Prototype: Isekai'd

Chapter 13

"Something's bothering you, Agent?" Sertino remarked.

"Oh- sorry, don't mind that," Krass replied with a slightly nervous tone in his voice. "I just love... the design of your room!"

"Okay...?"

...

A few minutes have passed, and Krass finished his drink, setting the empty cup back on the tray. Clearing his throat, he leaned forward and spoke to Sertino.

"Now, let's discuss what we're here for."

He paused and gazed into Sertino's eyes.

"Based on our sources, you've found vital information when you tried to open the artifact; but you never told your superiors about this. That's been the cause of your expulsion from the Royal Research Academy. May I ask why you did that?"

Sertino went silent for a moment. He then spoke, "I've already forgotten about that knowledge years ago. But if you want to know, I remember writing down everything I saw when I opened that artifact for the first time... It's probably in the safe inside my bedroom maybe."

...

'How did you literally forget crucial things about that crest?! Are you sick in the head or something?!' Krass thought.

...

"Perhaps I need to clarify some things," Sertino continued. "Mysteriously, after I wrote on that notebook, my mind gradually began to forget everything I experienced." 

"After a few minutes, it was like I returned to when I started that operation."

"I don't know why, but perhaps it's due to me not being able to handle that newfound knowledge in my head."

"I remember reading the--"

"Hey hey hey, wait a second," Krass interjected. "Why do you keep saying, "remember"? Did you forget everything that happened at that point of time?"

"Oh, confused about that? Well, I enchanted myself with memory deletion due to those academy scholars using lie detection when they tried to interrogate me," Sertino explained. "That's why I almost can't remember the things I wrote down on that notebook. I activated that magic after I placed the book in the safe, and I never touched it until now."

...

'How did you even remember it if you deleted your memory? Is it perhaps...'

...

"Mhm," Krass was writing down everything he heard from the man on his notepad. "So, let me get this straight."

"You successfully accessed the artifact and gained it's knowledge."

"A little bit, yes," Sertino responded.

"After you wrote down everything you saw, it disappeared from your memory."

"Correct." -

"After reading what you wrote because you forgot it in just a moment, you placed it inside a safe and enchanted yourself with memory deletion magic to forget everything?..." Krass became confused at the end.

"Why didn't you just tell your superiors that you found something in that artifact?"

...

"It might've caused chaos in the kingdom if I did."

Silence engulfed the room until Krass spoke.

"Could you elaborate that? What do you mean chaos?"

"See for yourself. I wrote that on a notepad after I forgot everything. It confused me for a bit, but I reached a conclusion."