I already took a bath.

  The water was warm.

  I washed with soap. Even cleaned my hair properly.

  I wouldn’t say my soul was purified or anything… but it wasn’t bad.

  Anyway, traveling with a princess while being called a “Staff” and still smelling like a swamp would’ve been a disaster.

  But—

  what I really wanted to wash was my head.

  Because seriously… think about it.

  Is this actually real?

  The bell rang.

  The path my old man talked about actually existed.

  Even that ancient temple turned out to be real.

  A keepsake from my old man,

  traveling with a runaway princess, heading toward a lost temple—

  no matter how you look at it, that’s messed up.

  I closed my eyes.

  Thinking about it wouldn’t help, but my brain refused to stop.

  I remembered again.

  That thug.

  The first one.

  He tried to kill me.

  And my old man—

  he stepped forward.

  Without hesitation.

  He saved us.

  And then he died.

  Stolen story; please report.

  Without words.

  Just that look. Like he understood everything.

  Like he was saying,

  「Go.」

  So then—

  what am I supposed to do?

  What does being a “Staff” even mean?

  Protect someone?

  How?

  For what?

  I sighed. No way I’d know.

  I thought about Sera.

  She’s getting stronger. Decides things faster now…

  She’s different.

  I should probably ask her why she ran from the castle.

  I mean, I’ve got a rough idea already.

  And then it hit me.

  Lately… I’ve been thinking about Sera way too much.

  Way too much.

  I rolled onto my stomach.

  I just wanted to sleep.

  —

  I wasn’t in my room anymore.

  Somewhere else.

  A huge place. Shiny. Clearly expensive.

  Thick carpets. Strange floral scents. Curtains that probably cost more than my whole life.

  There were several women.

  One cleaning the room.

  One making the bed.

  One pushing in a cart with tea and sweets.

  And then—

  I saw her.

  A small girl.

  Sitting by the window, drawing.

  …Sera.

  Another woman sat beside her, peering at the picture.

  Sera spoke in a small voice.

  「How is it?」

  A tree.

  Two people.

  And a bell.

  —「It’s beautiful, Princess.」

  —「You’re very talented.」

  Perfect smiles. Straight out of a manual.

  Sera slowly lowered her hand.

  She smiled again—but it was a lonely smile.

  One by one, they all said 「Excuse us」 and quietly left.

  Until only Sera remained.

  Standing alone in the middle of that glittering room.

  …Yeah. I think I got it.

  Why she ran away.

  —

  The scene changed.

  This one—I recognized.

  My memory.

  The forest.

  Night.

  I was walking.

  And she was in my arms.

  Her weight.

  Her warmth.

  Her breathing against my chest.

  …And her skin.

  Her uniform was torn, a bit of her side exposed.

  I didn’t know where I was supposed to look.

  The smell came back too.

  I hadn’t forgotten it.

  If anything, I remembered it too clearly.

  I kept walking. Didn’t say a word.

  I pulled her just a little closer.

  …Not on purpose.

  But I didn’t hate it.

  I wanted to protect her.

  I didn’t want anything like that to ever happen again.

  And the moment I thought that—

  that strange sensation came back.

  I hadn’t been searching for it.

  But it felt like I’d found something.

  —

  I opened my eyes.

  Still night.

  I lay there, staring at the ceiling.

  「Tch… hey, Ren. That’s not what you need to be thinking about right now.」

  I turned toward the wall, still lying down.

  A bitter smile slipped out.

  Thinking won’t help.

  But I can’t stop myself from thinking anyway.