267 261 When moving carefully and quickly (1/2)

No one is waiting.

Rather, I'm the one waiting, and South is waiting.

Of course I'm waiting for you.

Talk to me after you eat.

I warned him not to talk at this hour with such a big parfait spoon in his mouth, but he took a gulp and drank something down.

”Can I finish my food first?　The ice cream is going to melt, that is.

”...... Oh

The parfait is a very good idea, but you can't get away from it.

I'm going to ask for a coffee instead to pass the time until I finish eating.

The store was empty, so I sipped my coffee that came quickly, and looking at the south, it looks like an ordinary college student happily munching on a parfait.

This is still the commander in chief of our party .

You can use a variety of supportive magic to suit the situation and is one of the backbone of our party.

It's a reliable presence in the dungeon, but it wouldn't look so good if it showed this much slackness.

Then again, it's late.

It's true that I made you wait, but that's an unreasonable thing for me to say as I was waiting to eat.

It took me about 30 minutes to finish the last ice cream.

After finishing the last ice cream and with a satisfied smile, Minami complained to me about making me wait, but even I couldn't tolerate her words.

I was about to let out a sigh when I was going to tell you something important.

Well, okay. I guess that's why you're here.

”Isn't it about victory?

Before I could get to the point, Minami aloofly and trivially guessed my business.

She doesn't wait for my answer as she shakes her spoon of parfait, as if she realizes what the problem is.

I would understand if I was the only one called in, that I would. But looking at the leader, the situation doesn't look good. But still, well, you're troubled, that I'm not sure.

Minami proceeded as if to say that the same thing had happened in the past.

”Again, were you aware of Katsu's situation?

It's not quite that close, that it is, but it's a little different. It's like a prediction that I was half convinced by experience, that it's just a little bit, that it's just a little bit, that it's just a little bit. Most of them are trying to cling to their current position because they are anxious that I've come to live a normal life and am no longer handy. It's really the same as before, that it is.

I know you've been talking about expectations, but I know that this is not a welcome situation for the South.

I have no idea what the reason for that is.

But from the way Minami talks, it sounds like she knew this would happen eventually.

When it comes to the way you talk, that is. When you say it that way, you're still acting out what you've been saying about being a pain in the ass, right?

I don't do things that I'm not interested in or don't want to do, that I don't do. But if you say that I don't have the minimum standard of living skills, I'd say that's not true.

A misty existence.

I thought he was elusive to begin with, but I thought I knew the personality of the south because I knew him to some extent.

But I need to change that perception a bit.

I have a glimpse into the depths of her current thoughts, which she called the fog, and I'm even more blinded, and I don't know what her intentions are.

If you ask her if it was intentional for her to get into the situation she is in now, the answer will sound like she is affirming it while sounding different.

It's time to go to the limit, that it is. Your relationship with Katsu, and Katsu himself.

But then she comes out from behind the fog like she's holding out a treasure chest of information that I want to know.

”You seem to be on your feet, but you're not, that you are. That's why you're wobbly if your position is affected even a little bit, as it was here. He depends mostly on others and has no autonomy, that he does. Always chasing and not coming forward on your own.

”South?

There is no trace of the figure that had been deliciously munching on the parfait just a moment ago, looking out the window sadly.

It's a good thing that you're able to have a good time with them.

Well, I can't speak for others either, that I can't. It's the same with me, that I can't speak for others either. I'm just a loser and I'm just a loser, that I am.

Like a clown standing alone on the stage of a circus tent where the audience has disappeared, far removed from her usual atmosphere, Minami spins words.

It's a story told backstage.

This is the miserable struggle of a foolish woman who fell in love with a younger boy who had a crush on another woman, that is.

Another side

A man and a woman named Tokorozawa Masaru and Shiretoko Minami met just because they were relatives.

If you ask them if there is anything special about it, they assure you that there is not.

At the time Minami was a junior high school student and Katsu was an elementary school student.

It's a commonplace scene of adults having a difficult conversation with each other while children are bored.

In the midst of all this, a boy named Masaru, quietly, as the adults around him would have it, simply stands by his parents' side, waiting for them to finish their conversation without complaint.

On the contrary, Minami had quickly become bored with the conversation between the parents and was absorbed in the game he had brought with him.

Their children's evaluations of each other are diametrically opposed.

Masaru is called respectable even though he is in elementary school, and Minami is scolded for playing games all the time.

They recognized each other as relatives, but that was the only point of contact.

It was partly because of the age difference between them.

From Minami's point of view, he was a younger boy who was more respected than she was, and she didn't like him as she was entering puberty.

I'm not sure I want to have anything to do with Minami, who is constantly scolding me.

The two, who would never get involved if this was the case, were brought together by a girl who was even older than them.

She was older than Minami, a high school student, and from Minami's point of view, she was the last person she wanted to be associated with.

Wow!　How are you doing, Masaru?

The girl who deliberately sneaks around to play a prank on you, knowing what your relatives will do, and surprises you by sneaking around behind your back and smiling at your face.

Her atmosphere lights up the place, and her smile makes all sorts of people smile, and with her good-natured nature there is no ill feeling towards her.

South understood.

This emotion is jealousy, an ugly mind that is coveting.

Minami, who was constantly being compared to her, quickly raised her gaze from the game.

Midori.

There was a young boy, Masaru, who showed a look of relief.

It's no secret that the girl who calls out to Katsu, Midori Kawasaki and Katsu are close friends.

You can see that the feelings that Katsu and Minami have for her are diametrically opposed.

You'll be able to see that you're not the only one who's longing for them, but also jealousy that they have something that they don't.

The emotions of a child are irrelevant to the adults around them.

You're going to be able to get the most out of it.

Seeing this scene, Minami had returned to the game world without a care in the world.

On the other side of the screen, the being he had raised was traveling in a world different from reality.

Minami wondered how long she had been expecting the other side of this screen without expecting such a reality.

You understand that it was a waste of time, but you just couldn't stop hoping.

See!　Minami-chan with you!

Even as she was looking at such a different world, a bright word came into her sight.

At the time Minami interrupted the game when her own name was called and said, ”No, I'm fine.

No, I'm fine.

Look the other person square in the face and say no.

A clear refusal, but at the very least you choose your words and take care not to make the other person uncomfortable.