Chapter 102
Chapter 102
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 102
Chapter Title: Aftermath
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"O-Oppa...!"
"Let go."
Lily clung to Crow's leg and began to whimper.
She had never imagined things would turn out like this. She was convinced her tears were the only weapon that could soothe his rage and sense of betrayal.
"I said let go."
But Crow hurriedly dressed. In the midst of this horrific betrayal and fear, he didn't trust himself to spend the night with her.
He planned to head straight to the Director. The Association building's lights would still be on.
"Oppa, Oppa...! Wait just a moment. I-I didn't know it would turn out like this. I've never used this ability before...!"
Lily had to beg forgiveness from Crow, who had turned his back on her. If she let him leave like this, she felt they could never return to their old relationship.
"...That was a lie too, wasn't it."
Even now, Crow was starting to piece together all the plans she'd laid out up until this point.
"You've been biding your time until now, just waiting for a chance to pull this crap. How did you know? Did you read my memories like you did earlier...? That has to be it. Otherwise, it doesn't make sense. You watched and waited until today, seized the opportunity, and acted on it."
"N-No...! That's not it. Oppa, you're just so angry right now that you're getting all worked up. How could I ever do something like that to you...!"
It was true.
Lily had been reading Crow's memories all along.
He had no idea while he slept soundly, but she knew how to gradually read his thoughts and memories every day or so.
It had been at least two years since she first used her mental abilities.
"I thought you'd cut back on using your ability, but you'd just been doing it in secret."
"O-Oppa..."
His sharp senses had detected her ability probing his mind. It was Lily trying to read his thoughts to gauge how angry he was and figure out how to fix this.
"You're trying to do it right now too."
"Y-Yes...?"
As her secrets began to unravel, Lily could barely breathe and started sniffling for real. Actual tears were now streaming down her face. No more acting.
This wasn't supposed to happen. She'd practiced on all those other things.
All the covert practice with mental manipulation during her hero activities was crumbling right in front of Crow.
"...Let's live separately for a while. Don't talk to me."
"Oppa! O-Oppa! Wait just a moment..."
It had been ages since Crow got this mad. Even back in his reckless days when she'd torn his arms off, he hadn't been this furious.
"I did wrong... I-I didn't mean for it to go like this. I just thought you wouldn't accept me...!"
Lily hugged his left leg, sniffling while forcing a smile as she pleaded.
But his heart had already left.
This wasn't something he could brush off as a reckless confession from a girl at the end of puberty.
This was a betrayal of trust,
and the beginning of fear toward Lily.
"...I'll go sort my thoughts out. Don't follow me."
"W-Where are you going...? You know I can't even sleep properly without you...?"
"Let go. Stop being stubborn."
Even without reading his mind, Lily could vaguely predict what would happen next.
Rebuilding a shattered trust wouldn't be easy.
Crow wouldn't forget this anytime soon.
He wasn't the type.
And no one knew that better than Lily.
So she wailed and begged,
"Sob, hic, Oppaaaa... Waaaaah..."
then started barefootedly trailing after Crow.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇
Before long, the two burst into the Director's office.
Both Crow and Lily
arrived looking utterly wretched, as if they'd been chased out of their home.
"Wh-What...!"
Mullen, who was still waiting inside without having gone home, immediately lowered his gun and dropped his combat stance.
"What are you doing here at this hour? What kind of combo is this?"
Instead, the Director's eyes and brain swiftly assessed the reason for their visit and the situation at hand.
Crow, fuming with anger,
Lily, barefoot and following behind with scraped-up feet,
and himself standing before them.
"Haa, damn it. Here it comes."
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇
Without the Director's help, Crow's disappointment never would have subsided.
The two women spent over six hours persuading and apologizing before finally calming him down. As a result, Lily was no longer allowed to share a room with Crow.
Of course, that wasn't the end of it. For the next month or so, things between Crow and Lily remained awkward—a natural and obvious fact.
In the end, Crow took pity on her and forgave her, improving their relationship, but during that time, Lily barely ate and just shed tears.
That came a bit later.
For now, let's focus on the conversation between Lily and the Director after Crow left.
"Lily, are you out of your mind!?"
The Director's sharp scolding rang out toward the sniffling Lily.
The girl, already psychologically crushed, seemed at a loss as both of the two people she loved so dearly expressed intense anger.
"Answer me!"
"I-I didn't... kn-know this would happen...!"
"Haa, my god..."
However, the Director couldn't entirely take Crow's side.
He'd already lost his temper and was berating her,
but he worried that pushing too hard might drive the girl toward something extreme.
"...I clearly told you not to mess with other people's minds. You broke the promise you made with me."
Even so, the Director steadfastly did what he had to.
Both he and Crow needed to scold her so she'd never plot something like this again—even if it was a bit risky, he had to get angry.
"I-I just... liked Oppa so much..."
Lily showed honest sniffling even in front of the Director.
It was too pure to dismiss as cunning tears. She truly seemed lost.
"B-But! I felt like he wouldn't change his mind unless I did something like this... If I didn't...!"
"Does that even make sense?"
Lily crouched down right there, wiping her tears. Her vision was too blurry to speak properly, so she sobbed loudly while listening to the Director's scolding.
"Enough. Let's stop. I'm tired too. You know how much I care about you, right? Even though I've never had kids, I think of you as my own and look after you."
Lily collapsed to the floor and wailed openly.
She cried as if the world had ended.
"...Enough already, stop crying. Sigh, my fate."
It would be a lie to say he didn't feel sorry for her.
The Director genuinely pitied Lily.
"Cut it out! How long are you gonna cry?"
That maternal love had concealed Lily's mental manipulation ability, which was why the Director had also gotten an earful from Crow.
"No. Fine. Just cry your heart out. Cry until you're too parched to stand."
Even so, the Director lived treating this immature girl like his own daughter.
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"Feeling better now?"
Only after Lily's crying subsided somewhat did the Director speak.
It was at least two hours later.
"I don't know..."
"Alright, that's fine."
Sunken, hollow eyes,
and disheveled pink hair.
With the exhausted girl sitting between his legs, the Director sighed.
When he first started working at the Association, he'd never imagined he'd deal with trivial love affairs or child-rearing.
"Want some water?"
"Yes..."
No matter how much of a high-risk girl she was, seeing her bawl in the pain of heartbreak tugged at his heartstrings.
"Baby, remember today's lesson well."
It was unmistakably a mother's heart.
Crow and Justice cherished her like their own child too, but the Director seemed to feel an even greater maternal love for Lily.
"No matter how great your abilities are—even if you could have everything—sometimes you just can't have someone else's heart."
She wasn't born from his own womb,
but the fact that this child, who once twisted all life cruelly, had grown this much felt profoundly admirable.
"Hearts aren't easy things. In the end, it all comes down to this."
Gently placing his hand on Lily's grown chest,
the Director said.
"That's where it starts. Our work isn't much different. Some twist into villains, while others, no matter how painful, stay heroes and protect the citizens. Isn't it too cruel to overlay your powers on that? People live with their hearts, after all."
Lily still remembers those words.
"So don't torment yourself too much. To become an adult, sometimes you have to learn to let go."
The Director's voice
was just like when he'd read her fairy tales.
"Give your Oppa time to sort out his feelings too. Once you learn that, you'll truly be grown up."
Only then did Lily stop crying completely.
Her red eyes,
brimming with tears, looked up at the Director.