Chapter 30
Kid examined me with a smiling face.
“Or maybe it’s not that you couldn’t report me—you’re just waiting to find solid evidence first.”
I let out a faint breath, shaken by his overly accurate intuition. I shook my head firmly.
“N-no, I’ve never thought that even once!”
Kid’s eyes narrowed like a snake as he scrutinized my expression. Soon after, a faint, airless laugh slipped from the corner of his mouth.
“Good. Keep it that way. It wouldn’t matter anyway even if you found evidence and put me in prison.”
I nodded vigorously. Carefully, I glanced at Kid’s half-lowered eyes. Was he letting this go? I tried to breathe a sigh of relief inwardly.
Suddenly, Kid grabbed my shoulder and pulled me into his embrace. Caught off guard, my cheek was squished against him. Before I could even react in surprise, the pain in my cheek struck first. It wouldn’t be an exaggeration to say my cheek had been slammed against his chest.
As the stinging in my cheek subsided, my senses gradually scattered away from it. Only then did I realize where my face was pressed. I held my breath and froze completely.
Kid continued speaking as if unconcerned with my state. His voice didn’t travel through the air—it vibrated directly through his chest into my face. Each time he spoke, a buzzing echoed in my ears.
“Ah, and I’ve been meaning to tell you since earlier—this kind of thing won’t work. If discomfort is your preference, I won’t stop you, but don’t expect it to be effective.”
Crack. My expression felt like it crumbled like sand. Goosebumps rose all over me, and tears welled up slightly.
Now that even my protective gear was useless, I bit my lip tightly.
“…I understand.”
Seemingly satisfied with my answer, Kid gave a small nod.
With his hand still on my shoulder, I couldn’t move at all. I could only breathe in short, careful, shallow breaths.
Suddenly, the pressure disappeared. Without realizing it, I took a deep breath. I thought he had removed his hand, but suddenly I felt it move toward my back.
Pat, pat. He began lightly patting between my shoulder blades. Since he was touching an area I couldn’t see, my senses sharpened, and I jolted like prey exposing its back to a predator.
“Shh.”
He made a soft hushing sound as if to calm me, then pulled me back into his embrace. His hand approached my trembling eyes. Instinctively, I squeezed them shut.
Perhaps intending to cover my eyes, he quickly withdrew his hand once I closed them. Then he resumed patting my back.
“As a reward, I’ll let you off from yesterday’s debt.”
“…T-thank you.”
“Rest comfortably.”
How am I supposed to rest comfortably here? Don’t you know I’d be most comfortable if you left? I wanted to argue, but unfortunately, I only had one life.
Sleep was impossible, but I was too drained to resist further. Just having exchanged names with Kid earlier had already consumed half my lifespan.
And absurdly enough, Kid was quite skilled at patting someone to sleep. It wasn’t for nothing that I had mistakenly thought of him as a mother figure. My strength drained away completely, and I leaned fully into his arms. Once I gave up trying to escape, sleep quickly overtook me.
I woke up suddenly, startled as if falling off a cliff. The face right in front of me made me scream inwardly. As I trembled in surprise, the person in front of me also woke up startled. Then both of us screamed.
“Uwaaa! What is this!”
Only after the shock wore off did I remember why Seniel was in front of me.
Right. After that ridiculous name exchange yesterday, things had escalated into… this situation.
“So we fell asleep like this the whole time? He’s insane. Who even thinks of sitting someone on their lap and sleeping like that?”
Seniel’s face had turned pale. Just like when I had abruptly sat on Kid’s lap yesterday, I could feel him stiffening.
Seeing the speechless, shocked Seniel gave me a headache.
‘Still… at least it’s reassuring to see Seniel’s face again in the morning.’
Seeing him without any trace of madness brought both relief and a strange sense of unease. Your personality is seriously awful, I grumbled inwardly while weakly greeting him.
“Good morning.”
I didn’t want to take my irritation out on the innocent Seniel. Whether I liked him or not, I had to see him for at least another month.
“Did you sleep well?”
“……”
Seniel was too shocked to respond. Well, if I woke up to find someone calmly sitting on my lap, I’d be speechless too.
Feeling sorry for him, I sat up. Even though I had slept curled up in a cramped space, my body didn’t feel stiff. As much as I hated to admit it, it seemed Kid had supported me quite steadily.
Or perhaps it was because Seniel had used his sacred power on me yesterday, making my body feel lighter.
“I know this must be confusing first thing in the morning.”
Speaking to him with a mix of resignation, faint relief, and exhaustion, he flinched slightly.
“To briefly explain… it would take too long to go into everything, so in short… Kid personally put me to sleep.”
Maybe that was too brief—it didn’t really explain anything. Seniel’s eyes trembled with confusion.
‘If I explained everything, I’d also have to tell him that Kid suddenly revealed his identity to me…’
That would not be appropriate for Seniel, who was emotionally fragile. If I told him, he would spend the entire day apologizing and trembling. Watching that repeatedly would be exhausting, and I didn’t have the confidence to comfort him properly. Regardless of his sincerity, I didn’t want that kind of burdened situation at all.
“If you don’t understand, that’s fine. Honestly, I don’t understand it either. Your leg must be numb—stand up now.”
I held out my hand. Seniel simply stared at it without taking it. After waiting a moment, I grabbed his hand myself and pulled him up. Though startled, he followed easily.
Seeing his flustered reaction gave me mixed feelings—part apology, part relief, and oddly, a bit of satisfaction.
It felt like I was declaring: I can also control your body just like Kid controlled mine yesterday.
Now standing, Seniel looked startled at first, then quickly returned to a subdued expression. His pale face and unfocused eyes turned toward me. He moved his lips hesitantly, then fully spoke while holding my hand.
“Did Kid make any unreasonable demands?”
“Hmm, no.”
He did make completely unreasonable demands, but I had no obligation to tell him the truth.
“Then why… on that couch… or… Bibi is Kid’s—”
His sentence trailed off. Kid’s what? I gave him a look urging him to finish.
“What was I to Kid? What were you about to say after that?”
Surely he wasn’t about to misunderstand something as horrifying as me being Kid’s lover.
I waited stubbornly for him to continue. After hesitating, Seniel reluctantly spoke.
“Bibi… are you Kid’s accomplice?”
At his question, my feelings became complicated. While this misunderstanding was better than being mistaken as lovers—and somewhat understandable—it was still an unpleasant label.
“Do I look like someone who would kill people…?”
Given that I had been surviving around Kid and waking up to strange situations every morning, I could understand why he’d think that.
“…No. I don’t think you could ever do that.”
If he trusted my humanity that much, why ask such a question in the first place?
‘He must have asked because he himself is confused.’
Poor Seniel. How long would he continue to look so lost? I could escape anytime, but he would have to live like this forever. Because I had inadvertently removed the female protagonist, there might no longer be a peaceful future where he and Kid coexist happily.
Feeling guilty, I gently patted the back of his hand with my free hand.
“Since I’ve kept surviving in strange ways, I understand why you’d think that. But as I said before, don’t worry—trust me, okay?”
“I trust Bibi.”
He answered quickly, as if taking back his earlier doubts. Seeing that made my heart feel heavy.
Seniel lowered his gaze and quietly looked at my hand. With a sorrowful expression, he slowly spoke.
“…I want to be someone you can trust as much as I trust you. I want to be useful. But I…”
Seniel struggled to control his emotions. He covered his face with one hand, his voice trembling.
“…Sorry for being childish. I just… I…”
He seemed deeply frustrated by the situation he couldn’t control. His grip on my hand tightened. I understood.
Every time he woke up, he found himself in unfamiliar places instead of his room. Though I appeared fine, I would subtly show irritation. Given how sensitive and perceptive he was, there was no way he couldn’t sense my feelings.
Moreover, I at least had the option of escaping. But Seniel, unaware of my escape plans, could only assume he would have to live like this forever—with me. It must feel like endless suffering, a daily mental strain.
Until now, I had been able to ignore it. But not anymore.
I could no longer fully suppress the guilt of having taken away his future.
I tightly grasped Seniel’s hand with both of mine.
