Finally, Mine and Addai recovered from the fatigue caused by Eden's poison. Speaking about the snake, it lazily guarded the fruits Lydia and Azazel picked earlier. When Mine took a good check on the snake, he told himself it was inoffensive, ignoring how much he shivered when Eden approached and bowed at him.

Outside, as time no longer passed, it was still bright and bizarrely calm, as if Agarath had given up on chasing the group. Inside, Abannak rekindled the bonfire with a fire seal he drew on a decommissioned leafy buddy who volunteered for the feat. Lydia silently prayed for the leafy buddy bravely. She solemnly closed her eyes, not noticing that the one beside her, Azazel, did the same.

A spark from the fire rose into the air. Mine followed its falling, now in the form of soot, on his open hand. He rubbed his finger across it, staining his palm with the ash. The disturbing calm outside bothered him, but he couldn't focus much on it since, not long ago, he had committed an inoffensive crime: stealing a kiss!

As soon as the thought crossed his mind, Mine clenched his open hand, and his cheeks flushed. Earlier, he had woken up in Addai's lap. It could be a lie if he didn't admit that his body fitted perfectly in Addai's arms and lap. Also, his friend supported his head with such gentleness that his heart almost burst into a loud and rapid rhythm when he noticed that. However, remembering that made his heart beat faster, pumping more blood to his already flushed face.

"Why is your face red?" Addai looked at him, his innocent eyes conveying how much of a victim he was earlier.

Mine's hair turned as pink as his eyes, and his hands started sweating. "I-It's n-nothing," he said, feeling his face burning.

Lydia squinted her eyes as she finished praying for the incomplete soul of the leafy buddy. Witnessing the scene unfolding before her, she recalled a few things about Mine's hair colors and connected a few dots: that color appeared more often whenever Addai's name or actions were mentioned. Lydia saw the colors around her turn brighter after this thinking, and the cupid inside her dressed in their working clothes!

Lydia puffed her chest and grinned. "Why is your hair pink, Mine?" she teased, only to see a messy Mine trying not to turn into a chimney.

"M-My hair is pink?!" Mine gasped.

"What does it mean though?" Addai frowned, trying to write a few more lines of 'Mine's hair colors encyclopedia'.

Mine opened and closed his mouth. Then, he opened it again, but nothing came out. His chin trembled, and he closed his mouth again. Soon, he grunted and gave up explaining, letting his hair take on a slightly redder hue in certain strands. But, determined to say something anyway, he opened his mouth again after hesitating:

"It means shit. Try figuring it out yourself," Mine grumbled, cheeks burning.

Oh, so that's why there were red strands among the pink ones… Addai thought, ignoring the invisible slap made of words. "Alright, I'll figure it out," he grumbled back.

What was that shit?! Lydia thought, defeated and blue, undressing her cupid's vest.

"I heard pink is for emotions connected to romantic feelings. Sometimes, it's related to reactions towards how Chronos reacts to love and purity coming from the others," Azazel bluntly said, looking at Mine. "See, boss, I know the stuff," he posed proudly at his boss, who couldn't hold back his laughter.

Mephistopheles's laugh turned into a loud wheezing, slapping his thigh as he recovered his breath while coughing. Laughing like an old man, he couldn't stop thinking how much fun he had despite the hardships.

Mine's face now scorched, and his glow flickered like a lamp soon to burst. His vision was blurry, and his body was itching from embarrassment. All he wanted to do was run away! But where to?! So, he stayed like a statue, changing colors and tears prickling in his eyes.

What was an embarrassing moment without tears? Seeing he was about to cry, Azazel turned desperate and waved his hands while Addai was still rebooting the 'Ad_dai.exe' program. Fortunately, Umbra was incorporated into his shadow before Mine woke up because if she was out… Azazel might have some claw marks on his face.

"I-I'M SORRY!! I-I DIDN'T KNOW YOU DIDN'T WANT TO SAY IT!" Azazel desperately said, seeing Mine's lips turning into a pout before crying. "I-I THOUGHT HIS GRACE KNEW IT!!! I-I-I EVEN THOUGHT YOU TWO WERE TOGETHER!!"

That was the end of Mine. He wanted to die right there.

Seeing the tears in the boy's eyes roll down his cheeks, Azazel apologized desperately and kneeled in front of him. Lydia held back her laughter, and Zophiel fiercely scolded Mephistopheles, who chewed his wheezing wisely. Not believing the chaotic situation unrolled in front of them and in such an unsettling background outside, Abannak took action. He stood up and wiped Mine's tears with his thumbs, just like he did with his little nephew.

"Feelings may overflow sometimes, but this is a good feeling. You don't need to be ashamed or embarrassed about it," Abannak said with a warm smile.

Addai slowly took one of Mine's hands. His own hands were sweaty and cold, which startled Mine a little. "M-Mr. Abannak is right," he said, trying to not look at Mine, but his blushed cheeks told he wanted to do it so badly.

"See?" Abannak chuckled. "Now…" he turned to the rest of the group, "shall we discuss our future plans? We need to move while Agarath is oddly quiet." He posed like the great professor and Vice Director he was, taking everybody's attention from Mine.

Lydia coughed and recovered her pose after grabbing Azazel from the floor with such strength he felt like a puppy in her hands. "The entrance from where we came is blocked, but I sent a few leafy buddies outside to find the way. The only thing is that… they didn't return, and I lost track of them."

Everyone frowned. None of them knew where to go, and if Lydia's leafy buddies got lost along the way or were forcibly deactivated, the garden must have a large concentration of illusion areas. Things got even worse when they reasoned that Agarath could manipulate the path they walked despite having been strangely silent throughout this illusory time.

When silence was about to prevail in that cave once again, Mine raised his eyes and spoke:

"I... I've been here before," Mine's voice sounded a bit fragile.

All eyes turned to him.

This information reached each person's heart differently: anger, revolt, fear, compassion, and, above all, concern. The outrage and revolt were directed at Agarath for having built a sick "paradise" with specific symbols, such as statues, large trees that imitated apples, and even the presence of Eden, the snake. The fear came with the uncertainty of how Mine managed to escape, what he saw Agarath was capable of, and if this would happen to them. Compassion came from Mine's trembling hands, held by the one beside him. The concern came with the uncertainty of how they would get out of there, as Agarath would not leave two gaps for Mine to repeat the escape dose in the future— I mean, at this moment.

Despite feeling his entire body tremble, Mine continued as memories of that place formed in his mind:

"The place we're searching for is a corridor," he started, tightening Addai's hold. "The floor is covered in gray, slightly textured porcelain tiles. There are black arabesques with vines in the pillars and sconces adorning them. On both sides, there are statues of lovers – from the tarot deck – with crystal-clear water," he described but paused a little when he remembered the odd spell Agarath cast with the snap of his fingers, and he slightly curled. "When I came here… Agarath made the sky dark, but now it's surprisingly daytime. We might stand a chance."

Eden finally snapped out of the trance after eating too many fruits and hissed loudly at the descriptions Mine brought. It crawled towards the group.

"I know the place Mr. described!" Eden hissed cheerfully. "Agarath set many traps around there. While in a trance, I almost ended up there, and many gargoyles kicked me to go in the opposite direction. They threw more of the smelly pouch on me, and I lost it," it puffed sadly, and Addai patted its head.

"Can you remember the way before they threw the pouch?" Abannak asked.

The snake posed proudly. "Yes! I can draw it!"

The snake picked up a stiff and firm stick from the pile of firewood that Zophiel and Mephistopheles had collected earlier and began drawing on the softened earth floor near the luminescent lake. Although the earth was softened, it was not so soft that it could undo the drawing, but it was smooth enough to let the branch slide easier than on the earth where the group was sitting around the fire.

With difficulty, she clumsily slid the stick into the dirt. A very irregular map was formed, and the group tried to analyze the general view of that thing that not even Sherlock Holmes could decipher if the snake wasn't present to explain what the crooked lines meant or what the rough scribbles suggested at some points.

The map was ready and somewhat deciphered, but for the group to move, a preliminary survey was highly needed to clarify the obscure details. Azazel, struck by a ray of wisdom that almost cost his brain, had a great idea: use the leafy buddies before they went to verify the path's safety. A good idea! Yet, it was nearly impossible because Lydia had clear limitations about her leafy buddies once her mana supply was low.

Picking up a leafy buddy recently deactivated for this reason, Mine pondered about something and... licked it.

Lydia frowned and looked disgusted at him. "Gross!"

Before Mine could reply, the saliva on the leady buddy condensed and glowed a faint, golden glow. This saliva carried some of Mine's essence, and this attempt to incorporate some of it into the deactivated Leafy Buddy had worked!

"I had an idea," Mine said, holding the leafy buddy. "I saw it in a book. Who would think it would be useful, huh?"