Published: March 21, 2026
Running late!
ーーーInside the labyrinthーーー
"This is bad, this is bad, this is bad!! I have to tell the guildmaster about this right away, or it’ll be terrible!!!"
In the dim labyrinth, the sound of a man running in a panic and a beastlike growl from deep in his throat echoed.
Mixed with those sounds was the high, childish voice of a young boy.
"Fufufufufu. Break, break, break everything."
"I see. Then, what are you doing right now?"
Amelia cut in bluntly with words she clearly shouldn't have said, and Yoru trembled uneasily.
Now that he thought about it, Amelia often said exactly what she was thinking without restraint.
On top of that, she was royalty used to being fawned over.
There were only a few times she’d ever spoken with consideration for others’ feelings.
And those rare occasions had always been for Akira's sake.
Fortunately, this time Amelia’s bluntness had turned out for the better.
"Nothing."
Crow answered with a self-mocking laugh.
This was the first time since the incident on that hill that Crow had tried to open up to someone about his inner feelings.
"I'm nothing but a coward who couldn't even save my sister. Besides, I've long since realized—my sister doesn't want revenge."
Crow slammed the table, and a heavy-looking mace—the kind you'd expect to be a repaired weapon—bounced on the desk.
Amelia watched him with cold eyes.
Yoru felt a chill run down his spine as he met Amelia’s gaze.
"Ah, Miss Amelia?"
He called, but Amelia didn't reply.
Yoru had clearly seen magical power dwell in Amelia’s red eyes.
He’d heard about the "world eye" that Akira and Amelia possessed on the day they joined the party.
Apparently it let you see another’s status.
Akira had told Yoru it was a skill too much for mere humans.
That skill was always active, but if you infused it with magical power you could see something else as well.
"...If it were me, I'd want revenge no matter what."
Crow widened his eyes quietly.
Seeing Amelia’s strangely glowing eyes, he drew a breath.
"An extra skill, huh. How do I look to you right now?"
Crow quickly realized that what Amelia had was the "world eye" and asked.
Amelia closed her eyes calmly.
"I don't know. Figure that out for yourself. ...But as someone who sees everything, one piece of advice: don't use your sister to run away. It's only empty."
Reflected in Amelia's eyes was, unmistakably, a black cat beastman girl with a sorrowful face leaning on Crow.
The "world eye" was an extra skill that showed everything.
It wouldn’t be strange if it could see ghosts.
Of course, because of level differences Akira couldn't do such a thing, and Amelia couldn't sustain extended visions without consciously focusing magical power into it.
Crow lowered his eyes in silence.
"...That was good. For today, go home."
Saying that, he turned his back. Amelia bowed once and left the place.
Yoru followed Amelia, glancing back toward Crow's workshop several times as he worriedly watched it.
Only after the workshop was completely out of sight did he look up at Amelia.
"Miss Amelia, are you sure that was okay?"
"It is. If you learn a skill from someone standing still with their head down, it won't reach Akira. He's kinder than he looks."
Yoru shivered at the "world eye" that exposed someone after only a few days of meeting them and murmured in agreement.
He was even somewhat impressed—unusually—for someone who wasn’t related to Akira being given such consideration by Amelia.
"Fufufufufufu... Go. Go, and slaughter all the humans on the surface."
A sigh cut off in the middle.
Amelia noticed it after a moment.
Both of them looked down at the ground simultaneously.
"........What is this?"
"Miss Amelia, isn't this bad?"
Yoru and the "world eye"—Amelia—were the first to notice.
The nearby beastmen, a little mixed with beasts, cocked their heads and gazed at the ground.
It was as if some grotesque thing had started moving all at once at someone's command.
"Miss Amelia, that—!!"
Following Yoru's voice and the direction he pointed, they saw something black spurting out.