Black Eagle’s Saint~ The Expelled Healer Masters Dark Magic from His Spare Magic Powers

First, let's cut squarely to the substance of Janet's statement.

Is the rationale for saying something as laughable as memory manipulation, which is more than a disguise, because you think Janet herself received it?

Yes.

...... clearly, affirmed.

Janet says she may have been subjected to memory manipulation.

'I'm telling you this, of course, because I've made an overall assessment that it's unlikely now. The fact that I don't see much of a discrepancy between my memory and theirs means that it's unlikely that I'm being memory manipulated, unless the two people I'm aware of don't exist.

'Rah, Lacelle ...... what is Janet talking about ......?'

'To put it plainly. It's possible that me and Emmy are just hallucinations created by Janet, but she still says she'll just tell us.

...... It's okay, right?

I nod my head firmly at Emmy's words.

She's honestly not trusting herself to this point, and yet she's still talking about the best option she can think of.

If I were in Janet's position, I probably would have broken down earlier.

'Maybe this woman Aria doesn't exist either. I'm the only person who can prove it, so when my memory is wrong, it's uncertain information. Everything I'm going to tell you now should be knowledgeable with that in mind.

I nodded emphatically at Janet's declaration.

...... Really, really, he's a dependable guy. He's able to fill in all the elements we have to think about and then fill in the story so far.

''Well then, ....... First of all, Katie and Aria, either one of them is definitely a level of beauty that will be talked about. The guy at the guild's reception desk and the swordsman guy who's always getting drunk at the guild like to gossip. In fact, right after Katie joined, the day after she received her reward at the guild, they were both talking about Katie.

Just like the description of a gossipy level of beauty, it immediately came up in the conversation of all the gossipy good-looking men, didn't it?

Okay, so.

'Katie had already stopped by the Adria Adventurer's Guild before she approached Vince, right?

Yeah. You remember Emmy, too.

Of course. I'm pretty sure I saw the information about Adria on your guild tag.

Yes. Then it would be strange if Katie hadn't been rumored, at least by the time we first went to the guild with her.

Ah!

Yes. It's not in the right order.

If Katie is signing up for the guild, it's funny that she's not talking about the men who like to gossip about it at the time of her acceptance.

But it's as if Katie's reaction was the first time she came to the guild when she and Vince got together.

'And it was exactly the same with Aria. I even overheard her bitterness towards Vince.

Aria, like Katie, didn't become a rumor until she joined the guild.

And the day after she joined the guild, she became the target of rumors from the day after she joined the guild.

Such a person didn't happen to catch anyone's eye until she went with Vince?

And furthermore, you're saying that each of them just happened to be on the radar of the other?

Two people with that many unusual attributes happened to know each other, and yet they knew each other and were working separately?

Most importantly, how is it possible that Aria was not on anyone's radar for the duration of their separate activities?

...... I see, so Janet calls it cognitive inhibition.

It's too much of a coincidence.

...... I suddenly turned to look at the other woman next to me, the one who was so important to me.

In times like these, you can count on someone with knowledge and, even more importantly, wisdom.

Because I only appreciate how quick-witted this guy is. Only the head.

Sybilla seemed to be looking at Janet vaguely with her arms crossed, not even glaring at her.

I turned my gaze to her, and naturally Sybilla noticed too.

'...... hmm?　What?

No, I was just wondering if you can give me some ideas at this point.

It doesn't matter. Let's get some more information.

Sybilla, surprisingly, broke off the conversation easily and turned to Janet.

...... So even if this guy thinks about it, he still can't come up with anything.

Then I'd better listen to the story too.

'Janet, can you continue, please?'

'Hmm. Katie and Aria were both members of the party. Aria was strong. She was simply high level, and her balance was good enough to step into the lower levels. ...... Oh, by the way.

Janet tilts her head slightly.

''Aria is a [Magus Swordsman] level 32... Honestly, she's stronger and more stubborn than most [Heavy Warriors] just because she's a high level senior position. Watching her fight alongside Vince, it's enough to make me think that she's stronger than Vince.

That's awesome: ......

Naturally, the [brave] Vince is not half as strong as he should be.

Of course, he's not the kind of guy who can do everything by himself, but he's still a swordsman of a high enough standard to be able to fight the middle tier by himself if he puts his mind to it, in everything.

Of course, it will depend on his own proficiency level, but even compared to that Vince, he is not ...... strong enough to be considered strong in Janet's eyes.

''Because it's ......, there's something I've been wondering about. Aria was always treating Katie, who was in the low level band at [Mage], with the polite language of a subordinate. In the end, though, I couldn't get her to tell me why.

That's odd: ...... Well, if they are senior and junior, then I guess that's what they are.

But if Katie's side isn't shying away from it, there may be a reason for it.

'Well, consider this just as supplementary information. This is about as far as the flow of possible ...... recognition inhibition is concerned.

Janet takes a breath again and sips her drink. I haven't let her talk so much since we were reading together. That would be exhausting.

I picked up my cup and brought it to my mouth as well.

...... Yeah, it's getting cold already.

The drink in the cup had gone completely cold.

'It's getting cold, it's getting cold fast. Put it down.

When he put the cup down as Janet had told him to, the vibrations on the desk caused waves to rise on the surface of the container, wobbling.

Janet watched the scene closely.

'Magic isn't just for fighting, it's nice because you can use it in everyday life like this.

You mean the magic that warms you up. Indeed, there are many things that can be used outside of dungeon-clearing. In that sense, the mage type is an easy profession (job) to live in.

That's right. If I hadn't hid in the dungeon, I'm sure I'd be glad to be a recovering mage.

It's more convenient to use both [wise man].

You know, it's true. It's true.

I chuckled at Janet, who mounted her as if she was unusually mischievous, and again Janet picked up her cup and took a sip.

I take a sip too, making sure it's warm.

Hmm?　Now, something .......

'So, one more thing.'

Janet's mood changes and she looks ready to go.

...... So this is where it starts to get real.

Then I'll focus on Janet's story, too, instead of thinking about anything else.

'Let's talk about what led me to consider the possibility of memory manipulation.