MEMORY ILLUMINATION 2
The Day the Planet Wept
1
It had been five weeks since Crossweil had come to the capital.
His everyday life had been entirely changed.
He spent six days a week at his job. And the remaining day would be spent cleaning and doing the laundry all morning. Then he would meal prep for the rest of the week and package everything away to store it.
Once he’d finished all of that…
“Heeey, Crow? Where do you think you’re going?”
“…On a walk,” he answered Eve casually.
Then Crossweil left home.
He headed to an alley off of Eleventh Avenue. It was the exact spot he’d first talked to the so-called thief. He arrived at the usual empty lot nearby.
Once he had reached his destination, he heard the endearing mewl of a cat.
“Ah-ha-ha, looks like you guys aren’t doing too shabby.”
The Crown Prince Yunmelngen was there, feeding the stray cats. He wore the same plain clothes when Crossweil had first met him, along with the hat meant to cover his face.
“Oh, it’s you, Crow!” Yunmelngen seemed thrilled to see Crossweil as he pulled off his cap.
“I can barely tell which one of you’s the cat,” Crossweil commented.
“Hm? What’s that supposed to mean?” The Crown Prince gave Crossweil a reproachful look. But the boy didn’t seem altogether displeased, and his tone was upbeat. “Well, it’s fine. Come, over here,” the prince said, using some leftover iron poles in place of a chair.
Yunmelngen pointed next to him and motioned for Crossweil to join him.
He was the Crown Prince’s conversation partner.
Meeting here had become just another part to his routine, and something he’d done three times already. Yunmelngen was generally the one doing the talking while he listened. During the few times Yunmelngen would tire himself out, Crossweil would make small talk.
“We were very interested in what the public bathhouses are like,” the prince said. “A gigantic private bath is always prepared for us to bathe in, after all.”
“You say it like it’s obvious, but I have no idea how you wash up.”
“We have just told you, then,” Yunmelngen said matter-of-factly.
“We wanted to see what the women’s baths were like. And what would happen if we entered one?” The Crown Prince continued.
“……Come again?”
“But when we did that, we were caught and there was such a scene.”
Hee-hee, the prince laughed as he teasingly stuck out his tongue.
“Ahh, it was such an ordeal. Even worse than when we stole your bonus, Crow. We had to work so hard to hush it up so it wouldn’t make the papers.”
“…What kind of perverted guy are you?”
“Hm? Did we ever say we were a ‘guy’?”
From the side, Crossweil saw the corners of Yunmelngen’s lips rise mischievously. He was reminded again of how androgynous the kid appeared.
“Actually, there was a commotion when we peeked into the men’s bath too,” the prince continued.
“So you’re a repeat offender!”
“No, no, first we peeked into the men’s bath, then the women’s. We just wanted to see what would happen with both of them, since we can pass as either gender. So we just wanted to do an experiment.”
“…You’re just creating problems for others, then.”
“But it was so delightful.”
Yunmelngen laughed again.
It seemed the Crown Prince had a habit of wreaking chaos all over the capital. Making those issues go away was likely a tall order for the vassals.
“That was all we wanted to talk about.” Yunmelngen stood up.
He brushed off the dirt from his bottom and pulled the hat he held low over his face. It seemed that was all for their conversation that day.
The Crown Prince had very little free time. And with how long it took to make a round trip from the Castle Tower Seat, it meant they had twenty minutes to talk at most.
“We will be taking our leave,” Yunmelngen said.
“Right,” Crossweil replied.
“So, the next opening in our schedule is…nine days from now at four in the afternoon. Well, there you have it!”
“Huh?! Aren’t you going to ask me if I’ve got plans?! I have a job!”
“We will be waiting here.”
The eccentric prince waved as he blended into the crowd on Eleventh Avenue.
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