Chapter 71
Claude chuckled and began to speak.
“When I was eighteen, I led a mission to eliminate monsters for the first time. Back then, the Espers didn’t follow my commands well because I was young and inexperienced. They were quite unruly. After I had to assert my authority to maintain discipline, some of them conspired and ambushed me at night.”
I gasped in anticipation, “Then what happened?”
Idly twirling the ends of my hair around his finger, he nonchalantly replied.
“I captured those guys and threw them into the monster den in front of all the other Espers the next day. I wanted to set an example.”
“…What?”
“I made every Esper watch as the flesh was torn from their bodies, as they screamed in agony, begging for death.”
“……”
“After that, no one dared to defy me.”
…Well, that would do it.
Claude stroked my cheek, which was shaking with shock.
“But there’s still someone here who keeps challenging me. A bold one, defying and climbing up.”
“……”
“What to do. I can’t just throw you to be devoured like I did with those Espers.”
“……”
“What should I do? Huh? Answer me, Rose…”
Claude whispered with a hint of amusement in his voice.
How could I possibly respond?
Should I just tell him not to joke like that?
He built up the story as if he was going to share something interesting. But in reality, it was a unique threat of throwing me into a monster den if I kept messing around.
A cupcake suddenly entered my trembling, frightened mouth.
Claude gestured for me to eat, as if urging me to do so.
Despite my apprehensions, I nibbled on the cake, crying as if I was choking on mustard.
The corners of Claude’s mouth turned up in satisfaction.
***
When Claude threatened me with living together, I thought his only goal was to receive guiding.
Not being an Esper myself, I don’t fully understand Claude’s true intentions. But if I were to empathize, it might be similar to how modern people feel uneasy without their phone charger when going out. Even if it’s not immediately needed, one still carries a charger for peace of mind.
Similarly, even if he couldn’t receive guiding from me right away, he might have proposed living together because he felt uneasy without me nearby.
That’s what I had thought.
But after spending over a week with Claude, for the first time, I started to think that maybe his reasons for keeping me close weren’t just about guiding.
After all…
“Why do you have such a big appetite when you look like you wouldn’t even have room for it?”
Claude, sitting next to me on the sofa, leaned back and watched me for a while before casually tossing out that comment.
Claude never really fussed about what I did at home. He never talked about guiding unless necessary, and he never asked me to do any household chores.
Instead, Claude had one rule he insisted we follow while living together: we had to have three meals a day and snack times in the morning and afternoon together.
I thought I had found someone as serious about food as I was. But in reality, he would just nibble on his food, making it look utterly unappetizing.
Instead, after barely touching his meal, he would watch me eat with his chin propped up on his hand.
Right now, too. He sat me on the living room sofa with a peach for a snack, watching me eat as if amazed that I could fit it all in.
Maybe Claude actually enjoys watching others eat deliciously. Why else would he be so serious about food he doesn’t even eat much himself? People subscribe to mukbang channels on Y-tube for vicarious satisfaction, after all.
“Where does all the food go? Do you have a storage pouch in your cheeks?”
“…….”
“Ah, definitely…”
Poking my increasingly chubby cheeks, Claude nodded as if he finally understood. I swatted his hand away in annoyance.
“Do you want to ruin my appetite?”
“Rose.”
“What?”
“You say your appetite is ruined, but you’re eating quite well.”
Hmph.
I took another big bite of the peach.
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