Chapter 77

“That’s not a fair price, it’s just a scam! Where in the world does armor exist that can withstand a sword’s energy strikes?”

Doyugeon was gesturing wildly at his grandfather. His voice was filled with frustration. It was extremely shocking to see such disrespectful behavior. I’ve never raised him this way.

“But what can be done, that’s how it turned out.”

As if used to such attitudes, the grandfather casually replied while picking up the items he had previously tossed aside after using magic. There was a tinge of laughter in his words. Though it may have been just a laugh, it somehow sounded like mockery. Though he’s too old to be teasing a child with mockery, isn’t he?

As the grandfather passed by Doyugeon, he patted him lightly on the shoulder.

“Whether it’s a match or not, will you stay for dinner?”

“No, I won’t.”

Though the gestures were directed toward Doyugeon, his eyes inadvertently glanced toward me, so I silently shook my head to indicate that I wouldn’t eat either.

“Alright then.”

The grandfather and the secretary returned to the mansion. During that time, the boy remained standing alone in the open space, his head down.

It seems he’s upset about losing. The emotions of kids this age are incomprehensible. Even though I’m the same age, I get it. During a competitive game, if the opponent irritates me with mocking play, I get angry too. I remember it happened the other day. The game turned frustrating because the teammate didn’t play their part well. Their luck was just awful.

I flew over to comfort him slightly and noticed droplets falling on the ground. Is he crying…? There was no sobbing or rubbing of eyes, but the tears were falling. Is he really crying?

Ah…

I turned away and moved to the corner of the open space. Honestly, this is not my area of expertise. Although I’m inexperienced in many things, the thing I’m worst at is counseling or comforting others. It’s more like a field of consulting psychology.

In my previous life, I was a team leader, and I involuntarily dealt with these situations often, but just because I experienced them doesn’t mean I was good at it. In fact, the person I invested the most effort in ended up committing suicide. So, you could say I lack any talent for it. Though it wasn’t my fault. If you strictly live by reason and logic, it doesn’t always go well either. I don’t even manage those two properly in my life.

In situations like this, it’s best to rely on the old saying that time heals all wounds. If you wait quietly, it usually gets better by half.

I crouched down next to a flowerpot and sat on the ground. Hyaaah, it’s cold. My bottom, pressed against the floor, is freezing, so I stood back up. Winter doesn’t help at all. If only it would snow and make the roads slippery or something. Earth’s warming continues to break cold records every year. Thinking about it, it really doesn’t help much.

“Shit, nothing’s going right…”

A small voice of swearing could be heard. Upon checking the source, it was, naturally, that boy sitting crouched down in the open space with his head buried.

……

What, what?

The world seemed to shatter as if hit by an immense shock. My thoughts stopped, and my mind turned blank. How? No, who? No, where? This isn’t right…

I flew toward him. My clothes fluttered from the momentum.

“What was that?”

The boy, who had his head buried, jumped in surprise and looked up. His eyes were wet with tears.

“What, what? Why are you here?”

“Because I’m here. This is grandfather’s house, I’m the granddaughter, and you’re here, so what reason do I need? Anyway, what was that you just said?”

“Uh… why now…”

“Isn’t it obvious? This is grandfather’s house, and since you’re here, that’s why I came. What was that just now, though?”

The dazed reaction irked me, so my tone involuntarily rose. The boy flinched.

“What do you mean ‘just now’?”

“That’s right, you just cursed.”

“No, I didn’t!”

His bewildered reaction.

“If you’re lying, how did I hear it clearly?”

“I didn’t do it!”

He looked genuinely aggrieved. As I hesitated, doubting if I had misheard, I quickly reviewed my memory. Regrettably, I have a very good memory. The exact moment flashed back and the curse invaded my mind. Even just recalling it shocked me deeply. You really cursed, so are you pretending now? Anger began to rise.

“What do you mean, ‘no’? You did curse, didn’t you?”

“No, I didn’t!”

He abruptly stood up.

“Don’t lie. I heard it all.”

“I didn’t!”

His truly aggrieved expression made me hesitate momentarily. Did I really mishear it? I quickly went over my memory again. Unfortunately, I remember very well. The precise moment returned, and the curse invaded my mind once more. Simply recalling it shocked me profoundly. You cursed, no doubt. Are you trying to act now? Anger surged.

“The thing is, it’s true.”

“No, I didn’t! You must have misunderstood!”

He stepped back, continuing to argue.

“How could I misunderstand something? I heard clearly. Are you now claiming I’m wrong? Or did you admit the fact that you cursed when you criticized my point about logical errors?”

“Not exactly…”

“How can you curse? Even if it seems trivial, people are influenced by such small things.”

He swallowed dryly and mumbled something softly.

“You said that slippery slopes were fallacies and should be avoided…”

“Is that really the same? The important point is that you cursed, and that’s a serious issue.”

“I didn’t!”

Now he’s changing his story. My blood started to boil.

“You cursed. What’s more, you practically admitted it while criticizing my argument for a logical error. Now that you’re in an inconvenient situation, you’re trying to twist the story? Did someone teach you to do that? Are you trying to evade responsibility?”

I took a moment to breathe deeply and calm down. As I exhaled, I tried to cool off the rising heat. Phew. What should I do with this?

The look of astonishment in the boy’s eyes changed right then.

“Whether I curse or not, it’s my choice, so why are you interfering?”

“Huh, WHAT?”

I was jolted back to focus by this unexpected retort.

“No matter what, that’s my choice! Even though I didn’t curse, it’s my choice if I want to!”

“That’s…”

You’re right. No, we can’t just agree with that. My thoughts were chaotic.

“That’s not right. We’ve known each other for so long now, right? Isn’t it okay to say something like this to each other? How can you just dismiss my concern like that? If you keep doing whatever you want, then go ahead! Walk around cursing all day for all I care, enjoying every moment of it.”

“I told you, I didn’t curse!”

“Liar, liar, liar.”

I jabbed my finger at his chest repeatedly with each word, causing the boy’s expression to shift to one of anger.

“You lie more than anyone else!”

“What?”

“You don’t respect others at all and keep doing as you please! And now you’re scolding me for cursing but, in the end, you’re the worst person ever!”

“Stop it!”

The boy stopped talking in surprise. The feeling of betrayal made my heart sting.

“You, you shouldn’t say things like that. You’re not supposed to say those things. How could you… How could you say such things despite everything…?”

A whirlpool of disappointment and anger churned inside me. A sense of contempt rose, then subsided. The overwhelming emotions made it difficult to continue speaking.

Even then, I could perceive his feelings due to habits formed over time. The faint traces of fear and hostility rising. It felt like being stabbed in the heart.

Why does he feel frightened? Why does he hate me? Doubt and a sense of impending danger fed my rationality, which detached from my emotions as it assessed the situation. The narrowed view expanded.

What I felt was surging magic. The magic’s influence was causing parts of the open space to break apart and float in the air, and a few trees from the garden were uprooted and suspended.

What could I see now was magic. The magic, the lightning, the flames were swirling and surrounding a targeted point.

At the center of it all, targeted by the magic, Doyugeon glared defiantly and spoke succinctly.

“You really are the bad person.”

A line had been crossed.

Who…?

Hmm.

With a step closer, the boy flinched, perhaps out of fear.

“You’re right. I’m bad. I’m sorry, I apologize.”

I slowly rose and closed the distance.

Our faces drew nearer, and the sensation of his breath became apparent.

I carefully pressed my lips to his.

The sensation was soft, tinged with slight roughness.

I saw his startled rigidity transform into a blush.

Time passed, and we parted our lips.

The fleeting warmth faded away.

“Will you accept my apology?”

The boy, his face bright red, bowed his head.

“Yes…”

I figured as much.

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