Chapter 15: Want to Stay and Have Some Ramen at My Place?

The situation was somehow resolved.

It seemed my barricading myself in the bedroom and Alex’s earnest persuasion did the trick, as the villagers eventually left without much fuss and returned to the village.

“Miss Eve, here you go.”

“Oh, thanks.”

Harp brought me a replacement for my shredded shirt.

Apparently, it was one of the clothes Alex had brought along.

I wasn’t sure how Alex knew my size, but I chalked it up to coincidence and accepted it without overthinking.

Luckily, there was a shirt similar to the one I had been wearing, so I managed to change without any issues.

As for the torn-up shirt, Harp took it away, saying she’d handle it.

There wasn’t anywhere nearby to dispose of it, so where could she have taken it?

Maybe she planned to sew it into a handkerchief or a blanket? I had no idea.

Well, she’s a smart kid, so I figured she’d know what to do.

“Raise your hands higher, Alex.”

“Yes, ma’am.”

Even though the situation had been resolved smoothly, the person responsible for causing all this chaos had to face an appropriate punishment.

Still fuming as I emerged from the bedroom, I sentenced Alex to the classic “Kneel and raise your hands” penalty.

“…Um, my arms are starting to hurt a little—”

“Keep them up.”

“Yes, ma’am.”

No matter how you looked at it, the villagers showing up near the orphanage was definitely tied to Alex.

After all, when the villagers burst in, Alex hadn’t seemed surprised in the slightest.

In fact, he had been unusually calm.

It seemed reasonable to assume Alex knew something all along.

“All right, Alex. Care to explain exactly what happened?”

“Well…”

What followed was a string of excuses disguised as an explanation.

He recounted how the village had descended into chaos while I was taking care of Harp, and how he couldn’t just stand by and let it happen.

So, he took on the villagers’ concerns and came to the orphanage.

“And then, if you didn’t come out within an hour…”

“They assumed something was wrong and agreed to barge in together, didn’t they?”

“…Correct. I can’t believe I forgot something so important. I’m really sorry.”

I see.

“They’re all so kind. I’ve only been here for, what, two days? And they’re already this worried about me.”

“…Eve, you’re already one of our villagers. From the moment you first came to town, everyone saw you that way.”

“Thank you. That’s really touching.”

“Right? So, how about lifting this ‘punishment’ now? My arms are starting to hurt a bit.”

“That’s not happening.”

Nice try.

“Hold them higher.”

“Ugh.”

I poked Alex’s arms, which were slowly but surely creeping downward, forcing him to raise them again.

The solid muscles pushed back against my finger so hard it almost made me stumble, but thankfully, I managed to regain my balance before falling.

“…Alex, your muscles are absurdly overdeveloped.”

“Haha, this guy’s got some style, doesn’t he?”

“That wasn’t a compliment.”

How can someone’s muscles be so ridiculously dense that a poke causes the person poking to bounce back?

Why does it feel like it’s because this body lacks any muscles at all?

“I used to have muscles like that back in the day…”

I raised both arms slightly, striking a classic flexing pose.

Of course, no matter how hard I tried, no bulging biceps magically appeared.

All that happened was the soft flesh on my arms wiggling and jiggling in place.

“Pfft, yeah, sure you did.”

“I’m serious!”

“In your dreams?”

“Argh…”

Normally, this kind of playful back-and-forth would’ve ended there…

But honestly? That one stung a bit.

“I really mean it!”

“Sure, dreaming big is important.”

Already feeling sensitive after everything that had just happened, this was the last straw.

It’s not like I chose to have this squishy, soft body!

My original body was cool, strong, and belonged to an elite warrior!

“You’re so dead!”

Completely provoked by Alex’s teasing, I charged at him full force, aiming for a body slam.

Thunk!

“Ugh! Oof…”

…It had no effect.

Alex’s body didn’t budge even a single nanometer, while mine rebounded and launched backward instead.

Wait.

If I keep falling like this, I’m going to hit my head on the ground—!

Whump.

“Eh? Huh?”

“You’re really feisty today, Eve.”

“…You didn’t have to catch me.”

“Sorry. I just can’t stand watching someone get hurt right in front of me.”

“Ugh…”

“Oh, is that so?”

“Of course.”

Yeah, right.

“Now get those hands back up. Stop trying to act all cool and sneak your way out of this.”

“Ah, looks like I’ve been caught.”

“The acting was good, but you lacked sincerity.”

“No way, I was completely sincere just now.”

“Just put me down already.”

“Sure thing.”

“W-Whoa! Wait—what are you doing?!”

What’s with this guy all of a sudden?

“No, I said put me down!”

“And that’s exactly what I’m doing.”

“N-No, not like this…!”

Ignoring my protests, Alex picked me up and began lifting me high into the air and then lowering me back down.

Over and over again.

That’s right.

It was that thing—the one where kids go crazy over being lifted up high.

“How’s this? Up you go! And down you go!”

“This isn’t some word game!”

“The Eve Airlines flight is now departing!”

“I-I’m way too old for this, you know?!”

“Zooom! Look at that speed—pretty thrilling, huh?”

“…”

…Something felt wrong.

Why am I enjoying this?

“Pfft, haha…”

“You’re having fun, aren’t you?”

“…No, I’m totally bored.”

“Pfft, fine. Looks like this old man’s got to step it up a notch!”

I fought desperately to keep the corners of my mouth from creeping upward.

Instead, I crossed my arms and forced a neutral expression onto my face.

“Not impressive at all…!”

Because I wasn’t scared.

Not even a little bit entertained.

I needed to show Alex that this whole airplane game was completely pointless and that he was wasting his time.

That’s why I resolved to maintain a stern, stoic demeanor and refused to react to this “game” at all.

“…Miss Eve?”

“Woooo! Wheee—! Uh, what?”

Wait.

This is humiliating.

What a disgrace.

Instead of being a proper adult role model for the kids, I’d let loose and laughed like an idiot.

I’d completely failed as a headmaster.

“It’s okay, Miss. I understand.”

“…Ugh. I appreciate that you—”

“I understand too,” Alex added.

“Alex, be quiet!”

“Don’t be too upset.”

“Who do you think caused this mess?”

“Pretty sure it wasn’t this old man.”

With that, Alex smiled mischievously, the kind of grin that said, “What are you gonna do about it?”

The sight of it made me feel an overwhelming sense of gloom.

As I sat there with a frown plastered on my face, someone started poking me in the side.

It was Harp.

“Miss,” she said, pointing to something white wrapped around her neck.

What’s that?

It looked like a scarf, but the material seemed a bit unusual for a normal scarf.

“Did you make that scarf out of the shirt?”

“Yes! How does it look?”

“It’s really well made! I didn’t know you were so good at sewing, Harp!”

Ah.

No wonder I hadn’t seen her around for a while—she must’ve been off in a corner, busy crafting this scarf.

“How is it? You’re not cold anymore, right?”

“It’s warm, and I really like it. Since it’s made from your shirt, it feels like I’m hugging you, Miss.”

“…So, you like it?”

“Of course!”

Harp buried her face in the scarf and took a slow, deep breath, snnf—haaah, as though she were savoring it.

She must really love the scarf she made.

For someone who rarely smiled, to see her this happy was a surprise.

“If Harp’s happy, I feel happy too.”

“…Who’s the one calling someone else a weirdo?” Alex muttered under his breath.

“Hmm? What did you say, Alex?”

“Nothing at all.”

“You definitely said something.”

Weird…

Something didn’t feel quite right.

“Is Alex jealous of this scarf, by any chance?”

“That could be it. It’s a scarf Harp worked so hard to make, after all.”

“Of course! It’s the only one in the entire world!”

“Yeah, the one and only.”

“…”

It really did seem like Alex was feeling a bit envious.

As Harp swung her scarf back and forth, Alex’s expression changed moment by moment, almost in sync with the scarf’s movement.

“Hmph.”

“…This kid.”

Harp’s smug gestures were undeniably… irritating. Not just a little bit—a lot.

But, oh well, it wasn’t worth overthinking.

Growwwl.

While watching the silent standoff between the “sun” and the “cat,” a loud growl suddenly echoed through the orphanage.

It was so loud, it almost shook the walls.

“…Oh dear.”

The source of the sound, as expected, was none other than Alex’s stomach.

Does being big mean you get louder stomach growls too?

Seriously, what a fittingly enormous alarm for his massive frame.

“Alex, are you hungry?”

“Well, it’s already evening, so I suppose I’m a bit peckish.”

“Ah, you’re right! It’s already dark out!”

Looking out the window, I saw the world outside was pitch black.

There weren’t many stars tonight, making the darkness feel even heavier.

At this rate, getting back to the village wouldn’t be easy.

“Alex, it’s late anyway. Why don’t you stay and have dinner with us?”

“…What?”

“W-Wait, Miss?!”