Mr. Illtimina, you will have the other room tonight.

　I said, pointing to the door to the living space.

　By the time I returned from the watchtower, it was late in the evening and it was almost time to go to bed.

'Thank you,' she laughed, and opened the door - and then stiffened.

　'Hmm?　Why?

Miss Illtimina?

　From the side, I look into her face.

　Her crimson eyes are wide open, looking around the room.

　And a mumble spilled out from her cherry-red lips.

''.........What is that letter on the front page?''
Oh.

　I popped my hand.

　I'd forgotten all about it, but all the walls and floor in the room were gapless, and until this morning, it was filled with the 33 letters I'd carved.

　When I saw it for the first time, it was at a level where it wouldn't be funny if people mistook it for a cursed room.

　I confess.

'I'm sorry. I wrote it as a practice run.
Practice?
Yeah. I was bored every day, so I was writing words from a book I found here.

　Squatting down, he picks up a nearby pebble and writes the 33 letters he's memorized skinny-dipping on the floor at his feet.

　Illtimina's face is like looking at a disappointed child.

　But then her expression changed unexpectedly.

　She squats down like me and traces the engraved letters with her white finger.

''Could this be...the Thanatos script?''

(...Thanatos?)

Do you know?
'Yes. It's a magical script from the time of the ancient Thanatos magical dynasty, where each letter has a meaning and can activate ancient magic that hasn't been handed down to us today.
Heh, I see.
'I don't know much about it either, but I've seen these characters around here in the ruins of dungeons and such.

　I'm going to touch three letters.

Ra, tit, muda. ....pronounced like that, I think?
What do you mean?
'I don't know. My sister, Sol, would know a lot about magic, but I'm sorry.
Nope.

　I laugh and shake my head.

　It was fun to learn a little more about this world.

(Ra, tit, muuda, huh? I'll keep that in mind.)

　She repeated the mumbling pronunciation only in her mouth.

　Ms. Illtimina shook her beautiful dark green hair, stood up, and looked back toward the chapel.

　Her crimson eyes narrowed faintly.

''The model for that goddess statue might also be one of the gods summoned during the period of the Divine Demon War. If that's the case, this tower might be the remains of the Ancient Thanatos Magical Dynasty and the end of it.
"Hmm.

　I look up again at the interior of the tower.

　There may have been many people paying homage to this goddess statue in the past. But now it's a lonely space with no one but the two of us.

(.........the flow of time is scary...)

　I think about that kind of emotion.

　Then Mr. Illtimina walks into the living space.

　She looks at a few books on Thanatos, some of which are written in

Let's take a few books around here.
Hmm?
My sister, Solstice, might be able to decipher it. Even if she can't, books from this period sell very well to enthusiasts and researchers.
Haha ... selling it?

　I thought the realistic part was a bit adventurous.

(Oops, long story short.)

　I come to my senses and call out to her, who is looking at her book.

'I'm sorry, I took up your time. --I'm going to sleep in the chapel, then, Illtimina, okay?　I'll see you tomorrow, good night.
Oh, yes.

　She looks up and smiles.

　But then she immediately makes a face, realizing what's going on.

'But Merle?　I don't see any bedding or anything like that over there, but...
'What?　Do you have one?

　I pointed to the futon I was so proud of.

"See, 'leaf futon,'
..........
They're pretty comfortable, you know?　Well then, good night~

　As I started to walk away, a white hand grabbed my hand with a snap.

'Hold on, Merle.'

　He sounded a little scared again.

　What?　Why?

　Illtimina-san's crimson eyes stare at my flinching face as she glares at me.

''Marle, that's not a 'futon'. It's a 'leaf'.
But...
But not that. Then I'm with the beast. I would not like to see Marl curled up in a leaf, curled up in a ball, but no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no!
..........

　Even if you say so.

　After often looking at me in confusion, Illtimina-san eventually sighed heavily.

''It seems that Marle needs my education.'' --I understand. Will you sleep with me tonight in my blanket?

　What?

(No, no, no, no, young men and women shouldn't be in the same room!)

　Unintentionally, I get impatient.

　But Illtimina-san drags me inside the living space with a strong force, cheating.

　As it is, she hugs me and wraps the blanket around the top of both of our bodies and lies down on the floor with the Thanatos script engraved on it.

'See, it's better this way, isn't it?'
Uh, no, yeah.

　It's comfortable to sleep in, though.

　But it's soft, warm, and smells so good I feel like I can't sleep on it!

　Her beautiful hair tickled against my cheek, her breath tickling the front of my hair, her breath sweet and gentle.

Okay, okay.

　When he stroked my head, I felt like I was dreaming... what?



　Maybe I was just not aware of it, but I was very tired, very tired.

(........................maybe she saw through it?

　Out of the corner of my eye, my eyelids grow heavy.

　It's hard to resist, and before my eyes, a soft darkness envelops me.

　Tsk, tsk, tsk.

　The heartbeat that came from her as they touched was like a lullaby.

'Good night, my Merle. Good dreams--

　A gentle voice, like a gentle breeze.

　I fell into the world of sleep, feeling nostalgic somehow.