Behavior

 

No one can ever escape from themselves.

 

"What the hell…"

Wiping her spilling tears with the back of her hand, Innis murmured weakly.

"Innis, why are you… crying…?"

Chryse drew closer to Innis, her brow furrowed with worry.

"Chryse. Could you go on ahead and head back to Nina's place?"

I said, giving her a pat on the head.

She hesitated briefly but nodded and left through the window, heading for the clinic. It was probably a busy time, so I felt a little bad for Nina, but she'd forgive me once I explained the situation. Chryse wasn't a baby anymore; she wouldn't cause that much disruption to Nina's work.

"Here. Dry your eyes first."

I pulled a handkerchief from my pocket, and Innis all but snatched it from me, scrubbing her tears away.

"Mind if I sit here?"

"… Do whatever you want."

I pointed to the chair at her reading desk. Innis answered with the handkerchief still pressed over her face. Now then, how to begin.

"A long time ago, I knew a few people who had the same look in their eyes that you do right now."

"… My eyes?"

Innis lowered the handkerchief and gently touched her eyelids with her fingertips, as if checking their shape.

"The look of someone in pain, completely lost, yet unable to let go of what they feel."

A sharp gaze pierced right through me. So intense that if it had been magic, it might have skewered my heart. But I hadn't lived more than thirty times her lifespan for nothing. I wasn't thin-skinned enough to flinch at something like that.

"You're in love with Ara, aren't you?"

There was a metallic crash, and countless spears burst from Innis's sofa.

"Protect."

The sorcery I reflexively cast stopped the spear points in their tracks. Wind sorcery, Fifth Tier. An invisible wall of lesser spirits that shields against any attack. Not that I really needed it. Innis had no real intention of hurting me.

"… That's the most emotional I've ever seen you."

"Shut UP! What's your point!?"

Innis hurled a pillow at me, grabbed the comforter off her bed, and burrowed under it on the sofa, curling up to hide.

"Ara and Mel aren't an item, you know. Not in the way you're thinking."

I led with my trump card right away.

"… That's… not possible."

Even as she spoke in a low voice, Innis lifted the comforter just slightly and peered out at me.

"It's not just today. Those two are always clinging to each other like that… every single day."

I nodded. I saw them nearly every day, so I was well aware.

"That's just… a trait of theirs. Their nature."

"… Huh?"

Innis's face popped up from under the comforter.

"There aren't many quadrupeds in Scarlet, so it's no surprise you wouldn't know. Half-sheep are clingy by nature. They originally lived in herds, always staying close to one another. When danger appeared, they'd all bolt at once."

In that regard, they were remarkably similar to the sheep that had existed on Earth.

"That's why Mel is always trying to cuddle up to people. She clings to you all the time too, doesn't she?"

"Well… I mean, yes, but… I'm a girl. And she doesn't cling to you, Mentor."

Innis eyed me skeptically.

"Well, you see…"

I gazed off into the distance as I answered.

"I asked her to please try not to cling to me. My self-control can't handle it."

"What even."

At last, a faint smile crossed Innis's face.

"Incidentally, the same goes for half-wolves. Not quite as much as half-sheep, but they're communal enough that close contact doesn't bother them. From what I can tell, neither Ara nor Mel have any romantic feelings for each other."

Granted, a judgment call from someone who'd been completely oblivious to Yutaka and Aqua being in love wasn't worth much. But this particular tidbit actually came from Nina. When I'd idly mused that Ara and Mel would make a good couple and might end up together, she'd branded me "blind" on the spot.

"… Even if that's true…"

But Innis's expression clouded over again.

"That doesn't mean I'm a good match for Ara. I'm this scrawny little runt, and besides—"

"He's a quadruped and you're a human. Different build, different lifespan, different everything. You can't even have children together."

When I laid it out that bluntly, a wounded look crossed Innis's face.

But it was an inescapable fact.

"I KNOW that…! What, did you come here to finish me off!?"

"Hardly."

I shook my head at Innis, who was on the verge of tears again.

"Didn't I say so at the start? That I'd seen people with the same look in their eyes as you."

It clicked, and Innis looked at my left hand.

"I've been married twice before. Both times, to a human."

At the ring on my fourth finger, glowing red.

"But… Mentor, you're not human. At least, not in appearance."

"When I married the first one, I couldn't even take human form yet. I was still a fire dragon."

At my confession, Innis gave a perfectly candid reaction.

"Uh, wasn't that person kind of insane?"

Watch it.

"In any case! … Speaking from experience, I can tell you that differences in race and lifespan are no simple matter… but they're not an insurmountable wall, either. They don't doom you to unhappiness. It takes resolve, but there's no reason whatsoever to give up. That's what I believe."

"… Mm…"

Looking uncertain, Innis gave a small nod.

"There's no rush to decide, either. Finding happiness with another human is a perfectly valid path, and pairing off with someone isn't the only form of happiness out there. You should talk to Yuuka sometime."

When it came to cross-species romance, Yutaka and Aqua's story would be far more relatable than mine.

"… Okay. Thank you, Mentor."

Her troubles were far from resolved, I was sure. But Innis bowed her head with a much better expression than when I'd first walked in… Still, I never would have guessed she felt that way about Ara.

"Oh, one more thing. Can I ask you something?"

As I was about to leave the room, Innis called me back.

"What is it? If it's something I can answer, ask away."

Innis fixed me with the most serious gaze she'd worn all day, and asked.

"Do you think Ara prefers big boobs too?"

How would I know.

 

＊　＊　＊

 

"I'm hooome…"

"Welcome back."

"Welcome home, Dad!"

"Welcome home."

"Big bro, welcome baaack!"

"Oh, Mentor, welcome baaack!"

Feeling inexplicably drained, I arrived home to find that Nina had already finished work and gotten back before me. A colorful medley of voices greeted me.

"Yuuka and Rin are here too, huh."

Perhaps out of concern for Chryse, Rin hadn't been traveling much lately. Even when she did go out, she'd be back within a few weeks at most. I was happy about that, of course, but she and Yuuka had been coming over so frequently that I was seriously considering adding rooms to the house for them.

"… Hm? I feel like there were more voices than usual."

I took off my shoes and headed for the living room.

There, just as I'd expected, were Nina and Chryse, along with Rin and Yuuka.

And one more person besides.

"Um… who?"

I tilted my head at the dark-skinned woman I definitely didn't recognize.