At the edge of the dark cave,
"..."
Aiz faced a woman who was lying collapsed there, as if in despair.
"I'm sorry... I'm sorry..."
The woman did nothing but keep repeating her apologies and shedding tears.
"..."
Aiz said nothing. She helped the woman to her feet, then carefully embraced her.
"...Aiz..."
"It's been a long time, Mother."
"Aiz...!"
"It really has been a long time... I have so much I want to tell you."
"..."
"Didn't you see it in the diary?"
"I've only read the beginning so far."
"Hmm... You met Ariadne in the middle, didn't you? Did he stop writing the diary during the journey and then start again later?"
"Who is Ariadne?"
"The princess rescued by Argonaut and Crozzo."
"..."
"A year after rescuing the princess, Crozzo married her. After that—"
"...No spoilers."
"Ah, my mistake."
"So, how deep is that cave?"
"Hmm..."
"What is it?"
"It'll be out soon."
Urrs suddenly changed from a ball of flame into a human-like form, then cut down a nearby tree and made a chair and a table.
"Why are you bringing those out?"
"Wait."
After a while, Aiz came out holding hands with a woman who looked remarkably like her.
"This is..."
"Yes, that's my mother."
"Hmm..."
"It's a pleasure to meet you. My daughter has been in your care."
...What was this?
"I heard you're a blacksmith in Orario."
Why...
"You must have enough skill to feed Aiz, at least."
Was this turning into some kind of formal meeting?
"I do have enough valis to keep us living fairly comfortably, yes..."
"Hmm..."
Ariadne looked at me as if she were sizing me up.
"...I suppose there's no problem."
"Huh?"
"You have my approval. Please take good care of Aiz."
"Huh?"
What?
"Mother...!"
"Aiz, a man with that kind of face can seduce women without even realizing it, so you need to make things official quickly."
"Oh, I was thinking the same thing."
"..."
Urrs and Ariadne exchanged suspicious looks and nodded at each other.
I hurriedly sprang to my feet, but—
"Too late."
"What the—"
Blue flames wrapped around me, and I lost consciousness.