Tyrkanzyaka had intended to do the cooking herself, but to a girl who had not set foot in a kitchen for twelve centuries, it was a paradise of unfamiliar objects. She was more familiar with maces than spatulas, halberds than ladles, and saw-toothed swords than tongs. And even then, she was accustomed to having them pointed at her.

In the end, the golem had no choice but to demonstrate.

The golem was astonishingly good at cooking. Its only problem was that it was too small to accomplish anything on its own, but Tyrkanzyaka easily solved that.

With a casual wave of her hand, pitch-black currents formed around the golem. They gradually took shape from the bottom up, gently lifting its body and enveloping it.

The golem looked around, momentarily disoriented by its higher vantage point. The shadow rising above its head copied the motion. When the golem raised an arm, the shadow raised an arm; when it took a step, the shadow stepped forward as well. It was like a shadow puppet.

『This is...! But even the Military State’s technology cannot accomplish this!』

“An image cast as a shadow can grow infinitely larger than its original, or shrink to the size of a speck. This shadow is exactly three times your size. It will follow your every movement.”

Having grown accustomed to the shadow, the golem reached out. Following its movements, the shadow took a pot from the cupboard and turned on the tap. A shadow, yet it had substance.

The golem was thoroughly bewildered by the shadow reproducing its movements at three times their size.

“Surprised? Marvel all you wish. Dominion and control are my true powers. They are nothing like your games with tin dolls and mud.”

『... Tin... Ghh. I wish to... dispute that, but... I cannot....』

With its new body, the golem busily set to work. It soaked the beans in water, drained them thoroughly through a sieve, then brought the drained liquid to a boil in a pot while reducing the beans in a pan until nearly dry. Tyrkanzyaka watched each action carefully, committing it to memory.

After all that effort, the golem presented the finished meal.

『Finished. Braised canned beans and broth soup.』

“So this is how one cooks. Thank you.”

『You are most welcome. I am quite willing to provide you with assistance.』

The golem had its own calculations behind this gesture.

The convict laborer had openly rebelled, and the other trainees could not be relied upon. Moreover, Tyrkanzyaka was currently the strongest and most influential being in Tantalus. It was only natural that the golem, which needed information from within, should try to establish a connection.

“Good. Now that the tin can has done its job, I should put it away.”

『Tin...?』

There was, however, one problem.

Tyrkanzyaka had never intended to cooperate with the Military State.

“Go back to sleep now.”

『Mmph? Sleep...?!』

POP

The shadow detached its speaker. The golem tried to reach for the speaker as it moved away before its eyes, but shadows suddenly surged in from every direction and bound its arms and legs.

This outcome had been inevitable from the beginning—or, more precisely, from the moment the golem had shown hostility toward him.

Looking down at the golem buried in darkness, Tyrkanzyaka spoke gently.

“You taught me in good faith, so I shall not break you. I must, however, keep you from saying anything unnecessary. From what I have seen, you cannot speak without this.”

『...!』

“It seems I was right. I shall come for you when I need you.”

SNAP

At a snap of her fingers, the golem’s body was wrapped in darkness and rolled away like a ball. Tyrkanzyaka placed the detached speaker on the highest shelf of the cupboard.

While the golem struggled alone in the darkness, she took the dishes in both hands and went to him.

“Here. I have brought your food.”

He was still sitting there blankly. Perhaps the smell of food had stirred him, however, for his unfocused eyes faintly tracked the dishes. Saliva glistened at the corner of his mouth.

An appetite was a will to live. Seeing that he still possessed it filled Tyrkanzyaka with joy.

“Thankfully, you seem to have your appetite still. Here is your food.”

“... Food.”

“Yes. Food. Enjoy it.”

Tyrkanzyaka set the dishes before him and sat down opposite to watch. He gazed at the food with hazy eyes for a moment, then reached out.

Straight for the food.

“Wait!”

His hand stopped short. He stayed that way, looking at her as though seeking permission. Tyrkanzyaka gently placed a spoon in his hand.

He had not forgotten what his body remembered. For a moment, he seemed unfamiliar with the spoon, but then he began eating the soup before him as though nothing had happened. At first, a few drops of overflowing soup spilled onto the table, but he spilled less with each spoonful.

Tyrkanzyaka smiled in satisfaction.

“Yes. You have not forgotten everything. That is very good news. Perhaps your memories will return before long.”

Even if he remained like this for the rest of his life, Tyrkanzyaka would care for him forever.

But that did not change how much she missed the way he used to be.

He had certainly been impudent. He had been subtly rude, though he pretended otherwise. He had made light of other people’s deepest anguish.

Yet beneath it all lay an unexpected good humor and unobtrusive consideration.

The fact that such a man had become a simpleton who could barely speak made Tyrkanzyaka’s chest tighten.

“Surely you became like this because you breathed your soul into my heart.”

Even now, when she laid a hand on her chest, she could feel the heartbeat he had given her. A single card bearing a blood-red heart lay embedded within her chest, now indistinguishable from her own heart.

She did not know what it was or how he had made it. But there was one thing she knew.

Without unfathomably deep feeling, it could never have been created.

“... Come to think of it, the King of Dogs did not bark at me earlier, either. Truly, you have given me so much. And I have given you so little.”

When she considered all she had received, she could hardly count it. It had begun with interesting stories, then heart massages, and finally this heart that now beat within her chest. Those gifts had come so naturally that even she, their recipient, had not realized she was receiving them until she looked back.

How little she had given him in return.

She had to repay him with all her body and soul.

CLACK

She heard him set down his spoon. Before she knew it, all the dishes were empty.

Tyrkanzyaka, who had lost track of time watching him, rose again, speaking to him at every step.

“Have you finished?”

He nodded.

Every question received a response. He could say simple words. He more or less remembered how to eat, walk, and move.

She thought she was beginning to understand. The only thing he had forgotten was himself.

In that case, she need only tell him.

“Give me your hand.”

He held out his hand. Tyrkanzyaka enclosed it firmly in both of hers and drew it toward her chest.

“You may not remember, but you are my benefactor.”

His hand followed without resistance. Holding it tenderly against her chest, she murmured with it pressed there.

“When my heart was still, with this hand... you touched it and made it beat. You awakened the time that had stopped for me.”

A somewhat large hand. A touch that had hesitated as though troubled whenever it passed between her ribs, yet had ultimately reached her heart and given her so much.

Stroking it, Tyrkanzyaka looked up, a girl once more.

“So do not worry. Take your time recovering your memories. I shall not leave until you tell me to go.”

It was not a vow. If anything, it was closer to a calm admission of fact.

For she could not even imagine that having a beating heart would change her mind about this.

As she spoke, Tyrkanzyaka looked at the hand resting against her chest and remembered how things used to be.

“Now that I have my heart back, I find I rather miss those days when you sent electricity through it. Back then, I spent every moment waiting for your fingers to touch my heart....”

THUMP, THUMP, THUMP, THUMP

It was then, as she murmured those words, that Tyrkanzyaka noticed something strange.

Her heart was certainly beating without blood manipulation. Whether she held his hand against it or not, it ought to beat just the same.

That was how it should have been.

Yet for some reason, whenever she brought his hand close to her chest, her heart beat harder.

Even though there was no electricity flowing through it.

Her blood manipulation made it all the clearer to her. Her heart was racing madly. As though his hand were its missing half.

Back when her heart had been still, this hand had sent something powerful into her every time it approached. Her heart seemed to remember and welcome it. The trembling grew stronger with every moment. Tyrkanzyaka grew frightened that her precious heart might burst at this rate.

Yet one thing was certain: her body and soul wished to draw just a little closer.

THUD. THUD. THUD.

She had done nothing, yet her face flushed of its own accord. Feeling that something strange would happen if she stayed like this, Tyrkanzyaka hastily pushed his hand away.

It receded, leaving an intense sense of loss. Free of that strange state, Tyrkanzyaka touched her face in bewilderment, then the spot above her heart.

“Is it... broken...?”

For now, that was the only conclusion Tyrkanzyaka could reach.