The Sixth Ring

I remained alone in the reception room, sunk deep in thought. For all my talk of guiding her onto the proper path, I still had no idea how to comfort a pitiful child walking a twisted road.

The only idea that came to mind was to show her correct affection myself and thereby reform the 4th Department Head.

"C-C-C-Chief, th-this is, tr-troubling...!"

I never imagined that simply showing her would become the first obstacle.

The moment I pulled her into my arms, Penelia began vibrating at a BPM that would have put even the Demon Duke's ear-flicking to shame. On top of that, she stammered so badly it was as if she had broken down completely.

Unable to push me ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠away or flee, she simply trembled violently in my embrace. If only it had ended there, it would have been a mercy.

"……."

"...Penelia?"

She had fainted. I had thought she had finally grown quiet because she was adapting, but it turned out she had not escaped with her body—she had escaped with her mind.

In hindsight, it was only natural. Mentally cornered and driven into a vibrating state with no way out, the only thing waiting at the end was a total power outage.

Still, to escape by fainting... Our 4th Department Head was surprisingly fragile, like a moonfish...

"I-I'll take my leave first! I should at least greet Yuris...!"

"Alright, go ahead."

When I finally released her gently, she snapped back to her senses and fled at once. Using Yuris as her excuse left me with no way to stop her.

What now?

It was a complicated problem. An acquaintance of mine—someone I had practically raised myself—had gone mad in her own way. Knowing that and still leaving her alone would make me less than human.

Besides, I too had once been consumed by madness. In that state, whatever I thought felt like the absolute truth of the world, but the moment I came to my senses, the aftermath was unbearable.

If Penelia recovered on her own and realized she had spoken aloud that she did not want to marry me, how devastated would she be?

She would go mad all over again.

I could already see that unfortunate future. And in all likelihood, it would not be a gentle sort of madness.

That was why I steeled my resolve even further. For the sake of Penelia's happy future, I would teach her proper affection no matter what.

Lately, even the mere sound of the wind made me glance toward the door. Every customer who had visited recently had been anything but ordinary.

Not long ago I had crafted a wedding ring for the 2nd Department Head of the Audit Department. Before that, the Audit Department Chief himself had purchased no fewer than four pairs of rings.

It should be about time.

I was paying close attention, certain that the Audit Department Chief would return soon.

When he bought four pairs at once I had wondered what on earth was going on, but thinking it over carefully, it must have been so he could widen his options. Even if they were not wedding rings, they were gifts for his lovers. After careful consideration, of course he would want to choose carefully what to give them.

That was why he had taken my recommendations with him—so he could take his time selecting. It had to be that. Otherwise there was no explaining such a bizarre bulk purchase.

And I did tell him refunds were possible.

Even I thought my response had been perfect. In the midst of the confusion I had still managed to convey every piece of necessary information.

By now the Audit Department Chief would have chosen the one he wanted among the four pairs. I already had the money ready for the value of the remaining three. Whenever he came, a clean refund would be possible.

This is how you create a regular customer.

That was the nature of business. A single thoughtful word, a smooth process of purchase and refund—these alone could capture a customer's heart.

In truth, no matter which shop you visited in the Imperial Capital, the goods themselves were flawless. That meant you had to compete on everything outside the product itself.

- Ding-a-ling

The bell above the door rang with a clear chime.

He's here.

I hurriedly lifted my ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠head to see a young man in a black uniform—the Audit Department Chief—step inside. Yes, I had known it was about time. My instincts had not grown dull yet.

"Welcome, Audit Department Chief."

He nodded at my greeting and strode forward without hesitation. Since this was a refund rather than a purchase, there was no need for him to look at anything else—

"A ring. Would you recommend one more?"

"...Pardon?"

I committed the blunder of questioning a customer who was practically heaven itself. And not just any customer—the Audit Department Chief who could, under the pretext of an audit, send even a major trading company packing.

Still, I could not help it. Anyone else would have reacted the same way.

Recommend...?

I doubted my ears. Recommend? Not a refund, but a recommendation?

I stared at him blankly for a moment. The Audit Department Chief accepted my gaze with perfect composure.

No—not composure. Even though the merchant who had been asked a question remained silent, he offered not a single reprimand. That meant the customer himself was not in a normal state either.

"The level of what you recommended last time is fine. Everyone liked them."

"Ah, yes."

The words "everyone liked them" finally jolted me back to my senses. More precisely, a greater shock simply buried the smaller one.

That aside, my head was spinning. I had naturally assumed he would choose only one out of the four pairs.

So every single one of those rings already had an owner?

And even then he needed one more?

Insane.

All this time I had thought the 2nd Department Head was the man who made noble ladies cry. I had been wrong.

He was merely a disciple who had learned by watching his superior. The real one had been right here all along.

I must never live like that.

Having multiple lovers was not strange, but buying rings for them as if they were clearance items was going too far.

Of course, separate from such thoughts, my hands and eyes were already swiftly scanning the rings. If the Audit Department Chief bought even his wedding rings from our shop, and if his children later visited out of regard for their parents' connection, how profitable would that be?

A customer's character and the thickness of his wallet were two different things. Yes, they were separate... but still...

...What is that?

Belatedly my gaze fell on the Audit Department Chief's left hand. I could overlook the five rings already on his fingers if I made a hundred concessions.

But why is one of them only half?

It was the fundamental question of one who had glimpsed the unknown. Yet I deliberately turned my eyes away.

Sometimes in life, curiosity could kill a man.

The shopkeeper's bewildered eyes pained me a little, but I endured it.

I had already crossed the river and cast the die. Caring about others' gazes now would mean nothing. Better simply to do as I pleased.

And so I obtained the sixth ring.

...Did I buy it too soon?

Yet the moment I held the case in my hand, that thought struck me. I had not even cured Penelia yet—was this not too hasty a decision?

Until now I had always bought rings after receiving a confession. With the initiative in my hands, I purchased them so I could give a beautiful answer.

But right now I did not even have the initiative; I had not even reached the starting line. Only after I erased the madness that was eating away at Penelia would I be able to take this ring out.

If I give it to her now, it will only cause chaos.

Penelia with her twisted affection. Whispering love while handing her a ring in that ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠state would only make her faint from feeling it was too much for her, or else she would store it away in some treasure vault like a retainer who had received a gift from her lord.

No—there was no "or else." It was a certainty.

"It's a difficult problem."

"Isn't it?"

Regrettably, even Mar's lips produced the word "difficult." Of course, if it had been easy I would not have consulted her in the first place.

"I'm sorry. I wanted to be of at least a little help."

"Not at all. I'm the one who should apologize for bringing this sort of consultation to you."

Seeing Mar look downcast, I quickly shook my head. Honestly, I was only speaking of this because of my vow to hide nothing from her—not because I expected her to solve it.

Consulting one's lover about another woman was madness to begin with. Fortunately she understood that my intent was more information-sharing than seeking advice, so Mar let it pass without issue.

"That aside, I fully expected to receive a confession. This is the first time something like this has happened, so I'm quite flustered."

"Karl. If you say that somewhere else, people will misunderstand."

When I grumbled a little out of my sense of helplessness, Mar smiled as she spoke.

...True, even as I said it the nuance sounded terribly ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠wrong. "I fully expected to receive a confession"—I sounded like a complete narcissistic bastard.

"Ah, using the same method as you, Karl, might not be so bad either."

"Like me?"

At those words I quickly retraced my memories.

That humiliating period when madness had consumed me and I had gone on about a joint wedding. What had allowed me to overcome that despair had been Erich's brutal fact-slapping.

Right. Direct words were indeed best—

"But it would have to be a little different. If you, the person involved, approached Miss Penelia, she would only become more frightened."

Ah.

It was such a plausible point that I could only nod.

True enough. Even fact-slapping required looking someone in the face. Right now Penelia would probably die of fright if I merely walked past her. Or she might assume I was angry and do nothing but apologize.

"Just mobilize the people around her in a natural way. If several people nearby whisper about proper love and their true feelings toward you, Karl, she might come to her senses, don't you think?"

"Hmmmm..."

"When someone realizes their own thoughts differ from everyone else's, they start to reexamine themselves."

I felt bad for Mar, but I had seen far too many madmen who, upon realizing their thoughts differed from others', simply beat those others down and charged straight ahead.

That insane self-love that insisted the world was wrong rather than oneself. And the god-given power that made such a thing possible.

"Thank you for the advice, Mar."

"Hehe, it was nothing."

Still, this was Mar, who had gently listened while her beloved man consulted her about another woman. Anyone who told such a Mar "That probably won't work much" would have to possess the brain of a beast.

Besides, I had no better method, so following Mar's suggestion was not a bad idea.

Please, let Penelia not be the pioneering type who fights the entire world.

I placed a call to the person closest to the 4th Department Head.

No matter how I thought about it, there was no one better. Even when Penelia moved all over the place on deployments, this soul-duo never separated from her.

Former senior team leader of the 4th Department, current Deputy Commander of the Dark Light Squad. A fellow who would make things even stranger if he ever stayed apart from the 4th Department Head.

"Ah, right. It's been a while. How have you been?"

"That's good to hear."

His ever-respectful manner even made me feel a little guilty. He had probably just returned from a deployment, and now his old superior was calling him.

So I would state my business quickly and end it. Contacting him at all was already an imposition; dragging out the conversation would only make it worse.

"Deputy Commander."

"It seems the 4th Department Head is a little unwell."

At those words the deputy commander's eyes widened.

"That is—"

I quickly continued with an explanation of the situation. Out of consideration for Penelia's honor, I left out the part about vibrating until total discharge.

"So I was hoping you all could help a little."

"Good. That sounds reliable."

His answer, blazing with a sense of mission, made me nod of my own accord.

Satisfactory. Even if the name had changed, the 4th Department was still the 4th Department. They still possessed that tight-knit camaraderie, did they not?

This fellow's direction was a little off as well, but since it was not exactly a bad direction I did not stop him.

Still—make her confess? Just what was he planning to do?

Was he going to have Penelia write a memorial petition or something?