Sometimes, reality is stranger than novels or dramas.

It couldn't be helped. There is nothing with a nature as anomalous and erratic as the world.

"Do you think the word 'coincidence' explains everything?!"

The problem is when that demands an explanation.

A time comes when one must dare to define the cause and effect of something that happened purely like destiny or inevitability, and explain it.

"If a coincidence could be explained, do you think it would still be a coincidence?"

But could it truly be spelled out? Can you clearly describe something that happened without a reason, something where the result exists without a cause?

"Come back when you're ready to have a conversation. I have no intention of talking to someone who refuses to listen."

Questioning the reason behind a coincidence is, ultimately, no different from asking why 'why' is 'why'.

In other words, it is a foolish act. Just as natural disasters have a mechanism but no purpose, yet people cause a fuss by labeling them as divine wrath or something similar.

"You...!"

In that regard, I'd appreciate it if you stopped blaming everything on me. You might find it creepy, but I'm just as baffled.

"I told you it was a coincidence."

"You expect me to believe that!"

"Brother, you promised to talk."

"You're just being stubborn because you don't want to admit it."

"I'm not being stubborn...!"

Good grief. If I had known this would happen, I just... hmm...

Wait. No matter how much I think about it, I don't think there was anything I could have done differently.

Right. If even crying on the street was my fault, that's just too much. I wasn't the one who approached the kid first, and the same goes for everything that happened after.

"Now let's go back to your family! Let's hear their side of the story!"

"Yeah. Let's go. With things like this, you're supposed to hear both sides."

"... Even so."

"Even so, what? The Boss wasn't wrong, you know. If you have no intention of listening and just want to be stubborn, then just go."

"..."

So, I did nothing wrong. The situation and our respective positions were just bad.

... Probably.

"Alright, let's go. Let's go."

"The later it gets, the harder it will be for your family! So let's hurry up and go!"

Setting that aside, if those guys go and hear about the situation right now... won't they also hear the fact that I cried? That's a bit of a problem.

"If we hear their explanation, your misunderstanding will definitely be cleared up, Brother."

No, it's a huge problem...!

I'm screwed!

* * *

"Danny! What were you thinking, running out like that! We were worried!"

"What was that you said earlier... Ah, guests?"

Daniel opened the door with sluggish movements. Inside, he saw the people who had waited for him, even going so far as to light a precious candle.

They were his only remaining family in this land.

"... I'm sorry for making you worry."

"As long as you're not hurt, that's enough. It's not like we don't know your line of work is dangerous... But please try not to do that from now on."

"Yes."

The worry they showed was bittersweet, and inevitably tender. Daniel couldn't help but form a faint smile at the warmth conveyed by their affection. It felt warm.

"More importantly, who are the people behind you...?"

"Ah... these people are..."

Then he grew flustered again. He had no idea how to introduce the two of them.

One held a rank far higher than his own, yet it wasn't something he could carelessly reveal, and the other, he barely knew at all.

"Hello. I am undeserving, but I work as a Heresy Inquisitor. I apologize for visiting so late at night."

Fortunately, the others stepped forward before he could. Daniel simply stepped aside slightly.

"Ah, please understand that I cannot reveal my name due to the nature of my job. Feel free to address me comfortably!"

"Ah, if you're a Heresy Inquisitor, that makes sense. We completely understand."

Demon worshipers would sometimes curse people using their names.

Of course, a curse cast by knowing only a name was incredibly weak—to the point of being practically meaningless—and could be traced back to the caster, making actual cases exceedingly rare... but one could never be too careful in this world.

That was especially true for Heresy Inquisitors, who fought directly against demons. It never hurt to be careful.

It wasn't a mandatory rule to follow, and there were indeed some—like Daniel—who openly revealed their names to deliberately bait and exploit their enemies.

"It's not much different from our usual days either. That boy just worries so much..."

"I'm just grateful for your understanding."

"As for me... you can just call me an adventurer."

"Yes, Mr. Adventurer."

Setting that aside, because they understood the circumstances, Daniel's family did not pry any further. That concluded the brief introductions.

"Um, please come inside first."

Afterward, they stepped inside and took their seats. The couple had prepared the space for them after hearing they had come to ask some questions.

The candle that had already been lit, along with teacups filled with vin chaud, were placed on the table.

"Let's use my light instead."

At that moment, Deathbringer swapped out the light source to ward off the darkness. He placed a magically powered lantern on the table instead of the candle.

The couple pretended not to be, but they were pleased by his subtle consideration. Even with the few extra candles they had thanks to their Heresy Inquisitor nephew, candles were still a precious commodity to them.

"Um, so what did you come here to ask...?"

"It's nothing major... um, do you remember the guest who visited earlier today?"

"Yes, of course. Is there some kind of problem...?"

"That boy ran out right after hearing about him too. Is that adventurer a criminal or something? He certainly didn't look like one..."

"No, no! It's nothing like that."

"Then...?"

At the couple's question, the Inquisitor and Deathbringer exchanged a glance. Then, they carefully chose their words.

How they happened to meet the Demon Knight, what they talked about, whether the Demon Knight exhibited any unusual behavior, and so on. They were phrasing things carefully to avoid creating any bias.

"Please tell them in as much detail as possible, Aunt. It's important."

"It's not a difficult request, so I don't mind, but..."

But strangely enough... the couple's gray hair resembled someone. Their facial features were entirely different, but seeing as gray hair was quite rare in other regions, it evoked a sense of familiarity.

Deathbringer and the Inquisitor found their gazes continuously drifting toward the couple's hair.

"Schutz approached the adventurer first. Ah, Schutz is my child. He's young, and since he's sleeping right now, I didn't wake him."

"I see."

"Ahem, anyway, it seems the man had been crying on the street. So Schutz went up to him first..."

"Excuse me? What did you say?"

"He was crying??"

Then, they heard something completely unimaginable. The Inquisitor and Deathbringer's jaws dropped wide open. Daniel was just as shocked.

There was something about the Demon Knight crying that would shock anyone, whether they knew him or not.

"I-In what way was he crying...?"

"It wasn't like he was sobbing noticeably. I only realized it myself when I got closer to fetch Schutz. He just had a few streaks of tears rolling down an expressionless face..."

O-Oh, so he wasn't wailing. No, but still, the very fact that he shed tears at all... I thought he was only made of blood, but he actually does have tears.

Inside the minds of the two, their image of the Demon Knight fell into total chaos.

"D-Do you happen to know why he was crying...?"

"I don't know that either..."

Of course she wouldn't know that much. The two grew sullen and waited for her next words. What followed was exactly as expected.

The Demon Knight had accepted their invitation, chatted for a bit, and parted ways with them before the sunset painted the sky red. That was it.

There were far too many variables for it to have been intentional; thus, it could only be a purely coincidental encounter.

Of course, the fact that the Demon Knight the couple described was incredibly gentle... and gentle... far too gentle weighed heavily on their minds, but still.

"To think the Demon Knight was someone who actually knew how to explain things...!"

"Well, you know. He's always been rather gentle with kids. So it might not be entirely impossible... right...?"

"...?"

Before even trying to convince Daniel, the two put their heads together, struggling to quell their own confusion.

However, it wasn't easy. It was far too different from the Demon Knight they knew.

"But was it ever to that extent...?"

"I don't know either. But there were times when he treated people other than us surprisingly comfortably... like when taking requests or visiting the guild..."

"T-Then is it only with us...?"

"Probably, yes..."

"Just as I thought, we're..."

As their thoughts spiraled, they abruptly plunged into self-loathing. It was intense enough to fluster even Daniel, who had been agonizing over his suspicions about the Demon Knight.

"W-What's wrong with you two?"

"Um, did that adventurer do something wrong...?"

"N-No, it's nothing like that! He just... He didn't do anything wrong, but..."

The Inquisitor trailed off and drooped her shoulders once again.

Just as the Demon Knight had helped her, she wanted to help him too... but she had just realized she was in a position where she couldn't even ask him why he had been so sad.

"We just..."

She hadn't even received the level of kindness that this family had.

It was probably for the same reason as before... karma brought upon her by her own ignorance, foolishness, and weakness...

Still, sadness was sadness. The Inquisitor looked as if she were about to burst into tears.

"U-Um, so setting that aside, it's true that the adventurer didn't cause any harm to you two, right?"

"Of course. Rather, he played so well with Schutz... and he was incredibly polite to me as well. But is there really no problem here?"

"Of course. In the first place, um, he's someone who travels with us. But this In... this guy suspected the Boss way too much... so we came here to clear that up."

"Ah, I see..."

Meanwhile, Deathbringer, wearing just as gloomy an expression as the Inquisitor, barely managed to wrap up the conversation.

No matter how dense the guy was, this had to be enough to clear his suspicions. He also made sure to shoot Inquisitor Daniel a pointed glance despite his own inner turmoil.

"I don't know what kind of misunderstanding you had, but you should let it go. I might be speaking out of turn since I don't know the full details... but he really didn't seem like a dangerous person."

"That's right. I couldn't interact with him for long since I was watching the shop... but I got a similar impression. If anything, he looked more like someone who'd suffer a tragedy, not cause one."

"..."

Having heard such strong defenses and testimonies from them, Daniel had no intention of harboring his suspicions any further.

The reluctance to believe it still lingered in his heart... but as they said, that was merely his own stubbornness. It was a personal issue he had to resolve himself.

"... Yes. It seems it really was just my misunderstanding."

Thus, he replied while suppressing his instinctive revulsion and anger. It was the moment the incident, born from a clash of completely different circumstances, finally came to a close.

"If the misunderstanding has been cleared up, there's no reason for us to stay any longer. Sorry for intruding so late. We'll be taking our leave now."

"Ah, me too... Thank you for your cooperation, and I apologize for disturbing your sleep. I hope you have a good night."

"It was no trouble at all. But are you sure you'll be alright leaving like this? It's quite late, do you have a place to stay...?"

"We are staying at the Temple, so we will be fine."

Regardless, now that the conversation was over, there was no reason to linger here any longer.

Deathbringer readied himself to leave, keeping the Inquisitor in tow. The Berserker had likely relayed the message for them, but it still wouldn't be good to stay out too late.

"Take care on your way back."

"Please feel free to visit anytime, Inquisitor."

"... I will see you out."

The two stepped out of the house, sent off by Daniel's family. Feeling a sense of responsibility, Daniel was also following them outside to escort them a short distance.

"I apologize for today."

"Save your apologies for the Boss."

"... I will."

"For the record, I won't be apologizing for throwing the first punch."

"... That does not matter."

Such courtesy wasn't particularly necessary. Once you got off on the wrong foot with someone, that animosity didn't easily fade. In that same vein, he hoped they wouldn't have to cross paths ever again.

"... He."

However, Daniel seemed to still have something left to ask. Deathbringer jutted his lips out and picked his ear. It was a blatantly insolent attitude to anyone watching.

"You told me that I didn't know what kind of person he was. How he was enduring, or with what kind of feelings he was standing there."

However, Daniel was not a pushover either.

He firmly pressed on with his question regardless of what Deathbringer was doing.

"What did that mean?"

It was a question seeking something... something that might help him completely let go of his stubbornness.

"Why would I run my mouth about someone else's personal circumstances?"

"... I suppose you're right."

But it wasn't strictly necessary. He was already well aware that his question was somewhat intrusive.

Thus, Daniel obediently conceded and tried to back down. He had no idea that this very reaction would rub Deathbringer the wrong way even more.

Because misfortune—etched under the guise of adversity and trials—was something that shouldn't be casually gossiped about, yet at times, it was also something one desperately wanted others to acknowledge.

"However... you aren't the only one who has lost their family."

"...!"

"And while you still have relatives left... for some people, they don't even have that."

"... I, see."

At that, Daniel lowered his gaze as he registered the information he had been overlooking, or perhaps intentionally refusing to face.

Because he had already experienced loss himself, yet did not fully grasp the crushing weight of losing absolutely everything, he couldn't bring himself to say another word.

"... I apologize."

"Didn't I tell you to save that for the Boss?"

"I will."

Daniel let out an exhale as he looked up at the dark sky.

"I will definitely... apologize to him."

The saying that a much wider world would reveal itself once one discarded their stubbornness and prejudice finally seemed to resonate with him a little.

"... There is one final thing I would like to say to you."

"What is it?"

"What happened today was unquestionably my mistake. However, please do not dismiss what I said earlier as entirely meaningless because of it."

"You mean about not trusting the Boss? Are you still on about that?"

"Not that... I simply ask you to remember that demons are cruel, wicked, and detestable beyond imagination."

He cleared his throat before opening his mouth to speak once more.

"I hope you never... underestimate them."

At that, the disheartened Inquisitor and Deathbringer both looked at him. One had sparkling eyes, while the other gave him a look that practically screamed, 'Ugh, what a boomer!'

"Do not worry! We are well aware!"

"I probably know way more about that than you do, so save your breath."

"Very well. Then... I will see you both next time."

Did his advice actually reach them, or did it fall on deaf ears? Even if it were the latter, there was nothing more he could do.

Just as Daniel himself had only barely been convinced after seeing all the evidence, they too would likely struggle to truly understand it until they faced it themselves.

"Please stay safe out there."

So, he prayed they would realize the truth before making a mistake, or if they did stumble, that they would find their realization before the damage became irreparable.

Daniel prayed for those younger than him. It was a prayer from someone who had lived in this harsh world just a little bit longer.