episode_0109

“Right now, Stay seems to be very angry with us, so let’s wait until Stay’s anger subsides before attempting to have a conversation.”

With that, they concluded their conversation and left ‘Stay this place’ where Stay was. Each of them returned to their respective places without stealthily stalking Stay as they used to. The reason they did not stalk Stay and simply returned to their places was because stalking was actually more difficult.

A month ago, Mir Ryuin and Mei Luina, who did not know what it was like to spend daily life with Stay, had already become familiar with Stay’s daily life. They had discovered the joy of spending time in the same space as Stay, and stalking him was no longer satisfying for them.

If they had started stalking him, their patience would have run out in less than a day, and they would have ended up rushing towards him and being easily subdued. Therefore, they chose to return to their original places where Stay was not visible, knowing that being away from Stay was necessary for a better reunion in the future.

As much as they missed him when he was visible, and as quickly as their patience would run out when they missed him, distancing themselves from Stay was an inevitable choice for a better reunion.

Of course, even for them, this was a very difficult choice. Just a month ago, Mir Ryuin and Mei Luina had only lived a week without Stay, but they couldn’t bear it and went to find him because they were addicted to him.

For them, choosing a life without Stay around, a life where Stay did not even come into sight, was extremely difficult. But even this difficult task was much easier compared to never being able to meet Stay again, and unlike a month ago, this time there was clearly an end to the waiting, so they decided to endure it. They could endure it.

And six months passed.

※

The 90th ‘Plant-Human Friendship Meeting’

The gathering of three S-class awakened individuals who had been cursed to become plant-humans under the curse of ‘Eternal Prison’ finally celebrated its glorious 90th meeting, held every two days.

Without any special incidents, without any problems, having already held 90 meetings was definitely an occasion for participants to congratulate each other and exchange greetings with laughter.

“······.”

“······.”

“······.”

Unfortunately, perhaps naturally, such light-hearted and jovial atmosphere did not flow.

Despite reaching the 90th meeting of the friendship gathering, not a single participant was laughing, and the reason was simple.

“Dain Adamas, what were you doing yesterday？ Where were you that you disappeared for a whopping 1 hour and 30 minutes?”

“I didn’t do anything. I just slept at home. Do I have to be suspected just for staying at home?”

“Dain Adamas, you are a prominent figure among our members. A time bomb that could go off at any moment. As the chairman, it’s only natural that you should manage it meticulously, right?”

This gathering was called a friendship meeting, but in reality, it was created for members to monitor and control each other.

Although physical conflicts did not occur, the countless power struggles, manipulations, and fights that took place within were as brutal as a real battlefield, if not more so. The fact that eyes were lit up and suspicions were raised so fiercely over a mere 1 hour and 30 minutes of lost contact showed that the usual atmosphere of this meeting needed no further explanation.

“Mir Ryuin is right. I am the chairman of this meeting, and Dain Adamas is just an ordinary member. Show respect for the chairman, ordinary member.”

“Yes, that’s right. Dain Adamas, listen to what Mei Luina and Mir Ryuin are saying and cooperate with the investigation sincerely. You are still innocent. If there is even a slight hint of guilt, don’t leave a single stone unturned and reveal everything.”

＂······Ha.”

In the midst of the tense atmosphere of the gathering, Da-in Adamas, who had unintentionally become the culprit after falling asleep at home for a short while, felt his irritation rising to the extreme.

“These people are unbelievable! Why are they picking a fight with innocent people after getting caught by Stay for their mischief？”

Unable to hold back, he vented his frustration.

The people in front of Da-in Adamas were ones who didn’t need to be cautious, which is why he didn’t hesitate to express his annoyance.

“I raised my voice, so they’ll start again. This time, I have to see it through. I can’t afford to lose to these people in front of me.”

Expecting the usual exchange of insults, Da-in Adamas waited for the opportunity to strike back against his anger.

“······.”

“······.”

“······?”

However, contrary to Da-in Adamas’ expectations, there was not even a hint of complaint or argument in the meeting room of the ‘Plant-Human Friendship Society’, only a heavy silence prevailed.

Taken aback by the unexpected reaction, Da-in Adamas briefly forgot that the people in front of him were ones who didn’t need to be cautious and began to reflect on whether he had said something wrong.

The atmosphere was so heavy that it made Da-in Adamas unconsciously look for signs of discomfort.

And before long, Da-in Adamas realized his mistake.

“······Ah.”

“I brought up that day.”

The traumatic and horrifying events of that day, where Mir Ryuin and Mei Luina were abandoned by Stay with insults, had become even more significant and weighty over the past six months, to the point where it was forbidden to even mention it.

The forbidden act of bringing it up would lead to mutual destruction of beliefs, that was the day’s significance, and the memory of that day had matured over the past six months, increasing its destructive power.

And now, about three months ago, Da-in Adamas brought up the day that had been designated as an absolute taboo since the ‘Mei Luina Disaster’ incident at the 45th gathering.

“You too. You heard Stay say that he doesn’t treat people like people, so how can I like people like you?”

“You thought you were different from us, but as soon as you entered, you made Stay uncomfortable, destroyed the store that Stay values more than life, and then got kicked out for being unbearable. You have a lot to say, Da-in Adamas.”

“K-Kuh! I-I can’t believe this… Is that how it’s going to be? You want to try me?!”

In the end, another disaster, like the ‘Mei Luina Disaster’ that left each other with deep wounds, was bound to happen.

※

“Hu, hu… Huuuh… Stay… They’re tormenting me… Help me…”

“Uh, hu… Sniff… Stay… I miss you… I want to be with you, not these mentally unstable women…”

＂Ugh, ugh. Huhuhu… Ah, ah. No, no. Stay wouldn’t think of me like that. After all, all the memories from that day have been perfectly preserved through magic. I haven’t been able to bring myself to watch those memories again because it’s too scary, but anyway, Stay doesn’t hate me that much. So all those things they say are just baseless nonsense. When I go see them next time, they’ll definitely greet me with a smile. So just a little longer, just a little more patience. They say patience pays off with sweet rewards. Yeah. So the idea that Stay hates me so much they never want to see me again is definitely not true, it’s a lie… a lie…”

In the end, the three S-class awakened individuals who once again achieved mutual contradiction destruction called out Stay’s name endlessly in their respective corners.

These three losers had spent a whopping six months unable to muster the courage to go see Stay, gathering in this gloomy place, only restraining each other meaninglessly and inflicting wounds upon themselves.

But even that came to an end today.

“Uh, ugh… I-I can’t do this anymore. I don’t think I can take it. I miss Mr. Stay so much…”

Ultimately, today’s events led to someone breaking down.

“I-I can’t do it anymore either. This isn’t living. This isn’t life…”

“Rather than groaning like this until death… Yeah, that’s right.”

The atmosphere of a group is like dominoes, once it starts to collapse, it can’t be stopped by individual efforts.

Especially in a group created under such special circumstances.

And so, like dominoes, the three individuals reached their limit of patience and, after a long six months, headed towards ‘Stay this place’ to finally meet Stay.

“…”

“…”

“…”

And they saw.

“Boss, boss! Please try this once! It’s a homemade cookie!”

“Oh, a chocolate cookie？ Thank you, I’ll enjoy it.”

Stay, wearing the same apron, laughing and enjoying everyday life with the woman next to them.