Heike smiled faintly now.

I usually didn’t, but it was fascinating having my face next to me.

Since she took off the artifact from her neck and handed it to me, I released the spell on her.

Heike looked down at her hand and said.

“Mom was different from me.”

“Yeah.”

“We look alike, though. From now on, if I’m curious about Mom, I’ll just look in the mirror.”

Heike saying something like this?

However, it didn’t seem like she said it as a joke. Anyway, she didn’t seem heartbroken about her mom being different from her.

“Thank you.”

Heike said softly.

“Thanks to you, I saw Mom up close, whom I thought I’d never see again. I even talked to her. I’ll never forget it for life.”

“…Yeah. Good. Are you feeling okay?”

“I don’t know how to put it. If it’s whether my mind is completely at ease without any lingering resentment, no, it’s not. After meeting her in person, I wonder if things might have been a bit different if I’d grown up under Mom.”

I personally agreed. It was true that compared to others, she felt significantly fewer genuine emotions and had a learned feel to her emotions, but in my view, Heike wasn’t someone who couldn’t feel emotions at all.

To express exactly what I felt, she was still immature. As if she remained in a childhood state because she hadn’t learned what she needed to at the right time.

If her uncle hadn’t seen her as a means to make money and had genuinely tried to raise her properly, or if her mother had raised her, whether through treatment or efforts to form appropriate friendships, by now Heike might have achieved emotions similar to others, as she wished.

Even if late, if the environment was created now, Heike in 10 years might have the appearance she desired.

“To be honest.”

Heike said with a somewhat clearer voice than before.

“I know. People despise those like me who seem to have a screw loose somewhere. People think I don’t know that, but not feeling emotions well is different from having poor cognitive ability. Could I really not know how others think of me?”

“…….”

At least the Eszett team members didn’t think of her that way.

However, not everyone was like us. Just as Philip’s group looked down on and bullied Luka, there must have been groups in Class 1 who disliked Heike.

Of course, while lacking only in emotional expression, Heike wasn’t that soft-tempered—she’d say no to what she disliked without considering the atmosphere—and with good grades earning professors’ trust, she wouldn’t have been easy to bully. Unlike Luka who was openly bullied, I knew Heike wasn’t.

Still, the person involved couldn’t be unaware of how she was perceived.

“I’m not angry at those people. In a group where standards exist, those outside the norm become rule-breakers. Even if no one chooses their conditions and they’re just born that way naturally, from the moment they take their first breath in this world, that human becomes a sinner. Such humans deserve to be condemned by the group’s power, so theoretically, I fully understand why people freely despise those like me who don’t converge to the average.”

Understand? Intuitively, whatever thoughts arise, that doesn’t become a justified basis to crush others.

The fact that she regarded this insensitively was precisely possible because she couldn’t feel emotions well.

“That’s why I’m not afraid of being despised. Wanting to have emotions isn’t just because others see me as strange. What I fear is, …I don’t know if I can even use the word fear. What I was curious about was only this. Was there really another possibility for me?”

“…….”

“If Mom had raised me instead of my uncle, how would I be living in a world where I feel all those things I can’t feel? That one thing made me curious. Like the mages in fairy tales, if I had the ability to turn back time, I’d probably turn it back to when I was five.”

Heike said with a small smile.

“Since that’s not possible, so maybe living with Mom later…. I was curious about that.”

“I see.”

“But not now.”

Not now?

I was the one shocked instead and looked at her.

Heike looked down at the carpet and apologized.

“Sorry, Lucas.”

“…Why? What are you sorry for.”

“I know how uncomfortable it is for a friend you’ve only recently gotten close to to suddenly bring up family matters. At least that’s what my private tutor taught me. Normally, we should just have fun, but because I brought up such stories to you, you couldn’t even rest until midnight and helped me.”

What was this about?

I deliberately hardened my expression.

“There’s no need to be sorry. I helped because I wanted to.”

“…….”

“And if I disliked such conversations, I would have said so directly. I was actually grateful that you trusted me and shared your story?”

“That’s like you.”

Heike smiled faintly and answered. Her gaze was still on the carpet.

“I was happy today thanks to you. No, I still am.”

“…Yeah, that’s good then. I was worried you might get hurt from meeting your mother.”

“No, what I’m saying I’m happy about now isn’t because I met Mom.”

Heike, who had been looking only at the floor, raised her head to look at me.

Determination melted in her eyes. The moment I felt puzzled, my vision flashed white.

Ding—!

Favorability +6

Congratulations!

‘Suggestion 3: Achieve +12 Eszett Favorability Within the Time Limit (13/12)’ Success!

‘Route 1 — < Chapter 6 Special Reward >’ Confirmed.

My breath stopped involuntarily.

What was I looking at?

No matter how many times I looked, the window in front of me was indicating Heike’s favorability.

“I’m grateful that you helped me thinking of me.”

“…….”

“I’m happy that there’s someone who made an effort for me. I don’t know how this sounds to you, but even this is a first for me.”

Heike continued with resolute eyes and a precise voice.

“Thank you. This time, I mean it.”

“…….”

Yeah.

I could tell it was really sincere. Who says this like a declaration? It was a way of expressing typical of her, and the tension in my body released with a snap.

I looked at her and smiled.

“I’m thankful too.”

It wasn’t simply because she achieved my suggestion.

Heike smiled following me, then turned her gaze back to the carpet and said.

“I think I don’t need to see Mom anymore.”

“Why?”

To my question, Heike smiled softly.

“Because I have you.”

“…….”

Did I become Mom?

That was the thought that crossed my mind momentarily, but thinking carefully, that probably wasn’t it. As per her nature, she cut off words entirely, but interpreting it, it seemed to mean this.

She no longer needed to confirm her own legitimacy through her mother, as she felt genuine emotions to that extent.

When Heike said she ‘wanted to try living with her mother,’ in other words, it meant she wanted to be with someone she could exchange emotions with. Since she had no true friends or family, it was natural to have such a wish.

In the end, I had created the environment Heike desired.

‘…I didn’t intend this.’

Surprisingly, as soon as that environment was provided, Heike felt genuine gratitude toward me. It was complicated and subtle to think I became the cause for her to feel real emotions.

Anyway, good was good. Just in case, I checked the survival probability again, but fortunately, the value hadn’t dropped.

Thanks to Heike just yesterday and today, the probability of change had risen by a total of 5%p, so it could be seen positively.

Heike suddenly added as if something occurred to her.

“You know it’s not that I came to dislike Mom, right?”

“I know.”

I knew it meant she no longer obsessed over it as her lifelong wish.

As I tried to wrap up the conversation slowly, Heike asked.

“Want to hang out until Yulia comes back?”

“Um, sorry. I have something to do at dawn, so I need to go.”

“I see.”

Heike nodded without much expression and smiled.

“Today was fun.”

“Yeah, me too.”

I smiled, greeted, left her room, and knocked on the opposite door immediately.

It was Narce and Elias’s room. Fortunately, they weren’t sleeping but still fooling around with each other, so thanks to that, I casually got Narce’s help and warped to the mansion.

Thus, at 5 a.m. that day.

While playing with Pai on the bed, I got up and looked at the window by the headboard.

We had parted saying ‘see you tomorrow,’ but the archbishop hadn’t come even as dawn was almost over. I broke the space magic, but there was no note or missing items at home. For the latter, since I had met him in person and even worn the ring before returning, there was no need for that now, but not coming to meet me was quite surprising.

‘What? Playing hard to get?’

Of course, that was a momentary thought….

‘There’s no way he wouldn’t come.’

It was highly likely a problem had occurred inside Pleroma. If he had gotten angry seeing me play with Heike, that guy would have come straight away to complain to me, without any hard-to-get or anything.

Of course, their internal fights were none of my business.

I got up as is, prepared, got Narce’s help, and warped to the dormitory.

After casually chatting with Elias and Narce and going out to the hallway, I saw Heike walking around with a toothbrush in her mouth just in time. Heike also had dark circles under her eyes, as if she hadn’t slept a wink.

“Oh, Lucas.”

“Hi. We have to leave in 20 minutes now, is it okay to brush your teeth now?”

“It’s fine. But yesterday….”

“Spit it out and talk.”

“Yeah.”

Heike opened the door and went into the bathroom. I followed her into the room, briefly greeted Tsheringen, and waited for Heike.

‘It’s neater than I thought.’

Perhaps because it was a space shared with Tsheringen.

While looking around like that, I spotted a box outside the window.

An item placed like that on the windowsill was usually a parcel sent magically by the post office.

‘Matches.’

A matchbox the size of a palm, tied with a paper string, and Heike’s name written on that string.

‘Was there someone who would send matches to Heike?’

Sending daily necessities wasn’t that surprising, but it was a bit surprising given it was Heike. When she came out of the bathroom, I asked with my gaze fixed on the matches.

“Heike. Do you smoke?”

“No.”

Then, did she have a hobby of lighting incense?

I asked absentmindedly.

“Someone gifted you matches.”

“Matches?”

Heike turned with a puzzled face.

When I took the matchbox from outside the window, Heike tilted her head.

“What is that? I haven’t received anything.”

“Really? Your name is even written here?”

I pointed to Heike’s name attached to the end of the paper on the matchbox.

Since Heike just blinked with a face that didn’t understand, I immediately untied the string and examined the box.

It was an ordinary matchbox. A product illustration was drawn, and the product name was written in decorative letters. Like the matches we used in modern times, there was a large red phosphorus friction surface on one side.

Tsheringen stood at the door and called us.

“Guys. We need to go now.”

“Go first, Yulia. I’ll check this and follow right away.”

“Ah, then Heike, can you lock the door when you come?”

“Okay.”

While that happened, I turned the matchbox over.

“Nothing particularly strange.”

“Yeah? Who left it? I didn’t get any notice that something was coming.”

“Hm….”

I opened the matchbox absentmindedly.

“…?!”

I opened my mouth in that instant.

White matches were mixed among the red matches.

Heike’s face turned pale. I also let out a hollow laugh.

‘…White phosphorus matches?’

The white matches were longer and clumsier than the others, perfectly like the old-fashioned matches used decades ago. With this shape and white heads, they could be seen as white phosphorus matches.

This was just in an ordinary matchbox? What lunatic?

As the name suggested, it was that white phosphorus we knew. The phosphorus used in white phosphorus bombs.

It was highly reactive, so if not stored carefully, it could ignite with slight friction. How easily? It ignited even if lightly drawn on paper without force, and sometimes ignited on its own reacting to oxygen without friction. Due to safety issues, it wasn’t produced now.

With a shocked face, Heike overturned a porcelain pencil case, quickly put the white phosphorus matches in it, and headed to the bathroom.

“Where are you going.”

“I have to throw them away like this. Soak them in water… What then? Will they ignite again when the water dries? No. I can just throw them in the toilet.”

Heike poured out words rapidly like during the third exam and opened the toilet lid. I grabbed her arm.

“Wait, Heike. Don’t throw them away yet.”

“Huh?”

“Why are white phosphorus matches in a regular matchbox? And the regular matches are still in there.”

“…….”

Heike bit her lip, understanding my meaning.

Of course, it meant someone had deliberately put white phosphorus matches in the matchbox. There must be a reason.

I locked the sink drain valve and soaked the white phosphorus matches in water. After thoroughly wetting them by hand until unusable, I took them out and examined them again.

When I fixed my gaze on the cut surface at the end of the wood, Heike also picked up one match. Heike murmured quietly.

“…T?”

An alphabet letter.

A letter carved as if with mana was on the end of the white phosphorus match.

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep