I worried and rushed home.
Aina was lying on the bed as if nothing had happened.
When she spotted me, she waved her hand in greeting.
"You're back earlier than I thought? Did you meet Irina okay?"
"Well, yeah, I met her. She seemed busy with work."
"Hmm, I see. How is she these days? Still stiff as ever?"
Had she been sealed for too long?
Aina was overflowing with curiosity.
I checked her physical condition as I answered.
"She's exactly the same as always. She's always blunt."
"...She hasn't changed, huh? Is she doing well?"
"She's exhausted from work, but she's doing alright."
"Well, that's a relief at least."
Aina smiled faintly in relief.
I had a small conversation with her.
Things that had happened so far.
Fun things.
Difficult things.
As we shared these small stories, I was able to assess Aina's physical condition.
"As I thought, your muscle mass is low."
"How much?"
"About twice lower than average. I think you need to exercise."
"I don't like exercise though..."
Exercise.
Aina's body had been trapped in the sealing stone for so long.
It was natural that her body had weakened and all her muscles had atrophied.
Moreover, Aina was a shut-in Mage who didn't exercise.
"For starters, I think it's best to begin with walking. If you push yourself too hard from the beginning, you might get hurt."
"Hey."
Aina suddenly lowered her voice.
Her gray eyes stared at me.
"Hey, disciple."
"What."
"Do I really need to exercise? Isn't it a waste of time?"
"...A waste of time?"
*Whoosh—*
Aina put a cigarette in her mouth and exhaled smoke into the air.
As she exhaled, the cigarette burned and slowly shortened.
"How long do you think I was in that sealing stone? Even though I was asleep most of the time, it was incredibly boring and tedious. And now you want me to do boring exercise on top of that? I absolutely won't do it. No, I can't. So I'll exercise later."
*Thwack—!*
Having finished speaking, Aina flicked my forehead and laughed.
It hurt because she hit me quite hard.
"...Why are you suddenly hitting me?"
"Because my disciple is trying to get ahead of himself. Don't worry about your master. I'll worry about myself."
"Still, your body is still—"
"What does the master's word say?"
Absolute obedience.
However, having learned from Aina as a cautionary example, I didn't answer as I was taught.
"Absolute obedience."
"Right, absolute obedience. Don't argue with my words—"
"No. I should oppose wrong actions and words. I'll worry as I please. You just stay still."
I'll worry as I please.
Because I knew the preciousness of someone I'd lost, I couldn't help but worry more about Aina's body.
I took the cigarette from Aina's mouth and stood up.
"I'm taking this. Open the window and air out the room. I'll call you at dinner time, so rest until then, okay?"
"...Fine."
I left the bewildered-looking Aina in the room and headed to the kitchen.
Whether she was surprised by my actions, the expression she showed at the end felt quite amusing.
As I walked toward the kitchen with a slight smile, Hare was standing in the hallway as if waiting for me.
I approached her with her head down and gloomy expression and asked.
"Hare, what are you doing here?"
"...Just, catching my breath."
...Catching her breath in the hallway?
Something about her words seemed off.
Hare raised her lowered head and asked me a question.
"Mister, I have something I'm curious about..."
"Sure, what are you curious about?"
"Not you... that woman... no, I'm curious about your master... can I go see her...?"
From the looks of it, Hare's condition wasn't good.
Honestly, I was worried about Hare and didn't want to send her to Aina.
However, Minerva's problem hadn't appeared, and I had no justification to refuse.
I had no choice but to nod.
"Aina's body isn't well, so be careful."
"...Thank you, mister. I'll just talk and come out... wait for me in the kitchen... I'll be there soon..."
*Thud— thud—*
Hare walked down the hallway in a drooping state and disappeared.
"...Nothing will happen."
Surely.
Hare, who had been educated by me, wouldn't think strange thoughts again.
Having watched her for so long, I believed she had been reformed.
I walked toward the kitchen again.
For some reason, my back felt itchy.
"That idiot... how dare he defy his master...?"
*Bang—!*
Aina slammed shut the window that had been opened for ventilation.
"Well, he can defy me. That fool has changed a lot. Ugh, I'm freezing to death."
For better or worse.
Lee Jun-woo had changed much more than in the past.
"Now he knows how to rebel, has conviction in his thoughts, and has become much more manly."
I liked him even back then.
What am I supposed to do when he grows like this?
Aina grabbed her flushed cheeks with her palms.
"What am I supposed to do if he gets cooler... this makes me regret it even more... I wanted to smile for Jun-woo's sake..."
*Sigh—*
Aina looked down at her hands.
Hands that moved naturally, unlike when she was sealed.
However, Aina thought she shouldn't be moving like this.
"It would have been better to stay sealed forever or die. I shouldn't have sealed myself. But what can I do..."
I wanted to live too.
I held onto the hope that Jun-woo would find me someday.
In the end, I just became a burden to my disciple.
Feeling depressed, Aina checked her surroundings to smoke a cigarette.
However, there were no cigarettes to be seen.
"That, that disciple bastard...! He even took my cigarettes?! That coward!!"
Aina vented her anger at her disciple who would be cooking in the kitchen.
As if hearing Aina's voice, the door opened and someone entered.
Without even looking at them, Aina shouted loudly.
"Hey you bastard!! What are you doing taking my cigarettes!!"
"...?"
"...What, you're not Jun-woo?"
*Ahem.*
Aina coughed awkwardly as she looked at the pink-haired girl who had opened the door and entered.
"Sorry. I cursed thinking you were Jun-woo. You're..."
"...Hare. Juliana Hare."
"The Thief from the Hero Party, right? Jun-woo told me about you. Well... nice to meet you?"
Aina extended her hand to Hare, whom she was meeting for the first time.
However, Hare lightly passed by that hand and sat next to her.
It was clearly an act of disrespect.
Aina raised the corners of her mouth at Hare's behavior.
"Unlike the Hero... you're going to be a bit difficult to handle."
"I don't have muscles for brains."
Hare put her hand in her pocket and pulled out a cigarette.
Then she handed it to Aina and said.
"Cigarette. You said you needed one, right? Here."
"Do you want to be my cigarette errand girl? Or did you put something weird in this?"
Hare shook her head, saying that wasn't it.
Her red eyes held hostility.
"I want to get rid of you right now, but... I'll hold back for mister's sake..."
I don't like you.
I wish you'd disappear from this house quickly.
Hare poured harsh words at Aina.
Hearing Hare's thorny words, Aina burst into laughter.
"Ahaha—!! You're saying harsh things while—!! Y-you're crying—!!"
"D-don't laugh..."
*Drip drip—*
As Aina said.
Hare was shedding tears.
She had no idea what to do in the current situation.
*I-I'm sure... it was going well according to plan... w-why did this woman pop up...*
A sudden variable.
Hare recalled her meeting with Saten.
*Things won't go according to your plan.*
Why had she spoken with such certainty about the future?
Because she hadn't paid much attention to those words, Hare couldn't revise her plan and couldn't proceed any further.
A huge wall she couldn't climb had appeared before her eyes.
There was nothing she could do except wait for the wall to collapse on its own.
"Sniff... h-how hard I worked... t-this is... cheating..."
"Hey, you're funny—! Ahaha—! I was startled by your murderous eyes—! But you're completely a kid—?"
"D-don't laugh... i-if only you weren't here... m-mister would definitely have looked at me... huuu..."
Hare barely wiped away her tears and cried miserably.
They were tears mixed with resentment and sadness.
Aina only found such a Hare cute.
"You have no intention of hiding from me—?"
"O-originally sniff... I should hide it... m-my head is dizzy... i-it's all your fault..."
"Hmm, your mind has broken."
As if Aina's words were correct.
Hare, who usually hid her emotions and intentions well, was shaken.
After defeating the Demon King and returning home.
Mister's gaze was directed only at Aina.
*M-mister...!*
*Sorry, Hare. I'm busy with something for a moment.*
*Mister...*
*I have something urgent. Tell me in a bit.*
*...Mister.*
*...*
Because mister was distracted and didn't listen to Hare's words at all.
It was enough to make Hare's mind, which had been looking only at mister, go strange.
Aina stroked Hare's head and laughed.
"But I don't understand? What does a kid like this lack that she'd like Jun-woo—?"
"D-don't... sniff... insult mister..."
"I don't want to. He's my disciple, so I'll insult him. Jun-woo was originally mine."
Aina whispered her true feelings softly.
"...Though I have to let him go now."
Hare misinterpreted the meaning of those words and put her hand in her pocket.
A dagger was gripped in her hand.
"Oh? That's what I gave Jun-woo! It's with you now?"
"...W-who gave you permission to let go of mister...? As if you can do whatever you want with my precious mister... sniff... d-don't say that..."
"That's not what I meant. Well, should I tell you properly?"
"S-shut up...!! D-die...!!"
Consumed by anger, Hare raised the dagger high.
Her eyes already seemed crazy, as if she didn't understand the situation well.
But Aina calmly told the truth.
"Thief. You don't need to do that. I'm going to die soon anyway."
"...What?"
*Thud—*
The moment Aina's words ended.
Hare, whose hot emotions had cooled again, realized her mistake along with the sensation of stabbing the dagger.
"Wh-what have I done..."
"Lucky you avoided becoming a murderer. What should I tell Jun-woo about the pillow..."
This is annoying again.
But because it was an important situation now.
Aina suppressed her irritation and said.
"Hey, stupid Thief. You didn't do anything just now. Control your emotions and listen properly. I'm going to die soon. So act however you want."
I'm leaving this place anyway.
Hearing Aina's truth, Hare dropped the dagger from her hand and muttered.
"Th-then... after you die, what about mister who's left alone...?"
"...You just tried to kill me, and now you're saying that?"
"Anyway... it's a wooden dagger so you wouldn't die... i-it was just a warning..."
Though some emotion was involved and she put in a bit more force.
It was a warning to the end for Hare.
However, having learned the truth, her worry came first.
*He just got his revenge... and met his master again... m-mister has to say goodbye again...?*
What if.
What if I were mister?
After briefly imagining something terrible, Hare met Aina's eyes and said.
"I'll cancel trying to kill you... you need to live a long time for mister's sake..."
Even though I'm jealous enough to want to kill you...
"M-mister's sake... you need to live... if he loses something precious again, mister will..."
Be too pitiful.
If that situation comes again, mister won't want to live anymore.
"Right, he wouldn't want to live..."
Aina nodded at Hare's sincere words.
However, because there was no other way, she just nodded silently without saying anything else.