The Heart-Reflection Hearth Stone——a warm stone that fits in the palm, distributed to apprentice artisans as an auxiliary tool for soul-burning techniques——was warm again for the first time in a long while. Last night, for the first time, warmth returned to that stone. The days it had remained cold felt like a lie now, as a gentle heat spread through her palm, and Hana simply felt it for a while. When she searched for her grandmother's memory, the outline was there. She understood that the voice's timbre becoming slightly muffled, as if cotton were layered between them, was the beginning of the price. But today, she would grasp that outline once more with her own hands. Morning light streamed through the windows of the Refining Corridor——the hallway lined with individual workshops for participants on the second floor of the Kanro Palace. In the distance, the greenery toward the Suito Garden——a serene district reflecting the culture of Japanese and Eastern confectionery, positioned nine kilometers southeast of the Kanro Palace——was faintly hazy. The eternal spring of the Tokigashi Realm was peaceful as always, and the sweet fragrance drifting through the hallway seemed slightly stronger than last night. Hana cupped the stone in both hands and gripped it again. "Then it's fine," Ren said. A voice came, and Hana looked up. Ren was walking down the hallway. He stopped and glanced down at her hands for just a moment. His gaze fell on the stone. Having confirmed that the Heart-Reflection Hearth Stone had taken on a deep amber hue, he said only that much and turned on his heel. Hana watched his back disappear. His words were few. They always were. But the back-and-forth in the workshop last night, the walk back to Renkousai Street, the way he'd said "Hana didn't do it" in the interrogation corridor——all of it had accumulated within him. That weight was compressed into just four words: "Then it's fine." Ren's figure turned the corner and vanished. Hana stared at that corner for a moment. Something in her chest was quietly accelerating. She couldn't put it into words yet. But she couldn't deny that it was definitely there. --- The Hundred Flavors Hall——the competition viewing area on the first floor of the Kanro Palace, with a capacity of eight hundred, featuring a circular competition stage thirty meters in diameter at its center——filled with the semi-final participants. The challenge was announced. "Create a memory crystal confection using white plum from the Suito Garden and frost honey from the Ice Confection Ridge." White plum from the Suito Garden——plums from the district reflecting Japanese confectionery culture, containing the fragrance of early spring. Frost honey from the Ice Confection Ridge——honey harvested from the cold district of a hilly area at eight hundred meters elevation, possessing a freezing sweetness. Using these two, they were to create a confection that crystallized memory. Hana approached the ingredient station. She picked up the white plum. A faint, sweet yet dignified fragrance touched her fingertips. (This scent——) Kagetsu-do. The kitchen on the day her grandmother first taught her how to handle plums. Standing side by side at the work table in the orange light of evening, their flour-dusted hands overlapping. It felt as though that evening's air was contained within this plum's fragrance. She began working. Around the sixty-minute mark, Hana paused. Noeru's words came back to her. "There's a risk that the memory you've embedded will become vague each time it's used." Using it unknowingly and using it knowingly were different things. Hana knew now. And with that knowledge, she opened the door. She closed her eyes and pressed the Heart-Reflection Hearth Stone to her chest. The sensation of entering the Heart-Reflection Furnace——the state of mental concentration necessary to activate soul-burning techniques——of her own volition. She hadn't noticed it the last time she activated it. Today was different. There was a door. She knocked on it with her own hand and opened it. The memory came. The evening she first lit the furnace at Kagetsu-do. Her grandmother's hand wrapped around hers, teaching her, "Press here." The furnace's heat illuminated their faces, and there was the sweet, sweet scent of smoke just before the sugar burned. Children's voices from the neighborhood drifted in from outside. "Hana onee-chan!" "Do we get snacks today?" Their cheers dissolved into the dough. She carried the finished confection to the judging stand. In that instant, the air in the Hundred Flavors Hall changed. Heat——not heat as temperature, but a kind of warmth that felt nostalgic——rippled softly toward the spectator seats. Several people sitting in the stands narrowed their eyes without understanding why. An elderly woman in a distant seat gently pressed her hand to her chest. In a corner of the competition stage, invisible from the spectator seats, a figure's fingertips moved for just a moment. A covert operative of the Ash-Spoon Alliance——the secret society formed by former councilor Rengokuji Ginshi——had been about to bring residual particles of Forget-Honey——a forbidden material strictly prohibited by the Confectioner's Council, which dulled judgment by controlling the taste of those who consumed it——near Hana's judging plate. But the fingers stopped. The wave of soul-burning technique emanating from Hana's confection was gently dissolving the operative's own intentions. The hand withdrew. The operative stepped back without even realizing it. Only the reader knew the full picture. --- In the spectator section, Ren, who had already passed the semi-finals in a different block, sat with his arms crossed. Beside him sat a veteran participant in this competition——a composed man with graying hair. "Did you feel something from that confection?" the veteran asked. His voice carried a testing quality. Ren considered for a moment, still facing the judging stand. His expression was utterly serious. "I felt it. I'm getting hungry," Ren said. The veteran participant froze. "Wh……?" he managed. "That's the highest praise. Food tastes best when you eat it hungry," Ren said matter-of-factly, even with a hint of pride. The veteran participant was at a loss for words. His mouth hung open as he stared at Ren's profile. Ren didn't seem bothered at all, his gaze returning to the judging stand. The veteran watched that serious profile for a moment, then murmured, "……You've got a pretty unique sensibility." Ren didn't answer. But as he looked toward the judging stand, the depths of his eyes softened just slightly. --- The semi-final results were posted on the bulletin board in the Hundred Flavors Hall. Hana pushed through the crowd and stood before the board. Her eyes naturally traced down the list of finalists. Hana. Her name was there. And just below it, two names down. Ren. It was there. Hana confirmed both names several times, still looking up at the board. It took a moment to accept it as real. She sensed a presence beside her and shifted her gaze. Ren was there. Arms crossed, quietly looking up at the board. Not satisfaction or confidence——just the quiet realization of "we've come this far" on his profile. The voice from inside the wooden crate avalanche in the material storage in EP2. The brief words in the sunset on the walk back to Renkousai Street. The feel of the cloth in the workshop last night and the certainty of "I've never doubted you." All of it was connected now in a single line. "Let's go to the rooftop," Ren said. He started walking without waiting for a response. Hana hurried after him. --- The rooftop of the Kanro Palace held the night air in quiet stillness. The sky of the eternal spring Tokigashi Realm was deep indigo, with the moon nearly overhead. In the distance, beyond the Wheel of Time——six major avenues radiating from the Kanro Palace——the lights of six districts spread out in dots. The warm lights of the Ancient Kiln District in the first sector, the silver light of the Glitter Sugar Tower in the sixth sector, the soft orange of the Suito Garden. The sugar mist encircling the outer edge of the Tokigashi Realm——the dangerous white fog that completely disoriented one's sense of direction——glowed faintly in the moonlight. Ren leaned his back against the railing and looked up at the sky. For a while, he said nothing. Hana stood beside him, looking in the same direction. There was a slight breeze. Faintly sweet——the night air unique to the Tokigashi Realm, mixed with the scent of clear water from the Honey Spring. Hana's hair swayed gently in that breeze. The silence continued. It wasn't an uncomfortable silence. Simply standing together in the moonlight, something felt full. "Your confection was the best I've ever eaten," Ren said. He spoke while leaning against the railing, still facing the sky. It wasn't a confession or praise. It was like a report. Without emotion in his delivery, it was unshakeable. The words of someone who held the goal of tasting every delicious thing in the world, who stepped alone into every time-period district, who moved with only pure passion for ingredients——all of it was compressed there. Hana couldn't find words, still facing the moon. (Why can he say things like that?) So naturally. As if it were obvious. But she understood now that there were dozens of accumulated moments within those words. Something pulsed intensely in her chest. Her cheeks were warm. She wanted to blame the moonlight, but she knew it wasn't the moonlight. Ren turned to face her. Realizing it, Hana turned to face him too. In the moonlight, the distance had closed. When had they gotten this close? The coldness of the railing touched her back, and everything else fell away. Ren's eyes were direct, hiding nothing. Hana couldn't look away. A stillness was born——neither moving nor retreating. (This distance is close——) Hana's fingertips trembled slightly. The warmth in her cheeks spread to her ears. Ren's gaze didn't move from hers. It didn't move as a single moment stretched out. "Ren," Hana said, calling only his name. "What," Ren answered. After that exchange——the words that should have followed reached Hana's throat and stopped there. A deep gong sounded from the great hall of the Kanro Palace. The bell announcing the start of the finals. Both turned toward the direction of the bell at the same time. The stillness broke. They each took a step back. Hana released her grip on the railing. Her cheeks were still warm. Ren turned away for just a moment, then turned on his heel. "Let's go," Ren said. "Let's," Hana replied. The lingering feeling remained between them, unspoken. Hana followed Ren's back toward the stairs, one step behind. Behind them, only moonlight remained on the rooftop. --- When they returned to the Hundred Flavors Hall, Noeru was standing before the competition schedule board. Her silver long hair glowed faintly in the moonlight streaming through the corridor. Her pale blue eyes turned toward them. A small pendant at her chest caught and reflected the light. Noeru, who always wore a calm smile, spoke with her characteristically gentle tone. "I will be judging the finals. I won't hold back," Noeru said. Her words were precise, with a single thread of conviction running through them. Hana received those words. The first night they met, she'd been told "your technique is lacking." Last night at the window, "it's for you to decide." And tonight's declaration. Three moments formed an arc, and Noeru had quietly begun treating Hana as an equal competitor. "I understand," Hana said. There was no tension in her voice like that first night. The resolve had already settled into her body. Ren beside her made a slightly characteristic expression. "I'm looking forward to the judging. I'll make sure to work up a proper appetite," Ren said. Noeru was silent for just one bea