episode_0042

There is a saying, “crocodile tears.”

It is said that when crocodiles see people, they catch them and eat them, and shed tears for the victims. Tears they shed for those they catch and eat.

“I… I mean. Leehan… Yes, because I miss you so much.”

The reason I thought of those words while looking at Claire’s tears must be because those tears didn’t reach me.

It is said that crocodiles shed tears when they eat real food.

Is it true that the nerves that move the mouth and the nerves that shed tears are located together?

So, whenever I do the creative work, tears just flow out of my eyes.

“Oh my. I’m glad I could meet you. Oh, no. Thank you for meeting me.”

Claire burst into tears as if she couldn’t hold back her tears.

It was tears that were not like hers.

In all the ten years I’ve been with Claire, I’ve never seen her cry this much.

Claire was always cool, forward-looking, and calculating.

But now she was lying down in exhaustion.

All of those sharp teeth were lost.

‘Crocodile tears.’

So Claire’s tears are not crocodile tears.

If she had cried when she killed Lee Han, when Claire’s teeth were still sharp, those would have been crocodile tears.

But I guess I laughed at that time.

After Lee Han died, he ascended to the position of hero and had the opportunity to explosively grow the upper class.

I would have been happy.

Rather, the joy was one that Lloyd could understand: the joy of having his politics succeed and getting what he wanted.

And only after all her teeth were dull did Claire start crying.

‘It’s hard to understand.’

Lloyd opened his mouth coldly.

“Claire.”

“This… This is Lee Han.”

“I don’t use that name anymore.”

“Then…?”

“Lloyd. That’s my name.”

“But. But. I’ve been calling him Lee Han… Hehe.”

“That must have been it.”

It’s all in the past.

There was even one death in between.

Lloyd was acting and Claire was talking nonsense.

“This, you know. This tea reminds me of the time when you used to drink it. When I couldn’t sleep every night at the warrior party, you used to drink it for me. So, the moment I drank it, even though his appearance had changed, I could tell it was you. It was the taste of tea I missed.”

“Was it?”

“Yeah. I couldn’t say anything, but I really liked this car.”

Claire sipped her teacup.

Evening primrose, a flower that grows only in the grasslands of the continent.

It has the effect of calming the mind and body and relieving tension.

Whenever the members of the warrior party were anxious, this tea was always there to comfort them.

“If only you guys were in even a little bit better condition.”

“… Really. Lee Han, you always took good care of us.”

“Because conquering the Demon King doesn’t require only skill. Condition, mood, confidence. Everything was important.”

“Yeah. Everyone knew about your efforts.”

From strategies to defeat the Demon King to caring for his teammates, Lloyd truly took charge of everything and led the warrior party.

Lloyd, recalling the past, opened his mouth nonchalantly.

“Well, I have no regrets. Thanks to that, I was able to defeat the Demon King. Even though the results were a mess.”

“That, that’s… that’s…”

Claire’s lips trembled.

Lloyd took another sip of tea.

After all, it’s moonflower tea. It instantly calms the mind.

I don’t regret taking care of them like that.

Because these are things that absolutely had to be done in order to defeat the Demon King.

I just feel sorry for trusting people too much.

That was the extent of the impression. At least until now.

“This…this.”

Claire, who had been hesitating, carefully opens her mouth.

Even though her name has changed, it’s typical of Claire that she still calls herself whatever she wants to be called.

I guess it’s hard to roll off the tongue since I’ve been calling myself that since I was little.

“I, I… I’m sick.”

“Really?”

“Yeah. The doctor said it’s an incurable disease called hypersensitivity.”

It’s mana hypersensitivity.

It was a disease I had vaguely heard of.

“It would be important to find a target that stabilizes mana.”

Lloyd listed the facts he knew.

But Claire seemed to mistake that for worry.

His expression brightened, and he opened his mouth as if he had regained some of his forgotten confidence.

“Right. That’s what I thought I found.”

“I see? Congratulations.”

Lloyd’s calm answer.

Claire asked, somewhat embarrassed.

“What, aren’t you going to ask what it is?”

“Claire. You take care of yourself. We’re not in the same party anymore. We’re not even friends.”

“Ah……”

Claire’s gaze was once again fixed on the table, as if her previous feeling of confidence had been an illusion.

“Uh… Yeah. No. But…”

Gulp.

Claire swallowed hard, as if making a pledge.

Then he raised his head and looked this way.

“That’s it, I think it’s you. The reason I was stable all this time. The reason I didn’t know I had mana hypersensitivity. And the times I broke up with you. When you think about it all, the answer is one in the end.”

The gaze falls once again.

Both confidence and sharpness melt away.

The one biting his lip with his head down was not the Claire Lloyd knew, but a toothless crocodile.

“Lee… Lee Han. Mana calms down when I’m by your side. I… I didn’t know that. I just didn’t know anything. I think I stupidly took your presence for granted. I really stupidly took my luck for granted. ”

That makes sense.

Mana hypersensitivity is a congenital disease.

The reason why no symptoms appeared during that time was probably because she was always by his side.

It had been several years since Lloyd’s own death, enough time for his symptoms to worsen.

Claire muttered as if she was repenting.

“That’s right. I think I took you for granted. You were always there for me. You helped me when I was having a hard time, gave me advice, and took care of the difficult things for me. I always thought I was smart, but it wasn’t because you were there. But I didn’t know that and foolishly thought of myself as being smart… Really, foolish. I was the one who was stupid.”

Crunch.

Her clenched fist began to turn pale.

Still, Claire did not give up.

Her hands were so pale that they were beginning to tremble.

His lower lip, which he had bitten as if holding something back, was already dripping with blood, wetting the table.

I hope the water doesn’t get wet.

As she was thinking about that, Claire barely managed to open her mouth.

“Mi, I’m sorry, Lee Han. It was my fault. I’m sorry for acting like an idiot. I’m sorry for not understanding your true feelings. I’m sorry for not looking after you more. I’m really sorry for everything…”

Thud.

Tears spread across the already fallen drops of blood.

“I’m sorry.. I’m really sorry.”

Claire just kept repeating those words like a broken machine.

And the shaking shoulders.

Even the stuck hair.

If it had been the old warrior party, they would have comforted her by wrapping their arms around her shoulders.

Now, for some reason, she just looked like a robot or a mannequin.

Nothing comes out of the comfort.

“Wipe it.”

Lloyd handed her a handkerchief.

And I also cleaned the table that was getting stained.

Still, Claire couldn’t control her emotions, but it didn’t come across.

Rather, only the purpose of her visit remains.

“Anyway, since you came here to ask me to do a favor, I guess it’s time to calm your mana hypersensitivity?”

An extremely businesslike tone of speech.

Claire raised her head, shedding tears like chicken poop.

“Ah… No. That’s not it…”

“Then why did you come to see me? You must have come to see me for some purpose. For the benefit you need to take care of.”

“I, I really missed you. I’m not just saying that. I, really.”

“Hmm.”

Lloyd knocked on the table.

“I’m sorry, but I don’t really want to see you.”

“Huh… huh!”

Claire’s expression suddenly collapsed.

Lloyd wasn’t particularly convinced by her appearance.

“And I thought you would be too. Claire, you’re a smart girl.”

“No. I’m stupid…”

“Listen carefully, Claire. I’m not asking because I have something on my mind, I’m just asking because I’m curious. When you were putting me on the death row, didn’t you calculate and predict enough? What would the future hold?”

“That… That’s…”

Claire’s tears dried.

I couldn’t tell if it was because I had shed so many tears or because my head was spinning, but it didn’t matter.

Because, honestly, I was disappointed.

“Claire. I hoped you were still smart enough to come to me. If you had the cool-headedness to get rid of me, you should have gone ahead with it.”

“No, no… Lee Han, please…”

“I think that from that moment on, our relationship was on a calculator. So I was thinking of accepting you whenever you came. If you benefited from the calculations I was making.”

“No. I didn’t want to calculate, I wanted to apologize… I mean, I wanted to apologize for my mistake.”

“Claire. When I asked you to reconsider, where did you go, the arrogant you? Were you really this kind of person? To the point where you would cling to the person who killed you just because you were sick? ”

“That… That’s it!”

Claire is trembling.

Tears once again poured from her eyes as she looked at Lee Han earnestly.

It was a pity.

For Claire, who is so emotional, Claire who seems to have lost all her intelligence, there is no merit that can be gained.

only.

The timing for the attack on the Seven Deadly Sins was enough for Claire to just tell her that.

“But this is…”

Lloyd sighed as he looked at Claire, who was still looking up at him with vain hope.

“Go back, Claire. I have nothing to offer you.”