AEPOB 22

Chapter 22

I’d better keep observing the situation.

Just the fact that he was talking as if someone was there in the empty air made it clear this wasn’t a normal situation.

To get a more accurate grasp of the situation, I carefully opened the door.

At that moment.

“……!”

Kiki stopped his one-sided conversation and whipped his head toward me.

For some reason, I felt like our eyes had met.

‘Oh no, did he catch me?’

I held my breath, tense.

Fortunately, Kiki soon turned his head back and continued his conversation.

It seemed he hadn’t noticed me.

Only then did I relax my tension and gaze at Kiki.

People of this era might think Kiki was crazy, but I didn’t.

Because before I was possessed, I had often seen people at the hospital where I worked who showed symptoms similar to Kiki’s.

Kiki appeared to be suffering from PTSD—what people commonly call post-traumatic stress disorder.

Kiki, who had cried out for his mother.

The child still hadn’t detached himself from that incident.

His muttering to himself seemed to be a type of that trauma as well.

‘So Kiki had been suffering from a mental illness.’

That’s why, to the people here who had no knowledge of this kind of medicine, Kiki must have seemed strange.

And naturally, that would have created an atmosphere of exclusion.

If there had been someone by his side to comfort him, it might have been less severe, but without that, his symptoms would have become even more pronounced.

Maybe that was why.

From the very beginning, Kiki had been especially guarded.

Even going so far as to warn me that I would distance myself from him once my memories returned.

“……”

I decided that if I recklessly acted like I knew, it would only backfire, so for the time being, I would pretend not to know and just watch over Kiki.

The position of a friend who knows nothing.

That was enough.

—

* * *

“Bell, wake up.”

“……”

“Bell, you need to get up and eat. Okay?”

I felt my father’s hand stroking my head.

Ah, was it morning already?

I couldn’t easily wake up from sleep.

Last night, I had stayed up late watching through the window until Kiki went back inside after returning to my room, so I was exhausted.

“Haahm.”

Eventually, a huge yawn escaped me. My father smiled at me and gently pinched my cheek.

“Hurry up and wash up, then come downstairs.”

After washing my face and going downstairs, a familiar back of a head caught my eye between the stairs.

I stopped mid-step and made a resolution to myself.

‘I didn’t see anything yesterday.’

I’ll just treat Kiki casually, like a friend my age.

I absolutely mustn’t act awkward.

Just then, as if urging me on, the conversation window displayed the current mission status.

—

[Sub Mission!]

Greet once a day (7/10)

―Target: Kiki Müller

—

Right, I’ll just do the mission.

All I have to do is go see Kiki.

I rubbed my cheeks vigorously with both hands.

I must have rubbed them about ten times.

That should be enough to loosen up my facial muscles.

After finishing my mental preparation, I continued down the stairs.

As soon as I entered the kitchen, I waved my hand and greeted him in a bright voice.

“Hi, Kiki.”

*Ding―*

—

[Sub Mission!]

Greet once a day (8/10)

―Target: Kiki Müller

—

Soon, a small greeting came back.

“……Hi.”

“Are you feeling better now?”

After gulping down his soup, Kiki nodded belatedly.

I sat down next to Kiki and quickly scanned him with my eyes.

His cheeks, which had been red just the night before, had returned to their original color, and there was no trembling anywhere.

That was a relief.

But one thing really bothered me.

Weren’t we supposed to be friends?

He even returned my greeting, so why was he acting like this again?

Seeing Kiki quietly and slowly trying to move his chair away from me made my blood boil.

“Kiki, stop right there.”

When I spoke in a deliberately stern tone, Kiki flinched.

“Why are you avoiding me again? We’re friends.”

“I’m not avoiding you.”

“Then what is it?”

“……I’m afraid you might hate me.”

After speaking, Kiki bowed his head deeply.

His long, flowing hair covered his face again.

It was frustrating not being able to see his eyes while we talked.

‘Could it be that Kiki saw me yesterday?’

If I could at least see his expression, I might be able to guess.

I couldn’t even tell what kind of feelings were behind his words.

Ah, screw it.

At this point, it was all or nothing.

I reached out my hand and tucked Kiki’s hair behind his ear.

He flinched a little, but fortunately, Kiki didn’t pull away.

“When you talk to someone, you should look them in the eyes.”

Kiki’s exposed eyes widened instantly. His clear, beautiful violet eyes trembled slightly as they stared intently at me.

Oh no, did I approach him too suddenly?

Still, if I wanted to hold onto Kiki, who kept pulling away, I felt like I needed to show him through actions.

I smiled gently and tried to lighten the mood.

“I like to look people in the eyes when I talk to them. So I want to talk to you while looking into your eyes too. We’re friends, after all.”

In that instant, Kiki’s thick lashes fluttered.

His gaze looked as if I had struck a nerve.

*Ding―*

—

[Mission Update!]

As the target’s trust in the possessor has increased, achievement has risen by 10%.

―’True Friend’ mission achievement: 60%

—

Hooray! The all-or-nothing strategy worked!

If that’s the case, now it was time to step on the accelerator without hesitation and go full speed ahead.

Just then, a good idea came to me.

As soon as we finished eating, I led Kiki to my room.

After dragging the hesitant Kiki in front of my room and sitting him down on a chair, I pulled out a round box from under the table.

Seeing Kiki’s hair still styled the way I had put it up made me greedy for more.

I touched the lid of the box and spoke.

“Kiki, there’s something I’ve always wanted to do ever since I made a friend……”

“What is it?”

“Tie my friend’s hair. Can I tie up your hair for you?”

Actually, I never had any such romantic fantasy.

I was just trying to change his style in a way that wouldn’t make Kiki feel burdened, and this was the method I came up with.

Kids this age usually have these kinds of fantasies anyway.

Doesn’t appearance play a big role when people evaluate others?

I thought that if he at least looked neat, the villagers might treat Kiki a little better.

Besides, Kiki was handsome, so if he just showed his face, he might easily gain people’s favor.

But I had no intention of forcing him.

“It’s okay if you don’t want to. You can say no.”

For a moment, silence filled the room.

Ah, shoot. Did I go too far?

I lowered my gaze and glanced at Kiki. He had his mouth tightly shut, wearing a rather serious expression.

‘What’s he agonizing over all by himself.’

I felt like slapping my own mouth for bringing it up—when suddenly.

“……Like yours?”

As if he had thought about it a lot, Kiki mumbled quietly. Then, glancing at me nervously, he stared at my hair.

At the twin buns on both sides of my head that my father had carefully rolled up this morning.

In that moment, Kiki’s eyes, meeting mine, were trembling a lot.

There was no hint of playfulness in his serious expression—just pure innocence. No matter how mature he looked on the outside, he was still a child.

“Pfft, ahahahaha!”

I suddenly burst out laughing.

I should have held back my laughter just by looking at Kiki staring at me with such a serious face, but I ended up laughing until tears welled up in my eyes.

Eventually, I cleared my throat and spoke in a voice still laced with laughter.

“No. Ahem, I can’t do it like yours. Your hair is shorter than mine.”

“……”

“Instead, I’ll tie half of it up neatly, like a knight. I think that would look handsome. How about it?”

“Ah……”

Only then realizing his misunderstanding, Kiki let out a short gasp.

His pale face gradually flushed red, as if a gradient was spreading across it.

His face looked like it would burst with just a light tap.

With his neck turning crimson, Kiki bowed his head deeply.

I wanted to pat his head because he was so cute, but I clenched my fist, knowing that would make Kiki’s face explode even more.

I opened the box on the table and rummaged through it.

“Your hair is black, so if you use a black hair tie, it won’t stand out much.”

I may have unintentionally teased him, but I wondered if he recognized that my proposal came from thinking about him.

Even though his voice was barely audible, Kiki accepted my offer.

“……Go ahead. Since you said you wanted to.”

Alright. Permission granted.

This isn’t an opportunity that comes easily.

Not wanting to miss the chance, I grabbed a comb and dashed behind Kiki like lightning.