The empty streets of Londan, filled with patients suffering from the Inquisitor’s power.

My hurried footsteps echoed loudly through the eerily quiet streets of Londan, where not a soul could be seen.

I felt a deep sense of urgency rising from within—something I wouldn’t normally notice.

The Saint had mentioned something.

That among all the Foreign Entities, the Record Keeper was the highest.

Maybe—just maybe—she could help me. If she’s the one who watches over everything without reason, perhaps she’ll lend me her aid.

「…Have we become insignificant to you now?」

The Gardener’s irritable voice echoed in my mind, but I could tell it wasn’t meant as a reprimand.

I’m sorry.

「Sigh.」

A deep sigh followed, proving my understanding.

「No matter how urgent things are, you need to be careful around the Record Keeper. There aren’t many who know her well.」

「That’s true. She was kind enough to enjoy my cooking, but... you still need to be cautious.」

The Gardener and the Chef both warned me.

It made sense.

Even regular Foreign Entities are hard to understand, and if the Record Keeper was the most elusive of them all, it meant she was even more unpredictable.

But it didn’t matter.

As long as I could communicate with her, that would be enough.

With that thought, I finally reached the entrance to Londan.

However, contrary to the inscription, there was no one there.

I checked the area outside Londan, wondering if I missed something, but there wasn’t a trace of the Record Keeper anywhere.

“Hey, you told me to come here.”

I muttered into the empty space, feeling like I was being mocked.

“Why would you mess with someone who’s already at their wit’s end?”

But despite my outburst, the Record Keeper didn’t show up. Frustration boiled over.

Am I just another pawn in the game of the Foreign Entities?

They find it amusing to toy with us. We’re powerless, moving only according to their whims.

It’s so unfair.

Tears began to well up.

Why did I rush here with so much hope?

A surge of unbearable emotions welled up inside me.

Whenever I encountered something beyond my control, something that wasn’t my fault, and yet brought suffering to me or those around me—it always felt unjust.

If it were my fault, I could at least accept it and move on.

But now, even standing became too much, and I collapsed, burying my face in my knees.

At that moment, I failed to notice something approaching from behind.

I only realized when I felt something lean on my shoulder.

“…Yoo-hoo.”

“Ahhh!”

I shot forward like a cannonball, tumbling to the ground. The pain in my knees was nothing compared to the shock that stressed me out even more.

A soft, whispering voice echoed around me.

The only person who acted like such a weirdo around me was Agartha, but it didn’t make sense for her to show up in this situation.

After calming myself, I slowly turned around to see who was behind me.

And then—

“Hmm?”

I saw a woman blinking her eyes, tilting her head like a curious kitten.

I scanned her from head to toe and immediately realized she wasn’t an ordinary person.

Several black tentacles extended from the hem of her corset-like dress, covering her legs and writhing around.

If it had been just those eerie tentacles, I might not have reacted so dramatically.

But her outfit—it was too indecent!

She wore ivory boots with garter belts strapped above her knees, and between the garters and her corset—there was nothing there! It was completely exposed!

I’d rather deal with someone like Nutrice, whose revealing clothes didn’t bother me at all.

But this—this was embarrassing!

On top of that, she was wearing a relatively normal short cape that barely covered her back and shoulders over a simple short-sleeved shirt.

“Raedan Tanten. You’ve come.”

Her gentle voice called out again, making me cautiously turn my head.

“Record Keeper.”

“Why are you turning your head like that?”

I coughed and closed my eyes slightly.

“It’s just... a bit awkward to look at.”

“Oh, I’m sorry.”

The Record Keeper snapped her fingers.

But she must have misunderstood what I meant.

The tentacles, which at least covered her legs, suddenly disappeared entirely!

“Ahh! What are you doing?!”

“You said you didn’t like the tentacles, didn’t you?”

Whether she was doing this on purpose or not, I was furious.

Super Coward Mode always reflected the target’s personality in their appearance. So, was the fact that her boots seemed a little too tight, pinching her thighs, also a reflection of the Record Keeper’s personality?

At this point, it seemed like Mode was just indulging its own whims!

And now that the tentacles were gone, she was basically standing there in her underwear!

“Cover your legs!”

“Oh, that’s what you meant.”

Finally understanding, the Record Keeper snapped her fingers again, and the tentacles morphed into a short skirt, covering just above her boots.

“The Raedan Tanten I remember liked my original appearance.”

“I don’t know who the Raedan Tanten you remember is, but that’s not me!”

That Raedan Tanten was a complete pervert!

Wait, does this mean even the Record Keeper had been involved with him before?

What kind of person was he?

Despite her light-hearted demeanor, her presence carried an undeniable weight.

The atmosphere around her was much heavier, and unlike the other Foreign Entities, I couldn’t shake the feeling that I was entirely powerless against her.

Overwhelming intimidation.

That was the only way to describe it.

“Anyway, since you read my red inscription, I’ve come to you, Raedan Tanten.”

The Record Keeper had arrived before me.

That meant she was willing to listen to what I had to say.

I had so many questions.

How did she know about my past?

Why had she been looking out for me in such a subtle way?

But the most pressing question was—

“Record Keeper.”

“Yes.”

“Then I’ll get straight to the point. How do I defeat the Inquisitor?”

The Record Keeper blinked her large eyes and silently stared at me.

I thought for a moment she didn’t understand, but it seemed she was simply lost in thought.

“How to defeat the Inquisitor?”

“Yeah.”

“As you are now, you can’t, Raedan Tanten.”

But the Record Keeper’s response was filled with despair.

She said that with my current abilities, there was no way to defeat the Inquisitor.

“You’re not yet strong enough to face her. The Inquisitor has absorbed pain from humans for decades, while you’ve only just begun to grow. The gap between you two is immense.”

“Isn’t there any way you can help? Isn’t that why you’re here?”

I lowered my stance slightly, almost pleading, but the Record Keeper looked away, pressing her finger to her lower lip.

“There’s an unspoken rule among Foreign Entities not to interfere with each other.”

“Please!”

In the end, the one in need has to be the more persistent.

I grabbed her by the arms.

“Oh my.”

“If I don’t do something here, Londan will be destroyed. I don’t want that. I don’t want to lose what’s precious to me.”

It was emotional, but if I didn’t receive her help, there was nothing else I could do.

It was humiliating, but I had no choice.

I’d do anything to protect Londan.

I looked at the Record Keeper’s face, but she turned her head, avoiding eye contact.

“Eh?”

“Even if you ask like that, it’s difficult. My role is to objectively record everything.”

…That sounded like the lamest excuse, especially from someone who leaves half-assed, blog-like clues all over the place.

But there was no point in arguing. If she refused to help, there was nothing I could do.

I let go of her hands, turned my back on her, and started walking away, dragging my feet as I headed back toward headquarters.

“But.”

Hearing something like an excuse, I turned back to see the Record Keeper mumbling, her hand covering her mouth.

“If it’s a typo, well, that would be considered an unavoidable mistake, wouldn’t it?”

A typo.

I thought about what she meant and quickly connected it to what she’d said earlier.

A typo refers to a mistake made while writing or copying something down.

And if that mistake were in the laws of the world, it couldn’t be corrected. That’s how she intended to help me.

I felt a surge of gratitude—but only for a moment.

Though I was the one begging for help, I couldn’t help but wonder why.

Why was she willing to take such a great risk to help me, a relatively unimportant person?

She didn’t have to do it.

She could have simply brushed me off with an “ask me something else,” and that would’ve been the end of it.

This wasn’t the first time.

Her cryptic inscriptions, though lacking important details, always seemed to be crafted with an effort to provide some kind of hint.

During the Dragon Slayer incident, she’d even inscribed the message right in front of me.

I couldn’t hold back my question.

“Record Keeper.”

“…?”

“Why do you keep helping me? Am I supposed to be someone important in this world?”

I cautiously asked the Record Keeper.

She stared at me blankly for a moment, and I wondered what she was thinking.

Then, suddenly, she walked over to me, closing the distance until our faces were just inches apart, close enough that our noses almost touched.

“…?”

What was she planning?

And then—

Thud.

“…?!”

The Record Keeper’s action was enough to catch me completely off guard.

She suddenly wrapped her arms around my waist.

“What are you doing?!”

“You asked for the reason, didn’t you?”

The Record Keeper looked up, locking eyes with me, and I instinctively lowered my head to meet her gaze. She blinked slowly, showing no expression as she spoke.

“I’m in love with you, Raedan Tanten.”