like her. She raised her arm up high and spoke without a moment's hesitation. "Now thenâ€”it's time to settle this!" And with that, she hurled the herbs into the tub. The herbs bobbed as they floated on the liquid's surface. A heavy silence filled the air. Hina tilted her head to the side. Hmm? Then a tremendous quantity of smoke gushed out with a deafening FSHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH. *** Hina tensed up so badly, she practically joined the rats in their scream. The smoke, still making a FSHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH sound, billowed past her at an alarming clip. It was so dense that she couldn't see a thing. Hina couldn't help being thankful that she was an automaton. It was dangerous to take a direct hit point-blank like that, even with the protective suit. "Oh, goodness... That gave me quite a fright." At that point, she realized that the rats around her had all toppled, and the ones that had been clinging to her had fallen off. Her concoction had worked. In fact, it might well have been overkill. She quietly clasped her hands together as though in prayer, then rose to her feet and clomped back the way she came. The smoke had dirtied up her glass visor, and it soon became evident that it wasn't going to clear up on its own. Hina deftly swapped the tub to one hand, then popped off her protective headpiece. She shook her head to clear the hair out of her face. Then, her eyes gleaming, she breathed a sigh of relief. "Phew, that should finally be all of them... Oh? Why, if it isn't my beloved Master Kaito and my dearest Lady Elisabeth! Whatever brings you down here?" When she removed the protective gear, though, she discovered Elisabeth and Kaito standing before her. It made no sense for them to be here, and Hina herself had no idea what was going on. However, one thing was clearâ€”the two of them were definitely standing there. And what's more, their replies came in the form of a shout. *** She blinked her emerald eyes in puzzlement. Still dressed like an extraterrestrial, she cocked her head to the side. At that point, Kaito elaborated: "You went missing, so Elisabeth and I have been looking everywhere for you." "For me? Oh goodness, I'm ever so sorry. It was all part of my work for the day, and I figured I would be done in no time, so I didn't think I needed to tell you, but...could it be that it's much later than I think it is? Eek, oh no! I got so wrapped up in mixing that I lost track of the time! However can I possibly apologize?" Hina gave a hurried bow. She had no idea that anywhere near that much time had passed. Then a thought crossed her mind that caused her to panic so hard, she felt steam might come bursting out of her ears. Oh, oh my, thank goodness they weren't there when I released the chemicals! Why, I very nearly engulfed my two most important people in poison gas! In truth, she had actually engulfed them, but she of course had no way of knowing that. "A-as long as you're safe, then there's no harm done. Come now, raise your head," Elisabeth encouraged her. Hina very nearly replied that she couldn't because she hadn't finished expressing her penitence, but before she could get the words out, she spotted Kaito trying to peer inside the copper tub. She quickly shook her head and hid the tub behind her back. "There isn't much left, but it's still emitting vapor! It's dangerous to stick your head in!" "Hina...what exactly is that?" "A secret mixture for exterminating rats, passed down since time immemorial, that I had stored in my Self-Recording Device! Or to be more precise, a special Murder Supreme Version of it that I came up with!" "'Murder Supreme Version,' huh...?" "You see, I ran into one of their survivors when I was making my evening rounds..." And with that, Hina began honestly recounting everything that had happened in her long campaign against the rats. At the end, she passionately clenched her fist. "If the unthinkable happened and a rat that large were to bite one of you, why, I wouldn't have been able to rest until I killed every last rat in the world!" The other two nodded in understanding. It looked like they found her explanation satisfactory. That was a load off Hina's back. As her heart filled with relief, she felt a tingling of joy in it, too. Ah... How truly, truly blessed I am! In this world, nobody paid a second thought to the feelings of automatons. Yet these two had not just been worried about her, but they'd also even come looking for her themselves. It made her feel fortunate beyond belief. She gave them a big, bright smile like a flower coming into full bloom. "I really am sorry about the inconvenience, but thank you both so much. Knowing that my beloved Master Kaito and my dearest Lady Elisabeth were worried for my sake, why...it makes me feel more blessed than I could possibly dream of!" Tears began slowly but surely welling up in her eyes. Before long, she was crying in earnest. Unsure what to do, Kaito and Elisabeth scratched their cheeks. Then they cheerily went on. "C'mon, of course we were. It was our precious Hina we were talking about." "You work so hard for our sakes, and for all we knew, you might well have been in peril somewhere. 'Twas but a matter of course we'd come searching for you." Their words just made her happier and happier, and the tears kept coming. Kaito and Elisabeth affectionately came over and stood beside her. The moment they did, they both let out cries of surprised realization. "Whoa, Hina, your outfit's crazy stiff." "It really is. 'Crazy stiff' is just the way I'd put it." "Hee-hee... It is built to be sturdy, you see." Hina smiled again and wiped away her tears. Now that the rematch with the rats was over, the three of them headed back the way they came. The battle had left a pretty disastrous mess, and Hina knew she'd have to come back later and clean it all up. For now, though, she was going to take a little break. Her day had been full of joy, and there were so many things she wanted to write about in her diary. With any luck, the next day would be similar, as would the day after it. A small wish welled up inside Hina. Deep down, she knew it couldn't possibly come true. Yet even so, she wished that the happy days the three of them were spending together could go on forever and ever. A Message from Someone (7) I cursed, I resented, I hated, I despised, I grieved, I lamented, I cursed, I cursed, I cursed, and at the end of all my cursing... ...my wish was finally granted. The end of days took place once more. The seeds of evil I'd sowed budded without fail. At that point, all that was left was for everyone to die. The stupid sheep would perish, persistent in their idiocy to the bitter end. That would have been fine. Just deserts would have been served. That was the verdict I cast, and that was the wish I made. However... ...the person I am nowâ€” â€”is not who I was then. ...Will you hear me out? O anonymous listener who I once wished death upon? It is a tale from long, long ago. Back then, I made a fatal blunder. I brought about the end of days. But that wasn't my true intention. I didn't destroy the world because I wanted to. I was mistaken; don't get me wrong. One could even say that my very existence was an error. But even so, none of that changes the nobility of my goal. I just wanted to save the world when nobody else would. But in spite of thatâ€” â€”at some point, I forgot. Heâ€”the Mad Kingâ€”was right. I forgot. Back thenâ€” â€”everyone was cryingâ€” â€”and I wanted to make it so they didn't have toâ€” â€”so nowâ€” â€”why? Why are my earsâ€” â€”so full of screams andâ€”? "I caaaught him." "Excellent work!" Elisabeth was in the beastfolk lands. Having successfully carried out her Peace Brigade duties for the day, Elisabeth returned to Valisisa Ula Forstlast's residence. With a listless announcement, she kicked the bound mage forward. Her beastfolk subordinates replied with their thanks, and one deer-headed soldier dragged the man off to the dungeons for having committed the crime of ritualistic demon worship. Elisabeth rotated her shoulders in exasperation. Lute walked up to her and handed her a hot cup of tea. "I would expect nothing less. With this, we can strike another name off the most wanted list." "That's all, correct? I shall be taking my break now. And my dinner, albeit a late one." Shortly after she made her announcement, though, the door got violently kicked open. The voice that rang out seemed somehow puppetlike, yet at the same time, it was strangely obnoxious. "Pardon me. Elisabeth! Is Elisabeth Le Fanu around? Listen to what I gotta say for a minute, bitch!" "Ah. 'Tis Jeanne... I see you've made your way here from the Capital again. How many times does this make, anyhow?" "Don't worry about that; just listen. I don't understand what's going on in my little lady's head. Women, I'm tellin' ya! Like, does she hate me? She doesn't hate me, does she?" "As far as I can tell, Izabella's never been much of a clingy type. I'm off now. Good-bye." After exchanging a glance with Lute, Elisabeth beat a hasty retreat and made her way out into the hallway. Once she'd made sure nobody was coming her way, Elisabeth tossed a jewel downward. It struck the floor and drew a teleportation circle atop it. Crimson flower petals and darkness sprayed up as far as the eye could see, and cylindrical walls the color of blood formed around her. Fine cracks ran across them. Then they were gone, and nobody remained within. Elisabeth had vanished from the beastfolk lands. Tick, tock... Tick-tock... Tick... Tock... Tick... Tock... Tiâ€” Click. Click. "I've returned." "Hey, welcome home." Elisabeth spoke, and a cheerful voice called back. Kaito tilted his chair backward. Still seated, he turned around. The little knot that his faded brown hair was tied in dangled behind his head. As usual, his butler uniform looked completely ridiculous on his skinny frame. Appearing the same as always, he checked over the inventory listing for their main storeroom. Elisabeth started to raise her hand to greet him... Hmm? ...but halfway through, her arm froze. Something felt dangerously off. She cocked her head to the side. Meanwhile, Kaito continued scribbling away with his quill pen. From time to time, he would smudge some ink or begin idly doodling. It was an almost tear-inducingly mundane sight. There was nothing peculiar or amusing about it in the slightest. Elisabeth chose not to put her discomfort into words. Instead, she strode over to Kaito with a wide gait. Without even looking at her, he pulled out the chair beside his and gestured at it with his chin. "Mmm." "Aye." Elisabeth responded as though it were the most natural thing in the world, then sat down as well. A few seconds later, she cocked her head to the side again. However, she didn't get a chance to vocalize what it was that seemed so odd. Kaito slid the inventory list over to her and pointed at one of its blank spaces. "Elisabeth, I gotta say, these documents suck." "Dullard... That's the sole conclusion you reached after going at it all day? I'm out there working tirelessly, so the least you can do as my butler is keep my castle in order. Enough grousingâ€”just