Rose is in the next room.

　After calming Shana-san, who had gone out of control, I had to visit Rose-san in the next room.
　Ugh......
　I felt thumpingly tired.

"Huh?　Is Shana not coming?

　Shana's face became mysterious as she asked this after she stepped out into the hallway.

I'm going to take you to the next room and reapply your makeup in this room to rejuvenate you. I will not back down if you say I look like an old lady. It's a woman's battle!
So, I'm sorry for what I said earlier!

　Shanna laughs.

It's a good thing that you're not the only one who's going to be introduced to the world. To begin with, it's only when it's just the two of us that he or she can hardly say a word.
Even if Shanna is there with you?
I don't care if we're in the same room.
But is it okay with me being alone with you...?
You're a harmless-looking man, you know that?
Are you judging me on my face alone?
You've got time.

　As usual, this guy is appropriate in this kind of way........

"And it's not like I'm shy at all, but........
That part of it is all right. In fact, you don't mind talking to me, the so-called "witch" in this conversation.

　Aggressive types like Shana are easy to talk to, but my image of Rose is that she's an extremely quiet person....
　I wonder if she is similar to Hyrgis-san.
　No, but Hyrgis-san is the type of person who speaks to me.
　But I've heard that Rose didn't say a word during the battle with the eight burial blades....
　The wheelchair is pushed forward.

"Here, let's get going.
Huh, huh...
'By the way, that guy is hard of hearing, so if he doesn't answer when you call out to him, you can go straight into the room, okay?　I've written down the "Do not attack" instructions for you now, so you won't be mistaken for a crook and attacked. Don't worry.

　I wondered at the word "write" that she mentioned, but Shana-san pushed me in her wheelchair and we headed to the next room.

　Even though it was next door, Rose's room was located in a secluded area, away from Shana-san's room.
　Perhaps it's because they are treated as state guests, but each of the rooms is a large mansion.
　I think Rose is the captain of the God's Punishment Corps and Shana is the vice-captain, but I have the impression that Shana's position is superior to mine.

　When she came to the front of the room, Shana-san went back to her room.
　I took one deep breath and knocked on the door.
　I wait, but there is no response from the room.

''Um........I'm Sagara Kurohiko, who had a wheelchair carried to me earlier. With Shana-san's recommendation, I wanted to introduce myself to Rose-san again.

　No reply.
　I'm kind of worried that I'm really indoors.

'Shanna-san said you can go straight into the room if you don't hear back, but...'

　I hear you're deaf, and I wonder if you're an older person?
　Hmmm.
　I should still try to get into the room here........
　Well.........if I were to stay at the Rouvelargan in the future, there's even a chance that we'll meet each other many times.
　So maybe we should say a firm hello here.

''Shall I excuse you........''

　No matter how grandly he is hyped up as a forbidding spell user in the Land of the Holy Tree who defeated the Four Deadly Plagues, I feel as though this part of him hasn't changed.......

　Fearfully, I open the door.
　Hmm?
　Is the room dim?
　...........
　Ah, it's because the armoire is closed off.

　Only the crystal lights, which emit a pale warm color light, vaguely illuminate the room.

''..........''

　What can I say?
　All of a sudden, there's an air of horror in the air?

　Ah.
　The one standing there, Mr. Rose...?
　..................
　But what is it?
　Perhaps because I'm watching in the dark, I can't feel any life.
　It looks like a hollow armor with its soul missing.
　The sound of my wheelchair seems to be audible, but the armor shows no sign of responding.
　It's facing this way - in front of me.
　Slightly bent over, the massive armor is staring at my feet.
　I'm so nervous that I gulp down a gulp of spit.

"Oh........my name is Sagara Kurohiko.......

　No response.
　Hmm.
　It's no use.
　Let's get a closer look.

　I try to get closer, solos, and closer.
　But the armor is still not moving.
　Or rather, it's almost right in front of me.

"Rose, sir?

　I called out to him, but still no response.
　What is it?
　Really, I think he's dead.........
　
　It's not like he was really old and died a natural death here....

　No, that's the problem.

　Just to make sure we're okay.

Mr. Rose!　Duh, are you okay?!

　Grrrr.

　The armor shook.
　The huge black armor fell straight into a frontal position.

''.......Huh?''

　As I looked at the falling armor, I noticed that the back of the armor was open.
　The back back of the armor was wide open from inside to out.
　Yes - like the shell of a cicada.

''Ugh, whoa--what's that?''

　As I stepped back a little, I caught my eye on the space behind the armor, which I hadn't been able to see before because the armor was in the way.

''Woman, child...?''

　A girl with white hair.
　It's hard to say for sure because it's dark, but her eyes are gray - I think.
　Long hair up to her waist.
　Skin that appears to be white.
　Not a single stain can be seen on the naked body turned away from the pale crystal light.
　Incidentally, the reason I knew it was a girl was because I could see a girlish bulge at the chest from a diagonal back position.
　There was a thin layer of moisture on her entire body.
　She held a water-absorbed cloth in her hands, and a tub of water at her feet.
　...........
　Ah, I see.
　You're wiping your body?
　I mean--.

I'm sorry!

　He hurriedly turned the wheelchair around and turned away.
　Huh?
　What is it?
　Mr. Rose is not an old man, but a girl...?
　But compared to the size of her armor, she's too small by all accounts.
　If that was the case, she's even smaller than Cecily-san who thinks she's on the petite side.
　Bigger than Makina-san and Shana-san, but........

''I heard you were coming.

　The sound of moisture seeping out of the cloth.
　Did you start wiping your body again...?
　Doesn't it bother you that I'm here?
　Is it because the room is so dark?

'I'm sorry...Shana-san told me that if I called out to her and she didn't respond, I could go straight into my room--'

　Slam, slam, slam.

　Huh?
　Footsteps, but--

I'm sorry, but I'm hard of hearing. I am hard of hearing, so would you mind speaking to me up close?

　Close.
　Close, close.
　I'm right behind you........
　Or rather, the front of my chest is against my back!
　Confused, I repeated the words containing almost the same apology as before, as loudly as possible.

Therefore, we heard you were coming. There's no need for you to apologize.

　He's a light-hearted talker.
　But it bothered me.
　But I was curious because there was a hint of dissatisfaction in the beginning.

"I'll tell you what, I don't like you very much.
'What?　I'm sorry.......................I apologize if I've done anything to irritate you. Or rather..........it's no wonder that people don't like you when you come into their rooms without permission while they're cleaning themselves.......how should I apologize? --
You don't have to do that.
Yes?
"Shana likes you more than Watashi, so I hate you a little bit.
Jealous?
That's fine. But that's not your fault, you're not the only one, and I need to be more like Shana. That's why I have to work harder with that armor to defeat Shana's enemies.
That armor....

　A sideways glance at the fallen black armor.

　I see.

　Is this the main body of Rose Claywall--the "Armored Warrior"?

　From the feeling I saw earlier, considering the way he has a physique and muscles, I don't think he can fight with that armor on as is.
　In the first place, if that is normal armor, the size isn't right either.
　In other words, it's driven by some "other power source"--that's what I think.
　In short, that armor is probably a special type of armor that is driven by a holy element or something else.
　However, not everyone can handle it.
　Perhaps there is something like an aptitude for it.
　And the person with the most aptitude for the most sophisticated armor - the white-haired girl behind me.
　That's about it.

　But she's a strange person.
　For all that she says she hates me, she doesn't have any animosity, and she accepts the feeling of jealousy inside her.
　I can't feel the kind of wariness that a powerful man gives off.
　It's a far cry from the image released by the name of the "Armored Warrior" who is the strongest in the Ruvel Argan's elite unit, the "Divine Punishment Squad".

　Munchu.

　A soft chest like slime was pressed against my back.

''Ro, Rose-san!
Your left eye.
What?

　Rose put her hand behind her and tried to touch my left eye.
　That seemed to be the reason why she was so close to me.
　However, that white hand of hers, which was stretched out, stopped before the eye patch.

''........I heard from Shana. I hate it when you sacrifice your left eye to protect someone you care about, but I respect you for that.
Respect, sir?
Yes, I'm prepared to sacrifice my life to protect Shana. I would sacrifice my life to protect Shana, but there aren't many of us who would. Everyone comes first.

　A freak.

　I remember how I was described as such.

Someone told me that I'm a broken creature. I don't really understand the difficulties, but it seems that it's because I put other people before myself too much...

　To me, it's only natural.

So do I, then. I have given my entire life to Shana.

　Hands and breasts leave me.
　Drops fall from Rose's body to the floor with a plop.

"Originally I was blind, deaf and mute. It's a good thing that I'm not the only one who has been able to give me light, sound and words.

　Up until now, Rose had been speaking in an emotionless tone, but only when she said Shana's name at the end of her speech did she feel a hint of emotion.

　It was gratitude.

　I reflected on that.
　I wondered if the reason for Rose's weak hearing was perhaps a side effect of that armor.
　The reason I thought this was probably because I usually receive a powerful force - a side effect of the forbidden curse - in my body.

　But it was the opposite.

　The current eyes and ears and words were brought to her by Shana-san.

It's a good thing that Shana was the one who picked up me after I was thrown away like trash. Some of them say that I only survived because I was an aptitude for that armor, but that's okay. Shana gave me the chance to be judged for my suit of armor when I was a piece of trash. And that's enough for me.
...Shanna-san is a very important benefactor to Rose, isn't she?
Yes.

　A loved one who has saved you.
　You are prepared to sacrifice your own life to protect that important person.
　Sacrificing yourself to save someone else.
　I had never been told that I would be respected for that act before.
　I just thought to myself, "Well, we're kinda alike.

"Maybe we're just a little bit alike.
It's a thing.
What is this?
I don't know if I've ever seen you before.

　............

'I don't feel like a stranger, do I?

　Rose gulped and pushed me back with her fingertips.

"Yeah, yeah, that's it.