Chapter 260: Jealousy

Jealousy

* * *

“Just to check… hey…”

Crunch.

Stepping on the broken glass, Lairine asks me with a strained smile on her face.

“Emi-chan, those movements of yours… who did you learn them from?”

“My master.”

“H-Hmm…”

The conversation is cut off for a moment.

A cool breeze passes between the two, swaying the undergrowth.

Lairine is maintaining a smile, but her complexion is strangely pale.

“That… master of yours… what was their name…?”

“I don’t know.”

“Their nickname or what they were called…? Did they go by a name like ‘Grim Reaper’…?”

“I don’t know.”

“How do you not know!?”

“I never asked.”

What is this woman suddenly concerned about?

And what is this “Grim Reaper” she’s been mentioning?

I tilt my head, not understanding.

“I see… I see! Of course you don’t know their name! Even if they were your master, you didn’t have that deep of a relationship with them, right? They were just someone unimportant to you, right?”

With a relieved expression, Lairine shows her familiar full smile.

“Huh? I’ll kill you.”

At those words, killing intent unintentionally leaks from me.

My master is an important person to me.

No matter how much I owe Lairine for meals and a bed, I can’t forgive that remark.

Receiving my killing intent, Lairine’s smile becomes strained again.

And with that strained smile… she starts shedding tears.

Huh?

What’s with that reaction?

You’re not the type to be shaken by this level of killing intent, are you?

“H-Hey, Emi-chan. That master of yours… where do they live… now…?”

“Why?”

“W-We have to… express our gratitude, right? To the person who taught you how to fight… those techniques… right? I-I’m… your mother, Emi-chan…”

Next, while crying and laughing, Lairine says such a thing.

Gratitude.

While saying we have to express gratitude, an unpleasant aura is definitely oozing from her entire body.

What?

What is that emotion?

Well, anyway…

“They’re already dead, so they don’t live anywhere.”

“…………”

When I say that, Lairine’s smile disappears, and she becomes expressionless.

Remaining expressionless, she stares intently at me while shedding tears.

The silent time continues.

Only the sound of grass rustling in the breeze reaches my ears.

I don’t understand.

…Suddenly breaking the silence, Extra-sama says mockingly.

Jealousy?

Huh?

What’s that?

If they were alive, it’s normal to have one or two important people, right?

W-Wow, suddenly stirring things up like that!?

Extra-sama, you dislike Lairine too much, don’t you!?

But wait a minute.

Lairine said she was going to express gratitude to my master, right?

What is there to thank someone you’re jealous of for?

Scary!?

If that analysis is correct, it is indeed disgusting, but Extra-sama being able to easily infer Lairine’s inner thoughts like that is also slightly disgusting.

Are you two birds of a feather?

Well, the silence continued for a while.

Lairine remains frozen, not moving.

I’m bored.

The dull time continues.

Since it’s awkward to just keep standing, I start moving again, tracing the forms.

Right fist, left fist, swinging the right fist followed by a roundhouse kick, roundhouse kick, roundhouse kick!

Phew… I’m in top form after all!

My body is moving so well it feels good!

Huh?

What are you saying, Extra-sama?

Unlike you, I don’t dislike Lairine that much, you know?

She gives me food.

I’m not provoking her or anything, okay?

Since the silence continued for so long, Extra-sama and I started chatting while ignoring Lairine as usual… right at that moment.

“Ah! That’s right! I thought of something good!”

Lairine, who had been silent the whole time, let out an abrupt voice and showed a full smile.

“Hey, Emi-chan!”

And Lairine ran up to me and tightly grasped both of my hands.

She’s back to her usual face now.

She’s not even shedding tears anymore.

“You know, those techniques you learned from your master…”

In a very kind and cheerful voice, Lairine.

“Get rid of them.”

Uttered those unforgivable words.

“Huh?”

Before I realized it, I had roughly shaken off this woman’s hands and was punching at her with all my might.