Chapter 3
“You know what? In fact, angels are only kind to those who have done a lot of good things.”
Simply put, I won’t treat you nicely. That’s what I’m saying!
“Hey!”
I pushed William and the kids away with both arms. Then I put my hands on my waist and shouted.
“If you point your finger at Theo again or tease him, I won’t let you go!”
“Iris got weird!”
When William ran away saying so, the other children rushed after him.
“I know how to scold you!”
Shouting in the air, I turned around, catching my breath.
The cool wind that dried off the unpleasant sweat shook the leaves, and Theo and my hair fluttered.
Theo was looking at me silently. I didn’t know what he was thinking.
“Sorry.”
I approached him and apologized.
If it were Theo anyway, he would have sent the children back easily by himself.
It may have been hypocritical of me to step up and confront them, or it was perhaps to eliminate guilt.
“I’m sorry I didn’t get to know you properly before being scared at will.”
Before recalling his future appearance, I should have looked at Theo, a child.
A child who was just hurt countless times by his appearance.
“I want to be your friend.”
I meant it. Now that I can see Theo straight.
It’s not for my life, but because I just want to get close to a child named Theo.
I smiled and reached out to Theo.
He was still expressionless, but somehow, he seemed to feel less cold than before.
He looked down at my hand and said,
“That’s right. I told you to be scared. So get lost.”
Before I pulled out all my hair, a cold, sword-like voice spoke.
“What?”
Huh? Can’t it flow like this? Isn’t it time to shake hands?
It felt like a large stone fell on my head. Or I became a rock.
However, Theo, who was looking at me with a silly expression, suddenly disappeared.
Huh? What is it?
I couldn’t move for a long time.
The wind, which felt only cool, blew my hair around.
Wasn’t it the perfect timing just now?
Whether the floor is spinning or my head is spinning. It was a confusing moment.
~*~
I was bitterly rejected. But I can’t give up like this!
I was no longer afraid of Theo. Quite frankly, I was a little scared, but I tried not to think about my future as much as possible.
From the day I was rejected by Theo, I started looking for Theo every day and wandering around him.
It started with ten steps away.
I read a book next to Theo and took a step.
“Wow… Also Joseph and Philip! Best Friendship! It really fills my heart!”
“…”
“I’m sorry. I like to read aloud.”
I deliberately ate a delicious snack in front of him and took a step.
“These macarons are delicious. I want to share it with my friends, but who doesn’t have a friend to eat with me!?”
“…”
“Hey, I’m going to eat alone… .”
He fell in front of his eyes as if he was arrogant and approached Theo, one step at a time.
“…”
Each time, I cringed at Theo’s cold gaze, who seemed to despise me.
Still, it wasn’t completely useless.
‘Now one step!’
After starting to narrow the distance little by little, in the end, the distance between me and Theo was only about one step.
Now, even at such a close distance, Theo didn’t say harsh words to me, such as skinning me or grinding my bones.
Even if it was just air, it was possible to exist next to Theo.
Today was a cool summer day. The sweltering heat came, but the side of the abandoned building with lots of shade and trees was cool in its own way.
If even a gust of wind blew there, it was refreshing as if drinking sweet, cool water in the desert.
It was a scary place when I first saw it, but now that I got used to it, it has become a cozy space where I can just relax.
“How did Theo get to know this place? It’s a great place to hang out.”
Talking to myself has become a habit now.
I was talking as if Theo wasn’t there, because he wouldn’t answer anyway.
Again, there was no answer this time.
“I didn’t even know this place existed.”
“It’s for me to hide.”
“…!”
I felt sorry for Theo’s answer, but I was surprised that he actually answered.
It has only been two weeks after I approached Theo that I had received a non-threatening answer from him.
‘Hey, calm down. If you overreact, you may not be able to get an answer again.’
I calmed my beating heart and tried to speak calmly.
“Oh, wow! That’s great! This place is really good for hiding. It’s genius.”
But this time, my body and mind were separate.
Anyone could tell that was an overreaction.
I rubbed my forehead and fell backwards.
“Because people who have no reason to hide will not find it.”
But contrary to my expectations that he would ignore me as usual, Theo continued speaking quietly.
I laid on the floor of the building, looking at Theo sitting next to me.
A reason to hide. My heart ached at the injustice I felt in those words.
“But, I mean, I think it’s nonsense. It’s just a color, isn’t it?”
Theo was no different from the other children. Except for the colors that other people have given names and specially decided.
“Do you really think so?”
Theo’s gaze, staring into the air, reached me.
Theo’s gaze was not reproaching me as usual. He was really curious about my thoughts.
Theo wasn’t even sure of himself.
As people say, is he really a demon, or is he just a person named Theo himself?
“Huh? It’s just a standard that people set their own way. No one can be sure about others. You decide who you are. I just don’t believe in the standards other people set.”
“…”
Theo frowned silently.
He didn’t seem to understand what I was talking about.
“So, no matter what other people say, what you think is more important.”
Theo’s eyes fluttered.
In the Latras Empire where I was born, the power of the high priest was second to that of the emperor.
The myth of the founding of the Latras Empire was also a story about a goddess who saved the world and a demon who was destroyed by her hand.
Because of this, almost everyone believes in the existence of goddesses and demons, and there are bound to be many myths about how to find the devil mixed with the general public.
And one of them was the black hair and red eyes.
Having decided such a characteristic at a glance as a rule, Theo must have been persecuted by countless people until now.
That’s why Theo seemed unsure of himself.
“Even if everyone else tells you you are the devil, don’t believe it.”
No matter how hard-hearted people are, if they are told that they are wrong, they will doubt their thoughts.
Even less so, since everyone in the world drove him to be a devil, now he may be just suspicious, but later he will admit that he really is a devil.
I thought it was the recognition that later stained Theo with malice.
As the saying goes and he grows up, Theo has been brainwashed from all the ridicule.
Under the name of the devil.
“How are you so sure?”
Theo, who had been looking at me all the time, asked me.
“How can you believe that that standard is wrong?”
“That…”
As he opened his mouth to answer Theo, the door of the old building opened violently.
“What?”
The sound of footsteps and sharp voices of several children were heard, and then there was the sound of dull bursts.
“Stay still.”
Theo spoke dryly, as if he were pleading with me. Then he got up and headed towards the sound.
“It’s dangerous to go alone!”
But I too got up straight away and followed Theo.
Then I saw the children destroying the entrance of the old building.
“William… !”
It’s him again
Now just looking at William’s face made me angry.
I approached them and tried to restrain them.
“Wait, then what if the building collapses? It’s too dangerous!”
The children were quite serious.
They were smashing wooden posts and shattering glass, as if they were trying to demolish a really old abandoned building.
“This place must be gone! With the devil!”