Uruk, Chaldea Embassy.
When Rozen returned, the place was shrouded in darkness, devoid of any human presence.
Merlin, along with Fou, had temporarily stayed behind in the King's Hall of the Divine Tower, seemingly discussing something with Gilgamesh.
Mash and Altera remained in spiritual form and showed no signs of emerging.
Nobunaga, Okita, Ushiwakamaru, and Benkei also hadn't returned—likely staying back at the front lines of the Demonic Beast Front.
In other words, the entire Chaldea Embassy was now occupied by Rozen alone.
No—correction.
Aside from Rozen, there was still one other person who had returned earlier.
Rozen had originally planned to go straight to his room, collapse into bed, and sleep off the fatigue brought on by today's chaos.
But after briefly using his Spirit Vision, he halted mid-step, pondered for a moment, and instead followed the staircase upward—until he reached the rooftop.
There, a terrace-like open platform awaited him.
The night wind swept through, carrying a chill that brought with it a sense of solitude.
Yet amid the stillness of the night, there was a girl.
A young maiden, cloaked in black, sat at the edge of the rooftop, gazing up at the night sky.
No one knew what she was thinking.
Rozen didn't know either.
But he did know the direction in which she stared—the northern part of Mesopotamia, where the cedar forest that housed the Goddess of Beasts lay.
With that in mind, Rozen stepped forward.
"Anna."
As he approached, Rozen called her name.
"Huh?"
Anna seemed to come back to her senses, instinctively turning her head to look over.
And when she looked over, Rozen's steps unconsciously paused. His eyes lit up.
Because in that moment, an overly beautiful and delicate face filled his vision.
It was a beauty that seemed almost otherworldly, divine.
Though a trace of youth lingered on her face, it did nothing to diminish her beauty. On the contrary, like a freshly bloomed flower, it brimmed with a youthful and innocent charm.
Rozen had seen many beautiful girls—women whose looks rivaled goddesses, and not just a few. Some were even closer to him than mere friends.
Even so, upon seeing the girl's true appearance, he still felt a spark of surprise.
"So this is what you look like, Anna."
Rozen couldn't help but speak in a tone of admiration.
Because Anna had always kept her face hidden under a hood, Rozen had never seen her true appearance until now.
Who would've thought—tonight, she had removed her hood, letting her real face show.
"Ah…"
Realizing her state, Anna quickly pulled up her hood again, covering her face and turning away from Rozen.
"So guarded, huh?"
Rozen scratched his nose, raising his hands helplessly.
"..."
Anna said nothing in return, radiating full vigilance and unfamiliarity toward Rozen.
It was inevitable.
Come to think of it, Rozen realized he hadn't interacted much with Anna since meeting her. At best, they were companions. At worst, they were merely traveling the same road.
Anna had joined the group only to defeat the Goddess of Magical Beasts. Beyond that, she seemed disinterested in anything else. Unless necessary, she would rarely speak to anyone.
Rozen couldn't even remember ever having a proper conversation with her, let alone a situation like this, being alone together.
In other words—they weren't close at all.
Given that, and considering her aversion to humans and her wariness toward others, it was no surprise she'd cover her face and turn away in silence the moment she saw Rozen.
Rozen had only come up here because he saw her spiritual presence.
After all…
"Your condition's been off ever since we came back from the north. It's not physical, is it?"
Rozen asked directly, as if trying to break down the wall between them and pierce her guard, stepping closer.
"…I'm fine. My body's not the issue," Anna replied in a low voice after a pause. "It's your body that seems in bad shape. You probably don't have the strength to be worrying about me, do you?"
"Well, that's fair. I can't really argue with that," Rozen chuckled, then added, "But I wouldn't call this concern—more like curiosity?"
He found it odd that Anna's mood had dropped so noticeably.
Given how mysterious her identity was, and how she seemed to have reached some sort of agreement with Merlin about sharing a secret, Rozen hadn't had the bandwidth to think about it until now.
But since they were finally alone, he figured he might as well ask.
However…
"Sorry, this is my own immaturity at fault," Anna lowered her head further as she spoke. "This time too… Slaying Gorgon was supposed to be my goal, and yet I was of no use when you confronted her. I truly am sorry."
As she said that, Anna finally lifted her head to meet Rozen's eyes.
"Next time… Next time, I'll make myself useful."
Anna said that, her voice filled with determination.
Her expression caused Rozen to furrow his brows.
(So she's feeling down because of Gorgon.)
Rozen didn't believe Anna was depressed because she hadn't been able to help him.
They were little more than acquaintances. It wouldn't make sense for her to feel that guilty over not assisting him.
So her melancholy must be tied to Gorgon.
This girl seemed to treat defeating Gorgon as her personal mission. Yet she'd entrusted that mission to Rozen and watched from afar instead.
That might be the true source of her inner turmoil.
Not to mention the matter of the cocoons in the Temple of Blood.
On their return to Uruk, Rozen had shared everything he experienced inside the temple.
From that point on, Anna had been visibly troubled.
Taking everything into account, Rozen thought silently for a while before looking directly at her.
"You really want to defeat Gorgon, don't you?" Rozen asked plainly.
"Are you two… connected somehow?"
Anna didn't answer.
Not only did she stay silent, but after a brief pause, she asked a question of her own.
"You met Gorgon, didn't you?" she said, her tone complex. "In your eyes, what kind of existence is she?"
Anna posed the question solemnly.
"What kind of existence… huh?"
Rozen hadn't expected her to ask that.
But sensing the seriousness and tension in her voice, he thought for a moment and then answered with what was in his heart.
"She's a being that must be defeated."