I left the workshop and headed to the boutique Corleone - the shop seemed to be thriving today. A boy clerk was paying the bill, and another female clerk was just finishing serving customers.

'Excuse me, is the owner, Luca-san, here?'
Ah, I understand you ordered a custom-made suit, right, Mr. Atobe? The owner of the store is busy making suits at a nearby workshop, so if you'd like to order one, I'm happy to take care of it for you.

　If that's the case, it's hard to force them out - but they might think about it if you want to have dinner with them.

''Oh, what a surprise, Aricht. I'm glad I came to check out the shop, it's great to see you here.
''Oh, Luka you were just right. I'm sorry, you were asked to go back to work on the suit as soon as you returned from the labyrinth.
It's okay, you're here to pick up your things. A sewing kit to use my skills, you can't start forgetting them. Lauro, can you go and get it for me?
Yes, brother Luke!

　If you look closely, you'll see a boy who looks a lot like Luka - Luka strokes his own cheek and looks a little embarrassed.

It's my brother. When he grows up, he's going to end up like me, so growing up can be cruel.
'That's not true, I could tell just by looking at you, Lauro, that you adored Mr. Luke.
Yeah?　Well, I'm glad you grew up healthy when you were reincarnated, though... how nice to talk about the old days in the high light of day.

　I wonder how long ago Luka and the others were reincarnated, and under what circumstances they were all reincarnated together as siblings - will I ever hear about it one day?

'Susannah, I'm sorry I'm away. Are your new clothes selling well?
'Yes, the tunic came out quickly, and I'd like to make some more when the shop goes up...'
"Don't take it too hard, you work too hard. You should sleep well at night when you're making great clothes.
Thank you, manager.

　As they were talking, Mr. Lauro came back and handed Mr. Luka a tool. Mr. Luka took it and patted his older brother's head with a nudge.

'So, Aricht. It's still some time before the suit is finished, what's going on?　If you're just thanking me for what I did earlier, I had a good time too, so don't worry about it.
'I was wondering if you'd like to join us for dinner today. If you're talking about a family reunion, I can't let it get watered down.
'Brother, I'll be fine. Go on, I'll stay here with the others.

　I heard that Luka and the others live with the shopkeepers as well as the brothers - the Corleone family reminds me more and more of that foreign film.

'Well, I'll take you up on your offer. What time do we meet?
Well, I'm thinking about 7pm. Luka, do you have a place you'd like to go?
''Well since it's Alihit's thing, it seems to attract quite a few people besides party members. There's a Belgian restaurant near here, have you been there?
No, I haven't been there yet.
I have a menu that I think the girls would like, so let's go there. It's my favorite place, so I'll make a reservation for you before I return to the workshop. Can we have a room for 20 people?　If there are more than ten of us, that's the only room we have.
Yes, by all means.

　After all, people who live in the Seventh Ward know the store well - I manipulated my license to display a map of the Seventh Ward and wrote down the location for Luka to tell me where it was. As for the time, it might be a little back and forth, but we made a promise that it would be at seven o'clock in the evening, and I left the store.

　◆ ◇◆

　Leaving the Boutique Corleone and going into the back alley, I visited 'Nanamu-an'.

''Hello my dear Atobe-sama, you're here. How are you all doing?
''Yes, thanks to.......both Shiori-san and Takuma-san for their help in The Beach of the Falling Sun.
'I could hardly do anything about it, but I'm glad Takuma seemed to be able to help. Since I got back, as usual, but this is the first time I've ever seen Takuma show his will like that.

　Did he sense that we were in danger - is that a peculiarly subhuman instinct? I don't know, but it is certain that Takuma-san played an important role in defeating the mantis.

''.........''
'Takuma seems to welcome you too. 'You're remembering exactly how Lady Atobe found the ring.'
I'm glad I found it. Is there such a thing as coincidence?

　Shiori covered her mouth with a fan and smiled. Then, as if he noticed something, he reached into his sleeve and took out another fan.

'When Atobe-sama and the others eventually move up to the Sixth Ward, I wanted to send them a parting gift, though it's not much, but I wanted to send them a parting gift. There will be a 'miko' girl in your party.
Is this fan for Suzuna?
'Yes. I think the 'miko' will learn the skills of dancing, so a fan will enhance the effect of the dance. Would you be willing to accept it?
'Okay, I'll give it to Suzuna. Thank you, Shiori.

　Not only did he come to me in a difficult situation, but he even thought about a parting gift - and Shiori had even thought about Suzuna's skills.

When I run a pawn shop, many customers want me to take their pawned grasses straight to the store," she said. They don't often bring in treasures that come in the Black Box, but there may be some items that could be of use to you, Atobe-sama.
''I'm curious about that... yes, our party's Madoka is a 'merchant', so if Shiori-san is a member of the merchant's union, I'm sure we can contact her.
'When you get a good one in, you can let Madoka know. ''I'll let Madoka-chan know when it's good. We can send the goods to another district through the union and it would take a lot of work to go out and sign a 'special agreement' to let them know the goods are coming in...
''Ah yes, that's the way it works. If you can let me make a 'special agreement' with Shiori-san's shop as well, it would be a great help.

　If you don't, you might apply for a 'special contract' with all the shops you've taken care of, but there's no particular problem. You can't apply for a special contract if there are no slots available, so even if you meet a shop that you want to sign an exclusive contract with, you may not be able to do so, but that's the time to do it.

''........At first, Atobe-sama seemed like a naive person, but she's quite a person.
I thought it would be sad to leave the store that had taken care of me and that was it if I went to a different ward. So I was happy to hear about the 'special contract'.
'Hmmm I'm sorry, I'm happy for saying mean things to you too. This is why my brother is so worried about me being single. I don't say anything, but I kind of get it.
..........

　Takuma stood like a statue - Shiori smiled, fixed the collar of his kimono, and looked at me again.

''........How old was Atobe-sama?　I thought I was older than you.
I'm twenty-nine. I'm old enough to be called an uncle around Misaki.
Hmmm........I don't think you're ready to be an uncle, Atobe-sama.

　It is a little reassuring to hear you say so, but I think that I am old enough to be asked to settle down in various ways anyway. Even if you don't call me an uncle, I want to be seen as a full-fledged adult.

It's a good thing that you're an older brother than me.....

　The idea was that Farma-san looks at me like a brother, so it was okay to shed her back - but I wonder how it will change in her when she finds out that I'm older than her in age.

　I don't think it's very often that Falma-san stays in our quarters, so I'll make sure to explain it to her when the right situation arises again. I'm not sure whether that's a good idea or a bad one, but I don't know for sure at present either.

　◆ ◆ ◆

　Shiori and the others decided to come too, so I told them where and when the shop was, and we walked out.

''Ya. Did I say Alihit?　The leader of Ellie's party.

　As I was about to walk out of the back street to the front, I was approached - the one who was leaning back against the wall of the building was a woman wearing a white cloak.

''You're...I believe you're Shirone, right? What are you doing here?
'I figured it would be boring to just look at Ellie's face and leave. Can we talk for a minute?

　Once again, he looks older than Misaki and Suzuna, but he doesn't have the vibe of an adult.

　He has the eyes of a child who still has a penchant for mischief - shoulder-length white hair under the hood and golden eyes. But what lies behind those eyes is eerily bottomless.

'I'm afraid you want to talk to me all of a sudden. I can't afford to take a detour either.'
Are you still mad at me?　I know, I know, that was a bit unimpressive earlier. But it can't be helped, you have to teach the dreamy Ellie about reality, she'll die one day.

　I wondered if he was going to apologize, but after all, there is nothing but malice in his words. Since he says it with an innocent smile, I still don't think he can let Elitia meet him easily.

I'm not going to let Elitia die. Besides, her goal is also our goal.
'Thanks to Alihit, Ellie seems to have brightened up a lot. I'm sure you'll be able to find out more about this in the future. I'm sure you'll be able to find out more about this as well.
Well, isn't the Commander a family member of Elitia's?
'Yes, Elitia's brother. His father is there too, but since his reincarnation, he follows his brother's policy of being a meritocrat. That's how things can get distorted after coming to the labyrinth country, when you reincarnate with your family or something like that.

　He uttered the word 'distorted' with heartfelt enjoyment - Sirone didn't have malicious intentions only for Elitia.

　Once I realized that, I felt it was rash to take the provocation. Because even for me to get angry, Syrone would just be amused.

''One day, when we get to the ward where the 'brigade' is, we'll still accomplish our objective without thinking about it. That's all I can say now.
'Kuhn ... do you think you're losing if you take the invitation?　I like people with that kind of pride. I think the Commander does too.
''Well it's not in very good taste to think you can see people's minds like that.
'I'm sorry, I'm sorry. I just assumed that if you didn't get mad at me there, you had no chance. It's a pass, Alihit.

　What's the point of passing - is it that you're recruiting me to the 'White Night Brigade'?

'It's not easy for someone like Arihito to move to another party. But we've pulled people like that out of the air. The maximum number of members is thirty, and now Ellie and two others are out, so we have twenty-seven. So we need three people - two vanguards and a rearguard. I can't say I have two more, but Arihito would be a regular soon...
'Unfortunately, I'm not moving my party. You'll find someone else.

　Cyrone laughs, shaking her shoulders, as if she had expected the answer - and.

　She moves closer to me, then whispers to me in a small voice as we pass each other.

'Think about it before the next time you see me, okay? If you change your mind, you can always come see me.

　I haven't given up at all - Shirone is so obsessed with me that I wonder why she's there.

　When I turn around, I can't see Cyrone anywhere anymore, already. And before I knew it, there was a piece of paper in my hand.

(When........what the hell did I do.......?)

　The piece of paper bore the address of the quarters that Syrone was supposedly using, and the name of the building. I had no idea when it was held - there was no indication that he used the skill, nor did the license show it.

　What if he used the same concealment skills as Gray? Or was he unable to notice it due to the difference in abilities due to the difference in levels?

''Ah........Brother Arihito!　Sister Ryoko, brother Aricht is here!
Sensei.........you're here too, aren't you? We heard about you when we met you earlier in the labyrinth, so we came to Nanmuan.

　The maple and ibuki are coming towards us from the direction where Shirone left off. Ryoko-san and Anna also showed up from behind them.

'Hey guys, that's odd... thank you for helping me out earlier.
Well, it's just a shame you arrived after all of us were done.
'Grey's been captured, hasn't he?　Thank goodness I was walking around town and people like Gray's friends approached me and it was a bit difficult. My Ryoko sister's so calm, I'd worry if I let my eyes go.
No, that's not true........I'm an adult and I won't go along with you just because you force me a little.
"...Aricht, what's wrong?　You look a little pale, but...

　Anna says as she looks up at me - she reaches out her hand as if to measure the heat, and a pitter-patter, cool hand touches my forehead.

'Oh, oh no ... did you guys not pass the lady in the white cloak?'
'Yes, that's where it sounded like you were laughing, but did you know my brother Arihito?　I guess it's a good thing I didn't say hello.
'No, that's okay. I don't even know him well we're not exactly friendly, to be honest.

　You can warn the four members of the Four Seasons to stay away from Cyrone -- but telling them to be careful when he hasn't done anything yet will only make them feel uneasy.

　-- but it's more dangerous to say nothing at all. On second thought, I decided to choose my words carefully.

'That woman in the white cloak, Elitia and I used to explore in the same group, but we didn't have a great relationship. But we didn't have much of a relationship... for me, I don't want to get too close to Elitia right now.

　As soon as he reunites with Elitia, he is more than a little resentful of the person who provokes him and says things that will gouge his wounds. But to avoid it because it's acrimonious is just postponing the problem. We have to solve it eventually, but we have to think carefully about how to do it.

'If brother Alihit says so, we should be careful too.
If they're fighting, it's hard to make up right away...
''...Can a relationship change if there's an opportunity to do so? Although it's the right way to behave yourself that you don't dare to meet someone you don't fit in with,

　There's still a lot I don't see about Elitia's relationship with the brigade. Instead of trying to interfere, it would be best to listen to Elitia when she wants to talk.

　But when it comes to Silone, I can't just wait passively. It's obvious from her attitude that the other side is trying to do something - because she's probably still staying in this ward for a reason.

'Sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry for worrying you... but on a different note, Ryoko-san, do you have any plans for the evening?'
Are you planning to...　I'm going to buy and cook my own meals with these kids, but if Aricht-san insists.......
Ryoko, I don't think so. If you were to ask her out, wouldn't it be all of us?
Yeah, you're right. Good, I thought you were just going on a date with Ryoko.
''Well Aricht, Ryoko is not immune, so it would be helpful if you could take that into account.
No, no, no, no...

　I told them that I would invite Celes and the others to join us for dinner and asked again if they would be willing to come - and they replied with a resounding yes.