"... why did you give me the 'Princess's White Bulb'?

"How could... that? I told you what I meant, didn't I?

"I understand what white bulbs mean! But otherwise... why me, the fallen apprentice alchemist..."

'Cause you do, don't you? Mr. Letterio is a knight, a Duke's man, and even more himself a Viscount...... I'm just a common man and an apprentice alchemist. I'm too different in position, status and ability.

And...

"Me, Mr. Letterio just takes care of me...?

Get me on a horse to get to the city, let me show you around the city, or give you a ride back to the workshop. They even took me to the labyrinth, and they helped me pick it up and help me out of the high leg spider and the swamp. The smile also quenched my anxiety when the road stretched and I became anxious.

- I'm left looking after you perfectly.

Yeah, and I even got a job called 'portable food'. Take care of me, you just give it to me.

"... why, to me?

I don't know what 'white bulbs' Mr Letterio gave me.

I don't know what that means, and I don't know who I am. Because everything has its consequences for a reason. It's with the smelting experiment. Choosing the material to match and treating it properly gives a good reaction. If you make a mistake in a procedure or choice somewhere, you can't get to the right answer you want.

Now I don't even know what I want to make or what I'm given as a material before I choose a material. I'm anxious because I don't know, but I'm looking forward to it somewhere, and I don't see my feelings well with fluff and Moya Moya.

"I don't know... well. It hasn't been that long since I've known that..."

I also know that time is irrelevant or love at first sight. I've read about it in stories, and I've heard about it all over the city. But...

"... Sometimes I haven't told Mr. Letterio. Maybe she's not what you think she is."

I was trying my best to show Mr. Letterio, a fine profession called Knight. Yes, since I met Mr. Letterio, I feel like he's only been coming hard ahead.

Until then, I was jealous of my younger contemporaries who were about to bully me into not being able to, and had gone first. I worry about the teachers all the time, I just don't want to worry about my parents in my hometown, and I haven't been able to write a lot of news. I've been running away with Grandpa Galgor as my message board.

... Is that it? Think about it, have you changed a bit since you met Mr. Letterio? Would it be after one internship?

But I knew...

"I... didn't do anything Mr. Letterio would like... I've been taking care of you a lot, and I haven't given you anything back."

I don't know if I can return the Knight's Red Bulb to The Princess's White Bulb...

"- Was the white bulb from me annoying?

I flutter my face to the side as I flutter, unable to raise my face that I have leaned over.

"Iris, it's all the other way around. I'm the one who's left to take care of Iris."

"... that's not true"

"That's true. 'Cause I was told,' It's a role, 'and they gave me the Viscount, and I came to Venetos (here), and because it's a role, I built a labyrinth expedition, and I raised my men, and I dived into the labyrinth... Even knights just disappeared in the first place, and I wasn't aiming for anything in particular. I listened to Iris after we went to the city together... oh, I didn't decide anything for myself, I didn't try anything, I felt sorry for myself"

About time, I looked up.

"Meet Iris and I could be a little better knight. I finally picked my own path."

That smile of Mr. Letterio doesn't seem to have changed anything from the day we first met to today. But the truth is, just like me... have you changed?

"I thought I'd play the part of 'The Keeper of the Labyrinth'. - There's only one more year to go."

"A year?

"Oh well, you didn't say it yet. In a year, I'll have to return to the Knights of the King's Capital. This one takes the form of a departure..."

"Yes... what is it? Then you have one more year to say goodbye..."

"Did you think I was lonely?

A grin different from the usual soft grin: Ni.

"Thoughts......"

- I can't say.

"I thought," it kind of stinks, but it's also a lie to say "I don't think," and I don't want to say it.

Gu...... and made him mumble and looked up at Mr. Letterio a little resentful. I'm sure he's laughing funny. That's what I thought......

"... I thought I was gonna miss you."

"Huh...?

I can't see Mr. Letterio's face from me for saying that.

Because with both arms, I tried to hold them in, and they held me in.

"He was lying about his identity and the labyrinth, and sometimes he still keeps it a secret from Iris. I think I'm the one who doesn't know what I'm good at and can't be trusted. I'm not the man Iris thinks I am."

"... Really? But, Mr. Letterio... I think you're sweet, and I think you'll take good care of yourself..."

"Even Iris is positive from me, and I'm trying, and I think you're a good kid, right?

My arms are warm and wrapped all over me. The Ignis flame that is illuminating us is also warm, and my heart, which was kind of hardened by the thought of "I can't believe I'm a fallen apprentice alchemist," gradually feels like I'm loosening up with trolls.

- I was seeing from Mr. Letterio, too, can I admit it to you?

I looked up softly and looked up at Mr. Letterio.

Its eyes, seen from nearby, are clear pale. But to the depths of it, I still don't know.

What does Mr. Letterio think and hold?

"I met Iris at a time when I was in such a hurry that it was only a year away. Maybe it's Irina the magician's money? I also explored... you were amazingly honest and there was nothing back there, and on the contrary, you made a delicious portable meal, and Irina, the magician, was amazed."

"I was all over myself, and there's no way there's that behind me."

"Yeah. I know now"

My forehead is gently stroked with my fingertips.

The beating and the heart is noisy, but it's kind of comfortable and I keep my eyes closed.

Just a little more, can I keep myself like this?

'Cause when are you gonna shake me to get a stroke?

When would you shake someone to give you a hug or lean over?

"Iris, there's something I haven't told you yet."

That's what they said in the workshop the other day.

Mr. Letterio looked spicy somehow......

"The labyrinth got noisy again, I looked it up again, and I figured out a little bit of different things... Maybe this labyrinth isn't for Iris and Ignis. It could be wrong to involve Iris and Ignis"

"... what do you mean?

Just a foot clump? Or - maybe it has something to do with the signs of the Spirit of Fire (Salamander) that Ignis was saying? Is it dangerous to step in to explore this place, which may be the territory of a fellow Spirit?

"Still a secret.... right? You wouldn't trust me, would you? Whatever I say, what's secret, which is a lie and which is true... you don't get it, do you?

You can't believe it's about The Princess's White Bulb, can you? Could that be what you're saying?

"I don't know..."

I looked straight at Mr. Letterio with a bitter smile.

"I trust you. I trust Mr. Letterio's secrets, lies and truths, all flipped. It was up to me to dive into the labyrinth and ask Ignis to explore."

That's right.

You just have to decide.

Materials, smelting methods, and their processing don't have to be done according to textbooks. There are also a lot of arranged recipes on [recipes] that I'm not sure about. Even I can arrange what I want - to be the alchemist I want.

It doesn't matter what Mr. Letterio does. That's fine if I decide. Even the white bulbs - you just have to be honest with me about how happy I was... I think.

"Let Mr. Letterio decide too! You can do what you want, I'm sure! Because here, it's Mr. Letterio's territory, so secrets and everything, it should be good for you to like the lord, right? Never mind."

The eyes of the pale balls swayed for a moment and narrowed with trolls.

"... Iris is a fraud after all, isn't he? This is what you call a man - I thought."

"What, are you complimenting me? That. Or is it no good?

"I compliment you. He's a man, but he's still cute."

"Oh, I said fraud...!

"Haha, I'm not a fraud because I know what's inside too"