episode_0055

“Guys, should we go to sleep?”

“Yes!”

I nodded to Amy’s words.

The new dinosaur pajamas made me lose sleep, but the soft texture of the pajamas that wrapped my whole body warmly brought me back to sleep in no time.

Shine seemed to like the dinosaur tail, lying down and wagging it.

“Cool.”

Has Shine also discovered the charm of dinosaurs?

The dinosaur tail that had been spinning around stopped moving the moment Shine fell asleep.

The next morning, Shine and I headed to the restaurant in our dinosaur pajamas.

Because I wanted to show off these cool dinosaur pajamas to Lane.

As soon as I entered the restaurant, I looked around the interior.

But the anticipated meeting did not happen.

“There’s no rain.”

Amy patted my head and said as I muttered in a strangely weak voice.

“Rain will be busy too.”

I nodded as I looked around the restaurant, which looked quieter than usual.

After finishing my meal with the tonkatsu set meal as usual, I headed to the gym where Victor was.

“Hello!”

I opened the gym door and walked in, shouting loudly.

Victor, as always, was sitting at a small desk a short distance from the door.

He was organizing his documents when he saw me and his eyebrows furrowed.

“Uh… Hello?”

His bewildered appearance.

I ran up to Victor and took the dinosaur rock out of my pocket.

“Look at this, Victor!”

“Uh… .”

His trembling gaze is lifted up to my hand.

I started moving the dinosaur rocks around so he could get a better look.

“How is it?”

“What do you think?”

“Don’t you feel something?”

I asked Victor with anticipation.

He touched his chin and answered cautiously.

“Cool… . Is it there?”

“Wow!”

I cheered at Victor’s words.

No one had ever told him how cool this dinosaur was, so it seemed that only Victor knew how cool it was.

“Jeff.”

As I was excitedly stomping my feet, Shine grabbed my arm while wearing the dinosaur hood.

“Huh?”

“Let’s get started.”

“Ah. Okay, I will do that.”

I nodded to Shine and put the dinosaur rock in my pocket.

Small chairs near Victor’s desk.

My and Shine’s reserved seats.

I sat down on the chair and began to train my ability control.

When did the same thing happen to me?

But no progress is made.

My ability to control myself had reached a certain level, but I was always stuck in the same place, unable to move forward.

Victor told me that I could get better if I practiced harder, but I thought that was the limit of my talent.

“Victor.”

Is that because I’m thinking that way?

During the control training, I started talking to Victor more often.

“Why?”

“Isn’t Victor going on vacation?”

“Yeah.”

Victor answered my questions briefly without being bothered.

“Victor doesn’t do anything?”

Shine’s questions sometimes got on Victor’s nerves.

It’s still like that now.

Victor’s right eyebrow twitches as he hears Shine’s question.

“I’m working.”

Shine didn’t even listen to Victor’s answer.

He just sat on a chair and swung his tail around.

Shine’s attitude seemed strangely sad.

I fidgeted with my fingers as I watched her and Victor.

I feel like I’m facing a bomb about to explode.

“It’s not fun.”

Shine immediately got up from her seat and walked to the back.

It seemed like he was going to pick up a ball for a game.

As I was observing Victor’s expression on her appearance, I turned around at the sensation I felt on my buttocks.

“Jeff. Let’s go.”

“Oops… .”

The identity of the subtle sensation was Shine.

A dinosaur’s tail flowing out between the chairs it was sitting on.

Shine was pulling at it gently.

“Then let’s stop training here for today.”

Victor glanced in our direction and said that as he began to organize the documents.

I also stood up, agreeing with his opinion.

Because wasting any more time wouldn’t have made things any better.

“Are you attending the event too?”

Then, as if a memory had suddenly occurred to him, Victor asked us a question.

“Event venue?”

When I looked back at him with a puzzled look, he answered.

“Didn’t you hear from Amy?”

I scanned the entire gym looking for Amy at Victor’s words.

In the corner of the gym, a familiar pink thread swayed slowly.

Bang! Bang!

Every time Amy’s fist cut through the air, a burst of air could be heard.

Amy looks somehow busy.

I shook my head at Victor and said,

“I didn’t hear it.”

“Then that means you won’t attend.”

“Attend?”

“Ask Amy for more details. She must have thought about it since she didn’t explain it to you guys.”

I nodded to Victor’s words.

I wanted to ask Amy more about the holiday events, but I didn’t want to interrupt her, who seemed so focused on her training.

Before that, there was a ball game first.

I ran to Shine, who was waiting from afar, and started playing ball.

The ball that bounced around often flew in unexpected directions.

At times like that, I would pull up my power and generate a weak static electricity.

The ball, which had been bouncing as if it was going to fly far away, turned in a subtle direction and fell down.

A blue light flickers at the tip of the ball and then disappears.

The control method Victor taught me changed the way I use my abilities to great effect.

It’s not like the training had no results at all.

I picked up the ball that had fallen on the floor and threw it at Shine.

A rubber ball that flies while bouncing.

Shine ran forward and snatched my ball.

It looked like a dinosaur hunting for prey.

Actually, it did look like that because he was wearing a dinosaur hood over his head.

“What? It’s over already?”

As we were passing the ball back and forth between Shine and Amy, who had finished training, asked us while drinking water.

When did we get so close?

I looked up at her with the ball in my hand and nodded in response.

“Yes.”

“Then shall we go back?”

At Amy’s words, I looked back at Shine.

When I looked at her as if asking what she thought, she nodded obediently.

“I’ll be back.”

I put the ball on the floor and followed Amy’s side.

“Amy. Is the year-end event held at a separate venue?”

“Huh? Right? But who did you hear that from?”

“Victor told me.”

“Umm… .”

Amy crumpled up the empty water bottle with a subtle expression on her face.

The plastic bottle, which had been flattened in an instant, ended up in Amy’s pocket.

“Why didn’t you tell me?”

I grabbed Amy’s hand and asked.

Why didn’t you tell me?

I knew that the reason I had been so busy was because of the year-end events, but I felt a little disappointed because of the sense of alienation I couldn’t explain.

“We were going to do it separately.”

Amy looked down at me and Shine and answered.

For some reason, the tips of my ears perked up at the unexpected answer.

Could it be because I was running around playing ball?

My body felt hot and I felt like it was hot here.

“Just us?”

“Yeah. Rain and Shine and Jeff and Victor and me.”

Shine glared at Victor at Amy’s words.

Shine’s gaze continues for a long time.

Victor raised his head and looked at us, perhaps sensing Shine’s gaze.

“Are you leaving already?”

“Yeah. I’m busy.”

“Then fall down.”

Amy paused for a moment.

She started a brief conversation with Victor.

“I don’t like it.”

Shine, who had been staring at Victor for a long time, muttered quietly.

I glanced up at Amy and slowly approached Shine.

Amy and Victor’s conversation didn’t seem like it would end easily.

“Shine. Why do you hate Victor so much?”

I asked, caressing Shine’s cheek.

She turned her head away from my gaze and muttered in a small voice.

“I just hate it.”

“Shine. It’s not just like that. There must be a reason.”

I spoke carefully, as if I was soothing a whiny child.

She closed her eyes and rubbed her cheek against my hand, feeling good under my touch.

“Yeah. But I just don’t like it. You hit Jeff before.”

I answered with an awkward smile.

“That wasn’t a hit… . It was just… .”

“Just?”

“Just. It didn’t hurt.”

“Weren’t you sick?”

“Yeah.”

I was grateful that Shine cared about me, but I wish she didn’t hate Victor.

Victor is a good person.

It was certain that it would be of great help to me and Shine someday.

“So don’t hate me.”

At my words, Shine’s movements stop.

The closed eyes begin to slowly reveal themselves.

Empty gaze.

Empty eyes look at me.

The strong desire felt inside it felt sticky.

“Jeff.”

“Yeah.”

I avoided that burdensome gaze and approached Shine from behind and hugged her.

The fluffy horns that sprouted from the back of the pajamas were crushed.

“Okay.”

“Really?”

“Yeah. I don’t hate Victor anymore.”

Shine nodded obediently.

She looked at Victor in silence.

I pulled my body slightly to the side and looked into her eyes.

Okay.

There was no longer any hostility in her gaze.

I smiled and grabbed Shine’s cheek and stretched it.

The chewy glutinous rice cake stretches out.

“What are you doing?”

“I just like shine.”

“Me too Jeff.”

Shine and I looked at each other and laughed.

“Sorry. The conversation got a little long.”

Waiting for Amy with Shine, and having a sword fight with the dinosaur tail for a while.

After finishing her conversation with Victor, she said as if she was sorry.

Just before leaving the gym with Amy, Amy and I said goodbye to Victor.

And then Shine’s farewell speech.

“Goodbye Victor.”

Victor’s body stiffens at Shine’s unexpected greeting.

Shine never once said goodbye to Victor.

Victor didn’t respond for a while, perhaps feeling awkward at her changed appearance.

Shine raised her eyebrows at the sight and said.

“Aren’t you going to say hello to me?”

“Uh… . Okay… . Bye.”

Victor’s voice came out a little awkwardly.

He waved at Shine with a bewildered expression, as if he hadn’t expected to be greeted by her.

After I left the gym, I started asking Amy about the end-of-year events.

Now that I think about it, the explanation she gave me at first was very lacking.

She was reluctant to talk in depth about what she did.

To be precise, only in the things that we can get involved in.

“Amy. Who’s attending the year-end party?”

Maybe it’s because I heard Victor’s words.

I wanted to know more accurate information.

Why didn’t you tell us?

According to information obtained from conversation with Victor, there is a separate venue for the event.

I organized the information I got from Victor and what I had known so far and came up with my own theory.

With the end of the year approaching, most people are already on vacation.

So, the story was that, aside from the common people, the only people attending the event were people in high positions like Amy who didn’t go on vacation.

A person in a high position who we should not meet.

Jin or someone else.

Maybe everyone who participates there.

“Um… .”