--just after Luke White Wolf and Garnet Argentia had left the laboratory.

　Ambrose stood beside (beside) Valentine, who was still lying on the floor on his back, looking down at the blood-stained white-masked face.

'Are you satisfied, Valentine?'

　His voice was sharp, but also friendly and labored.

　If someone other than the two of them had been here, they would have been convinced that they weren't lying about calling themselves friends.

'...... Oh. I'd say it was perfect in terms of performance. The change in appearance was acceptable.
Is that really all you've got?

　Asked over to Ambrose, Valentine tilted his head dexterously as he lay there.

'What else?'

　The [Fusion] with the Demonic Beast Skoll Medallion - what the magicians call the 'Demonic Beast Factor Limited Awakening' - to confirm the degree of its performance enhancement and appearance transformation.

　That was the purpose of this experiment, and the reason why Valentine wanted a test that was close to a real battle format should have been to confirm these points more reliably.

　However, Ambrose seemed to have doubts about that basic premise.

'It's just a guess on my part, but it's ...... a good opportunity. May I tell you what I've always thought?
Come in. I don't think I'm going to be able to move for a while.
Then be my guest.

　Ambrose raised his face, which was covered by the front hanging, and looked up at the ceiling of the laboratory.

　It was like a gesture of trying to recall memories of the past, an unconscious act of trying to turn her face away from Valentine.

'Valentine. You've said for a long time that you wanted Miss Ga(-)-ne(-)-t to get revenge on Ruby's replacement.
That's right. That's just the way it is, isn't it?
'But unless my memory is worn out, right after the incident, I remember saying 'I want to get my revenge with my own hands'.

　Valentine was once the next head of a group of knights who later changed their name to the Silverwing Knights, and was in charge of a fortress that captured a black marketer engaged in the trafficking of mithril.

　However, the fortress was attacked by Agart Ram, who was behind the black marketers, and the fortress was destroyed.

　Valentine was injured beyond recovery and Garnett's mother, who happened to be staying there, lost her life.

　This is what led to Garnett's desire for revenge and what caused Valentine to lose his mind.

　Later, as Valentine told Luke and Garnett, he saw Garnett as an agent of revenge for his mother (Ruby) - Ambrose knows what happened between them.

'I was called to the call shortly after you were seriously injured, half-dead, and immediately moved into treatment. Naturally, I also know what kind of ravings you were uttering when you had just regained consciousness.

　Ambrose didn't try to give specifics, but it was obvious from the flow of the conversation.

　A desire for revenge against Agart Ram for killing his former lover.

　And not in a distorted form, such as considering the deceased's daughter as a surrogate, but in a straightforward form by his own hand.

...... I don't remember that.
'Even if you don't remember it, it would be self-evident, logically speaking. It wasn't until some time after the incident that Miss Garnett started talking about revenge.
'Of course ......, until then, the idea of entrusting it to Garnett would never have occurred to me. ......?

　Valentine moved his left arm, still in human form, and placed a hand over his eyes to cover them.

'I suppose it might have been then. I don't even remember or think about it now. What the hell does this have to do with this case?
'It's simple. The reason you ate into Miss Garnett in that way is because you subconsciously remembered a desire from the distant past. ...... That's just what I thought.
I don't see the connection. Explain it to me.

　'Of course,' returns Ambrose shortly.

''There was no reason to do a battle style exam at that time. You can't do it later. They should have sent someone like me, such as Lord Chandler, to try it out after making careful preparations.

　But Valentine didn't let him do it.

　He was supposed to be the man who was supposed to be in charge of the knight's organization, and he should have been able to understand that this was more efficient and effective.

''At the end of the day, you wanted to have a me(...) fight in the name of an examination, didn't you?　Maybe I wasn't even aware of it, though.

　Ambrose shifted his posture to look up at the ceiling and looked down at Valentine again.

'With the newly applied treatment, I am now able to fight, albeit on a limited basis. It will keep getting better and better with more treatments in the future. It's because of that now that I wanted to show that I can get revenge on Ruby: ......
'So you think that's why you complained like that and picked a fight with Garnett?　It's funny. That's a very childish idea--

　Underneath the hand held out to the white masked face, Valentine cleared his throat and let out a laugh.

'--But you might be right, unexpectedly so.
Oh, yeah?
'That's assuming it's really what you said it would be. If I really wanted to do that once, I might have pushed Garnett away and decided to get my revenge myself. ...... I feel like that.
'Totally ...... your denial is too far-fetched. If you don't think it's possible, why don't you say it outright?

　Ambrose exhaled briefly beneath his prehensile and grabbed Valentine's shoulder as he finally tried to get up and helped him up somewhat roughly.

'At any rate, I'm sure your sister will serve her purpose. I'll be lending a hand as a member of the Order, and it seems that the Adventurer's Guild has many allies, and the other knights can be relied upon around Sir Chandler. And best of all: ......
I've got Luke with me.

　Hearing Valentine say that without any hesitation, Ambrose let out a little bit of surprise.

''You don't think like that, like a sister who looks a lot like Ruby has a bad bug on her, do you?
I'm not sure. It's a good thing that the only person in this world who is worthy of having ...... vengeance on behalf of a person, but it's a stretch to equate them. Besides, I like him personally.

　With no sign of the damage from the earlier battle, Valentine slapped every bit of dust off his clothes and walked towards the laboratory door.

'After all, he's a lot like me in the past.
"...... you idiot. Don't falsify your memory. Because they don't look a bit like this, do they?　If it's a joke, make it a funnier one.

　Ambrose made a snorting noise at his friend's inept joke and left the laboratory after Valentine.