I always scored high on tests, was well-spoken and well-mannered. But after being adopted by a rich family, the way people treated me completely changed. I exposed a corrupt authority figure and saved the orphanage. Was it because I was a hero in their eyes? No, that'd be deluding yourself.

Previously I had fought to even obtain a spot in the entry list to a school but was denied. After being adopted, I was immediately accepted. No questions asked. No tests.

'It is only possible because you had our family's backing'.

That was only possible because the family I was in was powerful. The school accepted me because they perceived they'd gain something by sucking up to the family.

'Don't get conceited, keep improving yourself and providing to the family.'

They adopted me because they perceived adopting me as a valuable action. To enhance their own image.

If I were to lose my value, they'd abandon me again. It's not easy to abandon an already adopted child, but if it were this 'family', they could easily engineer a plausible reason.

'Everything has value. It's just the way you use it. Even the pastor was just an opportunity to increase your own value and status, whether you realized it or not. We didn't simply adopt you due to your fame gained through the newspapers. You had good manners and spoke eloquently. You instinctively knew to affect others' perception of yourself. That's a good trait to have. Keep developing that, child.'

This mister knew. Maybe my acting wasn't as good as I thought it was. Or maybe it was just that this old man didn't let his guard down even around children. He observed everything carefully. I should be like him.

I took care of the crying kids because I didn't get enough sleep at night. In the long term, investing this amount of time would give me more sleep.

I gave them piggybacks even when I was hungry so that the nanny might notice and give me more food. Even if the nanny didn't care maybe the other kids would. They might decide to give me their food on their own.

Make use of everything you can. I knew how to do that.

You're not so strong that you can afford to be kind. Being separated from Keith was a minor consequence in hindsight. If the pastor had better connections, Keith and I could have disappeared. I was fortunate but leaving things up to chance like that was dangerous.

This story originates from a different website. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.

I won't take any risks.

If you fail this time, unlike before, both Sophie and you will die.

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I didn't turn in my sleep this morning. Even though I haven't even opened my eyes, I can tell, because I feel well rested today. Lately, I haven't been able to sleep with Claud due to his injuries. But last night, I slept as soundly as when we were still in the academy. Thank you, Claud for coming back safely. Your mana is so comfortingly cool. I don't want to move. I want to stay like this forever.

But I have to check on Claud.

My arms are still holding onto him tightly, but I was careful not to touch his right arm. I don't want to infect his wound or aggravate it.

-Claud Branford's Willpower: 16/24-

It's a long while before he will wake up despite the Sun already being up.

Ever since Claud escaped the strait, he's always emitting his cooling mana barrier even in his sleep. He must be exhausted, exerting his mana like this, has he been able to get any proper sleep? Even while unconscious, he's on guard.

He's squeezing his fists so tightly and his usually calm sleeping face is distorted. Is he having a nightmare? What is it about? When the train derailed? Or when he was fighting the rebels? I don't know.

"Don't be scared, Claud. I'm with you."

I pat his head gently.

Has his memory returned? Will he lose any more? If he forgets, will he not want to be my friend anymore? I don't want that to happen. Claud. You can't forget me. I'll write even more in my diary than before.

"Keith..."

Did he just say keys? Keys? What kind of dream is he having?

Key... Does he want to open a door?

This could be important! I should write this in the daily observations...

He'd want to know everything that he has forgotten, I'm sure. Well sorted diaries would help him read through faster. These will be like my biographies of him. He does read autobiographies in the library sometimes! That's a great idea! I'll leave in lots of parts about how I felt about things.

Activities we do together, the books we read, food we ate, things we said and how we both reacted to it.

Daily events around us... Oh! I should write a section for past events too. How we first met, our time in the academy, the train, Eindall. I'll draw a picture of his medal here.

A second diary for everything combat related. Compiling his visible status and my daily observations of him. How long he takes to wake up, estimated stats, his recovery time, strengths and weaknesses. His reactions to various stimuli, fighting style. I've studied a lot about him. I think we've got similar stats.

'Claud 1 Sophie 0'. Our sparring score is kept here. Hmph. I went easy on him because his dominant arm was hurt. Once he's fully healed, we can have a proper match.

This third diary is for playing the Claud Guessing Game. This one might be potentially the most helpful to get his memories back. It gives a ton of insight into his character beyond what the status screen shows.

The fourth diary should be... More abstract, things not yet set in stone. What about our dreams for the future? I'm sharing this one with him today. What we want to do. What we hope to see. Places we'd like to visit. Claud often reads books on geography and other countries. Maybe he wants to leave on a holiday?

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What time is it? It's too bright. The curtains are letting so much light through.

Sophie? What is she doing? She's patting my head while writing on her diaries. Does she really need so many? What is she even writing about? Is she chronicling her adventures as a Hero with her companion? It does seem like something she would write.

That would be a pretty interesting book for future generations.