To Ziel,

To Lililia,

[Common Letter]

Hey.

The post-processing is mostly done, so I’m leaving that town. I’ve written the new address for sending letters on a separate sheet, so refer to that.

Now, on to a not-so-cheerful topic right away.

It seems that magical beasts are becoming more active all over the world.

It’s probably because the wave of the Ruin King, which was about to awaken that night, stimulated the ley lines. But the details are still unclear. I’ll be heading back to the Grand Library for investigation—oh, but what comes next is still a secret.

In my last letter, I heard that the same phenomenon is happening in the town where Ziel arrived. Be careful. I doubt you’d lose to a magical beast, but there might still be some lurking around, like how Insto escaped from the labyrinth.

Lililia, are you going to start traveling with the knight order soon?

If it’s about magic, I’m always here to help. If you ever have trouble, reach out to me.

Also, I was deeply shocked to hear that Ziel has friends besides us.

Shocked.

Very much so.

Um…

Extremely shocked!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Seriously, how could this be!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?

[Personal Reply to Ziel]

Are you properly thinking about the encryption issue…?

By the way, setting that aside, I thought you might be struggling with relationships, so I sent you a reference book. It’s called “Why You Can’t Make Friends—The Seven Factors That Create Loneliness.” It should have arrived with this letter. If you read it, let me know your thoughts.

From Eunice.

To Eunice,

To Ziel,

[Common Letter]

For now, I’m going to be a paperweight at the church headquarters.

The elders have more experience and connections to handle coordination smoothly, so it makes more sense for them to go instead of me. Eunice, since you’ll be traveling alone a lot, it seems much harder for you. Let’s both do our best.

By the way, Ziel, you might not know this, so I’ll tell you: the currently active magical beasts seem to have gotten stronger across the board.

It wasn’t just the magical beasts we fought on the night of the re-sealing. Even stray magical beasts that aren’t classified as Apocryphal Beasts have been affected. So don’t let your guard down just because they’re not Apocryphal Beasts.

The excessive exclamation marks are adorable.

By the way, I also have (or had) friends.

[Personal Reply to Ziel]

Becoming a master and disciple feels arrogant, and being friends lacks symmetry given our history, right?

Relationships aren’t something you decide on your own, so taking your time and talking things through carefully is best. It’s a cliché, but that’s what I think.

By the way, here’s a carefully drawn picture of a tanuki.

From Lililia.

To Eunice,

To Lililia,

[Common Letter]

Thank you for the information.

The members of the dojo (especially the three I mentioned in my last letter) are all very skilled, so I don’t think my sword will be needed much while I’m here… But if I learn anything, I’ll be sure to report back.

Unlike the two of you, I don’t have a specific area of expertise that I can contribute through writing, but if you ever feel uneasy about anything, please don’t hesitate to reach out.

Also, I was a little shocked that you were shocked about me having friends.

[Personal Reply to Eunice]

Thanks for the book. In return, I’ve sent some local preserved foods from this area (I wasn’t sure about your tastes, so I chose something perishable for now… I hope you like it).

I read the book right away, and I was surprised by how many annotations were in it. I even thought the last section, “For Those Who Ultimately Couldn’t Be Helped”, was part of the design. I’ll use it as a reference.

Also, I still haven’t solved the encryption. I even asked Klaha out of desperation, but we still couldn’t figure it out. Is there a surrender option?

[Personal Reply to Lililia]

Thank you. I think you’re absolutely right. I’m aware of it, so I’ll try to adjust my relationships little by little.

Also, you might not know this, but that animal is more commonly called a giraffe.

From Ziel.