Climb's chest ached as though his heart had been crushed. Perhaps it might have been a mistake on Renner's part, but she had made the best of a bad situation. Then, who was to blame?
"Renner-sama did nothing wrong!"
Hearing Climb's forceful declaration, Renner, who had been moved deeply by Climb, rose and hugged him tightly
To calm her down, Climb reached a hand behind her back— no. That would be dangerous
"But, how did the information..."
"I have no idea. The capital's security was weakest during the disturbance; maybe it got out during that time? They should have been transferred immediately..."
He could not rule that out. It might have been that the attackers had followed the places and people protected by Climb until they found their way to the hiding place.
"Where were the bodies found?"
"In the poor districts of the capital, but I don't know the details myself."
"What about the corpses?"
"They've been buried. What of them?"
"I wanted to examine the wounds, see what kind of clues I could find."
"...Climb, that's enough. They've been violated enough. At least let them rest in peace."
"...Understood."
Renner's kindness touched Climb to the bottom of his heart. Certainly, her words had merit. He felt ashamed for not being considerate of her feelings, and the urge to find out the truth grew within him.
"Please don't take it too hard. This is definitely not Climb's... ah, I see we've exchanged positions."
Renner smiled. Though her eyes were still red, there were no more tears in them.
"Yes, we have."
Climb's stoic expression broke, and he smiled.
"Forgive me for keeping you. Then, Climb, you'll have to work hard now."
Though he felt a pang of longing for the warmth that had left his chest, he immediately interrupted his desire.