CH 87

That evening, I pondered over the story Dante had heard before I returned to the room.

The more I chewed on it, the more the thoughts followed one after another. I remembered Dante lying down near my house the day we first met, and I remembered the scene where the villagers were together.

Again, the memory of the day I… died also came to my mind.

Those people called the degenerates whose goal was said to take the position of the Master of the Magic Tower, even for a short while, and obtain some ancient magic or something. From attacking Dante to setting off a bomb in the village, it wasn’t something sane people would do.

The more I thought about it, the more hatred towards people I didn’t even know seemed to rise from somewhere. As always, it calmed down quickly, yet the anger that had no way to go didn’t completely disappear.

Ah, that’s why Dante didn’t want to tell me.

At the end of those complex, if complicated thoughts, I fully accepted Dante’s intention when he said, “You don’t have to be anxious.” And maybe not listening to the story would have helped my mental and physical stability.

However, since I had already heard all the circumstances, and I knew that even if I went back a few days ago, I would still press Dante to hear the story, so I had no regrets. Anyway, it’s something I should know.

In this situation, all I wanted was one thing. To get this resolved as soon as possible, and to get back to our daily lives before we got separated.

Indeed, I hoped that nothing, even the slightest, would stir up Dante’s anxiety.

***

“Aren’t you going to run away today?”

“I said sorry, didn’t I…”

“To be sorry is to be sorry, and to be offended is to be offended.”

At my words, Dante put on a sullen expression, but he showed no sign of leaving my side. Which means, I’m going to stick with you anyway.

Dante gave up all of a sudden the fuss he had been running for the past few days.

Rather, he tried to be by my side harder than before, as if he wanted to be compensated for the time he had been away from. It was such a quick change of attitude that I thought that if I hadn’t dug it out like this, it would have been Dante who would regret it, and thanks to Dante, I didn’t even have time to feel distraught.

No, it might be more appropriate to say that I wasn’t given time to think more about what I heard. First of all, my time to be alone is almost gone.

“…Dante.”

“Mm.”

“Your arms are heavy, can’t you put them away?”

To be honest, I want to tell them not to put their arms away, but to move aside. No, I just wanted to ask if it was okay to move to a different sofa.

It’s only once or twice that he puts his arm around my shoulder and hugs me halfway. Every time I sit down, I get stuck like this, so I feel cramped. However, I didn’t want to shake off Dante, who would be anxious even at this moment, and Dante noticed my attitude like a ghost.

In other words, if he had hugged me more, he would have hugged me, and he wouldn’t fall away.

Looking at Dante’s face, which couldn’t hide his satisfaction, I barely managed to hold back a sigh.

It has been like this ever since I heard Dante’s inside story. Dante didn’t try to hide his insecurities anymore, so he tried to stay close to me more, enjoying my unobtrusive attitude.

Contrary to the time I was chasing Dante, it was me who begged me to stay away. But Dante, not only was it not enough for him to stick by my side, he sent Lisa  when he wasn’t there.

The intention was obvious. It must be an extension of what he told me to stay inside the Magic Tower, well. Even if I’m inside the Magic Tower, there must be people who don’t want to leave me alone.

Isn’t it too much anyway? I thought between Dante, who refused to stay by my side, and Lisa, who at the same time began to keep a close eye on me.

How far will Dante’s overprotectiveness go?

And how far am I supposed to take that?

Actually, it wasn’t a question with a clear answer. However, just because there was no answer, it was difficult for me to live without incident.

There were two options in order to relieve the discomfort felt in this implied situation, even for a short time. First, put this feeling down on your own. Second, tell others how you feel.

If it were me in the past, I would have chosen the first one without hesitation. If it was me in the past who was reluctant to build relationships with others and felt uncomfortable receiving help from others.

But after meeting Dante, I gave up the habit of blindly keeping my distance from others. Now I know I won’t be left alone in the far future.

“…So I don’t know what to do now.”

So, like this, I was able to hold on to Masha and tell her about my situation in a concise way.

Masha listened intently to my story, then she said.

[So it had something to do with what you asked me about?]

“Mmhm.”

Previously, through Masha, I asked if Dante had ever appeared in the village where I died. Masha replied that she hadn’t actually seen him, and that she had heard that he had been to a funeral, though.

Until then, I wondered if the reason Dante was anxious was because he found something more there. Well, in terms of conclusion, it was similar.

I only conveyed to Masha the extent of ‘It seems right that Dante is still anxious about what happened 10 years ago’, and didn’t even talk about the war and the degenerates.

I was worried that she would ask if there was another reason in my heart, but Masha surprisingly readily agreed.

Rather, it was an attitude that sympathized with Dante’s unusual behavior.

[He’s so protective.]

“Whose side are you on, Masha?”

[I’m on the side of the winner. And aren’t you quietly in the Magic Tower since you understand him?]

Well, that wasn’t wrong. It was a problem because I knew why he was doing that, so I half wanted to be patient, and half wanted to tell him to do it in moderation.

I let out a small sigh when I heard Masha nagging me that ‘you’re the one who’s strange, you’re still fine even after going through that kind of thing.’

“Then do I just have to watch him do that?”

[Well, when time passes, he will be normal on his own. You won’t have anything to do anyway, let’s chat and play with me in the meantime.]

“You’re really ruthless towards Dante, unlike before…”

Masha snorted at her, telling me to forget her past self.

[By the way, isn’t there such a thing as a time limit? Yesterday I stopped by a magic tool specialty store, and not to mention the price of communication tools, all of them had a maximum usage time per day written on them. ]

“Why a magic tool specialty store, all of a sudden?”

[I liked it because I used it, so I wondered if there was anything else… No, anyway. ]

I don’t have to fumble. I smiled inwardly at Masha’s embarrassed expression. Every time she talked to me, she seemed to be fascinated by the function of the communication tool, but it seemed that she had settled into another interest of the magic tool itself.

Masha seemed to be looking at me in a peculiar way because I wasn’t fascinated by communication tools, but what can I do? I used to live in a world where things like this were natural.

Effortlessly blurring the memory of coming up naturally from one side of my consciousness, I answered Masha.

“I’m not sure, Dante says he picked the best non-portable ones. I don’t know exactly.”

[ …He picked the best one? But can I just use it for small talks like this?]

This thing is more precious than I thought. When I heard the slightly upset tone, a small laugh came out.

“Think of it as a good thing. It’s not like Dante is charging you money.”

[That’s because I’m talking to you and not to anyone else… Wait. Who’s knocking on the door like that…]

Hang in there. After saying that, Masha disappeared from my sight for a moment.

Who is that? After a while, Masha reappeared from the corner, holding her face a little more than before. She probably had her head down while standing up, so her figure seemed to be reflected up close.

“What’s wrong?”

[No, it’s not a big deal. Someone kept knocking on the door.]

Masha continued her words with a hint of puzzlement.

[I ask who it is, but there is no answer…]

That moment.

ㅡCrack!

“…!”

There was a large crack in the part that illuminated Masha’s face. With a sound like glass breaking.

Terrified, I reflexively grabbed the communication tool, only to realize that the broken side wasn’t mine, but Masha’s.

The crackling sound continued to be heard, and the crack in the communication tool grew bigger and bigger, so it wouldn’t be strange if it was broken into pieces.

“Masha! What’s going on?”

[…]

No answer. In an instant, nervousness passed through my body, I bit my lip and raised my voice again.

“Masha?”

[…! What…! … Q…]

Soon, the sound began to distort as if it was out of order, but if I listen carefully to the words flowing out piece by piece, I can somehow understand it.

Yet I didn’t hear a muttering of bewilderment that the communication tool was broken, or that she was fine…

A thin scream.

“…”

And a cry for help came through the communication tool.

As soon as I recognized the sound, and immediately after hearing the scream, as soon as the communication tool was disconnected, I held my breath.

Only one thought popped into my confused mind.

Someone broke into Masha’s house.