As the royal court proceeded, Yubi became aware that it wasn’t exactly the kind of court he had been expecting. While Loya passed judgements occasionally, the event seemed more focused on a number of official types making announcements and giving various updates. It was a meeting, essentially.

  Aiyaloya conducted the proceedings well. He had an effortless seeming control over the mood in the room. Just by raising his hand, he could get the crowd to quiet down and focus on a speaker. Occasionally he said something which elicited laughs from the crowd. If they were honest, then that meant he knew the room well enough to produce that reaction. If they were just playing along, then the room knew him well enough to answer when he asked for a reaction. Either way, everyone followed Loya’s lead. Between that and the crown, Yubi figured he was some sort of king.

  The speeches went a bit over Yubi’s head. The stimulation was enough to bring back some faint memories, but most of the meeting seemed to have prerequisites locked behind the dream powder pills he’d left in his room. One man, for instance, had stepped out of the crowd to give a speech on some new development in the design of something called a tulpa, which only Toi seemed eager to hear. It gave Yubi a lot of time to consider other things.

  Kyuzu started acting weird when I brought up Rio, who was accused of sabotage while I was away. These two things may be connected: how?

  The first thing she did was stop me from going to his room. I suppose that makes sense: he wasn’t there, he was here. Maybe she brought me here to show me the situation? Or could it be some freakish medical treatment to get me to remember more? In either case it would make more sense to just tell me what’s up with Rio and explain the purpose of the treatment.

  Moreover, neither of those fully explains her behavior. She was concerned about what Rio may have said to me, she was weirdly dismissive when I noticed how close the stairs were, and her reason for not coming in with me was… She said she didn’t have an invitation, but before that she brought up her name. Why would her name matter there?

  Yubi sighed and rested his chin on his hand.

  Rio’s accusation doesn’t make any sense either. What exactly is he accused of having sabotaged? That guard said a diagram was damaged in a way that… killed someone. So whatever was damaged, this “diagram” was likely the same kind of thing that sent me to the other world and which forms the basis of my treatment. If my memory diagram was damaged would I… die?

  He looked down at the academic, who was now holding up a sheet of metal.

  I remember hearing the word “tulpa”, even saying it. How can I not know what it means? This is ridiculous…

  He looked up at Loya, who did not seem impressed by the sheet of metal.

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  Your father’s name was… Ouyavaoya. I guess he was the previous king? I didn’t see his face yesterday, it’s a wonder his name comes to mind at all…

  Thus Yubi’s mind continued to drift. He considered his old title of “head strategist” from before he’d left, but realized he didn’t fully remember what that meant. He contemplated the chair to which Loya had directed him, and whether it made sense for an amnesiac to sit so near a king. He leaned back to look at the high ceiling. Why hollow out a huge underground room when a surface building of the same size would require moving less material?

  “All right, good work everyone,” Loya said, snapping Yubi back to attention. “Let’s have lunch. Bring out the table!”

  The two crowds on either side of the room stepped away from the central carpet. In an instant, a literal blink of an eye, the carpet disappeared and was replaced by an enormous table which spanned the length of the room.

  Yubi blinked in disbelief. Did that table just… appear? Out of nowhere?

  A moment later, chairs popped in around the table, answering his question.

  Loya stood up and turned to Yubi. “Is something the matter?”

  “Hmm?” Yubi eyed the door on the opposite side of the room, thinking of Rio.

  “You were just so quiet today.”

  “Oh, uh, I’m still recovering from the… thing.”

  “Recovering?”

  “Yes. Amnesia.”

  “Oh, I’m sorry to hear that. Memory loss is treatable if I recall rightly.”

  The bearded, armored man who had sat on Loya’s right side stepped forward. “Sir, let’s proceed to-”

  “Not now Gor, can’t you see I’m talking to Yubi?”

  A look of irritation spread across the man’s face as he turned and walked down the platform. Yubi watched him go, worried that he’d done something wrong.

  “Now then, when did you get back?”

  “I woke up yesterday and got some treatments for my memory from the head doctor and Librarian.” The moments of Loya sentencing Rio and sending away that Gor person overlaid his face. “Er… uh… they’re working very well. I woke up not knowing my name and now, look, here I am, fit as a fiddle!”

  “...pardon?”

  “I- doing very well. The treatments are going very well.”

  Loya nodded. “Makes sense. The Librarian knows some of the weirdest diagrams.” Loya stepped closer and lowered his voice. “I don’t know if you’ve remembered yet, but get a second opinion on your condition. Kyuzu isn’t the best at breaking bad news to people.”

  “Isn’t that… important for a doctor?”

  Loya laughed. “A healer heals. If you took half her genius, she’d still be the best around.” He turned and started walking. “Come, let’s have lunch.”

  Yubi looked at the door again. “Actually, I was thinking-”

  “It’s a shame, the situation with Rio. You were his friend, any idea why he did it?”

  Hurrying after, “Are you sure he did? If I’ve got the dates right, that would’ve happened on the last day of prayer. He couldn’t have done it while he was at church, right?”

  Loya shook his head. “You’re half right, Yubi. The timing is unlike him, but it doesn’t point in his favor. You and he always stood out during the ritual of prayer. Your absence didn’t change his habit. That’s why it was so strange when I and everyone else in attendance that day noticed he wasn’t there.”