# 42. The Old Man is Sensitive (2)
Three girls watching through the crack in the door.
They were too far away to hear what the old man was saying to Hare, but one thing was certain.
"This is obvious! Hare is getting scolded by the old man!"
Luna stated the obvious.
Saten, watching through the door crack with her, said emotionlessly.
"She did something worth scolding, so it's natural she's being scolded. That child called Hare will soon be abandoned."
Estia nodded in agreement.
"M-maybe... That oppa is scarier than I thought... He m-might abandon her..."
"No! The old man won't abandon Hare!"
Would he really?
Saten was convinced the old man would abandon Hare.
Because that's what she had been taught in her family.
"Hmm, think what you want. I'll just watch and see what happens. If someone makes a mistake, it's natural to be abandoned."
The most entertaining fight to watch in the world.
The three girls watched as Hare got scolded.
The old man shot angry words at her, and Hare couldn't move, keeping her head down.
Then, after the old man said something, Hare's expression changed as if she'd heard shocking news.
Saten nodded, convinced.
"It seems the old man finally said it. To leave this place. That child called Hare will soon pack her bags. She was a foolish child who didn't properly understand the old man."
"N-no! Hare is smart! Don't talk nonsense, Saten!"
"You'll see the result for yourself. Look, the old man is coming."
While the two bickered, the conversation seemed to have ended as the old man was walking back alone, leaving Hare behind.
*Is the old man really going to abandon Hare?!*
Creak—
The moment the door opened and she made eye contact with the old man,
Luna shouted strongly like the vanguard of a protest.
"I-I object! Don't kick Hare out!! I object!!"
"...What are you talking about? I'm not kicking Hare out."
"Huh?"
"I came in alone to give her time to think. Hare will come in soon."
"Ehh... I see... I was tricked...?"
The old man said that and waved his hand, using magic.
Non-elemental Magic: Annihilation
The dust floating and settling thickly throughout the house disappeared.
And then.
Non-elemental Magic: Reconstruction
The shabby house returned to a state no different from when it was new.
Luna was impressed.
"Wow... Old man! What kind of magic is this?!"
"Non-elemental magic. I returned the dust to nothing, and returned the damage the building had suffered to nothing."
"Th-that's possible?! O-old man! I want to learn magic too! It's totally cool!"
"...Instead of learning magic, practice your swordsmanship, Luna."
Luna didn't even have enough time to train in swordsmanship.
Lee Jun-woo said that and looked around the house.
"...Now that it's cleaned, the inside is cleaner than I thought."
A building similar to a two-story mansion.
Because of rumors that ghosts appeared, the price had dropped and he could get it cheap.
You could call it a sweet deal.
The mansion had a total of six rooms, so Lee Jun-woo tried to move toward one room to rest.
At that moment.
Tap—
He felt a sensation on his arm.
"...Saten?"
"Old man. I have something I'm curious about. I'm asking because I don't understand."
"...Tell me, what are you so curious about?"
"Why didn't you abandon that commoner called Hare? She did what you hate most. And she doesn't listen well. I think it's better to abandon children who don't conform to rules and order."
I really don't understand, why didn't you abandon her?
Saten asked expressionlessly.
Because abandoning her would have been natural.
At that, Lee Jun-woo spoke as if it were obvious.
"Everyone makes mistakes, and Hare is young so she'll change."
"No, people don't change. A person's essence can never change. That child will cause trouble again."
"...Saten, kids originally grow up causing trouble."
"What...?"
Causing trouble, getting scolded, crying, getting angry.
That's how children originally grow up.
"Hare caused big trouble, so she got scolded. And she'll receive punishment accordingly. So there will absolutely be no abandoning her. Is that answer enough?"
"...No."
"Then think about it slowly and come to an answer. I'll be going in now."
Since his condition wasn't good, it would be better to go in quickly.
Lee Jun-woo locked himself in his room before his emotions could burst out.
Bang—
Saten stared blankly at where he had disappeared.
She didn't understand at all.
"You don't abandon them even if they cause trouble? I wasn't taught that. If you cause trouble, it's natural to be abandoned, and children should be prepared to die to avoid causing trouble..."
That's what I was taught in my family.
But...
Children grow up causing trouble...?
I didn't grow up that way.
I could only survive by not causing trouble.
"But to say it's not like that... That's strange..."
I thought I was observing the old man accurately.
But it feels a bit different from my expectations.
Saten entered an empty room with a slightly unpleasant feeling.
Bang—
The two people left in the living room trembled at the lingering chill.
"...Wh-what's going on?"
"R-right, Luna...? They didn't fight, but it feels so cold...?"
"It's a bit chilly..."
Ha, haha.
The two looked at each other with stiff smiles.
And toward those two, an even colder wind arrived...
"..."
"H-Hare...? Are you okay, Hare...?"
"She looks like a ghost... I think we need Divine Power..."
Eyes that had lost their vitality.
Disheveled pink hair.
Drip drip—
Shedding tears.
Hare appeared with a completely ruined face, walked toward an empty room without saying a word.
Bang—!!
"It's not even winter yet but it's already cold..."
"R-right, Luna..."
For some reason,
the two felt as if they were in the middle of winter.
Lying on the bed, he tried to shake off his emotions, but emotions don't move as you wish.
"...I shouldn't have said that."
I spoke too soon.
Hare, who lost her last remaining family and followed me.
I inflicted a new wound on a child whose wounds hadn't even healed yet.
It was all my fault.
*Because I recalled that emotion, I got angry without realizing it.*
That day.
After my master Aina lost her life,
I threw the emotion called love to the ground.
Roughly, as if I would never look at it again.
But...
*For Hare to harbor such feelings toward me... that can't happen...*
I have no intention of accepting it, and I don't want to give it.
So while I was thinking of cutting off the bud of hope,
due to immature emotional control stemming from aftereffects,
I ended up hurting Hare as a result.
I stared at the empty ceiling.
Was it because I faced that emotion?
Suddenly, she came to mind—the one I had kept in my memories.
*...In those days, even lying down like this, I could hear Aina's voice.*
Memories of the past I didn't want to remember came flooding back.
Though her personality was a mess, she was the one who freed me from loneliness after I fell into this other world.
Aina.
When I first met her, she was begging on the street and said this to me:
*"Beggar, how much did you make today? Wait, 1000 Peri? Tsk, you should beg a bit harder. This, I'm taking it, okay?"*
*"Crazy woman..."*
She extorted money from me the moment we met, and when I chased after her to get it back,
she tried to use me as experimental material.
Tied to a wall, we somehow had a conversation and she did take me as her disciple, but
no matter how I thought about it, Aina's personality wasn't normal.
She was closer to insane.
But even such an abnormal Aina...
"Now that I can't see her anymore, I miss her..."
Aina, whom I had locked away in a deep box in my heart.
I don't know if it's because of the aftereffects, but
tonight was a night when I missed her.
"O-old man..."
Drip drip—
Hare kept shedding tears, then collapsed and fell asleep repeatedly from exhaustion.
She didn't know how much time had passed, and she wanted to keep sleeping like this.
Because the reality she was living in was too painful.
"Is it... wrong for me to like the old man...? Is that... an action that burdens the old man...?"
Hare hugged her pillow and burst into tears.
"M-my feelings... are sincere... Is it wrong for me to like the old man...? Th-that's not something I can control... right...?"
The first.
The old man was my first.
From the moment I first met him, he made my heart race, and I felt he was different from other people.
Books called that emotion "love," and said it couldn't be controlled at will.
"Y-you saved me from the Garbage Dump... For the first time in my life... I could feel happy... From the moment I first met you... I-I fell in love... Is that my fault...? O-old man...?"
Hare poured out her inner feelings alone in her distress.
She knew it wouldn't reach the old man, but if she didn't do this, she felt like she'd go crazy from frustration.
"The old man saved me... A-and let me live... With my friends... I-I'll get along well now... S-so please..."
Just my feelings.
Please look at them properly.
I won't ask you to accept them anymore.
Please don't tell me to take them back.
"That's... something I can't... *sob*, control, old man... I-I... can't live without thinking of the old man... *sob*..."
I can give up everything the old man wants.
But I can't give up my feelings for the old man.
Hare pleaded and shed sorrowful tears.
She hated and felt stupid for thinking it would be fine as long as the old man didn't find out.
"I should have... *sob*, known exactly what the old man likes... what he dislikes... *sob*, I was too... st-stupid..."
The old man told me to sort out my feelings.
But that's an absolutely impossible request.
"Th-then... *sob*... wh-what should I do...? Get along with my friends... a-and that's it...?"
No...
That's absolutely not the end...
I have many problems...
That's why the old man scolded me so harshly...
Though she didn't want to admit it, Hare decided to acknowledge it.
That she was stupid and knew too little about the old man.
With her pride and self-esteem hitting rock bottom, Hare
had no choice but to yield.
"S-so... I need someone who knows... my shortcomings..."
Only after doing it did she realize this action was wrong.
Because she acted on it, she was severely scolded by the old man.
So...
She needed to know what actions were problematic.
"Th-that... that child knows best..."
Knock knock—
She knocked on the door and entered the room of the girl who knew the old man well, who knew her own shortcomings well.
Hare, exhausted and pale, said to the black-haired girl.
"Saten, t-tell me... What do I need to do... to not be hated by the old man...? A-and what exactly is my problem...?"
"There are many problems. First, you're stupid and frustrating. Second, you didn't observe the old man accurately. Third, your emotions get ahead of you more than expected."
"S-so... tell me... How can I... fix them...?"
Hmm...
Saten smiled slightly and answered.
"The world works by giving and receiving, commoner."
"I-I'll give you... anything you want... S-so tell me... Pl-please... I love the old man... I don't want to be abandoned... I want to stay by his side... Please..."
Love.
Originally she was going to refuse, but...
Saten became curious about that word.
So she smiled slightly and declared to Hare.
"Then I'll give you your problems. So you teach me that emotion called 'love.' How about it?"
An exchange.
I'll tell you your problems, so you tell me about that emotion.
Saten didn't think she was at a loss in this deal.
Because the day she could learn magic from the old man would come sooner.
And it was the same for Hare.
*If I don't do what the old man hates... I-I might be able to stay with him without taking back my feelings.*
If I can just hide them without taking them back,
it'll be possible.
Hare had no reason to refuse.
"O-okay... I-I'll tell you... how I feel about the old man..."
"Good that you understand quickly for a commoner. Don't hold out your hand. A handshake isn't necessary."
"..."
The two formed an alliance but didn't shake hands.
The two who thought they were rivals
began to form a strange relationship where they could complement each other's weaknesses.