A bright fire of hope suddenly ignited in the party members' eyes. Lana stood up and grabbed Seraphina's hands. Her gaze was uncharacteristically intense which startled the young mage. The archer began to speak.
"Please. Do it. Bring—" She stopped mid-sentence, threw Alsten a furtive glance, and then continued. "Bring back his memories."
Meanwhile, the Hero stared at them with visible fear. His eyes was widening, frozen, unmoving. The wrinkle on his eyebrows gave away that he was in so much distress. He was about to be cast out, after all.
Seraphina pulled her hand and then gave a weirded-out look to the archer.
"Alright, alright, I'll do it. Calm down, geez."
She turned to the Hero, walked up to him and signaled him to give her his hand.
"Come on, this should be quick."
Alsten stared at that hand for a few seconds. He doesn't want to take it. He doesn't want to leave. Is this really the end?
Everyone was looking at him, waiting for his next move.
Genler was watching with no particular expression on his face. The old man had always been calm, systematic, and pragmatic. He was a professional, through and through.
Hetaphar was excited for Alsten to regain his memories. He had fun teaching fighting techniques and telling him stories when his memories were gone, but it was about time that he got back to normal. The world needs him, after all.
Yobu was smart, Alsten always knew that. He was the one the Hero was cautious of the most. And right now, those crimson, inhuman eyes stared at him, full of doubt.
Lana knew the real Alsten the most. Perhaps, she knew him better than anyone did in this world. Naturally, she was going to pick up something.
Seraphina clicked her tongue.
"Tsk! Is the Hero an airhead?"
She then abruptly grabbed his hand. Alsten's eye's widened. He was startled and didn't know what to do, so he just let things happen. His mind was too clouded and decided to freeze. What could he even do in that situation?
Seraphina closed her eyes, and after a good few seconds, she let go of the Hero's huge hands.
"Hmmm," she cupped her chin with her delicate fingers as she mused to herself.
"I haven't seen a case similar to this before. But I can more or less surmise what the problem is."
Surprised by this feedback, Alsten hurriedly looked at her.
"Indeed, there's something wrong with his soul. I'm gonna have to study it further for a few days. How intriguing..."
So... that's it?
She hadn't realized it yet? That someone's consciousness was currently occupying the Hero's body...
Alsten exhaled slowly, letting out all of the tension in his system. His party members turned to the young mage as she continued.
"By the way, I take it that you're also here for the Troll King? Is this the reason why you haven't finished the quest and I had to take over?"
Yobu retorted first.
"Huh? Who said anything about you taking over? Unless you have a way of obliterating a million Snow Trolls, the ones who will complete this quest are us."
"Preposterous! There have never been that many Snow Trolls gathering in one place."
"There's a first for everything, it turns out. If you wanna die like we almost did, then by all means, enter that damn frozen cave."
Alsten was in no condition to process their back and forth. He just looked down, calming himself. It was now time for him to think of what he can do to get rid of the mage.
She said she needed more time to understand whatever curse had befallen the Hero. And before she could accomplish her goal, Alsten needed her to... disappear.
"Yeah, that's right," Yobu's growling voice brought him back to reality. "Once Alsten remembers how to use magic again, we'll be able to defeat a million Snow Trolls."
Hetaphar raised an index finger, an idea had occurred to him.
"Actually, while you're studying his curse, why don't you try to teach Alsten magic?"
Everything fell silent.
Simultaneously, Lana and Alsten looked at Seraphina, their eyes widening. And then, they spoke at the same time.
"No."
"That would be great."
Everyone looked at them, they looked at each other, trying to read the person in front of them. Lana might still be uncertain about her hypothesis, but Alsten was sure of one thing.
'She knows.'
If anyone in their party would be the first to figure out, it would be her. Alsten already knew what was going on in her mind. She wanted the real Alsten to be back as soon as possible. But by learning magic, the fake one would be a lot more dangerous and could put more resistance. But of course, she had no proof of that.
Maybe deep down, she still wanted to believe that it's not true. That he was still the real Alsten and he had just lost his memories. That no sinister soul was controlling her dear friend.
As long as Alsten could provide a valid reason, they should prioritize the quest.
Seraphina looked at the two, confused.
Alsten cleared his throat.
"We don't know when I'm gonna get my memories back. However, I can guarantee you that with a bit of help, I'll be able to use magic in a few days. Let's complete the quest as soon as possible to prevent any more casualties."
Lana quickly countered this logic by saying:
"It would take approximately less than three weeks before the Troll King hatches."
She then looked at Seraphina.
"That would be plenty enough time to lift the curse, right?"
Seraphina nodded and then replied.
"Yes, that should be enough time for me."
She then turned to the party members.
"Also, the monsters mainly take this route, so any attack against human settlements should go through us first. Hence, there should be no need to worry about casualties."
With a drop of cold sweat rolling down his forehead, Alsten was secretly glaring at the archer and the mage.
'Why do you have to make this so hard?'
The conversation was turning into a concealed debate between him and Lana. Whoever the party members and the mage agree to wins.
And if he wins...
Alsten clenched his fist and then squeezed his brain for the perfect rebuttal. He was up against a far more knowledgeable being, plus, Genler and Yobu were starting to suspect him too.
He opened his mouth. There was one hidden card that he remembered he could use.
"That may be true, but don't forget that the Troll King wasn't the reason why we couldn't go anywhere near that mountain."
Alsten's words silenced everyone. Lana looked at him with a defeated expression on her face.
"That collosal army can attack at any time. And when that happens, there will be no one to defend the civilians. Not even me."
As the Hero, his words carried weight unlike before. In his past life, he worked for a small corporation. Its growth was slow because of the incompetent leadership when he first came there. Being his first workplace — and the last — he grew attached to the company despite how bad they treated him. He truly wanted it to succeed.
It wouldn't be an overestimation to say that he was a smart person. Before meeting the assholes that ruined his life, he was a competent student.
So, after learning his way through the company, he worked closely with his superiors and gave them his ideas. After a few years, the company grew exponentially. When he stopped producing invaluable solutions to problems — given that there were no problems of such degree to be solved — the higher-ups took credit for the company's success and he went back to being a nobody.
He tried to share his ideas to propel the company to greater heights, but no one listened to him anymore. He was no longer needed. After thinking about it, he'd realized how stupid people were.
Now, however, he was the leader of the Hero's Party. Not only that, he was also their strategist.
They will listen to his words and follow them as long as he made sense. And luckily, he was decent in that regard.
"That's why I think that I should learn magic first. Three days. Give me three days and I'll do it."
'Three days is enough. I'll make sure.'
Genler raised his hand. He did this everytime to get everyone's attention. With Hetaphar's overwhelming volume and Yobu's beastly voice, it had always been difficult for him to speak out without raising a hand. They told him that, in the past, he always used to shout and get mad because the group refused to listen. Now, this had become a habit of his.
The healer began to speak.
"I'd have to agree with Alsten."
The Hero used every ounce of his willpower to not smile. But he so badly wanted to.
"I've heard a thing or two about this young lady. From the data I have on her, and judging by the rate of which Alsten is learning magic without proper education, I can say that three days will be enough for him to fully learn magic."
Seraphina flipped her hair with her hand.
"Aha. So someone is normal among you, at least. Good work, my loyal follower."
Hetaphar spoke too.
"I agree with Alsten too. His judgement and decisions never failed us before. Even with his memories gone, it's still the same mind, so I'll trust him."
Yobu was silent for a second. He gave Lana a glance, and then spoke.
"Then, it's decided. Seraphina will teach Alsten magic and study the curse along the way.
Alsten immediately turned his back, swaying his flowing azure cape, and then with a weak voice, said:
"Alright. I'll go prepare myself."
He didn't even bother to look back. He walked away.
The Hero's face was beautiful, sculpted carefully by some artistic deity. His beautiful eyes were distorted, widened and bloodshot. His perfectly shaped lips finally broke into a terrifying, devilish smile.
'I win.'
'Three days is enough.'
In three days, he will kill the young mage.