"I suppose there's no need to investigate any further."
Twitch. Her fox ears moved from side to side.
"Centered on the city of Rome, 25 ri... about 100km, perhaps? The domain is quite small."
Tamamo reached out her hand toward the hazy world beyond the boundary.
It looked like her hand would pass right through, but the boundary repelled it.
Upon closer inspection, one could notice that the boundary would sometimes draw closer, and other times move farther away.
A world that moved in real-time, following its caster.
As long as the location of the Singularity's source was unknown, it seemed safe to assume the scale of the Singularity itself was a little larger.
"Considering the margin of error, should I add about 50km? It's a meager scale for a Singularity."
It was a small scale with a diameter of 300km.
Considering the first Singularity, France, had a radius of about 410km, this was far less than half its size.
"The rest... are just uninteresting dolls."
Tamamo was in a small village.
Though the village had a fair number of households, not a single living person was to be found.
This person was a 'merchant'. That person was a 'fisherman'.
They were simply dressed in stereotypical clothes befitting their professions.
They did not speak, nor did they breathe.
Their faces, where features should have been, were pitch black as if covered in ink, with nothing to be seen.
"Do they not move without an observer? It feels like they'd move around just fine even if their heads were lopped off."
Perhaps the moment the observer returned, they would come back to life and move as if nothing had happened.
That was Tamamo's guess.
They would only die when the observer recognized, 'That person is dead'.
"This is a creepy Singularity in many ways. This Tamamo is so~ scared~."
But compared to Fuyuki City or France, which had been utterly bleak, this was a walk in the park.
It was a Singularity that would end cleanly once the source was killed.
Its very structure was designed that way.
"I want to finish this quickly and go back to rest~!"
Tamamo attached a few talismans to the boundary surface, just in case.
And then she returned to her Master.
Just as Chaldea was slowly approaching the truth,
the wolf returned home.
Everything before my eyes was a blur.
The city was filled with things that could hardly be called people.
"———!"
"———?"
What were presumed to be voices no longer held the shape of words.
Because there was no need for a detailed structure.
Now that I knew it was all a lie, why bother crafting a careful one?
"...My head hurts."
Passing through the city full of fakes, I climbed a small hill.
The church. It was there, just as I remembered it.
My pace quickened.
Creeak. I opened the old door and entered, and the chapel came into view.
The savior, hanging on the cross on the wall directly ahead, looked down at me.
Was that always there? I don't know. I can't remember.
There was no one in the chapel.
Where is Johanna?
I searched the rooms. Starting with my own, I searched every single room.
'Johanna is in her room.'
Along with a ringing in my ears, was it intuition, or memory?
A sensation I didn't know what to call told me the 'truth'.
I deliberately ignored it and searched every room. Opening Johanna's door would be the last step.
"...There are signs someone stayed here. Why?"
In the second to last room, there were traces of a person.
The blankets were disheveled, and I could smell the scent of fresh air.
"Do you not know who this is?"
'....'
The sensation remained silent.
It probably doesn't know. Useless thing.
I had checked every room. Except for Johanna's.
"...Are you in there?"
No answer came.
I opened the door.
She was lying on the bed.
Her braided brown hair confirmed her identity.
She was wearing the simple, everyday clothes she only wore when in the church.
The room was stark.
Only a few small snacks for the kite were on the table;
other than that, not even a common accessory could be found.
A bible lay at the head of the bed. It was open, as if she had fallen asleep while reading.
What passage she was reading was of no interest to me.
I sat down on the edge of the bed.
Feeling the small vibration, her eyes fluttered open.
"...Lupus? Is that you?"
"Johanna."
I grabbed her shoulder and pressed her down as she tried to sit up.
"Wh... what?"
"Johanna. Are you real?"
"What are you talking about, Lupus? Your eyes are frightening...."
My grip tightened. She winced, as if in pain.
"Are you my delusion? A Servant I created out of my own desire?"
I thought I was calm, but my voice was trembling.
My breathing was unsteady, and my eyes couldn't even focus properly.
"Lupus. Calm down."
"I am calm. No. I can't calm down."
"Do you even know what you're saying?"
I don't.
But I couldn't say that.
Why?
I didn't know that either.
"Take a deep breath, slowly. And then, try to remember why you came to find me."
"......"
Even though I was gripping her with enough force to crush her shoulder, Johanna was serene.
It was clear she was forcing herself to endure it, but I couldn't understand why.
Why didn't she scream in pain and try to get away?
I know nothing. And so, I was curious about everything.
"I want to know you. Reassure me. Prove to me that all of this isn't a lie."
"...."
Incoherent words. A jumble thrown out without context. Who could possibly understand?
Johanna gazed at me as if looking at something pitiful.
I bit down on the lips of the woman I held pinned to the bed.
"Ngh...!"
Her body trembled.
In an instant, her lips glistened with blood.
The taste of iron. The feel of fresh blood.
Real blood, not a lie.
My hand naturally moved to her thigh.
Realizing what I was about to do, Johanna's face instantly flushed red.
"W-Wait. I don't want it like this...."
"Sorry."
"Lupus... ngh...."
I had committed a sin.
I had used her, a person, as an outlet for my desires.
"Hah.... hah...."
She gasped for breath.
The acrid smell filled the room.
I'm confused. I couldn't breathe properly.
Johanna isn't a fake. The demon had said so.
One of the only two 'real' beings, along with me. A precious person I had spent years with.
I had committed an irreversible sin against her.
"...Ah. I'm sorry... I didn't mean to...."
Run.
I am not a person who deserves to be here.
The moment I started to get up from the bed, she grabbed my arm.
The blanket was thrown back, revealing a body covered in red marks, but I felt no lust.
I had vented my frustrations until sunrise, and I was too terrified of the words that would come from her mouth.
"Come here. If you leave now, that is when you will truly be committing a sin."
"O...kay."
I awkwardly lay back down.
It was warm under the covers.
I didn't dare think of using the same pillow as her.
But she made space even on the narrow pillow, showing me consideration.
Close enough to feel her breath.
I tried with all my might not to meet her eyes.
"Just looking at the situation, one might think I was the one who did something strange."
"...I'm sorry."
"Does saying sorry make it undone?"
Even with ten mouths, I had nothing to say.
With a deep sigh, Johanna pulled me into an embrace.
I was positioned slightly below her, my head resting on her chest.
As she stroked my hair, she let out a small laugh.
That laugh made me tremble.
"Really... what am I to do with you?"
"I'm sorry."
Her embrace was warm.
Just as her slender arms wrapped around me, I did the same to her.
I felt something warm filling my heart.
It was far from enough to fill it completely, but still, it was good.
"I told you it hurt and asked you to be gentle, but you ignored that. You left bite marks all over. Well... it felt good, but that's a separate matter!"
"Sorry."
"Ahem. Until I give you permission, apologies are forbidden."
"So—... right."
A long silence followed.
We spent the time holding each other.
I was afraid of her for not blaming me.
I was grateful to her for accepting me.
"Lupus."
Peck. She kissed my forehead.
It was a kiss so tender it couldn't be compared to the pleasure-seeking of last night.
In a benevolent voice, she asked.
"Do you love me?"
"I love you. Stay by my side forever. Don't disappear."
"I see. Yes. So, our hearts were the same."
The warm sunlight tickled my eyes.
I burrowed deeper under the covers, deeper into her embrace.
"Fufufu. You're like a baby."
I didn't want to do anything.
I just wanted to stay in this softness forever.
"Lupu... mph...."
I sought her lips once more.
This time, more gently. We carefully mingled our tongues.
"Mmm... chyuup...."
I gently licked the wound on her lip and sucked on it lightly.
The still-fresh blood mixed with our saliva.
"Lupus...."
"Johanna."
My quickly recovered body desired her intensely.
But a loud noise came from the chapel.
Johanna was quite flustered.
"W-Wait. Later, at night."
"...Who is it?"
My face must look ridiculous right now. I could tell without looking in a mirror.
Filled with jealousy, I was furious at those people whose faces I didn't even know.
I had only just been absolved of my sin thanks to her mercy,
and here I was, feeling an unwarranted sense of possession.
"They're from Chaldea, from an astronomical observatory. They came to exterminate the demon, but now that there's no need, I guess they've returned."
"Is it a man?"
I regretted the words as soon as they left my mouth.
I was an uglier beast than I thought.
But Johanna didn't seem ashamed of me; rather, she seemed amused.
"This is what they call jealousy, isn't it? How cute."
"Don't call me cute. I'm...."
"Ah, you're getting embarrassed."
"I'm not."
Following her lead, I couldn't stop my own face from turning red.