It’s been about a week since Aaron left for Great Hiana. Things are progressing slowly, but it’s not like we don’t have our highlights. Notably, my ban on playing with Nelly was finally lifted (Hooray!) and Anna and I couldn’t be happier with our day to day lives. Wake up, help around the restaurant, play with Nelly and talk to Cecily in our free time, check up on Arthur and sometimes accompany him on walks… Yep, it’s a good life.

“So,” Anna said while we were finishing up our picnic date, “On a scale of 1 to 10, how would you rate today’s food?”

“Hmm, I’d say… 8.5 out of 10.”

“Geez, aren’t you supposed to up the score because I’m your girlfriend?”

“Sorry, but I can’t do that. Honesty is valued above all else in a relationship, and I certainly wouldn’t want to lie to you.”

She gave a wry smile while playfully punching me on the shoulder, “You…! Always with the perfect retorts to anything anyone says, at this point I’m starting to fear that you’ll grow into a sly liar in the near future.”

“You think I can pull that off?”

At these words, she burst out laughing, all the while adding on comments like Don’t try it and If you do, I’m leaving you. Well, at least I now know not to become a lying scum thanks to Anna (though I knew that even before).

“Speaking of, you think Arthur approves of us dating yet?”

“Hard to say, I think that no matter how much you try to appeal to him as a grandson-in-law, there’ll always be a part of him that detests the idea.”

“Harumph! I don’t see why he’s so against it, though, I think I’m a pretty good guy for you, after all.”

“You? Nah, not even close. It’s more like I’m the perfect girl for you.”

Oh? And what exactly is the difference between the two? Don’t get too cocky, girl, we Saints take great pride in our competitive nature!

“Alright then,” I said as I leaned in for a kiss, “Then shall we end this little dispute right here and now?”

“Wha-! H-Hey, s-stop it! Not out in public!”

I paused to examine her flushed expression with a curious gaze, but after a while I couldn’t take it anymore and still gave her a peck on the lips. Heh, what’d I say about a Saint’s pride?

“Guys! Guys!” An extremely loud voice rung out from the direction of the house. “Quit yer’ flirting for a sec and check this out!”

“C-Cecily! We weren’t flirting that much!”

“…” Cecily gave Anna an annoyed side-glance, “Right… Maybe don’t say that after smooching out in the open.”

“Y-You saw that!?”

“Bah! The air around you two is suffocating. Just shut up and read this.”

“What is it?” I asked.

“A letter. It came in the mail today, it’s from Lune.”

“G-!”

Grim! So he’s alive after all? Thank God…! Wait, this letter hasn’t been opened yet. Could it be Cecily wanted us all to read it together…? Ah, I see now, she’s being considerate of my feelings after I berated her the other day… God, I don’t think I can ever live this feeling of shame down in my life…

“Ahem…!”

“Yo, Ed! If you’re reading this, I’m already dead!”

“WHAT?!” Anna and Cecily both screamed in unison.

“Just kidding. Heh, gotcha’ dude!”

“That damned idiot…! Joking about dying at such a crucial moment!”

I certainly agree that it wasn’t the time nor place to make such jokes, especially if he was expecting me to read this out to Anna and Cecily… Well, then again, Cecily was supposed to have stayed back in Great Hiana, so I guess he didn’t account for her being here then? In any case, I continued reading the letter out loud.

“No, ozbiljno but seriously, I am alive and well even now, so no need to worry. I;m staying in the Island of Exuul right now, ludo crazy, right? In any case, if you’re free, come over here, I’ve got some exciting things to show you! Meet me at the courtyard at high noon on the 24th!

-Lune”

Is… Is that all? I mean, this is amazing news, yeah, but… I mean, it’s been three years since we’ve seen each other, and that’s all you have to say? I dunno, isn’t it a bit, y’know, brief?

“This…” Cecily uttered.

Right, she wasn’t mentioned even once in this letter. She’d obviously feel a bit sad… Then again, maybe Grim sent a letter to her personally in Great Hiana?

“This is incredible news!” Cecily finished her sentence.

“Eh?”

“Oh, thank the heavens! He’s alive and well! I’m… I’m so glad…!”

At these words, Cecily started to gently cry tears of pure joy. I mean, she did lose her brother all those years ago, so I’m sure she couldn’t care less about anything else than hearing that Grim is 100% proven to be alive all this time. I mean, if I applied Anna and me into this equation, then I probably wouldn’t care less about not being mentioned in Anna’s letter, I’d just be glad she’s alive, so I guess it makes sense.

“So what’re you gonna do, Ed?”

“Isn’t it obvious?” I said while opening the door to the house, “I’m going out for a bit!”

***

“Dobar dan, gospodine, i dobrodošli u našu državu. Prijatan boravak!” The foreign border guard welcomed me to Cardina.

“Dobar dan!”

Ahh~, the fresh saltwater scent of Cardina is one I could definitely get used to. And the blue motif is definitely an added bonus. As to why I’m in Cardina when Grim specifically mentioned the Island of Exuul, it’s because I can’t actually just board a boat ride directly to there. You see, the Island of Exuul was actually a place where prisoners used to get, well, exiled for committing unspeakable crimes back in the past. That’s when Schnell came by one day and petitioned for it to become a full-fledged country when the prison eventually shut down. Apparently, this odd decision was made in honor of a deceased friend of his.

“But why the IoE, Grim? Don’t tell me they reopened the place up just for you, heh…”

I joked about this, but knowing Grim’s troublemaker tendencies, I honestly wouldn’t be surprised to see him in a prisoner uniform. Let’s hope it doesn’t come to that, though…

“Good day, I’d like to go to the Island of Exuul.”

“Heh,” The person working at the Southeastern Dock chuckled, “Old habits die hard, eh?”

His rhetoric question confused me a bit, but judging from his demeanor, I suppose it’s nothing bad in any case. Even still, I kind of had to ask what he’s talking about at this point.

“What do you mean by that, sir?”

“You haven’t heard? That famous inventor got married and bought the entire Island for him and his wife. Pretty generous of him, don’t you think? Eh, in any case, apparently he legally changed its name to Lichtstadt.”

What? But isn’t the Island of Exuul… a country?! Isn’t that way too generous for a wedding gift?! Also, what the heck is that name? God, thank goodness Anna didn’t accompany me here, otherwise she’d nag me about buying her the entirety of Secundis until the end of time (and I don’t have that kind of money!). But wait, famous inventor…?

“…Are you talking about Sol?” I said as I showed him my holstered firestarter pistol.

“Oh whoa! Dude! Where’d you get that? That’s like, an antique at this point!”

Oh? Is it really that difficult to attain now? Well, Adam did tell me that Sol stopped making weapons, so I can imagine that this is a rare sight. Heh, kind of makes me wanna brag about it… But I’ll refrain.

“Well, you’re right, though.” The dockworker said as he inspected Sol’s signature on the handle of the pistol, “That’s the guy I’m talking about. Get this, he married one of the Grys’ Maids to boot! Could he ask for anything more in life?”

“He married Mariabelle?!”

While I was happily thanking God for giving such kind people a happy fairytale ending like that, the man gave me a blank stare as he handed me my ticket.

“Mariabelle? Eh, never mind, safe travels.”

“Thank you very much!”

After making it to the Island, I double-checked the time and place of our meeting from the letter Grim sent me, and everything seemed to check out. Apparently, after stepping foot on the Island’s dock, I was to enter the courtyard of what used to be the prison. Then, I was to wait for him to show up.

“How odd, I never took Grim for someone so mysterious and cool… But damn, I’m actually gonna see Grim after so many years. It’s actually kind of making me nervous, heh. I wonder how much he’s changed. He had started growing out his hair a bit last time I saw him, he could even tie his hair into a dorky little ponytail back then. Even though everyone told him it doesn’t suit him, he’d shut them all up with a simple ‘It’s cool! Plus Cecily likes it, and that’s all that matters!’ before storming off. Man, I wonder if it reached his butt by now, he’d look like a hermit, heh…”

I kept imagining how he’d look like, but nothing could’ve prepared me for the sudden scare I felt as a sensual voice whispered something in my ear, jolting me as I lost my train of thought.

“Thinking so much about me, did you miss me that much?”

It was him. That was Grim’s voice! All I had to do was turn around and I’d see him, weirdly yet sensually whispering in my ear! (wait, why did he do that again?)

“G-Grim?! What the heck!?”

“Heh, gotcha’. Or did you like my ASMR?”

ASMR? Nah, screw that, that’s not important right now. Look at him! He… looks completely different? His hair is short, shorter than it’s ever been, and it’s dyed black? He looks a lot frailer, and his skin’s really pale. W-Well, at least I know it’s him when I look at his… eyes? Oh, h-he’s converted his Iro into Purple, eh? S-Stylish…

“What’s the matter, Ed? Cat got your tongue?”

“N-No, it’s just… y-you’ve changed your appearance quite a bit, so this is a bit jarring, heh…”

He didn’t really acknowledge my words, instead he simply scanned me from head to toe before making a comment of his own.

“So have you. It’s been three years, after all, we’ve all changed in some ways.”

“Well, yeah… Oh, by the way, what are you doing over here? I heard this place got bought recently. Are you allowed to stay here?”

Grim gave me a blank stare before explaining, “This ol’ island? I bought it.”

“W-WHAT?!”

“Yeah, thinking of turning it into a resort or something like that. Imagine an Arthur’s here on an abandoned island in the middle of nowhere. That’d be hilarious! We’d get so many interesting shipwrecked adventurers come in! Phahahah!”

E-Eeh? He certainly hasn’t changed, but what does he mean by that? Isn’t Sol the guy who bought that place for his wife?

“Oh, by the way, I’ve been getting into tinkering a lot recently.” Grim offhandedly said, “It really calms the nerves, and you’d be surprised by how much money you can get from it.”

“Hmm, cool…” I responded without paying much attention to his words.

How did Grim get the money for this? Why did that dockworker tell me a lie, then? Nothing adds up, ugh…

“I even got a cool nickname I like to use instead of my own name. It’s really convenient!”

“I see…” I still wasn’t listening all too much.

“Yeah, it’s Sol. Pretty cool, right?”

S-Sol… Interes-WAIT WHAT!? G-GRIM WAS SOL ALL ALONG?!?!

“E-EHHH?!?!?!” I shouted in surprise, “B-But then-, wait-, you mean-?”

So that’s why we got all those gifts when we came to pay Adam a visit. And how that apothecary worker knew about Anna and me! Now it all makes sense! ...But hold on… that means that what that dockworker told me wasn’t a lie. Which means…

“Sup, Ed.” A female voice could be heard calling out to me from behind.

“M-Mariabelle?”

“…We need to talk.” She said as she took hold of Grim’s hand.

***

“Ed, we need to talk.”

“Mariabelle?” I chuckled nervously, “D-Don’t tell me, you were… with Grim? A-All this time?”

She knew what she had done, and you could tell from her face that she feels bad about it. She couldn’t even find the courage in her heart to apologize, but her silence was enough to prove she couldn’t help it.

“You’ve met my wife Marina before, so I’m glad I don’t have to introduce you two-!” Grim said without missing a beat.

“You shut up! I don’t wanna hear anything from you for now! I wanna hear what Maria– wait, M-Marina?”

“Y-Yeah,” Marina (apparently) sheepishly started to explain, “Like Sol, Mariabelle is also a fake name we came up with to escape the ITA’s clutches.”

So I was right, they really did fake their deaths to no longer be bound by the ITA! But still, isn’t this taking the farce a bit too far?

“Ed,” Grim calmly spoke up with a resolute look, “I am lawfully married to Marina. This is no joke.”

“D-Dude…” I chuckled, as I couldn’t take his words seriously, “Y-You gotta be kidding me, right? T-This is just a really elaborate prank, right?”

Saying nothing, they both gave me a serious look. On their face, I could see so many emotions welling up. Fear, anxiety, resolution, happiness… it was all there. They should both know about Cecily and Nelly, but reading their minds with Analyze only proved their sincerity.

“You two are sick!” I jumped from my seat, “I can’t fucking believe you!”

“Ed, have a seat.”

“No, fuck you! I should just punch you right now-!”

*plop*

“?”

*stab*

W-Huh?! W-What the fuck? G-Grim started raising his hand against me, b-but then all of a sudden dropped it to the table and stabbed it with a knife!? What’s going on here?! What does he think he’s doing? Marina’s unfazed by this?!

“Ed, take a good luck at my hand.”

“O-Oh God, we gotta stop the bleeding-!”

“Ed, calm down. I do this all the time, it’s normal.”

What part of this is normal, dumbass?! You just stabbed yourself in the fucking hand!

“It’s called bloodletting. It relieves stress. I do it when I’m tense… Or when I refrain from beating a person up for saying some really insensitive things.”

The latter part of the explanation was definitely directed at me, it seems. So that’s why he raised his hand at me like he was about to strike me before stabbing it. He was refraining from hitting me, huh? Marina doesn’t seem all too pleased with his actions, but her lack of input on this sudden turn of events is certainly odd.

“Y-Your finger!” I finally looked at his hand, which was missing a pinkie, “What happened to it?!”

“I lost it in the dungeon.” He went on to explain, ”The passageway we were passing through suddenly collapsed. It killed Genevra, one of our party members, but just barely missed me. You remember that asshole, Linus, right? He was with us, and had the brilliant plan to chop my pinkie and ring fingers in order to free me.”

“I see? And then what happened?”

Grim then paused for a second, trying to compose himself before finally continuing with a tearful expression.

“Marina went back to the dungeon to pick up my ring finger and managed to somehow reattach it. You’re still interested in medicine, right? She’s a Dola, so I’m sure you two’ll get along well.”

Dola?! Isn’t that the world renowned family of doctors?! N-No wait, I mustn’t get swooned by this cheating bastard!

“…Just finish the story, jackass.”

“Ed, I’m trying to say that she saved my life. Multiple times. Not only that, she made my life worth living. When everyone around us died, she kept making me smile with her jokes. When we just washed up on the shores of Northern Cardina, she was the one who encouraged me to go on. When she-”

“Grim.” I stopped his rambling, “Cecily and Nelly are waiting for you. You can still make things right.”

“…” He paused to think of his next words very carefully, “But things are right, though.”

This asshole…!

“Nelly’s three!” I shouted at him, “She’s three, and you know what she said to Cecily the other day?! She asked who ‘Daddy’ is! Cecily still hasn’t fucking recovered from that, you sick fuck!”

“Heh, she can already talk? Daddy’s little girl-”

*whack*

I punched him in the face for making such a disgusting and out of touch with reality comment. I didn’t intend to do this, it just sort of happened on a whim. I felt immediate regret and discomfort, while Marina’s face was riddled with fear.

Without saying anything, Grim slowly took out a dirty picture of Nelly out of his pocket. He gave it a kiss, and with tears streaming out of his eyes, he gave me an utterly terrifying gaze. If I wasn’t so angry at him right now, I’d be shitting my pants.

“I wanted to show off a bit to my best friend. Helped you out on your journey from the sidelines, gifted you a pendant that represented our childhood dream. I helped make the foundations for turning Arthur’s into a global brand thanks to my accumulated wealth. I wanted to brag to you about getting married and living happily, and this is how you treat me?”

“…You’re sick. You sure that rockfall didn’t hit your head as well? Heh, maybe that whore sitting next to you is just manipulating you into staying with her.”

At these words, Grim slowly took out the knife from his hand and threw it to the side, all without breaking eye-contact with me. It was a bone chilling action. Still, he clutched his bleeding hand while Marina silently bandaged it up, before finally speaking up.

“You wanna get your ass beat by your ol’ pal that badly?”

I didn’t even wanna give him the pleasure of answering his question. The only thing I did was spit in his face as he clutched my shirt’s collar.

“…” With spit in his face, he opened his eyes with his eyebrows pointed down into a frown, and while barely keeping his composure, he uttered, “…I’ll take that as a yes.”