Konrad woke with a start.
He sat up fast enough to make his head swim, gasping for air as he tried to stop his fall, but—
"You're awake, Master," Eyna announced in case he hadn't noticed.
Her soothing voice helped him calm down a bit, even if she only stated the obvious.
Konrad was in a familiar room. The temporary bedchamber by his temporary office that he should have sorted out ages ago. But he never had the time, had he?
Or the funds, for that matter.
Halaima was always broke, and he rushed to prove himself to the king. Or struggled for sheer survival. But those problems felt almost refreshing now, after that weirdness of—
"Master?" the girl repeated, her big, purple eyes filled with concern.
Was she always this beautiful? Her silvery-purple hair had grown long, her dark skin now unblemished. And she was filling out in all the right places, too.
Felt like he hadn't seen her in ages.
"I'm awake," Konrad claimed, limbs too heavy to get out of bed. "Had the wildest dream, though. Give me a moment to get ready. And, uh, what was today's agenda again?"
"Oh, you can rest easy, Master," Eyna stepped closer to tuck him back in under the covers.
"Like hell I can, Halaima needs—"
What did it need again? His memories were all fuzzy.
Didn't he free a bunch of smuggled slave kids? Then there were the preparations for the tournament, or—did that already happen? And the invasion, too. The food shortages.
"Lady Stella will take care of things, Master. You should take your time."
"Stella will?" Konrad repeated in disbelief.
Well, sure, the Church girl came in clutch when fighting Maou Midori, but she of all people?
Running things?
Wait. Yes, so he fought the Demon Lord, too.
"And your brother is taking care of your public appearances," Eyna dropped another bomb.
"Nimrod?!" If his dream of falling seemed weird, reality was even worse. "What's happening?"
"Let's not rush things, Master."
The girl's whisper was gentle, but she applied considerable force. She pushed him back down into the pillows and pulled the covers up to his chest.
The always sweet and gentle Eyna.
Something must have been very wrong if she could overpower him with such ease.
But fine, if Stella and Nimrod took care of stuff—
"Like hell it's fine," Konrad snapped, struggling a bit more. "Give me a report. Now."
The girl wouldn't let him go, but she paused for a blink. Confusion.
"Of what exactly, Master?"
Good question.
"Of this whole nonsense, Eyna. Those two never—"
"Did you hit your head?" she asked, cocking hers to one side.
Ouch. Did he?
Things were a mess for sure, and he had no idea what was real and what wasn't anymore.
"How long was I asleep?" he tried to start with something easier.
Eyna blinked, her purple eyes looking at the ceiling.
"Sorry, Master. I don't know. When Lady Liliana brought you, you were already asleep."
"Lily brought me?"
The name opened the floodgates. Memories he should never have forgotten rushed back.
But there was no time to feel ashamed—nor to be nostalgic.
"And where's Kaede?" he asked, finding some strength to push back.
He was up and sitting again, but met with even more confusion.
"Who's that, Master?"
Right. She translated her own name into Japanese when—
"I mean that redheaded girl who could turn into a huge ass dragon," Konrad corrected himself.
Eyna looked away and even blushed a little.
"T-that description fits Lady Liliana well, Master. But I'm not sure she'd like the way you said it. And she still hasn't returned since bringing you home. I mean, she's here, but—"
"No, I meant Maple," Konrad said, shaking his head. "Maple. You know Maple, right?!"
Her purple eyes bore straight into him as if considering how to say it.
"Your first wife said, and I quote, 'She was but an old and cringey copy of mine, you won't be seeing her around anymore.' And I'll leave it up to you to decide what that meant, Master."
First wife. Right. Lily was his wife. Why did he only remember marrying Gabrielle?
And of course, he knew that Maple was Lily, too.
But for the spirits, things got complicated, even without a weird dream to mess with his head.
"Won't see her around?" he pondered. "Something must have happened after all."
And he got that look again with the half-cocked head, as if he were a complete idiot.
"Of course, things have happened, Master. You don't remember at all?"
"Eyna, please. Stop teasing, and tell me," Konrad pleaded.
"W-well, I do not know, either," the girl admitted, wringing her hands. "But you were away for a whole month, and many thought the Demon Lord killed you in that terrifying duel."
"A month?!"
No, wait, that did match up with the timeline of his dream.
That's how long he played a high school student in Tokyo with Kaede and Maou Midori.
They even formed a punk-rock band to replenish their mana, and it felt so surreal now, but—
"That actually happened?"
They succeeded despite Lucifer being onto them. Using the Demon Lord's experimental time trap, they teleported out. But he still didn't know where or how, and what happened after?
"I don't know the details, Master," Eyna repeated. "But from what Lady Liliana said—"
"Where is she now?" Konrad interrupted, another set of memories returning.
He had met her.
Not only as Kaede, but also as Lily herself.
And when she disappeared from his arms. Yeah, Lucifer did something with the timelines.
But if Lily was back, why was Kaede gone?
If he could talk to her—
"Your wives secluded themselves in their chamber," Eyna noted. "They've erected a barrier nobody could breach. Not that we tried. They can be scary when you're not around, Master."
"Oh, they're scary when I'm with them, too," Konrad scoffed.
Oh well. Things still didn't make sense, but at least he knew that his memories were real.
Which meant—
"My sword. Did she bring it back with me?"
Eyna looked past him towards a corner.
"Um, she brought an oddly-shaped bag with you," she mumbled. Konrad followed her gaze to find his borrowed guitar case from another world. "We dared not touch it."
Then the reborn ES-335 must have been in it, too.
And also—
"What about Yuki-san?" he demanded, getting up at last, grabbing Eyna's shoulders.
"W-who?" she asked. She didn't recoil from the touch, but she sure was blushing hard.
Damn it. Did Lucifer take her?
"Was I the only one Lily brought back?" he tried again. "Or was Maou Midori, or a girl with me?"
"Another girl?!" Eyna's expression hardened. Fury? Jealousy? "You have a big enough harem as is, Master. And only half of it got the attention it deserved, if I may—"
Yep. Jealousy it was.
She caught herself, and her voice trailed off. But that sweet, dark-skinned beauty was right.
Konrad still wasn't sure what was going on, but he knew he wanted to hold her tighter.
And if he was back to be the freaking duke of Halaima—
His arms wrapped around her, and the girl let out a gasp before melting into his touch.
"I'll give you plenty of attention," he promised, taking in her warmth and familiar scent. "I'm back now, and I won't go anywhere. But I need your help to bring me back up to speed."