Letty spoke softly in a small, delicate voice.
“Shishou”
“Hmm?”
“I did my best.”
“…Yeah”
Her hand, grabbing onto my clothes, tightened slightly.
“It was scary, but I did my best.”
“Yeah”
“Am I amazing? Am I brave?”
“Yeah”
There was a sniffle, followed by a sucking sound.
“Even if I’m weak, even if I cry, is that okay?”
Her voice, mixed with sobs, trembled weakly.
I answered. The tone of my voice was surprisingly gentle, even to myself.
“Yeah. –You did well, Letty.”
///
scene transition
https://i.imgur.com/jx3FDBn.jpeg
///
Letty finally let go after a while.
Letty cried in my chest as if she were releasing everything that had built up inside her. She cried loudly like a child, letting out snot and tears.
I can hear her breathing quietly next to me. Letty seems to have cried herself out; she’s now fast asleep in bed. Like a child… no, she is a child.
“You rascal, you cried so much… now my clothes are soaked. Should I bill you for dry cleaning later…?”
This is why I hate kids… crying, yelling, such a pain.
Sighing heavily and complaining about Letty crying and messing up my clothes, I turn back to the door and speak.
“…Hey, you guys, peeping is in bad taste.”
There are four eyes peeking through the slightly open door. Apparently not expecting to be spoken to, the peepers, who had been peeking in an awkward position, stumble and fall to the floor with a bang.
I approach and open the door. As expected, there are two of them—Rafine and Eve.
They quickly stand up. Both of them speak with firm faces.
“No, we were looking at that window over there! Yes, that’s definitely it!!”
“Yes, that’s right, we definitely weren’t looking at the two of you, nope.”
They’re completely unrepentant. These guys…!
“Alright, it’s fine, it was hard to get in, right? I’m sorry for making you feel uncomfortable.”
“No, no! We didn’t see anything, so don’t worry… we didn’t see you feeding Letty, cuddling her, and then petting her head with a gentle voice!”
“You saw everything, right from the start!”
Hey, seriously? Not just at the end? It’s totally messed up if you were watching from the beginning, you know?
If there was a mirror, my face would be completely red—wait, Eve, please don’t show me a mirror. It’s not like I want to see myself all flushed, do you want to torture me or something?
“Ray… thank you.”
Eve said with a delighted voice, thanking me like that. I didn’t respond and turned my face away.
If I stayed here any longer, I felt like I’d lose it. I had other things to take care of, so retreating was the best option. Alright, let’s get out of here.
“Huh? Are you going somewhere?”
“…Yeah, just for a bit. Can you watch over Letty for me?”
“…Yes, understood!”
“Yeah, leave it to me.”
With a reliable response like that, I opened the door and stepped out into the hallway.
Leaving the inn and entering the main road, I made my way towards the location of the person I was looking for.
The streets of Rivulhilo were lively and bustling. This is exactly what peace looks like. I couldn’t even imagine that just a few days ago, there was an incident nearby that could have shaken the world.
I averted my gaze from that scene and walked along the road, basking in the warm sunlight.
Then—instead of the person I was looking for, I saw a familiar face.
“Oh, it’s Jii-chan… good morning!”
Sitting behind a stall, with a gloomy and dark aura around her, Kaas was recommending a small bottle, saying “Want to buy?” as she lifted it up to sell.
She was trying to sell poison again—! I had the urge to remove all of it, but just as my hand was about to move, I stopped and instead took out my wallet.
“Oh, uh, I’ll take one…”
“Huh, really? It’s my first sale…!”
Kaas raised both hands in celebration. I couldn’t bear to watch and instinctively turned away.
“N-No, but seriously, you’ve been living pretty well…”
“Hehe… I’m just lucky, I guess.”
“Yeah, I’m glad, honestly, yeah.”
By the way, Kaas, who seemed to be acting as usual, was wrapped in bandages all over her body.
Thanks to my treatment, she could move, but just a few days ago, all her bones were broken, both arms’ nerves were severed, and her face was so swollen it was scary to look at.
Honestly, it’s more of a miracle that she survived than Letty. Even though she missed vital points, how is she still alive with those injuries……
“But, I don’t remember much after the transfer. Does Jii chan know anything?”
“N-No… nothing…?”
“Jii chan saved me, right? He’s my savior.”
“Well… you know… it’s nothing, um, yeah.”
Kaas looked at me with sparkling eyes of gratitude. It’s not really because of the injuries I caused.
Actually, I thought she was done for because Seft had taken over her body. So I punched her with all my might… but it seems like she regained consciousness because Seft left her body.
“Oh right… I want to thank you, so I’ll introduce you to a good place next time. There are a lot of bugs I like there. It’s nearby in the forest, so even now—oh, where are you going?”
As I apologized with all my heart in my mind, I ran away at full speed.
READ THE ORIGINAL TRANSLATION AT GADGETIZEDPANDA.COM
After a full sprint, I arrived at my destination.
It was on the outskirts of the Reconstruction Zone. Using 《Detection》, I traced the person to be here.
What did I come here for…? I thought while following the magic power, and after a few minutes of scanning the area, I found them in my sight.
They were in front of a certain house, talking to what seemed to be a resident there.
A beastman man. His cheeks were sunken, and his fur was dull all over his body.
I couldn’t hear their voices because of the distance. But even from afar, I could tell that their interaction wasn’t calm.
The man screams and punches. The other person, without resistance, without even wearing protective magic on his body, just keeps his head down in silence.
Eventually, the man shouts something again and returns to his house. From my lip-reading skills, I catch his mouth movements saying, “Never show your face again.”
The other person stands up slowly, walking away while clutching his arms.
“What the hell are you doing?”
I approach, my voice drawing his attention, causing him to turn his face towards me, his red hair swaying.
He — Lucas — looks up at me with vacant eyes.
“…It’s you?”
A flat, colorless voice. Lucas lowers his face, attempting to ignore me as he passes by.
“Wait,”
I grab his shoulder to stop him. Lucas lifts his emotionless face.
In fact, after that incident, he also survived. When I tried to escape with Letty and Kaas, I checked on him and found he was still alive.
It should have been a fatal wound, but the hero’s vitality is truly astounding. I had intended to leave him if he had died, but I ended up having to heal and take him back. He should have just died. He should have just died.
Lucas speaks.
“I… I must atone for my sins.”
“Huh?”
“You also wish for that. Otherwise, there would be no reason for you to keep me alive.”
…Apparently, he sees it that way. Well, what an idiot, huh?
“I don’t care what you misunderstand, but that doesn’t matter.”
“…What?”
“I just brought you back because you weren’t dead. I’m not asking for an apology, and as long as you don’t bother me, you can do whatever you want. …Oh, but make sure to apologize to Letty properly. You caused her so much trouble.”
“…Have she awakened?”
“Yeah, she cried like a baby.”
“…I see, I see.”
Lucas nods repeatedly with his face still downcast. He seems somewhat relieved.
“Will [Attack] forgive me?”
“I don’t know, but Letty’s an idiot, so she’ll probably forgive you. Do you want her to forgive you?”
“…I don’t know.”
I got a little annoyed at that ambiguous answer. So, without hiding my irritation, I say:
“You’re such a damn annoying guy. Whether she forgives you or not? There’s no point in thinking about it. Are you enjoying living by constantly worrying about others’ opinions?”
“…”
“Live more for yourself. How long are you going to use the past as an excuse and keep running away? Stop blaming yourself and acting like a tragedy.”
Lucas doesn’t answer. He just keeps his face down.
“…I’m strong, so I don’t understand your feelings. I don’t think it’s easy to just say ‘live carefree.’ But still…”
So saying, I point behind me with my finger.
“Idiots like you shouldn’t live alone.”
Lucas, looking up at that, widens his eyes greatly.
And then immediately, from behind, thump, thump, thump, thump– intense footsteps can be heard.
“–You’re fucking kidding me!”
Dropkick to Lucas’s belly.
“Why the hell are you suddenly disbanding the hero party!? I became unemployed from being a white mage! Say something!!! Hey!!!”
“Wait! If you do that, the young one will die! Young, young–!”
The people who appeared are shaking Lucas, who is writhing from taking a dropkick directly to the solar plexus, from both sides. The purple-haired girl who unleashed the murderous dropkick without any hesitation is Eve’s friend– Maya, and the wolf beastman man who hasn’t realized that she’s finishing him off while shaking and panicking is Lucas’s adjutant– Wisdom.
Lucas, perhaps feeling less pain, manages to speak.
“You… why…”
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