It was about two hours ago that he’d confirmed he had stayed at the inn the previous night. The innkeeper had looked understandably confused at first, but after a moment, they’d confirmed it without hesitation. There was no doubt about it.
However, the biggest issue was that apparently, Allen had stayed there alone. There was no reason for the innkeeper to lie, so it had to be true. And that left only two possibilities: Either he had come with someone but, for whatever reason, they’d stayed at a different inn...or he had come to the capital entirely on his own.
The former didn’t seem likely. Which meant, by process of elimination, the latter had to be the case. Still, that didn’t sit right with him. It wasn’t as if Allen had never traveled alone before. But when it came to a visit to the royal capital, he couldn’t think of any reason he’d come by himself. If he had come along with someone like Riese, acting as her escort, that would make perfect sense.
And yet, when he’d tried asking around, all he’d gotten were answers that only reinforced that fact that he’d stayed there alone, which was a deeply unsatisfying conclusion. Even in the capital, elves and Amazons were rare enough to draw attention. Riese’s silver hair, in particular, would’ve stood out. If she’d been walking around the city, someone would’ve noticed.
But no matter who he asked, the answer was the same: No one had seen a girl like that. He’d gotten a few suspicious looks in the process, but he supposed that couldn’t be helped. After all, it hadn’t been that long since Riese had lived in the capital as a princess. Allen hadn’t mentioned her name, but for those who remembered, it wouldn’t have been hard to figure out who he was talking about. And if someone was looking for a former princess, it was only natural to be met with a bit of suspicion.
Still, the fact remained that no one had seen her, which left only one conclusion: Allen had come here alone. Even if it didn’t seem likely, all the evidence was pointing in that direction. He didn’t want to believe it. And he had his reasons.
In truth, he’d already known, ever since the moment he’d opened his eyes. He’d lost his memory. But admitting it meant facing something he wasn’t ready to accept. If he had no memories of what came before, then he already knew what that meant. He’d gotten dragged into something again.
“Those peaceful days are still a distant dream, huh?” he sighed.
Allen knew it was pointless to complain. The question now was what kind of mess he’d found himself in this time. If he really had come here alone, was it because he believed he could handle it by himself? Or had he decided it would be safer?
At the very least, aside from his missing memories, he didn’t seem to be injured or under any immediate threat. He hadn’t sensed anyone tailing him or watching him either. Maybe, just maybe, he’d already resolved whatever issue had brought him here.
That thought crossed his mind, but he quickly shook it off. Too optimistic. If someone else had been with him, he would have checked with them, pieced together what had happened. But with no one else around, he had to assume nothing was resolved. Better to move forward with caution. And if it turned out the danger had already passed? Well, then he’d just have been overly careful. That was a small price to pay.
Having reached that conclusion, Allen took a deep breath and set off to decide his next move.
The next course of action Allen took—at least in the immediate term—wasn’t much different than what he’d been doing already, which was continuing to ask people around town for information. The only difference was the nature of the questions. This time, instead of inquiring about specific individuals, he asked if anything unusual had happened recently. After all, the fact that he was in the capital at all must have meant there was something to be concerned about here, something that had drawn him in. If that were true, then asking around should reveal at least some clue, even if it wasn’t a direct answer.
Or at least, that was the idea. But, to put it plainly, he’d gotten nowhere. No matter who he asked, the only answer he ever got was that the capital was as peaceful as ever. Strictly speaking, that didn’t mean nothing had happened; however...
“All peaceful, thanks to the Champion!”
Everyone had said the same thing. Allen narrowed his eyes. They didn’t mean the Champion had literally been solving every problem themselves. More likely, they meant that the capital remained stable under her influence, that her presence alone had a calming effect on the kingdom.
Apparently, no one had seen her around lately either, and yet people still believed things were peaceful because of her, which, in a way, spoke volumes about the kind of trust her actions had earned.
“Sounds like Akira is still doing her part, as usual...”
For a moment, Allen wondered if Akira might’ve been the reason he’d come here. But if the Champion hadn’t been seen recently, that was probably not it.
“Maybe I should just give up on finding answers here and head back to one of the Frontier towns. Might get results faster that way,” Allen mused. That was starting to sound like a better use of his time.
Still, he continued asking around, thinking he’d wrap things up soon, and that was when it happened. Just as he was preparing for another round of predictable, empty responses, someone said something a little different.
“Something strange, you say? Hmm... No, nothing comes to mind. Thanks to the Champion, the capital’s been peaceful as always. Oh, though if you mean outside the capital—somewhere else in the kingdom—then yeah, I guess something did happen recently.”
“Something happened elsewhere in the kingdom?”
“Yeah, though I don’t know all the details myself. It was that one place... What was it called again? Ah, that’s right! Westfeldt.”
“Westfeldt?”
Allen’s eyes widened slightly at the unexpected name. Westfeldt was Riese’s domain—or rather, she was the reigning official in name only. From what he’d heard, someone competent was handling the day-to-day affairs. And with Beatrice also keeping an eye on the region, he’d never had reason to think anything unusual could happen there. Nothing had ever come up before. But all those thoughts were blown away by the next words that reached his ears.
“Yeah, it must be tough, becoming the duke and all. I think the name was...Brett, wasn’t it?”
Allen’s eyes flew open, far wider than before. That was a name he sure hadn’t expected to hear.