Illness-san, how should I say thisā¦ā¦ With familiar movements, she casually ties her hair in a light knot and stands in front of the baby castella cooking apparatus. She then baked baby castellas in such a fluid motion that there wasnāt even any need to check if they were baked well or not.
This was the first time I had seen Illness-san with her hair tied back, so her appearance looked rather refreshing.
[How was it liiiiiiike, running a staaaaaall?]
[It was quite an interesting experience. It was my first time participating in a festival like this, so it was a fresh and fun experience.]
[I see~~ Iām glad if Kaito-sama enjoys yourseeeeeelf.]
[ā¦ā¦Have you ever opened a stall or something like this before, Illness-san?]
Fortunately, there were no customers at the moment, so we exchanged words while Iām watching Illness-sanās side profile as she baked baby castellas. Hmmm, how should I say thisā¦ā¦ She may be small-statured, but when I see her cooking like this, I feel that sheās very dependable and mature.
Itās strange how Tre-san, who is tall and has the body of a model, doesnāt seem very mature, while Illness-san, who is petite and has the appearance of a young woman, seems more like an adult.
I guess itās just the difference in their atmosphere, or perhaps, it may be the difference in the mood around them.
[No~~ In the first plaaaaace, Iāve hardly participated in festivals befoooooore.]
[Is that so?]
[Yeeees. I wasnāt very interested in festivaaaaaals, so I havenāt really bothered attendiiiiiiing.]
[I see. If Iām not mistaken, Illness-san doesnāt like boisterous places, so you never really felt like it.]
I have the impression that Illness-san doesnāt like noisy places, so itās understandable why she hasnāt been to many festivals.
In fact, my parents used to take me to festivals like this when I was a kid, but I donāt remember going much after I grew up. I think Iāve often been going to festivals when I came to this world thoughā¦ā¦
[ā¦ā¦Iāve alwaaaaaaays thought that festivals werenāt really something people needeeeeed.]
[Unnn?]
[I thought something thatās whooooole purpose was just for peopleās enjoyment wasnāt necessaryyyyyy.]
[ā¦ā¦ā¦ā¦ā¦ā¦ā¦ā¦ā¦]
With her gaze fixed on the iron plate, she muttered somewhat to herself. I thought that was unusual though. Illness-san doesnāt often talk about her past after all. Although it may be partly because sheās basically acting as a listener when talking to me, she rarely talks about what she was like in the past.
But recently, she has started to talk to me about her past, and it seems that she has undergone some kind of change of heart.
[ā¦ā¦Back theeeeen, I used to travel around the Demon Reaaaaalm. I didnāt really have any reason whyyyyy. Itās just, somehooooow, I felt like knowing various things is the right thing to dooooo.]
[I think thatās a good ideaā¦ā¦]
[Thaaaaat wasnāt really an action brought by my desiiiiiire. I had a vague idea of what I thought was the right way to liiiiiive, and I was just following iiiiiiit. I never felt anythiiiiiing. Even if I saved someoneeeeeee or accomplished somethiiiiiiing, I didnāt feel any sense of accomplishmeeeeent. It was just thaaaaat I just felt like I had completed some sort of quota.]
I quietly listened to the words Illness-san calmly spoke. The content should be quite heavy depending on how you look at it, but for Illness-san herself, that doesnāt seem to be a problem.
After all, from the beginning, Illness-san had been describing it in the past tenseā¦ā¦ As if sheās implying that the present is differentā¦ā¦
[Iām sure I had been empty all those tiiiiiimes. I havenāt thought that bad of a thing thouuuuughā¦ā¦]
[ā¦ā¦How about now?]
[I wonder about thaaaat? To be honest, there are still a looooooot of things I donāt understaaaand. However, indeeeeedā¦ā¦ I donāt think I would be able to turn back to the empty me anymooooore.]
[I donāt know what Illness-san was like back then, so I canāt judge how the you back then would compare to how you are nowā¦ā¦ But still, Iām sureā¦ā¦ that the current Illness-san is much lovelier now than you were in the past.]
[ā¦ā¦Kuhihi, thank you very muuuuuch. Hearing Kaito-sama say thaaaaat makes me especially happyyyyyy.]
The expression on Illness-sanās face as she turned to me and smiled, at least, doesnāt look empty at all. Even if the her in the past was empty, I could feel that the current Illness-san is filled with a lot of emotions.
After that, Illness-san turned her gaze back to the iron plate and her mouth moved a bit.
[ā¦ā¦And all of thiiiiiis are things Iāve received from my beloved youuuuu.]
Iām not sure if she didnāt intend to let me hear what she said or not , but I havenāt heard what it is that she saidā¦ā¦ but looking at the expression on Illness-sanās face, I could somehow tell that what she said isnāt something bad.