The moment Shu spoke, the room fell silent once again.
"Shu, you..." Mei looked hesitantly at Shu, asking tentatively, "Are you serious?"
Shu frowned, then nodded towards Mei with some difficulty. "What you said seems a bit profound... Can you explain what this 'leaving' means?"
The three exchanged glances. Kiana quietly leaned towards Mei's ear. "Mei, could Shu actually be an idiot?"
Although said quietly, everyone present heard clearly what Kiana said.
Shu's mouth twitched.
He really didn't understand... What "leaving"? Anyone suddenly hearing such an unfamiliar word... it might even be a specialized term... Who could possibly understand it...
"No, Shu definitely can't be like that..." Bronya immediately shook her head, looking at Shu, her expression gradually shifting from serious to troubled. "...Idiot."
Shu's eyelid twitched again.
But seeing the trio's indescribable expressions, a bad premonition suddenly arose in Shu's heart.
"Could it be... this is actually a very common action? Or concept?" Shu asked tentatively.
The three nodded in unison.
"Very simple," Mei said.
"As simple as one plus one," Bronya described.
"Even simpler than one plus one!" Kiana answered definitively, her eyes filled with concern.
His symptoms seem more severe than any of ours...
Shu fell silent, starting to analyze the context of the trio's words in his mind.
A moment later, his face contorted again. "This 'simple'... it doesn't mean I'm bad at something, does it?"
This time, the others gasped.
"Shu, have you really forgotten everything?" Mei quickly moved away from Kiana's side. Clearly, Shu's situation was more serious now.
Not knowing what "leaving" meant, and now not knowing what "simple" meant...
Seeing their reactions, Shu finally understood his problem.
Others forgot memories related to specific people, while he forgot common knowledge and understanding, something different...
And he hadn't noticed it at all, just like how one forgets high school knowledge after graduation... You have an impression, but you just can't recall the specifics.
That was the case with "simple," while "leaving" was on another level entirely... He even felt like he was encountering a whole new world!
"Looks like I'm the most severe case now..." Shu sighed, an indescribable discomfort welling up inside him.
He first focused on recalling the usage of his [Hope] and [Wish], confirmed he still knew how to use them, then sighed at the others.
"In that case, I won't participate in planning the next steps. You guys make the plan, just bring me along..." Shu said helplessly, clutching his head as he sat down on the edge of the bed.
In his current state, not even knowing what "common sense" he had forgotten, if he missed something crucial while planning, everyone would be led astray by him.
"Mei, I'm counting on you," Shu said to Mei. Mei hesitated, then finally nodded. Watching Mei nod, Shu paused for a moment, then spoke again.
"This gesture... means affirmative, right...?"
Mei: "..."
It's even worse now... Did I even forget the meaning of some body language gestures?!
Clutching his forehead in distress, Shu completely lowered his head, saying no more.
Mei and Bronya looked at Shu's troubled state, unsure what to say, and could only start formulating a plan to leave this place.
The two looked at each other, Mei appearing somewhat awkward.
"Um... Hello?" Although various signs indicated she knew this gray-haired girl named "Bronya," Mei's upbringing still prompted her to greet Bronya.
Bronya paused. "Hello, Sister Mei."
Mei sighed sadly. Fortunately, she had plenty of experience cooperating with strangers. Even though she wasn't very familiar with Bronya now, she could still communicate smoothly.
Hopefully, I haven't forgotten any common sense myself...
---||---
Meanwhile, Kiana, having consciously withdrawn from the planning discussion, sat back down on the bed.
The kick Bronya gave her off the bed was delivered with real force, and unfortunately landed right on her vulnerable lower back. Her butt didn't hurt anymore from the fall, but her lower back still throbbed intermittently.
Kiana sat on the same bed as Shu. One clutched their lower back, the other clutched their head, neither making a sound.
Kiana had always been someone restless and quick to warm up to people. Especially knowing she was likely very familiar with this guy whose cognition was messed up, Kiana found it even harder to suppress the urge to chat.
But she had yelled at him like that earlier...
Kiana glanced down at her still aching lower back, and her confidence instantly returned.
Aiyah, no matter what, didn't she refrain from hitting him? That shorty Bronya kicked her away from Mei, kicked her off the bed, and pointed a gun at her.
She didn't even get angry about that, just felt a little wronged.
This guy named Shu could be the captain, could hang out with her; he couldn't possibly be petty, right!
...Probably not, right?
"Um... Sorry," Kiana's face reddened slightly as she mumbled, turning away.
Shu looked up, tilting his head slightly.
Kiana seemed aware her apology might be too quiet due to embarrassment, so she leaned in closer, afraid Shu wouldn't hear.
She still didn't dare bet that Shu was as nonchalant as she was, so she chose to start with an apology.
Shu looked somewhat baffled. "What?"
Kiana paused at Shu's question, then turned back, looking seriously at Shu. "Don't tell me you don't know what 'sorry' means?"
"Of course I know that..." Shu was somewhat speechless, but aware of his own condition, patiently explained. "Just, why are you saying it?"
"It's just earlier... I yelled loudly at you..."
"Just that?" Shu asked doubtfully. Kiana nodded embarrassedly.
Shu stared at Kiana for a couple more seconds. "Are you usually the type to apologize just for raising your voice a bit?"
"How could I?" Kiana shook her head. "I usually never apologize... uh, I mean, I usually don't apologize to others for things like that!"
"You yell loudly at me quite often," Shu said with a sigh.
Kiana's eyes widened.
"You even steal my food."
Kiana's eyes widened even further. She looked at her own hands, then at Shu before her, exclaiming in surprise:
"Were we really that close?!"