episode_0419

This man was bold because he knew well why people insulted his lover.

It’s hard not to sympathize.

He couldn’t help but feel that he wanted to separate from her, having obtained evidence that even her lover was insufficient.

However, sadly, there was no one else for her.

So now was the time not to be angry or deny, but to accept and acknowledge.

“Just admit it and give up. It was a tree you couldn’t climb in the first place.”

“!!”

And he probably wanted to fill that void himself.

When one acts so conspicuously, it’s hard not to notice.

The man, who had been bold out of frustration, seemed surprised by his own words, his eyes widening.

“To be honest, it’s embarrassing to see you act emotionally right now.”

“……”

“It’s too obvious and embarrassing.”

“!!!”

Those who harbor different feelings towards the Holy Maiden are not limited to just that man.

In truth, it’s not easy to follow her without personal motives.

Who can resist her charm?

He felt the same way, unable to openly show his feelings like that man.

“Sigh!”

The passionate hearts of the two men, who hadn’t even confessed, were crying.

※ ※ ※

“Damon!”

Damon returned after hastily being dispatched (?) due to an urgent matter.

It was fortunate that he was back; otherwise, delivering a letter to someone other than Damon would have taken over a week.

With Damon, a round trip would only take two days, which was convenient.

-What’s with the warm welcome?

“You worked hard. I appreciate that.”

I didn’t know what task he had undertaken, but since he had worked diligently, it was nice to see him after a long time.

“I’m hungry! Give me food. I don’t know how many days it’s been since I last ate. You owe me all the meals I missed.”

It was somewhat cute how Damon demanded food despite fulfilling his duties.

If he works hard and asks for food, there’s no reason to refuse, right?

“I’ll give you some, come here.”

When I went into the contaminated area to rescue the punitive force, I had brought back a lot of strength from Damon.

Perhaps my quick agreement was strange, as Damon hesitated to come when called.

-What’s wrong? Why do you sound so mushy?

“I said eat quickly. I went into the contaminated area to rescue the punitive force and brought back fresh supplies.”

-Gasp!

At the mention of fresh supplies, Damon couldn’t resist and flew to my forearm.

Without hesitation, Damon swallowed the strength I offered, continuously drawing power from me.

“Alright, that’s enough.”

-Gulp!

Usually, when told to stop, he wouldn’t eat much more, but this time, he seemed truly satisfied, making contented sounds and laughing gleefully.

“I haven’t slept for days. I’ll sleep all day!”

It seemed like Damon’s plan was to lie down on a soft cushion and sleep deeply since his stomach was full.

But I grabbed the legs of the creature trying to fly away.

-Ack! Let go of me!!! Evil master! Boss, help me!!

Seeing Damon strike me mercilessly with his wings, I wondered what exactly I had asked him to do.

Seeing him react so negatively, it must have been really tough…

“Alright. Rest today, come back tomorrow. Is that okay?”

-As much food as you gave me just now, give me the same amount again!

As I stepped back, Damon boldly made a deal.

“If it’s not too difficult, I can give you a third of what you had before.”

-Then, half! I’ll just rest below that!

“Fine.”

“Ugh! It’s really tough.”

“…Alright. Deal.”

“Let’s go! Don’t hold onto me now. I won’t show up until tomorrow!”

The demon who sealed the deal seemed worried that things would get more complicated, so he disappeared in a flash.

It was urgent, but what could be done?

It made no sense to consider other options when leaving it to the demon for spreading the news was much faster than assigning someone else.

“Let’s start preparing first.”

To avoid staying up all night with bloodshot eyes, I suggested having a drink impulsively, thinking it might help.

Normally, at times like this, there was no friend as helpful as alcohol.

※ ※ ※

I prepared some snacks and selected sweet drinks that women would like, then went to call Negi.

And I discovered something quite surprising.

In that short time, Negi had vanished without a trace.

Of course, catching her was not difficult.

Considering the physical abilities of an awakened being, there was no reason she couldn’t be caught even if she tried to escape.

“I’m truly amazed. I didn’t expect you to just disappear without taking anything.”

At least I thought she would take the bare minimum with her.

But it seemed she had planned to escape without leaving a trace, as she only took the clothes she was wearing.

“I really didn’t expect you to come catch me.”

Negi frowned as if she were angry.

“Of course, I had to come catch you. What will happen to the store if you run away? Without Negi, our general store will fail.”

Although I had been running it for a year, there had never been so many customers.

But since Negi became an employee, the number of customers increased so much that I couldn’t handle it alone.

“Don’t lie. You’ve been doing fine without me all this time.”

“Back then, there were no customers, so I could do as I pleased.”

“Are you saying something nonsensical again? It doesn’t make sense.”

When I joked that we had no customers at our general store, she absolutely didn’t believe it.

“You mentioned having a drink earlier. Are you really thoughtless?”

“…I’ll just rest in my room.”

“And then sneak away secretly?”

“I won’t sneak away.”

“I don’t believe you. Stay with me. Having a drink might ease your troubled mind.”

Despite Negi’s reluctance, I dragged her along.

Though the dishes were hastily prepared, they were mainly ones Negi liked.

“Have a snack. It’s not good to drink on an empty stomach.”

“I’m not really hungry.”

“It’s for your health.”

I picked up a piece of food with a fork and offered it to her, and with a small sigh, she put it in her mouth.

Crunch!

“…”

As Negi chewed on the fried chicken, a crispy sound filled the air.

No matter how troubled she was, she couldn’t deny that the food tasted good.

Crunch, crunch, crunch…

While she ate the chicken, I poured more drinks into our glasses.

Then, hesitatingly, I placed a glass in front of her, and after some deliberation, Negi finally drank the alcohol.

I also drank along with her.

Gulp, gulp, gulp!

If my heart was sore, I downed all the alcohol in one shot.

“How is it?”

“It’s sweet.”

I prepared strong alcohol to ensure she would get drunk quickly.

Until I could bring Fran, I couldn’t let her leave this place, so it was unavoidable.

“One more drink?”

“…Yes.”

Usually, the first is difficult, but the second is easier.

Realizing that alcohol’s warmth eased the complexity in her mind, Negi readily accepted the next drink.

Throughout our drinking session, we didn’t speak a word.

Inviting her to drink wasn’t about having a conversation.

Even though neither of us spoke, we felt no discomfort.

We simply focused on drinking.

“Hoo…”

As time passed, Negi’s face turned red from the alcohol, and her body swayed.

“Boss.”

When Negi was completely drunk, she called out to me.

“Yes.”

“Does she resemble me that much?”

Due to the alcohol causing her tongue to twist, she asked a question she had wanted to for a long time with imprecise pronunciation.

Her first question about her daughter was whether she resembled her a lot.

“Yes, she resembles you a lot. It’s obvious to anyone that the two of you share a bloodline connection.”

“I’ve imagined a lot about how my daughter must have grown up. How much has she grown, and how much of her childhood appearance remains…”

“If you see the resemblance, just think of your younger self, wouldn’t that work?”

“She has really grown well. It may sound strange to say this, but I am quite confident in my looks. Since you say she resembles you, she must be beautiful.”

Negeesi chuckled at her words.

“Yes, that’s right.”

“You have a good ability, right? Being called a saint is quite remarkable.”

“Yes, it is remarkable. There are many people who admire Franck. It hasn’t been long since I enlisted in the military, but I already have followers.”

How curious she must have been about Franck all this time?

She must have been holding back, wanting to ask in detail.

It was the alcohol that made her unable to hold back and blurt out what she did.

Unintentionally, the ‘alcohol’ that blurted out seemed to be well received in an unexpected way.

“Do you know how life was in the sect?”

“I don’t know everything, but I know to some extent.”

“Could you tell me?”

“Of course.”

I rambled on from when I first met Franck to how we ended up in this relationship by chance.

Without mentioning that Franck was about to make a bad choice, I turned it around and said I almost had a bad experience.

After becoming the leader, saving the persecuted members of the cult, Negeesi teared up at the mention.

“You’re so amazing. Even if it wasn’t the right thing to do growing up in the sect, it wouldn’t have been easy to decide…”

Although she had tears in her eyes from drinking, Negeesi felt she needed to hear about Franck and was staring intently.

“In fact, Franck was not ordinary from a young age. I came home tired from work, but when I hugged the child waiting for me at home, all my fatigue vanished. I thought it was because I loved the child.”

At that time, it was something she passed over without much thought, but how would she feel later when she realized it wasn’t just that?

Especially when she was in a situation where she could no longer meet the child.

“After parting ways with the child and being left alone, I regretted the past a lot. If this was going to happen anyway, I wish I had made more memories with the child. The child who couldn’t control their own body and didn’t know what was what ended up fixing me… I feel so sorry…”

Negeesi burst into tears uncontrollably.

The burden of guilt buried in her heart seemed to make watching Negeesi cry so painfully just by observing her.