As I was trying to make sense of my question, a woman approached me. A brunette with rather long curly hair.
"Thanks for the help. You killed that dragon." The woman spoke to me sounding rather friendly. "I am Katlyn. And, you are?"
"No problem. I mean it's important to lend a hand to those in need. And as for who I am, my name is... Wait... who am I?" I asked. My mind was feeling overclocked as I tried to find an answer to her question. What is my name?
"Hey, is everything okay?" Katlyn asked in a worried tone as she tilted her head softly while leaning forward.
"H-huh...? Y-yea... yea.... everything is okay. It's all okay." I said in a hurried tone.
Just then a knight came forward.
"This is Rosalyn. She is one of the grandmaster of the royal knights." Katlyn introduced me this new woman. She was covered in armor from head to toe so it was difficult to make out her face for now. But then she took off her helmet revealing her blonde hair tied up in a bun and gray eyes. She looked battle hardened given the fresh bruises on her.
"Your help will not go unnoticed or unrewarded but... my... apologies, we have never seen you here before and that mask. You came out of the forest, so, forgive me but I can't help but be suspicious of you." Rosalyn's voice carried a sense of authority. It was confident and clear.
"Do you think I'm somehow connected to the stampede?" I wasn't planning on beating around the bush for now.
"Precisely." Rosalyn answered.
"I suppose it is a fair assumption but no. I'm not connected to it. Actually, I only came here because I saw dragon from afar." I answered.
"From... afar? Can you point to where?" Rosalyn asked and I pointed in the general direction to forest of delusion and wonder.
"From the forest beyond these wood? You are familiar with the kin of the moon?" Rosalyn asked. I assumed this is the wording they used for Arnebians?
I just nodded.
"The ones who look like rabbits, yes." I answered.
"The cursed moon is the only being who can make someone enter or exit the forest. Appearance of the moon, stampede and then a human entering and exiting the forest of delusion unscathed..." She spoke as she unsheathed her blade. "Coincidences I cannot ignore. I deem you as a potential threat to the nation. Take that mask of, state your true identity and purpose... or be ready to die."
"There's no need. I don't have plans to fight you... or anyone for the matter of fact. I am not lying when I say I don't remember my name." I answered but it seemed she didn't like my answer and so she lunged forward with her blade pointing towards me. I only barely managed to dodge it by dashing sideways. Given my almost cheating like stats, it seemed Rosalyn's experience was so far superior that my stats almost didn't matter. I can't heal and for that earlier attack, my HP was already down to 60% and a single hit from her would kill me so I had to play careful here.
"Miss Rosalyn, let's not just attack him!" Katlyn jumped in and stopped her.
"You don't know... That aura oozing from him. He is related to that moon goddess. These beings are born out of calamity and inherently brings disaster to those around them. His sudden appearance and that stampede. I simply cannot ignore it." Rosalyn spoke in a stern and secure voice.
"Rose... Let's take him to one of the camps. We can't ignore the fact that he did kill a dragon." Another knight jumped in. From the looks of it, the two seemed closed. "Oh... Sorry, I am Harry. Nice to meet you. I'm one of the five grandmasters. I'm the head of the fortresses on the west of our kingdom." He shook my head with a big smile. He seemed like those hero-type you see in fiction. Overly good and kind.
"I suppose it can't be helped then." I sighed. I knew this would lead to issues but I had to get to the bottom of this. I feel like I've forgotten everything and yet it doesn't feel out of place.
"So... what should be call you?" Harry asked nervously, maybe trying to not come off as offensive. Or maybe he is just a little awkward.
"If names don't matter much, I'll prefer calling him moonwither. Him being associated to the abyssal moon." Rosalyn spoke with utter disgust for my existence. It seemed she was absolutely livid that someone associated with the blood moon helped her nation.
"Rose... Keep your mouth shut." Harry intervened with a stern tone.
"I don't mind it. You can call me that." I said as I didn't want to prolong this any longer.
...
Once in the camps, I was taken to the biggest tent and made to sit in the middle. Rosalyn and Harry towered over me while the ones who seemed like outlanders just like me stood by the side in anticipation.
"So... what do you know? How did you escape the forest?" Rosalyn asked.
"Apparently, it was my fate. The moon goddess don't want her kin to leave the forest. To her, their innocence is her priority. Unlike you, I'm not from this world and so I have different set of rules." I answered.
"A-Aryan?!" One of the outlanders spoke but I didn't recognize that name."S-sorry. He was a friend of ours and didn't get summoned with us."
"He was not close to us so maybe the magic didn't have big enough area of effect." Katlyn spoke in a dejected tone.
"So why don't you remember your name?" Rosalyn asked.
"I don't know. To me, it seems natural so I don't feel any sense of urgency either." I answered. "But much of that, tell me, what is this world? All these monsters.... what exactly are they?"
"Yea, even we haven't been told." Katlyn joined in.
"There is this 'nameless logic' that seems to destroy an civilization once it reaches a certain requirements. The temple thought summoning outlanders would help. But so far it hasn't really done much. The moment you came, the stampede happened at a very short notice. Luckily the size wasn't big enough to do much damage but such incidents are becoming increasingly common through all the nations." Harry said.
"And what about this strange voice I heard?" Katlyn asked. "It asked me to fight the dragon and my body moved on its own."
"We have not heard of anything like that happening. So, my apologies, I don't know." Harry said as he thought about the voice. It could mean many things so for now he decided to not comment on it.
"So... tell me, what is the blood moon like?" Rosalyn had her hand on the hilt of her sheathed blade.
"She deeply loves the rabbit-kin. Apart from that, I can't tell you much. To her, their safety is paramount. But the stampede isn't caused by her. It's more of a side-effect. Her divine nature forces monsters to run away." I hoped it would clear up some misunderstanding.
"You expect us to believe that? And lets say we do believe that, it still doesn't help the fact that we are left to protect ourselves. So our stance on the whole thing doesn't change." Rosalyn scowled.
"I... suspected."
But before our conversation could continue, a monster ambushed us in the tent.
"HOW?!" Katlyn was utterly confused as we were in middle of a military camp. A monster should not have made it this far.
"T-that... badge. Is it Dan?" Harry was confused. "Even the outfit. Wait! Don't kill him!"
"Yes... Yes! Capture Dan! Someone get a rope while I subdue him!" Rosalyn hesitantly unsheathed her sword and brandished it at the monster.
"Dan? Who is Dan?" Trystan asked.
"A solider. Newly hired so fresh in memory. We have never seen something like this before. I'm sure the priest at the temple can help. Must be a curse from the crimson moon." Harry spoke. His voice unsure and wavering.
"You are assuming too much. Let me make decision in your place." I said before I launched myself at Dan slicing him in half as his lifeless torso fell onto the ground.