["It's fine. I'm fine..."]

In a place where sunlight fell in drops instead of rain.

["If you can live on... I'm not afraid of dying."]

In the moment when the ground was a mess of muddy puddles from the previous day's rain.

["So you must never feel guilty."]

The one who smiled like a white flower placed a hand on the back of his head and pulled him into an embrace. SLASH. Every time the whip was swung, the air cried out and flesh was torn.

["My death is not because of you."]

The world he could vaguely see over the shoulder was blurred with light, leaving little visible.

The human handing down punishment while clad in a halo of light as if they were some divine being, and the drops of blood scattering in all directions, were all there was.

["It is absolutely not your fault..."]

However, the voice ringing in his ears was truly clear.

["So... so live. Survive. No matter what adversity and hardship lie before you, you alone must..."]

SLASH! At the final whip strike, the warmth that had been holding him finally dropped its head.

Neither withered nor shriveled like a dying flower. Just like the moment a flower is separated from its stalk.

["Li—"]

THUD.

.

.

.

"Gasp!"

"Young hunter!"

Deathbringer panted heavily, feeling as if his tightly blocked lungs had been liberated.

The back of his neck brought a burning, stinging pain, as if it were numb and on fire.

"Heugh, haah."

However, what truly hurt was not his neck. The place that truly hurt, the thing that tormented him so much was...

"Breathe. You must breathe."

"Aaaah..."

"Hunter."

'I would rather you resent me.'

'Resent me for forgetting you, for not living as you told me to.'

"Ahk..."

"Hunter..."

'For driving dozens, hundreds of people to their deaths in the name of avenging you.'

'I wish you would reprimand and criticize me for every wrong I have done.'

"Emit..."

'But you will never do that.'

'Because you are already dead.'

"I received word earlier. You brought Mia's letter. Thank you."

Whether I was shocked by the muttered remark about a fishy smell or not, the situation continued.

"It is nothing much. We simply did a favor since our paths aligned."

"I see. I am truly humbled by such an unmerited favor. I must be the first to receive a letter delivered by the Hero, the Great Sage, and a famous adventurer, right?"

'To say he was picking a fight because I didn't greet him, he didn't actually cast any displeased looks my way, did he?'

'Which means he muttered about a fishy smell because he actually smelled something fishy.'

'To just think, 'I showered, so it can't be me!' was difficult because of what I heard on the street earlier. Having that weighing on my mind naturally made me feel uneasy.'

"Ah, that's right. It wouldn't be polite to keep our guests standing at the entrance. Tom, please prepare tea and refreshments at the pavilion in the garden."

"Yes, sir."

"Everyone, please come this way."

'Is it me? Is it really me?'

'Is it actually me?'

"This is a truly beautiful flower garden."

"Haha, thank you."

"I heard the Young Lord cultivated it himself, is that true?"

"It is lacking, but yes, I did. I didn't raise it entirely on my own, though, so it's not at a level to boast about."

'T-This can't be.' I made a resolution to scrub myself harder in the shower—though I already scrub hard enough to leave little scratches, so how could I possibly wash any better?—and decided to use higher quality soap, even if it was expensive.

'I might compromise on other things, but I refuse to yield on smelling bad.'

"Let us hand over the letter first."

Regardless, having prepared a space with minimal formality, he took the letter from us.

"Ah... thank you."

But was it just my imagination? For someone receiving a love letter from his lover, he didn't look particularly pleased.

Far from lighting up, his eyes seemed to turn slightly cold.

"... Are you not going to open it?"

"Haha, I'd love to read it right away if I had my way, but... I am embarrassed. I appreciate your consideration, but I must keep public and private matters separate."

What's more... he showed an unexpected reaction.

The Young Lord of Camberer had told us, "Even if he tries to read the letter first, do not take it as a rudeness and let him read it."

She had added that she wrote things in the letter like telling him to inform us of the situation, or letting him know the code words she taught us so he could use them to speak with us. And because of that, a proper conversation would only be possible if we let him read the letter first.

However, those words assumed that the Young Lord of Ednium, Leon, would naturally read the personal letter first. Whether it was a promise between them or something else, she had clearly taken that as a given.

"I see."

'But why isn't he trying to read it now?'

'Did the situation change?'

My first hypothesis was that he might be under threat or surveillance by demons or something similar.

But if there were a demon, the Inquisitor wouldn't be unaware. If one was here and he still didn't know, it meant it was hidden that thoroughly, which meant there was even less of a way for me to know.

Above all, to think he was being watched or threatened, the very attitude he showed was strange from the start.

I hadn't forgotten the cold look I saw in his eyes earlier. My gut feeling was too bad to just brush it off as my imagination.

I had thought about this before arriving, but the ruling family already being corrupted by evil and betraying us was a common trope. The chances were low, but it could also simply be that his love had cooled.

"I have brought the refreshments."

Just then, a servant approached with a trolley loaded with colorful candies, sweets, and black tea.

"Thank you for your hospitality."

"Not at all. Please, help yourselves."

"Th-There are flowers inside the sweets..."

"They are candies hardened with whole flowers inside. They are a masterpiece that our castle's chef is proud of."

'Candies with flowers in them. DeB would have liked them if he had come.'

"The fragrance is incredibly nice..."

"Haha, the head chef will be delighted to hear that. If you like them, I will pack some up for you."

"Would that really be alright...?"

"Of course. In fact, if I tell the head chef that the Hero liked them enough to take some, he might dance out of pure joy."

'At least Kimchi Dumpling seems to like them.'

I watched Leon have the servant pack a handful of candies, and I watched him hand them to us.

I also closely observed as he never ended up reading the letter, and gave only ignorant answers when the Archmage asked about the wild beasts.

There was no particularly major flaw, but once I harbored doubts, everything seemed suspicious.

"Ah, that's right. The Young Lord of Camberer asked a favor. She said she was curious about the cat that Young Lord Leon had fallen in love with, and asked us to please see it with our own eyes..."

"Pardon?"

'Right. Reactions like this in particular.'

"The cat that frequently visits to play, I mean."

"Ah. That child."

'It's strangely... strangely delayed, isn't it? As if it took him time to recall what we were talking about.'

'Of course, it could just be that his memory is bad...'

"... I suppose it grew upset because I've been too busy with wedding preparations to play with it as much. I haven't seen it at all lately."

'But someone in the position of a Young Lord having a bad memory seems a bit strange.'

"You must be disappointed."

"Yes. It was a cute child."

"Has your allergy gotten better? The Young Lord of Camberer was worried."

"... Mia was worried about me? My... I am glad."

'Suspicious after all.'

'I don't know exactly what is suspicious, but it's definitely suspicious. My years of experience are screaming that something is wrong.'

"My allergy remains. However, perhaps that cat is a bit special, because I was somewhat fine with that one. That might be why I grew fond of it."

"Is that so."

However, I couldn't point a sword at someone based solely on a gut feeling.

We eventually prepared to leave without having gained anything.

"It ended up being a wasted trip... It would have been nice if we could have learned something."

'Ah, is it not entirely a loss? Since Kimchi Dumpling got a bag of candy. Though considering our true goal was information, it's a dismal failure on that front.'

"Well... we will have to wait and see a bit longer."

Still, the Archmage seemed to have harbored doubts at a similar point as I did.

"Inquisitor, are you sure you didn't sense any demonic energy?"

"Pardon? Ah, yes. But are you suspecting the Young Lord?"

"His attitude is somewhat different from what we heard from the Young Lord of Camberer. It seems there is at least something going on."

"If so..."

"Let us investigate a little more. We weren't going to leave the city immediately anyway."

"Yes!"

"However... it is a shame. He is perfectly suited for this sort of work, but it doesn't look like he is in any condition to step up."

'Ah. Right. Our Meat Dumpling really isn't in a state to be asked to investigate right now.'

Of course, even without DeB, I did possess a pass to the Information Guild myself. Since DeB gave it to me at the very beginning.

But what use is having the means? There's such a thing as proficiency in this world. Like employee discounts, or bonuses you can get for being part of the same faction.

In other words, no matter how much I thought about it, I wasn't confident I could gather as much information as DeB. In the end, it was a net loss.

"By him... do you mean the slacker?"

"Since tasks related to investigation were always handled by him. He is the most exceptional among us, too."

'Ah. Really.'

'I thought it was quite a blow when our social interaction members got wiped out, but facing an information gathering task, this hurts just as much.'

'DeB secretly does a lot of work in this party.'

"..."

"What is the matter?"

"It is nothing. I just feel like I am not being of help, so I should devote myself further."

'But what's up with her now?'

'Is she bothered by her recent failures to detect demonic energy on time? She looked quite disheartened just now.'

"You are doing perfectly fine, Inquisitor. It is simply that everyone has different talents. Please do not let it weigh on you too much."

"Yes... That is true."

I watched the Inquisitor lightly slap her own cheeks.

"I have my own work to do."

'Seriously, both DeB and the Inquisitor. It felt strangely precarious.'

"The guests have left."

"Right, good work. You may leave."

Meanwhile, the moment he heard the butler's words, Young Lord Leon took a deep breath.

And when the butler completely disappeared from his sight, he raised a hand.

"Ah, what a fishy smell."

His face naturally contorted into a frown as he waved his hand through the nearby air, as if trying to ventilate the space.

"This place isn't even the sea, so why must my noble self endure the stench of seafood?"

Still, the lingering odor continued to irritate his nose.

Young Lord Leon headed back to the garden, covering his nose with a handkerchief. Having dismissed the servants, the garden exuded a strangely chilly aura, despite the lushness of the flowers, trees, and grass.

"As expected of the one chosen by that thing of the sea, he truly has no tact."

RUSTLE. With every step he took, sprouts eagerly extended their leaves and branches.

It was not an unnatural growth, but rather a display of raising their heads with overflowing life and energy.

"I overlooked them causing a ruckus in my forest as a warning, and even sent my children to give them a sign when they came here, yet they still stubbornly set foot on this land."

And when he entered the maze on one side of the garden.

The shrubbery, which stood taller than a person, bloomed with flowers all at once. An unseasonable floral scent spread in all directions.

"Moreover, carrying the letter of that filthy thing."

Even more, when he reached a certain section, the shrubbery forming the walls moved its branches to either side. It was as if it were trying to reveal its insides.

"Mmph, mmmph."

However, the surprises did not end there.

Between the parted thicket was another Young Lord Leon, his entire body bound by grass and vines.

"Have you waited too long? I am sorry. But I had no other choice."

Looking down at the bound man, Young Lord Leon—no, the thing masquerading as Young Lord Leon—smiled brightly.

"The one thing I absolutely refused to see was the sight of you receiving this."

CRUMBLE. The love letter in its hand withered away in an instant and soon turned to dust, disappearing.

"Mmph!"

The bound Young Lord's eyes widened to their limits.

"Why, are you curious about the contents of the letter?"

On the other hand, the imposter of Young Lord Leon smiled refreshingly. Its pale face and body had slowly begun to transform at some point.

"My lovely one."

The flat chest and nearly straight waist shifted—the chest swelling and the waist dipping inward, changing to closer resemble a woman's figure.

The mid-length bob hair lengthened down to its toes while simultaneously being dyed a platinum blonde.

"There was no way I would ever let you read it."

In addition, the once soft eyes stretched sharply, fanning out like red tail feathers.

Its clothing was the same. The outfit, which had been nothing more than common, slightly soft cloth, morphed into silken garments decorated with gold and jewels, topped off with a white fur cloak.

CLINK, JINGLE.

Earrings, necklaces, and bracelets swayed with every movement, shedding brilliant flashes of light.

It looked human, yet its attire and appearance were somehow unhuman.

["To love another. I understand. Humans are foolish, so are there not times when they fail to recognize the truth?"]

Furthermore, what made it unhuman was the voice that resonated in a completely different manner from a human's.

["However, marriage is not permitted."]

It commanded the plants to retreat, freeing Young Lord Leon's limbs and removing the leaves that gagged his mouth.

"... You!"

Yet the newly freed Young Lord could not bring himself to move an inch.

The fact that this being, composed entirely of white and gold, had buried its face in the nape of his neck was the first reason, and the fact that it was tightly hugging his body was the second.

["I will absolutely not allow it."]

And the final, third reason was...

["The only one who can stand by your side is this Biryuho."]

Because the true identity of the entity was a being that a mere human could not possibly handle.

["Therefore, deny it no longer and follow the natural order."]

Ah. Had he known it would come to this, he would never have thrown food to that white cat trembling in the rain.

["If you do, I shall gift you life that blooms even in a drought, and an eternal abundance that will never fade."]

Young Lord Leon, whose life had been ruined by a single act of sympathy, sighed and closed his eyes.

He missed his lover.