"What? Really? That fu…"
With what was happening outside at the moment, it wasn't hard to convince Emma that her father had gone out to check on the situation.
"Aih… why did he just leave without telling me anything? He hasn't changed at all…"
She grumbled several times, but in the end, she gave up and accepted the situation.
It was good that she did.
As I listened to her mutter and groan about her father's sudden disappearance, I felt a pang of guilt rise up inside of me.
It wasn't so much from the fact that I... or the other me, had killed Waylan, but rather from the fact that now the two people whom she cared for the most had both passed away.
Her life…
It was really pitiful when one thought about it.
'Should I tell her the truth later, or should I just change her memories?'
I didn't think the second option was feasible.
Whether or not I made an effort to conceal the information from her, she was going to find out about her father's disappearance in one way or another.
'How should I tell her the news?'
That was the biggest problem.
I couldn't just tell her that her father was someone known as the Protector of the Seat of Diligence and was the one responsible for the deaths of millions of humans.
He was also the same person who murdered her mother once he realized she was no longer of any use to him, and the only reason he kept her close to him was because of her talent, which was worth nurturing.
'She always did seem to lag a bit behind the others… I guess he must've slowed down her path forward on purpose.'
"Ugh."
I groaned and ruffled my hair.
The situation was more troublesome than I anticipated.
'If only Kevin was here…'
He was the one who was good at handling these types of matters.
"What are you going to do now?"
Overhearing Emma's voice, I turned to look at her. Her expression seemed to have recovered, and her eyes were on me.
I pursed my lips.
"I think I'll go back. I got what I wanted already."
"Oh, I see."
Emma nodded her head.
"Do you want me to follow you out?"
"No, it's okay."
I shook my head, refusing her offer. To be honest, I'd rather not interact with her at the moment. I found myself struggling to think of how to break the news of her father's passing to her.
In the end, I chose to leave and think of the solution later.
'I'm sure I can think of a way…'
My expectations weren't very high.
"Alright then. I won't see you out."
We parted ways not long after that, Emma and I both. After reappearing right in front of her mansion, I turned around and looked back at it while sighing.
This really was...
Troublesome.
***
"You're back?"
was Amanda. She seemed happy to see me. She had her hair pulled back into a ponytail and wore a nice
this brought a
after what I just
"Are you cooking something?"
"Mhm."
her expression didn't give it away, I could
enough to know how
That being said…
to be surprised
"Oh, that?"
Amanda's body paused.
turned her head, her head cocked
shocked at first, and I tried to call you several
"You did?"
out my phone and noticed several missed calls. I smiled
This was my bad.
"What happened after that?"
"Nothing much."
a little shrug of her shoulders, Amanda patted
you were busy since you're the Alliance
"That's fair."
"hum."
with a large cake in her hands. It was not very big, about the size of a football, and it appeared to be
sight, and I sat
I liked cakes.
my hands together, I leaned back on the sofa. Pondering over something, I turned
you don't seem
seen far more
at
happening was harmless and the mana density increased,
her lips, and her
it because of
resentful at
"Oh."
and took a small
taste was rather good. She had come a long way from the times when she would add far too much cinnamon
It was very sweet…
"You've improv―"
at Amanda's plate, which
This girl...
gaze, Amanda brought her spoon
"You want some?"
I still
"Oh."
my plate
that enough
"You don't think?"
would call normal. In comparison to hers, which practically filled the entire
into such a glutton, and where did
to be as fit as ever. Rather, it
'What's going on?'
"Hold up."
"Hm?"
and pressed her finger against the side of my lips. She brought her finger, which was now filled with cream, to her mouth after tracing it down the
looked at her in complete bewilderment, and as if
rude to look at others while
"Haa… alright."
out a sigh, I took a bite of the
it tasted a lot more
***
"Do you resent me?"
that came abruptly, and I had
family and saw my dad sitting on the sofa with the lights turned
Resent you? Why would I
myself down on the sofa and looked directly into
at me, and despite my best efforts, I
the few people I could never find myself able to
to express myself. It's something I've been trying to work on for quite a long time, and despite my
express his emotions often. He was sort of like how Amanda was
it was because of him that I
and I don't think there's anything
himself for me to understand that
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