Chapter 37 - Amy’s Sentiments (1/2)
Tsutomu walked around the large guild dormitory, checking each door for the number that the Deputy Guild Master had given him. Eventually finding the one he was looking for, he double-checked before ringing the bell.
“You’re LATE! Come on, let yourself in!”
Amy’s voice came from the other side; Tsutomu heard that as somewhat of a reproachful tone. With the assumption that she had already heard the story from the Deputy Guild Master, he pulled the doorknob — it wasn’t locked, so it didn’t take any effort to open. The apartment’s interior was roughly the same in structure as Garm’s, so Tsutomu went to wait in the living room for the time being.
“Took you long enough, Dini–“
Amy, wearing loose pyjamas, turned around with a smile as she put a cup on the table… and froze over when she saw Tsutomu here. She proceeded to back away, while also grabbing the empty cup that had been on the table beforehand.
“–Huh!? Tsutomu, why’re YOU here!?”
“Uh, well, I’d thought the Deputy Guild Master already told you what was up, so I figured I’d drop by… Sorry, is now a bad time?”
“G-gimme a second here!”
Hiding her slightly reddened face with her hands, Amy hurried out of the living room and into her bedroom. Tsutomu heard some cloth-crumpling noises; it seemed that she was in quite a rush to get dressed.
Tsutomu waited for a while; by the time he was getting tired of standing around, Amy came back in her adorable, age-appropriate casual clothes. She must still be feeling somewhat awkward, what with one of her hands being occupied with fixing her white bangs.
“Uh, so, you were expecting your friend? Maybe I should come again tomorrow instead.”
“…Eh, it’s fine — she likes taking her sweet time. Probably won’t be here for a while.”
Amy sat down opposite to where Tsutomu was standing, the look on her face suggesting that she had just remembered the appointment with her friend herself; seeing that, Tsutomu took the liberty of sitting himself down as well. Feeling some relief after walking and standing all day, Tsutomu sighed softly before proceeding with the conversation,
“It feels like so long since we last met.”
“…Yeah. It must have been just a week, though? Right?”
“Huh, that’s a lot shorter than I thought. Anyway — let’s just go straight to the main point. We’ll be having a talk with Solit Company some time soon, Amy. I’d like you to come along as well, so I’m here to ask about your schedule for the next few days.”
Not wanting to get in the way of Amy’s appointment with her friend, Tsutomu cut to the chase, intending to just ask for her free times and leave immediately. Amy, seeing that as him being in such a hurry to be done with her, and how he still sounded so formal to just her, felt as if she had salt rubbed over her wounds.
“You’re being all buddy-buddy with Garm and the Guild Master now, but still being so formal with me, I see. Yeah, right… I’m not in your party anymore, after all. The Guild Master must have filled the slot really well, huh?”
Amy mumbled the latter part in a low, muffled voice; Tsutomu couldn’t hear her, and ended up looking somewhat confused as a result..
“I don’t really know where you’re coming from, but if you want me to be ‘buddy-buddy,’ then I sure can. So, your plans?”
“…I’m always free. You know, technically off duty and all that.”
“I see. How about the evening after tomorrow, then? Is that a good time?”
“Like I said, I’m free. Anytime’s fine. Anyways–“
It was apparent from how Amy gave her answer that she didn’t care about that matter whatsoever. She folded her white cat ears backwards, looked around as if she couldn’t quite place her eyes on anything, and then quickly lowered her head.
“Look, Tsutomu… I’ve always wanted to apologize. I’m so sorry.”
“……”
“I just up and charged at the Solit Company, then got caught… and the blame somehow ended up being placed on you. I’m sorry that my recklessness got you involved, Tsutomu.”
“It’s all right.”
Amy raised her head and saw Tsutomu nodding to her; the serious look on his face suggested that he truly meant what he had said. Not the cold, lifeless stare that she had gotten back when they had gone fighting the Shell Crab, but not a look of excessive kindness, either. Amy looked down, resolving herself for whatever would come next.
“…You should be more angry. Go ahead — punch me, kick me, whatever. I’ll tell the Guild to get rid of our party contract, and refund all the fees, too. I’ll even resign from my Staff Member job if you want. If you never want to see me again, then I’ll go far away… and then… and then…”
“Listen, Amy…”
Tsutomu called for Amy to stop as she scrambled her thoughts for more and more things to say. Amy’s shoulders jerked up and she looked up at Tsutomu with a frightened look in her eyes; the latter painted himself a smile to try and reassure her.
“You’ve thought it over more than enough now, don’t you think? There’s no need to punish yourself anymore.”
“Wh– but why!? It was my fault that you were treated like a criminal! Of course I have to be punished for it!”
“Hey, don’t worry — it’s already been decided that the case with Solit Company’s article will be set straight. Besides, I don’t really feel like griping over the mistakes of someone four years younger than me, you know.”
“…Huh? Four years…?”
“I mean, you’re eighteen, right? I’ll be turning twenty-two this year.”
“WHAT!!?? You’re OLDER than ME!?”
“Yeah, I guess I look THAT young to some people, huh — Garm and Camille had just about the same comment. Not that I get told that very often, though.”
Hearing Amy’s reaction and seeing how her expression and tone had changed so suddenly, Tsutomu facepalmed, sounding somewhat disheartened. It took a while for Amy to recover from her cringe of surprise, after which she slammed her hands on the table and leaned forward.
“–Wait, that’s not the point!! I need something to be done to feel better! Come on, punch me! Hit me with all you’ve got!”
“Punching is a bit… Oh, right. The contract from before is still in effect, isn’t it? How ’bout I use that to my advantage now, hmm?”
“Eh- yeah! If it’s something I can do… j-just say the word!”
Amy insisted… with her teeth grit and her eyes closed. Seeing her shoulders tremble, Tsutomu pulled a wry smile as he leaned forward on the table. Amy, able to tell by sound that Tsutomu had started moving, tensed up and waited for whatever punch would hit her.
“Boom.”
And so Amy was hit… with a light flick on her forehead. So light, in fact, that she only blinked repeatedly out of surprise and confusion instead. Tsutomu, no longer leaning forward, looked her in the eyes and proceeded to say,