“Akisumi, you’re awfully quiet. You okay?”

  My brother’s voice brought me back.

  To be honest, in this surreal nighttime cathedral, I’d stopped caring who was from the underground and who wasn’t.

  As long as Mr. White remained in my line of sight, that was enough.

  “Your headache—is it gone? You only had one this morning, right?”

  “Oh… right.”

  I’d completely forgotten.

  “Yeah. I hope that was the last of it.

  Maybe it was just sleep deprivation from studying too much or something…”

  “You’ve been studying that hard?”

  My brother chuckled warmly.

  “Anyway, I’ll show you where I first fell into the underground—”

  Tsurubami stood up to lead us, but the owner raised a hand to stop him.

  “Hold up.

  Look, I don’t fully trust you yet—but for now, fine.

  Before that, let’s hear a bit more from Mr. White.

  He told me some things before, and I think the rest of you should know too.”

  Tsurubami sat down again with quiet grace.

  Even that simple motion was elegant—he was nothing like the other boys our age.

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  “What did you want to know?” Mr. White asked.

  “The founder of your faith,” the owner said.

  Right—just as we had the Lord of Darkness, they must have a central figure in their own medicine-based religion.

  But more than that—

  “Actually, could you tell us about the Lord of Darkness first?

  You came here to meet Him, right?

  So you must know where He is, what He’s like.”

  Mr. White gave one of those breathtaking nods, his neck moving in that sinuous way again.

  “Yes. The Head Pastor told me about His features.

  But I’m forbidden to describe Him without permission.

  I’m sorry.”

  “—That makes sense.

  But… when you go to see Him, will you take us with you?

  I mean, we’ve been helping you walk around up here and everything.”

  I instantly regretted it—

  That sounded petty, like I was trading favors.

  But Mr. White smiled gently.

  “Of course.

  Though I can’t say whether the Lord of Darkness will agree to meet you.”

  His emerald eyes glowed softly in the dark.

  I inhaled, checking my feelings.

  —I want to possess him.

  As I looked at his collarbone peeking out from his robe—looser than ours, hiding his form—I imagined the color of his bones.

  “The Lord of Darkness changes His location every night.

  Please help us track Him down.”

  “Don’t worry. That medicine is valuable to the surface too.

  And personally… I want to help you.”

  My brother’s strong, sincere voice made Mr. White smile and bow his head slightly.

  Oh no.

  Mr. White likes him.

  Not in the same way I do, but still—it hurts.

  “So, what do you call the founder of your faith?” my brother asked.

  “We call him Medicine,” Mr. White replied.

  “Because he heals sickness? That’s… pretty straightforward.”

  My brother’s bluntness is part of his charm,

  But sometimes, it’s borderline rude.

  “Well… the Lord of Darkness is straightforward too, isn’t He?”

  Mr. White offered a gentle protest.

  “There’s something more important,” the owner cut in, clearly impatient.

  “Oh… you mean that.”

  Mr. White hesitated for a moment.

  Then he spoke slowly.

  “The Lord of Darkness and Medicine…

  are brothers.”