Himitsu – Kuro no Chikai

Chapter 2, Part 2 – Change

Chapter 2, Part 2 – Change

The roaring sound of the swelling flames. The pitch black of the dark night had suddenly been dyed in the red of the huge, spreading flames, and the surroundings echoed with deafening screams and shouts. Maids, butlers, and servants came running for their lives out of the majestically-built mansion.

“My lady ….”

The elderly butler that was standing in front tore off the hem of his scorched tailcoat, and wrapped it around the exposed scrape on her knee. It was not bleeding very much.

Since earlier, she hadn’t been able to move; it was as if her body had turned to stone. Even if she wanted to move, she couldn’t. That was because—

“Lady Miku ….. you mustn’t.”

Both of her arms were being pinned down by the servant holding her from behind. A young child had no hopes of resisting against the strength of an adult. How powerless, and pitiful. She could only catch as her loved ones were left behind to burn in the blazing flames.

“Father …… Moth ….. er ……”

The tears wouldn’t come. Or rather, they had long since dried up.

She was already tired of crying over “this moment” that would repeat over and over.

“That same dream again ….”

In response to being awakened by the scene from earlier, her consciousness was chilled as ice. The dream that she had seen countless times since her youth— For as long as she could remember, even as she grew older, the traumatic memory of the day she’d lost her parents was engraved into her heart.

She took the glass of water from her bedside table and drank it all in a single gulp. Her dried throat met with tasteless and odorless moisture. As she slowly regained her breath, the sound of her heartbeat also slowly calmed down. When she looked at the clock, she saw that it wasn’t even daybreak yet. It was still too early to be called morning. She debated for a while about going back to sleep. However, every time she had this dream, try as she may, she was never able to fall back asleep.

The prestigious family of Alphine, the Cyrinpts. Their lineage dated back to the founding of Alphine four hundred years prior; a family with much history, known all over Alphine, as well as in neighboring countries. This was due to the fact that, dating back to the three that were well-known at the time of Alphine’s founding, along with those that later fought in the long war in Velcant, every successive family head have since had their names recorded in history. Although the current family head-— Miku’s mother, was the first female head since the House of Cyrinpt had been established, her personality and caliber as a lord was by no means inferior. And while she was Miku’s “mother”, in terms of kinship, she was actually her non-blood-related aunt. Miku’s real mother and father had died in a fire when she was still three years old.

She had once lived with her parents and several servants in a mansion that was about ten kilometers away from the Cyrinpt Mansion she was currently residing in. It was not a very large mansion; a humble living closer to common people than a noble’s. The day the fire had occured, the young head of the Cyrinpt Mansion, her uncle, had just come to visit. When the fire actually started, Miku had been saved by being brought outside by the butler who helped her get ready for bed. As for her parents and uncle, however, even when the flames died down and the mansions had collapsed, their bodies were nowhere to be found.

The burnt wreckage was severely damaged, and due to everything burning out overnight and turning to ash, not even their remains were left. With her real mother and her younger brother, Miku’s uncle, dead, there was a momentary crisis that the legitimate bloodline of Cyrinpt would die out as well. However, there was still hope of survival with the wife of the previous head. The niece, Miku, was adopted by her to save the continuation of the Cyrinpt bloodline, and she herself would succeed as the family head.

Her mother loved Miku’s uncle— now her late husband—from the bottom of her heart. In order to succeed his will, and protect the prosperity of the bloodline that had continued for generations, she gave up sleep to continue working on socializing, business, and even diplomatic relations. In Miku’s case, she received special education to become the next family, and complied with her strict mother. Miku studied hard to live up to her mother-in-law’s expectations. In order to not be an embarrassment, and become an honorable noble lady, she put in strenuous effort to study in all areas, including academics, martial arts, visual arts, public speaking, and management.

Everything was for the sake of wanting to live up to the expectations of her mother, who she was not related to by blood, and also for the simple desire of wanting to be loved by her.

However, the feelings of the young girl who only wanted to be loved were never granted. Ever since the moment she had heard of the death of her beloved husband, whom she loved so dearly, her heart had broken. Even the duty of adopting the beloved daughter of her older sister-in-law and her husband was not out of sympathy for her pitiable niece who had lost both her parents, but because it was written in her late husband’s will; she did not have any love for Miku. They simply had a relationship where Miku, as a tool for continuing the family name, was subjected to daily lessons by her. Miku didn’t want to accept that she was not loved by her own mother. She did not. If she did, she would lose sight of her own reason to live; such feelings constantly occupied her heart.

One day, surely. With her own efforts, she could live up to those expectations—

With those thoughts in mind, she turned to look out the window. The sunrise slowly illuminated the previously darkened sky. Because she had been so lost in thought over depressing things, it had quickly become morning.

She lightly got up from the bed, and checked the day’s plans while getting ready. If not mistaken, today she would go with her mother to the Tard Region to visit a prestigious family there. They would have to depart as soon as they finished breakfast. As she walked down the halls and towards the ground floor, her pace was disheartened, and slightly heavy.

“I will continue speaking with Viscount Iceberg for a while longer, so please return to the villa first.”

At her mother’s words, she set out on the journey back to the Iceberg Villa by herself. For about two to three years, the current head of the Icebergs and his son, and the current head of the Cyrinpts, her mother, and she herself, had continued to meet for simple luncheons, both families steadily deepening their political and economic ties across countries.

Miku had come here with her mother several days ago on a summer trip to the region next to Velcant, the Tard Region. The large continental region, across the Minole Ocean to the east of Folle, consisted of many small countries. If one went farther east, they would reach widely uncivilized land. While Velcant could be said to be the center of the world with their success and prosperity in economy and culture, Tard’s people consisted mostly of farmers and peasants, and perhaps because of the nature of their locality, there were very few territorial disputes between those in power. Although it lacked the convenient and gorgeous culture that Velcant had, it was a relaxing country with little social class distinction. In recent years, it was not uncommon for nobles from Velcant to visit to expand their power. Since the era of the previous generation of Cyrinpts, they had a villa in this region, and would stay here during the summer. It took only half a day by ship from Folle, making it a rather short distance from Alphine.

Folle’s Viscount, the Iceberg family, were originally merchants that had come from the Tard Region. Currently, they had established bases in both the Kingom of Folle and Tard. Since the time of their ancestors, they had crossed the ocean as trade merchants between the small countries of Tard and the Kingdom of Folle. When the armistice that had been put in place a hundred years prior, during the long-continuing war in the Velcant Region, there has been many noble families that arose from the merchant families. The Icebergs were also such a merchant family that had entered the ranks of nobles, one of the so-called “wealthy merchant nobles.” With the enormous wealth they had built by taking the abundant resources from Tard to Folle, they entered the power struggle in Velcant as an emerging influence.

Compared to the prestigious family of Cyrinpt, that had been around since the founding of Alphine, their “status” as nobles differed. However, in an age where it had become difficult to survive on prestige alone, the reason that the Cyrinpts built connections with those that were wealthy was to protect the longevity of their family name. A family with history, and a family with wealth. Both sides deepened their ties with each other because each had something that they desired, but did not have themselves. All of them thought of it as a comforting friendship across their respective residing countries.

The sky was a cloudy gray, and seemed about to rain even now. Between the Iceberg Villa and the Cyrinpt Villa, there was a walking distance of about an hour.

Seeing Miku heading back without even a carriage, the son of the Iceberg family ran up to her, out of breath. When he offered to send her home by carriage, she politely refused. She felt bad about doing so, but she felt like walking today. She told him that she wanted to take a stroll around the port cities of Tard on the way back, and he saw her off with a slightly troubled expression.

With just her small bag and the black umbrella she’d been given because it might rain, she walked through the beautiful seaside town. If she followed the road that continued along the coast, she would soon reach the villa, but for some reason, she felt like taking a detour home today. The summer sea breeze was blowing relentlessly. Although Alphine was surrounded by a lake on all sides, and looked like an ocean from the shore, it was a completely different compared to being in front of the real thing. As expected, the salty scent carried by the breeze was unfamiliar, and although she had never visited very often, she started feeling nostalgic. Perhaps one of her ancestors had once lived near the ocean before.

Just like this, while staring out at the ocean that seemed to stretch on endlessly, she thought, I want to go to whatever is on the other side. To the ends of the earth, where no one else has gone before. Not as my family’s heir, or my mother’s tool, but simply as myself. Without being bound by anything, or for anyone else’s sake, simply living for myself. If only I could do such a thing.

As I am now, I can’t cross this ocean on my own. If only I had wings. If only I had wings like Rin, able to fly to the ends of this ocean—

“Miku!!”

It was Rin’s voice.

She’d somehow become deeply lost in thought, and quickly came back to her senses in confusion.

“Heeey~! Mikuuuu~!!”

No, she hadn’t been feeling well lately due to the heat, so she must be hearing things now. She had to hurry home, without idling around.

Just as she turned to walk away from the ocean that she’d been gazing at, her vision was suddenly enveloped in pure white. Elegant, fluttering wings reflected off the light of the water’s surface and shone remarkably. It was so bright. When had the clouds parted for it to be this bright?

“—Rin?”

“Are you alone, Miss~? What’re you doing in a place like this?”

The smiling face of the angel in front of her was so bright; it seemed to give off its own sparkle.

“Fufu …. The weather was so nice out, so I was just taking a stroll.”

“Oh~? What a coincidence! So was I!”

“Oh? Is that so?”

“Hey, let’s go on a date.”

It seemed like she was doing in imitation of the time a man had started flirting with her when she’d been walking through town the other day.

“That sounds fine. Ah, that’s right! Do you see those boats over there? I wanted to ride in one, but I was told I couldn’t by myself. Would you like to ride one together, Rin?”

At her suggestion, the small, innocent angel followed Miku while wearing a curious expression on her face.

The water’s surface was calm and quiet, without even a single wind blowing. In the boat rented from the docks were two people, a human girl and—

“Uwaaaaaaah it’s shakinggggggg!”

“R-Rin!! The more you move, the more it’s going to shake~!”

“B-b-b-butttttttt~”

“Kyaah!”

“Uwaaaaaaaaaah we’re going to fall heeeeeeeeeeelp”

In the calm ocean, there was only one boat that was thrashing around as if facing a violent storm. The couples from the surrounding boats, that were floating quite easily in the pleasant summer ocean, were staring in their direction with some concern.

“It …. seems that …. angels … are bad …. with moving vehicles.”

Perhaps because the shaking of the waves had startled her, Rin had been the only one to be in a huge panic since boarding the boat, and as a result of that, she seemed seasick. With a pale face, she stared uncomfortably at the water’s surface.

“Pff– ….”

No, she musn’t laugh. Even if this angel, that had an image of flying freely through the skies and seemed able to face any obstacle, was now seasick from riding a boat in an ocean with no waves, and staring at the water with an unfocused, reproachful gaze. But, she couldn’t hold it in any longer.

“Ahahahahaha—“

Unable to bear it anymore, she laughed in a loud voice. Hearing this, the angel in front of her complained with a pale expression.

“Th-that’s so mean! Don’t laugh ….!”

“I-I’m sorry … I-it is just … too funny ….. fufufu, ahahaha!”

It didn’t seem that the laughter would be subsiding anytime soon. Rin always managed to pull off whatever she did, even if it didn’t seem like something an angel would do. The impressions that angels had is said to be decided by humans’ wild fantasies, but with Rin, it was something different.

“Uuuu …. How uncool~”

“Isn’t it fine since you’re cute? Miss Seasick Angel~”

“I-it’s not like … I’m happy or anything ….”

Even her usual forceful reply lacked energy.

“Although, you were so amazing last time~”

The angel was cute when she had her guard down, and Miku couldn’t help but find herself teasing her.

“Last time” meant the Glosse Market that had taken place the other day. She had carried all of the heavy bags by herself, challenged a difficult shooting range booth they’d happened to come across, and gotten the prize that no one else had been able to win. That day, Rin had played something like the role of a hero.

“Speaking of which … Have you ever fired a gun before, Rin?”

A simple question. After she’d asked her maid about it, she’d learned that that shooting range had required quite a bit of skill, and other than Rin, there seemed to have been only one other person that had won a prize.

“Eh? A gun ….? Yeah, I have ….”

With both the panic and swaying subsided, some of the color had returned to Rin’s face. Although when she answered, she still seemed a bit listless.

“R-really now ….! That’s rather unexpected. It was very surprising to me.”

“…. Unexpected? Actually, I have a gun with me right now. Look.”

Rin said, and pulled out a pure white gun to show her. It looked different from the guns Miku had seen before; completely white without a hint of dullness.

“Wow ….! It’s my first time seeing a pure white gun. So there are even guns in the world of angels ….”

“Eh? You say weird things, Miku. There’s nothing in the human world that doesn’t exist in Heaven.”

The angel smiled honestly. Nothing in the human doesn’t exist in Heaven. In other words …

“Umm, well I don’t know how humans imagine the way Heaven works, but most things in the human world are things taken from Heaven, for one reason or another. If I remember correctly, about five hundred years ago, a gun was carelessly dropped by an angel during a mission, and the human that picked it up spread it—or rather, I think it just wound up getting around the human world …. So humans didn’t even know about this, huh …?”

“…. That’s true. There’s so many things that we, humans, don’t know …..”

Because they don’t know, they want to know. That’s what it means to be human. Probably.

“But, they’ve only taken things that are ‘based’ on the original thing. For example, this boat. In Heaven, there’s a cradle that boats are based off of, but it doesn’t float in the water. Instead, it floats through the sky. That way, when we get tired, we can travel even without using our wings. It’s made from leaves, so it’s light and compact, and easy to carry around.”

“Really ….! Then, do you get sick when you ride the cradles, Rin?”

When she asked this, Rin chuckled, and replied somewhat shyly.

“Um, about that, I’m used to wind waves! Once I get used to the waves in the ocean, I won’t be scared anymore.”

“Fufu. Then, shall we do this again sometime?”

Rin’s lips drew back slightly.

“Tell me, is there anything else? Things which angels have given to humans.”

“Hmm … It’s safe to say that most things in the human world are …. It’s just that the lifestyle between angels and humans …. Or, more like, the ecology is pretty different, so I can’t really say anything ….”

“Oh? …. Now that I think about it, when you lived at my house, you were surprised at even ordinary things. When I’d go to sleep, you’d whine the whole time, going, ‘You’re sleeping already—?’”

“’Ordinary’ ….!? That’s …. That’s because eating and sleeping is nothing more than preference to angels; we won’t die even if we don’t do either. We don’t need to sleep at a certain time every night like you do. …. Well, it feels nice sleeping under the sunlight so I do, though. Anyway, it was boring once you’d go to sleep, Miku. Lily stays up until the middle of the night, but whenever I spoke to her, she’d want to use me as a dress-up doll— …..”

“Fufu. I apologize for that. It sounds convenient that you don’t need to eat nor sleep. Does that mean that angels don’t die?”

As she asked this, she remembered, about the day that she’d met Rin. She had injured her wing, and seemed very weak. Did that mean that angels could die from injuries, just like humans could?

“Angels don’t die from reaching the end of their lifespan. Our appearances change over time like humans do when they grow older, but we can preserve our appearance at our own timing. If I didn’t want to look any older than I do now, I could look like this forever. Ah, but we can’t do the reverse, though …. That’s why we can’t die from old age. We die when our holy power is used up. The truth is, even humans have holy power. Miku, you’re able to see me, aren’t you? That means that you have a lot of holy power in you. Although it’s rare, it seems that humans with a higher level of holy power than ordinary people are able to sense the presence of angels.”

“…. Holy … power ….”

“Right. Well, even so, humans aren’t able to manipulate it, so they probably don’t realize~ Holy power is the power of God. In both Heaven and in these lands, there’s holy power everywhere, but there are places where it’s more concentrated. In the human world, that would be the Velcant Region …. And it’s especially strong here in Alphine. The reason is because it used to be a part of Heaven. ….. Ah, although I can’t tell you about the details about that …. In any case, in the center of Rulen Island in Alphine is Claude Cathedral, right? Where we first met. It’s a place for angels to rest their wings when they come down to the human world. Holy power is strong there, and the long spiral staircase that continues up to the cathedral is used for all kinds of training.”

“I see ….”

Miku nodded in understanding. Perhaps because Rin was always conscious of being viewed in a respectful light by her, she told Miku things about “Heaven,” which she rarely talked about.

“Next is … Apples, I guess.”

“Apples ….?”

“Yeah! …. Apples are fruit that God made with especially high holiness. That’s why, both in Heaven and in the human world, they’re so delicious because of being more holy than regular food. By the way, in Heaven, I’m an expert in cultivating apples~”

As she spoke triumphantly, it seemed that this angel became passionate when it came to lectures about apples. She resembled Lily just a bit.

“Although there are many kinds of plants in Heaven, all angels love apples. It’s not like we’ll die if we don’t eat them, but apples are the one thing that everyone loves to eat. And, I know how to breed a lot of different kinds of apples to make the most delicious ones. The apples that I grow are really tasty. There’s many angels that becomes fans just from one bite.”

Rin declared with flames of passion dancing behind her beautiful, blue eyes. As she thought, she was just like Lily when she talked about producing, but she kept that to herself in order to not spoil the mood.

“Oh, right!”

Looking like she’d just remembered something, Rin casually pulled something out from the pocket of her clothes. It was a red, ripe, delicious-looking apple.

“I’ll give this to you, Miku. I picked this with confidence this morning.”

It would seem that the apple that Rin was holding out was one that she had cultivated in Heaven.

“Is it … really alright for me to take it?”

She had the feeling that Rin had said something before about how it was forbidden for angels and humans to interact. However, seeing as how they met like this frequently, and was even told about the structure of things in Heaven, it seemed like Rin didn’t pay much mind to that rule ….

“U-ummm …. …………… Yeah! It’s fine! You can have it!!”

After a moment of hesitation, she held it out again with a slightly forced smile, and Miku slowly took the fruit. When she took a bite, it was very sweet, and more delicious than anything she had ever tasted. Was it because this was an apple from Heaven? Or was it because, just as Rin had said, it was an apple cultivated by a professional? As she spoke out about her impression honestly, the angel before her blushed slightly, and became shy.

“Rin, you’re so knowledgeable, and can do anything from target shooting to growing apples; You really are an amazing angel …. You’re still so young, yet so lovely.”

Although at first glance, she appeared to be an adorable and delicate young girl, the fact that she had actually proved to be very knowledgeable and capable of doing anything must be because she was an angel …. As Miku thought this, she suddenly realized something. Earlier, hadn’t Rin said that angels could control the timing at which they aged?

Up until that point, the angel had been smiling happily, but now, she met her gaze with a somehow shocked expression.

“…. Haaah. I thought you’d say that …. It’s been about one hundred and fifty years since I’ve come into this world as an angel. Ah …. By the way, for angels, that’s still considered young.”

“One hundred and fifty …..”

Every new thing that this adorable angel told her was so interesting. Furthermore, the saying, “looks can be deceiving,” were surely also something that had been taken from Heaven.

* * *

It was afternoon in Griselle Water Garden, sparkling as it reflected the sunlight streaming in through the tree leaves. On the banks of the huge, beautiful fountain that rose up in the center was the usual meeting place. Made from a complex knitted formation of large branches, numerous swings hanging from them, and tables fashioned also from branches, angels often came here to rest there to rest their wings while enjoying a meal. In particular, the seats near the fountain with the nice view were a popular spot that was usually crowded during tea time and other breaks.

Today, as usual, four angels had met together and picked out a spot to enjoy a slightly early afternoon tea. The sunlight was warm; it was a very relaxing and calm afternoon. There was just one thing a little off. Since a while ago, one young man had his arms crossed and eyes closed, and was giving off a cold air. He held a fifty-centimeter radius of space around him. Beside the sulking, blue-haired young man was a blonde-haired girl, panicking with a pale and troubled expression.

“Like I said, I … I do … feel bad about it, you know ….?”

“…..”

“I’m reflecting on it! Really! I am …..!”

“…..”

“—Look! I even wrote a reflection statement here …..!”

“…..”

“Ah~ …. Although, there was … just a bit of trouble, so … um, it got soaking wet like this, and it’s …. barely legible now, but …. I-I’ll write it over again!”

“…..”

“And, anyway! Here, look! At this delicious-looking apple! I finished growing it just the other day, and named it, ‘Golden Apple’! The crunchy yet soft texture creates a light rhythm that leaves you refreshed, and the moment you take a bite, the melting harmony of sweetness and sourness is like truly ascending to Heaven …. It’s the sweet and elegant taste of ecstasy. Even that bird of paradise was drooling with glimmering eyes as it waited for the delicious fruit to ripen on the tree; the very embodiment of captivation ….!”

As Rin rambled on, the girl sitting across from her, Gumi, listened with wide, sparkling, bright green eyes, and her mouth hanging half-open. There was a bit of drool dripping from the edge. Rin felt strangely convinced that the reason that prideful, bird of paradise hasn’t been singing much recently was because it, too, had been too busy drooling. Beside Gumi, the young man that was holding a tea cup to his lips in an elegant fashion, Gaku, was staring with an empty, hardened gaze, as if imagining the taste of this exquisite apple. It would seem that all angels really did love apples.

“….. Was that all you wanted to say?”

Came a single, cold statement, as if to put a stop of the two angels’ fantasies. Kaito slowly opened his eyes, and with a completely unrestrained expression, he glanced over to stare at Rin, who was sitting beside him. His gaze wasn’t just cold; those eyes were ones he used only when he was genuinely angry. Rin felt herself shrink even smaller than she already was from the intimidation.

“I’m … really sorry …..”

With all of her sincerity, she apologized one more time. However, his eyes didn’t budge in the slightest. Gumi, who was drooped next to Rin, had just finished eating to the top of the apple tower in her fantasies and suddenly snapped back to her senses. timidly finding her way into the conversation.

“U-um! Rin-chan didn’t do it on purpose! It was an, err, accident … or, better put, just how it ended up? She didn’t mean anything bad by it! Anyway, it was my fault she went to the human world this time, so …. Please forgive her …! If you’re going to punish her, then punish me as well ….!”

While trembling in fear under Kaito’s force, Gumi desperately protected Rin. Some tears had accumulated in her eyes. Gaku, who had also been daydreaming of swimming in a sea of apple juice like a shark, quickly returned to his senses, as well. The two of them were very similar.

“I see, I see …. Gumi, it should have been my obligation, as your partner, to provide you supervision and assistance when you went to the human world for investigation. Therefore, the one that should be held liable is I. Allow me to receive punishment as well, Lord Kaito.”

“Wait! Gumi! And even Gaku ….! But this has nothing to do with you! I appreciate what you’re doing but, this is …. It’s all …. my own fault.”

Her fault.

She admitted it, that “that” had been a mistake, despite her efforts of not wanting to admit that allowing Miku to eat an apple from Heaven had been something forbidden.

“…. Is that so? Then, you’ll admit that it was a mistake to give one of our apples to the likes of a human?”

“…. Y-yes. It’s written in the law that it’s now allowed, after all. ‘It is forbidden to directly give humans food from Heaven.’”

“…. The law, hm? That may be so, but it doesn’t seem as though you believed you’d done something wrong at the time, does it?”

“Uuu …..”

Rin froze as she was glared at. Truthfully, up until now, she hadn’t thought she’d done anything wrong. She felt sorry that she’d caused trouble for not only herself, but also for Gumi, Gaku, and most of all, Kaito.

“I really don’t think I’ve done anything bad by giving Miku the apple. But, I’m really sorry that I’ve caused trouble to all of you for doing so. So that’s why I think it to be my fault.”

Miku—

The name of a human that he had heard from Rin’s mouth so many times. Every time he heard Rin say that name, Kaito felt a twinge of annoyance.

“In that case, I cannot say that you’re really reflecting on it. Even I cannot overlook this situation. I will report your action to the higher-ups, and have them give you the appropriate punishment.”

Rin could feel tears begin to build up from Kaito’s cold, piercing words.

“No way …..! Please, wait just a minute!”

“Indeed; in the first place, it was something that happened under my and Gumi’s jurisdiction.”

“Excuses are of no use.”

Completely unmovable, Kaito simply said this and stood from his seat.

“But the truth is, that apple was originally meant for Archangel Kaito ….!”

“!”

Kaito looked surprised at Gumi’s sudden outburst. Rin had planned to give the apple to Kaito, but because she’d been called out on an emergency, she had taken the apple with her to the human world before she’d had the opportunity to.

Yesterday, Rin had been suddenly called out by Gumi, and putting a hold on her unfinished work, she had rushed down to the human world. Rin and Gumi had been promoted from trainees to junior angels at about the same time, and even when their training period together had ended, they continued to get along just as well as they had been. Although the regions they were assigned to were different, in times when either of them was busy, they would ask each other to help with their work. This time, in the Tard Region that Gumi was assigned to, because the Ascension list had suddenly been added to, Rin had gone to assist with their lack of manpower. Gumi’s direct superior, Gaku, had been involved in some other important work as an Archangel, taking with him a large unit, which led Gumi to call on Rin for help, who occasionally had days off.

With Rin’s help, the Ascension mission had been successfully finished, but that was when Rin saw Miku for the first time in a while. Seeing as how Tard was quite a distance from Miku’s mansion in Velcant, she had doubted it at first, but once she had gotten closer, it really had been her, after all. Because Rin had been busy with work in Heaven and hadn’t met with Miku in about a month, she assumed this to be the workings of fate, and had jumped at the chance. Miku had smiled so happily when she’d found Rin, as well. As the two of them got caught up in their chatting, Rin had ended up giving it to her—the exquisite apple that had so quickly caused Gumi and Gaku to be caught in a sweet fantasy … the Golden Apple.

When it had finally ripened, Rin had tasted it immediately, and found the apple to be her greatest masterpiece yet. Rin had wanted to share these feelings with someone else as soon as possible, and had taken one more from the branches.

That’s right—if she remembered correctly, Kaito had looked like he’d been in a very bad mood after opposing the newly passed law until the very end during the Archangel meeting.

As she thought of this, Rin had decided to give him one of the few remaining of this prototype apple. She would give this exquisite apple to him, who hid the fact that he liked apples under his usual poker face. As soon as he ate this, he’d be able to forget all about his bad mood. That was about as far as she’d gotten with her plan before being called out on an emergency by Gumi.

“I do apologize, Kaito. Although I did receive a report from them once they’d returned, I had not realized the graveness of the situation. But, by no means, had I been captivated by the apple Rin had been carrying or anything of the sort!”

Kaito glanced at Gaku, and let out an inward side. This colleague of his was very capable, and could get the job done, but he was lacking in some areas.

What happened afterwards was easy to imagine. After Rin and Gumi had finished worked, they’d picked plenty of apples, gone to secure the popular spot early on, and had Gaku brew up a blend of his special tea. The two of them honestly hadn’t thought too deeply about how Rin had broken the law, but just in case, in order to not undermine Kaito’s mood, they had prepared a convincing-enough reflection statement. However, when Rin had been flying with both of her arms full of apples, she had accidentally dropped it into the large fountain, rendering it illegible. Up until Kaito had arrived, they never would have imagined something like this happen, and had been chatting happily about how they might be able to finally see an exceptional smile from him today.

After hearing all the details of what had happened, Kaito sat back down, still seeming displeased. However, his mood seemed to have gotten a bit better.

“Using an urgent request for assistance, in this busy period, to handle an Ascension list with two people …..”

“Uuu …..”

“Putting aside his poor supervision of subordinates, and instead engaging in carefree preparations for an apple-eating meal ….”

“Uuu—”

“Without thinking wrongly of breaking the law, preparing a large bribe for the sake of saving her superior’s mood, and moreover, besides the most crucial thing, the written apology, being copied word for word from the Heaven Current Affairs Archives, the number of spelling errors makes it a barely passable quality. And to make matters even worse … It was submitted in this damaged state …..”

“Uuuu ….”

The three of them were each stabbed the words that Kaito had fired at them. It seemed to be rather effective.

“…. Honestly. As expected, even I cannot turn a blind eye to all of this.”

With an appalled expression, but with a slightly calm color in the depths of his eyes, Kaito quietly held a cup. The roasted tea at Gaku made really was exceptionally delicious.

“““We’re so sorry!”””

As the three of them deeply bowed their heads, Kaito sighed.

“Well, I suppose I can manage to talk something out with the higher-ups. …. And, my absence last night, however slight, is also to blame in this.”

Hearing this, the depressed mood the three had just been in dispersed, and they immediately cheered up.

“Waah! As expected of Archangel Kaito! He’s so reliable in times of need!”

“Yes, quite. I see it very clearly now. Despite appearances, Lord Kaito is deeply compassionate and merciful.”

“Yay~! Not guiltyyyy!”

“…. And what has become of all of your subdued behavior just a moment ago?”

“Ahh—! Come to think of it, I haven’t eaten this apple yet.”

Gumi suddenly remembered “Today’s Leading Role” that lay completely forgotten on the table.

“That’s right, that’s right~! Hey, Kaito, come eat some, too!”

Without any objections, the three of them were already stuffing their mouths full of apples. They had very nice smiles on their faces.

“So good~!! I’ve never eaten such a delicious apple before~”

With a full-faced smile, Gumi expressed her feelings of a taste she had never tasted before.

“Isn’t it? It’s the best masterpiece of the talented producer, Rin.”

“Indeed, this is … a pleasure I have not yet experienced before …. A truly mystical taste.”

As the three of them livened up and soon left him behind, for some reason, Kaito simply couldn’t grasp the situation. Was it because earlier, Rin has said that she had wanted him to be the first one to eat this apple? Or had he misheard her?

“Huh? What’s wrong, Kaito? The tea doesn’t suit your taste?”

“…. No, it’s nothing of the sort.”

With a displeased face, he took a bite out of an apple. Certainly, it did taste delicious enough to make one’s face brighten. He had to admit that Rin had talent in cultivating apples. It surely could be said that this was her best masterpiece up until now.

“As I suspected, apples truly are the best for angels. Simply by eating them, any and all trivial matters are soon forgotten.”

“…. You forget too much as it is, even without eating.”

“Hm? Could you possibly be ….”

“….. ?”

“Ah, no, it is nothing at all.”

Perhaps—thought Gaku,

This young man had not actually been angry that she had broken the law ….. The exquisite apple that Rin had grown with all of her effort—she had wanted to share that taste together with her feelings, with him. “I wanted Kaito be the first one to eat this.” His expression when she had said that …

As if he had been waiting for those very words.

Telling himself that it would be unrefined to pry any further than this, he put on an innocent air again, and continued to eat the alluring fruit that he held in his right hand.

“Ah, truly magnificent.”