Right, left, right, right .......
I followed Master Crowe so far off the central street that I couldn't remember anymore.
At first I thought about trying to guess where I was going, but I'm in over my head when they take a street I've never been on before.
It's an intricate town, even for free, and it's hard to fully understand the side streets, let alone the main streets, when you live there.
The street I'm on now is also very dark and unpopular, and I don't even know where I am located in the town.
I've been walking so much that my legs are starting to hurt.


'Master Crow, how much longer will it take you to get there?'


I don't even know how many times I've heard it already.
I know I'm not lost at the speed I'm walking at, not falling off, but I guess I can't help but feel uneasy in a strange place.


'We're only a few minutes away. ...... What is it, have you gotten used to living as a princess and are you already tired of it?


I knew it was a provocation, but the teasing tone of his tone made my mouth water.


'I'm not batty! If they didn't tell us where we were going, we'd all be worried.

'Ho, you've become anxious to follow me on a path you don't know. You used to follow me around on roads you didn't know.


When in the world are we talking about?
At least, as far as I can remember, I'm sure I've never followed a path I didn't know.
No, I might have.


'What, you've forgotten. Your mother sent me on an errand to the next town over, and I went with her. You didn't even notice that I had gone off the road and made a big detour on the way.


Come to think of it, that happened too.
It was also back then that Master Crowe began to cheat me occasionally.
At that time, I honestly believed Crow-sama's words, and for several decades I went around to the next town.
Thanks to that, I got some good exercise, so I don't really care about being tricked, but I despaired of my own gullibility.
If you think about it, you wouldn't have to go over two mountains to get to the next town, would you?
It wasn't that far out in the country.


'It's not the same now as it was then!

It has to be.


I was a little pissed off when he said it so bluntly.
Why can't this man catch up with his words?


''Crowe-sama hasn't changed at all! He still treats me as a child as he did in the past, and he's not very good at catching words!


Nothing has really changed.
Even if you told me that the Crow-sama from that time is still here, I would almost believe it.
Even though the old age of the beast race doesn't show on their faces and bodies, how is it possible for a human to remain the same for decades?


''You're still a child. Besides, I have no intention of changing. I never felt the need to catch up on words, either in the past or in the present.

M! I'm a woman! That's the reason why Master Crowe will always be single! It's a waste of a great face.


Why does this person try to be alone on his own?
Isn't it lonely, sad, and very painful to be alone?
If I had nothing to begin with, I might not feel loneliness, sadness, or pain.
But I've learned when I'm not alone.
Master Crowe should have been the same.

Everyone in the village was dead and Master Crow was gone, and I felt as if there was a hole in my heart.
That's what it's like to be alone.
That's what it means to lose someone you love.
That gaping hole suddenly starts throbbing in the moment.
It's very painful.
Now that I've met so many people in the castle, I no longer feel alone, but Master Crow is different.
It didn't seem to me that Master Crow wanted to be alone.
And yet, this man is still alone.

When I asked him this, Master Crow bent at the corners of his mouth in self-mockery.


''I'm fine with being single. ...... because I'm not going to be happy anymore.

----- Yeah.


My eyes widened at the mumbled words.


'I stopped thinking about my own happiness when I thought about my sister's revenge. As soon as I put that on the young man, I was bound for hell.


"I was dimly aware of my sister's revenge.
Master Crow had told me about it when I was in the village.
She told me about her beloved sister and how she was killed by her own people during Adrea's Nightmare.
He didn't tell me about the people he killed, but when he talked about it, Master Crow's eyes were sad, and yet they burned fiercely.
I've forgotten most of my other memories, but that's the only thing that remains in my mind.

But what did it mean to say that he had forced himself on the young man?
Does it mean that he's going to have someone else do the revenge for him?
But I don't think that would make Master Crow feel better.
And who exactly is this young man?
...... No.
I can't understand it all in my own head.
You might as well just ask him yourself.


"Um, Mr. Crowe: ......

Come on, we're here.


The face that turned to me didn't have the terribly painful expression on it that I had seen earlier, but it was its usual face.
I was disappointed by that, so I swallowed the words I was going to ask after all and moved my gaze to the front of my eyes.


''Wow!''


I cheered at the red carpet in front of me.
It was swarming with red flowers that I had never seen before.
They were beautiful despite the dark red color of the flowers that covered the entire area.


'I saw them growing on the way here, too. I didn't know the name of this flower, but Akira told me about it. Apparently it's called 'Higanbana'."


The flowers were lined up everywhere, as if reaching from the center to the heavens.
My hand was grabbed by Master Crow as I reached out to touch it.


'They say it's poisonous, so you shouldn't do that. I wish I knew where the poison was, but Akira seems to have forgotten where the poison is, too. Well, it seems like a miracle that the man knows the name of the flower, so it can't be helped.''

So beautiful and yet so poisonous: ......


But maybe it is better to come and see these flowers like this than to break them off.
It's more beautiful to see it growing like this than to display a single flower.


The 'Higan' in 'Higanbana' refers to the other world, that is, the world that one goes to after death. In other words, this flower is a flower of the world after death, right? Well, apparently even Akira doesn't know the real origin of this flower.

"'Higan' ....... How did it get that name when it's so beautiful ......


Couldn't there be a better name for it?
It's a somewhat cruel flower, the poison and the name.
I frowned a little as I saw the flower swaying in the wind.


'Still, isn't it beautiful?'

'Yes. ...... but how did you end up here?


At an angle, Crowe-sama's face was staring at the flowers.
As it is, Master Crow arched his eyebrows and tilted his head as if he was a little troubled.


'Why ....... I happened to stumble upon this place while walking around town yesterday, and I wanted to show it to someone else. ...... I think that's all it is. There must be no ulterior motive.


I don't think he's the kind of person you'd want to show to others just because you happened to end up there.
But Master Crow has always been fond of these beautiful flowers.
The pale peach-colored flowers floating on the lake, or the purple flowers that bloomed like rain falling from the heavens.
He told me about such a place for a long time and only me.
Perhaps the fact that you have brought me here is an extension of that.
But I will never forget this place in my life.
Since entering the castle, I've forgotten how beautiful flowers can be.


You would never be able to remember such a secluded place, and you would get lost, so don't ever come here alone.


What's the matter with you, it seems that your words are still the same as they were in the end, as if you were worried about them.


''Then I won't be coming with anyone but Crow-sama. It's another secret between the two of us.''

What, you remembered that one?


When I laughed at that, Master Crowe turned his face toward the Higanbana and smiled, but not so much that you really had to look closely to see it.