Don’t Be Holy! - Chapter 75

“…….”

A brief silence passed.

Rubel realized, in that moment, that he hadn’t been unaware of it—but he had wanted to hear it confirmed directly from her mouth.

But seriously? Why?

In his confusion, he momentarily failed to hide his emotions, laying them bare. He ran a hand through his hair and turned to look out the window, but it felt like everything had already been exposed.

Before Eir woke up, he had thought that once she regained her senses, this strange feeling would resolve itself.

But now that she was awake, everything had become even more of a mess. So much so that he felt like knocking her out again, just for a little while, even though she had only just regained consciousness.

What on earth should he call this irrational emotion?

Still, at first, it had been somewhat understandable.

All of Eir’s wounds were injuries Rubel had caused, directly or indirectly. He thought that if her shaky wrist and stabbed side healed, perhaps this feeling would settle down.

After all, if you’ve ever had the experience of stopping the bleeding of a blood-soaked woman lying on a sandy beach at dawn, anyone would feel the same. If you were pressing down on gushing blood, unable to even say, “Just wait a moment.” anyone would hope for her to regain consciousness and for her wounds to heal.

Yes, up to that point.

Even working hard to earn money and covering her medical expenses was something he could somehow rationalize.

But this now…….

The moment he heard her say, “I saved you.” he felt like slapping the back of her neck to knock her out again and shut her mouth. He couldn’t imagine anyone else feeling this way.

Shut up.

That’s what he wanted to say, but the problem was that it wasn’t out of contempt. Instead, it was something else entirely, boiling and churning inside him in a different way.

If this keeps up, it’s going to be a disaster.

Instinctively, he thought this and urgently tried to divert his mind elsewhere. He could feel that something was seriously wrong, teetering on the edge.

“I understand.”

After a brief silence, Rubel suddenly spoke and turned away. Eir, who had been in the middle of their argument, frowned, unable to comprehend why Rubel was suddenly saying he understood.

“What do you mean, you understand?”

“Your feelings.”

“……Huh?”

Rubel turned to Eir, who looked utterly baffled, and explained with a calm expression.

“Yes. I treated you well, considering you’re a witch. It’s understandable. I didn’t care much about what people were saying, either. I ignored it. I didn’t think it would affect you like this.”

I guess I was short-sighted. I’m sorry.

Rubel muttered this quickly, as if rushing through his words. Eir thought he had finally lost his mind.

What, what is he saying? Does he think I saved him because I like him?

There’s no misunderstanding worse than this. Eir raised her voice to correct him before his delusions deepened.

“Hey. I just didn’t want to see innocent people die. It’s not because I have any special feelings for you.”

Rubel knew that.

At the very least, this woman, as foolish as she might seem, appeared far more emotionally stable than he did at the moment.

Meanwhile, Rubel couldn’t even understand half of what he was saying, even though the words were coming from his own mouth.

He continued.

“Right. You’d say that, of course. I can’t return your feelings, so I won’t dig into what they are anymore.”

And he hastily concluded it there.

Let’s not dig into it. Let’s just sweep it under the rug. That’s what he thought.

On the other hand, Eir was completely lost in this absurd turn of events, her expression saying, “What is this?”

No, there’s nothing to dig into in the first place.

That’s what she wanted to say. But it was so ridiculous, and Rubel himself seemed so out of it that she couldn’t even bring herself to ask what was going on.

Even in the midst of this, he maintained his composure and spoke smoothly.

“Anyway, I’ll admit that you’re more honest and a better person than other witches. It’s rare and commendable to go this far for the sake of love. Since I saved you too, I think we can call it even now, don’t you?”