As Luke opened his eyes, he was greeted by the familiar sight of purple irises.
As he thought about who the owner of those eyes was and why she was here, he quickly felt heat rise to his face in embarrassment.
Luke muttered a lament and buried himself beneath the blankets.
This way, he could avoid her gaze immediately.
“…In the end, I ended up calling for you…”
‘To call a Guardian with an unwanted act, what a burden this is.’
Covered completely by the blankets, with only the pointed triangular animal ears protruding from them, Yerna chuckled softly.
“Are you feeling any better?”
“I was fine from the start. But why are you here? Didn’t you say you were busy during Hunting Week…?”
“Well, I was busy, but shall we go back now?”
“Go back, you say?”
As Luke asked absentmindedly, Yerna responded.
“School is already over, Lu. It’s 8 PM now.”
“Wh-What…?”
How long had he slept?
Normally, he would have surely woken up in the middle of it, but why not this time?
Was the bed too soft? Or was it too quiet around him? Or was he really that exhausted?
Luke was confused, but—
—Grrroowl…
The clock in his stomach was working perfectly.
Yerna smiled at the sound and said, “Luke, shall we eat before heading back?”
“Th-That sounds good.”
——–
“……”
Yerna recalled the muttered words of Luke that the school nurse had conveyed earlier.
She hadn’t meant to eavesdrop, but she did.
She also provided psychological counseling for students.
Thus, Luke’s mumbled words were far too concerning to simply brush off, and she noted down everything he had murmured in a small notebook without missing a single word.
At the time, she had dismissed it as not being a big deal, just something he read in a book…
Yerna subtly turned her body to a position where Luke couldn’t see her and unfolded the notebook.
The words that appeared were:
‘I miss you; a specimen like you is rare.’
A specimen… Was there a child in the same situation as him?
That must be the case. They must have conducted human experimentation for a purpose, and it was overly optimistic to assume there was only one victim.
‘Ah, how I wish I could go back to then.’
Regret; perhaps a natural response.
It was clearly a wish to return to before the experimentation took place.
‘If I had been more perfect back then, you wouldn’t have had to die like that.’
Poor thing.
It seemed Luke believed the death of the child in the same situation was his fault. Perhaps it was the same child he had thought of back at Dayton’s house.
Back then, Luke had surely smiled, but deep inside, it must have remained a festering wound that couldn’t be washed away.
People become most emotional when they’re in pain.
“Yerna? What are you looking at so intensely?”
“Oh, nothing! Nothing at all!”
Startled by Luke’s question, Yerna quickly shoved the notebook into her pocket.
To Luke, her actions appeared quite strange, but he simply nodded.
There was no reason to pry into something she insisted was nothing.
Instead, Luke decided to focus a bit more on the food laid out in front of him.
A steaming, crispy-fried meat dish.
Just looking at it seemed to convey a crunchy texture, and he swallowed.
He gripped the knife in his hand and carefully cut into it.
Inside was well-cooked pork and cheese, which oozed out as if announcing its presence.
He cut it into a suitable size and blew on it to cool it down. How long should he let it cool so it wouldn’t be too hot? Since his body had become incapable of handling hot foods.
Cooling it down as much as possible seemed to be the best, but…
The food’s appearance was far too enticing.
Ultimately, Luke’s patience quickly ran out.
Dunking a still-warm piece into the sauce, he placed it in his mouth, and as the crispy coating crunched, he could feel the chewy cheese.
‘This is really delicious…’
Could it be that everyone in this era eats such things?
How on earth did someone come up with the idea of putting cheese in fried meat?
The genius who first invented this dish is undoubtedly remarkable.
How does every new dish bring forth such joy every time?
Being hot is no longer a major issue.
Gulp.
Could it be that the oil from the dish is making its way down his throat?
In the blink of an eye, the meat in his mouth was swallowed completely.
“Phew…”
When was the last time he felt such pleasure from a meal?
This texture was the best dish of his life.
Seeing Luke wearing such a bright smile, Yerna couldn’t help but grin.
“Is it really that tasty?”
“It’s absolutely wonderful…! Wh-What did you call this dish again?”
“Cheese Tonkatsu.”
“Oh, Cheese Tonkatsu…! It really is delicious!”
As Luke beamed with joy, he suddenly glanced at Yerna’s table.
There was nothing there.
Since Yerna couldn’t eat meat, the only menu she could choose from at this restaurant was just cabbage salad, and she hadn’t even ordered that.
“By the way, Yerna. Are you okay not eating?”
“Don’t worry about me. I already ate beforehand.”
That was a lie.
She just didn’t have an appetite.
Yerna felt a wave of guilt wash over her.
She had given a child who loved to eat something akin to canned food all this time.
“I’m sorry. I feel like I haven’t been able to give you proper food.”
Luke vigorously shook his head.
“No, Yerna. The canned food you bought was really delicious. In fact… I liked it so much that I secretly snuck some out to eat.”
Yerna imagined Luke rummaging through the drawer late at night to sneak a can, and it must have looked adorable.
She smiled softly.
“Really?”
“Yeah. I see you’ve been wearing such a serious expression all this time over something so trivial? You shouldn’t be sorry for that at all.”
“Ah, right. You’re right.”
It wasn’t solely due to that seriousness, but…
There was no reason to dwell on it and mention it to Luke, so she kept her mouth shut.
For now, laughter would suffice.
“Eat up quickly. It won’t taste good if it gets cold.”
To be honest, not having tasted it herself, she wasn’t sure if this type of food would indeed lose its flavor when cold, but she heard that was the case.
———
After a fierce battle, Yerna and Daphne came to an agreement.
There was definitely something behind Luke.
As a result, they concluded that it was necessary to apply for a ‘Witness Protection Program.’
Due to either the experiment or trauma, Luke’s memory wasn’t intact, so he wasn’t a direct witness, but…
At the very least, he shouldn’t be registered as a being of a race other than human.
Rachel, the reviewing officer who received the test results, was astonished as well.
What she thought was merely a sign of a simple transformation into a beast was entirely different.
Thanks to that, Luke’s official status was now ‘Beast-Human Hybrid.’
Also, he could live in a completely new place with all traces erased at any time with just a word.
Although this would mean he might have to part from Yerna, his temporary guardian.
“Lu, if ever in the future…”
After finishing the meal and rubbing his stomach, Luke looked up at Yerna, startled by her sudden call.
Her face bore an indescribably heavy expression.
“…If you have something to say, please do. I’ll always be on your side.”
Saying that, Yerna managed a strained smile.
Worry? Regret? Sympathy? It was a mix of all sorts of emotions.
“Really…? Thank you.”
Luke, not understanding why Yerna was acting that way, pondered what had prompted such a reaction.
‘Did it seem like I had something to say…?’
Now that he thought about it, he had been feeling a bit nauseous for a while.
It must have been because of eating too much greasy food.
Was it that children’s stomachs are too small?
If he wasn’t careful, he might end up throwing up.
‘Did I look that unwell? How embarrassing…’
Feeling utterly embarrassed about being found out for overindulging, Luke avoided Yerna’s gaze.
Embarrassment made him break out in a cold sweat.
As the sweat trickled down his forehead, it even stung his eyes.
Rubbing his eyes, he saw Yerna looking at him with an even more pitying expression.
“Yerna…?”
“Yeah?”
As Luke was about to ask why she was looking at him that way—
‘Ugh.’
The consequence of overeating had finally come calling.
‘This is driving me crazy; I must never overeat again.’
“…Excuse me, I need to use the restroom…”
“Uh…? O-Okay. Go ahead.”
With a face as pale as a sheet, Luke stood up and dashed to the restroom.
Meanwhile, seeing Luke’s pale expression, Yerna slammed her head against the table, feeling remorse for her slip of the tongue.
‘But earlier, I’m sure I saw something that seemed like he had something to say.’
However, she froze momentarily and then fled.
She had been too rash.
He was still just a child, and of course, it would be difficult for him to open up right after she said something like that.
She wanted to help Lu, but things always turned out like this.
“…I really wanted to do well this time…”
She wanted things to be different from last time.
She hoped with all her heart that Luke would not suffer from such an experience.
‘He must be crying in the restroom right now.’
Yerna stood up from the table.
“Right.”
Now was the time for an adult to go and comfort him.
Imagining Luke crying alone, having entered the restroom, Yerna was shocked.
‘Luke is gone.’
There were no locked stalls.
He had completely disappeared!
“Luke? Where on earth are you?”
Could it be that he ran away?
Because of something I said?
Did I inadvertently place a burden on his mind?
Yerna dashed outside.
Swoosh…
It was still a rainy night; where could the child have vanished without even an umbrella?
She had to find him at all costs.
———
“Phew, now I feel a lot better.”
Luke felt quite satisfied with his now lighter stomach.
However, what he had thought was just a well would turn out to be a toilet.
Every time he used it, it felt strange, making his face flush.
As he raised the faucet to wash his hands, a man entering was startled and rushed out, only to return a moment later and shout.
“Hey! You can’t be in here! This is the men’s restroom!”
Hmm, in this era, they had separate restrooms for men and women?
It seemed the strange patterns in front of the door indicated which was which.
“Oops, that was a mistake. I apologize!”
After repeatedly apologizing and returning to his seat, Luke found that Yerna was no longer there.
‘Considering she left her phone and belongings behind… She must have gone to the restroom too. Well, she’ll probably be back if I wait.’
Thinking nothing serious of it, Luke sat down to wait.
Tick tock.
But as the time for the store to close approached, Yerna still hadn’t returned.
