Grandfather's Forgiveness
"Please tell me, Grandfather Ferman."
I carefully laid Rain down next to Chuchu. The giant dog's fluffy white fur warmly enveloped the unconscious girl. Peeking out just enough to see, I watched Amy and Ferman. Amy looked absolutely livid, while Ferman's face was stiff with tension.
"Are you going to keep getting in my way?"
"I must at least know the reason."
The stances of the two, who had been staring each other down, began to shift. Bit by bit, ever so slightly.
Immediately after, Amy stomped her foot with a loud crash.
"The kids made a total mess of the hallway!"
Boom! With a violent explosion, a blinding white light burst from beneath Amy's feet. The glare was so intense that I squeezed my eyes shut, and then I heard Ferman's voice.
"Didn't you do the same thing often when you were young?"
"But!"
"That is how children grow."
As the bright light began to fade, I was able to open my eyes. As I slowly lowered the hands covering my face, I saw Amy, who was panting heavily. Having experienced Ferman's ability firsthand, I realized that Amy was repeating the same moment in time because of Ferman's power. I wondered how many times this had repeated already.
Amy began to move. She dashed forward, and Ferman calmly took a defensive stance. The two of them pivoted at the exact same time. Having repeated this loop who knows how many times, they were far too familiar with each other's attacks. Long legs and arms stretched toward each other, trading blows in a flurry of offense and defense. Every time their arms brushed, their sleeves tore into long, fluttering ribbons. Amy's eyes, glaring at Ferman, were filled with mounting irritation.
I bit my hand as I watched them. What if they get hurt fighting like that? The fight had started because of me—no, because of us. The culprits were right here, and it was undeniably our fault. Which meant Amy wasn't in the wrong.
I squeezed Shine's hand tightly and looked back at her.
"Jeff."
Shine nodded, as if she already knew what I was thinking without me having to say a word. I nodded back and patted Chuchu's fur.
"Chuchu. Bring Rain over."
Woof. Chuchu, who had been curled up, barked in response, gently picking up the limp Rain with his mouth and tossing her onto his back. Rain still showed no signs of waking up.
I swallowed hard and patted my own head. If I could just stop this fight, I would gladly take a flick to the forehead. No, maybe even two. Actually, no. Just one. I touched my head, my face crumpling into a tearful expression.
Ferman and Amy backed away from each other, creating some distance. Ferman tossed aside his tattered jacket. Fiddling with the watch on his wrist, he spoke to Amy.
"Amy."
"What is it."
"I've already cleared the kids' missing persons report."
"Already?"
Ferman nodded and took his stance once more. It was at that exact moment. Chuchu, with Rain on his back, dashed forward and blocked the path between Amy and Ferman. Woof, woof! Chuchu barked, looking back and forth between Ferman and Amy. He slid Rain off his back onto the floor and prostrated himself right next to her. Seeing this, I ran out between the two of them along with Shine.
"Please stop!"
At my shout, everyone's eyes gathered on me.
"It's our fault!"
I threw myself flat on the floor, just like Chuchu. Shine, also knowing she was in the wrong, prostrated herself beside me. Chuchu whimpered, not even lifting his head.
"It really is our fault, Amy. We're so sorry for making a mess of the hallway." I squeezed my eyes shut and spoke desperately. "So please, don't fight! Your clothes are already ruined. I... we'll even take the punishment of drinking five glasses of green juice! Rain will drink even more!"
Getting flicked on the forehead was incredibly painful. Amy's fists were powerful enough to dent a massive steel doll, so getting hit by them always left a huge bump. Then that spot would throb and burn all day. The green juice Amy made was absolutely dreadful. Having to drink five glasses of it as a punishment was a nightmare. On days I drank it, I would suffer from terrible nightmares. Getting spanked was also incredibly painful. If Amy's large palm struck my butt, it would burn as if it were on fire. If that happened, I wouldn't be able to sit in a chair easily for the rest of the day.
But still, it was fine. If it could stop this fight, I was willing to take any of those punishments. Well, actually, if possible, I'd prefer to just get one... I secretly hoped. I couldn't bring myself to open my tightly shut eyes. My trembling hand gripped Shine's hand as hard as I could.
"Do you really understand what you did wrong?"
As I lay there shivering with my eyes squeezed shut, Amy's voice drifted down from right above my head. I cautiously opened my eyes and looked up at her. Amy's expression had softened. There wasn't a single trace of anger left on her face. I nodded and answered.
"Yes."
"You promise?"
"Yes!"
Amy chuckled softly and patted my head.
"What about Shine?"
"I'm sorry. I won't do it again."
"Good. If you do something wrong, you shouldn't hide it. You have to tell the truth. Understand?"
"Okay."
Amy scooped both Shine and me up in her arms. My field of vision suddenly shot upward. As I looked at Amy in surprise, she gestured toward Ferman with her eyes.
"The apology shouldn't be to me, but to my dad. He's the master of this place, after all."
Ferman looked at Shine and me, fiddling with the watch on his wrist. It seemed to be a habit of his whenever he took off his outer coat.
"We're sorry, Grandfather!" I bowed my head deeply and apologized to Ferman. Shine, who had been hanging quietly beside me, saw me and bowed her head as well. "We're sorry, Grandfather."
Ferman didn't answer. Instead, Amy's voice rang out.
"G-Grandfather?"
I cautiously raised my head. Ferman's face came into view. He was covering his trembling lips with his hand. Even so, his eyebrows twitched as if he couldn't hold back his sheer delight.
"Ahem. Cough!"
Ferman cleared his throat and gestured. At his signal, the servants waiting nearby rushed over and began to clean up the messy surroundings. An employee naturally approached and handed Ferman a jacket identical to the one he had been wearing earlier. Slipping into the dark blue suit jacket, Ferman buttoned it up and spoke to us.
"It is fine. Everyone makes mistakes in life."
Was it really okay? Since Amy said Ferman was the one we had to apologize to, if he forgave us, did that mean we wouldn't get punished? I kicked my legs in anticipation.
"You still have to be punished, though."
"Huh? But Grandfather said it was okay!"
I flailed my legs wildly at Amy's words. Amy looked bewildered by my response.
"Since when did you start calling him 'Grandfather'?"
"Grandfather Ferman told me to call him that just a moment ago."
Amy pursed her lips at my answer. Her gaze shifted strangely as she stared at Ferman.
"Did you really want to hear them call you 'Grandfather' that badly?"
"Ahem."
"Should I start calling you 'Grandfather' too?"
"Ahem. Now that I think about it, it seems to be about time for lunch." Ferman ignored Amy's teasing and checked the time. He walked slowly past Amy. "If you do not mind, let us have lunch together today."
I kicked my legs in excitement at Ferman's words. Amy, who was holding me, swayed along with my movements.
"Jeff. Behave."
Amy held my flailing legs tightly to keep me still. But how could I not be excited? A meal with Ferman meant a table piled high with delicious food. My mouth watered automatically.
"Um, Amy. What's the punishment?"
Just then, Shine's voice shattered my expectations. She was frowning, clearly terrified of whatever punishment Amy had in store.
"For the next three days."
"Three days?"
"No snacks for the next three days."
No snacks. Three days. The words echoed in my head, making my mind spin. Was what I just heard really true? I looked at Amy with trembling eyes. She nodded, showing no intention of taking it back.
"Gasp..."
"And your dinosaur bag is confiscated too."
"No!"
I struggled desperately in Amy's arms at her words. But there was no way I could overpower Amy's strength. After squirming for a long time, I finally went limp, completely drained of energy. Inside that bag was my secret stash of chocolates and candies. Thanks to a hidden feature where the tail could hold small items, I had hidden candies in there too, and now they danced before my eyes. Did Amy seriously know about that, too?
Shine and I were carried in Amy's arms all the way to the dining room. Arriving at the dining room—or what was called a dining room for convenience—I licked my lips at the sight of the endless array of delicious food, just like yesterday. Amy walked up to the large dining table while holding me.
"What? You still kept this?"
Amy asked, pointing to the booster seats placed on top of the chairs. She sat Shine and me in them. Yesterday, the table had felt a bit too high and uncomfortable, but sitting in these chairs made my field of vision feel incredibly wide.
"How could I throw it away? It's what you used when you were little."
"So you didn't throw away the other things either?"
"Go check your mother's room with the kids later. I've gathered them all there."
Just as everyone sat down and prepared to eat, Victor arrived late, opening the door. He gave Ferman a small bow of greeting and naturally took a seat opposite Amy.
"Oh? Where's Rain?"
Victor asked, looking around for her.
"Ah!"
Only then did I realize we had left Rain behind. Rain had to be lying on the floor of Ferman's office right now, with Chuchu. Just as I thought of Rain, a white, fluffy mass squeezed through the slightly open door. The fluffy mass was, of course, Chuchu. And draped over Chuchu's back was Rain.