40 39. Interval 2.txt (1/2)

Welcome back, master.

I'm home. And don't do the master thing.

When I went straight home from the hospital, Maria greeted me. I cautioned her about calling her out, but she's about to give up, so I'm skittish.

'Maria, are you okay now?'

'Yeah, I'm good now. I was getting a little carried away with the level of the game. You didn't know what you were doing and you got your hopes up too high.

Maria looks calm and lowers her head.

As far as I can tell, she doesn't seem to care about what Rustyala said anymore.

''No, it was an error in judgment on my part. I was overconfident in my plan and misjudged the drawback.''

'Hmm. I knew the master would say that. Thank you.

Maria gives a small smile and thanks me.

'Why are you thanking me?　My mistake - my fault - I put Maria in harm's way, remember?

But that mistake was a mistake that happened with me in mind, wasn't it?

Maria kept her smile on her face and continued to speak.

It's not.

It's not that good.

For my own protection, I forced Maria to do it. Subconsciously, I just avoided the sight of one day.

”That's being too self-conscious. ”That's self-consciousness. I don't have a lot of room for other people right now.

'No, no. Your master couldn't decide to pull out because he didn't want to make me sad, could he?　You were hesitant to destroy my dreams, weren't you?

Maria talks as if I'm a good person.

But that's an unfair assessment.

I'm sure that's part of it, but the root cause is my lack of determination and mental capacity.

'I'm telling you it's not: ......

”Hmm.

I continue to deny it, and Maria smiles at me.

Then, after smiling somewhat, Maria's face suddenly darkens and she continues to speak.

''--But I'm sure that I can't be of any use to you in the labyrinth anymore. Now that I know that I can only cause trouble for my master, what can I do to help you .......

I'm so excited that I can't stop talking.

I'm surprised at the gap between the two. The expression on Maria's face is gloomy, as if the woman from earlier is a lie.

As I thought, it was impossible for her not to be concerned about it. You can't possibly get your feelings in order after only a few hours after returning from the labyrinth.

''Calm down, Maria ....... It's not that I can't do anything anymore. You just need to take your time and find out what you can do here.

...... Can I stay here?

I say, ”Here,” and Maria asks back curiously.

I was dumbfounded and asked back more.

'...... Were you going to leave here?'

'Of course, I will definitely return the favor. But there's no more reason to be a nuisance in this house any longer: ......

'Wait, wait, wait, wait: ......!　Where's the old bullshit?　You're too distracted, you fool.

Just a few days ago, she was so full of confidence, but now she is a shadow of her former self. I can only deny the difference in their appearance with impatience and strength.

'Such bull ....... It's 'made up' .......

Maria replied, mocking herself.

I don't know what has made Maria so weak, I don't know.

But I am certain that I don't want to see Maria looking so sad. The way she looks reminds me of Maria when I first met her. You have to keep a firm hand on Maria, or else I'll be in trouble.

I don't mind asking her to leave if she looks as strong as she did before. But if she walks out with this look on her face, I feel like I'm going to throw up with regret and worry.

I have something to do. You can cook for us here. I'll leave this house to you, Maria.

So, I try to give Maria a reason to exist in whatever way I can. What I came up with on the spur of the moment was cooking. With her skills, there's no doubt in my mind that if I let her take care of the housework, I'll be able to do it.

'But before, she said cooking was good: ......

'That was just a diversion to get Maria out of the labyrinth. I said something mean that time because I really wanted her to come to the labyrinth.

I'm not going to lie.

At the time, I really hoped that he would help me with the labyrinth rather than have me cook for him.

'I didn't see that. ......

So, I'll take care of it this time. I want you to cook for me every day in this house.

Now, I want to ask her to do it for me.

When I plead with a straight face, Maria replies with a troubled look on her face.

Well, every day is ....... Huh, you're still saying stupid things, master. It's a very embarrassing line, that. You don't even want to do that .......

'Yeah. I've been so embarrassed since I said it: ......

Maria looks at me with a dumbfounded look on her face, as she always does.

I don't care what kind of look you give me as long as Maria gets back on track.

Then I will be grateful for the job. Thank you, master.

Yes, please.