As with all exceptional trees, Kyle had a small flaw.

When he woke up, he had no idea who he was.

Apparently, the magical beast that ate him was the type that spewed out bodily fluids of oblivion that could control the mind, and Kyle seemed to have drunk too much of that fluid.

Also, he was extremely shy.

It was partly because he lost his memory, which resulted in a personality change (though he did originally have a passive personality).

Putting all of that together, Kyle couldn’t meet people right away, and he avoided strangers.

He was always hiding somewhere, and naturally, it was difficult for him to properly participate in class.

“What a complete scrapped defect. Tsk.”

One of the teachers who brought the boy along with Mimosa said so whenever he saw Kyle.

‘The student with the least presence in the Forest.’

—That was Kyle.

Without even a name, he was often just called ‘that kid’ (though there was a name given by Mimosa, but no one cared).

Then one day, while all the other Trees were enjoying outdoor classes.

Kyle, after being scolded by the teacher, was trembling behind a tree.

A short shadow fell beside the tree.

“Hello?”

“.....”

“This friend behind the tree, why aren’t you playing?”

He knew this girl’s name. She was the model student, Annette.

They lived in different dormitories, so they rarely had contact with each other, but Annette was quite famous.

Every teacher praised Annette. Unlike him.

“Are you ‘that kid’? They say you can’t look into people’s eyes?”

“.....”

Kyle curled up without a word.

She continued speaking, her voice becoming a murmur.

“Are you a little silly?”

“..I-I’m not silly!”

“Oh! You spoke!”

“Hehe”, Annette laughed playfully. Then she asked what no one else had ever asked.

“Don’t you feel lonely when you can’t play with your friends?”

“.....”

Kyle didn’t answer this time either. When she asked if he was lonely, he suddenly felt lonely without limits.

It was two days later that Annette visited the dormitory where Kyle was staying.

Kyle was so shy that he used a bed in the corner, and he even hid behind the lockers when Annette came.

“Here. Take this.”

“.....”

Annette brought out a squirrel mask. A clumsily-made mask that showed off the child’s pitiful drawing skills to the fullest.

“It’ll be nice if you wear it?”

“.....”

“If you wear a mask, no one will be able to see you properly. You’re the only one who sees people. Isn’t that okay?”

As Annette said, it was fine.

She understood exactly Kyle’s psychology of wanting to mix with other people, but fearing their ‘eyes’.

Because Kyle was always hiding near the kids, even if he couldn’t mingle.

For Kyle, who has lost his memory, the ‘squirrel mask’ was the first present he received in his life.

No, it was the first time that someone cared about him.

Kyle wore a squirrel mask and went to class from then on, and mixed carefully among the other Trees.

Annette helped with that too.

“Hey, this squirrel wants to play with us too!”

“Wow.. I lwike sqwuiirels (I like squirrels).”

“Me too, me too.”

To the Trees, the baby squirrel felt quite friendly.

But of course—

“What, you’re wearing a weird mask. F*ck.”

Someone with silver hair and purple eyes spit out bitterly like a feral chihuahua, but he was soon suppressed by Annette.

“Heinrich!”

The silver-haired boy said, “Sheesh..” and bit his tongue. And there were no more curses.

‘I think Annette is pretty cool.’

Kyle thought.

‘I also want to be cool like Annette.’

Then one day, Kyle got the flu and was ill all day. He was afraid to take off the mask even though he had to take medicine (if he didn’t take it off he couldn’t eat), so the health teacher was very angry.

In the end, she said there was nothing she could do, and just left.

Click—

The door opened carefully, and small footsteps were heard. It was Annette.

Annette was holding something.

The sick baby squirrel behind the mask was so glad to see her. He grunted,

“What is that in your hand?”

“..A cool squirrel mask.”

Annette said that she had asked a Tree that had awakened ice-freezing magic to make this cool mask.

And she turned around while Kyle changed the mask.

As soon as he put on the new mask, his face, which was hot, became cooler. The fever on his forehead quickly came down.

In addition, he was able to take medicine while wearing the new mask.

“Now, this is apple syrup, a cold medicine. I like apples the most among fruits. Do you like apples too?”

“Yes..”

Actually, Kyle didn’t really care for apples, but from that moment on, he decided that apples were his favorite.

The medicine that Annette gave him was sweet, not bitter at all.

Enough for a small heart to beat.

Kyle has been fond of Annette ever since.

She was so good.

She was thoughtful, sweet, kind, warm..

But Annette was the center of all.

Everyone liked Annette.

In contrast, he was just a boy in a squirrel mask.

The only thing the little baby squirrel could do was to hang around Annette’s side all the time (surprisingly, no one knew he was there because he had no presence).

“My favorite fruit is apples.”

“Well, I want to have a smart pet. For now, that’s what I want the most.”

“I like my steak lightly cooked.. Ah, do the little ones not understand my taste?”

‘Annette is really cool.’

Her taste was somewhat mature, and it sounded really cool.

So he did not forget anything.

If he remembered Annette well, he believed that one day she would remember him too..

Then one day.

“—There you are, my son.”

Now, Bizet Winston has come to the Forest.

It had been a year since they met.

━━━━???━━━━

“If you promise me a secret oath, we will keep the information about your son.”

“That’s what I am hoping for, Madam Mimosa.”

To Bizet, who visited the Forest without anyone knowing, Madam Mimosa promised him strict secrecy.

It would be a futile scandal that the Winstons lost their son and found him in the Forest.

At the same time, the fact that a noble child was brought to the Forest would be a blow to the Forest’s image.

The two who had similar interests kept the matter a secret.

So Kyle returned to the Winston family.

The news that the little boy had found his parents was circulated little by little (there was a rumor that it was commoner parents), and as expected, that rumor quickly faded as much as his presence.

Kyle Winston received treatment.

It was a treatment for memory loss, and fortunately most of the memories came back.

But there was only one problem.

The family doctor said,

“In order for Kyle to safely regain his memory, we’ll have to erase all the memories during the time the amnesia occurred. In other words, all of what happened in the Forest.”

“But Kyle doesn’t want that.”

The doctor expressed displeasure at Bizet’s words.

“Then the two memories will collide and he will often suffer from severe headaches.”

Then, Kyle came out.

“It’s okay to have headaches, so please leave the memories of the Forest.”

“..Son, weren’t you saying that it hurts?”

The boy, who was still young, answered Bizet’s worries calmly.

“There are people I never want to forget.”

“.....”

“Even if I die, I don’t want to forget.”

Bizet decided to respect his young son’s opinion, and Kyle was able to get his old memories back while preserving his memories.

A boy who traded headaches for his memories of her.

But it was well worth it.

After a while.

After the death of the Winston family’s carrier animal, Kyle, the next successor, selected the next animal.

The animal he selected was a squirrel.

━━━━???━━━━

“Thank you for your help today, Mr. Kine.”

In front of <Little Bakery>.

After shopping, the two ate at a restaurant.

It was a restaurant frequented by lovers on a date, which Kyle had made a reservation in advance.

Annette had offered to pay as an apology for being late and as thanks for his labor, but the payment had already been completed.

She mumbled, “If I had known Mr. Kine would buy for me, I would have eaten more”, and Kyle laughed out loud at her because she was cute.

Afterwards, the two returned to the bakery side by side.

All the heavy stuff was carried inside by Kyle.

Kyle replied to Annette’s words of gratitude.

“..No. I was really happy to be able to help.”

“But I owe you so much for today.”

“Don’t say that.”

Happy, it was not an empty word. Kyle was happy every minute and second with her.

Annette looked back at him, rustling and sorting out the packages.

“But I have something to ask you.”

Kyle had a good expression on his face upon hearing that she wanted to ask him something.

Showing his Indian dimples, he said,

“Anything. Lady.”

“Why did you gift me an apple?”

“..Because you like it.”

Annette’s eyes narrowed.

“I never said I liked apples. Besides, you bought me lemon-flavored ice cream without even asking. At the restaurant, before I even made my choice, the steak came out just the way I like it. Mr. Kine, you know my tastes all too well. It’s like research.”

“.....”

“Did you really come to my bakery by chance?”

Slightly, Kyle’s expression paled. She was expressing displeasure.

Annette asked, hardening her face.

“Who are you?”