That night I was waiting for Grizz to come home. Of course, there was a possibility that he might not come back at all, but sometimes you don't want to be alone after being rejected.



　Late at night, when I thought he would never come back, a drunken Grizz staggered home.

　He was usually accompanied by his squire, but no one was around, probably because he wanted to be alone without the squire. I wondered for a moment whether or not to call out to him, but I thought I should call out to him and see his reaction before making a decision, so I called out to him as gently as I could.



"Grizz, welcome home.

"I'm back, Rock. I've been one hell of a clown."



You mean I wasn't good enough?

Yeah, no, no, no, no, no. Everything's a disaster.



Well, sometimes it happens. Well, it's not the only woman in the room.



　I give Grizz a glass of water with ice in it.　

　You need to sober up a little. I can smell the aroma of fine whiskey on his clothes, as if he's spilled some.



　Grizz takes the water from me and downs it in one gulp, then holds his mouth and releases his drink into a nearby trash can with a gleam.



"I feel a little better."

"Yeah. So how did it go?　You want to talk about it?



"Yeah, by all means. The woman I fell in love with wanted a snowflake pendant to keep the cold out for him when he went to Anesa."



　Oh, my God. If we had known that from the beginning, we wouldn't have gone out to buy it either. I guess it's not a bad idea to plunder someone in love, but Grizz isn't the type to do it.



"I see. That's ...... something. What's your boyfriend going to Anesa for?"

"Surprise, surprise, there's a dragon in Anesa village. And that there's a secret loophole with the Suiju Kingdom. They have found it and set out to capture the people of Anesa village as the government's special agency, the robe of darkness.



　The government's special agency, the robe of darkness?　Information about the agency is usually kept a secret even from family members. It was impossible for Grizz or her to know.



　Grizz's story took a turn for the worse.



"That's a ...... big deal. I can't believe that's why you're looking for it. Still ...... that that information is out there."



"Amazing, isn't it?　We got to Anesa before the cloak left, we found the dragon, and Locke saved Anesa."

"Yeah, right."



I had to laugh when I heard that. The dark cloaked ones won't be so easy to catch. Then there's the intelligence services. There's no way even one nobleman would have that kind of information. And if she knows, then she's ...... being set up by someone."

Why Grizz?



It wasn't me. I'm just trying to get the rock out of her. I'm a little out of it, but, Rock, be careful.

You're saying someone moved Grizz to get to me?



Maybe it's just a coincidence. But a noblewoman happened to find out about the dark cloak going to the village with the dragon and asked me for the snow stone. And conveniently there's a food crisis in the village of Koron and no wizards. But I forgot to tell Locke that the chief of Koron village told me that they were about to run out of food and that he was going to call for help.



"What?　What does that mean?



"It seems that every year there is a food shortage, but this year we haven't had a food crisis yet. When I heard about it over there I thought it was just a coincidence that someone was paying attention, but when I came back I realized that it was all a setup. It was all a setup.



　I don't know where this is coming from, but I remember that the owner of the store in Kolon Village told me that snow stone was only available in the summer. How could the peddler who accompanied us not know that we were going to buy snow stone?



"Griz, that peddler you went with, is he an acquaintance of Griz?"

"Yes, Grizz. Yes, of course. I've known him a long time.



How do you know him?

Of course, I've known him a long time. He's a friend.



So how do you know him?

"Rock, I've explained this many times. Can you ...... explain ...... and ......?　What?　Where did I meet this guy?"



　Obviously, Grizz couldn't remember.

　He knew someone who could use magic to manipulate memory and perception.



"I think I'm being conjured."

"Yeah, I was ...... stupid ...... to get my best friend involved. I thought I was in love with him.



Where did you meet this noblewoman?

"That too ......."



　Grizz sat deep in his chair, his eyelids suppressed, and he began to cry quietly, his voice muffled.

　I quietly put my hand on Grizz's shoulder. His back was shaking slightly.

　I was so in love with Grizz. .......



"Grizz, take it easy today. I'm going out for a bit."

Where are you going?



I'm going for a night walk. Grizz wants to be alone, don't you?

Yeah, sure. I'm gonna slow down a little bit. Rock, I'm sorry I'm such a lousy friend.



Don't be sorry. Don't apologize. It's not Grizz's fault. Falling in love is a fun, exciting, heart-pounding experience. It's hard to make cool decisions when you're in love, and everyone makes mistakes.



　Grizz nodded slowly and lay down on the sofa. The only sound in the room was Grizz's crying.