Echoes of the Storm and the Daughter's Unbidden Words
The spore storm had finally passed, and I waited for the floating debris to settle before cautiously stepping inside.
Deep down, I expected the boy to be sobbing in fear, but he stood there with surprising boldness. His eyes sparkled as he looked up at me, a bit overwhelming.
“Are you all right?”
“Yes, I’m fine! Thank you so much for saving me.”
Makahina bowed deeply with energy. Aside from the messy tear streaks around his eyes, his resilience from what he had just been through was astonishing.
Had he been telling me about it?
“Uh, yeah. Did you get hurt anywhere?”
“Yeah. There’s no scratch on me either.”
Whoa, that’s pretty impressive.
A kid with such solid mental strength.
Suddenly, I recalled my first meeting with Red. Trapped by monsters and spores, she had cursed me out badly.
I extended my hand, the one not stained with blood, and gently stroked the boy’s hair.
“You’re amazing. You must have been scared all alone, but you endured.”
“Ah…”
Makahina’s shoulders twitched, and his cheeks flushed bright red.
In an instant, the boy’s face turned almost scarlet, like it was about to burst. He glanced at me for a moment, then suddenly opened his mouth.
“Um…”
“What’s wrong? Are you in pain?”
“I think you’re really pretty…”
What the heck? That was completely out of left field.
“…What?”
I blinked in confusion.
He’s complimenting me? Just like that?
‘Huh, what’s this?’
He’s just a kid, right?
‘…Did he inhale spores too?’
Well, it was probably just a kid’s weird quirk coming out.
Kids usually express themselves straight from the heart.
I went along with it.
“Thanks. You’re pretty cute too. When you grow up, you’ll definitely get a lot of attention.”
Makahina’s face flushed even more intensely than before, turning a bright tomato red. He looked like he didn’t know what to do and stared down at the ground, fidgeting with the tips of his shoes.
These kids are something else.
“Alright, that’s enough embarrassing talk.”
Now that the tension had eased, I should move on.
I glanced around at the messy surroundings, turned my heel, and started walking.
“Let’s go. I’m getting out of this disgusting place.”
“Yeah, yeah…”
◆◇◆
I covered my ears with both hands.
What if the door breaks? Will I get eaten by the monsters like this?
Just then, I heard a cracking sound.
A woman’s voice came from outside the door.
“Who’s in there?”
It was a woman.
A wave of relief washed over me.
As she kept talking from outside the door, the fear that had settled in my body slowly disappeared.
“Family, right? I hope you’re safe. Don’t blame yourself too much. You’ve learned enough from this.”
If it hadn’t been for her, I would have already bid farewell to the living world.
Finally, the storm stopped, and the iron door opened.
I couldn’t help but hold my breath.
‘…!’
A sharp sword covered in black bloodstains. It should have looked terrifying, but to my eyes, it didn’t at all.
A red aura swirled at the tips of her hair, but overall, her white hair looked completely out of place here.
…It was beautiful.
“Are you okay?”
She asked me.
I answered boldly, hiding the fact that my heart was pounding.
“Yes, I’m fine! Thank you so much for saving me.”
I bowed deeply, but her face kept flashing in my mind. How could her voice be so calm and beautiful?
While I was marveling inwardly, she stroked my hair.
“You’re amazing. You must have been scared all alone, but you endured.”
It was too gentle. Her touch was so soft that my heart felt like it was about to leap out of my throat. Heat rose in my face. It must have been bright red up to my ears.
‘Ah, what do I do…’
Although I avoided her gaze out of embarrassment, my lips moved on their own. The true feelings I had only swallowed inside suddenly came spilling out.
“Um…”
“What’s wrong? Are you in pain?”
“That’s not it!”
“I think you’re really pretty…”
You’re crazy! What are you saying right now!
I clenched my mouth shut, feeling like I was the one going mad.
She blinked for a moment, then let out a soft laugh.
“Thanks. You’re pretty cute too. When you grow up, you’ll definitely get a lot of attention.”
My mind went blank, and I stared at the floor as if it would swallow me whole. I fidgeted with my toes.
“Let’s go. I’m getting out of this disgusting place.”
Watching her back as she led the way, I swallowed hard.
With her around, I would feel safe anywhere.
“Yeah, yeah…”
I followed her at a light trot.
◆◇◆
I’m not that oblivious.
This little brat is completely head over heels for me.
Saving my life might have earned respect or gratitude as an idol, but that’s not it at all.
The blushing cheeks and sparkling eyes were basically saying, ‘I’ve fallen in love with you.’
He couldn’t hide it at all, and it was way too obvious.
Well, he was still a kid, after all. Kids at that age get swept away by emotions easily.
Let’s put that aside.
The real problem was that this kid was the son of Maya.
Even while pretending, I was a Receptor.
It was like falling in love with a monster that was similar to spores.
Ugh. I didn’t even need to imagine what Maya would do.
‘Did I soften my words too much by accident?’
I had treated the boy who had died and come back more gently than usual. I had already heard that he was ‘kind’ right before.
Who would have thought this would backfire like this?
Makahina glanced at me and asked cautiously.
“…Can I hold your hand?”
“Why?”
“You’re walking really fast…”
Since I was used to walking alone, my steps were a bit faster.
Instead of letting the kid lag behind in a place full of unknowns, it was safer to stick close to me.
I extended my clean hand without any blood on it.
“I’ll adjust my stride, so follow me straight without missing.”
“Yeah!”
The boy grabbed my hand without hesitation.
“…”
It wasn’t the trembling from fear. He was clutching my hand too tightly, as if it were a precious treasure.
And then he fiddled with my fingers, playing around.
“Why are you doing that?”
“…Your hand is really soft.”
“Eh, thanks.”
As I replied vaguely, the boy started gently rubbing the back of my hand with his thumb.
Look at this kid?
“It smells really good too…”
“You just came from cleaning up the monster, so it’s probably full of blood smell.”
“No! Not the blood smell—it smells sweet and nice.”
He had thick blinders on.
Who fed the kid strange medicine?
Or had the spores paralyzed his sense of smell?
I was the sinner for ruining a pure kid’s ideal type like this.
“…You’re not actually infected, are you?”
“Of course not!”
How could I not realize? Even the potato protagonist in those misunderstanding stories would have noticed.
It was truly a serious mess.
I didn’t even like men, and this kid was way too young. This was completely off.
Makahina looked up at me.
“What’s your name?”
“Well, for now, it’s Elia.”
“Why do you keep saying ‘for now’?”
“We’re executives. Saying words to make it sound bad is basic skill.”
“I’m the son of an executive too?”
“Yeah, right.”
He was incredibly bold.
Makahina swung my tightly held hand left and right, like he was about to burst into song.
‘If Maya finds out, she’ll faint from shock…’
No, before fainting, she might come to cut off my head.
I decided to focus only on safely exiting the building first.
◆◇◆
“We saved Makahina! He’s safe!”
In the communication report from Elia, the agent who received the shared transmission shouted with a relieved voice.
Everyone was cheering when Red blocked Libera’s path with a cold face.
“Wait a second. Let me talk to you.”
“…What’s this all of a sudden?”
“You probably know what I’m going to say better than I do.”
Red dragged Libera into a dimly lit corridor without giving her a chance to refuse. It was an isolated spot.
Libera leaned against the wall with her arms crossed.
“So, what do you have to say?”
That was the exact moment Libera asked.
“Ugh…”
Red grabbed Libera’s collar roughly and pushed her against the wall. Boom! Libera’s back slammed hard into the concrete wall.
“Red! What the hell are you suddenly—”
“Are you out of your mind?”
In Red’s eyes, there was an unconcealed killing intent. Her knuckles turned white as she trembled. Her voice, suppressed so others wouldn’t hear, was like that of a beast.
“Fucking Administrator, what the hell is she doing here.”
“….”
“Answer me, Libera. Why is that woman here?”
“…She’s the Administrator. It’s only natural she’s here. You know that well.”
Red didn’t hide her hostility.
“You’ve already forgotten what that woman did to Elia? It’s all because of the Administrator.”