653,

When Cyclone returned to the office, Onigashima was already there waiting for him.

He was still dressed like a wanderer. He looked kind of cool, but in a way that only other guys would appreciate.

To women, that filthy, disheveled look wasn’t exactly appealing.

A greatsword rested behind the sofa. Onigashima had both hands behind his head and his legs stretched out on the wooden table in front of him.

Cyclone would never sit around like such an old lord.

They didn’t know why the man had come to see Cyclone, but both of his wives had already silently decided he shouldn’t get any closer to him.

But when Onigashima saw Cyclone arrive, he lowered his feet and went from acting like an old lord to being an ordinary guest.

After Cyclone sat down, Yuna and Little Dragon sat down too, making a four-cornered formation.

Seeing the scene before him, Onigashima couldn’t help feeling envious of the women in Cyclone’s family.

“Seeing all the women around you~ I’m almost tempted not to help you~”

Cyclone and Yuna didn’t react to this man, who’d shown up uninvited and then said something like that. Little Dragon was the only one who broke into a cold sweat.

But there was no need for pointless chatter or even a proper opening.

Once Onigashima saw that Cyclone, one of the people involved, had arrived, he spoke first.

“I know you’re probably wondering why I came here. After all, Big Sis and I already left Kakarl, so there’s no reason we’d come back here~”

Onigashima waved a hand helplessly, then continued.

“But we did call each other brothers, didn’t we? If you’re in trouble, of course your big brother’s going to check on you~”

Even after Onigashima finished speaking, none of the three in Cyclone’s family reacted.

Awkward, Onigashima could only fake a couple of coughs before getting straight to the point.

“Ahem! I’ll get right to it, Cyclone. I was there that day too.”

Cyclone didn’t understand what Onigashima meant by “that day.”

Luckily, Onigashima seemed to sense the question mark hovering over Cyclone’s head, so he went on to explain.

“At the church—the moment you struck, I was there too!”

In an instant, a scene rose from the depths of his memory: his hands soaked in blood, pain and helplessness tangled together.

The moment Onigashima brought up what had happened, Yuna and Little Dragon glared at him.

Realizing this, Onigashima waved his hand helplessly again.

“D-Don’t be like that. This is really important…”

Then, his expression turned serious.

“I don’t understand why you did what you did. But I didn’t come here to condemn you. I came to help you deal with what happened afterward.”

From the way Onigashima put it, it sounded as though he meant the relationship between Cyclone and Elyse.

But Onigashima’s next words surprised Cyclone.

“We hunters have dealt with this before, and we’ll deal with it again. When a baby dies in the womb during a difficult birth, nine times out of ten, it reincarnates as an infant corpse demon out of resentment.”

Onigashima’s gaze changed. He went from an ordinary passerby who wanted nothing to do with the world to a hunter on the job.

“Judging by the aura in this house, I was right to come back here.”

Onigashima glanced up. After surveying the room, he looked back at Cyclone.

“Cyclone, answer me honestly. What did you do with the baby’s remains?”

They stared at each other for a while, but Cyclone still didn’t answer.

Onigashima could only keep watching him with a sharp gaze.

“You’re not from Kakarl. By rights, you wouldn’t have buried the baby here…”

He thought for a moment, then said,

“But whether you buried the remains or hid them, an infant corpse demon will curse its parents. For your safety and hers, burn the remains!”

The wound he’d thought would slowly heal had been torn open once more by Onigashima’s arrival.