I wasnāt a fool. Although I was slower than others to notice it, it wasnāt that there was none at all, and once I noticed, more things tended to catch my eye.
In that sense, I think it would have been better not to notice Danteās heart from the beginning. No, I shouldnāt have noticed.
If that was the case, I wouldnāt have realized how hard it was to pretend not to know.
Even after I came to know Danteās heart, nothing changed between us. I decided to pretend I didnāt notice Danteās mind, as he didnāt know that I did.
But just as there is an unfilled gap between people who really donāt know and people who just pretend they donāt, treating Dante like beforeā¦ was a very difficult thing to do.
Whenever Dante acted so-called āobviousāā, he deliberately stiffened his face to put on a grave expression. When he couldnāt manage his expression, I changed the topic altogether, and very occasionally I pretended not to see or hear.
At first, I thought it was nothing special, but this was all about losing my mind. Besides, whether it was a side effect or not, I was dying because I kept trying to pay attention to each and every one of Danteās actions.
Dante keeps popping in at unexpected moments, and I try to pretend I didnāt notice each time. As I kept going like this, there was a tension between Dante and me that only I felt.
Itās a relief that Iām a bit of a bland personality, if there were people here who couldnāt care less, I would definitely have jumped out of the seat. While saying,Ā just say it and finish it!
Of course, itās not like I didnāt think it would be better for me to deliberately mention it and cut it off rather than going through this tired life. But every time that happened, I came to the conclusion that I didnāt have to.
Because Dante was the one who would leave this place someday.
The reason Dante is staying at my house is because he isnāt feeling well, and he has a record of saying with his own mouth,Ā āI will leave as soon as I feel betterā. In fact, at first he acted impatient because he couldnāt leave.
It seems that the time is a bit delayed since he is recovering naturally without any medicine, but anyway, Dante will return to where he was in order to deal with the people who are targeting him.
In short, it is a matter of time before Dante clears his mind. What am I going to do if I canāt organize things before you leave? Itāll cool off on its own if he gets farther away.
It was a problem that could be solved smoothly if I pretended not to know until the end. No, at least I thought so.
ā¦I thought so, but.
āIs it okay if you sleep on the sofa?ā
āYeah, Iām used to it now.ā
āAlright. Even if itās uncomfortable, bear with it a little longer, youāll leave when you feel better, anyway.ā
āā¦ā
To explain for a moment, I didnāt mean to say that. Dante seemed really uncomfortable, and there was nothing I could do for him, so I just told him to be patient.
Since Dante didnāt react much, I thought Danteās silence was an affirmation. So I bid him good night as usual, went to my room and slept.
The next morning after sleeping like that, I found another room in my house. Dante created another room with magic.
Heās expressing that he doesnāt want to leave, right?
The person who came up with the idea to renovate a house that was in good shape and put it into action seemed completely unconcerned. To the point of asking if I would like to open the door that suddenly appeared and take a look around the room.
But how surprised must I, the homeowner, be? No matter how hard it is, is it okay to show the will to live here so strongly?
Dante looked at me when I was taken aback, but the room didnāt disappear in the end.
***
āIām going to bed early today, so Iām going to read a book now.ā
The day I thought that this couldnāt be done, I picked up a book I randomly picked up and said.
In fact, the book was an excuse, and I meant to talk about it after all. Dante was uncharacteristically nervous, as if he understood that, and soon took a seat next to me.
It was nice to sit quietly next to him, but somehow I felt that the distance was ambiguous. Why does it feel like Iām sitting so far away?
I pondered and realized that at night, I always sat close to the light of the lamps. Yeah, itās daytime, so thereās no need for that. It must be only a feeling that the empty seats felt empty.
I donāt even intend to read the book anyway, so I started with the main topic without even pretending to open the book.
āAre you feeling any better?ā
āā¦Why, all of a sudden?ā
āThereās a room in my house that I havenāt seen before, but it doesnāt look like it was made by someone who says he canāt even use magic because heās sick.ā
Donāt laugh as if youāre embarrassed Because your worldwide beauty doesnāt work.
āDante. I was the one who asked you to stay until you were healed, and I have no intention of kicking anyone who is still sick out of my house.ā
The more I spoke, the more the smile disappeared from Danteās face. It was like someone who had a hunch, and, at the same time, wanted to reject that hunch.
āBut Iām asking because I feel like I have to. How are you feeling? Do you still have any discomfort?ā
āā¦ā
āWhy arenāt you answering?ā
Like a person who doesnāt want to talk about his body condition.
Just as I was thinking that, Dante suddenly stood up.
āIāll go get some water.ā
It was obvious that he intended to change the topic, but I decided to let it go. It didnāt matter whether we talked about it now or later anyway.
It was a small house anyway, he had nowhere to go, so it was a pity that he was trying to avoid a seat like that. He didnāt know that he showed a more definitive answer than his words.
I knew for sure this time. He doesnāt want to lie to me. And I donāt see any intention of him leaving here.
There was a time when I thought he was walking around vividly for a person whose body wasnāt fully recovered.. But I also thought that there was no reason for Dante to deceive me.
In fact, it was closer to not telling the truth that he had recovered rather than deliberately deceiving me, but judging by the way he avoided answering, it was there. Even though I believed in his words that he would leave as soon as he got better.
Dante was pouring water into a cup, pretending to be calm. Even so, the uneasiness was not hidden, and it was evident that he was really āpretending to be calmā.
Can I really just say it? I recalled the moments I had desperately turned away from, and let out a sigh.
āDante.ā
āHm.ā
I heard the answer with a slightly muffled pronunciation, perhaps because he was drinking water. I looked at Dante and sighed once again.
āAre you going to keep showing that you like me that much? Even a rabbit in the forest knows that.ā
Crack. There was the sound of a cup breaking.
***
D3.
Dante wanted to stay in this house as long as possible.
Rather than wanting to stay like this forever, he just didnāt want to leave her side. He didnāt want to go back to his normal life without her, and he wished he could enjoy this peace a little longer.
The plan to quickly return to his place once his body was completely healed had long since disappeared. He always wondered how much longer it would be natural to say that he was better, and how much longer he could stay here if he said so.
It was for this reason that he made a room rather impulsively. It sounds like heās going out soon, so be patient if heās uncomfortable, knowing well that he wants to stay longer and uses the bed to kick him out.
She didnāt seem to mean it, seeing as she was dumbfounded by the addition of another room, but Dante wanted to get rid of anything that would give him a reason to leave, no matter what.
And the thing Dante had to hide most thoroughly from her was the fact that he liked her.
He promised to leave when he was well, but if she knew he was staying, and besides, it was out of selfishnessā¦ He seemed to make even the most nonchalant person uncomfortable.
Itās a relief if sheās just uncomfortable, but then she could have returned a cold reply saying that he had no reason to stay longer. He knew that those words would hurt more than any other rejection, and he didnāt want to create a situation where she would say something like that.
So Dante was, at times, fortunate that she was dull. He was grateful that she didnāt know even though his heart resented it, and he hoped that if possible she wouldnāt know until he made up his mind.
As time passed, he wondered if it was possible to organize his mind, but the important thing was that he made an effort.
If thereās one thing Dante doesnāt think of here, itās that Dante hasnāt had to hide these kinds of feelings in over 100 years, and thatās why he hasnāt even tried to hide them until now.
This was like saying that he was very bad at hiding the fact that he liked someone.
Dante was hiding it in his own way, but, well. Did his clumsy trickery really work on her?
His misfortunes here were only two. That she was just pretending not to know, and that she was a much more direct person than he thought.
In the end, Dante comes up with an excuse and takes a sip of cold water when he hears unexpected words.
āAre you going to keep showing that you like me that much? Even a rabbit in the forest knows that.ā
It was an instant for the cup to slip from Danteās hand.