"Super Invincible Tyrannosaurus Warrior—yeah, you. Hold this up and stand right there."
Early the next morning, in the bustling crowd of Port Ormos, Elric shoved a sign into the hands of a passing man and gestured for him to stand farther away.
At the same time, Elric pulled a Kamera from his coat and set it up in front of him, carefully adjusting the angle.
"Huh? Me?"
The man who'd been singled out pointed at himself, his face full of confusion.
"Yep. You. I even know your name in the Akasha—Super Invincible Tyrannosaurus Warrior, right?"
Elric waved a hand impatiently.
"Hey!" The man leaned in and hissed in a low voice, "Don't say it so loud. I don't want everyone knowing that."
Even so, he followed Elric's instructions and stood in the distance, constantly adjusting the position of the sign.
How did Elric know his old Akasha handle?
Don't ask.
Just shout it loudly in public—whoever reacts is the one.
Brothers might not be in the same world, but the unspoken understanding between men really was that simple.
As for why Elric was doing all this…
You have to remember—Elric wasn't some unemployed drifter.
He had an official post.
A high-ranking Hydro Archon's clerk.
It was almost time again—his once-a-month report to Furina.
Even though every letter he sent was like tossing a stone into the sea—no reply, not even a ripple—
Elric still believed Furina was simply too shy, as a god, to openly express her true feelings toward him.
…Yeah, no. That was a joke.
Elric wasn't delusional enough to fall for the three greatest illusions of life.
He simply wanted to share what he'd seen and heard while away.
After all, for five hundred years, she'd stayed in Fontaine, never daring to miss a single trial.
She had to be lonely… unbearably lonely.
Elric was only doing what he could.
And as for why—
Do you really need a reason to like Furina?
Where are my fellow Furina believers?!
"Ah…"
Paimon yawned, bleary-eyed, floating out of the house.
If it weren't for competition training, she wouldn't be up this early.
Making mora was hard.
"El—Elric, what are you doing?"
Seeing him messing with something strange first thing in the morning instantly chased away her sleepiness.
She drifted over, peering curiously.
"Taking photos to commemorate life, of course. It's not like we'll be carefree forever."
Elric answered reflexively while tinkering with the Kamera.
"…"
For a moment, Paimon didn't know what to say.
Meanwhile, Lumine walked over to the man holding the sign and read the words aloud without thinking.
"I miss you in Sumeru."
"The wind that misses you… has blown all the way to Sumeru."
"…?"
Lumine's face went dark.
What was this? Some new trend she didn't know about?
Why was it so weird?
What was he even doing?
Was his brain acting up again?
"You two came at the perfect time—help me take a few photos."
Elric's eyes lit up.
Since they were already here, why bother posing alone?
Furina would definitely want to see the blonde one, so he shoved the Kamera into Paimon's hands.
Then he enthusiastically took several photos with the two of them.
After sorting the photos, Elric wore a satisfied smile.
He walked back to his small room with light, springy steps.
Leaving the two of them standing there in place, completely stunned.
They exchanged a look—and both sensed something off about Elric.
"Lumine… don't you think Elric is kind of strange?" Paimon scratched her head uncertainly.
"Maybe… it has something to do with those photos he just took," Lumine guessed. "It looked like something meant for someone important."
"It's not just kind of strange. It's very strange."
A voice spoke from behind them, startling Paimon so badly she dove straight into Lumine's arms.
"Yikes—Layla! Faruzan! Why do you two walk without making a sound?!"
Paimon patted her chest and complained.
She'd been getting startled a lot lately. What was going on?
"Huh? What did you say?" Faruzan crossed her arms, her gaze drifting ominously to Paimon. "Say that again. When you're older, your ears just don't work as well."
"You have to call her Faruzan-senpai," Layla whispered a reminder.
"Ahem—Faruzan-senpai," Paimon immediately raised her voice, "what are you and Layla doing here?"
"Oh, nothing."
Faruzan tucked a strand of hair behind her ear.
"Layla and I have been here the whole time. You just didn't notice earlier."
Then Layla looked at them with obvious worry and explained softly.
"About my senior… um, ever since I've known him, he's done this almost once every month."
"So I'm worried…"
Lately, her senior had been getting more and more… abstract.
She was genuinely afraid Elric might have gotten mixed up with some evil organization.
That was why she wanted to gather everyone and investigate together.
Otherwise she couldn't rest easy.
And since Lumine was an experienced adventurer, Layla felt reassured leaving things to her.
"So I want to ask you to help me look into it."
Layla clasped her hands to her chest, golden eyes shimmering with concern.
"Your worry isn't unreasonable."
Lumine thought for a moment, then nodded seriously.
Elric was easily the strangest person she'd met so far.
If he truly had some hidden trouble, that would be bad.
And she wanted to help, too.
"So what's your plan?" Lumine asked.
Layla had noticed Elric's odd behavior for a while—she must have something in mind.
"Whenever it's around this time, senior usually stays in his room writing a letter."
"Then he sneaks out alone."
Layla touched her star-shaped headband, her expression firm.
"So I want you to help me figure out where he goes and what he's doing."
She paused, then added, "As for the letter—if he doesn't take it with him, Faruzan-senpai and I will take a look."
"Alright. No time to waste—let's move!"
Paimon nodded vigorously, eyes gleaming.
She'd always felt Elric was mysterious.
Sometimes his behavior was bizarre, but there was also an odd sense of… wrongness she couldn't explain.
Maybe this would finally lift the veil and reveal who he truly was!
So Lumine and Paimon used "taming Fungi" as an excuse to leave the house and set up an ambush somewhere hidden.
Faruzan and Layla stayed inside, pretending to go about normal activities while waiting for Elric to leave.
Elric knew none of this.
He went about his day as calmly as ever.
After a while, he checked the time.
Alright. About time. Time to handle real business.
He thought that to himself, then stepped out and headed in a certain direction.
"Lumine—he's coming out!"
The instant Paimon saw Elric leave, she tapped Lumine's shoulder and whispered urgently.
"We move."
Lumine nodded, carefully tailing him.
Elric stopped in front of a tavern that hadn't opened yet.
He glanced around, then pulled out a key and quietly unlocked the door, slipping inside.
"Lumine… we don't have a key. What do we do?" Paimon stared at the lock, panicking.
"It's fine. Watch me."
Lumine pulled a thin metal wire from her pocket and fiddled with it a few times.
"Since when do you know how to do that?!" Paimon's eyes went wide.
"Ahem… I just… picked up a little trick on my own at some point," Lumine said, clearing her throat, suddenly embarrassed under Paimon's stare.
A moment later, the lock clicked open.
Thankfully this area was secluded—no one noticed them.
Otherwise they'd truly have someone calling the Corps of Thirty.
Lumine signaled to Paimon, and the two slipped into the tavern carefully.
Strange.
Lumine frowned inwardly.
Shouldn't a secret organization be heavily guarded?
Why did this place feel empty?
Could there be a basement?
Lumine remained on high alert as she crept deeper inside.
Then—
Elric's voice drifted to their ears.
"If you won't let customers touch, our performance numbers will never go up."
Elric sat in a chair, one leg crossed over the other, lecturing with patient earnestness.
"We're running a business. The goal is profit."
"Making money isn't shameful."
He sighed, sounding exhausted.
"Your attitude disappoints me," Elric said, eyes full of disapproval.
"You can't fall in love with customers. And you can't forget to collect payment."
"Last time, there was even some poor kid who tried to sell everything he had to redeem one of you and take her away."
"Naive. He could barely feed himself, and he still wanted to take someone else home."
"I took pity on him and just gave her to him for free. And what happened?"
"She came right back here to receive clients again."
Elric sounded genuinely angry now—his tone heavier, sharper.
"And I'll say it bluntly. If you're already doing this line of work, then what are you pretending to be innocent for?"
He pointed at one of them, voice rising.
"You—back when you were wandering the streets, eating garbage—who brought you back and gave you a home?"
"It was me."
"And you…"
Just as he was about to continue, Lumine and Paimon couldn't take it anymore.
They kicked the door open and stormed in, shouting at the top of their lungs:
"Elric!!! I can't believe we misjudged you—so this is what you're doing in private—"
"—you're actually such a kind-hearted person!"
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