“…So that’s how it is.”
“Hmm.”
Joanie’s long explanation that lasted for a whole hour finally came to an end.
Having grown up in a poor household where we couldn’t afford even a meal out… Well, it wasn’t exactly like that, but after a rather lengthy explanation, Joanie succeeded in convincing Aaron.
“So, you felt like she was your little sister, huh?”
“Yes, yes! I just thought Kana was too cute, I swear on my life that I didn’t have any malicious intent or anything! If what I’m saying is a lie, then you can take my life right now—”
“…Aren’t you going to come back to life anyway?”
“Eh.”
Joanie rolled her eyes at the sudden counter.
W-Well, it’s true, but did they really have to tackle me like that…?
“Even if I do come back to life, a life is still precious, you know.”
That excuse seemed rather pitiful after putting in so much effort to think it up.
“Okay, I get it. It’s true that Kana can be a bit oblivious, but if you’d had that kind of intention, she’d have noticed. Looks like she really liked you after all.”
“…Ha, haha. Haa…”
‘…I don’t think so?’
What kind of person tries to assassinate someone they like?
Or maybe she’s the, what do you call it… yandere type?
Kids’ hearts are really hard to understand.
If only I could just ask directly, but Kana, who would know the answer, had long since drifted off to dreamland in the middle of the conversation.
Joanie looked at Kana, who was peacefully sleeping against Aaron’s shoulder.
‘…You’re so cute, I can’t help but let it slide.’
I wasn’t really that mad to begin with, but seeing her angelic sleeping face made my built-up grievances melt away.
You can really understand why many parents gain peace of mind just by looking at their sleeping children after a long exhausting day.
Seeing her relaxed and defenseless while she slept brought an involuntary smile to Joanie’s face.
‘Of course, she’s cute when she’s awake too.’
But there’s just something special about this moment.
“Kana…”
“…Huh?”
Joanie, lost in admiration of Kana’s sleeping face, snapped back to reality at Aaron’s voice.
“Has Kana been doing well?”
“Umm, well…”
Joanie hesitated.
If “doing well” meant eating well and living well, then she’d answer yes.
She just lived deep in the mountains, but her house had everything she needed.
“You didn’t seem so good.”
However, Joanie’s answer was different.
“You looked very lonely.”
Kana had pushed away anyone who came near her while counting the days.
Thinking back to what she knew about Kana’s past, it was no surprise.
Not only did they try to steal the precious memento of her father, but they also came at her with weapons, so what kind of person would react positively to that?
Starting on the wrong foot meant the rest wouldn’t fit right either.
The players who climbed the mountain where Kana lived likely perished for similar reasons.
I’m not sure if they touched a Silian or not.
But Kana accepted Joanie, who was a player like them.
“Kana allowed me to come close just because I knew how to Granic.”
At that time, Joanie’s Granic skills were so embarrassing that she could barely manage a few words.
“If she really hated people, she would have ignored me even if I went to see her every day.”
Or she would have sliced me up like she did with other players.
The fact that she didn’t meant she must have wanted to connect with people, even if she lived hidden away in the mountains.
Consciously or unconsciously, Joanie guessed that.
Aaron, who had been silently listening to her words, made a hum sound.
“I see how it is.”
Aaron knew that Kana wasn’t a kid who liked contact.
She would just stay still when Garid patted her, but she didn’t show that she enjoyed it either.
For Kana to permit contact so easily, at first, Aaron thought it might just be because she was a girl too, but now he understood Kana’s heart.
When Kana squirmed in her sleep, Aaron adjusted his position so she could lean more comfortably.
“Do you know Garid?”
“Yes. He is Kana’s father…”
“To be exact, he’s her adoptive father.”
Garid saved Kana, who had lost her family and hometown and was about to die, and took her in as his adoptive daughter.
‘Parents? They died a long time ago.’
When Garid asked Kana about her parents, Aaron had been there too.
He later learned that Kana’s biological parents were absolutely worthless human beings.
Growing up without the love a child should receive, it was no surprise that the young girl constantly carried a stiff demeanor that didn’t match her age.
“Garid was the one who filled that lack of love.”
For Kana, born to unfit parents and raised amidst delinquents, receiving love must have been an extremely unfamiliar experience.
That’s why Garid was so precious to her, but Garid could never recover from the injuries he sustained during the war and ended up leaving Kana.
Aaron tried to cover the emptiness left by Garid’s absence with a sense of duty to uphold his beliefs and revenge against the Empire, but when Grasis fell, even that disappeared, and Kana too went into hiding.
“What a foolish guy.”
If he was that lonely, he could have just reached out to me.
Aaron smiled bitterly.
Though he’d known her since she was just a little girl, it seemed he’d never been enough to fill that void.
But…
‘Now someone has come along to fill that void.’
She might not consciously realize it yet, but Joanie’s display of interest in her, allowing contact, must have made a strong impression.
Aaron felt a bittersweet sadness over not being able to be her support, yet found relief in the fact that little Kana had finally stumbled upon a new sanctuary in Joanie.
“It wasn’t your real father….”
Joanie whispered, having newly discovered Kana’s past.
On the flip side, it meant they shared a bond so deep that even without being her biological father, she still showed such affection.
Just as she was chewing on Aaron’s words, Joanie suddenly felt the atmosphere was too heavy and changed the topic.
“By the way, Kana really loves sweet things and flowers, you know. Did she like those before too?”
“…Sweet things, yes, she’s always liked those, but flowers? Are you talking about the common plants you see on the streets?”
“…? Yes, those flowers.”
Is there any other kind of flower?
Aaron responded as if it was all news to him.
Though it had been an offhand question just to change the subject, seeing his unusual reaction made Joanie swallow hard.
“Well, she probably doesn’t hate them, but I doubt she actually likes them that much?”
“Really? She made a flowerbed right in front of her house and took care of it like it was her treasure! She was so precious about it that when someone stepped on a flower…”
Joanie almost went into detail about the numerous players’ ending, but bit her tongue.
“…Anyway, that’s how it was.”
“Could it be….”
Aaron fell into a moment of silence.
As if thinking about something, he squinted, then finally spoke up.
“Do you think Kana is feminine?”
“Gah…!”
Suddenly, an assassination attempt…?
It was already the second time today she was facing such a situation, and Joanie gulped.
And sure enough, no sooner had Aaron’s words left his mouth that her chat window erupted into a hellish scene.
“Well, I’m not really sure what ‘feminine’ means…”
Glancing at the chat window, Joanie attempted to evade the question using her long-honed avoidance skills.
Although it puzzled Aaron, who sensed Joanie’s strong will to survive through her statement, he elaborated.
“There’s no need to overthink it. I’m just asking if you’ve ever seen her take care of her appearance, or if she’s interested in her clothes.”
“…Now that you mention it.”
Joanie narrowed her eyes as she rummaged through her memories.
…Not really?
“Maybe it’s because she’s been in the Knight’s Order for too long?”
“It was like that even before, but it might have gotten worse because of that. But that’s not the main point, and it seems you understood what I was saying.”
Aaron’s gaze turned distant, as if looking far away.
“Once, Garid asked me.”
‘Aaron, what do girls like?’
‘Is it about Kana?’
‘Yeah. I just wish she could laugh and talk like other kids her age, but she’s so blunt. Is there any good way to do that?’
‘Hmm… How about planting some flowers?’
‘Flowers? Out of the blue, why flowers?’
‘Kids and girls usually like flowers. She might not care right now, but if you start planting and taking care of them, she might get interested, right? That way, Kana might also want to plant flowers, and you wouldn’t have to worry about her being boyish.’
‘That makes some sense. Alright, I’ll give it a try!’
Garid diligently followed Aaron’s advice.
Every time Aaron visited his home, he could see the increasing number of flowers, knowing Garid was putting in effort for Kana.
In truth, Kana, the target of their efforts, didn’t show any interest, so it bore no fruit.
“This kid isn’t even going to like flowers. She’s going to love Garid, who loved flowers.”
That must be why she bought flowers she had no interest in and planted a flowerbed at his grave.
So that she could look at the flowers Garid had cherished in his lifetime.
“Looking at it this way, it’s like only half of our intentions succeeded.”
If there’s one thing that hasn’t changed since olden times, it’s that children don’t understand their parents’ hearts.
So, is it any wonder that they only realize that love and regret it after becoming adults?
“Ah…”
Joanie’s sigh lingered in the reception room.
*
“Ugh…”
…Looks like I dozed off.
Was it because I ate too many snacks, or was it because Aaron and Joanie’s incomprehensible conversation felt like a lullaby?
I thought I felt drowsy, but when did I actually fall asleep?
I slowly blinked my eyes to shake off the drowsiness.
“…?”
Suddenly, my eyes met Joanie’s, who was staring at me.
For some reason, her eyes were filled with tears, as if they would spill at any moment.
“…Aaron.”
“Did you sleep well?”
“Yeah…but no.”
“…? So, did you sleep well or not?”
I lightly answered Aaron, who seemed to have noticed me.
Right now, that’s not the important thing.
“Did you hit her?”
“…What?”
“Joanie, did you hit her?”
There weren’t any signs of me being hit.
I could only think of that as the reason she was sobbing, so I asked Aaron, who looked at me with a bewildered expression.
“Do you think I’d hit you?”
“…I don’t care either way.”
Why ask if I’m hitting on you?
Anyone would think I’m the kind of person who just randomly hits people they don’t like.
As I pouted, something came flying towards me.
“Uwheeeeng! Kana!”
“…?!”
What can I say?
Of course, the identity of that something was Joanie.
Running towards me with tears and snot, I had no time to react and ended up being embraced by her.
“I didn’t know that… and…!”
“Uugh…”
Being held made it hard to hear, and coupled with her broken speech from crying, I couldn’t understand a word of what she was saying.
As I tried to pry her off with force, she squeezed me tighter with her arms.
While I could have pulled away since I’m stronger than her, I thought…
‘Sigh.’
Instead of forcing her off, I leaned into her embrace and let my arms hang.
How much must she have suffered from Aaron while I was sleeping?
It’s somewhat my fault that she endured so much from Aaron, so I might as well just accept it.
I did tell her to take it easy.
I shot a meaningful glance at Aaron, who was somewhat visible through the space between us.
“…It’s not because of me.”
Sure it isn’t.
Considering there were only two people here, that would imply I made her cry? While I was in a deep sleep?
Seeing Aaron making a ridiculous excuse, I looked at him with pity, confused about why he was frustrated, and he thumped his chest as if exasperated.
“Kanaaa…”
“Yeah.”
Alright, alright.
Thus, I swayed gently, still held tightly in Joanie’s embrace.
She’d been through a lot, so I’ll let it slide just this once.
