“That was necessary.”

After adding those words, Laila felt embarrassed, as if she had unconsciously made excuses.

“For Eustar.”

“You mean to break his contract with the Deceptor.”

As Badin remarked in a low voice, Laila tried to refute immediately. However, he did not give her a chance to speak.

“Didn’t I warn you that I didn’t need to interfere with that contract? I clearly told you it wasn’t something you could handle. Were you so foolish that you couldn’t even understand something so simple?”

“I’m not foolish. I just didn’t want to give up on Eustar. Can you call that foolish? You asked if I could make him my companion and spend my life with him. Yes, that’s right!”

Laila’s thunderous cry echoed through the valley. She frowned with her bright red eyes wide open, looking as if she might cry. The sound of her angry, panting breaths continued for a moment.

“I can do it. So I can’t just leave Eustar alone.”

For an instant, Laila saw a strange light flickering in Badin’s eyes. It was some emotion.

An emotion difficult to pinpoint exactly. After something that could have been sadness, or bitterness, or mockery passed very briefly, he spoke.

“But your determination is nothing more than weightless words. Look at this place. Don’t you realize where you are now, what you’ve gotten yourself into? While you waste time here foolishly, can you even imagine what might happen to that human you’re trying to protect?”

Laila’s eyes widened with fear.

“Has something happened to Eustar?”

When Badin remained silent, Laila cried out again in an anxious voice.

“Tell me!”

“The place human mages call a library or study, it’s a space that doesn’t actually exist in this world. Most of the things there are not real books, but memories of records. Memories are traces left by time. Can you imagine how much power is needed to hold onto those traces so they don’t fade away? You wouldn’t have lasted long there. No creature sensitive to magical power can endure there for long. The same would be true for the descendant of Hyanmorik that you care about and worry for. Time here is not the same as time in reality.”

Laila tightly clenched her hands, which had grown cold from the sudden anxiety that gripped her. Before the enormous flow of memory, time, and magical power – things beyond the control of ordinary humans – she felt as helpless as a tiny ant being toyed with.

“Where is this place?”

Laila said.

“Is this the past?”

Badin looked at Laila as if pitying her before answering.

“It is the past for you, but for me it is the present and also the future.”

Laila’s brow furrowed.

“…What do you mean?”

“This is Lilith Kristrad’s memory. That book was written by her, mixing her own blood with magic. That’s why her memory remained in that record, and you, being of Lilith’s bloodline, could be said to have been drawn to her.”

“You said this is your present and also your future? What does that mean?”

Badin let out a low sigh. A faint, chilly breeze rustled his black hair desolately as it passed.

“I can go anywhere within Lilith’s memories. The time that was originally hers has been transferred to me. That’s why I came here, because I felt you were here. If not for that…”

Badin trailed off, turning his head to look at Lilith’s house. At that moment, Laila suddenly realized one thing. It was a thought that came to her like a strong premonition, without logical insight or deliberation.

“Is it possible that you are the man who comes to visit Lilith?”

Demons can change their appearance into anything. A powerful demon like Badin could transform into a man or woman, a child or an old person, or even a four-legged beast.

Laila began to doubt the relationship between Lilith and Badin for the first time. The first witch was said to be a woman who summoned a demon for her own sake. But what if that wasn’t true?

What if it wasn’t Lilith who summoned Badin, but Badin who sought out Lilith?

“I can pretty much guess what you’re thinking, but I have nothing to do with that human male.”

Badin said, as if seeing right through Laila’s thoughts. His gaze was no longer directed at Lilith’s house. The complex emotions that had briefly appeared were now gone without a trace.

“That human lives in the village. It’s certain that he loves Lilith Kristrad. However, he dies tonight.”

Laila’s face turned pale as her heart sank.

“What did you say? He dies? How do you… No, why? Why does that man die?”

“He burns to death for the sin of giving his heart to an ill-fated woman.”

“That’s impossible.”

“Whether it is or not, what can you do about it? Don’t be mistaken. This is already a finished matter. Don’t forget that for you, this is the distant past.”

The wind passing through the leaves sounded as mournful as a sigh. When the elm tree at the top of the valley shook its branches, the shadows of leaves cast down to Laila’s feet also stirred.

Laila stared intently at Badin’s expressionless, plain face. Now she could feel no emotion from him.

Despair or pain, sadness, or anger. As if those were the exclusive property of foolish humans, he who was not human remained as cold and still as a stone even amidst the swaying shadows.

“Why… am I here? Why, what’s the reason I was drawn into Lilith’s memory?”

Laila muttered in a small voice, her head bowed.

Was it simply because she was of Lilith’s bloodline that she was drawn here? If so, did Lilith have no intention of letting her go? Was there really no way to escape?

What would happen to Eustar?

“…How can I get out of here?”

“Are you asking me for help?”

Laila raised her head, her eyes wet with tears. She took a harsh breath, clenching her trembling jaw tightly against the stinging pain.

“It’s the opposite, isn’t it?”

“What?”

“The fact that you appeared here means that you’re the one who needs my help. Isn’t that right? If you’re going to talk nonsense about paternal love or whatever again, just stop. I will never think of you as my father.”

Laila faced Badin head-on, trying to shake off the fear that was overwhelming her. It didn’t matter if she could be shattered and killed with just a movement of his finger.

It was better to do something, anything, than to waste time here without any purpose or reason, losing Eustar.

Even if it was a foolish act like banging her head against a rock. That way, at least she wouldn’t have regrets.

Badin fiddled with his neatly folded sleeve for a moment, then sighed so softly it was barely audible.

He was now tired of everything. He was enduring only because he knew that the downfall of Hyanmorik was approaching step by step, but Badin’s patience had long since reached its limit.

“Yes, there is just one thing you can do to help me. If you do that, you too will be able to escape from here.”

“I knew it.”

Laila responded sharply, taking a step towards him. A strange scent wafted, sweet and acrid like a mixture of honey, herbs, and ash.

“What is it that I have to do?”

Badin, who had been looking down slightly, looked straight at Laila.

“Erase this memory of Lilith, and release me from the witch’s promise.”

Laila stared blankly at Badin, knowing she looked like a fool. She couldn’t even guess what he was asking for.

“What… do you mean? Erase this memory? Release you…?”

“Didn’t I tell you before? What binds me is human. What was once human, what has been washed away by wind and earth and river. The first witch who bound me gave me her all and made me maintain the witch’s bloodline. The value of the time and life she offered is too heavy and immense. I have continued to ensure that the witch’s blood does not end in order to balance that. But now I am tired.”

Suddenly, the image of a bonfire flashed in Laila’s mind. Before coming to this city, she had once said to Eustar:

— I will bear your child someday.

It was a statement born of anxiety. It was a very small truth that she had uttered, prepared even for the possibility that Eustar might not be pleased.

Long ago, Badin had shown Laila the space where he resided, which was also himself. A place that was empty, once a ruin but now even that had disappeared, leaving only hazy dust floating.

The one who had made him so empty was Lilith. Laila could now understand every word Badin had said. And she also realized why the fact that she might bear Eustar’s child had made her so anxious.

Badin had loved Lilith. Just as she loved Eustar, or as Eustar loved her. She had taken everything from Badin.

How could that be possible? How could a mere human have bound such a long-lived being until now? It was enough to make one fear the emotion of love itself.

Eustar had assured that he could love any child Laila bore, no matter what kind of being it was. That too must have been because he cherished Laila so dearly.

Laila felt fear because that love was overwhelming and she had no way to repay it. Fear that she might destroy his life with her own hands, relying on that immense love. Fear that she might turn him into a being like Badin.

Badin’s shadow grew larger and longer. Laila was startled to realize that he was returning to his true form.

For a moment, she thought it would be terrible if Lilith suddenly returned, but the next instant she knew such a thing wouldn’t happen.

This was inside her memory. Things she didn’t remember, events that hadn’t happened in the past, would never occur.

In an instant, Badin returned to his true form and leaned his massive body forward. The giant trees collided with him and were pushed, cracking and breaking with loud snaps.

— Look at my memory.

His voice spreading across the bright blue sky was terribly heavy and gloomy.

— Put your hand on me and look at my memory. Only you can do this.

Laila’s eyes slowly closed.

Her hand touched Badin’s cold body.