The contract has been fulfilled.

　In a room vaguely illuminated only by the fiery light of a heating artifact that resembles a fireplace.
　Rene is facing a translucent man.
　This time's client. The ghost of Yuin, a knight under the Marquis of Edfelt.
　Like his son, he's a bit of a villain with a sharp, rakish look in his eyes.

　When he sees Ralph crushed by the stone statue and turned into a piece of flesh in a puddle of blood, Yin snarls.

"I didn't think you'd actually do it.
'It's easy.
'It's not, I was skeptical. You said you had a contract, but I didn't know if you would do what I asked. Because ......

　Yin looked like she was about to say something, but was searching for the right words.

I'm not sure if it's because I'm undead?　"Because I'm undead or because I'm a 'dirty Federation spy'?

　I'm not sure what you're talking about.

I'm sorry, sir. I thought you were an enemy of the state, an evil that should be eliminated. But perhaps justice was done to you.

　For a knight of the first generation who was appointed by the lords, the princess was a being above the clouds.
　Yuyin was bowing his head and paying his respects to such an existence on the clouds.

　Rene almost laughed at the seriousness of Yuyin's attitude.

I don't deny that you are an enemy of the state. I don't deny that I'm an enemy of my country.
"But you saved my wife and child, and punished injustice.
"Because you asked me to.

　The Marquis of Edfelt was a Hilbertist, and the case was in favor of Noah Curio, so René was willing to go along with it.
　However, it was essentially unimportant to Rene, and it was just labor for the price of getting Yuyin's soul.
　It was not an act of justice. Never.

I don't want what I do to be framed as 'justice' or 'rightness'. I don't want to frame what I do in terms of 'justice' or 'rightness' because then I wouldn't be able to do evil for revenge, would I?
"Well, then, let me just thank you for ....... Thank you for saving my family.
"That's okay. I'll take your soul in return.

　A wind was beginning to blow around Rene and Yuyin.
　It's not a real wind. It's not real wind. It's a current of attraction that only the soul can feel.
　It's swirling towards Rene.

"If you're a sorcerer, you know how terrifying 'soul eating' can be.
　Your soul will be disintegrated, permanently removed from samsara and become a part of me.
I don't care. But if you have any regrets, please contact me at ......
　"If I have any regrets, please pray that my family can live a peaceful life without your help.
If you get in my way, I'll kill you. Pray that it doesn't come to that.
"...... Yes.

　As if realizing that he could not ask for more, Yoo Yin tightened his mouth.

　If the world were to end, Yuyin's family would die, of course, but ...... Rene had not explained his ultimate goal to Yuyin. Well, if the fulfillment was in a hundred years or so, Yuyin's family would have lived to the fullest.
　In any case, as long as nothing stands in front of Rene's eyes, he can live peacefully for the time being.

I'll take it then.

　The chain of souls that gushed from Rene's chest caught Yuyin.
　Yuyin jumped into the water, not defying the thin golden chain that had entangled him.
　Scared, but satisfied that he had done everything and had nothing to do but give himself up.

　The pale man's spirit was swallowed into René's body. A warmth seeped into Rene's soul.
　The existence of Yuyin disappeared.

"...... Thanks for the food. It's not very satisfying to not be resisted at all, is it?

　The existence of yourself will disappear from this world forever. ......
　It's a good thing that you're not the only one who has a problem with this.
　I was expecting him to regret it at the last minute and rant like he did last time (Miriam), but ......

　Family. I wonder if he thought his family was saved and turned down all his worries.
　In the first place, half of Yoo-in's resentment was against his family for letting them down. That's why the contract with Rene included 'saving Yoo-in's family'.

　A love so great that he was willing to give up his soul for it.

What was my father like? ......

　Rene has no memory of his father, King Elbert. It's not surprising, since she doesn't even remember the palace.
　If he had been able to meet his father before he died, what would he have done with René?
　Would he have held her in his lap and stroked her head?

"Princess ......
Oh.

　After saying this, Rene remembered that Tracy was here.
　She covered her mouth.

You didn't ask me anything. Didn't you?　Tracy.


...... Yes.

　Tracy's sympathy stung Renée.
　Tracy's sympathy stung René, and he smacked her back.

　When she learned how hard it was to fight for revenge, even kindness became poison to Rene.
　I don't want to be pitied. I don't mind if someone is feeling sorry for me somewhere unbeknownst to Rene, but I don't want to be pitied by those who are my friends.
　I don't want to be pitied by people who are my friends, because if I take advantage of that pity, I'll never be able to stand up again.

　I don't know.

　They slipped out of the quiet inn.
　The employees have been knocked unconscious by Tracy's spy action. The rest of the knights have been beheaded for now. There's a chance one or two of them will be revived, but it can't be helped. It would have been good material if I could have brought it back with me, but if I tried to deploy a storage spell here, it would have broken the blockade.
　I could have taken some of it with me, but I left that slot empty for my life.

　There were no guards or holy beasts around, and no one seemed to have noticed anything unusual yet.

I guess we'll just have to run.
Wait. I'll take the body of the holy beast with me. Maybe Everith can analyze it.

　The hexenbiest Renai killed in the garden.
　If it's incarnate, that means there's a corpse left, and if we bring it back, we might be able to find out what the enemy is up to.

　Tracy took out a flat bag with a wide mouth.
　When she put it over the corpse of the holy beast, the corpse fit into the not-so-large bag as if it were a magic trick.

I'm not sure if it will fit. I wonder if it will fit. ...... It will. I'm not sure what to make of it.

　It's a bag of magic items that you've packed with various items necessary for espionage.
　If you mix it with the corpse of a holy beast, the remaining contents will be contaminated, but that can't be helped. We'll just have to get out of here anyway.

Can you carry it?　You can't really reduce the weight of a storage item.

　The reason I gave up on the loot ...... i.e. the dead bodies of the knights is because this is the real deal.

I'm not sure what to make of this.
I'll find out. Wait a minute,.......

　Rene sharpened his senses to search for signs of his surroundings, while maximizing the range of his emotional perception to assist him.
　Like a photograph of a night scene seen from space, the emotional reactions of the people in the city are captured in René's perception.

　--This artificial intelligence-like mechanical thinking is that of a holy beast, isn't it? I wonder if some of the alarming responses are caused by the ...... night guard looking around with him. Also, ......

　The castle was also trapped in the emotion detection zone.
　A few of the nervous people could be the Marquis of Edfelt or a great knight.

　And then there was one bizarre emotional response that looked like it had been painted over with white paint. Morgana.

　--I'm still wondering what this is.

　I'm curious, but that's not the point right now. It's not her mentality that's the problem, but her abilities.
　When the time came to take Teyla Kaine down, if he could successfully capture her alive, he could check her out then.
　Or so Rene thought.

　But then... As if in answer to Rene's question, Morgana's mind moved.

　Morgana's white-washed heart opened.
　Because the Abyss Spirit can read people's emotions, Rene saw it.