CH 90

I can’t remember how I got back. Just like when moving to Masha’s house, I felt as if I was being swept away by something, and when the hand that was blocking my vision fell off, I was already in the Magic Tower.

As I let out a light sigh, Dante, who was standing behind me, passed me by.

“Dante.”

I called out his name, yet his steps didn’t stop. He didn’t turn his head to check on me, nor did he seem to hesitate at my call.

It wasn’t until I got far enough to reach the door that I heard a short, incoherent voice.

“Just for today, don’t come out of this room.”

“Don’t come out of this room?”

“Yeah.”

It was an attitude of almost trying to keep me locked up. I quietly crossed my arms, not intending to answer, and Dante slowly grabbed the doorknob.

“If I find Masha first, you won’t have to go there.”

“Dante.”

A voice full of pessimism with light tiredness came out of my mouth.

I really haven’t forgotten an inch of what happened right before.

“That guy threatened us with Masha’s life.”

“…”

“I don’t know what it’ll do with Masha if it notices that we’re acting a little weird.”

Maybe Dante can really save Marsha. However, it didn’t matter whether I believed in Dante or not.

There are times when you can’t rely on one belief toward the other person. Just like now, my friend was with someone who could hurt her at any time.

I asked to see if Masha was all right, and it said it wasn’t difficult. Then at least Masha is fine now. and she will be fine

“Who the hell is that?”

“…You don’t have to know.”

Listening to that shrewd and cool tone, it was like going back to the day I first talked to Dante.

There wasn’t even the slightest hesitation in the back of the man who left me alone and opened the door to the hallway. Like the request that was almost compulsory, and the way he never looked back.

None of them were Dante-like. He didn’t think I’d be fooled by that attitude, did he.

That Dante’s cold behavior was all fake, I could tell without bothering to check my face.

I didn’t follow Dante, I just stood there and asked calmly.

“Can I stay here just for a day?”

“…”

“If I wait here for one day, will you not avoid me tomorrow? Dante.”

His body, which had been moving as if to leave the room at any moment, stopped. Dante paused as if he was about to say something, yet in the end he couldn’t say anything and lowered his head.

If you’re going to say it harshly, you should do it until the end, but you can’t even do that. I went up to Dante holding back a sigh to come out like a habit.

I didn’t feel any strength in the arm that followed when I led it. Like a person who was anxious about this situation, maybe desperate.

Come to think of it, he has always been afraid of anything related to me.

“Dante. You know what I’m going to say.”

Dante shook his head as if rejecting that statement. He knew, but he just meant to pretend he didn’t.

I understand Dante’s feelings more than anyone else. I know how harsh this situation is for Dante and how much pain my words will make him.

Well, I’ve already left Dante once. With only one possibility that he might get separated from me again, Dante has been so anxious and afraid for the past few days.

Dante learned that there is no such thing as perfect death for me, but we hadn’t seen each other in a while. In other words, it was far from enough time to heal the wounds of 10 years.

If I only think about Dante, it’s right that I stay next to him. As he said, it would be better for me to wait quietly here.

But every time I thought about it, the situation I went through today was repeated in my head.

The sight of the communication tool being shattered and the screams for help.

Broken windows, torn curtains… Masha was nowhere to be found.

A voice full of static that said it would kill Masha if I refused to talk to it.

My hands tremble belatedly.

“…Dante.”

But I tried my best not to tremble even in my voice. I tried not to notice that my worries about Masha and the suspicious words that were aimed at me came to me as a sharp headache.

I mustn’t show any signs of fear or fear. Because the purple eyes that sunk endlessly far away were right in front of my eyes.

Because you, who cares for me more than I do, are in front of me.

“Dante, look at me.”

“…No.”

As if taking a step back wasn’t enough, the purple eyes turned away from me.

What Dante said in a scratchy voice was a cold rejection. After hearing that, I realized that this was the first time I had ever been rejected by Dante in this way, and immediately after realizing it, I stopped all action.

If there was any consolation here, it was that I wasn’t the only one who was shocked by those words.

As if he was more bewildered by what he had said, he hesitated like me, yet immediately after that, he looked at my complexion. I tried to make proper eye contact, so I turned my head again, but the reaction I showed right before gave me a little sense of Dante’s feelings.

I stopped trying to force eye contact, and instead held Dante’s hand.

It was a cold hand. Very much.

“I know what you’re thinking. And what you’re anxious about.”

“…”

“Although it’s obvious, I don’t want to meet him either. It’s very suspicious, and I don’t know what his plan is, no, to be honest, it’s scary. That I have to go alone to a place I don’t even know.”

Originally, I’m a person without great courage. I’ve never felt a sense of justice that I have to move to save people.

I was the kind of person who would do as much as I could, even in situations where I needed to, and would be willing to hide when there was room to hide. Fear could lead to cowardice at any time.

I have a constitution worthy of being called special, but that is all. I was aware of my helplessness, and I knew that I was weak in many ways, even if I wasn’t talking about physical strength.

I was just that ordinary person.

…But.

“But what will happen to Masha if I don’t go?”

I never said grandiosely that I would never have a friend again in my life, but that didn’t mean Masha wasn’t precious. She was more than just a friend in the village, she was a friend who listened to my secrets, understood me, and even thanked me.

Can I just throw her away?

First, that’s impossible. Because I’m really, just an ordinary, weak person.

After hearing my words, Dante replied in a very small voice.

“…If I find a way so that it’s fine without you having to go…”

“Dante. I can’t talk about gambling with people’s lives.”

“…”

In the sentence I spat out with great effort, before I knew it, I could feel the strength entering his grip. As always, at an intensity that won’t hurt me.

The feeling of holding me back as if telling me not to go was tantamount to proof that Dante was agitated by my words.

“You don’t know why he wants to talk to me, do you?”

“…Mm.”

“Then I have no choice but to ask.”

Even if it’s not the day I have to face that face, I can ask when I confirm that Masha is safe. He said he was sending a communication tool.

It was to make up my mind completely that I asked about his purpose. If I want to find out the purpose that even Dante doesn’t know, I’ll have to ask him myself. In addition to Masha’s safety, I had one more reason to face the man.

Even if I didn’t have to say, “I intend to listen to him,” Dante seemed to understand my decision through those words.

Eventually, Dante broke his cold face and twisted his face as if he was crying. Only I, who understands you, knew that you were deliberately trying to be cold to hide this expression.

A pitiful, watery tone reached my ears.

“Even if I tell you not to go, you won’t listen.”

“Mm. I’m sorry, Dante.”

After apologizing, Dante leaned over and buried his head in my shoulder. The sound of breathing nearby seemed to be sobs, and sometimes it wasn’t.

“I’m not going with just a bare body. We’ve been told that it doesn’t matter what action you take, but are you still anxious?”

I know you can’t help but feel anxious. But as I want you to be a little less afraid, I had to spit out these words.

Contrary to my deliberately feigned composure, Dante’s voice trembled thinly without any embellishment.

“I will do anything to protect you. But, but Ei.”

Why do I make you cry so often? I thought quietly, feeling my shoulder getting wet so clearly that I couldn’t pretend I didn’t know.

Why do I keep making choices that make you cry?

“What if something goes wrong, and we get separated like before?”

It sounded rather like a child’s complaint, so I could tell that it was Dante’s sincerity.

I slowly patted the back leaning on me and spoke in a low tone.

“It’s a little hard to say in these circumstances, but I’m scared right now, you know.”

“…Mm.”

“So, I’ll tell you this only for now.”

Following my whisper, Dante slowly lifted his head.

“I will do my best to come back to you no matter what.”

“…”

“To your side, who is waiting for me.”

So don’t be too anxious. With those words, I thought I had seen Dante make eye contact with me for the last time.

Soon after, the hand covering my face still felt cold, and Dante’s tears, which I hadn’t seen in a long time, didn’t stop.

The warmth that finally reached me was friendly, as always.

Somehow, it felt like exchanging comfort.