'Duke?' Alex thought in surprise. 'That means that this world, or this country at least, operates on an aristocratic basis probably. As far as I remember, a duke was pretty high up in the chain of command.'
'Additionally, he said he was a High Mage. He said Mana Sources are important for Apprentices to become Adepts. I can guess with quite some certainty that Apprentices probably reflect Mages in the First Realm, while Adepts are Mages in the Second Realm. The Third Realm should logically be a Mage, which would make the Fourth Realm a High Mage, probably.'
'According to what he said, the hedgehog and the octopus are creatures of the Third Realm. The fact that he is in the Fourth Realm also explains how he could take care of them.'
'This is probably a real big-shot! Fuck, I can't believe I greeted him with a yo!' Alex thought.
"I'm sorry for my earlier disrespect, Duke Whirlwind," Alex said with a respectful tone.
Duke Whirlwind smirked a bit. "You know, it's customary to refer to a duke as your grace," he said.
"Oh, I'm sorry, your grace," Alex said. "I haven't talked to any nobles before. Please, excuse me for my negligence."
Surprisingly, the duke chuckled for a bit.
"You really don't get under people much, do you?" Duke Whirlwind asked.
"No, I don't, ehm, your grace," Alex said.
The duke chuckled again.
"You know, the your grace thing is antiquated. No one talks like that anymore. Referring to me with my title or simply by sir is already enough," the duke said with a slight smile.
The duke had been rather cold towards Alex at the beginning, but after he saw how innocent, gullible, and naïve Alex was, his mood brightened a bit.
It was rare to see a youngster that didn't try to lick his boots to get into his good graces.
"Oh, okay," Alex said, uncertain of how he should proceed.
"What's your name, young man?" Duke Whirlwind asked.
"I'm aargh!" Alex tried to say, but before he could even think about his name, a pain came from his mind. Alex grabbed the side of his head in pain.
Duke Whirlwind was surprised when he saw Alex's actions. The young man was genuinely in pain. Even his veins were seemingly popping out of the side of his head. This was a sign of pain and stress, and something like that couldn't be faked.
"Are you injured?" Duke Whirlwind asked neutrally. The young man obviously wasn't critically injured, which was why he wasn't very worried about him.
"No, it's just something that happens from time to time," Alex said as he took a deep breath.
"My name is Shang," Alex said.
"Shang?" Duke Whirlwind repeated with interest. "I've never heard of such a name. What about your last name, or is that your last name?"
"That's just my name," Alex said with a defeated voice.
He really didn't want to abandon his old name, but there was really nothing he could do.
How long could he even remember his old name?
By now, Alex hadn't thought of his actual name in forever. Whenever he thought of it, the pain would return.
This meant that essentially no one, not even he, had spoken out or thought about Alex's name in half a year.
When Alex wanted to introduce himself, his mind automatically went to the part in his mind where his actual name was located without even thinking about it.
It was like a closed door, suffused with powerful electricity.
Alex knew what was behind the door, but whenever he touched it, he would get hurt.
How long would it take for him to forget what was behind that door if he could never check it?
How long would it take until the door seemingly vanished into obscurity?
Alex knew that he still knew his name, but he actually didn't truly remember his name since he couldn't think about it.
This feeling was difficult to describe.
"Shang is my entire name. I don't have a first or last name. I am only Shang," Alex said.
Duke Whirlwind combed his beard in interest. "Someone with only one name. Are you from a farmer's or criminal's family?" he asked.
Alex sighed.
"I don't think I have a family," Alex said. "Ever since arriving in this world, I have been alone."
These words sounded very different to different people.
To Alex, it was the truth. This body had probably been created out of nothing. So, logically, this body couldn't have a family. He also hadn't met a human since arriving in this world, making him alone.
However, these words would be interpreted by different people differently.
Someone might think that Shang had had a clash with his family in the past, separating them.
Someone might think that Shang's family had died.
Someone might think that Shang was an orphan.
Someone might also think that Shang was simply a weak-willed child drowned in misery.
How did Duke Whirlwind interpret Alex's words?
He wasn't sure, but he guessed that Shang had probably lost his family in the past.
"That would explain why you don't have a last name. Who gave you the name Shang?" Duke Whirlwind asked.
"It was a man. I talked for him for a bit, and he bestowed the name upon me. There was no other name I could use, so I accepted his name," Alex said, carefully navigating the question with deceptive truth.
Maybe the God was known in his world?
Maybe the God was not very popular in this world?
What if someone knew the God and tried to experiment on Alex to find out more about the God?
Alex didn't want to talk about the God.
There were simply too many unknown variables.
Duke Whirlwind combed his beard in thought. "That's quite an unbelievable story, but I can't sense any falsehood coming from you."
"There's no reason for me to lie to you," Alex said.
Duke Whirlwind nodded.
"Why are you in my garden?" he asked.
"That's a difficult question to answer," Alex said. "The first thing I remember of this world is this wilderness. It's like this was where I started existing. I don't know anything about the world beyond this garden."
"However, I think I know the reason why I am here."
"I think I'm supposed to train in this wilderness and become more powerful before entering human society again," Alex said.
Alex had decided to go with a mixture of memory loss and training.
His answers were vague enough that a lawyer could interpret Alex's word in many different ways, allowing him to get out of any future questions by continually adapting the meaning of his words.
Duke Whirlwind raised one of his eyebrows as he kept combing his beard.
Then, Duke Whirlwind spoke more confusing words.
He was casting another spell.
Alex became more nervous since he didn't know what that spell would do.
When the Duke finished his spell, Alex felt some Mana enter his mind.
Casting the spell hadn't taken more than a second.
After a second, the Mana left Alex's mind again.
Duke Whirlwind's expression changed into a concerned one.
"Something's wrong with your mind," Duke Whirlwind said. "I don't have enough knowledge in the field of Soul Magic, Mind Magic, anatomy, Flesh Magic, or any other related Magic Category to pinpoint the issue."
"I can just say that something doesn't feel right when I glanced at your mind."
Alex's eyes widened.
"You can read my mind?!" he asked in shock.
Duke Whirlwind slowly shook his head. "No, I'm not nearly powerful enough to do that. I also don't specialize in these fields. The spell I used simply sends Mana through your mind. I can see what form the Mana takes when it goes in and when it comes out."
"I don't know what happens inside your mind, but I can infer some things based on how the Mana looked when it came out again. Some of the Mana came out differently than expected, which means that some things in your mind are not as they are supposed to be. That's the extent of what I can find out."
"So, I lost my memory?" Alex asked.
"That's a possibility," Duke Whirlwind said. "Your mind has been changed, either by a person, by an injury, by trauma, or by whatever."
Alex looked worried, but he was actually ecstatic inside!
pᴀɴdᴀ nᴏveʟ This was just the excuse he needed!
With this, he could simply say that he lost his memory, and even doctors and powerful Mages would be able to confirm his words.
It was perfect!
"Can my memory be recovered?" Alex asked.
"Unlikely," Duke Whirlwind said. "You would need someone very proficient in Mind Magic and Soul Magic. Such powerful Mages only work for the truly wealthy Mages. It would even prove to be a heavy strain on my finances to summon someone like that."
Alex sighed again, but he was actually happy that basically no one could take his excuse away from him.
"Anyway, you said you wanted to become more powerful?" Duke Whirlwind asked.
Alex nodded. "Yes, sir," Alex answered. "I think I can't practice Magic, but I also don't want to be a normal person. I want to become powerful!"
Duke Whirlwind nodded.
"I think you made a very wise decision in the past," he said. "I don't know if you have been born in my territory or not, but whatever the case, you are in the best territory for your goal."
"What do you mean, sir?" Alex asked.
"My close friend is the most powerful Physi in the world, and he has an academy for warriors and similar jobs not far from here. My presumption is that, before you lost your memory, you probably came here to train your combat experience before applying to the academy. It's a good decision."
"The academy's entrance exams are notoriously difficult for a reason."
Alex became a bit uncertain. "Should I train more for the entrance exam?"
Duke Whirlwind scoffed.
"You took down a High-Rank Ice Spear Bear."
"That's more than enough to join the academy."