the soft moonlight. The third glass remained full through to the end. After they finished their dinner, the two of them washed the dishes side by side. To anyone else, it would look like they were just doing the chores. But for Kaito and Hina, it was a perfectly natural part of their date. They engaged in a trifling conversation as they wiped down the glasses, as though imitating their normal, everyday routine. They conscientiously returned the tableware to their shelves. Kaito stared at the plates and glasses all sitting in a line. If worse comes to worst and nobody ever comes back here, may these, at least, remain. With sentimentality bordering on prayer, he closed the cupboard. Elisabeth's favorite tableware all disappeared from view with a soft click. It almost felt as though he was drawing a curtain of sorts. For a few seconds, he stood still. Then he let go of the handle and stretched. "Well then... What should we do now?" "What, indeed? It's getting quite late." It was hardly a good time to do much of anything. And they didn't have much of it left. After discussing, they decided to head back to the servants' quarters. For whatever reason, they ended up heading for Hina's room. She took the lead and cast the door open. Then with a broad smile, she beckoned Kaito inside. "Please, Master Kaito, after you, after you." "Uh, pardon the intrusion, I guess." "Oh, by all means, welcome to my humble abode! Eek, I'm alone in my room with Master Kaito!" Hina was thoroughly wound up. That said, it was a little late for the two of them to have such an exchange given how long they'd known each other by now. They were, after all, a married couple, and their relationship wasn't particularly bogged down with formalities. Furthermore, Kaito had been in Hina's room a number of times before. But because it was happening in the middle of a date, the experience was strangely nerve-racking. Kaito awkwardly stepped inside. He glanced around the room, wondering where best to sit. Thinking a chair might be nice, he turned his gaze toward the desk. Then he cocked his head to the side. "...Huh?" There were small bookends on top of the desk. Tomes were methodically lined up within their wooden frame. However, there was an empty space in the middle, and a book that looked like it might belong in it sitting atop the table. It seemed altogether unnatural. Kaito called out to Hina. "Hey, why's that one book out of place?" "Hmm? Oh, I could have sworn I put it away with all the others. I wonder what it's doing out?" Hina trotted over to the desk and scooped the book up. Now that he looked closer, Kaito felt as though he'd seen that red cover before. It was Hina's diary. When she opened it up, her eyes went wide. She seemed to be practically dancing as she rushed to Kaito's side. She pointed at one of the pages in excitement. "M-Master Kaito! Please look! Look! Look here!" "Wait, that's your diary, right? Is it really all right for me to read it? Wait...what?" After peering at the spot Hina was pointing to, Kaito tilted his head to the side. Letters were scrawled across the thin sheet of paper, but the handwriting clearly wasn't Hina's. Upon reading the section's contents, he widened his eyes, too. "This...this is..." "While Hina sleeps, I shall take it upon myself to fill out this diary in her stead." "I found a diary Madam Elisabeth seems to have misplaced, so I shall take it upon myself to write an entry in her place." "Whatever this is, I discovered it while searching the castle, so I have taken it upon myself to write its continuation." Kaito could tell. In the middle, the writers had started changing. The final three pages had been written by Elisabeth, the Butcher, and Jeanne. At some point, Hina's diary had passed through a number of different hands. And all of them had gone ahead and written entries in her place. Kaito gently stroked each of their distinctive letters. Elisabeth. The Butcher. Jeanne. None of the people who'd written entries were with them anymore. Kaito turned his eyes toward the lines at the end of each page. "Both Kaito and I are wishing for you to awaken soon." "At the very least, I hope that my acquaintances will be able to keep on smiling for as long as possible." "Perhaps if my little lady was here, I could have asked her about the parts that make no sense." Each one of them had left words of concern for a different person. Kaito shook his head, then tried to close the diary. Before he could, though, Hina reached out her arm and placed a finger between the pages to stop him. He blinked at her sudden action. "...Hina?" "Um, if it's all right with you... Or rather, if you're able, I have a request I'd like to make." She gently picked up a quill pen from atop the desk. Then she gestured at the sealed inkwell beside it. Kaito could tell what she was trying to say. He took her diary in his hand. After flipping through the pages, past the entries from all the people he knew, he arrived at a blank, white sheet behind them. He stared at it hard. "Me too?" "You too, Master Kaito." Hina bobbed her head up and down. Her tone was timid, as though she feared he'd refuse. Kaito let out a quiet chuckle, then stepped forward. He pulled the chair out from the desk and sat down. After setting the diary on the table, he grabbed the quill and opened the inkwell. Then he wrote his own diary entry. Hina sat down on the bed with a relieved smile. Her manners and posture were impeccable as she waited for him to finish. The minutes ticked softly away. The sound of scratching echoed throughout the silence. Once, while he was writing, Kaito set the quill down. Right before he picked it back up, he gave his fingers a faint snap. A pin shot through the heart of the underling clinging to the castle's outer wall. However, Hina didn't notice. He also stealthily swallowed down the blood gushing up from his lungs. Then he went back to writing as though nothing had happened. Eventually, he set the quill down for good. As he snapped the diary shut, he made his announcement. "Right, all finished." "Wow, it's complete! Excellent work! May I go ahead and read it, then?" "Nope. The stuff I wrote's a secret." "How can this be?!" Upon hearing Kaito's response, Hina sprang into the air. Seemingly unwilling to give up, she got down off the bed. Then she hurriedly snatched at the diary. Kaito evaded her fingertips as he quickly rose to his feet. Hina grunted as she stretched out her arm. She then made a frantic plea. "But whyyy? Not being allowed to read what you're thinking, how you're feeling, how you wrote it... Why, it's so painful that the world might as well end!" "Er, yeah, there's a real chance it's gonna end. But still, no. This isn't the kind of thing you read when the person who wrote it's still here, is it? Just read it later!" "Master Kaito, you meanie, you bully! You're just as cool as ever!" "Wait, why'd you compliment me at the end there? Anyway, no means no, c'mon!" "Nnnn... But! I! Want! To! I'm going to show you more stubbornness than I ever have before!" "Don't go boasting about that! Seriously, cut it out!" Hina was taller than Kaito. Due to that fact, the battle over the diary was getting heated. The two of them paced about the room, practically dancing. From the outside, it probably looked like they were horsing around, but they were both deadly serious. Kaito cleanly evaded Hina's feints and jumps. However, that success bred carelessness. His foot crashed into the side of the bed, and he lost his balance. That was when Hina charged. "Hwah!" "Eek!" Tangled together, the two of them fell. They tumbled down hard onto the bed. Hina's sleek, silver hair grazed his cheek. Her emerald eyes batted directly in front of his. Before they'd noticed, their noses had gotten so close that they were practically touching. With a start, Hina balled up her back a little. Her voluptuous breasts pressed even harder into Kaito's chest. She was practically squishing him, but her body was warm and soft. Kaito instinctively thought back to the night they'd spent together in the beastfolk lands. The diary fell from his hand. This time, neither of them made to retrieve it. It flopped onto the floor with a thump. Kaito covered his face with one hand. With difficulty, he squeezed out an explanation. "I, uh, I didn't fall on purpose, you know." "Oh, I know! Er, well, I didn't exactly fall down with you on purpose, either, but...to be quite frank, I did...press my breasts against you...on purpose... I'm very sorry." "That was on purpose, huh...?" "Y-you did say you didn't mind my being immodest, so..." "Oh, no, I'm super happy, or, like, I feel like I should be thanking you, or... Man, I don't even know what I'm saying anymore. I'm just... Sorry." Kaito buried his face in his hands. Upon seeing that, Hina began gushing about how cute he was and indiscriminately planting kisses on him. Every time she moved, her soft breasts squished against him. And for a finishing blow, she moved her legs from her upturned skirt and wrapped them around Kaito's body. Although the feeling of her ball joints was a little disconcerting, her skin was smooth and pleasant to the touch. As his face grew redder and redder, he peeked out at Hina from between his fingers. Her emerald eyes were glistening sweetly. However, her face seemed somehow uneasy. He was certain there had to be some kind of rule against making an expression like that. "God, I just can't!" "Eep!" Kaito reached out his arms and wrapped Hina in a strong embrace. She let out a thrilled cry. They shifted positions, now lying side by side. A beaming smile spread across Hina's face like a flower coming into bloom. She gently nuzzled against his face like a puppy. To answer her fawning gesture, he opened his mouth. Suddenly, though, he froze. Hina tilted her head to the side. She called out to him concernedly. "Um... Master Kaito, is something the matter?" "...No, it's nothing." Kaito chose to evade the question. In truth, he hadn't wanted to worry Hina more than necessary, so he'd adjusted his blood in addition to his eyes. She had once told him the blood of a loved one had a sweet aroma to it. Now, though, it seemed as though she couldn't make it out. He'd made a number of special alterations to his blood so as to make it odorless to automatons. Now he was sincerely glad he'd made the effort. At the same time, he also swallowed down the blood that was rising up in his throat. However, if he kissed her, she'd catch on. And if she found out about his current state, it would undoubtedly fill her with a deep sadness. So instead of kissing her, he wrapped her up in a firm hug. As he did, his thoughts churned. Yeah...I know. In his heart, Kaito knew. It was quiet inside the castle. But that peace was nothing more than a lie. Nothing remained the same forever. The outside world was overrun by underlings. He wasn't wearing that butler uniform anymore, the one that had once been his staple outfit. And his body was currently being flooded with constant pain. Kaito thought back to what he'd been told so earnestly earlier that night. "You said you would save the world."