TN - Hirika: I don’t really have anything to say since I’ve said my piece before… Do you?

EN - Rin:  Me neither.

TN - Hirika: Well, that’s that! Enjoy everyone!

「…… Have you calmed down now?」

Isaak said with exasperation after coughing and spitting out soot.

Isaak waved away the blue-faced servants who had been watching from behind the half-collapsed door.

While the furniture had been blasted in numerous directions and all the window panes broken, the building itself had not been fatally damaged. It was made quite robustly. Perhaps the architects had foreseen this kind of situation.

「You… If it had been someone other than me, they would have died, you know?」

Isaak’s hair and clothes that had been subject to Claudia’s magic discharge at point-blank range and were singed here and there. If he had not immediately protected himself with a magic barrier, he definitely would have been done for.

Claudia weakly crouched while hanging her head in shame.

「…… I knew you wouldn’t die from just that much.」

「Is that so…?」

Isaak replied awkwardly while scratching his head.

「That thing earlier… I didn’t mean it. My bad.」

「Are you listening?」

「Are you looking for a fight?」

「That’s why I said, I’m sorry.」

Haa, Isaak heaved a sigh and crouched down in front of Claudia. Even if he looked her way, Claudia would not raise her head.

「Are you alright?」

At the sound of his unexpectedly gentle voice, Claudia’s body wavered.

However, she kept silent, as his words continued to run through her mind.

「…… Does Alexis-sama… hate me?」

Once again, Isaak scratched his head awkwardly and replied with a “my, my”.

「I wouldn’t say, ‘hate’.」

「’Why’……」

「…………」

「…………」

「Tell me.」

Isaak took a small breath before speaking her name.

「Nina Ritz.」

「I don’t know whether to call her beautiful or not, but, well, her recovery magic is first-cla.s.s.」

「Weak, you say? It’s more like ‘almost unusable’, ne?」

「I’m saying that it’s not like that.」

「Then――」

Isaak’s voice drowned out her “whys”.

「Alex thought of you as someone important.」

Claudia unintentionally looked up.

As their eyes met, Isaak felt startled; Claudia looked more miserable than he had imagined.

Isaak took small shallow breaths. His currently calm appearance didn’t suit him.

「He treasured you.」

（I was important to him… That I understood. Alexis-sama always, always, treated me kindly.）

「…… Alexis-sama cherished me, but I wasn’t the only woman he treated that way.」

「But he only fell in love with Nina-san.」

「…… That’s right.」

Claudia once again hung her head dejectedly and her hands trembled.

「But… I loved him……」

Claudia began to picture Alexis as she uttered those words.

He was like the warm spring sunlight with his glistening golden hair and dazzling gentle smile; Claudia would always have to squint to s.h.i.+eld herself from his brilliance.

（Well, I won’t be able to meet him anymore, ne? Suddenly… Like this.）

「…… I wanted to, at the very least, say goodbye.」

Claudia lamented, her voice trembling. Isaak remained unusually silent. Before long, he began to stroke Claudia’s head.

Claudia’s eyes widened. She shook off his hand.

「S-stop!」

Claudia glared at Isaak and bit her lip to prevent her tears from spilling forth.

「Yeah, yeah. You aren’t cute after all.」

Even though he told me that again, I won’t discharge my magic power. Claudia’s gaze fell and she muttered,

「You don’t have to tell me.」

Isaak stood up. Just as she thought he was leaving, words came from above.

「Don’t feel down. You didn’t do anything wrong. Until now and from now on, you should just be you.」

Claudia’s tears began to overflow. Claudia became fl.u.s.tered as she tried to hide her tears.

（What! Even though it’s just I-Isaak!）

「Hurry up and leave!」

「Yeah, yeah.」

Behind him, he thought he heard Claudia let out a small voice.

「…… Isaak. Sorry.」

Claudia was still looking down at the floor when Isaak turned to look at her.

「Idiot. It should be ‘thanks’, right?」

TN/EN: