After making sure the room was the same as before he’d come in, Roy went back into the classroom like nothing had happened. He cast Observe on everyone in the school, including Vivien and Cardell —  especially Cardell. He spent the most time on her, but all her stats were that of a normal person. Everyone else too. None of them were powerful entities or mysterious beings in the game.

Roy was surprised to find out that a human female over the age of forty like Cardell had a better physique than that of an average adult. Her stats were seven on average, and she had two skills: Trained, and Dagger Mastery. Roy knew she was related to the revolution based on that alone.

***

After they had lunch, Roy went to Miguel, who was frolicking with the boys on the field. The boy was burly and had a lot of pimples, and he was about to graduate in the coming year. He ignored Roy at first, looking at him with disdain, obviously disliking him. He was jealous of Roy, for he was cared for by the beautiful Vivien, something Miguel never was.

But he became all smiles and answered Roy’s question once he was paid two crowns. “Vivien’s brother?” Miguel was shocked when he heard the question. “I’ve been here for four years, and I’m the kids’ senior. I’ve been paying a lot of attention to Vivien for four years, and I can say for sure that she has no siblings. I’m not the only one who likes her. See those brats there? They like her too. You too, don’t you? Don’t lie.”

When Miguel heard the next question, he gasped. “Fight? Are you out of your mind, Roy? Don’t you think that’s absurd? I’ve never even seen her brother, so how could I fight him? Oh, I do dislike her father though. If I got the chance, I might just cover his head with a sack and mess him up.”

Miguel’s answer was within Roy’s expectations. He then picked a few more younger students and took them aside to ask about Vivien’s family. They provided the same answers. Roy wasn’t sure if anyone was lying. He couldn’t prove it either, since he didn’t know how to cast Axii, but it was impossible to get every child to lie like it was nobody’s business. It’s credible, and more than likely.

Roy glanced at Vivien who was playing with the children under the hornbeam with a smile. He felt sorry that Vivien was mentally ill. Since his primary investigation had ended, he would go talk to her and see if there were any more leads.

***

Roy and Vivien were standing outside the dorms on the third floor, letting the cold wind blow against them as they watched the children and parents leave the premises with Miss Cardell ushering them out. “I have some clues about your ‘brother,’ Vivien.”

“You found something?” Vivien had longing in her eyes. She held his hand nervously and dragged him to her room. “Is it a big clue?”

“Well…” Roy massaged his temples. He didn’t think it was appropriate to tell her straight. “Did you ask everyone in the school about ‘him?’”

“Of course I did.” She frowned, sighing. “I told you nobody admits ‘he’ exists.”

“What do you think, then?” Roy tried to be as gentle as possible. “If ‘he’ really exists, then why does nobody remember him? Not even your parents.”

“That’s impossible to explain, and I’ve been looking into that for two years.” She clenched her fists and paced in a panic. The setting sun’s light draped over her, granting her a look of eerie holiness. “I’ve eliminated all the improbable possibilities, and arrived at one conclusion — all our memories about ‘him’ have been erased. That’s why I asked for your help. Witchers come across weird stuff all the time, don’t they? Haven’t you come across something similar? Like how a mysterious monster could take away my poor brother and erase all traces of him?”

“Erased all traces of him?” Roy was surprised. He didn’t want to think about that possibility, but he couldn’t deny it. However, he had evidence to prove that wasn’t the case. “Have you ever thought that even if everyone’s memories were erased, some things couldn’t disappear?”

“You’re saying…” Vivien became serious.

“The registration form.” Roy looked into her eyes calmly. “Your journal said he attended the House of Cardell, and every student has a registration form. To tell you the truth, Vivien, I’ve looked around Miss Cardell’s office and flipped through almost three hundred forms that date back to a few years ago. The forms include the students we have right now, but your brother isn’t there. There aren’t any records about him. Do you know what that means?”

Vivien shook her head in disappointment. “The forms prove nothing, Roy. I’m Miss Cardell’s assistant, and I can see those papers easily if I want to. I know there’s no record of him there, but so what?” She asked, “If the creature can erase memories, wouldn’t removing a simple record be child’s play?”

Roy couldn’t answer that. Wow, she’s more stubborn than I thought. It won’t be easy to convince her. A creature that can erase anything it wants? Does she think it’s Melitele or Lebioda? Where’s the proof?

Vivien continued. “Did you forget, Roy? You saw the missing names in the entries. You can’t think I did that on purpose, can you? Obviously, his name was removed along with everyone’s memories. That’s why there are blanks there.”

“That’s nonsense. What makes you think that?” Roy retorted. But then he paused. An idea struck him. “A blank appears where something is erased…” 

He pondered on that statement, spacing out. When he went through the forms, there were a few empty ones among them. He didn’t think much about them, supposing they were just Cardell’s way of padding the number of students, but after hearing Vivien’s explanation, he had another idea. “A blank appears where something is erased.”

Could it be that the empty forms had records on them before this, but they were erased along with the memories of the missing students? That might be why they became blank papers nobody cares about. “The memories about the missing people and the records as well as the pictures that prove they exist are erased, huh?” Inspiration struck him, and he remembered something Toya had asked.

“Roy, who drew a pentagram on your left sleeve? And it’s only half-finished.” 

“I don’t remember. Probably some cheeky kid in the House of Cardell. Probably did it when I wasn’t looking.”

***

Roy looked at his left sleeve where the unfinished pentagram was drawn in charcoal. It had almost disappeared, leaving nothing but a faint corner. Everywhere else seemed to have been washed away, leaving no trace. There’s no way daily wear and tear could erase the pentagram this cleanly. 

No, wait. The pentagram wasn’t unfinished. It should’ve been a complete one in the first place.

The simple shape had almost disappeared over the span of a few days, and Roy never imagined it to be evidence proving he’d forgotten about someone’s existence. The traces of the missing people would be erased too. No wonder there are none. He could feel something weighing down on him, and he hyperventilated.

In other words, ever since I came into this school, I was unconsciously forgetting someone, and that someone was the student who left this mark on my sleeve. And soon, our only clue will disappear.