episode_0148

Chapter 6 Episode 4 – Not Friends

“……”

“……”

“……Isn’t it too far away?”

The road to the training ground. Leon’s face is still red and he is keeping his distance from me. If you actively bring it upon yourself, what are you going to do if you become even more embarrassed?

“If it’s that far away, you can’t respond in an emergency situation. Come closer.”

In the case of Vir, it is very fast and has excellent detection capabilities, so it is possible to respond quickly even if there is a considerable distance. However, since Leon is inferior to Vir in that respect, the distance must be close to perform well as a guard.

“……”

Leon hesitates and approaches little by little. What kind of courage did they have to attack me in the isolation room? It’s just amazing.

I was frustrated that he kept giggling, so I approached Leon myself. I roughly held his arm and led him, and although he hesitated, he followed obediently. When I touched it, it made a strange sound, but I guess it would be for both of us to pretend we didn’t hear it.

*

It didn’t take long to arrive at the training ground. This is because the isolation building where the isolation room is located and the security building where the security department-related facilities are located are quite close.

The security guards I occasionally met while walking down the street looked at me as if I was seeing a vision. As if I was facing something impossible. Maybe it’s because it’s not often that I stop by the security building.

Anyway, when I crossed the security building and arrived at the training ground, Alessia came out to meet me.

“Hello, Director. What did you come to the training ground for?”

Alessia greeted me with a polite attitude, but the problem was that she was not mentally prepared, and her pupils were shaking wildly.

“I came to see Kuen. Is Kuen here?”

“Ah, yes. there is. Shall I call the person in charge?”

“No, leave them alone. Because I’m just going to see your face for a moment.”

“Okay. I will guide you.”

I think I was overly nervous. I noticed that the walking distance was also awkward. Haven’t we seen each other quite often? Oh, most of the time, I was the only one who had built up inner intimacy because of Retry.

“Hey, it’s Kuen who is dealing with the training dummy.”

“Okay. Thank you.”

“Yes, yes!”

Alessia ran away after finishing her work. At this point, I wonder if he’s scared of me.

Alessia left, and I watched Kuen’s training for a while. The skill of going back and forth between the randomly spread training dummies at high speed and precisely cutting off only the tendons of the arms and legs was artistic, even to me who didn’t know much about combat.

Kuen, who was taking a moment to catch his breath after finishing one set, looked around and found me.

“Oh~. It’s Zeke—.”

Kuen approaches with a drowsy voice. The languid gait that makes you feel like you’re going to melt at any moment, and the sagging shoulders that make me feel weak just looking at them.

It did not feel at all that he was the same person who had instantly neutralized many of the training dolls just moments ago.

“At the training ground—. What’s going on—? Did you come to see me?”

“Uh. I came to see you.”

Kuen seemed slightly surprised, perhaps because the answer was unexpected. But he soon returned to his playful expression and poked my chest with his finger.

“Then, after a long time, shall we spend some time together?”

“No, I’ll be there soon.”

“Yabaghanee–.”

Kuen took a step closer to me and hugged my arm.

“Zeeku—. These days, toys are becoming scarce—.”

“Not enough? There are a lot of people in rehabilitation centers these days, so there won’t be a shortage, right?”

The Bureau’s Rehabilitation Center is a facility created to provide humans to heroines who require them at any time. Originally, there were so many heroines in need of humans that they always suffered from a shortage of human resources.

However, Ariel, who regularly requested slaves, became incapable, and Karjen, who used to eat humans every day, only ate my blood due to a contract, so her consumption decreased noticeably.

Thanks to this, rehabilitation centers are currently overpopulated and oversupplied. It makes no sense to not have enough toys to give to Kuen.

“Not that toy—. I want a unique toy—.”

Kuen’s hands, which had been restraining my arms, gradually began to caress my back.

“Zeekgaa- It would be great if you played with me-.”

The hand went lower and lower until it reached the buttocks,

“Ouch–.”

Soon, it was forcibly removed with a short groan from Kuen.

“……Do not touch it carelessly.”

Leon, who had been watching from behind, came over and snatched Kuen’s hand. The expression on your face is quite scary, isn’t it?

“Between us—this is—this is everyday life—.”

“It’s not everyday life.”

What are you trying to manipulate?

“That’s right.”

“I see—?”

Leon and Kuen looked at each other. Unlike Kuen, who was smiling and smiling, Leon had an expression of disgust.

“With friends, let’s not be too mean-.”

“Don’t pretend to be friendly. I am not your friend.”

“I’ve seen your face many times, but you tell me you’re not my friend—that’s sad—.”

I need to stop this.

“Stop.”

When I stepped in between the two, Leon let go of his hand. It must have taken a lot of force, and Kuen felt pain as he caressed his wrist. Of course, if I had really grabbed it properly, it would have been crushed, so I must have adjusted my strength in my own way.

“I won’t force you to get along, but at least don’t fight.”

“……If you say so, I will.”

“I had no intention of fighting.”

It may be unfair to Kuen, but there must be a reason why Rion reacts like that. Kuen always scratched me gently, or something like that.

‘It’s so annoying.’

In the future, there will be a lot of conflict between heroines, and it is not a good thing for them to bicker like this. How can we become friends if we even went on a trip to the East Continent together?

“Although Kuen is a psychopath, he is not fundamentally a bad guy.”

Leaving the training ground and heading to the next destination. I started speaking in an attempt to correct Leon’s perception in my own way.

“In any case, you can just accept that you have a mental problem like Lily.”

“Lily… … It’s just because it’s so pure. They believe that their actions are truly right. Moreover, we do not treat life as a toy.”

Is it a difference in perspective? I think Kuen, who has her own rules and is capable of making rational decisions, is much better than Lily, who is obsessed with an abstract and spineless view of justice and doesn’t know where she will end up.

‘It doesn’t change the fact that both of them are crazy people who don’t want to interact with each other.’

Anyway, I think it will take time for Leon and Kuen to become close friends. No matter how much you don’t get along, if you get along with each other, you’ll end up feeling bad.

*

I looked at the list of heroines and tried to select the ones I should meet in advance.

In the case of Ryuka and Fran, their concept of time is completely different from that of humans, so there is no problem even if they are left alone for as long as a few months. In particular, in the case of francs, even yearly rates are acceptable.

Lily is currently away on a mission and is not at the Bureau, and Azta is frozen. Philia hasn’t contacted me yet, so I have to wait.

Rusk has run away to the southern continent, so you have to catch me and subdue me at some point. Come to think of it, I recently created a strange portal and took two of my subordinates with me, and thanks to that, Rusk’s isolation room became empty.

Karjen and Daisy are sitting in my house, so I see them every day, so it doesn’t matter, and since I kicked out Ariel, who was sitting with them, just yesterday, there doesn’t seem to be a need to go see them again.

Mr. Leger is busy with his own work, so there is no need to meet him often. Still, it’s been a while since I last saw your face, so I guess I’ll have to visit or call you sometime.

Cheshire and Rupiah are near the end of the list. Among them, Rupiah is currently hospitalized at the Imperial Military Capital Hospital.

Immediately after returning from the Eastern Continent, Lufia headed to the capital to report to the Defense Bureau. Her original plan would have been to sit down at my house and take a long vacation after finishing the report. However, she suddenly vomited blood and lost consciousness, and several days later, she is still unconscious.

The hospital diagnosed that it was not due to an injury from combat, but the detailed examination results have not yet been released, so we do not know the details. I’m not too worried because it’s Rupiah, but it would be a big deal if I died, so I plan to save my points so I can buy elixir at any time.

‘As long as it’s not a disease, everything can be treated with elixir.’

And Cheshire… . Are you doing well?

‘I’m a little uneasy. Even if his abilities are gone, his bad boy nature won’t be dead. And the attack isn’t over yet.’

okay. I guess I’ll have to go check it out now.

“Rion, our next destination is the research building. I have to go see Cheshire.”

“……Cheshire, you mean that cat woman.”

Leon’s expression visibly deteriorated.

‘Cheshire deserves it.’

Leon has already experienced Cheshire in the third Wonderland, so he knows very well how vicious he is. But what can I do? Even if she’s evil, she’s still a heroine.

Anyway, I took Leon with me and headed to the research building.