Chapter 97 A Small Morning In The Lantern
──Should we take a break? As soon as he said that, he probably left his seat right away.
Quollio didn't know what Hiiro thought after finishing Ruzure's story.
But when Quollio returned with 2 mugs of coffee, his expression was just as serious as when he left the room.
He offered the steaming cups with such force that Hiiro finally returned to his usual grumpy face.
""What'cha doin', sippin' coffee like a zombie, almost bedtime?"
"If you're going to complain, you don't have to drink it."
"I ain't sayin' I won't drink it."
Along with that, he also had his usual sharp tongue.
"...This ain't half bad."
"I made it, so of course it is."
"Huh? Don't even try to lie, you probably got some cafeteria rat to make it for ya."
"There's no way anyone would be around at this hour. Is that really surprising to you?"
"Nope. If left alone, you'd probably yappin' about bean varieties like a nerd."
"What kind of comment is that?"
It was a bit harsh, but it was also true.
He was aware of his extraordinary curiosity and thirst for knowledge.
He even realized that he had developed a tendency to want to talk.
The sip he took felt like it added an unnecessary bitterness to his mood.
"I've been complimented on it a bit, you know."
"Oh really? By whom?"
"...By my father. Before I entered the Knight Academy, it was my morning job."
"...Yeah, real impressive, rich kid."
"...."
Hiiro tilted his head at Quollio, who fell silent.
He didn't scold Hiiro for calling him "rich kid," nor did he seem proud of it.
He just quietly gazed at the black surface of the water, gently stroking the cup.
His profile looked like a dog howling at the moon.
"Ahem. By the way... no, wait. Since it's a rare opportunity, I want to ask you something."
"Huh? "What's it?"
"It's about Shura. How did you convince her? She's still the same with ordinary beasts, but it seems like she has softened a bit with white beasts... Mokumon from Lyam."
"..."
"Of course, I don't mean to force you to tell me. I'm just curious."
It felt like they were trying to cover something up, but the truth was that he was genuinely concerned.
That incident had really shaken Quollio up. It was almost a crisis that could have torn the squad apart, yet since then, Shura had changed. Clearly, the man in front of him had managed to smooth things over.
Even if it wasn't something to just jump into, they were still curious.
"...Yeah, ain't no big deal. Didn't spill no state secrets or nothing."
"Is that so?"
"Yeah. I just said like, 'Cut me loose' - that's it."
"...Huh?"
They say curiosity kills the cat, but at that moment, Quollio's thoughts were completely taken out.
* * *
"────No, no, no, no!! What kind of persuasion is that? Seriously. Are you stupid? Well, you are stupid, but really, you're just so dumb."
"Are you're gonna keep sayin' that?"
"I will! In fact, I feel like I can't say enough!"
After hearing the whole story, Quollio realized just how incomprehensible the man in front of him was.
"Because it's practically a threat. The fact that you might turn into some crazy beast is just too convincing, and that's the worst part. There had to be a better way to say it. I can't believe Shura went along with it."
"You just say whatever you want. What's your suggestion then? Spit it out!"
"...Well, maybe try changing the perspective?"
"Perspective?"
"We're knights, so keeping 'techniques' to protect more people could also be seen as a threat to beasts, right?"
"...Huh? What are you even talkin' about?"
"In other words, Lyam's Mokumon and your Ruthless are both white beasts, but they're also great techniques to defeat beasts. If revenge against beasts is the goal... then overlooking the white beasts that knights have would actually lead to reducing the number of beasts more efficiently, wouldn't it?"
"...Yeah, that makes sense..."
"That could also tie into reducing the risk of Hiiro becoming an incredible beast, and I think it's not a bad argument, if I do say so myself."
"Ugh, ugh..."
Faced with an undeniable truth, Hiiro fell silent, feeling frustrated.
Normally, he would have shot back immediately, but since Shura had already called him out for being unreasonable and incoherent, he probably couldn't find the words.
Watching his roommate like this made Quollio reflect on himself, while he took a sip of coffee to swallow down a sigh that was about to escape.
("If I don't pour all my hatred into it, I can't win against the beast I've become..." Ugh. How pathetic. I'm pretty poisoned myself.)
But Quollio knew he had to look at himself too.
Hiiro's arguments were way out there. Yet, he couldn't help but think about it.
What if he had a past filled with hatred towards beasts? If he clashed with Shura like that and Hiiro said the same to him...
(...Even if it's crazy, this is his own reasoning. It's ridiculous, but he's serious about it. That's why he won't let me find an escape. Really, we're just a pain.)
He could easily imagine himself ending up with a conclusion similar to hers, and the fact that he didn't feel bad about it was the clearest sign that he was poisoned by Hiiro.
(Shura. You probably thought the same thing, huh?)
I feel for you──he thought, bitterly smiling as he looked up at the ceiling.
Please bookmark this series and rate ☆☆☆☆☆ on here!
Donate me
Support Me with USDC
(ERC20)
Support Me with XLM
(Stellar Lumens)