Aqueo followed Hermina quietly just as she had requested right after they came out from the kitchen.

She walked rather fast for a girl, occasionally halting when passing an intersection of corridors to cautiously peek before turning or going straight. Aqueo couldn't exactly tell if she was walking or running because of her long black-and-white maid uniform that was almost touching the floor when she was just standing still. He had to jog a bit to catch up to her.

They had been walking and jogging for a while and as they did, Aqueo had also been feeling a sense of deja vu as if he had already walked these corridors before. He curiously looked at Aquifer that had been beside him the whole time. It might be because the spirit had already wandered this mansion before, but he couldn't exactly recall just like some of the memories with the herbs.

And just when he was trying to remember, a woman wearing a white dress came out from the corridor to the right in front of them. Hermina immediately stopped track and pushed Aqueo in the open room next to them.

Aqueo only saw the woman briefly but her appearance came with a vague recollection of memory at the back of his mind—the spirit following her in a similar corridor while she was holding a crystal orb on her right hand that was radiating with strong magical energy. Someone was following her, but the memory was too vague so he couldn't exactly tell the appearance of that person and the huge thing that person was carrying.

Aqueo heard Hermina greet the woman outside. He waited until she came back and continued their discreet walk to the guest room.

They climbed a few stairs and passed several corridors and hid a few more times to evade other servants before finally reaching the guest room.

"I'm sorry about the push a while ago. Azbert instructed me to make sure no one else will see you," Hermina bowed her head.

"Ah, it's okay, it's okay. I experienced something much worse," Aqueo said as he recalled the truck incident.

"Also, this room is rarely used and hasn't been used for ages, so there's a lot of dust everywhere. There are clean clothes for men in that wardrobe over there. And the bathroom is behind that door. I'll stand guard outside. I'll make sure nobody will find you here," Hermina said in a soft voice.

Aqueo nodded, "Hmm, thank you for bringing me here."

Hermina made a curtsy before closing the door.

Aqueo inhaled deeply as he observed the room. It smelled like flowers here even though this room hadn't been cleaned for ages. There was a bed, a table and a chair on his left, two wardrobes and a full body mirror on his right, a painting of the sunset at the side of the large window opposite to the door, and the bathroom door at the far right side of the room.

His attention suddenly turned to the design of the wallpaper. It was different from the wallpaper used for the corridors they passed through. But this wallpaper, it was the same with the wallpaper of the corridor in the memory with the woman a while ago. 'Maybe the other corridors had the same wallpaper,' Aqueo thought and just simply ignored it.

He opened the wardrobe Hermina pointed to and took the clothes out one by one to examine how they looked. They all had the same style differing only in color and size. He took the blue one his size and went inside the bathroom.

Just like seeing the familiar herbs in the lake chamber, the design of this bathroom felt like something he had already seen before. The cloud-like curves of the edge of the mirror, the flower markings on the bathtub and sink, including the smooth white stone floor and walls. The memories started to vaguely come at the back of his mind.

"This—," Aqueo said while his eyes were tightly closed. "These are memories of people taking a bath. But—" He tightened his eyes even more, including his eyebrows in the effort of trying to remember.

After a moment of trying hard to remember, he disappointedly opened his eyes and put his face close to the spirit's.

"Why?" Aqueo said seriously as he stared directly at the spirit's eyes. "Why are most of the memories so vague? Are you censoring them because they're all n*ked?" Aqueo said in both a lamenting and accusing tone.

Silence followed after his question. He got no answer just as usual.

Aqueo just sighed disappointedly and started to g*t n*ked. He untied the leather chest armor. Now that he removed it and observed it close to his eyes, he wasn't exactly sure if the thing was actually made of leather. The hard nonmetal plates stitched to a fabric underneath were dark brown, thin, but really sturdy—he couldn't bend them using his hands.

It was the same with the arm guards protecting his forearms, but he was quite surprised when he removed them, because both his forearms were covered in tattoos. But not just normal looking tattoos. They looked like shackles with chains spiraled around his arms. The details were quite astonishing—all the lines forming the image of shackles and chains were made of intricately drawn patterns. And the most striking thing about it was the tiny fragments of gold embroidered along the black ink, shining from the light like gold dust sprinkled on a starless night sky.

Aqueo's eyes glinted in mesmerization as he observed the black-golden tattoo. His heart swelled with the feeling of being so blessed. First, he escaped his hellish life, then found a cave with a lot of treasure, he still wasn't sure about Aquifer draining his energy and all but he still considered the spirit a blessing since it saved him, and then he was saved again by a young mage, and now this. This tattoo must be special. It looked like something that only the rich could afford to have. He wondered why the previous owner of his body had this tattoo. Was the owner of this body so rich? He didn't have any way to find out now so he finally proceeded to undress everything.

"AHHHHHHHH!"

He screamed at the top of his lungs.

Hermina heard the muffled sound from the outside and immediately opened the door of the room. "Our dear guest—" Her worried call got cut off by another scream from Aqueo in the bathroom.

"WHY? WHY AM I C*RSED TO HAVE A SMALL MANH**D IN THIS LIFE?"

Hermina's face flushed pink. She crept out of the room and closed the door without a sound while blushing.

"N—no," Aqueo said defiantly as he held the wall at the left side of the mirror to support himself and clenched his right hand. "I shouldn't lose hope. This is a world of magic. There must be something here that can fix this."

He closed his eyes once again and tried to remember something that had to do with his current situation. It had been more than a minute before he finally gave up and just directly went into the bathtub.

He soaked there a bit and finally said, "Ah. That's right. My previous one had the same size. . . . This world is so similar to my previous one. This bathroom is no different from a bathroom on Earth. They have soap, faucets, and bulbs," Aqueo mumbled while his neck was submerged in the water, still a little dazed by his recent discovery.

If it was him before he died, he must be feeling several times worse. But thanks to the warmth and relaxing feeling the spirit was exuding beside him, his body felt great as if it was full of energy. Back then, if he was having depressing thoughts, his body would follow—he would just slump or sulk somewhere. Although he was quite sure, if it wasn't because of the dr*gs he was forced to take from the human traffickers who held him captive, things would've been a lot different.

Aqueo smiled and looked at the spirit, "It must be nice being a spirit like you. You've never felt depressed, hav—oh, that's right. How come they couldn't see you? I waited for them to mention you or something but they didn't."

The spirit just floated there with a questioning look.

"Based on the memories I've seen so far, nobody had ever seen you wandering around for over a hundred years. What if you materialize like you did in front of them? Will they be able to see you?"

The spirit just curiously looked at him, not understanding a thing he said.

"I think I should keep you a secret first. I've never seen anyone having a spirit accompanying them in your memories. Or maybe they are in the memories that I can't quite remember."

The spirit gave no answer nor showed any sign of understanding, so he just focused on bathing himself.

When he was finished, he was quite perplexed when he saw himself clearly in the mirror. He didn't pay attention to the details of his face when he was at the lake. His hair had a combination of patches of dark brown and black. That wasn't all, his face was somewhat similar to his old appearance—the shape of his brows, eyes, nose and lips.

"What does this mean? My previous body had dark brown hair. And this body looks a bit like me too—and yet, somehow different. Does it have anything to do with my reincarnation?"

Aqueo just disregarded the question for now, just like the other questions he had ever since the first time he opened his eyes in this new world: why he couldn't properly recall the other memories of the spirit, the mysterious healing sound the drop from the crystal was making, his experience in the darkness, the identity of the previous owner of this body and everything about his being here in this world.

"Just how long are you going to stay there?"

A voice from the outside suddenly startled Aqueo from his deep thinking, the imposing voice of the mage.

"W-Wait a minute. I'm still wearing my clothes."

Aqueo hastened buttoning his clothes and observed himself on the mirror. He was now wearing a white and brown long sleeve with a blue sleeveless shirt with buttons on top of it, and a trouser with a matching design of blue, white and brown. It looked rather formal yet old-school in Aqueo's eyes. Regardless, he sort of liked it.

When he came out, the mage was sitting on the chair at the left side of the table where her mage hat was sitting. Azbert, her servant, was standing near her at the side of the exit opposite the side of the bathroom door where Aqueo stood.

"Come sit," the mage said, pointing to the bed with her left hand.

"About my question while you were eating," she said the moment Aqueo was seated. "Do you remember?"

"What was I feeling while eating? Yes, I remember," Aqueo answered politely, even nodding a bit. And now that Aqueo remembered, it made him curious why she would ask that specific question.

"Yes, that was the question. But I want to know first—," she paused while weighing how she should ask it without directly mentioning life force depletion. She finally said, "—how did you end up in that situation?"

"A-ah, about that—," Aqueo looked at his side while scratching his head.

'Ahhh, can I trust this mage?,' Aqueo thought while looking at the spirit. 'They clearly can't see Aqui floating by my side here.'

It took him a few moments of thinking to finally look at her again and said sincerely, "I'm so sorry about that. I know you saved my life, but I can't tell you that information."

"Tha-that's right—," Aqueo added. "—it has something to do with the herbs I was talking about, so I can't tell anyone about it."

'Me saved his life,' the mage thought. 'He was still alive and walking despite having those severe symptoms of life force depletion. He should already be dead when I met him, and yet he wasn't. With the scent of the magical energy he is exuding, even if I did nothing, he will still be alive by now. But, I will not say that. It seems like this guy knows nothing about it— Tha—that's right! An opportunity. I want him to continue to think that he owes me. He will be my precious rare specimen. I have to make him stay here.'

"That's right, that's right. I saved your life. But it's fine. If you can't tell me that, can you tell me how you were feeling before eating? Before you met me."

'Ehh? Why does she want to know that? I suppose it won't hurt to tell her that,' Aqueo thought.

"I was feeling weak and my head was pulsing because I was so hungry," Aqueo said. He thought, 'I won't tell her about the warmth and relaxing feeling from Aqui.'

"I see. How about while you were eating? What were you feeling?"

"Uhmm—," Aqueo hummed. 'I suppose it won't hurt to tell her that, too,' he thought. "—I was just feeling hungry and I wanted to eat a lot."

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The mage stared at him for a while, quite underwhelmed by the answer she just got. Finally, she said, "Your stomach. That's right. What were you feeling in your stomach while eating? You ate seven large plates. Each plate is equivalent to four large servings of an—expensive meal in an expensive restaurant. Aside from that, the volume of your stomach should only be able to hold three full servings. One plate was more than enough, yet you actually ate seven before finally stopping."

"E-expensive?" Aqueo uttered in a slightly shocked tone. "That's seven times four," he mumbled.

'HUHHH? THAT'S TWENTY EIGHT EXPENSIVE SERVINGS,' he screamed in his head while panicking. 'H-how much is all that? W—wait a minute. Is it just me or she said the words expensive meal and expensive restaurant in a slow manner as if to emphasize it just like how she said the word horribly when she mentioned her father?'

The mage smirked in her mind at Aqueo's panicked expression and the way he uttered the word expensive.

"That's right. The meals you have eaten a while ago are expensive. I'll take half of your herbs," the mage said. It had been her plan before she went inside the room—to price the meals more than their actual worth. She knew the herbs were expensive but with her pricing, she could take more than half of it.

"I-I see," Aqueo said in relief.

'That's still good. I was worried all of it wouldn't be enough to pay for the meals,' Aqueo thought.

"Let's go back to our previous topic," the mage looked at him with a hint of interest this time. "What were you feeling in your stomach while eating?"

'That's right. I actually managed to eat those seven large plates.'

Aqueo thought for a bit to recall how he felt. "It felt like it was so empty. Every time I swallowed food, it felt like it wasn't getting full. I would feel the food in there but the feeling would vanish a moment later and it would feel empty once again. So I just ate continuously until I was feeling full."

The mage crossed her arms on her chest and put one of her hands on her chin. She was looking at the floor while thinking a bit deeply.

"Azbert, did you write that," she finally said a few moments later.

"Yes, young master."

Aqueo turned his gaze to Azbert. He didn't notice him taking out a notebook and writing there.

"How about your body? You said you were feeling weak and your head was pulsing. How did they change while you were eating?"

"Those feelings vanished while I was eating the first plate."

"Really?" She leaned a bit forward, unable to hide her curiosity even further. "When was it exactly? How many bites?"

"A—about . . . the fifth bite," Aqueo said, a bit taken aback by the sudden show of her emotion. She looked rather childishly excited in contrast to her previous serious and commanding demeanor.

"How about your skin? Especially the skin of your face? The part around your eyes, your cheeks and your lips," the mage asked further, leaning a bit more closer towards Aqueo.

'Huh? What's with all these very specific questions?'

Azbert suddenly cleared his throat, loud. It made the mage flinch as she realized that she was leaning forward. She sat straight once again and recomposed herself.

"Let's stop here for a bit. You said you weren't from this town when I asked you while we were walking. Do you remember? You looked rather dazed while answering my questions," the mage asked as if her flinching a while ago didn't even happen.

'Th—that's right. She did ask me some questions and I just answered absentmindedly because I wasn't in my right mind. And I don't exactly remember the things she asked me. What if she makes further inquiries about my origin,' Aqueo thought.

"Yes, I am not from this town."

'But—the original owner of this body must be from somewhere here. What if somebody recognizes this body, what am I supposed to say? I don't trust her enough to tell her that I actually came from another world without magic in it,' Aqueo weighed in his mind if it was worth telling this information to the mage.

"This is your first time coming here and your goal is to trade herbs?"

"Yes."

"How long are you going to stay in this town?"

"I haven't really thought about it."

"Then you have found a place to stay."

"Huh?" Aqueo was a bit taken aback. He thought she would further ask about his origin, so he was making up excuses in his mind.

"You can stay in this mansion for as long as you like. I won't ask you about where you got your herbs or where you came from. You seemed so adamant about your origin even when you were in a dazed state so I won't ask you about it."

With her saying that came the memory of him refusing to say his hometown while walking on that small path toward the house in the middle of the field. Aqueo felt glad he didn't say a word about his previous world.

"Me and Azbert are going to watch the tournament near the townsquare. We'll accompany you to a renowned and trusted merchant there to help you exchange the herbs."

The mage took her mage hat and started walking toward the door. But Aqueo still had some lingering questions about the specific questions from her. The questions might be connected to what was going on with his body, so he stopped her.

"Uh-uhm, wait. May I ask? Why were you asking about my body, especially my skin?"

The mage paused for a moment and looked back at him.

"It's just that . . . your skin was looking sullen when you came here . . . so devoid of life," the mage said in a knowing tone, now uncaring whether she had implied to him the life force depletion he was unaware of. She would tell him about it anyway if she wanted to study his life force closely.

It was then when Aqueo confirmed that there really was a connection between her specific questions and what was going on with his body. Because aside from the warmth Aquifer was exuding, there was another thing he didn't say about how he was feeling while he was eating—he was continuously feeling the exact rejuvenating feeling he felt from hearing the beautiful tone in the lake chamber.

. . .

Aqueo squinted his eyes to see if he was seeing correctly. "Are those buildings?" he mumbled.

The mage heard him and replied. "Yes, you are correct," she said as they walked in careful haste towards the huge gate a bit far from them. Azbert and the still-blushing Hermina were following her with him, occasionally glancing here and there to make sure no one would see them.

"But—aren't we in the middle of the field? How come there are so many buildings out there?" Aqueo reluctantly asked, feeling quite odd about talking like this to her when they had not even introduced each other's names properly. He wanted to ask, but hadn't had the opportunity to do so—aside from the fact that he was careful because of the obvious social standing of the mage.

They were now walking on the light brown stone paths of a grandiosely designed spacious garden, complete with garden paths, archways, a set of tea tables and chairs, grasses, flowers and plants that looked so foreign to Aqueo—some even looked like they were glowing—, and even pollinators.

Earlier, Aqueo just followed them quietly on the way outside the house because no one was supposed to see him except the mage and her servants. What greeted him when they reached the outside were the spacious garden and the countless buildings that could be seen outside the fence.

"We were. But that door leads to another mansion somewhere inside the town. We have to keep you a secret and this mansion is rarely used so I chose this," explained the mage. "And the garden here is overgrown so we can hide conveniently," she immediately added.

Aqueo made a quick glance at the door with eyes of wonder. He had already witnessed a lot of magical things in the spirit's memories, but experiencing it firsthand excited him to discover and experience even more of this world. The plants and bushes here were indeed rather high and numerous as if the garden was a forest but he could see that it was still well maintained.

"Wait!" They all halted. "My sister is coming," the mage said in a dim tone. Azbert pointed to a hiding spot and they all went there hastily.

Aqueo peeked through the gaps in the bushes. "I can't see anyone coming. The street outside is deserted," Aqueo mumbled curiously.

After a few seconds, a horse pulling a carriage could be seen turning from a corner one street away from the gate.

"There she is," said the mage.

Aqueo looked at her in amazement and curiosity, 'How did she know that?'

"We need to hide here for a while. Wait until she passes the garden," the mage said.

'I'll just add it to the things I need to know,' Aqueo thought and just peeked at the bushes.

A few moments later, Aqueo noticed something and mumbled, "Huh? Why is the horse so small? The carriage seemed loaded. How is it pulling that?"

Hermina, while peeking, blushed a little and took it as an opportunity to say what she had been wanting to tell him since the shouting incident. "Th-the size doesn't really matter to us g—hmm." She wanted to say 'girls' but she stopped and blushed even deeper, both because she didn't want him to realize that she heard him shout and of the bashfulness of the current topic—at least in her mind.

"Really?"

Aqueo's intonation was that of a sulking child who suddenly felt uplifted after somebody complimented him, so Hermina turned her head at him in thought that she had successfully conveyed what she really wanted to say.

"Is it because of magic?"

He didn't. Aqueo's eye's were glittering while looking at the carriage. Hermina sighed as she went back to peeking. She didn't know whether to be disappointed or thankful that he didn't find out that she heard him. 'I-I'll just try to tell him again later.' She was about to mention something about magic but was interrupted by her master.

"Quiet! She might hear you," the mage quietly hushed.

"Hear us?—"

"Too late!" A soft mature voice of a woman sounded from behind them. Everyone flinched, their faces were painted with shock.

Aqueo's eyes widened even further when he looked back and found that his face was just inches away from the woman. "S-so pretty," he mumbled.

"Hmmm! Aren't I?" Aqueo's cheeks went warm when he realized she heard him. Her voice was like silk with the fragrance of flowers that sent shivers all over his body, especially his heart. She giggled and said, "I like you already!"

'HAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHH~,' Aqueo screamed in his mind. 'I LIKE YOU TOO! I LIKE YOU TOO! I LIKE YOU, TOOOOOO! I can't believe it! This is the greatest blessing I have ever received so far!' In that short span of time, Aqueo proceeded to fantasize about his future with the woman inside his mind: going on dates, getting married, and having children of their own. His current feelings reached Aquifer beside him, so the spirit danced around with its cheerful eyes.

"This shouldn't be possible! You broke through?" the mage exclaimed. She had the most shocked expression among them.

The smiling woman looked at the mage. "Are you sure you weren't found out this time, too?"

A look of understanding suddenly replaced the mage's shocked expression, but she just pressed her lips and went back to questioning her. "That doesn't matter! Tell me your current mage rank right now!"

The woman puffed her cheeks, "Hmmff! Himi! I didn't break through! You should be able to tell that! Why do you have to make me say my failure in front of a guy I like?"

'So cuuute!' Aqueo's heart beat even faster at the mention of 'guy I like'. "Th-that's fine by me. I accept you, failures and all!"

"Waaaahhh! Really?" Her eyes brightened; Aqueo was so glad about it, he nodded affectionately. Although he felt somewhat disappointed because their faces weren't as close as before.

"A guy . . . you . . . like? How the hell was I supposed to know that?" complained by Himi. Now, Aqueo finally knew the name of the mage, and was a bit surprised that she could shout like that in contrast to her previous mature and composed demeanor.

"HI-MI! You know I like big guys like him!" It earned a distorted look from Himi.

"B-big?" Aqueo thought for a bit, 'I'm pretty sure I'm not that buff. But I'm definitely tall. That must be it.'

Hermina, misunderstanding him, immediately interjected, "Huh! Ou-our dear guest, th-that's not what she meant by that! Size doesn't really matter to us gi—, gi— uhmm!" She stuttered her last word again, especially when they all looked at her with clueless eyes. "S-size . . . doesn't . . . matter. . ."

"What are you saying Hermina?" The woman asked her.

"Uhhm! No-nothing! Sorry!"

"Hmm! That's fine! That's fine! Your face is so red! You don't have to feel so reprimanded!" The woman affectionately looked at Aqueo. "So, tell me your name! I'm Himera Liversprout," she said, extending her right hand.

"I'm Aqueo. Aqueo Harp." He accepted her soft hand, his heart fluttering as he did so. Now that he could see her fully with their current distance, he was even more entranced. She was wearing a battle dress that was similar to what the girl mages usually wore in the spirit's memories while adventuring in the wild although a bit different in colors and patterns. The one she was wearing was embroidered with a lot of swirly patterns while the ones he knew in Aqui's memories were less grandiose.

"Save that for later. We have to go, we're getting late." Himi said as she started walking towards the gate.

"Ehhh? Where are you going? I'll come with you!"

"Young master, Himera!" Everyone, except Himi who was already walking away, looked at the servant who gently called Himera as he bowed his head. "The head of the house requires your presence."

Himera once again puffed her cheeks and looked at the mansion contemptuously. Finally, she just sighed and said to Aqueo while smiling, "Hmm! We'll talk later," and quickly strode towards the mansion.

Even if she couldn't see him anymore, Aqueo still nodded his head affectionately and waved his right hand.

"When are you going to stop waving? She can't see you anymore!"

The sudden call from Himi woke Aqueo from his daydream. The three of them were already near the gate.

"Uh! Yes, coming," he shouted as he sprinted toward them. They were already beside the carriage when he arrived. Azbert went to the driver's seat, the three of them in the carriage, and Aquifer just floated beside Aqueo.

The carriage was spacious and long. The walls and seats were covered in red fabric and the four windows on all sides were decorated with matching red curtains lined with gold patterns and decorative ropes. There were three sets of long seats in the carriage, Himi and Hermina occupied the first, and Aqueo the second one.

"So your name is Aqueo Harp. I forgot to ask you earlier. My name is Himi Liversprout," said Himi as the carriage started moving.

'I introduced myself so late. I hope he doesn't feel too bad about it. All I was thinking about was the pleasant smell of his magical energy and how to make him stay here,' Himi thought.

"Yes, Aqueo Harp is my name," said Aqueo.

'So she just forgot about it. My condition probably had something to do with it since she was asking so many specific details when I was eating. I'm certain she knows something about the sensation I felt when I experienced that healing.'

"Feel free to feast your eyes with the new scenery around you," she pointed at the window, "You're new here, right?"

"Uhh, yes."

Aqueo did as he was told. He gazed outside the carriage for the majority of the time, and during so, Himi would occasionally talk to Hermina and Azbert outside through the small window between the passenger seat and the driver's seat. They would also occasionally ask him something and he would answer politely.

And weirdly so, as the ride went on, Aqueo found his affection for Himera getting farther and farther away just like their current distance. He realized he was just rather blinded by the heat of the moment. He knew because he had already experienced this in his previous world a couple of times.

He was raised by human traffickers in a highly controlled environment, denied the freedom to experience things that normal people in his previous world would naturally experience. There were times that he wanted to try some things that he saw in others, and when he did, either they weren't as he expected or it turned out there were other things better or he would just feel simply deceived. Even so, despite the disappointments, he was happy to experience those things. He also saw those as rebellious acts toward the human traffickers.

In his case with Himera, he felt that he was just long deprived of experiencing such things that his heart leapt at that very moment. He finally had a new life now. He need not to worry that the same chance would never come by. Get to know the other person first as what he learned the hard way in the past.

He didn't want to remember his past as much as possible so he just turned his attention to sightseeing.

A lot of things were so familiar to him as he had already anticipated. He recognized the common designs of houses, pavements and streets, a few landmarks and historical buildings. Familiar, indeed, but most were different. None of these places completely resembled the things that he saw in Aquifer's memories when they touched. Maybe they were in the memories that he couldn't quite clearly see. But the differences were rather dramatic.

He wondered, why were things rather so different from Aquifer's latest memories? When they finally reached the townsquare, his questions were finally answered, albeit it just intensified his current state of perplexity.

The townsquare, too, was indeed familiar but it wasn't as he had seen it in Aquifer's latest memories. He knew what memory was the latest because of the huge year calendar displayed on the most prominent building around here. And that was the most baffling thing about it.

Because based on what was written on it, ten years had already passed since the last memories he knew.