Chapter 2.11
Chapter 2 — Coming of age, a ceremony needed for emanc.i.p.ation . Part 11
He resigned himself to his fate and crouched down after a while . Then, the two children climbed nervously onto his back .
“He’s so soft!” the girl said in admiration .
Shiro slowly stood back up, taking care not to shock them again, and started walking slowly .
Both of them exclaimed loudly, borderline cheering and screaming at the same time .
Keeping a steady pace, Shiro started walking faster .
Somehow it seemed that even he was starting to enjoy it .
I returned to the counter once again .
“…What is it?” I asked the bandana guy, who was grinning from ear to ear .
“No~thing really . I was just thinking that you also have a cute side after all . ”
“Shut up . ” I folded my arms and looked away .
His smile grew even bigger as he observed my reaction .
I took a cup and shoved it in his direction, requesting another serving . While I sipped at it, I waited for Shiro and the kids to finish playing .
I ended up drinking two more cups of black tea, after which I didn’t feel like drinking any more .
The two kids finally stepped down from Shiro’s back after a while, but even as their feet returned to the ground, their faces were still lit with excitement and satisfaction . The girl stood out the most, smiling so much that she looked almost like a completely different person from before .
She had sparked some sort of interest in Shiro’s mouth and was peeking into it intently, touching his fangs and his tongue . He seemed to be feeling very ticklish, but he endured the urge to close his jaws on her hand, the muscles on his face twitching .
“You two had fun?”
They both nodded vigorously .
For some reason, I myself found the way I was smiling weird .
“That reminds me, why were the two of you inside the forest?”
“We were exploring . ”
“Now that’s a dangerous thing to do,” the bandana guy b.u.t.ted in . “There are some scary wolves living in this forest . If you are careless, they’ll eat you . ”
“B-but…” The boy started stuttering, trying to say something back .
“B-but…” The boy started stuttering, trying to say something back .
“It’s fine if you don’t want to tell us . ”
When I said that, the kids looked at each other .
The girl nodded at the boy, who seemed to understand what she meant and nodded back .
“Big sis seems like a nice person so we’ll tell you . But promise that you won’t tell anyone . ” He held his index finger to his lips as he spoke .
I squatted and leaned closer to him .
“You know, in her house,” —he pointed at the girl with his thumb— “Her parents keep yelling at each other all the time and it’s scary . To make it worse, they always keep hitting her . That’s why she always keeps running away to my house, but her parents come and take her back . ”
I looked at the girl, trying not to seem suspicious . I couldn’t see any signs of injuries on the parts of her body left uncovered by her dress and jacket, and she also didn’t seem malnourished .
At least it wasn’t the worst case scenario yet .
“That’s why we are going to run away when we are bigger, and we’ll live together in the forest . No one will bother us that way . ”
“I see…That sounds like a wonderful plan . ”
“It’s not wonderful at all . It’d be so much better if we could live with everyone else without having to run away,” he said in an alarmed tone, but I shook my head .
“It’s not wonderful at all . It’d be so much better if we could live with everyone else without having to run away,” he said in an alarmed tone, but I shook my head .
“You might have a point there, but I still believe it’s a wonderful plan . ”
I started ruffling his hair .
He looked somewhat bashful as I did that .
Then I looked at the girl and said:
“You’ve found yourself a wonderful prince . ”
Her face turned beet red and she looked down in shame, murmuring, “His name is Kou-chan . ”
“That’s a nice name . I’m called Saki, Tsukagi Saki . ”
“I’m Yuuka . ”
She smiled shyly .
“Let’s meet again sometime . ”
“Yeah!” Yuuka nodded, and Kou did so as well .
They held hands, and just like when they came, they disappeared into the forest .
“Yeah!” Yuuka nodded, and Kou did so as well .
They held hands, and just like when they came, they disappeared into the forest .
I waved at them, and Shiro saw them off silently .
“It is a detestable world we are in, huh . ”
Likely having eavesdropped on the entire conversation, the bandana guy sighed loudly and put away the towel he had been using to dry a cup .
“This isn’t anything new, really . ”
“That’s why I say it’s a detestable world . No one corrects their mistakes . ”
“Now that is something more recent . The number of people who believe that they can still be saved even if they leave their mistakes uncorrected is surprisingly high . You can’t possibly look at this world and continue dreaming about a place where everything is built solely with good things . ”
“Well, yeah…” He smiled wryly and lightly tapped his stand with his fingertips . “Hypothetically, if the world was built fairly and only with good intentions, how do you think that’d be?”
I didn’t even need to think in order to answer that .
“It would be a world devoid of life . ”
Chapter 2 Coming of age, a ceremony needed for emanc.i.p.ation . Part 11 He resigned himself to his fate and crouched down after a while . Then, the two children climbed nervously onto his back . He s so soft the girl said in admiration . Shiro slowly stood back up, taking care not to shock them again, and started walking slowly . Both of them exclaimed loudly, borderline cheering and screaming at the same time . Keeping a steady pace, Shiro started walking faster . Somehow it seemed that even he was starting to enjoy it . I returned to the counter once again . What is it I asked the bandana guy, who was grinning from ear to ear . No thing really . I was just thinking that you also have a cute side after all . Shut up . I folded my arms and looked away . His smile grew even bigger as he observed my reaction . I took a cup and shoved it in his direction, requesting another serving . While I sipped at it, I waited for Shiro and the kids to finish playing . I ended up drinking two more cups of black tea, after which I didn t feel like drinking any more . The two kids finally stepped down from Shiro s back after a while, but even as their feet returned to the ground, their faces were still lit with excitement and satisfaction . The girl stood out the most, smiling so much that she looked almost like a completely different person from before . She had sparked some sort of interest in Shiro s mouth and was peeking into it intently, touching his fangs and his tongue . He seemed to be feeling very ticklish, but he endured the urge to close his jaws on her hand, the muscles on his face twitching . You two had fun They both nodded vigorously . For some reason, I myself found the way I was smiling weird . That reminds me, why were the two of you inside the forest We were exploring . Now that s a dangerous thing to do, the bandana guy b.u.t.ted in . There are some scary wolves living in this forest . If you are careless, they ll eat you . B but The boy started stuttering, trying to say something back . It s fine if you don t want to tell us . When I said that, the kids looked at each other . The girl nodded at the boy, who seemed to understand what she meant and nodded back . Big sis seems like a nice person so we ll tell you . But promise that you won t tell anyone . He held his index finger to his lips as he spoke . I squatted and leaned closer to him . You know, in her house, he pointed at the girl with his thumb Her parents keep yelling at each other all the time and it s scary . To make it worse, they always keep hitting her . That s why she always keeps running away to my house, but her parents come and take her back . I looked at the girl, trying not to seem suspicious . I couldn t see any signs of injuries on the parts of her body left uncovered by her dress and jacket, and she also didn t seem malnourished . At least it wasn t the worst case scenario yet . That s why we are going to run away when we are bigger, and we ll live together in the forest . No one will bother us that way . I see That sounds like a wonderful plan . It s not wonderful at all . It d be so much better if we could live with everyone else without having to run away, he said in an alarmed tone, but I shook my head . You might have a point there, but I still believe it s a wonderful plan . I started ruffling his hair . He looked somewhat bashful as I did that . Then I looked at the girl and said You ve found yourself a wonderful prince . Her face turned beet red and she looked down in shame, murmuring, His name is Kou chan . That s a nice name . I m called Saki, Tsukagi Saki . I m Yuuka . She smiled shyly . Let s meet again sometime . Yeah Yuuka nodded, and Kou did so as well . They held hands, and just like when they came, they disappeared into the forest . I waved at them, and Shiro saw them off silently . It is a detestable world we are in, huh . Likely having eavesdropped on the entire conversation, the bandana guy sighed loudly and put away the towel he had been using to dry a cup . This isn t anything new, really . That s why I say it s a detestable world . No one corrects their mistakes . Now that is something more recent . The number of people who believe that they can still be saved even if they leave their mistakes uncorrected is surprisingly high . You can t possibly look at this world and continue dreaming about a place where everything is built solely with good things . Well, yeah He smiled wryly and lightly tapped his stand with his fingertips . Hypothetically, if the world was built fairly and only with good intentions, how do you think that d be I didn t even need to think in order to answer that . It would be a world devoid of life .