Ken’s Method

Morning light passed through the window and fell onto Allen’s eyes.

Her eyelashes, thin as cicada wings, trembled slightly.

Then, as if launched by a spring, she sat straight up in bed.

“You’re awake?”

Ross sat on a chair by the wall, looking down at the book in his hands.

Ken had watched over Allen all night.

In the end, he could not hold on any longer and went to rest.

Because Ross was Ken’s close friend, the night watch was entrusted to him instead.

He had not expected that by noon the next day, Allen would already be awake.

“Mm…”

Who is he?

Why am I here?

Allen examined the room, feeling slightly disoriented.

She knew this was her room, yet it also felt somewhat different.

Some of the furnishings had been replaced.

That meant she was in the Grand Duke’s residence—her father’s estate.

“Don’t be nervous.

Ken knows me.”

Ross adjusted his magitech lens.

He had been startled by the way Allen suddenly sat up.

“Ken stayed up all night yesterday and already went to sleep.

He really cares about you, you know.

I’m telling you, yesterday he practically begged me before I agreed to let you—”

Ross went on and on, enthusiastically speaking well of Ken, acting overly familiar.

“Who is Ken?”

Allen asked in confusion.

“……”

Ross shut his mouth.

The atmosphere instantly became awkward.

The entire room fell silent.

At this moment, the birdsong outside the window sounded unusually crisp.

The bright sunlight outside bathed Ross in warmth.

It should have felt comforting.

Yet it made cold sweat break out on his back.

Who is Ken?

Isn’t he your friend?

Did he recognize the wrong person?

Ken?

Are you messing with me?

Don’t tell me you just thought she was pretty and forcibly kept her?

Ross’s head filled with black lines as these thoughts raced through his mind.

But he quickly dismissed them.

He had known Ken for so long.

Ken was not that kind of person.

“Gulp…”

Ross swallowed.

This was a huge accident.

Logically speaking, Ken had watched over her all night.

No matter how blind he was, he could not possibly mistake someone else for Allen.

Yet here it was—

This was clearly Allen, but she did not recognize Ken at all.

The situation was extremely awkward.

“Allen?!”

Ross broke the nearly minute-long silence first.

He asked tentatively.

“Yes.

I am Allen.”

Allen answered hesitantly, feeling bewildered.

That’s right.

She was Allen.

But why did she not recognize Ken?

Eliminating all impossibilities, whatever remained—no matter how unlikely—had to be the truth.

This was the real Allen, no different at all from the Allen in Ken’s memories.

That meant only one thing.

Allen had forgotten.

But based on the stories Ken had told, it was absolutely impossible for her not to remember after being reminded like this.

That left only one possible explanation.

Amnesia.

It could only be that.

Ross reasoned it out.

In just a few seconds, he had more or less grasped the situation.

“Rest for a while.

I’ll go find Ken.”

Ross said.

He stood up and closed the book.

“Ken…”

Allen murmured the somewhat familiar name.

It truly sounded familiar.

Yet no matter how hard she tried to recall it, she could not remember.

She clutched her head as she tried to think.

Her silver-white long hair was tangled together by her hands, a mess.

She noticed it herself—

She felt no aversion toward this hair at all.

Perhaps that forgotten part of her memory spanned a very long time.

She had already grown used to it.

With a sigh, she could only wait for Ken to appear.

Ross searched around but could not find Ken.

The servants said Ken had already gotten up.

But they did not say where he had gone.

Since they were only servants, they did not ask further.

With no other choice, Ross searched the Grand Duke’s residence.

But wandering aimlessly like this naturally led nowhere.

He still could not find Ken.

Suddenly, he remembered—

At the academy, Ken shared a dormitory with him.

Every morning, Ken would wake up early and knock on his door, dragging him along to practice combat skills and frenzy energy.

So Ken was probably training.

Sure enough, as soon as Ross reached the backyard, he heard the sound of striking practice posts.

Just as expected.

Ross entered the room and knocked on the doorframe to signal Ken to stop.

When Ken stopped moving, Ross asked him,

“Ken, there’s something I need to talk to you about.”

“Why are you here?

How is Allen?”

Ken put down his spear.

“It’s about Allen.

It might be bad news.”

Ross replied.

“What happened to her?”

Ken frowned.

“She might have amnesia.

She doesn’t remember anything about you.”

Ross raised his hand and patted Ken on the shoulder.

“Let’s go.

I’ll take a look.”

………………

“Do you remember who I am, Allen?!”

Ken asked anxiously.

Allen looked at the somewhat familiar face before her.

But she still could not recall who he was.

She frowned and tried to think.

Vaguely, she seemed to recall something—

A snowy night.

A group of bandits.

A boy.

“You look very familiar, but I can’t remember.

I don’t know… I’ve forgotten too many things.”

Allen said, frowning.

It was not that Allen did not want to remember.

She truly could not.

Relying on stimulation alone, she could not recall anything.

She herself felt miserable as well.

She sensed that she had forgotten many, many important things.

But what they were, she did not know.

“We met on the outskirts of the Karazat Great Forest.

I was a villager from that area.

Do you really have no impression at all?”

Ken knew that Allen could not possibly remember him at first glance.

He could only guide her step by step, helping her recall what she had forgotten.

Amnesia was a mysterious thing.

Some people might search their entire lives and still never remember their past.

Others might recover everything the moment they meet someone familiar.

There was no completely effective treatment.

So all Ken could do was help Allen try to recall her past.

The Karazat Great Forest—

That was the primeval forest on the outskirts of the Demon King’s Castle.

Allen’s last memory stopped at meeting the Demon King.

She could not even remember what the Demon King looked like.

“Karazat Great Forest…

I’ve been there…”

Allen said.

She had indeed been there.

But that was also the only time she had ever gone there.

“That was three years ago.”

Ken said.

“Three years already…”

Allen said in surprise.

For Allen, who lacked that stretch of memory,

It felt as though she had simply slept through it.

One sleep, and three years were gone.

But reason told her that three years could not pass in a single sleep.

She could vaguely sense an intangible change within herself.

It was just not very obvious.

Allen had never imagined that her missing memories spanned three whole years.

A full three years.

She had absolutely no impression of them at all.

Those three years had been erased completely.

She could not help but sigh.

Seeing Allen sigh, Ken switched to another hint.

“Do you remember me?

Back then, I even acknowledged you as my master.

I was just a little brat at the time.

You found me annoying, too.

But when you left, you gave me enough travel money at the inn.

You even handed this to me.”

The young man took out the long spear.

“This was the last thing you left me.

This nameless spear.”

“Gungnir…

This spear is mine…”

Allen showed a trace of surprise.

In truth, Allen knew nothing of what Ken was saying.

It felt like she was listening to the story of someone else who shared her name.

At this point, even Allen herself did not know whether she was truly that Allen.

Or whether she was simply someone else.

But one thing was certain.

When Ken met her, it must have been after she had already become like this.

Because he did not find anything strange about her.

She herself knew for sure—

In the past, she had been a man.

Something must have caused this change.

The only thing she could confirm was that she had indeed been stabbed to death by the Demon King.

“Do you remember exactly when we first met?”

Allen tried to recall things from that angle.

“Three years ago, during the Ice and Snow Festival.”

Do you have any clue?

Three years ago, during the Ice and Snow Festival.

When she arrived at the Demon Castle, it was already close to the end of September.

That meant that within roughly one month, she had undergone this change.

Allen thought silently.

Although she could not remember what had happened,

She could roughly piece together the outline of events.

However, no matter how hard she tried to recall, her mind would not allow it.

Instead, it punished her with pain that pierced to the bone.

Allen was afraid of that pain.

“I’m sorry.

I really can’t remember…”

Allen replied.

“I’ve forgotten too many things.

So many that I don’t even know how long it’s been since then.

I think at least… three years.

I truly can’t remember.

Whenever I try, my head feels like it’s about to explode…”

She paused, then continued.

“I’m afraid I won’t be able to bear it and might faint.

I want to rest for a while.

Thank you for bringing me here…”

Ken sat silently on the chair in the corner.

About a minute later, he stood up and slowly walked toward the door.

Just as he was about to step outside, he turned back to look at Allen.

“Can I still call you Master?”

He asked dully, as if returning to their first meeting long ago.

Allen froze.

She felt as though she had seen this scene somewhere before.

Only now, the once-immature boy had grown into a handsome young man.

“Of course you can~”

Allen smiled and gave Ken her answer.

As if guided by fate, just like back then, she replied that it was okay.

“Thank you.”

Ken gave an awkward, bitter smile and quietly left.

Suddenly, Allen felt a sense of loss.

She did not know why.

It was as if she had let an important person leave.

The room felt empty.

She was the only one left.

She got up and walked along the felt carpet to the floor.

Her bare feet touched the carpet, bringing a chill.

She picked up the book Ross had not finished reading.

Quickly returning to her warm bed, she began to read.

It had been a long time since she had experienced something like this…