"How did you lose your leg this time?"
The bartender asked Zeus, standing behind the long counter, serving drinks to customers.
"I was walking at the port where..."
"The last battle happened and there was an explosion near you and your leg got blown off — is that what you were going to say?"
"!!"
"It's getting really easy to predict your stories... you need to work on your lies again."
"Damn... the problem is, I've told you every lie I know, haven't I?"
The bartender looked thoughtful and then responded confidently:
"No, there are still many ideas you haven't used yet... like saying your leg got infected by a fast-spreading parasite and you had to amputate it."
"Damn it, how didn't I think of that!"
"The usual?"
"Yeah, anything non-alcoholic."
"Milk?"
"!! ...Of course not."
"Maybe some blood?"
"You mean berry juice... yeah, whatever."
"No, I mean real blood... There's a new drink product made from the blood of rare monsters. I heard those creatures are now farmable and some farms are helping them breed."
"What does it taste like? Sour or sweet?"
"A mix of bitterness and saltiness."
"That doesn't sound tasty."
"Trust me, it is... most people who tried it loved it."
"Forget it, I'm not drinking blood. Just give me some berry juice."
As Zeus was talking with the bartender, a young man suddenly put his hand on Zeus's shoulder and sat next to him.
"My friend! Long time no see. I heard your family banned you from going out… but I knew I'd find you here one day."
Zeus looked puzzled when he saw the man — not because he didn't recognize him, but because he looked familiar, like someone he knew before the two missing years from his memory… but he couldn't recall when or where they'd met.
Suddenly, Zeus's eyes widened and he grabbed the young man by the throat, slamming him onto the counter.
"You damn thief! I remember you!"
The man laughed and spoke with difficulty under the chokehold:
"Come on, man... You beat me up for that already… and I gave you your stuff back!"
The bartender confirmed:
"You two have been friends for over a year."
Zeus let him go, but some anger still lingered because he couldn't remember punishing this thief who had robbed him two months ago.
Well, now it's actually two years and two months ago.
The man coughed a little and caught his breath.
"Zeus, bro... We're close friends. When your memory comes back, you'll understand what I mean."
"There's no reason I should believe you… also, I doubt I'd be friends with a cowardly thief like you!"
"Man!! Didn't you hear Mr. Robinson? Tell him how many times we came here together."
"Hundreds of times."
"You hear that?"
Zeus looked at him suspiciously. Despite the clear truth, it was still hard to believe.
The man looked at Zeus's prosthetic leg and said, surprised:
"By the way, you stopped using that trick lately."
"Why?"
"You told me some greedy pig was charging you too much for prosthetics."
"Seems like we really were kinda close."
"What!! You still doubt that?"
Zeus didn't reply. Instead, he asked:
"What's your name?"
"You just stabbed my heart, man… You really forgot my name too?"
Zeus stayed silent. The man sighed and lightly punched his own chest.
"My name's Sam… and I promise you, my friend, I'll help you recover all your memories."
"Even the doctors couldn't do that. Good luck with that hopeless mission."
"I get why you're being cold… but don't underestimate me. I'm not a thief anymore — actually, you were the one who taught me how to stop and become better."
"Why would I do that?"
"Long story, I'll tell you later. For now, how about you meet the rest of our friends? I'm sure they'll be excited to see you."
Zeus looked around and saw Sam walking toward a far corner of the bar.
He lazily followed him and reached a round table in the corner where two young men and a girl in her twenties were sitting.
At first, they looked surprised to see him, then welcomed him warmly and shook hands one after another.
Naturally, each of them asked the same questions Zeus had grown used to lately — starting with:
"Don't you remember me?"
Except for Sam, Zeus didn't recognize any of them.
He sat on the couch next to Sam and asked what was really on his mind:
"So how exactly did I meet you guys?"
The bulky, bald man answered:
"We're all members of the Special Task Force."
Then the skinny, slightly tall man with long black hair tied back added:
"Specifically, the Secret Division."
"So, all of you are gene fighters?" Zeus asked with some surprise.
(Sam): "Yeah, most of us are level 2 gene fighters, and a few are mech pilots."
"Mech pilots? …That reminds me… where's that girl?"
(Sam): "Who?"
"A girl with long silver hair who pilots a white mech."
"Oh, right… You mean Beatrix. Yeah, you wouldn't remember. She's really hard to get close to or talk to… So, we're all just acquaintances to her, really."
"You were the only one she considered a real friend in the team," said the girl with long black hair and medium height, with soft facial features, in a somewhat indifferent tone before adding,
"...you could say she's a bit arrogant."
Sam chuckled and commented:
"Well, she is the best fighter among us, and she comes from a prestigious family… It's no surprise she's a bit full of herself."
Zeus felt confused. He was certain the Beatrix he met wasn't arrogant at all. She was quiet, calm, confident — but definitely not arrogant in a prideful way.
Zeus plucked a hair from Sam's head.
"
Then he spoke in a calm tone that caught everyone's attention.
"There's a fine line..."
(He held the hair between both fingers and raised it in front of his face)
"...this thin between arrogance and confidence. I think you're all misjudging that girl."
The girl laughed in annoyance and confidently replied:
"What would you know with your broken memory?"
"I may not remember much, but I've always had a good sense for telling good people from bad."
(Sam): "!! ...So, does your 'sense' tell you I'm a bad person?"
"You stole from me. I don't need my sense to know you're bad!"
"Do you usually ask your gut feeling for guidance!?" …Man, when are you going to realize that your overconfidence might ruin you someday?"
"!... Has it failed me once in the past two years?"
Sam was silent for a moment, but then replied with confidence:
"Yes, many times."
"Swear it on your grandmother's head if you're telling the truth."
"!! ...That's new. You usually ask me to swear on my mom's head."
Zeus laughed confidently:
"I knew I'd do that — so I switched it to your grandmother. See? My confidence won't fail me unless something unexpected happens."
"Believe me, it will — one day."
"What?! Are you hoping it does fail me? You just said it's failed me many times in the past. Why do you sound excited to see me fail?"
"! …You know what, let's drop this. I've never won an argument with you anyway."
At that moment, the girl received a phone call.
"What! You told me the race starts at 3 o'clock! …Fine, we'll be there soon."
(The tall guy with tied hair): "Did the time change?"
"Yeah, it starts at 2 instead."
Although Zeus didn't understand what they were talking about, he looked at the clock — it was 1:30 a.m.