Return.

Soon enough, Shylock was leading me down a narrow staircase tucked away in a nondescript back alley. At the bottom of these stairs was a bright red door, with a sign hanging from it that said “closed”.

Shylock: “This will be where we end our journey tonight. It is the hideout of the Luna Piena Family.”

Akira: “So this is…”

???: “Move.”

Akira: “A-Ah, sorry…”

As soon as I walked into the atmospheric room, I almost collided with someone who seemed to have come through a different door in the back of the room. In that moment I caught sight of swaying silver hair, and a glimpse of the person’s eyes.

Akira: (Oh… His eyes are two different colours?)

???: “…Who are you?”

Shylock: “So you came tonight too, hm. I found our guest here in a pinch of trouble further into town, so I’ve brought them to spend the night in our midst.”

Akira: “Ah, it’s nice to meet you. My name is Akira. Sorry for showing up unexpectedly like this.”

Owen: “Hmph. I’m Owen. I’ve hidden my heart away, so I can die as many times as I like.”

Owen: “See you.”

Akira: “W-Wait, you’ve done what to your heart…?”

Before I could even finish getting the words out, Owen opened the door behind us and walked out. After that, a boy with blond hair emerged from the door in the back Owen had also come out of.

???:  “Pardon me for interrupting, Shylock. And… Akira, did you say?”

Shylock: “Riquet. Are you the only person still here?”

Riquet: “Yes. Everyone else has already finished with the ‘Fellowship Ceremony’.”

Akira: (The Fellowship Ceremony…?)

Shylock: “Well, that isn’t a problem. After all, each and every one of us here in Luna Piena are people who do as we please, whenever we please.”

Shylock: “Akira, please feel free to sit wherever you’d most prefer. I imagine you must be tired after everything that happened to us on the way here, hm?”

Shylock: “Shall I make you something to drink?”

Akira: “Yeah, I’m exhausted… I’d like that, thank you.”

I watched as Shylock turned to the inside of the bar counter, hearing the sound of glasses clinking together lightly.

Then I looked around the room again from the stool I was sitting on.

The room was dimly lit by softly-glowing orange lanterns made of paper, and besides the counter there were also many other tables and chairs available.

I could see various kinds of coloured bottles of alcohol on the shelves behind the bar, and on the wall where there was no space for shelves I noticed a variety of old-looking photographs. I found that the place made me feel nostalgic for some reason.

Akira: “It’s lovely here. It has a calming atmosphere, somehow…”

Shylock: “Oh, do you like it? It certainly looks like it could be some sort of speakeasy.”

Riquet: “Actually, that’s exactly what it was before it became Luna Piena’s hideout. May I take that seat beside you?”

Akira: “Oh, of course. Go ahead.”

Riquet: “Thank you very much. My name is Riquet. Are you from one of the other families?”

Akira: “Um, well…”

Shylock: “Akira isn’t from anywhere in particular, you see — they are simply Akira. They have forgotten everything about themself but their name.”

Riquet: “Everything but your name…? That must be terribly nerve-wracking.”

Akira: “I was a little anxious about it in the beginning, but I’m alright now. I got to meet Shylock, after all.”

Riquet: “A blessing in disguise, then. I did think it was slightly unusual for Shylock to be so late to a Fellowship Ceremony, but I suppose if it was for the sake of helping someone in need then I can understand.”

Riquet: “Oh, that’s right. Since we’re all here, Shylock, why don’t you and I perform the ceremony together with Akira?”

Shylock: “Interesting idea… If Akira is happy to agree, then I’d be more than willing.”

Akira: “Um, sorry for asking, but… I’ve been wondering since I heard you talk about it earlier— what exactly is this Fellowship Ceremony?”

Shylock: “It is the name of the ceremony that we, as a family, use to forge our bonds with one another.”

Shylock: “Though we may have less of a typical hierarchy and organisational structure than the other mafia in town, we do at least have one rule that everyone is expected to follow.”

Shylock: “Once a month, we perform the Fellowship Ceremony. Other than that, our boss allows us all to do as we please until he says otherwise.”

Riquet: “It is for this reason that our family is not very well-known by the other organisations here.”

Riquet: “We integrate ourselves into the town in various ways — as neighbours, as owners of our own stores, and so on.”

Shylock: “For example… One of our fellow members works as an attendant to the geishas in the red-light district.”

Akira: “The– The red light district…?!”

Riquet: “Faust always complains to us about the ‘neverending stream of women who try to court Leno’. It comes from a place of worry, of course.”

Shylock: “Lennox is an honest man. People often find it easy to trust him.”

Shylock: “For the flowers who live in that place of fleeting dreams, he must be something like… The earth where they can lay their roots down and feel safe.”

Shylock: “Faust even told me himself that he was offered a cigarette when he went to visit the red-light district as a mirror craftsman…”

Shylock: “I suppose he hadn’t understood what it meant.”

Akira: “Lennox and Faust… They must both be rather handsome guys, aren’t they?”

Riquet: “Then we also have Chloe, who works as a dealer in a gambling den. He meets all kinds of different people in his everyday life.”

Riquet: “He’s actually rather famous for how skillfully he handles his cards. I would recommend that you visit sometime!”

Shylock: “Much like cats, each and every one of us here flock together and then disperse whenever we please. It is for this reason that our family is able to function as one cohesive unit, despite how individualistically unique we are.”

Akira: “I see… I definitely got the feeling that everyone here has their own unique personality, just from listening to you talk.”

Akira: “And that Luna Piena is a place where people are able to act as whimsical as they like.”

Shylock: “That may have something to do with the fact that our boss, Murr, is all but the personification of whimsy itself. …One must wonder where he’s disappeared off to now.”

Shylock shrugged at me slightly, a hint of bitterness in his wry smile.

Akira: “Um… I think I only heard a little bit about this before arriving here, but— are there other organisations in this town like yours? Like… Mafia organisations?”

Riquet: “There are, yes. The two with the most influence are the Ventisca Family and the Panthera Family.”

Riquet: “The Ventisca Family is the cruellest family in town, and it’s said that anyone who attempts to act out on their territory will be brutally murdered.”

Riquet: “The Panthera Family excel when it comes to wealth and historical influence, and they run a very impressive casino. I’ve never been inside myself, though.”

Akira: “A casino… That sounds kind of dangerous!”

Shylock: “The Panthera Casino is a very refined and welcoming place, without being too overwhelming for newcomers. If you ever find yourself interested, I’d be more than happy to show you around eventually.”

Shylock: “…Now then, my apologies for making you both wait. Please enjoy these cups of herbal tea. They will help calm your nerves.”

Riquet: “I get one too! Yay!”

Akira: “Thank you, Shylock.”

It surprised me to see how calm the reflection of my own face in the tea Shylock handed me was.

Akira: (It’s the same colour as Shylock’s eyes… Bewitching and shiny, but still warm.)

I brought the cup to my mouth carefully, a vivid aroma filling my nose just as I felt the warm liquid side down my throat.

My mind was already made up by the time I felt my mouth form into a natural smile.

Akira: “…Shylock, Riquet. Please allow me to take part in the Fellowship Ceremony with you.”

Shylock & Riquet: “Of course you can.”

Shylock: “Well then, let us start preparing what we’ll need right away.”

⋅•⋅⊰∙∘☽༓☾∘∙⊱⋅•⋅

Mithra: “Haah… How terribly boring this all is.”

Mithra: “I joined Ventisca so I could act as violently as I pleased whenever I so desired — and yet here I am, forced to take part in some sort of childish treasure hunt.”

Cain: “Don’t be like that. You know the boss’s orders are absolute… We need to find Kirsche Persche no matter what.”

Mithra: “I have no desire to take orders from a man who so willingly makes a fool of himself for the sake of a single child.”

Mithra: “And for that matter, who even is that boy to begin with? It has been over… What, two years since Snow suddenly brought him into the family?”

Cain: “Whoever he is, he’s clearly very important to the boss. There’s no need for us to speculate about it any more than that.”

Mithra: “Indeed, there is no need for us to speculate — you will find the rest of the organisation does enough speculation all on their own.”

Mithra: “Our boss has an image to uphold, you see… So that child is a rather terrible weakness for him to have.”

Mithra: “In this town, showing weakness might as well be tantamount to death. It will only be a matter of time until someone decides to try and dig their teeth into his throat.”

Mithra: “I can be the one to dig my teeth in, if only you would agree.”

Cain: “…Mithra. You shouldn’t say things like that with such a hungry look in your eyes.”

Cain: “You remember how they deal with traitors in this family, don’t you?”

Mithra: “…Ah, you are talking about Bradley. Was his former partner Nero not supposed to be tracking him down in order to make sure that he is taken care of?”

Mithra: “I find it rather pathetic that those two were once known as ‘The Komainu of Ventisca’.” (1)

Cain: “When we became members of Ventisca, we swore to be part of the family until the day that we die. Treachery cannot be tolerated.”

Cain: “I remember hearing about how when Oz said he was leaving the organisation, he and the boss got into a fight that was so violent and terrible that it became known as… ‘The Nightmare of Ventisca’.”

Mithra: “I would do it, nevertheless. I cannot allow that man to look down on me, just as I could not back then.”

Cain: “…”

Cain: “Right, well, if that’s really your final answer then I guess there’s nothing more I can say.”

Cain: “Anyway! Let’s get back on track. There’s a guy right over there, let’s ask him what he knows about Kirsche Persche.”

Cain: “Sorry to bother you, but I’d just like to ask a few questions—...”

Man Passing By: “Y-Your eyes…! They’re different colours!”

Cain: “Oh, yeah. I was born with it. It’s pretty unusual, right?”

Man Passing By: “S-Somebody, help! This man is going to kill me…!”

Cain: “Huh? Hey, hold on…!”

Cain: “…Nope, he’s gone…”

Cain: “Hey, Mithra. Are my eyes really that scary?”

Mithra: “Of course not…”

Mithra: “Ah, but there is someone I know with eyes quite similar to yours. He is a far more savage man than you are, though.”

Cain: “Similar… To mine?”

Mithra: “That is what I said, yes. I believe I mentioned to him once that his eyes are rather similar to a man that I work with — you, obviously — and he looked at me with a face of utter disgust.”

Mithra: “Actually, now that I am thinking about it, he may have said something to me at the time demanding that I not tell you any of this…”

Mithra: “Oh well.”

Cain: “I mean, I’m not exactly the most upstanding guy in the world, but… If there’s someone who looks kind of like me running around town attacking people, then— well, it puts me in sort of an awkward position, to say the least.”

Cain: “People being afraid of me because of my eyes being two different colours is the last thing I need right now. Don Snow is relying on me to gather the information he needs in this search of his.”

Arthur: “…Did he just say Don Snow?”

Arthur: “Hey, you two. You’re members of the Ventisca Family, aren’t you?”

Mithra & Cain: “Huh?”

Cain: “…So what if we are? We’re in the middle of an important job, here. I don’t have time to waste playing with kids like you.”

Arthur: “…Wait— flowing red hair, and eyes of both gold and crimson…”

Arthur: “Aren’t you Cain of the Gloria Vigilante Corps?!”

Cain: “Huh? Oh, uh… Yeah, I guess…”

Arthur: “That’s incredible. I’ve always dreamed of meeting you, ever since I heard rumours of your exploits when I was young.”

Cain: “…”

Mithra: “The Gloria what now…?”

Arthur: “Gloria Vigilante Corps. They were a group of heroic young men who stood up to and fought against the mafia groups that were controlling areas of town in despicable ways.”

Arthur: “Cain had been their leader.”

Mithra: “Oh, is that all. What were a bunch of amateurs expecting to gain by trying to rebel against the mafia in such a way, exactly?”

Cain: “That’s not what it was… We didn’t care about what we could gain from it. I was only fighting to protect my family, my friends.”

Cain: “But we truly had no idea what we were going up against. Just when it occurred to us to think ‘oh man, we’re really gonna die here’…”

Cain: “The Ventisca Family, who just so happened to be at odds with the mafia we were also fighting, wiped them all out.”

Cain: “In the end, all I could do was stand there and watch.”