The s.p.a.ce aboveground has turned into something that"s not paradise.

There"s smoke everywhere, and people darting about trying to escape with their lives. Although the convicts and the guards got mingled up, the convicts with fast reflexes follow behind the guards, trying to leave from the guards-only exit.

In other words, the main door hasn"t been opened. Perhaps the prison authorities are confident they can put out the fire, it"s just that no one even tries to direct the flow of the emergency exit.

Since the convicts can move about freely, as long as they can follow behind someone with good luck and a stranger sixth sense, they should be able to escape the clutches of these all-engulfing flames.

But the people underground aren"t as lucky.

If no one sends them the key, they"ll have no way of escaping their cage.

That"s precisely why I cannot let myself choke on the smoke here, no way!

Since I don"t have a towel or handkerchief by my side, I have no choice but to pull up my collar to cover my mouth, and then I press my body low as I run forward. I advance while keeping close to the wall, where the smoke isn"t so thick that I can"t see where I"m going.

I even see a bunch of people gathered near the kitchen. Looks like they"re trying to put out the fire.

"Is this the source of the fire!?"

I yell at a man nearby.

"Yes, that"s right! Seems like it happened when they were cooking."

"Has the fire been extinguished?"

"No, it"s burning as brightly as the kitchen stove, it shouldn"t be that easy to put out. There"s no way just splas.h.i.+ng water on it will work, so it"s best to just run. We"re planning to withdraw too."

What did you say?

Since simply pouring water won"t work, why don"t you bring down a large amount of water, like in a sprinkler system? Like rainfall, no, like a waterfall.

Although this building looks impressive, it probably doesn"t have proper fire prevention systems. If this country doesn"t have someone like Miss Anissina, it shouldn"t be possible for them to have an indoor sprinkler system.

But I have had previous experience, I once brought rain down on a village that was burning up. In that case, as long as I use the exact same power as I had then, I should be able to put out the fire, right?

So I walk to a spot with no one around, plaster my palms to the wall, and slowly breathe out. I start imagining the moment when my power fires up, trying to bring out the maryoku inside me. I close my eyes tightly, clench my teeth hard, hoping to grab that power hiding within my soul.

It doesn"t work.

The gentle voice that I tend to hear when I use majutsu, or the Maou"s tone that shows up when I go on a rampage, neither of them appears. I pound my face with my right hand. The palm still plastered to the cool stone wall is icy cold, as though taunting me, "So you"re this useless, after all".

In that case, I"ll have to find Warden Ranatan first, and grab her key to save those animals, as well as Hawkeye.

No matter what I say, he simply couldn"t take that step forward. I had no choice but to come up alone, but I couldn"t just leave him crouchingthere.

Be it Mr. Neighbour or the felons, I only spent a few hours with them. Although Hawkeye says he"s an unforgivable sinner, who has no right to live on this world, it was their unique sense of justice that helped me escape. So I definitely won"t let those saviours die.

I"m not sure if it"s fortunate or unfortunate, but I do more or less know where the great Warden Ranatan is. Since she really is the representative for the "Until That Day Comes" cult, that means she should be in the underground hall with the ca.n.a.l right now. Because we agreed to meet there before dinner today.

Since I now know that there"s no way to put out the fire, I"ll have to find her and take the keys for the underground jail... Even if I have to take them by force, I"ll do it, and then I can get back to that place.

Following my memories of the place, I make my way to the front of the residential area and discover a flight of stairs heading underground. This is the place, alright. If only I could remember the secret to using majutsu this quickly as well.

But once I rush down the long staircase, I once more fall speechless at the exaggerated scene I see before me in the next instant. Those black-haired people are all crouching in the dim underground hall.

Not only didn"t they try to escape, they"re still hugging their knees calmly, staring at the ca.n.a.l and at the air.

"You guys..."

Don"t tell me they"re meditating? Why else would they not be moving at all.

"What the heck are you guys doing!?"

I grab the hair of the guy closest to me, yelling into his ear,

"Fire--! Your home is on fire!"

But the man doesn"t react at all, letting me shake him as I like. I try the same thing on the others, and not one of them reacts in any way.

"This isn"t the time to stay underground... You"ll die of smoke inhalation. Even if the fire won"t reach this place, you"ll still die if you breathe in those poisonous gases..."

But they don"t make a sound, having given up even thinking.

"Ah—Really!"

I can"t wait any longer, and there"s no time for any politeness when talking to them either.

I pull apart the "Black-Haired" crouching on the ground, and advance towards the cave I"d seen earlier. If what Turtle said is true, then that mysterious box that suddenly appeared should be in this prison. In that case, it should be kept at the cult leader, Warden Ranatan"s cult headquarters.

It"s just deeper into that cave, as long as I can get past that...

Looking back on it later, I can"t explain why I had those thoughts at the time. My brain kept insisting on using that Box. Rather than saying I was guided by some power, it"s more like I was being controlled.

Since it"s neither a water cleaner nor a filter, and is instead a mysterious box that constantly leaks freshwater, then I just need to use it to bring rain down on the prison, and I can put out the fire, right? Without having a fixed target, I could only hold on to that train of thought, and I put all my faith into it. Making my way through the lifeless crowd, I move towards the head of the ca.n.a.l.

I walk past stone walls, and enter the small room behind. Although it"s dim here, there"s an object in the room that"s emitting a faint, aqua-blue light.

Once my gaze meets that light, I can"t pull it away.

That light is the blue of lakewater, a clear endless blue, a blue even deeper than the sky.

Just slightly above my heart, there"s a spot that start heating up, as though pressed against a sun-baked stone. The maseki grows hotter, though I can"t tell if it"s warning me, or reacting to the Box. That warmth flows past my chest and into my throat, but I only hold it for a moment before letting go immediately.

Stretching out my hand, my fingers splayed and moving towards that aqua-blue light.

Extending my hand further.

In that instance, I hear a voice that reaches me not though my ears, but through my mind.

The sound of the rain I tried so hard and yet failed to hear just now, comes to me so easily once I move my fingers towards the source of that light. I even feel a tremor that resonates through my bones.

Stretching my hand forward, that thing belongs to me.

This time I hear it very clearly. It"s not that gentleman"s voice that warns me when I"m using maryoku, and neither is it that theatrical voice that acts pompous and sounds old-fas.h.i.+oned when I lose control. This is a deeper man"s voice, hiding fury.

Who is it? Rather than saying "I heard this voice before", it"s more like that voice has always existed with me. And it"s not just the voice, I even understand everything about this man. His physical body, his emotions, and his entire life, I"ve experienced it before, and I remember it clearly.

Even though I believed this was so, when I think back on it now, I can"t remember anything. I know this person, but now I can"t recall him.

I obey that man"s voice, without a single ounce of resistance. Because I know him, I know this person. So I stretch my hand towards that square, blue light.

I still can"t reach it. It"s five arm-lengths away from me, so far.

So I naturally start walking forward.

"That"s a part of me..."

And at the same time, I"m a part of it.

"No, s.h.i.+buya!"

Just then, I notice for the first time that there are people other than me in this room.

When I slant my gaze to the side, I see the Lord Sage looking especially young, Voltaire, an unknown woman wrapped tightly from head to toe, and a half-naked blonde who looks very stupid. I thought that the small shadow in the corner of the room was a terrified chimp, but it turns out to be a human. He"s in a daze from too much terror, so I ignore him.

"Don"t touch that thing, no matter what you do!"

He with his race"s distinctive black hair and eyes is yelling at me. In this dim room, his face looks extremely pale under the illumination of the light.

Since he"s telling me not to touch it, why isn"t he stopping me even at this stage? He just looks at me motionlessly, opposing me with words alone.

"You can"t, s.h.i.+buya! You can"t touch that thing! It"s dangerous!"

"Dangerous, you say?"

"You will be destroyed."

Although I understand Murata"s concerns very well, on the other hand I find him very foolish. What are you afraid of, Lord Sage? I raise my chin slightly, waiting for him to continue.

"If you really are the true Key to that Box, you will be destroyed. I never thought... I never thought that "Mirror of the Deep Waters" would be in this world. I always thought it had been sunk into the depths of the Pacific Ocean..."

That"s right, that"s "Mirror of the Deep Waters", the last of the four Boxes. It"s the Box I personally fought for, bled for, and covered up, the Box that sealed the threat of the soushu of water. I feel the corners of my mouth rising.

On the other hand, Murata"s brow is tightly furrowed, his lip trembling as though about to cry,

"To think it"s actually here, how did this happen? Who could it be..."

"It seems to be His Majesty s.h.i.+nou."

I know the shock took his breath away, while a distance away, Voltaire looks up in surprise as well. What"s the matter here? There"s a cold sweat on Voltaire"s brow, and his hands are pressed against his head. It"s a very rare reaction for a healthy man, he looks as though he accidentally lost to an enemy.

"But this man... No, no matter what, I want to use the threat of the water."

"No, if you really are the Key, even more no!"

"So what if I am?"

Standing behind a strange transparent board, his gaze looks uneasy. He seems fl.u.s.tered, as though he doesn"t recognise me, probably because he hasn"t remembered me yet.

"Do you suspect? Who else could it be other than me? Other than me, who else can control "Mirror of the Deep Waters"? There shouldn"t be anything to suspect here, right, Lord Sage?"

The intense light in front of me instantly increases the degree of its summons for me, and releases a sweet temptation, like a flower tempting a b.u.t.terfly. How I wish to obtain it as soon as possible.

"The Key to "Mirror of the Deep Waters", is me."

"Yuuri..."

Eyes wide, he murmurs someone"s name, and once more pleads, "Don"t touch it, no matter what." What on earth are you worried about? There"s nothing here to be uneasy about.

"Relax, I can do it, no problem."

How far apart are we? But I truly have the confidence that I can do it. This feeling is as though I haven"t ridden a horse in ages, but if it"s a beloved horse with a strong connection to me, so I have the confidence to ride it freely.

"Because this is a part of me."

And at the same time, I am a part of it.

But there"s still an obstruction between us, a woman whose face I can"t even see clearly. However, a mere human cannot keep us apart. As I slowly advance, the female"s body subconsciously leaves the Box, forced by some power. Because the Box is removing all the obstacles.

"Finally back."

Feeling almost happy, I stretch my hand for the Box, still s.h.i.+ning with a blue light.

Before I was prepared to touch it or not, I feel a pain as though p.r.i.c.ked by a needle, shooting up from the very tips of my fingers. Is it power surging into me? Or trying to escape from me? Or perhaps both? No matter what, the connection is once more open. I see minuscule veins the same color as the light.

Suddenly, there"s an impact as though I was. .h.i.t by lightning, and I"m a.s.saulted by the agony of the blood vessels connected to my heart being ripped apart.

Of course, I never experienced that before, but that"s the only way I can describe it. Because my heartbeat accelerated suddenly, but at the same time it was forcefully held back so my pulse stopped beating, and could only writhe in agony between someone"s stiff fingers.

I couldn"t stand it, and finally collapsed onto the Box.

Although there"s a layer of my clothes in between, my chest still came into direct contact with the wood carvings. The next second, something icy cold flows into my body from the point of contact. From my stomach, chest, shoulders, and arms, it moves to my right cheek, the corners of my eyes, my right ear, the corners of my mouth.

The pain also weakens as it flows into my body, turning into a gentle, soothing warmth. Even if I close my eyes, the blue light lingers in my vision. Only the maseki stuck in the middle remains plastered against my chest, continuously emitting heat.

Not long later, even the parts of me that aren"t touching the Box—such as my thighs and soles, start to feel the flow. I know the water is already flooding to my feet, and it instantly submerges my calves, reaching up to just before my knees.

The water flowing in this ca.n.a.l isn"t seawater, because the temperature isn"t the same. It feels as cold as melted ice in a spring pond.

Just then I hear a piercing scream from the distance, it"s probably pa.s.sersby making a fuss.

"That"s enough, s.h.i.+buya! Get away, get away from there now!"

Even Lord Sage is squawking like that, I already told you it"s fine.

I open my eyes gently, and see my face reflected on the thin layer of water on the Box. It"s a young, short-haired male...

"Who?"

Just as I"m about to ask, a force from beside me knocks into me and pulls me away from the top of the Box, and I even fly into the stone wall. Although I knock my shoulder, the other person"s body between me and the stone wall absorbed most of the impact.

The man who knocked into me yells,

"What are you doing!"

"Con..."

My voice is too hoa.r.s.e to make any sound.

"What the heck are you doing!"

Conrad is lying between me and the floor, grabbing my back like a fielder who failed to pounce on the ball.

"Why are you in this sort of place? Why are you here?"

I know this arm very well. No, I should say, only I know this arm.

"Conrad?"

"Didn"t you go back to s.h.i.+n Makoku?"

He reaches out his hand to grab my clothes, until the skin on my back hurts a little.

"But why are you in this sort of place? And you even want to open a Box?"

"In that case, I want to ask you too, why are you here?"

Conrad props himself to a half-sitting position with his arm, his eyebrows drooping slightly. Once he sees that I can get up by myself, he sighs like my old man.

"And you"re wearing an outfit I hate again, are you trying to make me hate you?"

He"s wearing the same uniform as the guards, at complete and utter odds with those of us in those red-and-white one-piece working clothes.

"I was hired here, or rather, I was just recently hired. It was that lady warden over there who"s s.p.a.cing out now that hired me. I came to Darco to investigate something, and in order to infiltrate this "Who Is It Summoning h.e.l.l 1-Chome, Ah, Errand-Running 3-Chome Prison", I became a guard here seven days ago."

Conrad stops explaining halfway, and reaches out for my cheek as though he suddenly realised something.

"...When I was happily welcoming my sixth day as a rookie guard, I noticed a pair of familiar black eyes running past me."

"Was it me?"

He smiles in confusion,

"So naturally, I had to follow behind."

My cheek is cold, as though it was drenched with water. The warmth of his palm gently touching my cheek makes my skin feel slightly numb.

"I even joined the interview process."

Do you wanna switch jobs that badly? Is Dai s.h.i.+maron treating you that badly? In that case, why don"t you just return to s.h.i.+n Makoku instead? Those words that nearly left my mouth are instantly swallowed down again.

Because his palm and my cheek are wet, that feeling is warmer than water, and rather slippery. Even though I can"t see it closely, and I can"t tell what colour it is in this dim s.p.a.ce, this feeling and the rusty smell tells me this is most likely blood.

"Conrad."

And then, judging from the pain on this person"s expression, it"s my blood.

"What"s the matter..."

I hope my voice doesn"t sound very uncomfortable, after all, I don"t feel any pain anymore. The true unbearable pain really only last a couple of minutes. After that, when I felt the water flowing in from the place I"m connected to the Box, all that pain disappeared without a trace. All that"s left is the feeling of water entering my nose in the swimming pool.

"Conrad, it"s gotten onto your hair."

"Speaking of which, why did you do that sort of thing?"

I grab my clothes to wipe my three fingers, and the moist feeling disappears as well.

"Where is this blood coming from? My head? I might have knocked my head. Could it be that? My head feels all dizzy and heavy."

"Not your head, but your ears."

"Ears!?"

"And your nose and..."

He stops talking halfway, maybe it"s somewhere I"m better off not knowing.

Could it be my eyes? Something like the feeling when I miss a highball so it hits my face without a catcher"s mask on, breaking capillaries and turning my right eye all bloodshot.

Or could it be like the gentle Saint Maria statue—So I touch the corners of my eyes, trying to find out whether my eyes were bleeding. As expected, it"s a little wet.

"Relax, it"ll be fine after a while. Wipe it for me."

Conrad takes off his short and dips it in the water, then pulls me to a softer place so he can wipe my face.

Although the bleeding will heal by itself, but what about Murata, Gwendal, and Mr Chevalier? When they entered the room, they couldn"t move, and Gwendal couldn"t even make a sound. Even though his pose says he was going to stop me with everything he had even if he had to endure a beating, so what"s up here?

"Mura..."

I haven"t even finished saying his name before he says to me instead,

"Ahh, you b.a.s.t.a.r.d! Why did I let you do as you please!"

Mixed with the word "b.a.s.t.a.r.d" that he doesn"t usually use, my friend starts blaming himself.

"I should have stopped you, I knew I should have stopped you."

"Forget about me for now, why couldn"t you move?"

"I"m fine now. But—ah, it"s best if you don"t touch me for now."

I think to myself, "Why?" And then I notice that Murata"s, Gwen"s, and Chevalier"s hair are all sticking up unnaturally.

"It"s some minor electrocution."

"Electrocution? Are you okay!?"

"Although the electric shock made me temporarily unable to move, I"m fine. Lord von Voltaire was almost taken as a Key, so his injuries are more serious than mine. I don"t know about Mr. Chevalier yet, he"s completed s.p.a.ced out. Water and electricity are truly dangerous."

"What on earth happened?"

According to Murata"s explanation, as well as Gwendal"s nods and reactions as he presses his throat, it seems that when Murata and Chevalier came to this room as per our appointment, the Box and the cult leader were already behind curtain.

"Speaking of which, s.h.i.+buya, what"s surprising is, the leader of the "Until That Day Comes" cult is actually Warden Ranatan!"

"Ohh—is that so? That"s really amazing!"

I"m sorry, but I just can"t say that I knew from the start. So I put on an exaggeratedly surprised expression, and as a result, I"m instantly seen through.

"If you knew already, just say it honestly. And then Warden Ranatan asked me, "Since you"re mazokus, do you know the reason for this Box"s existence?"

I see, so she even investigated stuff to do with mazokus.

That"s when we found out that the reason we were framed and brought here two weeks ago, is actually because Ranatan used that agile kid to plant that item on us when she heard that three people who looked like mazoku had docked. In other words, that incident in which I was accused of stealing a sour plum, was a trap from the start.

To think that the warden, who was supposed to help convicts turn over a new leaf, is actually a big baddie who frames innocent people.

I look at the cult leader slumped in a corner of the small room, looking utterly dejected. Since her hooded robe was pulled aside, I can see half of her pale face.

"Then why didn"t she meet us immediately, and chose instead to wait for two weeks?"

"Because she"s a part-time cult leader, and her main job is still more important, right—Besides, I suspect she was observing us to see whether we"re really mazoku."

Just then Gwendal coughs hard, but he"s still holding his throat, and then he falls to his knees on the flooded floor. Looks like he can finally make a sound.

"...Ah!"

"Gwendal!"

As his younger brother, Conrad runs over in a hurry too. On the other hand, I help Murata stand, while voicing out the guilt in my heart,

"Sorry, Gwen, it"s my fault you got hurt again. Is the place you got hit okay?"

"That was, nothing, the prison administration patched me up properly. Your Majesty, however... your body can"t be... fine, right?"

He looks at me with my face full of blood from my nose, and with my ears bleeding too, it seems that he can tell my condition without having to ask.

"He brawled with five people before he could finally bring me out of a place that looked like an infirmary. One of them was a believer of democratic majority, and he made use of the five versus one advantage to do something guards shouldn"t do, which was to use violence against the prisoners. Sorry, Lord von Voltaire, I caused you trouble. If I hadn"t been taken hostage, it would have been easy for you to take out five soldiers."After that, Gwendal suddenly fell onto the Box of Water.

"Because the bottoms of our feet are wet, so all of us got electrocuted. Could it be angry?"

""Angry", you say? Does it have a conscience? That"s a box, it"s just a wooden box!"

"No, when I say angry, I don"t mean emotionally. Perhaps I should say it"s a "rejection reflex"? Because "he does not fit". But I"m not a hundred percent sure either."

Murata finally gets to his feet, his expression stern as he stares at me through his gla.s.ses,

"Because the Key of Water is you."

That"s right, I said that myself too. Speaking to myself, moving by myself, even using the Box"s power. Or rather, I almost did.

But I didn"t even open the Box, and the darkness inside the Box didn"t have a chance to appear.

"But it flooded, as though the water reached the floor."

"That was you."

My friend shrugs like a foreigner, and says with narrowed eyes,

"It was really shocking, too. I thought the water would flood the entire room, but it ended up piercing through that cave like a living thing."

"Was it me!? It can"t be me, right? I tried quite a few times to use majutsu, but forget rainwater, I couldn"t even move a pebble, y"know? In order to help those people underground put out the fire, I wanted to turn myself into a human sprinkler... but... I did do it, right?"

But why can"t I remember anything? Back then I seemed to be staring at the stage through a thin curtain. I vaguely remember what I did, and even the words I said seem to linger all over my brain.

"How could it... Is the last Key me..."

When did I retreat to backstage? I can"t find that boundary line. It feels like the curtain was raised when I didn"t notice. When I wanted it to rain in the kitchen, and put my palm on the wall trying so hard to gather power, it was really only me.

That"s right, my initial motive was to put out the fire that might spread throughout the whole prison.

"Ah, that"s right, Hawkeye! And those people in the bas.e.m.e.nt!"

"Who?"

I quickly explain the story until now to Conrad. Like meeting those people in the bas.e.m.e.nt, and especially how that man called Hawkeye may have been a former subordinate of Gwen"s, etc.

"So I have to put the fire out no matter what... Did I succeed? Is the fire under control? It"s rather far from here to the kitchen, even if the water sprays up like a living thing, did it reach that place?"

"It should have."

Murata pulls the wet hair plastered onto his forehead aside, and says with surprise,

"And at an alarming speed too. If we left it as-is, the power of the Box... or rather, the power of the water that you controlled could have easily sunk Darco."

"Sunk the whole city? You"re exaggerating, right?"

"No, that power always was that dangerous. Even if we couldn"t move, we should have hugged your legs to try and stop you. Thank goodness Conrad recklessly gave you a sliding tackle on our behalf."

"I don"t think you could call that reckless..."

Murata looks at a silent Conrad, saying sternly,

"Just thinking of the possibility that your left arm could have been taken as a Key, although I really can"t understand it, I still can"t do that sort of rough and reckless sliding tackle."

Back then I"d ignored everyone"s advice and done as I wanted, so this time it"s also my job to console my displeased friend.

"C-calm down, in any case, both Darco and I are perfectly safe. But really, why did you let me do as I wish?"

"Because I trusted you."

Murata suddenly sags his shoulders, looking so dejected I can"t help but feel sorry for him.

"Because you sounded rather self-confident, so I couldn"t help but believe that you might have a way to perfectly control the Box"s power. So I trusted you."

"But I did it, right? So I didn"t lie."

"You only did half of it, what are you talking about, s.h.i.+buya! If you really could control it perfectly, you should say something like, "Did I do that?" afterwards. Ah—Ah, why did I trust you? That was way too dangerous!"

All this makes me want to say something like "Ahh~~ About that, Murata." And explain to him. But he knew all my reasons a long time ago.

Because I believe that I can control that Box"s power. I can control that Box and the threat it poses. At the very least, right then I believe that, beyond a shred of doubt.

Just as Hawkeye said.

"I have a question."

Chevalier raises his right hand like an elementary school student asking a question. Looks like he"s back from his daze.

"Please wait a moment, I didn"t understand that at all."

Although he got electrocuted next to Murata, his spirits look perfectly fine.

"In other words this Box, uh—is that one? So one of the Boxes that Lord Fanfan had always been searching for is actually here!?"

"Fanfan was always looking for it--?"

Putting aside those people who had collapsed onto the ground with him, the others ask in unison.

After all, for everyone here, that"s unheard news.

Her Royal Highness the Former Queen Cäcilie"s current boyfriend, the seafaring tyc.o.o.n Stefan Fanberlain had helped me bring the Box out of the shrine in Dai s.h.i.+maron during the "World"s Best". But now he"s looking for the remaining Boxes on his own? So I ask half-disbelievingly,

"Really?"

"It"s true. Of course everyone... even Lady Cheri doesn"t know this, but the truth is he hired someone to look for it. When he was discussing this matter, I just happened to walk past the room, so I accidentally heard it. Ah, I definitely wasn"t eavesdropping on purpose."

"But you still eavesdropped."

"No no no, how could you say I eavesdropped. It"s just because the person Lord Fanfan hired looked rather familiar to me, so without thinking I..."

"So without thinking you eavesdropped?"

"Yes, I apologise for eavesdropping."

There"s no need to apologise to me, but unlike me, who wants to know what they were talking about, Conrad and Gwendal seem to be more interested in the person Fanfan is hiring.

"Who"s that person? Is it someone I know?"

"I think it is. It"s that one next to Lord von Christ—what"s his name? A sparkling man."

"Dacascos!?"

What a shock, that"s Dacascos" other job!? Chevalier continues,

"Yup yup, Dacascos. The man Lord Fanfan hired, I saw him with that Dacascos and Miss Gisela, that why I remembered him."

Who is it? I have no clue, but Conrad and Gwendal seem to figure out who it is immediately. Could it be someone both brothers know? They even tsk lightly.

"That man..."

When I ask, Conrad simply refuses to tell me his name. What on earth are they hiding?"

"It"s someone you don"t know."

"It"s not enough just to tell me I don"t know him, right? Since it"s Lady Cheri"s boyfriend, Mr. Fanfan is a businessman and a human. Since he"s looking for the Boxes, we shouldn"t let him know too much. If the person hired for recon is a mazoku, we must find him, and warn him not to say too much."

Conrad seems to be avoiding my determination to find out the truth, wiping the corner of my mouth with his thumb. I was about to ask what the heck"she doing, until I realise there seems to be blood there too.

"Relax, this problem will be solved immediately."

"Hold on a second!"

Lord von Voltaire finally manages to recover his past majesty, even if half of his hair is standing on end thanks to the electricity, and he interrupts from the side,

"Could you please wait a moment? That problem belongs to us, s.h.i.+n Makoku, and the amba.s.sador from Dai s.h.i.+maron has no right to interfere."

"Lord von Voltaire..."

"You are obeying Dai s.h.i.+maron now, so you do not belong to s.h.i.+n Makoku. Am I wrong, Lord Weller?"

If these words came from me or Wolfram, they might still not mean much, but since Gwendal"s a truly important minister of the country, his stiff att.i.tude would surely leave Conrad speechless.

"...You are right."

"Since you understand that, could I implore you to not interfere in a mazoku investigation?"

"That"s not right, is it, Gwen?"

Since the words have left my mouth, it"s too late to regret them. I unconsciously wanted to argue, but I hadn"t thought of what to say. No matter how childish, clumsy or meaningless my argument is, even if he turns his nose up at my words, I can"t take them back now.

I apply force onto my feet, already numb from soaking too long in the water, and feel the hard surface of the stone floor as I grip the corners of my clothes tightly,

"Isn"t it too much to say he"s not mazoku just because he"s working in another country? How is he not a true citizen of s.h.i.+n Makoku? According to your logic, does that mean I"m not mazoku when I"m on Earth as well?"

"Yuuri."

Conrad looks at my direction. It"s okay, I"m just saying what I should.

"Even if he"s working in Dai s.h.i.+maron, that doesn"t mean he"s loyal to Dai s.h.i.+maron, right? For all you know it could be for himself, or it could be for us too, right?"

"Are you saying he"s working as a spy, sire?"

His respectful language can be meaningful sometimes, such as right now.

"Although he"s not a spy, Conrad did say, "My actions are in order to keep a friendly relations.h.i.+p between s.h.i.+n Makoku and s.h.i.+maron." I personally heard him say that about a month ago."

"But I didn"t hear it."

"That"s because you didn"t ask, and you didn"t have the chance to ask. So from now on, have a good chat on the voyage back. You guys are brothers, after all, and you"re both mazokus too."

As soon as I said "the voyage back" without thinking, my body suddenly became really heavy, like a puppet with drooping limbs.

"That"s right, mn, the voyage back. Let"s go back, let"s all go back together."

I"m filled a weariness that comes with having your feelings finally lose their tension, my whole body turning weak, as though I"m sinking into mud.

"We"ve been away too long, I"m tired."

"But we can"t let someone from an evidently different stance come with us..."

As I"m thinking "this again?" in surprise, I can"t help but understand that Gwendal"s concerns are true. After all, Conrad abandoned his duty to his home country, and accepted work from another. Judging from Gwendal"s position, of course he would have to object.

It"s truly very reliable to have such determined minister on my side, as a king, I really am very fortunate.

Only now, I hope he can follow this foolish king"s stubborn request.

"How about this, I allow him to come along."

I sigh an almost audible breath as I say that.

"Come back, Conrad."

My expression must be really stupid, because my smile is extremely weak.

"But I..."

"There"s nothing else you have to handle, right? Ahh, but you can"t just ignore that either. How about after you get home, you can go out a few more times to get things settled? Come back, you"re a member of my team."

As for who the boss slash coach slash team captain slash ace is, just put your hand on your chest and think back carefully.

"This decision works, right, Gwen? Voltaire."

Voltaire... That"s strange? Shouldn"t I call him Lord von Voltaire? Why would I call him Voltaire?

But Gwendal doesn"t seem to notice particularly. Although I never experienced have an entire face of displeasure, I bet that"s the sort of expression, right? Only, that"s not Gwendal"s real feelings. As true emotions go, that face is too exaggerated.

"But you can punch him once, Gwen. No, three times. For Wolfram and me too."

"You can punch me all you want."

Conrad, who was silent previously, suddenly says emotionally,

"Even if I"m punched or hacked, it"s okay even if I"m killed, as long as I can go back right now."

"Idiot! Do you think I can actually kill the person who just saved the king in front of my eyes!?"

Gwendal says with gritted teeth. I probably will never hear a more painful voice than that.

"...Since His Majesty pardoned you, then you can do whatever you want. After all, you were never a direct soldier of s.h.i.+n Makoku, you only ever belonged to His Majesty Yuuri alone!"

Conrad"s gaze is torn between a smile and a sob, as he murmurs to me,

"Thank you."

b.a.s.t.a.r.d, you"re thanking the wrong person.