Trading City Hyzen. Berk's Dining Hall.
They were still getting ready.
I sat at an empty table, staring at the drink in my glass.
It wasn't really an ale kind of mood. A shadow fell over the glass, and I looked up.
"Long time no see."
Black hair flowing loosely down to her waist, and white sheep horns.
Brown skin, lightly dressed with a blue apron, and a sheep's tail tipped in white swayed behind her.
She was a sheep-type beastkin.
Tall, with the same exceptional figure as always—you could tell she still kept in shape.
A beauty mark on the lower right of her lip gave her a peculiar allure, same as ever.
"It's been a while, Luma."
"Mm."
Luma gazed at me with her slightly moist pale-green eyes.
"You been doing alright?"
"More or less. Mind if I sit here?"
"Oh, sure."
She sat down across from me.
"Actually, I kind of already knew. The girl who helps us out—her older brother is a delver too."
"Oh right, they formed a party."
Doesn't look like Tassan said anything, either.
Luma breathed a sigh of relief.
"…Thank goodness. When—"
"you"
"lost"
"the relic,"
"after"
"leaving"
"Heizen,"
"I was"
"worried"
"about"
"what happened"
"to you…"
Luma gently closed her eyes.
I answered.
"Still managing as a delver. That's all I've got."
"Hoss… so you're really joining the Forest Wave…?"
"Can't say for sure. I came along this time as an escort and a cook."
"Not as Thunder Fang?"
"I'm solo for now."
"Oh, really?"
"Yeah. You still working as a delver, Ruma?"
"Same as always. I take jobs, join other parties as a sub, and hang out in the dining hall the rest of the time."
"What are you doing for the Forest Wave this year?"
Ruma twirled a strand of her hair around her finger.
"Haven't decided. Didn't go last year either."
"Right."
"Yeah. Hey, if you're still cooking, I'd love to have some of your food again. Hoss's cooking."
She said it suddenly, changing the subject.
"Sure, but what do you want?"
"Food from Hoss's hometown. That potato soup."
"That's all you want?"
It was just potato, salt, and pepper soup, after all.
"I love it."
Ruma smiled softly.
Hoss scratched the back of his head. He'd always been awkward around her.
Women had always made him nervous, and she was the one who started that.
"I'll borrow your kitchen."
"Okay. I'll show you the way."
How long had it been since I'd set foot in the Berke Tavern's kitchen?
I filled a pot with water and dumped in a mountain of peeled potatoes along with whole green onions.
After that, it was just a matter of letting it simmer.
Luma sliced cucumbers, halved the white and black bread-beans, and paired them white with black.
Then she opened a can of tuna and a jar of mustard.
She spread a thick layer of mustard on the white and black bread-beans, sandwiching tuna and cucumber between them.
Then she cut the bread-bean sandwiches again, this time into triangles.
"Tuna cucumber sandwiches…"
Luma's specialty dish.
"Hoss. You always liked these, right?"
"Like is a strong word. I just ate them because they were cheap."
"Aha, things were tough back then with no money."
"But they were fun…"
I was young. Recklessly, wholeheartedly consumed by life as a delver.
"Yeah." She paused. "Hey, Hoss, are you seeing anyone right now?"
She blurted it out so suddenly I was completely caught off guard.
I dropped the ladle I'd been absently stirring with.
Still stunned, I watched as Luma's cheeks flushed just slightly pink.
"Wh-what are you saying? I'm not seeing anyone."
"Oh. Okay."
"S-so what about you, Luma? You got a boyfriend or something?"
"…Ah… Actually—I'm getting married."
"Huh. Oh, ah, r-right. That's, uh, congratulations."
R-right. Of course.
Quite a while had passed since then.
"The guy is… Barou. Barou Jinryuu."
"Jinryuu, huh… That's a big shot…"
If anything, her being single all this time was the weird part.
At her age, getting married was actually on the late side.
"Yeah. I'm getting married after the Forest Wave is over."
"Ah, so that's why you're sitting out."
"Yeah. Well, that's the situation… y'know."
"If that's the case, can't be helped."
"By the way. I'll be the ninth wife."
"Wha—oh, ah, right, that."
"It's basically being a concubine."
"……Still, if you love him—"
"I don't love him."
"……Huh?"
Luma's voice was flat and sharp, like a needle sliding in without a sound.
Luma straightened up with a start.
"……S-sorry. I'm sorry. I, I really am sorry. I didn't mean to say something like that, I wasn't trying to cause trouble for Hoss, it's just, um, since we hadn't seen each other in so long, I just… Y-you don't have to worry about it!"
"……Even if you don't love him…"
"Ahahaha — no, ahahahahaha!"
Luma laughed desperately, trying to smooth things over.
After that, she told me over and over that it was nothing.
And the soup too — she didn't need it anymore. She had somewhere to be.
With that forced, put-on air about her, I was shown the door from the Berk eatery.
"……Not because she loves him…"
All I could do was mutter helplessly.
ZenZela family main residence. Fourth floor. The head's office.
"……———Witch. I know the timing isn't great, but could I ask you for some help — well, more like a job request."
"Oh my, oh my. A request, you say."
"It's about Barrow — the next head of the Jinryū family."
"My, my, now that's a peculiar one. Wasn't the next head of the Jinryū family supposed to be the eldest son, Jingi? Whatever happened to that Red Dragon?"
"He died last month."
"Oh my, oh my. Oh — is that so? Well, well. That's news to me. Mm-hmm. Now you've got me quite interested. Barrow? Ah, if memory serves, he should have been the Jinryū family's third son. And the second son — Garad. What happened to that fierce young man?"
"He's been missing since last month."
"Hmm, hmm. Now that… stinks."
The witch said it all with a look of utter boredom.
Seiran felt much the same.
"This isn't exactly something to be cheerful about, but Buffarow has eight wives."
"Well, well, I suppose such things exist. Nothing to be surprised by."
"Those 8 were only recently...
R
e
p
l
a
c
e
d."
"Well now. Would you care to explain what you mean by that?"
"Buffarow was an unremarkable person — partly because of Jingi — so nobody had bothered to look into what he'd been doing up to now, or what he was currently doing. There was simply no interest. But then he suddenly appeared in public, and in an unnatural way at that. So I investigated him. What I found was that there's... well, it's only at the level of suspicion... a possibility that he's connected to the kidnapping and disappearance incidents that happen every year. Furthermore, he had 8 wives. But for some reason, none of them ever appeared in public. When I dug deeper, there had been multiple marriage arrangements with him over the past few years. And every single one involved terrible conditions. Assault. Extortion. Murder. Robbery. The most common was debt."
"Hmm, hmm. You say replaced, but then what happened to the previous 8?"
"I don't know. But here's the strange thing — one of our spies who infiltrated the Jinryu family ended up among the 8 replacement wives..."
"Oh my, now that's quite the curious tale. And how does this connect to the request from Kon?"
"I want help getting rid of Buffarow. He must not be allowed to become head."
"I see, I see. Based on what you've told me, that certainly does seem warranted. But there's one thing I'm curious about. Jingi — the Red Dragon — is he really dead? The body?"
"It was never found. He went deep into the Heizen Great Forest and never came back. That's all there is to it. You understand."
"Hm hm. Ah, by the way — it seems like Buffarow's suddenly made a move, ya know."
"I've been suspicious about that too, and I've been wondering."
"Well then, well then, there's something I'd like you to look into, ya know. Whether Buffarow's gotten his hands on a strange sword — I'd rather like to know."
"A strange sword... are you talking about the Sword Goddess's daughter?"
A casual remark from Seiran.
The witch's lips twitched ever so slightly at the corners.
And then Seiran rang the bell.
A single butler stepped into the room.
It was the same butler who had brought the tea set and black tea earlier.
"You called for me, Lady Seiran?"
"Allow me to introduce you. The Sword Goddess's daughter — Giiza."
Upon being introduced, the butler — Giiza — bowed politely.
"A pleasure to meet you. I am a fragment of the Goddess's sword — Giiza, aspect of 'Loyalty.'"
Even the witch was taken aback.
Seiran took a sip of tea before speaking.
"If you already know, then all the better. Witch — there are three abominations lurking in Heizen. I'd like your help in destroying the other daughters of the Sword Goddess as well."
"Well, well — one thing after another, ya know."
The witch let a knowing smile spread across her lips. She certainly wouldn't be bored.