Chapter 6

Felix didn’t answer and gripped my shoulder even tighter. It genuinely hurt, but I managed to endure it because I thought the guest might start being wary of Felix again if I made a scene. My sole focus was to avoid making a fool of myself.

The guest seemed to give up on getting an answer from Felix, gave a bitter smile, and spoke to me.

“Then I’ll head in. See you tomorrow.”

“Yes, get some rest.”

Only when the guest had completely left did the tension in my body ease slightly. But I immediately stiffened again at the sinister voice whispering in my ear.

“Traitor.”

“Uh… Fel? Look…”

“It’s strange. You should have ten mouths and still have nothing to say for yourself right now. Is it possible you have no conscience?”

“…”

“‘Are you good at it?’ At what?”

“…”

“You have to answer. I’m asking you. What?”

You were the one who told me to shut my mouth. What on earth do you want from me? Looking at his extremely grumpy expression, I suspected he might just want to torment me.

Unable to do anything and left speechless, I was shaken by the shoulder in Felix’s hand as I questioned myself.

Is this situation really my fault? I felt quite wronged, so perhaps it wasn’t? Then whose fault was it? Felix, who returned just as he said he would? But what did he do wrong?

The questions just spun in circles, and I couldn’t clearly distinguish right from wrong. In the end, I gave up on judging where the responsibility lay.

Rather than that, I thought it better to resent my own unfortunate fate for not having the protection of a god, wondering why it had to be today of all days.

“Sit here.”

Felix sat conspicuously in the chair I had awkwardly pulled out for him and scanned the room. This was the first time I had invited him into my home. In fact, I hadn’t even intended to. If I had known I would end up breaking my own rules like this, I should have just stopped acting so high-and-mighty and invited him at least once. It was just a temporary residence anyway.

If I had, I wouldn’t have had to deal with Felix, who had just realized that fact and was now in an even worse mood.

“I see. Now I finally understand. You have never once thought of me seriously. That’s why you never let me into your home all this time. I was the only one getting all worked up by myself. I must have looked like such an idiot to you.”

I sat in the chair opposite him, watching Felix as he vented his anger in a calm, measured voice. Sorry to say, but almost none of what he said was sinking in.

Once I calmed down a little, other questions began to wander through my head.

Why did he come back?

This had never happened before. Even if I had occasionally reunited with someone elsewhere, I had never before experienced someone who had once left choosing to return to the same place. Having never experienced this before, I was so flustered that my thinking went haywire.

Anyone who leaves me once is finished. But… can I really consider that he had left? Felix had said he would “go for a bit” in the first place. Doesn’t that mean that since Felix kept his word, we were never really broken up from the start?

But didn’t I think it was already over back then? Then what happens to my existing self-imposed rule that I wouldn’t reconnect with a relationship I had already deemed finished? Does Felix become an exception? Is it okay to make such an exception? Even though I made that rule specifically to avoid making exceptions?

Ah, come to think of it, from the moment I let him into my house, the rules were already…

“Are you spacing out right now?”

“Huh?”

“Is what I’m saying that annoying to listen to? Even if you hate it, listen. It’s because you’re the one in the wrong.”

“Huh? Is it my fault?”

“You’re going to act this shamelessly? Are you really trying to start a fight with me or what?”

“N-no…”

“You think you can handle it? Then why don’t you try making an excuse? I’ll say this in advance, I’m not going to let you win this time.”

“Why?”

“What?”

“Why won’t you let me win?”

“Are you asking me to give in on this? How is that any different from saying you’ll do the same thing again while I’m gone! Do you have any idea what you did wrong? You flirt!”

“I thought you weren’t coming back.”

He, who had been huffing and puffing, immediately retorted.

“Don’t talk nonsense. I clearly said I would be back in a bit.”

“I thought you wouldn’t keep your word.”

“You were the one who didn’t believe me on your own accord.”

“…”

“Do you have anything else to say?”

“…You said it would be a bit. It’s been half a month.”

“That is…! Ha…”

In that moment, Felix, who was about to lose his temper, gripped his fist on the table tightly, trying hard to contain himself. He soon took a deep breath and spoke in a calm tone again.

“Fine. It might be my fault for not setting an exact duration. But in this world, no one can help it. It’s impossible to set an exact date for the future, too. Still… I will try my best to return faster next time.”

At that moment, my head suddenly throbbed.

He’s going to keep coming back to me in the future? Why?

I felt my heart rate increase. Was I touched? No. It was because the suspicion arose that perhaps Felix had noticed my divine power long ago and had been using his own body as bait to get to me. If that were true, he was truly a vicious person.

“Do you have anything else to say?”

“If not…?”

“Then we have to make a promise and reconcile.”

“…”

“Are you going to cheat again?”

What do I do? I suddenly wanted to put as much distance between myself and Felix as possible. That attitude of his, as if he had no intention of ending our relationship, was absolutely terrifying.

Why do you go that far? Just let me go! I’m just a pawn at the bottom of the ladder!

I swallowed the words I desperately wanted to shout and clamped my mouth shut.

Should I just tell him we should break up? But if he’s already convinced, what’s the point of ignoring it like that? If I just brush him aside because he bothers me, only for it to return as karma I can’t handle later? Is it safer to keep him in my line of sight? But I’m scared.

‘That’s why you should have just not used your power from the start, you fool.’

I imagined the look of my “master,” who would be giggling and laughing at the sight of me digging my own grave just to protect the last shred of my humanity.

Because of my master, whose mere imagination was harmful to my health, my head felt even dizzier.

As the silence grew long, Felix’s eyebrows, which had seemed to soften for a moment, drew a high mountain once again.

“Your answer?”

“I don’t know.”

“What?”

“I don’t know. I’m not going to answer. I don’t want to make a promise.”

“You!”

It was hard to endure the waves of nausea. When I refused to talk and got up from my seat, Felix, unable to hold back any longer, jumped up with a loud shout. I forcibly pushed his body and shoved him out of the house. Even while unable to erase the ferocious look from his face, Felix retreated without much resistance.

“There are rooms left at the inn. Go there and sleep.”

“Iel!”

“I want to think about it a bit more. So talk to me later.”

I closed the door, leaving him standing outside with an angry face.

I said I would think about it, but perhaps because I had such a strong desire to ignore everything, once I got rid of Felix, I couldn’t think of anything else. I felt empty, as if I had suddenly been hollowed out.

I lay face down on the bed and buried my face in the pillow. It would have been nice to fall into a smooth sleep with a suddenly quiet mind, but unfortunately, there was an interruption before that.

The head that had finally been quiet began to spin again.

Knock, knock. The intruder announced their presence with a knock to ensure I wouldn’t be startled. As if saying, ‘I’m still here.’ And before long, a formal, well-structured sentence followed.

Unlike before, it was a quiet voice without any trace of anger.

“I didn’t mean to force you. If my attitude seemed that way, I’m sorry. I was just angry, and I wanted you to know that fact. It was just a tantrum. I didn’t want to vent on you and break up.”

“…”

“So let’s talk a bit more. I want you to tell me what bothered you.”

“…”

“I’ll wait until you feel like talking.”

And silence. That bothered me even more. I lay face down on the bed, blinking for a long time, and eventually sat up.

Damn it. Thanks to the intruder outside the door, my sleepiness had completely vanished.

When I opened the door, Felix, who had been looking at the floor, lifted his gaze.

“Come in.”

He stepped inside without a word. I grabbed him, his spirits visibly crushed, and led him to the bed. He let himself be led quietly this time as well. I spoke, in case he misunderstood.

“I’m not saying we’re going to do anything. I’m not in the mood. It’s just late, and there’s only one bed in my house, so we don’t have a choice if we’re going to sleep.”