was so bad that Syalt had to hold Akari's hand. Akari herself said how bad it would be if Syalt were to be separated from her and lose himself in the sea of people. 

"Akari."

"Yeah?" 

"We have passed by countless numbers of students, most of them probably heading to school. Why aren't you heading to school?"

"There's still about an hour and a half before it starts, so I figured I could spare a little time to help you." 

"I'm very touched." 

"You should be! Now, here we are." Akari let go of Syalt's hand and pointed to the building in front of them. 

It wasn't very large. Other than a few unlit neon signs here and there, the only thing that helped distinguish it from the many other clinics was its name written in bold blue letters: Suigetsu Clinic. 

"Is this where I am to be diagnosed as an amnesiac?"

"We'll see! Now go, we can't stay here for too long." Akari pushed Syalt, who was nodding his head at one of the clinic signs, inside.