Ronwa entered her room and quietly closed the door behind her. She then turned to find Ron sitting calmly on the windowsill, bathed in the silver moonlight pouring through the curtains. He was reading a small book, which looked old, with a cover that had a brownish tint. He lifted his head as soon as she entered, gently closed the book between his hands, and said in his usual calm voice:

  "You’re back."

  Ronwa smiled broadly at him and said enthusiastically:

  "I met him! I met Mr. Akamori himself!"

  Meanwhile, in the air, Lucas floated near the ceiling, his head slightly tilted, and his eyes glinting with a strange shine as he murmured:

  "I never expected him to be... the holder of the third key."

  Ron slowly turned to him, a rare expression of surprise on his face, and said in a startled tone:

  "What do you mean?"

  Lucas responded, gesturing as if explaining something heavy:

  "Mr. Akamori... is the same as Dazai, the holder of the third key."

  Ronwa stared at Ron in disbelief and asked:

  "Do you know him? I mean, do you know about Dazai?"

  Ron slowly shook his head, his tone calm yet tinged with seriousness:

  "I know that Dazai Osamu is the holder of the third key, but I've never met him… I never imagined he could be Akamori himself."

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  He then smiled a cold smile, the kind that conveyed caution and deep thought rather than joy, and said in a mysterious tone:

  "It was quick... and the second one hasn’t appeared yet."

  Ronwa froze for a moment, staring at him with wide eyes, and whispered:

  "The second...?"

  But he didn’t respond, only gazing out of the window as if following a distant cloud.

  Then, he suddenly turned to Lucas, smiling a soft smile that was rarely seen from him:

  "I'm glad you finally met your author, Lucas."

  Lucas responded with a gentle smile, his eyes filled with a childlike warmth:

  "I’m glad too... very much."

  Outside the library, Dazai stood under the full moonlight, casting a pale and calm shadow across his face. The night wind gently teased his tousled brown hair, making it flutter lightly, and his long sandy-colored coat swayed behind him like a theater curtain in a final scene.

  He stared silently at the sky, his features still, his eyes half-closed, and his voice finally emerged, low and deep:

  "Most likely... the train has left."

  At that moment, the librarian's voice was heard calling from the door:

  "Mr. Akamori! You can stay here tonight, we have a guest room ready, for you’ve missed the last train!"

  But Dazai didn’t turn, responding quietly, as if the wind carried his words:

  "It's fine... I have a place to stay."

  Then he slowly moved, his small bags in his hands, his steps steady on the cobblestone path, while the librarian bowed to him respectfully and gratefully, saying loudly:

  "Thank you so much for coming today... you’ve honored our library!"

  At that, Dazai finally stopped, casting a sideways glance, a half-smile forming on his lips—a smile that was impossible to tell if it was sadness, sarcasm, or rare warmth—and said in a faint tone:

  "I... like that."

  He then turned again, his coat fluttering, and his footsteps gradually moving away from the lights, while the librarian continued to watch him, thanking him quietly until he disappeared into the shadows, under the clear moonlight.

  Ronwa carefully opened her bedroom window, her small foot sneaking onto the cold floor. Then, she slipped out of the house quietly, looking around to make sure no one saw her. She took a deep breath, her eyes shimmering with excitement, as if discovering a whole new world.

  She climbed a few steps toward the garden behind the house and sat on the green grass, wearing her simple dress, her knees drawn to her chest. She looked up at the star-filled sky, everything around her incredibly still. Under the full moonlight, alone with her thoughts, her fingers gently brushed the tips of the grass as she whispered to herself:

  "All of this... is it real? A ghost, the keys, Dazai... the author himself?"

  Her eyes sparkled in the moonlight, and between wonder and curiosity, she was searching for answers that hadn’t come yet.

  Suddenly, the silence was pierced by a soft voice—low, but clear—as if carried to her by the wind:

  "Chapter four, page 97... *When the heroine met her shadow in the moon’s mirror.*"

  Ronwa froze in place, her eyes widening. She slowly turned, following the familiar voice—though she hadn’t expected to see him again so soon.

  There, standing beneath the shadow of a tree, was Dazai… or Akamori, in the same long coat, that faint smile gracing his face, and his voice as calmly cool as ever:

  "That story... it resembles you a lot."

  Ronwa trembled slightly—not from fear, but from shock:

  "What... what are you doing here?!"

  He stepped forward, his voice still carrying that quiet mystery:

  "I said I wanted to see the Princess of the Keys when she’s alone… those are the truest moments, aren’t they?"