kitchen. It was physically possible, to be sure, but the prospect of Elisabeth finding out was a terrifying one indeed. The Butcher leaped up and down in joy at this fortuitous outcome. Hina smiled genially. Early as it was, her daily indulgence was complete, and she set off. Together, the two of them headed for the kitchen. It was a decision that neither of them put a great deal of thought into. There was one step remaining on Hina's morning itinerary. Namely, preparing Elisabeth's morning tea. Each day, she would take the ambient temperature and humidity into account to mix the perfect ingredients for a cup of tea that would hit the spot just right. The thing was, there wasn't much else she could do for her masters in the morning. Elisabeth's dress was constructed out of magic, so she never needed assistance getting dressed, and Kaito had firmly turned down Hina's offers to help him out with his morning routine or bring him any sort of beverage. As such, she poured all her efforts into Elisabeth's tea. This morning, as always, her maid's spirit fired up as she mixed the tea leaves. The weather was slated to be chilly, and while it wasn't supposed to rain, it was definitely going to be overcast. "In that case, the situation calls for a tea that can warm up body and mind alike to start the day off right!" With her mission decided, Hina opened up the white cupboard before her. Inside, there was a large selection of cube-shaped boxes. She popped off a few of their lids, then scooped out some leaves with a silver spoon, blending together, in perfect, exquisite ratios, types that warmed up the body with varieties that had refreshing flavors. Then she added some dried red flower petals and bitter orange seeds. That way, the tea would come out in a nice transparent shade of vermilion and would have a sweet aroma to pick up one's spirits. After successfully finishing the mixing process, Hina turned to move on to the next step. Then she blinked. The Butcher was standing in front of the ice-spirit fridge, visibly at a loss. Hina hurried over to him. "What's the matter, Mr. Butcher?" "All the meat on the bone I intentionally delivered is still here. In other words, the one that Madam Elisabeth ate last night must have been the one I forgot! Ohhhh, what a cruel turn of fate." "Oh no, I'm so sorry. But knowing Lady Elisabeth, I'm sure she at least enjoyed it more than anyone else in the whole world would have!" "Well, well, well, I suppose that is a silver lining... Being enjoyed is the greatest joy that meat can have, after all." "It really is, isn't it? Come on now, please, don't look so down! Here, why don't I prepare you a light snack? First, though, I should check the weather just in case so I can... Hmm?" The stonework kitchen was cramped and claustrophobic, but it did at least have a window for ventilation. When Hina rushed over to it, she squinted, her artificial skeleton creaking as she pressed her head against the gaps in the window's iron grille. By craning her neck, she could just make out the area around the castle's front entranceâ€”and, more importantly, the person leaving the castle through it. Thanks to her preeminent vision, Hina could recognize the figure's silky black hair even in the dead of night. "...Lady Elisabeth? Shouldn't you still be asleep?" "Hmhm, ah, such beauty recognizable even from behind! That's Madam Elisabeth, sure as a dragon has wings!" All of a sudden, the Butcher's head popped up beside Hina's. However, he was too short for that to make sense. The secret, as it turned out, was that he was standing atop his sack, and what's more, he was perched precariously on his tiptoes. Totally unfazed by his sudden appearance, Hina asked him a question. "Oh, Mr. Butcher, you can see her, too?" "Heh-heh-heh. To tell you the truth, I'm made of sterner stuff than the average demi-human! There's a reason I've lived as long as I have, I'll have you know!" He puffed up his chest with pride. However, doing so caused him to lose his balance. He wobbled back and forth for a moment, then puffed up his chest again. Hina gave him an impressed round of applause. This time, there was no straight man to be found. Meanwhile, as the two of them shared their friendly little chat, Elisabeth kept on walking. Soon, she vanished into the tree line. Hina tilted her head to the side. How very odd. Where could Elisabeth be going at such an early hour? Hina crossed her arms. The Butcher did likewise. Then they stepped away from the window in unison and turned to look at each other. "You know, Mr. Butcher, this is just my intuition speaking, but..." "...it feels as though there's something afoot, doesn't it?" The two of them both nodded. And with that, the curtain rose on their small little grand adventure. The two of them were both the type to act first and think things through later. After making their decision, both Hina and the Butcher got to work without wasting a moment. Hina grabbed her magic leather bag on the off chance they'd need it, and the two of them rushed outside all helter-skelter and made their way into the forest after Elisabeth. Luckily for them, they were able to hide in the tall underbrush without anyone spotting them. As Hina carefully carried the hem of her maid uniform to avoid getting it dirty, she looked to her side. Standing there, she saw a big green blob. At some point, the Butcher had taken some leaves and grass and affixed them all over his cloak. "That looks very professional." "Hmhmhm, at long last, the time has come for me to leverage the skills I've developed in the long battles to establish this world's distribution channels! Beholdâ€”Field-Mode Butcher!" The Butcher replied to Hina's compliment in a tone dripping with confidence. All the way back at the castle, Kaito's unconscious straight-man retort of "What the hell does that even mean?!" echoed through the halls. Sadly, though, there was no one there to hear it. Down in the dark forest, however, a voice overcome with emotion was heard by just about everyone. "It's a wondrous honor to be graced with your radiant presence, O beautiful Torture Princess. O ravishing Elisabeth Le Fanu!" A group of birds took off at the sudden noise, cawing loudly as they flew away. Hina and the Butcher quickly pulled their heads back, then looked out again. The speaker quivered passionately and spread his arms wide. As he did, Elisabeth's mood grew visibly more sullen. This clearly wasn't someone she was excited to be meeting. ""Hmm,"" Hina and the Butcher murmured. They turned their gazes to the other party. It was a middle-aged man wearing a high-quality black cloak, with a bowler hat perched atop his head. An ornate mask gleamed on his face, no doubt to capture the attention of any who looked at it and get them to forget the rest of his appearance. However, his voice was obnoxiously shrill. If Hina used her Self-Recording Device, identifying him would be trivial. "...Mr. Butcher, I fear this is terribly rude of me to say, but I get this strange feeling that he's kind of an idiot." "Worry not, Ms. Lovely Maid. That there is an authentic Grade A idiot." The two of them nodded quietly as they completed their blunt evaluation of the man's nature. Then Elisabeth spoke. "You wake a person at this ungodly hour, then have the nerve to say I'm 'gracing you with my presence'? If every word that comes out of your mouth is going to be this insipid, I've half a mind to slice you in two where you stand." "Hyoh-heh, I suppose that's the Torture Princess for you. That pride, that arrogance...how fitting for the one who will guide us and share our path!" "What? No, a rebuttal such as that hardly scratches the surface of the Torture Princess's arrogance. What are you, some wet-behind-the-ears noble? If the Church found out you were saying such things, they wouldn't just stop at seizing your assets, you know. They'd subject you to a full-on inquisition." As though to support their hypothesis, Elisabeth leveled one biting remark at the man after another. Despite having the wind thoroughly drained from his sails, the man valiantly continued talking. After a short back-and-forth, Elisabeth shot him a question. "Then I shall ask you thusâ€”are you a demon worshipper? An organization that stands against the Church? Or perhaps the leader of a religion all your own?" Hina and the Butcher nodded in agreement. It was painfully obvious what the man's affiliation was. Plus, given that an anti-Church organization had sent Elisabeth an invitation, Hina had a pretty good idea what they wanted from her. The Torture Princess was beautiful, powerful, and shouldered peerless sins, all of which made her a perfect symbol. There was no shortage of people in the world who wanted to get their hands on her, and the man clearly numbered among their ranks. "It would seem I don't need to introduce myself, I see... Very well! Then let's talk, you and I. As you surmised, we stand against the coercive brainwashing the Church conducts on the masses, and we hold demons in the highest regard in their stead." "I don't doubt it for a moment. You're as black a lot as they come; that much is clear enough from your garb. You people do love that color, don't you?" Acknowledging her remark, the man launched into a tirade about the Church's inconsistencies. Hina and the Butcher nodded some more. Hina wasn't an expert on the topic by any means, but she was aware of the Church's corruption. Kaito had told her about the deeds of an inquisitor named Clueless, and that aside, Hina had a bone to pick with any organization that proclaimed themselves good and just while forcing the Torture Princess to fight the demons all on her own. In contrast, the Butcher didn't seem to have any specific thoughts on the matter. The darkness beneath his leaf-covered hood was simply black, just the same as always. Then all of a sudden, Elisabeth said something wholly unexpected. "That meat was fresh. Were they yet living when you sliced it off?" "Ah, so you enjoyed our little present!" "...'Present'?" Hina couldn't help but let out a puzzled little murmur. Apparently, the man had given something to Elisabeth. Hina thought back over what they'd just said. "The meat was fresh." "Yet living." "Sliced it off." No matter what it was, it couldn't have been anything wholesome. This time, the Butcher had something to say as well. "Rgh, just because they're alive when you cut it off doesn't mean the meat's necessarily going to be any good, you know. Some meat is better off being aged in a storehouse, and whether or not you drain the blood has a huge impact on the flavor as well." As the Butcher drew from his seemingly bottomless well of expertise, Hina decided to forgo commentary so she could focus on Elisabeth's conversation. The man continued his horrible speech in grand fashion. "Our group holds rituals, which involve human sacrifices, to deepen our bonds and to further blasphemy against God. We take the offering alive and make beautiful artwork out of them. Just like youâ€”just like the Torture Princess!" Hina tried to rise to her feet right then and there, but the Butcher quickly grabbed her by the arm. After pulling her back down, he quietly talked her down as well. "Do settle down, Ms. Lovely Maid. I understand how you feelâ€”I really do! But the man is talking nonsense! Why, he's best ignored altogether! Besides, if you rush out, he might be