Sun Extinguishes Again

Now, everyone who remained here finally had a deeper understanding of the master of the Lost Homeland—at least, from the standpoint of "deepening understanding and strengthening dialogue," they had achieved half their goal.

Unfortunately, after the "deepening understanding," the atmosphere became awkward.

An unusual silence hung over the hall. The popes, Helena included, seemed unsure whether they should continue the topic. Vana and Morris still looked somewhat tense, Shirley was calming the uneasy A'gou, while Nina curiously studied Duncan—the suddenly appearing starlight had not affected her at all.

Lucretia looked at everyone in the hall with an ambiguous smile, though for some reason, there was a hint of schadenfreude in it.

Only Alice—Miss Doll—remained as absent-minded as ever. She was still lost in thought. When Rune had begun explaining the world with the concept of "sets," she had shut off her brain. It was quite a while before she seemed to suddenly come back to herself, looking around in surprise and confusion. "It's over? Are we making dinner?"

Miss Doll's completely out-of-sync remark finally broke the awkward silence. Banster raised his head, his gaze falling on Duncan. Several seconds passed before he finally could not help asking, "...What exactly was that just now?"

The moment he spoke, Frem, who was closest to him, instantly moved several steps away.

"...I was just asking." Banster glanced at Helena and Rune, who had also stepped back, then shook his head helplessly.

"I have many secrets, some of which... even I do not fully understand," Duncan said, unbothered. He merely shook his head with a helpless smile before looking seriously at Rune across from him. "But I am grateful for the hypotheses you and Morris proposed just now... Your line of thinking has cleared up some of my confusion."

"...Then I hope you can