and decided to stop paying so much heed to his antics. The bare stone floor was cold on her legs. Curious as to where she was, she glanced around. It was a small, cramped room with little in the way of furniture save for the bed beside her. The bed had a simple design but was high-quality all the same. Over on the stone wall, there were magically reinforced knives embedded in a map. It was a room she was well familiar with. After all, it was the Torture Princess's own bedroom. Instead of the bed, though, she seemed to have been lying atop the floor. "Why am I down here? Or no, rather...what exactly is going on?" "Hyah!" "Hmm?" All of a sudden, the Butcher leaped. Elisabeth watched him as he landed on the wall, scuttled across it, and plucked a knife out from the map. He then landed back on the floor, pulled an apple from his sleeve, and began peeling it. There clearly hadn't been any actual need for him to crawl across the wall. Elisabeth gave him a skeptical glance. "Peel, p-peel peel, peel peel peel." "...What exactly do you think you're doing?" "Hoh-hoh-hoh, I'm peeling an apple." "Well, yes, I can see that." "Your cough got me worried, Madam Elisabeth! And so I thought, why not serve you this delicious, juicy apple?! And for dessert, I can make you some meat!" "You seem to have your dessert and your entrÃ©e switched up there." Elisabeth was starting to tire of having to play the straight man. The Butcher gave her a wordless thumbs-up. In translation, that probably meant Exactly! The skepticism in Elisabeth's glance grew, and silence descended on them. Round and round the apple went in the Butcher's hand as he peeled it. The long strip of red skin traced a path through the air that seemed almost preordained. As she watched it wind like a snake, Elisabeth let out a quiet murmur. "Say, Butcher." "What is it, Madam Elisabeth? Ah, could it be that you'd like me to cut it into a bunny shape for you?" "Why? Why betray us?" The skin snapped. However, its descent was cut short. As the red peel fluttered in a downward spiral, the Butcher snagged it by the end. He spun it like he was playing with a toy, its red exterior and white interior turning and turning and turning again. "...It doesn't mean much, asking that 'here' and 'now.'" His voice was a soft whisper. Strangely, though, his tone was calm. He continued rotating the apple skin as he went on. "Asking 'me' is no different from turning to a mirror and asking your own reflection. Asking yourself a question meant for another will leave you forever seeking a reply, and asking yourself a question with no right answer is the first step toward having your heart break for good... I agonized over the same thing myself, you know. Why did she appoint me as her apostle?" "...Butcher." Round and round the spiral turned. Then out of the blue, the Butcher released it, then dropped the apple itself in turn. Its bare white flesh spun slowly as it drifted through the air, silently passing through the space that was separating Elisabeth and the Butcher. He was standing on the other side of that apple. Elisabeth directed a faint smile at that hidden face of his. "That was a falsehood, no?" "How very right. Or at least, just 'not a truth'... I'm sure even you realize, Madam Elisabethâ€”the 'real me' never agonized over anything of the sort." "Probably not, no... No, you didn't, no doubt. What a repugnant thought. You didn't even bother thinking; you just accepted your lot as a sacrificial pawn. Idiot." With zero warning, Elisabeth stuck out her arm and snatched the falling apple out of the air. Then with a chomp, she bit into it and began violently chewing its flesh. The Butcher said nothing. Elisabeth kept eating, spitting out seeds as she went. The small black lumps fell to the floor. Then she wiped her juice-covered mouth. "Why, you might well be the biggest idiot I know. What kind of fool spreads seeds of evil through the world he claims to love so dearly?" "This kind of fool, I suppose. I'm not proud of it, you know. But 'in their heart of hearts, everyone has just one thing that truly matters to them,' so it's not like I had much choice in the matter." The Butcher quietly nodded. Elisabeth clicked her tongue as she ruminated on his words. "In their heart of hearts, everyone has just one thing that truly matters to them." It sounded as though they'd come from someone else. When she finished eating the apple, she tossed its core over her shoulder. It smacked into the wall and fell to the floor. After turning to face the Butcher once more, she narrowed her eyes in irritation. "And one more thing. About me." "Yes? What might that be?" "I think I've come to understand." "Come to understand what, might I ask?" The Butcher cocked his head. Elisabeth closed her eyes and turned her gaze upward. Then she shifted her weight and collapsed back into empty space. But before she could fall, her head struck something. She was reclining against something hard, smooth, and cold. "What 'this world' is." The Butcher offered her no response. Even with her eyes closed, Elisabeth knew. He was goneâ€” â€”nowhere to been seen. Tick, tock... Tick-tock... Tick... Tock... Tick... Tock... Ti-ti-ti-tiâ€” Creeeeeeeâ€” â€”eeeak! "...For in short, that is what your existence amounts to." As Elisabeth finished her murmur, she sat up straight and slowly opened her eyes. As she expected, there were two people smiling before her. "Oh hey, Elisabeth's up." "And a very good morning to you, Lady Elisabeth! Did you sleep well?" "Kaito. Hina." She was back in the dining hall. She realized now that she was sitting atop a cabriole-legged chair. As for the other two, Kaito was standing on a wooden stepladder, and Hina was holding it steady. For whatever reason, they seemed to be decorating the walls. After Kaito finished sticking some ribbons up by the ceiling, Hina passed him a handful of artificial flowers. The way they looked working together was so sickeningly adorable, Elisabeth could hardly bear to watch. She shot them a question. "So what in the world are you two doing?" "Huh? We're getting ready for your third-year anniversary party as captain of the Peace Brigadeâ€”what else?" "Master Kaito wanted to surprise you, and I was in full support!" "Yes, well, that's all very nice, Hina. But it hardly seems like much of a surprise if you do the preparations in front of me, does it?" "I mean, you're not wrong." "In fact, I would go so far as to say that Lady Elisabeth is right." Kaito and Hina crossed their arms contemplatively. Hina aside, it was odd not having Kaito play the straight man. As a collective married unit, though, they definitely fell on the other end of that particular spectrum. Elisabeth pondered how best to respond. After giving the matter some thought, Kaito finally spoke. "But at the end of the day, you wouldn't want us decorating the dining hall and inviting people over without your say-so, right?" "Aye, that would be a problem indeed." Elisabeth nodded. It was a legitimate concern. Plus, if he hadn't checked in ahead of time, there was a risk that Elisabeth would be busy meeting with an envoy from the Church or something on the day of the event. Kaito had clearly put some thought into the matter. However, Elisabeth cocked her head anyway. "Wait, you said something about guests? It's not just you twoâ€”you invited others?" "Hey, this is a big deal! It's been three whole years since you got a job besides just fighting demons! We even handwrote invitations and everything." "Don't worry, Lady Elisabeth, you won't have to do a thing! Hospitality is a specialty of mine! Plus, we made sure to stock the wine cellar beforehand, and I prepared plenty of food!" "My my, it's so lively in here. Look at you all, innocent as babes. I must say, I'm impressed with your ability to maintain such dogged interest in this world." Suddenly, Elisabeth heard a deep voice that was as smooth as butter. She frowned. As Kaito fiddled with the artificial flowers' placement, he fired a casual response back. "Vlaaad? You being snide over there?" "Perish the thought! This is sarcasm, snide's softer cousin!" Elisabeth jerked her head to the left. Sitting brazenly beside her was a man dressed in an aristocratic coat. His was a face she'd seen not long ago. Elisabeth wrung a strained question out of her throat. "And what exactly are you doing here, you lout?" "Ha-ha-ha! I wasn't expecting a warm reception by any means, but even so, that's quite the cold shoulder you're giving me, my dear. The fact of the matter is, here is where I am. There's little to be done for it." "No, but whyâ€”?" "Come now, think about it. I've always been an obstinate one, if I do say so myself. Even death wasn't enough to get rid of me. And that's why I'm still hereâ€”because that's the way you perceive me. You understand what I'm getting at, I assume?" Vlad shrugged. After a short silence, Elisabeth nodded. In other words, that was just the kind of person she saw him as. She slumped back in her chair. "I see. Then I suppose that's that, then." "So it is. It's not like I'm here by choice, after all. Like it or not, here I am... I will remind you, though, that the world of man is full of pointless trivialities. Enjoying them is what makes us human. Our species' very existence is rooted in absurdity." "See, now you're just spouting nonsense." "Ha-ha. I see you won't be tricked quite so easily. You're a sharp one, my precious. If my dear successor were in your place, I'd have you fooled backward and forward by now. He really could stand to be a bit more of a skeptic." "I can hear you, y'know," Kaito grumbled in annoyance. Now that he had finished putting up the fake flowers, he started descending the stepladder. Halfway down, though, he stopped in place and glanced at Hina. She was standing expectantly by with her arms spread wide. Without missing a beat, Kaito leaped into them. She caught him and spun him round and round. As always, the pair never missed a chance to flirt. "Ha-ha-ha, Hina, Hinaaaaa!" "Hee-hee-hee, Master Kaito, Master Kaitooooo!" "By the way, those two have been like that this whole time, so it's taken them ages to get anything done." "Aye, I don't doubt it for a moment." "Expected as it may be, I must say, it's a most inefficient way of working. And I'm not sayin' that 'cause I'm jealous or anything, mind you!" The voice that rang out seemed somehow puppetlike, yet at the same time, it was strangely obnoxious. Elisabeth looked up. Long, honey-blond hair fluttered at the entrance to the dining hall. It would seem that the first guestâ€” â€”had arrived a little early. The girlâ€”Jeanne de Raisâ€”had a golden beauty to her. Elisabeth glanced her over from top to bottom. Then she nodded and spoke in dispassionate tone. "...Jeanne. It's a trivial thing, I'll admit, but this is ostensibly a banquet. Could you not have come in normal clothes or, at the very least, covered a bit more skin up?" "You say 'normal,' but to me, this outfit is normal. And besides, isn't your outfit much the same as mine? You look just as much like a flasher as I do, lady!" "See, you're even aware that you look like a flasher. Go and get yourself dressed up a little." Jeanne was wearing the same obscene bondage dress as always. Only mages