654,

“Are you... messing with me?”

That was Cyclone’s first reaction.

A wound that should’ve healed had just been cut open again.

Naturally, Cyclone wasn’t happy about it.

But Onigashima wouldn’t blame Cyclone. As had already been made clear, this wasn’t Onigashima’s first time.

Anyone who heard this, even if they understood perfectly, would still have a hard time accepting it at first.

Cremation meant burning the body completely, leaving no remains behind.

For parents still trapped in grief, that was the last thing they wanted to face.

Their child was dead, but they still wanted to keep the body—to have one more chance to spend time with him.

“Just hear me out. It’s not what you think. The infant corpse ghoul actually...”

“Yuna, show them out!”

Cyclone didn’t want to hear another word. Ignoring Onigashima, Cyclone told Yuna to show the visitor out.

But Onigashima didn’t stop, and kept talking.

“Even though the body is cremated, it can then be transformed into a spirit to bless the family.”

Just then, the door opened.

It was none other than Elyse.

Onigashima had already said all that, so Elyse must have heard it too.

Without hesitation, Onigashima continued.

“Wouldn’t it be better for your child to become a spirit and bless you, rather than an infant corpse ghoul cursing you?”

Looking at it that way, becoming a spirit was certainly better.

But the real issue wasn’t whether the child would curse them or bless them.

There was something else Elyse and Cyclone cared about far more.

Elyse lowered her head and spoke softly.

“Because Cyclone’s going to curse us, we should burn him and turn him into a blessing for us?”

It was a very direct question.

“That...”

“We’re the ones who wronged Cyclone! We... do we really have the right to do this to him?!”

Elyse’s hands trembled. Her emotions were on the verge of unraveling.

Cyclone had only just managed to get Elyse to rest for a little while. Now she was about to be made to cry again.

Cyclone didn’t want that. If she kept crying like this, her body would only grow weaker.

“Yuna! Little Dragon!”

At Cyclone’s call, Yuna immediately stood up.

“Just hear me out!”

Onigashima refused to give up, but Yuna had already made her move.

To stop Onigashima from speaking, Yuna sealed their mouth in ice.

Little Dragon acted too, pushing Onigashima out of the office.

Onigashima tried to reach out and grab Elyse, hoping she would think it over carefully as a mother.

But one quick karate chop from Yuna stopped Onigashima.

As soon as Onigashima was gone, Cyclone went straight to Elyse, held her, and tried to calm her down.

“It’s okay... Come on, take a deep breath...”

Meanwhile, Onigashima was taken to the entrance of the trading shop.

Before being forced to leave, Onigashima turned around and pointed at Yuna.

“You?!”

Little Dragon stepped forward—not just to stop Onigashima from harassing Yuna, but to protect her as well.

But Yuna didn’t resist. Even with a finger pointed at her from inches away, she kept her arms crossed and looked at Onigashima.

“What now?”

“Infant corpse ghoul. You give off an alluring scent, so you should know how dangerous that stuff is, right?”

Onigashima’s words genuinely surprised Yuna.

Ever since she’d started spending every day with Cyclone, Yuna hadn’t used her alluring scent at all.

Her body had once been altered by long soaks in a bath infused with the alluring scent, turning it into a body that constantly gave off that scent to attract men. But that was in the past.

She hadn’t expected a hunter to detect it even now.

Even Little Dragon couldn’t smell the scent on her, but Onigashima had. A hunter’s specialized abilities really were frightening.

“An infant corpse ghoul has an ability like the alluring scent. The effect is different, but it works the same way...”

Yuna shook her head.

“I understand what you’re saying, but you need to consider how the two of them feel, too.”

At Yuna’s words, Onigashima had nothing to say.

After all, Onigashima knew full well they weren’t good with words. That hadn’t just started today.

In the end, Onigashima could only sigh.

“I understand. I’ll stay in this city for one more day. I don’t want Cyclone to be crushed by something like this.”

And then, at the very last moment, Onigashima added one more thing.

“If you really love this man, then help me talk some sense into him.”

After saying that, Onigashima left a piece of paper behind and went away.