Okay these next three chapters were a pain to translate, but I managed to figure them out. It helps a lot if I just read the whole thing in j.a.panese rather than going line by line haha… But that’s not why these took so long. I’m just lazy and got distracted by cake videos and shopping and BTS because I am trashy trashy BTS trash~ (Jungkook…)

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“A memory?”

I looked at Howard, puzzled. He gave a small nod.

“People’s minds are made well. Sometimes, if you see something that you cannot take in, it will erase the memory of that thing. It’s a kind of self-defense mechanism.”

“Self-defense mechanism…”

I simply repeated him.

In short, he meant after the kidnapping.

Did I speak with Gray about something? Did I see something?

“But, do I have to remember it?”

I spoke more forcefully, but Howard unexpectedly shook his head.

“I can force you to remember it, but I would like to avoid taking that measure. For some reason, some instinct of yours has sealed up that memory. If you remember it, you might not be able to keep your sanity.”

Sanity…huh.

People had always said I was strong of heart. I thought myself to be pretty robust in that sense as well.

“You don’t need to push yourself. Just take it easy.”

His soft voice and gentle expression made me start to think he had a point.

But I frowned, continuing.

“Gray is a murderer, isn’t he? People have been saying there might be a clue to where he is inside my memories, but you’re telling me it’s fine to forget? If we don’t find him soon, somebody’s going to—“

As I said this, Howard’s smile faded for the first time. His pupils shot up towards the sky, emitting a prudent radiance.

“… you need to discuss that with members of the Administration of Justice Department. It will depend on what result comes of that.”

“Yes.”

I nodded. Howard stayed silent for a few moments, seeming to be searching for the words to say.

He looked at me with stern eyes, then spoke in a low voice.

“You probably saw something you shouldn’t have. That’s why I’m thinking it’s better if you forget this way.”

Something I shouldn’t have seen?

I sent him a questioning glance.

Howard narrowed his eyes.

“Most likely, a murder.”

I returned to my room where Claire sat, waiting for me.

“Welcome back.”

She stood up suddenly, smiling with concern. I smiled back and sat down on the bed.

“How was it? Do you think the counseling helped?”

Claire asked me, but I slumped my shoulders.

“I don’t know. We just sort of talked for a bit and then it ended. It seems we’ll be doing the counseling in frequent intervals.”

“I see.”

Claire gave a slightly dejected sigh. “It’s not something that can be solved with one session, I would guess.”

“Yeah.”

I didn’t want to tell Claire everything.

Things were still unorganized inside my own mind. The words Howard said to me made me more scared than I thought.

Also, if I had told Claire, she definitely would have started to worry. She would probably tell my parents and it would turn into a big commotion.

“Well, for now I’ll just stay here.”

I lied down on the bed, burying my face into a pillow. I thought I could hear Claire laugh.

“Are you unentertained?”

She continued. “Earlier, a little girl came by. She said that you are allowed to use the facilities here.”

I a.s.sumed it was Elizabeth.

She definitely was a little girl. She really didn’t look like an officer, or rather… did they even allow police officers that young? What kind of system did the Administration of Justice Department use?

“What are these facilities?”

I lifted my head from the pillow and looked at Claire.

“She said that there is a library and a sports field. There also seems to be horseback riding, but she recommends the library.”

“Why?”

“It would be bad if you got injured.”

“Even if I do, it’s not my body.”

“No.”

“Understood.”

After I purposefully cut things short, Claire looked at me with wonder.

“It’s unlike you to answer so abruptly.”

“Doesn’t it seem a bit more masculine?”

“That may be true but… it makes me somewhat uncomfortable.”

I laughed.

At that moment, the sound of someone knocking hit our ears. As I got up from the bed, Claire opened the door.

“Excuse me!”

The person, saying this with such a cheerful tone, was Elizabeth. She turned her dazzling eyes towards us, innocently bowing her head.

“Matilda had to complete some outside work, so I will be your chaperone today. Let’s all go eat.”

I snickered at the word “chaperone”.

Then, I realized.  If we were with Elizabeth, I might be able to get some information out of her.

As the three of us headed to the mess hall, I wondered what question I should start with.

“Is it difficult to become an investigator?”

I questioned.

On the table in front of us was crispy roasted chicken, heated vegetable salad, and potato soup with warm bread. Dessert was pumpkin pie.

“It is.”

Elizabeth giggled while cutting her chicken. “You have a wisdom, strength, and magic usage exam!”

“So you pa.s.sed all of those and made it here?”

“Of course.”

Her boasting posture endeared me towards her. “To become a member of the Magic Supervision Police, there are a lot of difficult tests, but most officers go to special training schools. I was above par, so I didn’t need to attend one!”

“Calling yourself superb, huh.”

As I puffed out this statement, Claire, sitting next to me, asked her if it was true.

“It’s true.”

Elizabeth wagged her finger as she clicked her tongue. “Why don’t I tell you about my special ability? My memory ability.”

“Memory?”

“I remember everything, even if I’ve only seen or heard it once. Please, just call me a walking memory device.”

“Oh—“

If that was true, any exam would be a breeze.

“Well, because I really don’t seem like an investigator, people usually don’t a.s.sume, but it becomes a great convenience among the officers.”

Elizabeth showed us an impish grin.

“When did you become an officer?”

I kept piling on the questions.

“It will soon have been one year. I’m still a newbie.”

“A year… I think Matilda said Gray’s license was revoked only a year ago.”

“Yes, it seems to be that way.”

Elizabeth nodded. “When I first joined, Gray Starling was living under the supervision of a probation officer.”

“Can you tell me what he did?”

“…there’s not much I can say, but there are some possibilities I can tell you about.”

Her smile faded, and then she opened her mouth after thinking a bit. “He received his magic license when he was twelve. Then, he used magic to stir up a problem. Please just a.s.sume what that could have been.”

“He killed someone…I guess.”

I whispered to myself, but Elizabeth neither confirmed nor denied my a.s.sumption.

“They thought that he had been rehabilitated, but after getting seen by his probation officer at the scene of the murder, he fled with a disguise. After that, we discovered three bodies thought to have been murdered by Gray, and then we found you after the unauthorized use of magic incident, recovering four bodies this time. That’s the gist.”

Casually going over heavy subject matter, she gracefully sipped her potato soup.

Seeing that Claire and I had stopped eating, she questioned us.

“You’re not going to eat?”

No, I’m eating, it’s just–!

I glued my eyes on her as I groped for words, but Elizabeth just giggled.

“Many people find that there’s more to me than meets the eye. You probably get that a lot too, don’t you?”

“Huh? Me?”

“Yes.”

She beamed as I fumed.

What exactly was that supposed to mean? I of course looked different from what I was supposed at that time, but—

“You are not as strong as the people around you think you are.”