If he asks me that, then I have no choice but to answer.
âUh, stalker.â
âWhat?!â
Dante screamed. Ah, come to think of it, I didnât say anything about the stalker.
âA bastard who follows me just because he likes me. Let me be clear, I definitely declined. I also said I had a lover.â
When I turned my body to look up at Dante, his purple eyes were very dark and vivid. Something a little different from usual, purple is definitely a cold color, yet it feels like itâs burning.
You could even look so angry.
Soon after, a growling voice came out.
âSince when?â
âUm, I donât remember exactly.â
I roughly counted the dates and tilted my head. I come to the next village at least once a week, and I think heâs followed me four or five times so farâŚ
âA month, if I only count for a period of time?â
âA month?!â
At that moment, in front of us, the man who was shouting, âWhat are you! Where did you come from!â became quiet. His mouth is constantly twitching, yet I canât hear any sound, so it must be magic.
I feel this again, but itâs really instant to use magic. I unknowingly cast my gaze toward that direction, but Dante continued his conversation without taking his eyes off me.
âHas that person done anything to harm you?â
âNo, there was no such thing.â
If there was any harassment, I wouldnât have stayed quiet either. I rolled my eyes as I added.
Dante opened and closed his mouth with a puzzled expression. He frowned and pressed her brow for a while, then he spoke in a suppressed voice.
âWhy until now⌠No, weâll talk about that later.â
When Dante stretched out his hand toward the man, a magic circle floated beneath the manâs feet.
As if he seemed taken aback by the sudden situation, the man was shouting something and pointing at him, but I didnât see it closely.
A soft light rose from the magic circle for a while, and the man disappeared in an instant.
âWhat did you do?â
âI just sent him out of sight.â
Where? I was about to ask that. Sending people away with a single gesture seemed familiar to him, and I wondered how often he would use that magic to be able to use it so quickly.
Thinking heâd handled it well, he shrugged his shoulders.
So are we going home now? After looking at the spot where the man had disappeared, I looked at Dante again, but suddenly my wrist caught. It was soft enough to be easily shaken off, yet somehow it felt firm.
âEi.â
âYes.â
âWhy didnât you tell me until now?â
Well, if you ask me that, I have nothing to say. I just had no idea.
In the meantime, I havenât been able to explain to others what Iâve been through. After living for a long time, I was able to handle most things by myself, and for a while, there was no one close enough whom I could tell about what I had been through.
But itâs weird to explain it like this, and itâs even weirder to say that I didnât feel the need to say that.
I racked my brain over what I was going to say, then decided to just babble.
âBecause I forget when I see your face?â
At those words, Dante grinned. Ah, itâs the usual gentle face, but why do I get goosebumps, I wonder.
âShall we talk on the way home?â
Youâre angry. Iâm doomed.
***
Like that, we walked home on our own two feet through the forest road without using magic.
Itâs been a while since I moved to the village, but the forest is still there. Except for the well-trimmed land, which was an abandoned dirt road, it was the scenery at the time I was living.
I glanced at the man who made the road so neat, who was swaying my hand back and forth on purpose.
Dante, who wanted to talk on the way home, didnât say anything for a long time. But seeing that he didnât let go of my hand during that time, I donât think heâs angry.
âDante.â
ââŚâ
He didnât answer. Is he really angry?
âDante.â
ââŚWhy.â
When I called him once more, he answered as if he couldnât help it. I asked, feeling a bit awkward.
âAre you mad at me?â
At those words, Dante stood tall. After standing there for a while, he sighed, held my hands and looked at me.
Danteâs face, facing me straight, looked somewhat gloomy. I thought it would be an angry expression, but it was more like a sullen one.
âYou didnât do anything wrong, so why am I mad at you? That person is crazy.â
âNo, I thought you were mad at me for not telling you.â
âThatâsâŚâ
Dante opened his lips a few times, then muttered as if he was talking to himself.
âRather than angry⌠Iâm regretting it.â
âHm? Why all of a sudden?â
âDidnât you say nothing because I wasnât trustworthy?â
âWhat? No, what kind of nonsense is that?â
I raised my voice in bewilderment at the unexpected words, and Danteâs face was openly sullen.
Itâs been a long time since Iâve seen him this depressed, so I unknowingly released Danteâs hand and grabbed his arm.
âItâs not like that. Itâs just⌠I forgot to say it. Also, heâs not even worth caring about, and I didnât want to even bother talking about him.â
âStillâŚâ
âStill?â
As I followed Danteâs words and tilted my head, Dante hesitated before continuing his words.
âI should have asked first what happened. When I went to pick you up, I should have gone straight to the next village instead of meeting you after you came out of the forest.â
What are you talking about? I looked at Dante silently, and let out a long breath as he seemed to have no intention of getting angry with me until the end.
He might say, âWhy didnât you tell me?â I only thought he was thinking about how to get angry, yet he was reflecting without even asking.
Although itâs not that he thinks of himself as insignificant, I donât know why he only becomes so small in front of me. Thinking about that, I stretched my hand over Danteâs head, and Dante lowered his stance just enough for me to pet him.
âYouâve been very busy lately to pick me up like that. Why do you keep blaming yourself?â
ââŚBut.â
âAnd I didnât say anything, so why are you regretting it?â
Youâre so sweet sometimes that itâs a problem. As I slowly stroked Danteâs hair, he closed his eyes.
âIf thereâs anything unusual going on in the future, Iâll remember to tell you.â
âReally?â
âYeah, really.â
âYou made a promise⌠You must tell me.â
Even if I said that, his depressed face didnât go away. Isnât it meaningless just to say that?
I was thinking about how to ease Danteâs mood, but at that moment, a method flashed in my head.
A way to express that I believe in Dante and if I say something like this, Iâm conveying that Iâm really committed to tell him everything.
ââŚâ
No, yeah. It certainly seemed like the perfect mood to do this. But at the same time, it was such an outrageous idea.
Itâs the first time Iâve developed into a relationship like this, so Iâve never thought about it any further. In fact, Marsha had asked a similar question a few days ago, yet I answered that I hadnât thought of doing it yet.
No matter how much we live in the same house, Dante told me he would never leave, and the villagers treat us almost like a married couple, so isnât it still a little early?
âŚIs it not?
The more I thought about it, the more it felt strange. It will come out someday, anyway, though?
âEi?â
As I was shaking my brain fiercely, it seemed that my steps slowed down unconsciously. I looked up at Dante at the sound of my name being called.
Hmm. Looking at this face again, I realized that I was worrying too much.
âPhew, nevermind. Itâs good if it overflows.â
ââŚ?â
I quickly shook my head to end my thoughts. It was funny that I was thinking about this while trying to ease Danteâs mood, but it didnât seem like a bad idea.
I can roughly predict what kind of reaction he will have, so well, the sullenness will definitely be resolved.
When I stopped on the spot, Dante followed me and stopped.
âDante.â
ââŚWhy?â
âYou said you were going to stay with me?â
Dante nodded his head as if I was asking the obvious.
âYouâre not going anywhere?â
âYeah.â
âAre you going to continue listening to me?â
âYeah.â
Think about it before you answer. I looked at Dante with a docile expression and cleared my throat a few times.
âActually, thereâs something that person always said, though?â
Dante looked at me curiously, as if he was lost in the flow of the conversation. Iâm saying this because I have an idea, so just listen.
âUntil I got married, he said that I could have several lovers, and he wanted to date me.â
ââŚWhat kind of garbage.â
âThen it was obvious to him that I was fed up with my lover, so he started talking nonsense about coming to him⌠No, thatâs enough.â
I even spat out such useless noises. I tried my best to ignore Danteâs eyes shaping into something again.
âSo I thought about what I should do to never hear that kind of thing again, and there was the simplest way.â
Saying that, I grabbed Danteâs cheeks and pulled him closer. He was as cute as usual with his eyes widening at the sudden approaching distance.
I looked him straight in the eyes and spoke in a clear voice that Dante could understand at once.