‘That child is?’
Rebethra had been glaring at Nainaie’s face ever since she entered the scene. Having heard her voice, Rebethra narrowed his eyes and looked at the masked man.
‘Wait a minute. That means?’
The look on Rebethra’s eyes were changing constantly. Riley furrowed his eyebrows, finding the situation to be a major headache.
“Young Master, it is an apple. It’s late fall now, but… Fortunately, there are some left.”
Nainiae knew who it was under the mask. However, she could not also know the expression that the man under the mask. She showed the apple that she was holding on her both hands and smiled timidly.
“Nainiae… You…”
Riley felt like it was only yesterday when he told her to develop some basic sense for situations and common knowledge while he and Nainiae were at the Rainfield. He was glad to see her, but on the side, he felt frustrated. Sigh leaked out of Riley’s mouth.
“Ugh…”
Right when Riley sighed, explosive laughter leaked out of Rebethra’s mouth.
“Ha, hahaha! As I thought… As I thought, it is you, Young Master Riley. You almost completely fooled this old man.”
Rebethra looked at Riley and Nainiae back and forth and started to make belittling laughter sound. Nainiae, who had been smiling timidly while holding the apple, floated a question mark on her face and tilted her head side to side.
“Who are you?”
Having heard Nainiae’s question, Rebethra waved his hand around as if he was trying to apologize. He extended his hand to the side and showed her Astroa, who was standing next to him.
“…”
Nainiae had only been staring at Riley until now, so she could not check the surrounding. She closed her lips.
“Thank you. I was about to get fooled by Young Master, but thanks to you…”
“… Nainiae!!”
Rebethra wiggled his eyebrows with a shady look on his face. There was a shouting from a man behind him. Rebethra turned his head back as if he found the shouting unpleasant.
“Nainiae! You! Because of you, Beta is!”
Before anyone noticed, the purple rings that had been circling around the homeless man’s mouth to keep him under silence spell was gone.
“… Hamil.”
Nainiae also faced the man who was glaring at her with deadly intent towards her.
It seemed she did not give a damn about what Rebethra said or showed to her.
“How shamless of you… You are wearing nice clothes, had been shoving good foods down your stomach… It looks like you had been living well like that? If you cared about Beta at all, don’t you think you should not be doing that? You useless…”
“… Hamil.”
“Uuup?!”
Hamil had been pouring out harsh insults toward Nainiae. Nainiae quietly mumbled his name and then continued in a rather low voice.
“Before I fall asleep, I always think about what happened to me in my past. Of course, I think about Beta still. Despite what happened, still… I considered her as my family once.”
Her eyes contained overpowering pressure.
It was the kind that could not be explained in words.
Hamil thought it couldn’t possibly be from someone who was a human being. Feeling the pressure, he could only open and close his mouth like a fish.
“I could not protect Beta.”
“…”
“Still, now… I don’t think I have done something wrong where I deserve being criticized and get fingers pointed at me by you or others.”
Nainiae faded the end of her sentence. Before long, her face had already turned gloomy.
“It was pickpocketing. Although it was to make a living… Hamil… What you and Beta did were definitely wrong. Consider it as a punishment for what you have done. I also… have things I have done wrong.”
Nainiae was thinking about the time when she indiscriminately shot magic attacks at the Main Plaza of the Solia because Beta asked her to.
“I’ll pay for my sins one day. Still, I…”
With determined look on her face…
Nainiae looked straight in Hamil’s eyes and calmly continued mumbling.
“Still, I don’t think I need to be subjected to criticism.”
“Ugh… You…”
“If you are still going to say I am selfish, then it does not matter. I am able to stand proudly. I used my magic only to protect someone, and I never used magic for any other reasons.”
Nainiae paused for a moment. She gazed upon the apple she was holding. She looked at it with loving gaze, as if it was the most lovely thing in the world. Nainiae mumbled in a serious tone,
“I used to think I just… want to die. I only had been suffering losses and enduring pain. I was exhausted from my life. I thought that I had been living just so I can die one day.”
“…”
“Now… I definitely want to live. I think that way now.”
Nainiae grabbed on to the apple tighter. Her eye contained resolve that she never showed before. With that clear eye, she looked at Riley.
‘Young Master, here, look! It’s an apple!’