Is It Spring After All? -1

How should I start this conversation? After contemplating for a while, I began.

“Kyukyu. What do you think about Kraken?”

“…He’s a bad villain. Always targeting Noah whenever he gets the chance, attacking her. When you first met, he even tried to kill her.”

Kyukyu’s voice dropped lower.

“…Come to think of it, that wasn’t long after I met you, Mr. Shin Hyun.”

“…”

“Was that your intention from the beginning? To get close to a magical girl to avoid suspicion while committing villainous acts?”

I interjected at Kyukyu’s words.

“I understand you’re flustered, but first, calm down.”

“…”

“Noah is also important to me—”

“A person you claim is important!”

“…”

“Would a person you claim is important do such things?”

It seemed like Kyukyu’s pent-up anger had finally burst out.

He’d been holding it in for quite a while.

From the moment he found out until now.

From when he discovered I was Kraken, until the moment I fed Noah and bought her ice cream.

He must have been anxious.

Worried that I might transform into Kraken and thrust my tentacles at her.

His anxiety and anger seemed to have burst like a dam breaking.

“Noah has been suffering!”

“…”

“From the wounds you inflicted, from the pain you cause! Even though she cried out of fear, to confront you—”

“Enough. Don’t raise your voice.”

I made my voice cold and stared at Kyukyu.

“But Kyukyu.”

“…”

“You’re quite brave, aren’t you?”

“…”

“You know, I could easily catch and kill you if I wanted. Are you really okay with being so angry?”

“…Kill me if you want. However, mascots and magical girls are connected.”

“Hmm?”

“If that happens, my final memory will be transmitted to the magical girl, and she’ll know who killed me.”

Kyukyu continued with an uncharacteristically sharp voice.

“…Noah would be thrilled, wouldn’t she? Finding out the person she trusted killed her friend.”

From what he just said, I could tell.

At least he knew it well enough to use that fact to threaten me.

That I genuinely care for Noah.

Perhaps that’s why he was even more confused.

I care for her but commit villainous acts and attack her? And not just playfully, but as if I really want to kill her? It would be difficult to understand with normal thinking.

After maintaining silence for a while, I let out a deep sigh.

“Kkomul-i, come out.”

As I clapped my hands, Kkomul-i, who had been hiding, crawled out. Seeing Kkomul-i, Kyukyu’s eyes widened.

“Who is this person?”

“Kkomul-i. That is… he’s like a mascot to me.”

“A mascot…”

Kyukyu stared at Kkomul-i for a while.

I found it amusing inside. A cute octopus and a cute sparrow.

I would have liked to take a photo, but given the situation, I restrained myself.

In that silence, the first to speak was Kkomul-i.

“Who is this white one?”

“…”

“Sigh, I was busy reading a book. I was at a really interesting part.”

“I’m sorry, Kkomul-i. Could you explain on my behalf?”

“Explain what?”

“What we’ve been doing for Noah.”

At that, Kkomul-i’s expression twisted.

“Haah… do I have to? Just imagining it makes me exhausted…”

“Please do it. You see that white bro over there, right?”

“B-bro? Mr. Kraken, suddenly talking like that is a bit…”

Kkomul-i looked at the flustered Kyukyu.

He patted the space beside him.

“First, sit down. We need to sit to have a conversation.”

“But… aren’t you Kraken’s comrade? How can I possibly trust you—”

“Hah, then don’t listen.”

Kkomul-i was oddly prickly.

Is having his reading flow interrupted really that infuriating?

“Damn… I was just at the part where the protagonist was using his tongue.”

“Kkomul-i…”

I told you to stop reading those perverted things.

“Hmph.”

He ignored my words and continued patting the floor.

“Kyukyu, right? Old man.”

“O-old man…”

“Sit down quickly, I’m about to tell you an awesome story.”

+++++

Like the bookworm he is, Kkomul-i continued with eloquent speech. Everything we had done so far was all for Noah, and it didn’t stop there.

“We seriously almost died, you know?”

“…Um.”

“Can’t you see how dark the circles under Shin Hyun’s eyes are? If he intended to do villainous things, why would he go through all this trouble?”

“That’s… to make Noah let her guard down so he could eliminate her in one go—”

“Oh come on! Why do you have to think so complicatedly? If he wanted to kill her, he would have just done it! Why not just say he raised her only to kill her later?”

He began listing every single thing we had done. The efforts we made for Noah and the sacrifices we endured.

…As I listened, I realized, we really did a lot.

“…Sigh… do you understand?”

“…”

“I’m asking if you understand. How much effort that human over there has put in for your master? How many times he’s risked his life?”

Kyukyu kept his mouth shut.

He had a thoughtful expression.

After finishing his contemplation, he raised his head and asked me a question.

“Then why do you treat Noah well, Mr. Shin Hyun?”

“That’s—”

“…Just a moment.”

Kyukyu interrupted my words, flapped his wings a few times, and sat back down.

“What did you just do?”

“Don’t worry about it and speak comfortably. Just try to avoid mentioning things like being a villain.”

What a bland character.

Anyway, since he’s set the stage, I have no reason not to speak.

“…Hmm… why I treat Noah well…”

That was simple.

“Because I like her.”

“…Because you like her…?”

“Yes, I really like diligent people. I still remember the day I first met her.”

Back when I hadn’t been transmigrated into this world for long.

The first windmill monster I encountered. And the magical girl Iris, Noah, who confronted it.

“Even though she was scared, she protected me and did her best to eliminate the monster. I might have been drawn to that.”

“…”

“And… well, not to brag, but I’m quite perceptive. When I saw Noah come to the convenience store, I knew the kid wasn’t in a good situation.”

And that prediction was correct.

Noah was in a lonely situation without parents.

“At first, it was just sympathy. Noah looked too pitiful to just leave alone.”

“Indeed, she seemed precarious back then.”

“Right. But it’s funny. She accepted my kindness and…”

I exhaled deeply.

“In my opinion, she seems to have reached the point of liking me.”

It’s something I never imagined.

To think Noah would come to like me.

I merely showed kindness, but it must have meant a lot to someone as lonely as her.

Kyukyu made a surprised sound at my words.

“You knew?”

“Yes, I know everything. Kyukyu, I’m not a fool. I told you I’m quite perceptive.”

And.

“She shows her affection so openly, only an idiot wouldn’t notice.”

How could I not know?

The way she cutely blushes whenever she sees me.

The way she begs for warmth when I pat her head.

Hearing my words, Kyukyu took a breath.

Even Kkomul-i, who said he was going to read, crawled back out.

Soon, Kyukyu spoke.

“Do you like Noah, Mr. Shin Hyun?”

“…”

“What I’m asking is not about ‘like’ but whether you have feelings of ‘love’.”

You’re being quite direct, Kyukyu.

Though both are forms of “liking,” there’s a big difference between the two words.

Probably, the responsibility of “love” is much heavier.

‘Which one am I closer to?’

I closed my eyes for a moment and thought.

What is Noah to me?

A once-stray cat, a close little sister, a magical girl I need to protect.

And now, someone I’d feel empty without, someone I want by my side.

Seeing her cute smile makes me smile.

Patting her head brings me peace.

When she’s happy, I’m happy too.

I wish for Noah’s happiness, even if I suffer.

In the end, I hope she’s happy.

And if possible, I hope we can be happy together.

So to sum up this feeling.

“…I might still be closer to ‘like’.”

“…I see?”

Kyukyu’s voice tone lowered slightly.

As if wanting my sincerity, he added a question.

“What do you mean by ‘still’?”

“Because the future is uncertain.”

I continued.

“Noah is so kind and cute. Diligent and cool too. If someone like that says they like me and sticks to me, it’d be strange not to like them back.”

“…”

“Well, I know. Noah is still a high school student. She needs to see more of the world and experience more things. She should meet more people too.”

And after time passes, when Noah has experienced enough of the world.

“If by then she still likes someone like me, I’m more than willing to reciprocate.”

“…”

“I really like her too, you know.”

“…I see.”

“Well, that’s something for after she becomes an adult. Absolutely not now.”

The moment I uttered those words.

Bang!

There was a sound of something falling outside the door, and soon the sound of a door opening and closing.

Probably the room on the left.

And that room is…

‘Isn’t that Noah and Taehwa’s room…?’

A chill ran down my spine at the thought.

No way, it couldn’t be.

“Kyukyu, I’m just asking out of curiosity…”

“Yes.”

“You didn’t send our conversation telepathically, did you?”

“No, I did not send it.”

“Phew… that’s a relief—”

“The content of our conversation, I did not send.”

What?

“However, I did mention that if one were to listen at your door, they might hear an interesting story.”

You bird bastard.

“Don’t worry. I didn’t call her when we were talking about villain matters. However…”

“However…”

“From the question of why you treat Noah well… she must have definitely heard from that point.”

It felt like the sky was falling.

Then… she must have heard everything about me liking her too…!

Kyukyu saw my flustered expression.

His voice and tone returned to normal.

“Kyu~kyukyukyukyu…”

“Hey Kyukyu, you!”

“I’m a mascot who prioritizes my master’s happiness.”

“…Haah… I’m the fool for falling for it…”

This is a disaster…

+++++

“Noah, what’s wrong?”

“…”

“Noah?”

Having hurriedly returned to her room, Noah covered herself with the blanket and slowly recalled.

‘I really like her too, you know.’

The reality she had heard, which seemed too unbelievable.

“Uuugh… Taehwa…”

“Yes?”

“What should I do…?”

“Why?”

“Mister just confessed to me…!”