Lily needed to move now. She knew that, but her legs wouldn’t move. Wh-Why? But...

As Lily continued to stand there, conflicted, she heard Zenos say, “I can’t do that, Liz.”

“Huh?” Lily blurted out as though waking from a dream as the rain continued to pelt her.

The cool outside air rushed into the cave, gradually neutralizing the pervasive scent. Liz’s puzzled voice echoed from within. “Why not?”

“Before I answer that,” Zenos replied, “there’s some sort of sweet smell in here making my head spin. Liz, are you using some sort of really nice perfume?”

“N-No, this is succub—”

“Huh?”

“N-Nothing.”

Still pinned down, Zenos furrowed his brow lightly. “Sorry. I almost lost consciousness for a second there, so I used a mind-enhancing spell to increase my sense of pain many times over and bit my tongue. It’s healed now, though.”

“You did what?” Liz asked, incredulous. “You should’ve just passed out!”

“What? I mean, it seemed like an important conversation. Wouldn’t be very nice if I went and fell asleep, would it?”

A stunned Liz watched in silence as Zenos slowly sat up.

“So, about us living together somewhere else... I’m really grateful to you, Liz. You gave everyone at the orphanage a place to belong, not just me. Even after all the crap I went through with my former adventuring party, I still had good memories, all thanks to you and my mentor.”

Liz suddenly leaned forward. “Th-Then you—”

“But after my party kicked me out, I met Lily, and we started the clinic. The plan was to just lead a quiet life, but, uh, a lot of stuff has happened since then.” Zenos’s calm, unconcerned tone blended in with the rainfall. “The one thing I can say for sure is that I’ve made that clinic into a place where I—no, a bunch of oddballs, me included—belong.”

“That’s... But...!”

In a somewhat gentle voice, Zenos continued. “It’s just like what you did for all of us at the orphanage, Liz.” The young woman stopped talking, and Zenos’s tone turned serious. “I’ve gone through many meetings and partings. There might be more in the future. But for now, at least, I want to protect that ramshackle clinic—the place where we belong. So I can’t go with you.”

Choking up, Liz opened her mouth. “I... I’m...”

“Is something going on with you, Liz?”

“Huh?”

“I mean, it occurred to me that maybe your amnesia was just an excuse for something.”

Liz gasped in surprise and straightened up. “H-How did you—”

“So it was, then. I was a bit curious after that luxurious feast you cooked up.”

“Why would my cooking make you think that?”

“I mean, back at the orphanage, we didn’t really have the ingredients to make that kinda stuff. I figured maybe you’d learned to cook after you left. And if so, then it couldn’t be true that you’d lost all your memories after leaving, yeah?”

After a brief silence, Liz said hoarsely, “Why would I lie, though?”

“Well, I figured you had to have a good reason to do something like that. It didn’t strike me as a simple prank, so I wanted to see where you were going with it.”

Silence fell upon the cave, with only the sound of rainfall echoing around them.

Wh-What happened? Lily wondered as she quietly peered into the cave. She spotted Liz sitting down, looking deflated. Her slender shoulders began to tremble slightly, as though she were laughing. The laughter, sounding somewhat resigned, grew louder and stronger.

After a long while, Liz’s laughter trailed off and she sighed heavily. “So you knew all along.” Another sigh. “Well, that didn’t work out. I can’t injure you, I can’t seduce you, and I can’t deceive you. What can I even do, then? You’re formidable, aren’t you? Ah, what a joke.”

“Liz?”

“I’m going back, Zenos,” Liz said as she stood up.

“Hey, wait—”

Ignoring him, Liz came closer to the cave entrance. As soon as she stepped out, she seemed to notice Lily, as her eyes widened in surprise for a moment. But then, without a word, she stepped out into the rain.

“Um, Liz!” Lily blurted out.

Slowly, Liz turned around. “What? You saw everything, didn’t you? Why didn’t you try to stop me?”

“I was planning on it, but...” Lily paused for a moment, then continued, “You seemed like you were serious...”

Liz scoffed. “As if. I just figured I’d make use of an old acquaintance, that’s all.”

“But you’re crying.”

Narrowing her eyes slightly, Liz wiped at her cheeks. “It’s just the rain.” With that, she disappeared into the misty surroundings.

“I don’t get it,” Zenos said as he emerged from the cave. “What was that all about, Liz? And, uh, why are you here, Lily?”

Lily stared at the surprised healer. “We all came here for you.”

“For me?” he echoed, looking around in bewilderment. “You came all the way out here, in the rain?”

They’d just spoken this morning, yet it felt like it’d been such a long time since they’d last seen each other. But Zenos’s face, surprise aside, hadn’t changed at all. Not in the slightest.

Gazing at his expression as if to engrave it upon her heart, Lily slowly nodded. “Yeah. We came all the way out here, in the rain, for you.” Her body was drenched, but she felt her chest grow gradually warmer. Holding back the tears threatening to spill from her eyes, Lily reached out a hand, smiling brightly. “So let’s go home, Zenos. You’ll catch a cold out here.”

“I mean, you’re way more likely to catch a cold than I am...”

Zenos stared at Lily for a while, then smiled slightly and grasped her hand.

“Yeah. Let’s go back to the clinic. Let’s go home.”

Chapter 7: Somewhere to Belong

The sky the next day was a refreshing blue, as though it hadn’t rained at all the day before.