Wataru, without going into the deeper details, conveyed his objective to Sakakibara—what he wanted to achieve and why.
Sakakibara listened without interrupting, nodded thoughtfully, and then closed his eyes for a moment.
"Oh, I see. So you want to carve the same letters as on that Jizo statue, huh? And if I have any detailed plans, you'd like to use them? Ahhh… too bad, I got nothing. I did that job pro bono, after all. No official commission."
"…I see."
"Oi, don't look so down! I'm messing with you! Just kidding, gahaha!"
"Wha—!?"
"It was a joke!?"
"What's with the shock? It was just a light-hearted joke, right? Even I know how to joke around!"
Sakakibara had clearly meant it as a harmless quip, but when he saw the stunned faces of Air and Cloche, he looked a little confused.
Their reactions, however, weren't ordinary.
