The beast tamer exiled from the hero’s party and the cat eared girl from the strongest race meet
The Shroud family's living room was spacious.
Even with Iris, Finia, and Sakura joining in, there was still plenty of room to spare.
In that wide living room, Iris sat alone on the sofa, relaxing.
Leaning deeply against the backrest, she stared up at the ceiling absentmindedly, doing nothing in particular.
There was no one else around.
She was alone.
"Hehe..."
After a moment, Iris let out a soft laugh.
"Who would have thought peaceful moments could be so precious..."
The old Iris had always been on the run.
All she thought about was revenge—how to efficiently kill humans. That’s all she focused on, always moving forward.
She never even considered stopping or resting.
But now, things were different.
She wasn’t doing anything. She wasn’t thinking about anything. She was simply resting at ease.
Her heart, her soul, was at peace.
"I must properly thank Rain-sama for showing me this kind of life... hehe."
Thinking of the man she cherished, Iris blushed faintly.
“Oh?”
“Oh my?”
Suddenly, Tina appeared.
She was floating gently, with a broom and dustpan floating alongside her—apparently in the middle of cleaning.
“Yo wassup!”
“H-Hey… what kind of weird greeting is that?”
“Huh? You don’t know, Iris? That’s the latest cool greeting in the human world!”
“Is that so?”
“Yup, so let’s do it again. Yo wassup!”
“Y-Yo… wassup.”
“You’re still shy. C’mon, with more energy—yo wassup!”
“Y-Yo wassup.”
“Louder now—yo wassup!”
“Yo wassup!”
“Yep, that’s a perfect greeting. I give you full marks!”
“I feel like… my soul’s been chipped away somehow. But if this is how humans greet each other now, I must try it with Rain-sama next time.”
“For sure~”
Tina gave a mischievous grin, but Iris didn’t notice.
“So, what were you doing, Iris?”
“Nothing really. Just relaxing.”
“Relaxing, huh? Sounds nice. Mind if I join?”
“I don’t mind.”
“Then I’ll make some tea~”
Tina used telekinesis to brew the tea.
Cups and saucers floated gently through the air—it looked like something out of a fairytale.
Before long, a teacup filled with warm tea landed in Iris’s hand.
Tina sat beside her and smiled.
“Here ya go, drink up. I’m pretty confident in my tea skills!”
“Thank you, I’ll have some.”
Iris gently brought the teacup to her lips.
The way she moved was elegant, like a noble lady raised in seclusion.
“My, this is quite delicious.”
“Hehe~ thanks! That means a lot.”
“You’re good at all kinds of things, Tina, even housework.”
“Well, I am a maid, as you can see. That’s kind of my specialty.”
“I’m a bit envious. I’m absolutely hopeless at housework… Oh! Would you mind teaching me sometime? Like… cooking, for instance?”
“I don’t mind, but… you can tell sugar and salt apart, right?”
“Huh? What kind of question is that? Of course I can.”
“Good… I mean, there’s someone around here—can’t say who—who can’t tell them apart. They’ve been mass-producing food disasters… or rather, weapons. If you were like that, it’d be a real pain.”
“That’s terrifying.”
Is it really possible for someone to not tell sugar and salt apart?
Sure, they’re both white, but they’re completely different. Just a quick taste and anyone could tell. Unless you’re sleep-deprived, there’s no way you’d mix them up…
Iris found it strange, but didn’t dwell on it and finished her tea.
“Thank you for the tea. It was very delicious.”
“You’re welcome~ Hmm…”
“What is it?”
Iris tilted her head slightly in curiosity as Tina stared at her.
Tina gave a sheepish smile and spoke up.
“Well… this might sound odd, but I was kinda worried that you might hate me.”
“Oh? Whatever would make you think that?”
“Because… I’m human.”
“Ah…”
Iris let out a small breath, as if she had completely forgotten.
“Now that you mention it… I did think of you more as a ghost than a human.”
“Well, you know… Iris, you’ve been through a lot. So I thought you might hate me for being human. But… that’s not the case? Is it okay for me to feel relieved?”
“Let me think… Yes, it’s okay. You don’t have to worry.”
“Really?”
“Really.”
Iris smiled playfully.
"To be honest, I still dislike humans... but there are a few I do like. Rain-sama, and you, Tina. Just a little, but I can say I like you."
"Really~? Hehehe, that makes me happy to hear."
"What’s with that creepy laugh...?"
Iris leaned back slightly, looking a bit weirded out, but Tina just kept grinning.
That’s how happy she was to be accepted into Iris’s heart.
"Hey, hey, when did your affection level for me go up? It’s not like it was high from the start like with Rain, right?"
"Let me see... there are many reasons, but I’d say the decisive moment was when you got angry on my behalf."
"Huh? Angry?"
"When I was unconscious, I could faintly hear everyone’s voices. And I heard you get really angry at Monica when she tried to take me away..."
"A-Aaaaaahhh!?"
Understanding what Iris was referring to, Tina’s face turned red with a pop, and she clutched her head in embarrassment.
"Wait—wait, you mean when I totally lost it and cussed her out?"
"Yes, that’s the one. Fufu, your voice reached me even in that state. It was strong, dependable, and I thought it was really cool."
"Aaaahhh, nooo, stop, please! Just thinking back on that is sooo embarrassing. I can’t believe I said all that... ugh, I was totally out of line!"
"Fufu."
Watching Tina flail in shame, Iris wore a mischievous smile.
And so, a peaceful afternoon passed between the ghost and the angel.
――――――――――
"Ah, Iris. Good morning."
"Rain-sama, yo wassup!"
"?!?!?!"
Thank you for the chapter!
ReplyDelete