Stieffer nodded slightly and took a book from his pocket. "Do you know this?"-he was holding Lilith's elementary school textbook.
Edward narrowed his eyes. So the textbook really was in his hands.
"Of course. I gave it to Lilith."
He looked at Edward, seemingly assessing whether his words were true.
Half a minute later, Stieffer handed the textbook to Edward. A trace of sorrow flickered through his otherwise unruffled eyes. "This is a keepsake she left behind before her demise."
Did Stieffer also believe Lilith had perished?
Sure enough, apart from a handful of people, everyone who knew Lilith thought she had died long ago.
Edward took the book and flipped straight to the page with the Little Red Flower tucked inside. He took out the flower, which had been pressed flat. On its back was Lilith's childish handwriting: "Miss Lilith is the cleverest kitty!"
"What's your relationship with Lilith?"
He looked at Stieffer as he asked.
Stieffer answered, "She took me in for a time when I was young."
"Then why did you become... a believer of that Lord?"
"Later, she found having someone tagging along too troublesome, so she had me follow His Excellency Medici. After that, I came to believe in the supreme Lord that Created Everything."
As he spoke, his gaze grew fanatical and devout again, and his tone turned cold. "You killed the Lord's messenger, assumed his identity, and acted in the Lord's name. That is blasphemy and an insult to the Lord!"
"As the Angel of Holy Words serving beneath the Lord, I should punish you myself, but..."
He left the rest unsaid and instead took half a step back. "If this happens again, it will be a fight to the death!"
With that, Stieffer vanished.
Edward tucked the Little Red Flower back into