In a dark space.
Ruin lowered his head, grinding his teeth as he thought about what had happened with Hans.
The conversation he had with Hans on the day he escaped from the basement was disturbing Ruin's feelings.
-Hey. Let me ask you one thing.
-...
-Why did you do that?
-...
-No matter how much I think about it, I still don't know.
-...
Hans didn't open his mouth. He simply kept his mouth shut and his head bowed in response to his own question.
When he saw the guy bowing his head as if he were a sinner, Ruin's mood was not very good.
I never thought that the model student who lived in the library every day with a thick book under his arm would end up like this.
-I asked why you dabbled in black magic.
I never thought he'd plot such a shady scheme. He was a man of few words, but he always had a smile on his face, and he had a soft heart that couldn't even kill a small insect.
That's why I couldn't believe it anymore.
It seemed like I was pinning my hopes on a hope that might come true.
Ruin knew that erasing the magic of inspiration and monopolizing Hans was a mistake.
I don't know what Hans might do now that the barrier is gone. He's an opponent I can't handle, so I guess there must have been a reason why my father warned me to stay put.
That his friend is a bad guy.
Ruin also knew that Hans was a murderer.
But the fall of his longtime friend wasn't easily accepted, and he foolishly committed the act of erasing the magic of inspiration. After all, he had been his friend for over ten years. Ruin wanted to believe his doubts.
-why...
The childhood spent with Hans continued to whisper feelings of mercy to Ruin.
-Why did you do that...!
A glimmer of hope began to rise to the surface that my friend had a story to tell.
It was always like that.
Why do you live without thinking?
The old man would lecture himself for making stupid choices and ruining things when he could have gotten a better result by just holding back a little, and for causing trouble because he was stupid and couldn't control his anger.
It was a given.
I know that too.
How angry I can't control myself.
I knew that I was a problematic person because I knew that I was a fool who would rather use my fists than my words and would rather solve problems with force than rational discussion.
But what if that's the best way? I've lived that way and been treated that way all along. Long-standing habits can't be changed overnight.
But this time, I tried to stay calm.
I had always followed my father's advice to control my anger, so I tried to talk to Hans rationally rather than emotionally.
Because I wanted to believe.
There were other circumstances.
Because there were unavoidable circumstances.
I wanted to hear from Hans' own mouth that he had made that choice.
Because that's a friend.
-Ha... Ruin.
But his friend didn't tell him what he wanted to hear, and answered him with a cold smile.
-Are you really saying that because you don't know?
The friend, who had been bowing his head, let out a deep sigh and opened his tightly shut mouth. His voice was hoarse from the exhaustion of the long day, but what came out was filled with irritation and anger.
Hans spoke with a suppressed voice. His voice sounded like he was clenching his teeth, as if he was trying to suppress his anger.
-Why did you do that?
-...
-Ruin, you... are you asking me why I did that?
Hans slowly raised his drooping head, his eyes filled with deep hatred.
It was the first time. Hans, who had always shown innocent smiles, had such a cold expression.
The murderous intent he unleashed while imprisoned seemed to amplify the swamp of emotions he had suppressed for so long as his time in the dark prison continued.
-Clang!
Hans shouted, the chains that had bound his hands rattling.
-Don't talk nonsense. What do you think you know?
-therefore...
-You don't know.
-That's why I'm asking! Why did you do that?
-Ha... Really.
Hans let out a dry laugh.
He let out a hollow laugh, not a mocking one, as he breathed in the humid prison air.
-You know what? It feels like your name follows me wherever I stand?
-what?
"Even when I achieve new things in magic, even when I discover undiscovered formulas, don't you know how it feels to have your name following me?"
-...
-It's the same.
-...You can just ignore it. You can't just ignore it! If you had told me which kid did it, I would have helped you!
At that time, Hans spoke to himself with a bitter smile.
-It's you.
-what?
-You, you! You can't even do that in front of me, you dog! You barely managed to get a single fireball shot off, and you laughed and said, "Is this magic?" Me! Me! Damn it, I chose this path!
Hans, whose hands were tied in a restraint, glared at Ruin with bloodshot eyes.
-I'll take it slowly.
-...
-Everything you love, everything you cherish! I'll take it all away.
And Hans blurted out words that broke the sanity he had been holding onto.
-Yuri...
The moment Yuria's name, whom he had simply thought of as a friend, came out of Hans' mouth, his heart felt like it had hardened into a cold solid.
-Yes, Yuria, the one you like.
The moment when malicious words about Yuria come out of the mouth of an old friend.
-I'll kill you.
For the first time, I wanted to kill him.
In fact, Hans never said a word about Ricardo.
Because I wanted to give Topju a plausible excuse and I didn't want to worry him.
I made an excuse that was easy to say.
The reason for Hans's escape is...
Ruin was hiding the fact that it wasn't a provocation between Ricardo and me, but rather a threat to Yuria's life.
Hans crossed a line that should not be crossed with blazing eyes.
-You have to guard it well. There won't be a second time. I can't see anything anymore.
He couldn't hold it in anymore and threw a punch.
It was a nice surprise that I fell into Hans' trap.
***
I was being scolded by a girl who was allergic to reading, and I was just blankly staring out the window with her.
"Hmm."
"You want to see the grimoire?"
"no."
"Oh, then here it is."
"I won't watch it."
"I see. Then I'll see you tonight."
"Don't look!"
The stubborn girl, as always, was oblivious to the butler's feelings.
It has been said that the more knowledge you accumulate, the more helpful it becomes in life, but the young lady seemed determined to build a wall against knowledge, as if she was hardening her brain.
I put my hand on the girl's temple and rotated it.
"Huhhhh!"
"You need to get your blood circulating to feel motivated to study."
"It's spinning...! The world is spinning!"
"How are you? Now I feel like studying..."
"I won't do it! I hate studying!"
The young lady stubbornly declared her renunciation of studies, enduring the pain that felt like it was piercing through her temples.
'I can't help it.'
It would be nice if the young lady learned magic, but her will to do so was so strong that it would be difficult to force her to do so.
Because I didn't want to do something I was forced to do.
I turned my head around and looked at the cloud-filled sky.
oh...
Is it going to snow?
It seems like at least one guest with a story has come to visit on this gloomy day...
I thought of the girl with the sword who came to the mansion on a rainy spring day. She had come with the lame excuse of wanting cheap green tea, and she was crying that day, carrying a heavy story.
The weather back then was similar to today.
It was a day when the sky was very cloudy and it rained.
So I was more anxious.
Because I hate annoying things.
There are no guests coming to the mansion, though.
"Come to think of it, it's about time we started."
"what?"
The girl, having heard her own soliloquy, turned her head and looked at me. Her hair, disheveled from the intense torture, was still stuck to the bridge of her nose.
The girl frowned at the tickling sound that was bothering her nose.
"Eh...eh...ah!"
-Tick tock.
"why."
"snot."
"Why is that..."
The young lady held up her snot-stained hand to me. I flinched at her impudent attempt to wipe her snot on my sacred robe, then took a handkerchief from my inside pocket and placed it on her.
A girl blowing her nose.
He shook his shoulders and smiled pleasantly.
"So what's the beginning?"
"Ah... I'm choosing the menu for dinner tonight."
"meat."
"Beef stew with lots of paprika?"
"Eeeeek! Stop abusing the nobles!"
"I'm sorry. My hobby is abusing nobles, so I can't stand it."
"Huh! I'm going to starve!"
Slowly, the episode where Yuria is kidnapped was approaching.
The story of a pagan who discovered Yuria's existence and attempted to kidnap her was gradually drawing closer.
It's a problem that will resolve itself if left alone, but I'm a little worried about something.
I wonder if I was just staring blankly out the window for a moment.
The girl, who was nervously brushing away the remaining hair from her face, pointed to the front door of the mansion with her finger, asking a small question, "Hmm?"
"Ricardo. Someone is coming."
"Huh? There's no one coming."
"No. The broom is coming."
"A broom?"
I raised my head and looked down at the courtyard of the mansion.
Oh, really?
Someone is walking towards me.
A familiar male figure was walking outside the window.
Green hair.
A sub-male protagonist who resembles a broom.
Ruin was walking with a dark expression.
-Goooom!!!
Of course, with Gomtang holding his leg.
-Let go! Bear cub!
-Goooom!
It didn't seem fake.