Chapter 148 (2/2)
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「Leone, what is it? Why are you so zoned out?」
「Huh?」
After instruction was completed, Minnalis called out to me, and I returned to myself.
It was two weeks since I couldn’t persuade Ukei.
I thought I had found where he was, but the next day he had disappeared from the library.
The day I heard that he wouldn’t emerge from searching around in the dungeon I let go of my resentment a bit and drowned in drink to distract myself. After hearing he wouldn’t emerge from the dungeon for a while, I went back to instruction at the school I had briefly taken off from.
「…hey, Minnalis, you’ve been going around a lot lately, why?」
But, after Minnalis approached, it seemed that she and Shuria had something strange about them.
They had disappeared somewhere during lunch break and only one of them remained after school sometimes, saying they had something to do.
Neither of them asked where Ukei was, and they seemed a bit irked and talked about other things, avoiding the subject.
However, as the days passed, the two seemed upset about something, so I finally asked them:
「Well, honestly we’re trying to keep it a secret. Our master is about to leave the dungeon, so I’ll be looking in the library for a book that contains something to cook. He said he wanted something good to eat when he gets back.」
「Heh heh, I look forward to eating something that you’ve put your heart into Minnalis.」
「Yes, this country had many unique ingredients, so I hope you’ll enjoy it.」
The words came from her bright, smiling mouth without any strange feeling to them at all.
Just like she had prepared for me to ask about it.
「I guess you really are loved.」
「We both are by him, to a level that we should be envied.」
「I said this many times before, but once you grow you change. Even that Minnalis will.」
「No use, you know nothing about women, Dan. Right, Leone?」
「Yeah, you’re right.」
The other three spoke to each other, as I thought.
(…going to the library is probably a lie. But why would she lie?)
I didn’t know, maybe she knew I got in a fight with Ukei and was trying to avoid me?
No, if we was trying to avoid me she would have done it clearly.
「And because of that, I’m going to the library again, so please take care of Shuria for me.」
「Hmph! I told you to stop treating me like a kid!」
「Hee hee, so cute to see you angry, Shuria!」
「Eeep! Stop squeezing me in those big balls of meat of yours, Spinne!」
「Hee hee, please care for her, Spinne.」
She was wrapped up in Spinne’s body, and Minallis laughed at the struggling Shuria with her hands flailing everywhere, while finally she was released, laughed, and waved goodbye.
「Ah, Minnalis…」
「? What is it?」
「Ah, no… nothing. Do your best, okay?」
「Sure.」
Even though I called out to her I had nothing to continue with, and Minnalis simply left.
(What? All of you, what are you doing?)
My heart was covered in worries.
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After I broke off from Leone’s group to the library, I met one man.
He owed money to a friend, and was working daily in order to pay it off.
「Yes, your unhappiness is all his fault.」
「…ah, yeah. It’s all his fault. And because of it, I… 」
「I’ll help you get revenge. No need to hold back. He’s the bad one here.」
「All because of him I got stuck with this debt.」
Degeneration.
He looked at me hollowly mumbling and smiled.
「Yes, it’s because of Keril that you’re burdened like this. There are others that were hurt like you. Two days from now, I’ll call you to meet me.」
「…ah…I see…」
I watched him walk away in a trance.
Those eyes had a bitter black malevolence toward Keril, someone of no relation.
I watched him walk away with a sense of satisfaction, and laughed about it in the back-alleys.
(With this, everyone’s place was set. Leone had clearly begun to suspect something, but she was too late. Master would come back tonight. All the preparations would be ready tomorrow. Even if she noticed anything, it would be too late.)
The gears were already spinning in the air and soon, once more they would meet.
I took a blue crystal out of the tool bag.
This vision crystal contained a vision as a small tool of revenge.
With a little magic it would show your status on the half transparent screen.
『…don’t mess with me. I know you used that magic gaze with Keril.』
『Eeek! Wha, what are you saying? Putting my gaze on Keril??』
『Yes, and if so, never get close to him again. If you get revenge, like you usually do… Hey, my close friend Katrea uses that magic gaze with this country’s upper crust. I mean, you don’t even have to feign innocence, right?』
『What? What are…』
『I’ll tell you again, never again, get close to Keril, okay?』
『I, understand…』
There the image disappeared as I sighed and looked up.
I could see the blinking stars, a silver sky.
Even though I was used to the sight, I laughed silently.
「Soon, soon, I will meet you again.」
Keril, Lucia, and my village friends…
White, white, white.
That silver world, everything painted white.
Drown it under ice mixed with mud.
「Hey, if you saw me, I wonder what face you’d make?」
No one moving, no one coming, no one being able to touch me.
It was so silent it hurt my ears.
However, it was a world just silently covered in light snowfall.
「…everything covered, free to hate and hurt. I’ll paint it all over with white. Hee hee hee, Hee hee hee hah hah hah hah.」
My voice was unconsciously drowned out, as my breath painted the cold air and then disappeared.