At dusk, Dio sat on the porch, sulking.
Saraphiel crawled up beside his leg and suddenly reached out to poke his cheek.
"Muda?" The baby blinked.
"..."
Dio gave a cold snort, but still reached out and picked him up, letting Saraphiel happily grab the Ouroboros Silver Coin on his chest.
"Because of you, I got jointly put on trial by three sides today." Dio said gloomily. "That damn Clark actually tattled on me."
"Saraphiel, whatever you do, don't learn from Clark in the future."
"Learn what?"
The sudden voice from behind made Dio's back stiffen, his blond hair practically standing on end.
He slowly turned around and saw that Locke had somehow appeared in the shadows of the porch.
"N-Nothing."
Dio gave a dry laugh and held Saraphiel up before his chest as a shield. "I was teaching Saraphiel how to strike a pose."
Locke raised a brow at the few strands of golden hair that had somehow ended up in the baby's hand again. "What kind of pose is this?"
As soon as he said that, Saraphiel began to giggle at just the right moment, happily waving his little hand and its spoils.
With a dark expression, Dio stuffed the baby into Locke's arms.
"Take him, take him! He's so annoying!"
But Locke did not take him. Instead, he sat down beside Dio.
The evening breeze passed through the porch, carrying the scent of freshly turned earth.
"Dio," he suddenly said, "do you know why I adopted Saraphiel?"
Dio froze, his red eyes flickering slightly. "...Fate?"
"No." Locke looked toward the sun slowly sinking beneath the horizon. "It was because that night, when I thought I was going to fail."
"The first thing I thought of was whether you would end up all alone."
Saraphiel suddenly quieted down,