He pressed a hand to his chest. "It was warm and safe."

The moment Roxanna heard his words, she realized that whoever Azul’s parents were back then, they must have loved him with all their hearts.

But unfortunately, their precious son wasn’t able to remember anything about his past.

The gentle smile on Azul’s face slowly faded, just like the blurry memories slipping away from his mind.

"Why can’t I remember anything?" he asked, his voice filled with frustration. His brows pulled together as he tried so hard to hold onto those fading memories.

He wanted to remember the people who said he was their pride and joy.

He wanted to know his past before he came to the Vixeria Tribe, but the most important thing he wanted was—

—he wanted to go home.

"If you can’t remember it, then forcing yourself like this might not help," Roxanna said softly.

She reached out and held his face in her hands. "But just now, you remembered something after hearing the same words from me... so maybe you just need a trigger, something that can help bring everything back."

Azul blinked, looking a little confused. "A trigger?"

Roxanna nodded gently. "Yes, a trigger. Like hearing the exact same words again, but it could also be meeting people from your past, or going back to places connected to it."

She paused for a moment before adding, "You said you remember being at the beach, right? Maybe if we go there, it could help you remember more."

Azul opened his mouth as if he wanted to say something, but then he stopped. He lowered his gaze as he thought for a moment, then said softly, "I... don’t even remember where that beach is. No, actually... I don’t even remember how I ended up in the middle of the forest."

Roxanna finally lowered her hands from his cheeks, letting them slide down until she held his hands instead. "Do you also not remember anything when you see your sea collections at home? Or even when you look at the pearl you gave me?"

Azul slowly shook his head. "No, I don’t remember anything."

Roxanna tilted her head to the side, thinking, [If he can remember something because of a trigger, then shouldn’t those items be able to unlock his hidden memories?]

system suddenly spoke.

[There’s a chance that someone made Azul forget his past on purpose. And maybe... all the things he brought from his past have been covered with some kind of magic, so they can’t trigger his memories.]

Roxanna’s fingers tightened slightly around Azul’s hands.

[What do you mean?] she asked in her mind.

[Memory loss at this level doesn’t happen naturally,] the system continued. [The way his memories react to certain triggers, then fade again... it shows there was outside interference.]

Roxanna’s expression slowly turned serious. [Of course... something this big couldn’t just happen on its own. Someone must have done something to my Azul...]

Azul noticed the change in her face. "Roxanna?" he called softly.

She blinked, then quickly looked back at him. "Ah, sorry!" she said, forcing a small smile. "I was just thinking... what if someone made you forget your past?"

"Why would someone do that to me?" Azul looked at Roxanna in confusion. "I’m not that important."

Roxanna gave a small shrug. "We don’t know that for sure. Maybe you’re not... but maybe you are."

Azul let out a soft sigh. "Then I guess all we can do is keep guessing since I can’t remember anything."

"You can’t give up that easily!" Roxanna said right away. "I already promised to help you remember your past, so I’m going to keep that promise."

"How about we take a look at all your belongings in your hut?" Roxanna suggested.

"But I already told you... those things don’t remind me of anything," Azul said patiently. "It’ll just be a waste of time."

Roxanna nodded. "Maybe it will be, but there’s no harm in looking through everything carefully, even if it’s just one more time."

Azul didn’t say anything for a while. It was obvious he thought this wouldn’t lead to anything.

"Come on, Azul." Roxanna gently held onto the edge of his clothes, her voice sounding soft and pleading. "I really want to help you, so please... let me try, even if it’s just this once."

[Besides... maybe we’ll find something new,] she thought. [Sometimes things are hidden among other items. I’ve found that happen to me too.]

Since Roxanna looked so determined, Azul couldn’t help but nod. "Alright, we can do that." He quickly added, "But don’t be upset if we don’t find anything."

"I won’t!" Roxanna smiled brightly. "I just want to help. And it feels like our baby wants to help you too!"

Azul let out a small laugh when he heard that. He reached out and gently ruffled her pink hair. "Let me finish cooking first, then we’ll go to my hut."

Roxanna nodded eagerly. She wanted to help him right away, but Azul told her to wait for him.

"Just sit here and rest." Azul added, "You don’t have to do anything."

Roxanna puffed her cheeks a little. "But I want to help"

Azul glanced at her and smiled. "You are helping. Just by staying with me."

She blinked at that, then slowly relaxed. "Fine."

Roxanna sat quietly near the kitchen area, watching him move around as he finished cooking. The soft crackling of the fire and the simple smell of food somehow made the moment feel calm.

For a while, neither of them spoke, but even in the silence, it didn’t feel awkward. Roxanna rested her chin on her hand, and quietly watching Azul as he moved around.

She wondered in her mind, [If he remembers his past... will he still be the same Azul as he is now?]

[People can change depending on what they go through...]

[Even a psychopath could suddenly become kind if they lost their memories.]

The moment that thought crossed her mind, Roxanna quickly shook her head.

[But Azul isn’t a psychopath! I’m sure he won’t be that different from who he is now!]

The system chimed in, [But what if he was different, Host? Can you handle that?]

Roxanna frowned. [What do you mean, whether I can handle him or not? Of course I can! Besides, there’s no way I would divorce him!]

Azul, who was cutting meat, almost sliced his own hand when he heard the word "divorce." If his past was truly too terrible to remember and could bring trouble into their relationship, then maybe it would be better for him to keep it buried forever.

[No, wait, what I meant is—no matter what happened to him in the past, I will never leave him!]

[People may change, but their true nature can’t change that much!]

Even if a psychopath could become better after losing their memories, as long as they had the nature to hurt others, they would eventually do it again sooner or later.

That was why she believed, with all her heart, that Azul’s true nature couldn’t be that different from who he was now.

On the other side, Azul finally managed to continue his cooking more calmly.

Roxanna wouldn’t leave him no matter what happened, so he didn’t have to worry too much.

She wouldn’t leave him, so why did his eyes sting a little?

It didn’t make sense at all. He should have been smiling or he should have felt relieved, so why did he feel like crying instead?

After placing the pieces of meat on the grill, Azul wiped his eyes with his arm. He still couldn’t understand why he suddenly wanted to cry so much, even when he knew there was someone who wouldn’t leave him.

"Azul, what’s wrong?" Roxanna asked as she noticed he hadn’t moved for a while.

Azul quickly took a deep breath and answered without turning around, "I’m fine! It’s just... some spice got into my eyes."

But instead of making it better, his words only made Roxanna rush over to him.

"Spice?!" she said, her voice filled with worry as she quickly stood up and walked toward him. "Let me see!"

Before Azul could stop her, she was already standing right in front of him, reaching up to hold his face.

"Roxanna, it’s really nothing—"

"Stay still," she cut him off gently, her brows slightly furrowed as she looked into his eyes.

Azul froze in place as her warm fingers touched his skin.

"It doesn’t look that red," Roxanna murmured softly, tilting her head as she examined him more closely. "Then I think you’ll be fine. Just be more careful next time, okay?"

Azul smiled and nodded. "I will."

About half an hour later, Azul finally finished cooking. He placed all the food in the kitchen before heading to his hut with Roxanna.

"I actually don’t have many things," Azul said. "I just have those shells, and a few other things in this box."

He took a box from under his bed, and inside it were many items that came from the sea.