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Translated By Arcane Translations
Translator: Teottry
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“It was a fateful encounter, like something out of a movie, wasn’t it, Faster?”
“It was more like a nightmare.”
“For me, it was fate. The day I met the only person I couldn’t control.”
She spoke romantic words, but sitting on my lap, dangling a yellow dog collar from her finger, she didn’t look romantic at all.
The dog collar, spinning around the second knuckle of her slender index finger, looked like a cowboy’s lasso, sending a chill down my spine.
It had a faint golden glow, clearly an artifact. I didn’t know what its ability was, but I knew it wouldn’t be anything good for me.
“Stop spinning that. It’s distracting.”
“Really? Then should I put it on you?”
The moment I spoke, Silk Blonde, as if waiting for an invitation, held the collar out to me.
She held both ends, the collar moving towards my neck in a smooth, swift arc. It was a move that would have worked even on a B-rank Awakened if they weren’t expecting it.
But if I’d fallen for that, I would have been kidnapped by Scarlet long ago, my limbs severed, turned into her personal… Well, you get the picture.
Of course, Scarlet had never actually tried to kidnap me. Had she? Probably not. Knowing Scarlet, it was entirely possible. I’d probably just subconsciously evaded her attempts.
Anyway, most people couldn’t catch me. The Doctor, Scarlet, Lapis Julie – they’d all said, with slight exaggeration, that my ability to escape was S-rank.
And my evasion skills, recognized by some of the greatest minds in the world, weren’t solely reliant on Rabbit Burrow.
I was the one who decided when to use Rabbit Burrow. If I wasn’t actively trying to escape, it was useless.
In short, even without Rabbit Burrow, I was incredibly good at dodging.
I wasn’t about to fall for such a blatant, predictable move. I extended my hand, blocking the dog collar’s trajectory.
The moment the collar touched my hand, it snapped shut, as if magnetized.
-Click.
But nothing happened. I easily removed the collar from my hand and put it in my pocket, preventing Silk Blonde from trying anything else.
The reason it hadn’t activated was because, as an artifact, it only worked when worn around the neck.
I’d been able to avoid it because I knew that.
“Ugh… How do you always manage to slip away, Faster?”
Silk Blonde, her plan to collar me foiled, frowned slightly and pouted.
She looked cute, but her question, asking why I was so good at dodging, annoyed me.
“You shouldn’t be asking me that question, Team Leader.”
“Hmm? What do you mean?”
“You know exactly why I’m like this. Whose fault is it?”
“Oh, right. It’s my fault. I forgot.”
She stuck out her tongue, lightly hitting her head with her fist, mimicking the Doctor’s gesture. But it wasn’t nearly as cute as when the Doctor, with her dead fish eyes, did it.
Where did they learn to do that?
And my fault? Ha… Seriously.
Silk Blonde was right. My survival-focused evasion skills were because of her.
Not ‘thanks to’ her, but because of her. That was the crucial difference.
I’d developed these skills to survive her crazy antics.
Even now, two years later, the memories were so traumatic they still woke me up at night.
And she had the nerve to say it was thanks to her? How shameless.
I’d planned to endure for three months, but my patience was wearing thin. Too much had happened in the past three days.
My mental state was deteriorating, and Silk Blonde’s “thanks to” comment was the final straw.
“Get off my lap.”
“No.”
I’d lowered my voice, but I’d expected that response. Silk Blonde and Scarlet were similar in many ways.
Just like Scarlet wouldn’t apologize, Silk Blonde wouldn’t listen to me. It wasn’t surprising, so it didn’t bother me.
I simply nodded.
“Fine. Suit yourself.”
With that, I used Rabbit Burrow to teleport. Not far, just next to my chair.
-Thud!
It was a short teleport, but Silk Blonde, sitting on my lap, lost her balance and fell on her butt.
“Ow!”
An S-rank Awakened’s body wouldn’t be hurt by such a minor fall. But Silk Blonde, her eyebrows furrowed, looked up at me as if in pain.
But seeing my grim expression, she quickly got up, dusted off her pants, placed her hand on my cheek, and asked cautiously,
“Faster, are you angry?”
Damn it. Not this again.
Scarlet, Silk Blonde, Lapis Julie – they were all the same. They’d provoke me until I was about to explode, and then, as if sensing my impending outburst, they’d use their respective methods to diffuse my anger.
Scarlet would act like a puppy who’d just made a mess, looking at me with wide, innocent eyes. The sight, so out of character for her, would make me laugh, and my anger would dissipate. Of course, Scarlet was terrible at this and sometimes made things worse.
Lapis Julie would say something like, “But you’re the only one I can talk to like this, senpai. Promise you won’t leave me?” after insulting me relentlessly. Then, she’d blush and turn away, embarrassed, and for some reason, my anger would vanish.
And Silk Blonde, like now, would place her hand on my cheek and look into my eyes. And then, her beautiful face, even more stunning than Scarlet’s or Lapis Julie’s, would fill my vision, making me forget I was even angry.
Damn it. She’s beautiful. That bitch.
Annoyingly, Silk Blonde was, as always, breathtakingly beautiful. But I couldn’t let her off the hook every time.
Maintaining my stern expression, I asked coldly,
“You’re just realizing that now?”
“Yes. Just now.”
Just now? Yeah, right. Normally, I would have let it slide, saying, “Okay, just don’t do it again.” But not today. I wasn’t going to let her get away with a half-assed apology…
“I’m… sorry, Faster. I wasn’t being considerate.”
Huh?
“W-Wait. What did you just say?”
“I said I’m sorry…”
“You’re… sorry? To me? Why?”
“Because I did something wrong.”
“You… you know you did something wrong? Senpai?”
“Faster, what do you take me for…?”
Silk Blonde’s exasperated tone didn’t register. I was too confused to process it. It felt like a dream come true, a dream I’d never thought would actually happen.
She apologized? An S-rank Awakened? To me? And Silk Blonde, of all people, the least likely person to apologize?
I pinched myself. I felt a sharp pain. It wasn’t a dream. Silk Blonde had actually apologized to me.
This is crazy. What’s going on?
Despite it being something I’d always wanted, I couldn’t feel pure joy. It felt… wrong.
No. Snap out of it, Faster. She must have an ulterior motive. There’s no other explanation. Why would she suddenly apologize after two years of showing no remorse? That’s like Ia Aris suddenly confessing her feelings for me.
Oh, wait, she already did that. Well, not exactly. It was practically a confession, but not a direct one.
I collected my scattered thoughts and looked at Silk Blonde. She was bowing her head, pressing her forehead against my chest, as if genuinely remorseful.
“I’m sorry, Faster. I mean it.”
“…”
Her gesture, like a cat nuzzling its owner, calmed my anger and soothed my pounding heart.
I’d thought about what I’d do if she ever apologized. Back then, filled with resentment, I’d resolved not to forgive her easily. But now, faced with her sincere apology, I couldn’t think of anything but forgiveness.
I was actually… grateful. It couldn’t have been easy for her, an S-rank Awakened, someone who could hold her head high anywhere, to bow her head to a lowly F-rank like me.
A smile spread across my face. I placed my hand on her head, as she often asked me to do.
“Senpai, just you apologizing like this…”
-Slide.
S-slide?
The sensation of something slipping out of my pocket interrupted me. At the same moment, Silk Blonde, like a stray cat caught in the act, quickly backed away. She was holding the dog collar I’d taken from her.
“Hee hee, Faster. Saying sorry isn’t enough, is it? I agree. So… punish me, like you always do. I’ll do anything to earn your forgiveness.”
With that, Silk Blonde fastened the collar around her own neck. The moment the collar clicked shut against her pale skin, a brilliant golden light filled the room.
What was this?
I instinctively closed my eyes. When I opened them again, Silk Blonde had dog ears and a tail.
“Wh-What the…”
I’d been touched by her apology, and now this? I couldn’t keep up. Silk Blonde, seeing my dumbfounded expression, chuckled and explained,
“It’s hard to find artifact. Funded by a suspiciously wealthy… what was it called? Anyway, it was a failed experiment. It only creates ears and a tail. Not quite a beastkin transformation, but…”
Silk Blonde paused, walked towards me, and sat down on the floor like a dog. Looking up at me, she continued,
“It doesn’t interfere with being punished, so it’s fine.”
Only then did I understand why she’d apologized. She hadn’t apologized out of genuine remorse. She’d apologized to create this situation.
Yeah, right. Like Silk Blonde would ever sincerely apologize to me.
It was disappointing, even though I’d expected it. I felt a sudden wave of fatigue. I wanted to go home.
But my home was gone. Lapis Julie was sleeping in my dorm room. Seriously? I had nowhere to go? My life was so hard.
I looked up at the dull ceiling. Ha. I sighed and looked down. Silk Blonde was staring up at me with eager eyes.
“Master, please discipline this foolish bitch who only knows how to anger you.”
“…”
Discipline my ass.
But if “discipline,” as Silk Blonde called it, was what she wanted, I had no reason to refuse.
My anger had subsided, my rationality returned, and with it, the realization that I had to endure for three months.
Yeah, I had to do this. I’d already decided.
As I reached for my phone, Silk Blonde, seeing my silence, placed her fists on the floor in front of her, tilted her head like a puppy, and barked cutely.
“Woof!”
It was as if she was asking, “Are you not doing anything because I didn’t do this?” But her barking was so unconvincing it made me chuckle.
“Okay, senpai. I was going to do it anyway. I’ll do whatever you want. Look here.”
Remembering the saying, “If you can’t beat them, join them,” I held up the fake hypnosis app.
The moment she saw the app, the light vanished from her eyes, but her fluffy golden tail wagged excitedly.
As if she was genuinely happy.
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Now he knows Silk Blonde also love him
