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Translator/Editor: Ryuu

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INFINITE MAGE

Chapter 78: The Uninvited Guest of the Darkness (1)

Shirone thought Amy was just playing along with the joke.

"Sorry for startling you. I wanted to surprise you, so I didn't tell you I was coming. How are the classes in the advanced class?"

Amy showed a look of caution. When Shirone tried to come closer, she quickly hit his arm, sending the two cups of coffee flying.

Shirone stood with a dumbfounded expression. This reaction was too serious to be considered a joke. Amy's face too had turned red in genuine anger.

"Who are you to do this? And why are you speaking informally to me while calling Sharelle 'senior'?"

Sharelle also seemed annoyed.

"You're not from the advanced class, right? Even if you're interested, this kind of approach is not right, don't you think? And you should use honorifics when speaking to seniors. What is this? Not even a playboy behaves like this."

Shirone was completely taken aback. Amy and Sharelle were acting as if they didn't know him at all.

"Senior Sharelle, it's me, Shirone. Don't you remember me? Amy, do you really not recognize me? Are you just joking?"

"How would I know you? If you're a student, please focus on your studies. Can't you differentiate between appropriate times and places? Do I look that easy?"

Amy grabbed Shirone's collar, truly irritated. She thought she would be free from annoying boys in the advanced class, but to have one follow her here...

'Just when it was getting quiet, it started again. This is all because of that guy. Hanging out with weird kids and causing trouble...'

As Amy was muttering to herself, she paused.

'Wait? That guy? Who is that?'

She felt like some male figure was involved in the reason why those bothersome male students had backed off, but she couldn't remember who.

Shirone, still gripped by the collar, felt like his heart had been pierced. There was no warmth in Amy's eyes.

"No... This can't be happening."

Shirone shook off Amy's hand gripping his collar.

"No! Don't lie!"

"Ouch."

Amy winced, holding her wrist in pain, but Shirone shouted as if he hated even the sight of her.

"Why are you pretending not to know me! What did I do wrong? If you don't like me, just say it! It's unfair to treat me like this!"

"You! Get out of here!"

Sharelle pushed Shirone away. Unable to resist Sharelle, Shirone stumbled and fell.

"Why are you making life difficult for my friend? And that too, in front of a senior! Which class are you from? Do you really want to be scolded?"

Shirone looked up at her with a face that seemed to have lost everything.

'Senior Sharelle...'

Amy's inseparable friend. Always among the top with excellent skills, yet a girl who would cry over romance novels. Shirone remembered it all. Her supportive presence during his difficult challenges.

But now, she seemed like a completely different person. Her eyes burned with hostility, and her tightly pursed lips were filled with animosity.

Shirone shook his head. It wasn't that he couldn't believe it; he didn't want to. Such a thing was impossible.

"No! It's a lie!"

Shirone rushed away, feeling like he would go insane if he stayed any longer.

"Don't ever come back! If you mess around like this again, I'll tell the teacher!"

Sharelle made a horn with her hands to amplify her voice. Still seething with anger, she turned to Amy.

"Ugh, what's with that guy? He looks innocent but is so persistent. Oh, Amy, are you okay?"

"Huh? Oh, I'm fine."

Amy, who had been lost in thought, quickly snapped back to reality. However, the feeling of unease remained. She felt an odd sense of longing as she watched Shirone leave.

"Who is he, really? He acts like he knows me."

"It's probably just some crazy act. There are a lot of kids like that these days. They aim high without any shame."

"Is that so?"

"Well, I’m going to head in. Hey, I was looking forward to catching up with you after so long, but that weird kid ruined our break."

Even though they were in the same advanced class, their different majors made it hard to find time to catch up.

After Sharelle entered the classroom, Amy followed. But as she stepped into the entrance, she looked back towards where Shirone had run off.

"......"

She stood there until the bell rang for the end of the break.

'Why are they doing this! What's the reason?'

Shirone ran frantically. As he arrived at the advanced class building, the bell for class rang, and students started entering their classrooms.

"Mark! Mark!"

Mark, who was chatting with Maria, turned around. Shirone rushed to him and asked desperately.

"Mark! You know me, right? Who am I! Tell me quickly!"

Mark looked perplexed, glancing at Maria. But even Maria shrugged, indicating she didn’t know.

"Um... who are you?"

Shirone's heart started racing uncontrollably. He couldn't comprehend what was happening to him.

"It's me. Shirone! Class Five! We took the teleportation test together, remember? You really don't know?"

Mark frowned. However, he couldn’t argue with the mention of Class Five and politely bowed.

"Oh, I'm sorry. I didn't recognize you."

"That's not it! Why are you treating me like this!"

What did they want him to do? He wanted to retaliate, but the presence of others held him back.

"You students, classes have started, why aren’t you in your rooms?"

Siena was walking down the corridor. Shirone, feeling like he had found a savior, rushed to her.

"Teacher! It's me, Shirone!"

Siena, being a certified 6th-grade mage, would surely remember him. But her response was cruelly dismissive.

"Shirone? There's no student by that name in the class. Who are you?"

"Teacher, don't you remember me? I'm Shirone."

Siena tried to recall but found the name and face unfamiliar.

"It seems there's some mistake. I haven't heard of any new students. Are you really from our academy?"

Mark and Maria's gazes turned sharp. Suddenly viewed as suspicious, Shirone felt a surge of fear.

"I-I'm sorry! I made a mistake!"

"Hey! Stop right there!"

Ignoring Siena's call, Shirone fled desperately. He now had a dreadful suspicion of what had happened.

Everyone had forgotten him.

"Sob, sob..."

He felt like a lost child, utterly vulnerable. Everything in the world seemed frightening.

Entering Estas, Shirone wandered aimlessly before finally reaching the Supernatural Psychic Science Research Group.

'My friends should be fine. They have to be, right?'

Hadn't they been joking around just hours ago? Even if the whole world forgot him, they should remember.

Entering the room, he saw Nade and Yiruki chatting, who then looked at him in surprise.

"Nade, Yiruki, it's me. Shirone."

His friends simply blinked, not responding. Shirone's emotions crumbled.

"Why aren't you saying anything? You remember me, right? You haven't forgotten me?"

Nade looked at Yiruki, then approached Shirone, scratching his head.

"Um... who are you?"

Tears welled up in Shirone's eyes.

"Don't you really know me? We were together until just now. We studied together yesterday and the day before!"

"Sorry, but we don't know you. Are you spying for another research group? Stop causing trouble and leave."

Yiruki suddenly exclaimed.

"Wait! Maybe that's possible. How did you find Estas? Speak up! Who are you?"

"You, you guys..."

Shirone's lower lip quivered. Unable to hold back tears, he broke down.

"Pfft..."

Nade let out a snicker, then burst into laughter.

"Hahaha! Did you see that face? This is a masterpiece!"

"Saw it! Saw it! He looked so scared, saying 'you, you guys...' Hahaha! Shirone, what did you plan to make us laugh?"

Nade, holding his aching stomach, chuckled.

"Hehehe, hehehehe! Ah, this is killing me! Why would you do this... Hahaha!"

Shirone was baffled, unable to grasp the situation.

"What, do you remember me?"

"What nonsense? Did you have a nightmare or something? Your facial expression is hilarious! Hahaha!"

Shirone felt utterly deflated. The heavy burden in his heart seemed to have finally rolled away.

"Hey, you should have said something! Why pretend not to know me?"

"We were just joking around because your expression was too funny when you came in. You were like, 'It's me, Shirone.'"

Nade mimicked Shirone, and Yiruki again fell to the floor laughing. Shirone, drained of energy to protest, sat down and covered his face with his hands.

"Whew, I thought I was going to die of fear."

"Sit down. What happened?"

Sitting on the sofa, Shirone eagerly explained everything. At first, the others snickered, but when he mentioned Siena, they turned serious.

"Hmm, even Siena doesn't remember? It's hard to believe she would joke about this."

Nade was incredulous.

"Is that really possible?"

"If it's a mental type of magic, it's possible. Though it's doubtful that someone could manipulate the memories of the entire academy."

"It's possible. I experienced it firsthand."

Yiruki calmed Shirone.

"Alright, calm down. We believe you. People have lost their memory of you."

Nade added.

"But we remember you. Maybe this is a clue to the situation?"

"I think so too. The reason we remember Shirone might be that we've been away from the academy for two days. What happened while we were gone?"

The group pondered. Could someone have manipulated the minds of the entire academy, including teachers, in their absence? It was a hard-to-believe assumption.

"A supernatural phenomenon, perhaps? There have been similar historical cases."

Yiruki was skeptical.

"Well, I think those cases are also related to magic. Anyway, if that's the case, how do we explain not losing our memory?"

"Maybe because we were in Estas. We've been here since we parted with Shirone."

Shirone asked.

"What does Estas have to do with this?"

"Estas has always been rumored to have mysterious powers.

It's just speculation, but we should consider all possibilities since our safety is involved."

Yiruki remarked.

"In other words, we might also lose our memories."

"It's a possibility we can't guarantee."

Silence fell. The thought of losing memories was as troubling as being forgotten.

Nade bravely spoke up.

"Still... we should go out and see, right?"

"Right, hiding won't solve anything."

The friends agreed, but Shirone, who had just faced a terrifying ordeal, wasn't enthusiastic.

"What if you guys forget me too? I might really go crazy then."

"Let's do this. We'll leave a mark beforehand. Even if we lose our memory, we can avoid the worst-case scenario."

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