Return.

Akira: “Owen…!”

It was Owen of the Luna Piena Family who fell from the sky, landing on his feet directly in front of me.

In his hand was some sort of long weapon with a blade on the end, and there was a gleeful smile on his face. His eyes, however, were terrifyingly cold.

Cain: “Huh? Who’s this guy…? Is that a guandao?” (1)

Mithra: “Ah. Cain. That is him. The man with the same eyes as you — the one who has been ruining your reputation.”

Cain: “Really?”

Confused, Cain spun to look at Owen. His expression immediately turned into one of surprise.

Cain: “You're alive!”

Owen: “…”

Mithra: “What? The two of you already knew each other after all?”

Cain: “I’m not sure I’d say we know each other, exactly, but… We have met before, a long time ago.”

Cain: “He was badly injured at the time, to the point where it looked like he was gonna die. I offered to take him to a back-alley doctor I knew, but he turned me down.”

Cain: “Still… I’m sure he had two red eyes at the time—”

Owen: “…Tch.”

Owen: “I don't know you.”

Before Cain could even finish his sentence, Owen had already slashed at him with his weapon — his guandao, Cain had called it.

Cain: “Whoa!”

Owen: “Why’d you block it? You wanna play with me for as long as possible, is that it?”

Cain: “I’m not really in the mood to die right now. You feel the same way, right?”

Akira: (Impressive… They’re talking and fighting at the same time.)

Despite his weapon being about as tall as he was, Owen still swung it with a deftness that was incredibly impressive. It looked like he was dancing, even as he continued to slash at Cain.

Still, Cain easily parried and countered each and every strike with his beloved sword. It was as if the blade were an extension of his own limbs.

Mithra: “…”

Mithra, perhaps excited by their battle, put his hand on his sword, looking like an impatient child told not to play with the toy that had been set down in front of him.

Owen: “You’re quick, huh? I’ll be sure to kill you slowly and painfully.”

Cain: “…Ngh. Look, I don’t want either of us to end up dead here.”

Cain: “All I want is for someone to tell us about Kirsche Persche.”

Owen: “Haha… What, that’s really all you want?”

Cain: “Do you know something?”

Owen: “Of course I do. And I’ll tell you all about it, since it’s pointless keeping it secret.”

Owen: “It's a kind of liqueur.”

Owen: “It’s the name of the drink we in Luna Piena use for our monthly ceremony.”

Cain: “Kirsche Persche is— a drink?!”

Mithra: “Not a drug, then?”

Snow: “…”

Cain and Mithra both looked at Owen with surprise written across their faces. Snow, who up until that point had still been fighting Riquet, also came to a hard stop.

Akira: (O-Owen really told them…!)

Stunned by his honesty, I didn’t notice the thing rolling behind me until it suddenly collided with my heel.

Then it started letting off a lot of smoke, clouding everyone’s vision.

Akira: “Wah! What’s that…?”

I saw Cain and Mithra move to stand back to back, both of them looking around the area wearily, and heard Snow say in an aggravated voice—

Snow: “A smoke bomb… How terribly underhanded.”

With everyone still on high alert in the midst of the smoke, I felt someone suddenly grab and then start pulling me by the hand.

Riquet: “Akira!”

Akira: “Riquet…!”

I could just make out the colour of his leaf-green eyes through the haze as he leant in to whisper in my ear.

Riquet: “We need to escape while everyone’s vision is obscured. Let’s retreat immediately!”

Akira: “Got it! But what about Owen?”

Riquet: “He’ll be alright. Though I hate to admit it, he’s much stronger than I am. Besides, he’s not someone who likes being helped by others.”

Riquet: “Come on, over here…”

Frantic, we took off on a run, straining our eyes to try and see through the smoke.

???: “Riquet, Akira.”

Akira: “Ah…!”

Immediately after hearing that unfamiliar voice say my name, I felt someone grab my arm and pull me close to their body.

Riquet: “What—?”

The smoke seemed to clear from around us all of a sudden, and I noticed that we were now in some sort of back alley — with an unfamiliar blond man standing directly in front of us.

Heathcliff: “I apologise for being so brusque. My name is Heathcliff, of the Panthera Family.”

Heathcliff: “I’m here to help you.”

⋅•⋅⊰∙∘☽༓☾∘∙⊱⋅•⋅

Shylock: “Riquet! Akira!”

Riquet: “Shylock!”

Akira: “I’m so glad you’re safe…!”

Shylock: “I should be the one saying that to you. How relieved I am to find you both well…”

Opening his arms, Shylock gave both Riquet and myself a tight hug.

The warmth of his embrace was full of tender affection.

Heathcliff: “…”

Despite our relief at being reunited, we all quickly remembered the young man who was still present and watching us quietly.

Riquet: “You…”

Heathcliff: “There’s no need to be so tense… But perhaps that’s easier said than done.”

Heathcliff: “Please accept my apologies for bringing you here without any sort of explanation, you two.”

Heathcliff: “I asked Mister Shylock to accompany me after a polite discussion between the two of us.”

Shylock: “The Panthera Family has sworn that they will not attempt to take Kirsche Persche from us by force.”

Shylock: “They’ve also agreed to help us keep it safe. So I accepted their terms, and have decided to take refuge here along with Kirsche Persche.”

Riquet: “You brought it with you…?”

Shylock: “It’s imperative that we think these things through strategically, Riquet. Ventisca acted with far more aggression than I had initially assumed.”

Shylock: “We’re not capable of dealing with this situation alone. Therefore, I decided asking for help would simply be the most practical thing to do.”

Heathcliff: “That’s how things stand at the minute. Does it all make more sense now?”

Akira: “Yes, I understand… You do seem more courteous compared to most of the violence I’ve seen in town so far, Heathcliff…”

Riquet: “That’s true… Shylock clearly trusts you, and I’m grateful to have your support.”

Riquet: “But why are you helping us, exactly?”

Riquet: “Panthera and Luna Piena have nothing to do with each other, comparatively speaking.”

Heathcliff: “…This is true.”

Heathcliff: “But Mister Shylock is someone very important to me.”

Heathcliff: “He’s the person who saved my life.”

Akira: “Shylock… Saved your life…?”

Shylock: “…”

Riquet: “…Is that true?”

Shylock didn’t answer Riquet’s question.

Instead it was Heathcliff, his blue eyes downcast, who began to explain things to us gently and at his own pace, as if revealing to us something near and dear to his heart.

Heathcliff: “I still remember it so clearly, even to this day. I was born in this city, you see, and when I was still only a child, I got caught up in the midst of a great turf war.”

Heathcliff: “The smell of blood and gunpowder… The sound of men shouting at each other in anger. I remember thinking to myself at the time— I need to get out of here…”

Heathcliff: “But then I saw a kitten hiding in the shadows of an alleyway nearby, and I tried to save its life first.”

Heathcliff: “I realise how stupid that was of me now, of course. But I was reckless back then, and I felt I had something I needed to prove. But just as I reached out towards the kitten— I heard a gunshot.”

Heathcliff: “And the next thing I knew, someone had wrapped their arms around me in a tight hug…”

Heathcliff: “I opened my eyes, trembling… And met a pair of deep, wine-coloured ones.”

Akira: “That’s…”

I glanced at Shylock.

But for some reason, he was listening to Heathcliff speak with his eyes closed. I could see a hint of anguish on his pale forehead.

Heathcliff: “…His eyes were so kind. It was entirely coincidental that you happened to be there, Mister Shylock, and I lived to see today because you protected me.”

I could hear the pure gratitude and affection saturating Heathcliff’s voice.

But Shylock’s eyes were still closed. Just as I started to wonder why, Heathcliff carried on telling his story.

Heathcliff: “But… Because he chose to protect me, Mister Shylock was very badly injured.”

Heathcliff: “I was only a child then, so to me it looked like an incredibly serious wound. I could see that his consciousness was fading, and yet all I could do was stand there and cry.”

Shylock: “…”

Riquet: “So… Then what happened? Clearly Shylock is alive and well, so someone must have come to help, yes?”

Riquet was clearly engrossed in the story at this point. I found that I was holding my breath as well, waiting for Heathcliff to finish, who nodded slowly.

Heathcliff: “A man appeared then, and introduced himself to me as a friend of Mister Shylock.”

Heathcliff: “He ran up to us and said— ‘He’ll be dead soon. There’s nothing you can do.’”

Heathcliff: “I clung to him, crying, pleading desperately for him to do something over and over.”

Heathcliff: “…To be honest, thinking back on it now, I probably seemed like an incoherent mess to that man. It must’ve sounded like I was pleading with him to revive someone’s corpse.”

Heathcliff: “He left eventually, carrying Mister Shylock in his arms, but…”

Heathcliff looked at Shylock again. The smile on his face was that of a boy much younger than he actually was.

Heathcliff: “Now we’re here, meeting each other again. That man saved your life, didn’t he?”

His voice was thick with overflowing sincerity. The joy he felt at being reunited with someone he thought had been lost forever was palpable.

But Shylock looked away from him apologetically, as if trying to avoid meeting Heathcliff’s eyes.

Shylock: “Forgive me… As I said earlier, I remember little of the event you speak of.”

Akira: (Now that I think about it… I do remember Shylock telling me before about how his memory is fuzzy in places thanks to a serious injury he suffered in the past.)

Akira: (Could it be that his memory loss is connected to the time he saved Heathcliff?)

Heathcliff: “It’s alright. The reason I’m thanking you is due to my own selfishness, really.”

Heathcliff: “…Mister Shylock. From the bottom of my heart, thank you — thank you for saving my life that day.”

Heathcliff: “Now it’s my turn to save yours.”

Heathcliff’s smile morphed back into one an adult would wear, and he bowed to Shylock elegantly.

Looking at Heathcliff momentarily, Shylock then cast his eyes down and lightly returned the bow.

Shylock: “…It seems my past self has done someone a praiseworthy deed.”

Shylock: “I am grateful to know your life was saved. I say this with all the honesty in my heart.”