Chapter 211

Chapter 211: Memories

[Is ‍​‌‌​​‌​‌​‌‌‌‌​​‌​‌​​‌​‌​​‌‌‌​​​​​‌‌​​‌​​​‌‌​‌​​‌​‌​​‌​​‌​​‌‌​‌‌​​‌​​‌​​‌​‌‌​‌​‌​​‌‌​‌​​​​‌‌​‌​​​​‌‌​​​‌‌​‌‌​‌​‌‌​‌‌‌‌​​​​‌‌​‌​​‌​‌​​‌‌​​​‌‌‌‌​‌​​‌​‌‌​‌​​‌‌​‌​​‌​‌​​‌‌‌‌​‌​​​‌‌​​‌‌​‌​​​​‌‌​‌‌​‌​‌‌​​​‌​​‌​‌​‌‌‌​‌‌​‌​​​​​‌‌​​‌​​‌​​‌‌​‌​‌​​​‌‌​​‌​​​​‌​​‌‌​‌​​‌​‌​‌​​‌​​‌‌​‌​‌‌​​‌‌‌​​‌​‌‌​‌‌​‌​‌​​‌‌‌‌​‌​​​‌​‌​‌​​​‌​‌​​‌‌‌​​‌​‌​‌​​​​​‌​‌​​‌‌​‌​​‌​​‌​‌‌‌​​‌‌​‌​​‌​​‌​‌‌​‌‌‌​​‌​‌‌​‌​​‌‌​‌​​​​‌‌​​​‌​​‌​​‌​​​​‌​‌​‌‌​​‌‌​‌‌​​​‌​​‌​​‌​‌‌​‌​‌​​‌‌​‌‌‌‌​‌‌​‌​​‌​‌​‌​​‌‌​‌​‌​‌‌​​‌​‌​​‌​​​‌‌​​​​​‌‌​​​‌​​‌​‌​‌‌‌​​‌‌​​​‌​‌​​​‌​​​‌​​‌‌​‌​‌‌‌‌​​‌​​‌‌‌​​‌​‌‌​‌‌​​​‌​​‌‌‌​​‌​‌​‌​​​‌​‌​‌​‌​‌‌‌‌​‌​​‌​​‌‌‌​​‌​‌​‌‌‌​‌‌​​‌​​​‌‌‌​‌‌​​‌​‌​‌‌​​‌​‌​‌​‌​‌‌‌‌​​​​‌‌‌​​‌​​‌​​‌‌‌​​‌‌​‌‌​‌​​‌‌‌​​‌​‌​‌​​​‌​‌‌​​‌​​​‌​‌​‌‌‌​‌​‌‌​​‌​​‌‌​​‌​​‌‌​​​‌‌​‌​‌‌​​​​‌‌​‌​​​​‌​‌‌​​‌​‌​‌​​‌​​‌​​​‌‌‌​‌‌​​‌​​​‌‌‌‌​​​​‌​‌​​​‌​‌​‌​‌​​​‌​​‌‌​‌​‌‌‌‌​‌​​‌​‌​​​‌​‌‌​‌​‌‌​​‌‌​‌​‌​‌​​​‌​​​‌‌​​‌​‌​‌​​​‌‌‌​‌‌​‌​​​​‌‌​‌‌‌​​‌​‌​‌​‌​​‌‌​​‌‌​‌​​‌​‌​​‌​‌​‌​​​‌‌​​​‌​​‌​‌​‌‌‌​‌‌​‌​‌‌​‌‌‌​‌‌‌​‌​‌​​‌‌​‌​‌​‌​‌​‌​‌‌​‌​​‌‌​‌‌‌‌​‌​​‌‌‌​​‌‌​‌‌​‌​‌‌​‌​‌‌​​‌‌​‌​​​‌‌​​​‌‌​‌​‌​‌‌​​‌​‌​‌‌​​‌‌​‌​‌‌​‌‌​​​‌‌​​‌‌​​​‌​‌​‌​​‌​​‌​​​​‌‌​‌​‌​​​‌​‌​‌​‌​‌​‌‌​​‌​​​‌​‌​​​‌​‌​‌​‌‌‌​‌‌​‌‌​​​‌​​‌​​‌​​‌‌​​‌​​‌​‌​‌​‌​‌‌​‌​‌​​‌​​‌​‌​​‌​​‌‌‌​​‌‌​​​‌​​‌‌​‌​‌‌​‌‌‌‌​​​​‌​​‌​​‌​‌‌​​​‌‌​‌​‌​‌‌​​‌‌‌​​​​​‌‌‌‌​​‌​‌​‌​‌​‌​‌​‌​‌‌‌​‌‌‌​‌​​​‌​‌​​​​​‌​‌​​‌‌​‌​​‌​​​​‌​‌​‌​‌​‌‌‌​‌‌​​‌​‌​​​‌​​‌‌​​​​​‌‌‌​‌​​​‌​​​​‌‌​‌​​‌​‌‌​​‌‌​​‌​​​‌‌​‌​​​‌‌‌​‌‌​​‌​‌‌​​‌​‌‌​‌‌‌​​‌​​​‌​‌​​‌‌​​‌​​‌‌​​​​‌​​‌‌​​‌​​‌​​‌‌‌​​‌‌​‌​​‌​‌‌​​​‌‌​​‌‌​​‌‌​‌‌​‌​​​​‌​‌​​‌​​‌​‌​‌​‌​‌​‌​‌​‌​‌​​‌​‌​​​‌‌​‌‌​​‌​​‌​‌‌​​‌‌​​​​​‌​‌‌​‌​​‌‌‌‌​​‌​‌‌​​​‌‌​​‌‌​​​‌​‌‌​‌‌​​​‌​‌​‌‌‌​‌‌​​​‌​​​‌‌​​‌​​‌‌‌‌​​​​‌‌​‌‌​​​‌​‌​​‌​​​‌‌​​​​​‌​‌‌​‌​​‌​​‌​​​​‌​‌​‌‌​​‌‌‌‌​​‌​‌‌‌​‌​​​‌​‌​‌‌‌​‌​​‌‌​​​​‌‌​​​‌​‌​​‌​‌​​‌​​‌‌‌‌​‌​‌​​​‌​​‌‌​​‌​​​‌‌‌​​​​‌‌‌​​‌​​‌​‌​‌‌​​‌‌​‌‌​​​‌‌​‌​​​​​‌‌​‌​​​‌​​‌‌​‌​‌‌​‌​‌‌​‌‌​​​‌‌​​‌‌​‌​‌​‌‌​​​‌​​‌‌​‌‌​‌​‌​‌​​‌​​​‌‌​‌‌​​‌​​‌‌‌​​‌​​​‌​‌​‌​‌​​‌​​‌​‌​‌​​​‌‌​​‌​‌​‌​‌​‌‌​​‌​​​‌‌​​‌​​​‌‌​​‌‌​​‌​​​‌​‌​‌‌‌​‌​​‌‌‌​​‌‌‌‌​​‌​‌​​‌‌​‌​​‌‌​​​​​​‌‌​‌​‌​‌​​‌‌​​​‌​‌‌​‌​​​‌‌​​​​​‌​​​‌‌​​‌​​‌‌​‌​‌​​‌​‌‌​​‌‌​​​‌​‌​‌​​‌​​‌​‌​​​​​‌​‌​​‌‌​‌​‌​‌​​​‌‌​​‌‌‌​​‌‌​‌​‌​‌​‌​‌‌​​‌​​​‌‌​​‌‌​‌‌​​​‌‌​‌‌‌​​‌​‌​​​​​‌​‌​‌​​​​‌‌​​​​​‌‌​‌​​‌​‌​​‌‌​​​‌​​​​‌‌​‌​​‌​‌​​‌‌‌​‌​​​‌​‌‌​​‌​‌​‌​‌‌‌​‌​​‌‌​‌​‌‌​‌​​‌​‌​​‌‌‌‌​‌‌​‌​​‌​‌​​‌​​‌​​‌‌​‌​‌​‌​​‌‌‌​​‌‌‌‌​‌​​‌​​‌​​‌​‌‌‌‌​​​​‌​​‌‌‌​​‌‌‌‌​‌​​‌‌​​‌‌‌​​‌‌​​​​​‌​​‌‌​‌​‌‌​‌​‌​​‌​​‌​​‌​​‌‌​​​​​‌​​‌‌​‌​​‌‌​​‌​​‌​‌‌​​‌​​‌‌​​​‌​‌​‌‌​‌​​‌​‌​‌​​​‌‌​​‌​​​‌‌​‌​‌‌​‌​​‌‌​‌​‌‌​‌​‌​​‌‌​‌​‌‌​‌‌‌‌​‌​​‌​​‌‌‌‌​‌​‌​‌​​​‌​‌​‌​‌​​‌‌​​‌‌​‌​‌‌​‌​​‌‌​‌​‌​​‌​​​​​‌​​‌‌​‌​​​‌​​‌‌‌​​‌​‌​‌​​​‌​​‌​​‌​​‌‌​​‌‌​‌​​‌‌​‌​‌​​​‌‌‌​‌​‌‌​​‌​​‌‌​​​​​‌​​‌‌‌‌​‌​‌​‌​​​‌​​​​‌​​‌‌​‌​​​​‌​​‌‌‌​​‌​‌​‌​​​‌​‌​‌​‌​​‌‌​​​​​‌​​‌‌‌​​​‌‌​​‌​​‌​‌​‌‌​​‌‌​‌‌​‌​‌​‌‌​​‌​‌​‌​‌​​​‌​​‌​​‌​​‌‌​​‌‌​‌​‌‌​‌​​‌​‌​‌​​​‌​​‌‌‌​​‌‌​‌​​‌​‌​​‌‌‌‌​‌​‌​‌​​​‌​​‌‌‌​​‌‌​‌​‌​​‌​​‌‌‌​​‌‌​‌​‌​​‌​‌‌​​‌​​‌‌​​​‌​‌​​‌‌​‌​‌‌​‌‌​‌​‌​​‌​‌​​‌‌​‌‌​​​‌​​‌‌​‌​‌​​​‌​​​‌​‌​‌​‌​​‌‌​‌​‌​‌​‌‌​‌​​‌​‌​‌​​​‌​‌‌​​‌​​‌‌​​‌‌​‌​​‌‌‌‌​‌​‌​‌​​​‌​‌​​​‌​​‌‌​​​​​‌​​‌​​‌​‌‌​‌​​‌​‌‌‌​‌‌‌​‌‌​‌​​‌​‌‌​​‌​​​‌​​​‌‌‌​‌​​​‌‌​​‌‌​‌‌‌​​‌​​‌​​‌​‌‌​‌​‌​​‌‌​‌‌‌‌​‌‌​‌​​‌​‌​​‌​​‌​‌‌​‌‌‌​​​‌‌​​​​​​‌‌‌‌​‌‍no one there?]

Ratel ‍​‌​‌​‌​​​‌‌​‌​​​​‌‌​​‌​‌​​‌​​​​​​‌‌​​​​‌​‌‌​​‌​​​‌‌​​‌​​​‌‌‌​​‌​​‌‌​​‌​‌​‌‌‌​​‌‌​‌‌‌​​‌‌​​‌​​​​​​‌‌​​​​‌​​‌‌​‌​​​​‌‌​‌​​​‌‌​​​​‌​​‌‌​​​​​‌‌​​​​‌​​‌‌​​‌​​‌‌​​​‌‌​‌‌​​‌‌​​​‌‌​​‌​​​‌​​​​​​‌‌​​‌‌​​‌‌​​‌​‌​‌‌​‌‌​​​‌‌‌​‌​​​​‌​​​​​​‌‌‌​​‌‌​‌‌‌​‌​​​‌‌‌​​‌​​‌‌​​​​‌​‌‌​‌‌‌​​‌‌​​‌‌‌​‌‌​​‌​‌​‌‌​‌‌​​​‌‌‌‌​​‌​​‌​​​​​​‌‌​​‌‌​​‌‌​​​​‌​‌‌​‌‌​‌​‌‌​‌​​‌​‌‌​‌‌​​​‌‌​‌​​‌​‌‌​​​​‌​‌‌‌​​‌​​​‌​‌‌‌​‍silenced his breathing out of habit and placed his hand on the hilt of his sword.

Even ‍​‌​‌​‌​​​‌‌​‌​​​​‌‌​​‌​‌​​‌​​​​​​‌‌​​​​‌​‌‌​​‌​​​‌‌​​‌​​​‌‌‌​​‌​​‌‌​​‌​‌​‌‌‌​​‌‌​‌‌‌​​‌‌​​‌​​​​​​‌‌​​​​‌​​‌‌​‌​​​​‌‌​‌​​​‌‌​​​​‌​​‌‌​​​​​‌‌​​​​‌​​‌‌​​‌​​‌‌​​​‌‌​‌‌​​‌‌​​​‌‌​​‌​​​‌​​​​​​‌‌​​‌‌​​‌‌​​‌​‌​‌‌​‌‌​​​‌‌‌​‌​​​​‌​​​​​​‌‌‌​​‌‌​‌‌‌​‌​​​‌‌‌​​‌​​‌‌​​​​‌​‌‌​‌‌‌​​‌‌​​‌‌‌​‌‌​​‌​‌​‌‌​‌‌​​​‌‌‌‌​​‌​​‌​​​​​​‌‌​​‌‌​​‌‌​​​​‌​‌‌​‌‌​‌​‌‌​‌​​‌​‌‌​‌‌​​​‌‌​‌​​‌​‌‌​​​​‌​‌‌‌​​‌​​​‌​‌‌‌​‍though he knew it was a bodiless fragment of memory, he could not help being wary.

El, ‍​‌​‌​‌​​​‌‌​‌​​​​‌‌​​‌​‌​​‌​​​​​​‌‌​​​​‌​‌‌​​‌​​​‌‌​​‌​​​‌‌‌​​‌​​‌‌​​‌​‌​‌‌‌​​‌‌​‌‌‌​​‌‌​​‌​​​​​​‌‌​​​​‌​​‌‌​‌​​​​‌‌​‌​​​‌‌​​​​‌​​‌‌​​​​​‌‌​​​​‌​​‌‌​​‌​​‌‌​​​‌‌​‌‌​​‌‌​​​‌‌​​‌​​​‌​​​​​​‌‌​​‌‌​​‌‌​​‌​‌​‌‌​‌‌​​​‌‌‌​‌​​​​‌​​​​​​‌‌‌​​‌‌​‌‌‌​‌​​​‌‌‌​​‌​​‌‌​​​​‌​‌‌​‌‌‌​​‌‌​​‌‌‌​‌‌​​‌​‌​‌‌​‌‌​​​‌‌‌‌​​‌​​‌​​​​​​‌‌​​‌‌​​‌‌​​​​‌​‌‌​‌‌​‌​‌‌​‌​​‌​‌‌​‌‌​​​‌‌​‌​​‌​‌‌​​​​‌​‌‌‌​​‌​​​‌​‌‌‌​‍who had settled on Ratel’s shoulder, watched his serious side profile from the corner of his eye and gauged his reaction.

With ‍​‌​‌​‌​​​‌‌​‌​​​​‌‌​​‌​‌​​‌​​​​​​‌‌​​​​‌​‌‌​​‌​​​‌‌​​‌​​​‌‌‌​​‌​​‌‌​​‌​‌​‌‌‌​​‌‌​‌‌‌​​‌‌​​‌​​​​​​‌‌​​​​‌​​‌‌​‌​​​​‌‌​‌​​​‌‌​​​​‌​​‌‌​​​​​‌‌​​​​‌​​‌‌​​‌​​‌‌​​​‌‌​‌‌​​‌‌​​​‌‌​​‌​​​‌​​​​​​‌‌​​‌‌​​‌‌​​‌​‌​‌‌​‌‌​​​‌‌‌​‌​​​​‌​​​​​​‌‌‌​​‌‌​‌‌‌​‌​​​‌‌‌​​‌​​‌‌​​​​‌​‌‌​‌‌‌​​‌‌​​‌‌‌​‌‌​​‌​‌​‌‌​‌‌​​​‌‌‌‌​​‌​​‌​​​​​​‌‌​​‌‌​​‌‌​​​​‌​‌‌​‌‌​‌​‌‌​‌​​‌​‌‌​‌‌​​​‌‌​‌​​‌​‌‌​​​​‌​‌‌‌​​‌​​​‌​‌‌‌​‍a sword in one hand, Ratel moved quietly and quickly while rapidly examining his surroundings.

The ‍​‌​‌​‌​​​‌‌​‌​​​​‌‌​​‌​‌​​‌​​​​​​‌‌​​​​‌​‌‌​​‌​​​‌‌​​‌​​​‌‌‌​​‌​​‌‌​​‌​‌​‌‌‌​​‌‌​‌‌‌​​‌‌​​‌​​​​​​‌‌​​​​‌​​‌‌​‌​​​​‌‌​‌​​​‌‌​​​​‌​​‌‌​​​​​‌‌​​​​‌​​‌‌​​‌​​‌‌​​​‌‌​‌‌​​‌‌​​​‌‌​​‌​​​‌​​​​​​‌‌​​‌‌​​‌‌​​‌​‌​‌‌​‌‌​​​‌‌‌​‌​​​​‌​​​​​​‌‌‌​​‌‌​‌‌‌​‌​​​‌‌‌​​‌​​‌‌​​​​‌​‌‌​‌‌‌​​‌‌​​‌‌‌​‌‌​​‌​‌​‌‌​‌‌​​​‌‌‌‌​​‌​​‌​​​​​​‌‌​​‌‌​​‌‌​​​​‌​‌‌​‌‌​‌​‌‌​‌​​‌​‌‌​‌‌​​​‌‌​‌​​‌​‌‌​​​​‌​‌‌‌​​‌​​​‌​‌‌‌​‍corridor, without a single person in it, was still silent.

Even though there was no way a mere memory could have read his presence, which meant the owner of that voice had someone nearby he was supposed to meet.

[I asked if someone was there.]

Once again, the low, irritated voice, which nevertheless carried dignity, searched for a visitor.

Realizing there was no point in waiting here any longer, Ratel moved his feet without hesitation.

When he climbed the stairs and arrived on the upper floor, a peculiar structure with only a single room was revealed.

[I already know you’re outside. Come in.]

The same voice came through the slightly opened crack of the door.

To confirm the owner of the voice that was so anxiously calling someone, Ratel tried to turn the handle and open the door.

If only a hand that appeared from behind him had not overlapped with his own.

No, to be precise, it had not overlapped.

The stranger’s hand passed through Ratel’s hand and grabbed the doorknob.

At that strange sight, Ratel was surprised for only a very short time.

Without hesitation, he swung the sword in his right hand.

But his sword cut nothing.

Along with the sensation of cutting empty air, Ratel moved away from the door and widened the distance.

Then he confirmed the identity of the uninvited guest who had appeared without a sound.

It was a tall man.

Nothing could be seen of him except the hair visible through the black robe pulled over him.

Ratel did not bother speaking to him.

Instead, he lowered his sword and moved a little closer to the man.

Then he reached out and tried to grab his shoulder.

As expected, Ratel’s hand did not touch his shoulder and passed through his body.

At the strange sight, as if his hand were embedded in the man’s shoulder, Ratel frowned and pulled his hand back.

While he felt strange at the fact that, despite the vivid appearance that seemed to possess weight and density, he could not touch even the tip of a finger, the squirrel that had obediently stood on Ratel’s shoulder followed the stranger into the room.

When Ratel followed him into the room, the conversation between the two that had already begun reached his ears.

The man wearing the robe, and another person.

Ratel felt his heart stop for a moment at the man’s platinum blond hair, so bright it was almost white.

He was an Imperial Family member.

Wearing a dark red robe, he had on a thick outer garment that was not flashy, but looked to be of fine quality.

His face, which looked to be in his mid-thirties, somehow seemed familiar.

Among the Imperial Family members Ratel had seen until now, he looked the oldest.

His age was probably greater than what his appearance showed.

Because the Imperial Family hardly aged.

Even if that was an illusion, Ratel was considering whether he should attack when the Imperial Family member’s voice came.

[It has been a long time.]

It was a voice mixed half with sarcasm and half with playfulness.

[It should not be a length of time you would call long.]

A blunt voice answered.

[One day feels like a year, and I have not seen you for a year, so how long do you think that feels?]

At his answer, the black-haired man laughed slowly.

[It seems you diligently oiled your tongue for the past year.]

At the man’s answer, the nameless Imperial Family member gave a bitter smile this time.

His eyes narrowed, and thin wrinkles formed at their corners.

For a moment, feeling as if he had glimpsed the years the man had passed through, Ratel felt strange and waited for his next words.

[What about you? In the past year, have you properly accomplished what you wanted?]

The Imperial Family member asked.

[Yes. There is not much left now.]

The man answered calmly and lifted his arm.

The sleeve of his robe slid down slightly, revealing his arm.

What is he trying to do?

Ratel frowned, unable to understand the man’s behavior of suddenly showing his arm, but then his mouth opened as he watched the arm gradually change shape.

In an instant, fur sprouted from the man’s arm, which had left behind the form of a human.

Fingers twice as long and thick as his original arm lengthened, and sharp claws grew from their tips.

[......]

The Imperial Family member was silent for a long while.

His eyes wandered through the air as if lost.

[Do you still have regrets?]

The black-haired man, who lowered his arm, asked.

His hand had already returned to its original state.

Ratel was curious about what they had accomplished and what they regretted, but he could not cut into the conversation and ask.

Their conversation had already ended long ago, and what was unfolding before his eyes was, strictly speaking, not a conversation, but something like traces of the past.

Ratel moved toward the two facing each other.

And when he came close enough to examine the nameless Imperial Family member’s face in detail, the man finally opened his mouth.

[I have neither regret nor attachment. Changing the world merely requires that much sacrifice.]

His face as he answered was filled with firm resolve.

Ratel felt the atmosphere lighten a little.

He could tell that it was relief caused by the Imperial Family member’s answer.

Though he did not know whose relief it was, or what it was about.

Ratel wanted to see the black-haired man a little more closely.

However, no matter how he tried to pull off his robe, nothing was caught in his hand.

After Ratel’s empty grasping continued two or three times, a voice came from inside the robe.

[Then I shall go now.]

Ratel was not the only one flustered by the sudden announcement of farewell.

The flustered Imperial Family member hurriedly grabbed his arm.

[What? You are leaving right away? What did you come here for?]

[To give a progress report.]

The man answered calmly, then seemed to remember something, made an ah sound, and rummaged through his pocket.

[I nearly forgot this.]

The man took something from his chest and dropped it onto the Imperial Family member’s hand.

The man who confirmed the object’s identity must have felt even more absurd than Ratel.

[You really came to give me this? This? You are not mistaken about something, are you?]

He asked again while looking at the acorn that had fallen onto his hand.

It was small and glossy, but not yet ripe, so a green color remained.

[It must have been difficult to find something this perfectly unripe......]

The Imperial Family member muttered while tossing the fruit in his hand up and catching it.

[The color was exactly the same as your eldest daughter’s eyes.]

At the man’s answer, the Imperial Family member caught the acorn he had tossed into the air again and examined it closely.

Then, before long, he burst into laughter.

[Hahaha, usually people say they are like emeralds. This is the first time I have received something like this. Still, I understand. No jewel would be exactly the same as that child’s eyes to this degree.]

[Give it to your daughter. She seemed to like her eyes very much.]

[She is past the age of playing with acorns. If I give this to her, she will think I have gone senile.]

The Imperial Family member answered after barely stopping his laughter, then seemed to find even that funny and burst into laughter again.

[It seems I chose the wrong gift. Next time, I will bring an emerald. This time, just think of it as me coming to give a report.]

At those calm words, the Imperial Family member burst into even louder laughter, as if he could not hold it back.

[Enough. Let us say I have gone senile once. Instead, say that you gave your report while coming to see our faces. Come, my grandchildren like you very much.]

He put his arm around his friend’s shoulder.

Ratel had never seen an Imperial Family member act so familiarly toward someone who did not share his own blood.

That natural appearance was not something made by someone’s coercion, but clearly based on the trust between the two of them.

The Imperial Family member and the man passed by Ratel and crossed the room.

Ratel tried to confirm both their faces, but the man had pulled his robe down too deeply, so he could not.

Ratel, who had reached toward the man’s robe without realizing it, cursed between his teeth as he looked at his hand passing through him.

“Squeak!”

El, who had been watching the two with Ratel, hurriedly struck Ratel’s calf and shot forward.

When Ratel frowned, unable to know why the small animal was hurrying, El waved his hand as if asking what he was doing standing still.

At the same time, the Imperial Family member grabbed the doorknob.

It was the moment Ratel took a step, having decided to go ahead of him.

[Ah, wait a moment.]

The platinum blond hair moved like a wave as the man turned around.

The moment Ratel thought their gazes had met, the man stretched his hand forward.

[The light should not be left on.]

At the mutter, every light in the room vanished.

In the darkness, the door opened along with the sound of the doorknob turning.

Before the door closed, Ratel quickly slipped outside.

Click.

The sound of the door closing rang behind his back.

But what spread before his eyes was only a silent, empty corridor.

No matter how he looked left and right, the two vanished men were nowhere to be seen.

[Is no one there?]

At the familiar voice ringing from behind him, Ratel, who had been stupidly scanning the corridor, let out a deep sigh as he stood.

It seemed this memory went only this far.

And that meant he would have to experience this short conversation several times going forward.

***

“Hey, wake up already.”

The whispering voice was quiet, but it had a sharp edge to it, enough to haul up the mind that had briefly sunk into drowsiness.

Opening my eyes, I reflexively checked Adol, who had been sleeping beside me.

Thankfully, the kid was still sleeping without knowing the world.

Though his eyelids were swollen like mosquito bites.

Looking at that state made me feel as if my nerves, which had briefly stood on end, were settling back down.

“Looks like them saying you’re insane wasn’t complete nonsense after all. Or did your ears go bad? I was the one talking, so why are you looking at the one sleeping?”

When I turned my head in the direction of the voice that had woken me muttering again, I saw a familiar Werewolf looking me over this way and that.

It was the one who lived in the tent Archie had taken me to.

Recalling how she had hidden the human she lived with behind her as soon as she saw Archie, I raised my body.

Judging by the dim dawn sky and the quiet surroundings, it seemed the bastards’ morning had not begun yet.

Then the fact that she secretly came all the way here and woke me up was not because of an order or duty.

“Empty-handed?”

When I asked while looking at her hands holding the bars, the Werewolf raised one eyebrow.

“What?”

“You came here like this because there’s something you want, didn’t you? So I’m asking if you came empty-handed.”

At my firm expression of intent that if she wanted something, I would not help with an empty mouth, a hollow laugh burst from the other party’s mouth.

“Right. From the first time I saw you, your eyes did look abnormal. Is that why Archie treats you so special?”

“I’m planning to become even more special from now on.”

He’ll probably take special care in screwing me over.

Remembering the fact that I had left that bastard half out of his mind, I turned my attention back to the Werewolf before me.

“If your hands are empty, you can just move something else hard. I’ll accept your proposal.”

“What? Why do your whims change like porridge boiling? Do you even know why I came......?”

“You came because of that human living with you, didn’t you?”

The eyes examining me as if measuring whether I was in my right mind shook.

“What are you? Why do you say that so casually? If you think it’s funny that I, a monster, am fretting like this over a single human......”

“I’m getting tired of those words too. Honestly, to my eyes, monsters, humans, animals, and the Imperial Family are all much the same.”

There had been times when I recognized them as different beings, but right now, it felt fine to lump them all together under the word living creatures.

Perhaps because I had transformed into a monster once, or perhaps because I had learned something from the orcs, everything in the world felt close and far at the same time.

Maybe my senses had become truly strange because I had transformed into too many different things.

“How is that the same? I’m a monster, and that bastard is human......”

I cut off the bastard, who was about to go on boringly about monsters and humans, and shifted the direction of the conversation.

“So, what do you want? Do you want to run away from here with that human?”

She flinched at my tone, which did not hide my boredom, but soon opened her mouth again.

“......No. No.”

The bastard moved her lips as if the words would not come out well, then squeezed her eyes shut.

“I don’t even wish for that. I only want him to get out of here. It’s fine if he never returns to this place again.”

“I was right.”

“What?”

At my mutter that did not connect to the conversation, she asked back.

“Human, monster, animal, or Imperial Family, everyone loses reason when something important appears.”

Even though it was a kind answer, an exhausted look appeared on her face.

“You’re saying you want him to run away from Archie, right? I’ll help.”

Running away from a bastard with not much lifespan left would happen anyway even if I did not specifically grant it.

Swallowing the fact that was favorable to me, I answered, and joy, confusion, and suspicion mixed together on the Werewolf’s face.

“Th-then what do you want from me?”

At the bastard asking cautiously, I kindly raised the corners of my mouth.

Whether it would look like kindness from the position of the one watching, I did not know.

“It’s nothing difficult. Just keep pretending to follow Mona behind Archie’s back, like you are now.”

Whether the bastard’s face turned deathly pale at the fact that her participation in betraying Archie had been exposed in an instant or not, I continued.

“Together with this bastard beside me.”

When I pointed at the swollen-faced kid who still had not woken from sleep, the bastard’s face twisted nicely.

“How am I supposed to drag around a kid like that?”

“No need to worry. Even if you don’t make an effort, Mona will want to keep this bastard somewhere within his sight.”

“Then what exactly am I supposed to do?”

To the bastard who showed impatience for me to quickly state my business, I revealed my true condition.

“If this bastard looks like he’s about to get angry, calm him down.”