Chapter 62

"Maybe I wanted to be acknowledged by him. That I was the best... "

The fact that she just wanted to be recognized as the best.

By Kurosawa Akira, whom she had admired all her life.

But the dead cannot speak, and so her twisted desire for recognition manifested as a twisted desire.

That's why the only one who could save Ichiro was Yuki, who inherited the name of the Sword Saint.

It's just a childish story.

"Pitiful. You did something shameful."

Ichiro mumbles in a small voice.

Shame washes over him.

Ichiro shakes his head.

"So, what do you have to say to me, Kurosawa Yuki?"

"Stop treating Shinazaki Rin as a tool and abusing her."

"That's... "

Ichiro is at a loss for words.

"Even if she is an orphan, she is your child now. Rin is not a tool for projecting your twisted desires. She has her own life."

Yuki's words pierce Ichiro's ears like a dagger.

There was no denying the truth in his words.

Ichiro had treated Rin merely as a tool of the family.

A tool to erase the name of the Sword Saint and to glorify the family name.

Nothing more, nothing less.

'Did I really do that?'

He recalls his memories again.

When he first saw Rin at the orphanage, he secretly felt sorry for her.

When he gave her a grilled kirimochi, he thought it was cute how she cherished it like a treasure.

When she learned the Shinazaki Ittoryu faster than his own biological children, he actually wanted to pat her head and praise her.

When she asked if she could call him 'Dad,' he almost said yes.

But he couldn't act on it.

If he showed any weakness, he knew he wouldn't be able to treat her as a tool again.

If he acknowledged her as his child, it felt like the tower he had carefully built would collapse.

So he deliberately treated her coldly, ignoring his own kindness.

"I... I was the worst father and the worst hero."

Ichiro touches his forehead with a weak voice.

Ichiro shakes his head.

"I really was a despicable man."

How far had he gone wrong, lost in his delusions and arrogance?

He can't face Rin.

Ichiro pulls at his hair.

"You should apologize and treat her well now that you know."

"...Thank you, Kurosawa Yuki. For reminding me of my ugliness."

Ichiro lets out a hollow laugh.

If it weren't for the boy in front of him, his twisted heart and desires might have run rampant, leading to a wrong decision.

To think that the son of the Sword Saint would be the one to save him from the brink.

What a cruel twist of fate.

Yuki shakes his head.

"Thank the person who isn't me, rather, Kim Deok-sung."

"Kim Deok-sung...?"

Ichiro's eyes widen at the unexpected name from Yuki.

"The one who first noticed your twisted heart, the one who realized Rin was being abused, and the one who told me that I was the only one who could correct you, it was all him."

Yuki places his hand on his chest and closes his eyes.

"I just carried out the plan he set. So, thank the one who worried about you and Rin and came up with this entire plan, not me."

"What? Hah, hahaha, hahahahahaha!"

Ichiro bursts into a hearty laugh.

The idea that the president of the Japanese Hero Association would be saved by a student from a minor country like Korea.

"Indeed, I didn't misjudge people. Good. I'll thank him as you suggested."

Yuki sheathes his sword, Kusanagi no Tsurugi.

Whirr, click.

The bamboo water wheel in the garden, shishi odoshi, clatters as it hits the ground.

*

Academy Shopping District.

Parfait Shop.

At an outdoor table under a parasol, I was sitting alone with Olivia, eating a special chocolate parfait.

"Hmm, hmm, hmm, hmm, hmm♪"

Olivia hums a tune as she spoons the parfait.

It feels awkward to see her without her usual tsundere outbursts.

"Really delicious. I'm glad we came here."

I notice ice cream on Olivia's left cheek.

Such a clumsy sight.

I silently hand her a napkin.

Olivia's blue gaze turns to me.

"Hey, what's this supposed to mean?"

"You have ice cream on your left cheek."

"Wh-what?!"

Olivia lets out a strange cry.

"You should have told me earlier! Idiot! Moron! Sea cucumber! Sea urchin! Jellyfish! You're the world's biggest dunce who doesn't know a thing about mood!!"

Olivia's face turns red as she shouts.

The students at other outdoor tables turn to look at us.

I thought she would just let it go.

"Really, you're the worst... the lowest."

Olivia pouts and wipes the ice cream from her cheek with the napkin.

She spoons another bite of the parfait.

It's more delicious than expected.

Now I understand why light novels always sing the praises of parfaits.

Just as I was about to take another spoonful,

Vroom.

My smartphone rings.

I unlock the screen.

[Kim. I won. You don't have to worry about Rin anymore.]

Yuki's message.

As expected, the protagonist succeeded in saving Ichiro.

A smile naturally forms on my lips.

Good.

Finally, the bad karma with Rin is severed.

There's no need to reply to the guy's message.

I'll just read and ignore it.

Just as I was about to turn off the messenger,

[Thank you, Kim Deok-sung. You are my benefactor.]

Another message arrives.

This time, it's from Shinazaki Ichiro.

What? Why is this guy suddenly like this?

Why am I his benefactor?

Suddenly, I get goosebumps.

You always act like this.

Olivia was in a pretty good mood today.

Not only was Nishizawa, whom she usually can't stand, not around due to her community service, but neither was Rin, who always irritated her.

The fact that she was enjoying a special chocolate parfait alone with him and was about to receive private skill training later made Olivia's heart flutter.

'Only I, the exclusive maid, can be by your side. Hehehehe.'

The rare taste of victory.

Olivia secretly mocked Rin and Nishizawa as she ate the parfait.

Of course, women who don't deserve it can never be by his side.

'Unless they have the grace and manners of a princess of France.'

But unfortunately, there is no woman in this academy who can surpass her.

Instead, there are only those who cling to him with vulgar words like 'virgin' and 'master.'

Olivia's mind flashes with the faces of Rin and Nishizawa.

'Vulgar, dirty, stray cats...

I can't hand him over to such loose women as an exclusive maid.

Absolutely not.

'Not that I have any personal feelings for him or anything!'

The memory of him handing her the napkin resurfaces in her mind.

Olivia's face turns red like a volcano.

'Ugh... '

Her heart beats wildly.

'Who, who would fall for such a commoner? I'm a princess of France!'

Olivia shakes her head violently.

I didn't fall for him.

As she tried to deny her feelings out of pride and take another spoonful of the parfait,

She sees Kim Deok-sung looking at his phone.

"Y-y-y-yes... "

A groan escapes Olivia's lips.

Why is she suffering over someone?

She finally managed to create a situation where they were alone.

How dare he focus on his phone in front of the noble princess of France?

She doesn't like it.

"Ugh! You! Where are you looking? Do you have the nerve to be distracted by your phone in front of the noble princess of France, Olivia Napoleon Bonaparte?! You're the biggest idiot in the universe!!"

Olivia shouts.

Kim Deok-sung flinches and puts his phone on standby.

His gaze turns to Olivia.

Olivia's face turns red.

Thump, thump.

Her heart beats again.

She's afraid he might hear her heart pounding.

"Hmph. You're a man with no redeeming qualities. You!"

Olivia pouts and takes another spoonful of the parfait.

Her heart still races, and her cheeks remain flushed.

Kim Deok-sung remains silent.

His expressionless face is indeed annoying.

His lack of interest in the parfait also bothers her.

"You, why aren't you eating? It looks like only I am eating! Ugh!"

Plop.

Olivia stabs her spoon into the parfait.

She lifts a spoonful of the parfait, a mix of chocolate cream and ice cream, and brings it close to Kim Deok-sung's mouth.

"What?"

Kim Deok-sung looks at the spoon in front of his nose with his usual indifferent voice.

Olivia bites her lip at the sight.

Idiot, moron, sea cucumber, sea urchin, jellyfish.

There's a limit to how annoying someone can be.

Olivia's face turns bright red.

"Do I have to say it? Eat it! I, your exclusive maid, am kindly feeding you!!"

Olivia's heart beats like it's about to break.

Her face feels hot.

"Alright. I'll eat it."

Kim Deok-sung takes the parfait.

"It's delicious. Happy now?"

"Hmph."

Olivia sniffs and takes another spoonful of the parfait.

Just as she was about to eat it without a second thought,

'This spoon... this spoon was used by him, wasn't it?'

A surprising realization hits her.

That's right.

The spoon she's holding has been in Kim Deok-sung's mouth.

Should she eat the parfait with this spoon?

'Indirect kiss... '

Olivia's heart beats again.

Her face turns red, even down to her ears and neck.

'How, how can I do such a disgraceful... '

An indirect kiss with a stranger!

But she can't ask for a new spoon.

Actually, she doesn't want to...

"Ugh... No!"

Olivia shakes her head violently.

"What, why are you suddenly like this?"

Kim Deok-sung asks, taken aback by Olivia's sudden outburst.

Olivia's heart beats even faster at the sound of his voice.

She feels embarrassed.

"S-sh-sh-shut up! You pervert! Shameless!!"

Olivia stutters and shovels the parfait into her mouth.

The parfait tastes unusually sweet today.

*

Shinazaki Mansion.

The head's room, overlooking the garden.

There, the middle-aged man with green hair, Ichiro, sits and drinks matcha.

Click.

The sliding door of the tatami room opens, and the girl with a navy blue ponytail, Shinazaki Rin, enters.

"Did you call for me, Head?"

Rin bows politely and sits in front of Ichiro.

"Have some sweets."

Ichiro pushes the tray of sweets toward Rin with a gruff voice.

Rin's eyes widen.

Meeting with Ichiro is common.

Seeing him eat sweets is also common.

But he has never offered her any.

Rin's mind is filled with questions.

But in the Shinazaki clan, questions are not allowed.

She just follows orders.

"...Understood, Head."

Rin takes a bite of the sweet on the tray.

The sweetness spreads in her mouth.

A faint smile appears on Ichiro's lips as he watches Rin eat.

"...Don't call me Head anymore."

"What do you mean...?"

Rin's eyes widen.

Not to call him Head.

Then what should she call him?

Question marks fill Rin's mind.

Ichiro clears his throat and looks away.

"Call me Father. Ahem, hmm."

Father.

Rin's heart skips a beat at the word.

For her, an orphan, family was an unattainable utopia.

She had once thought of the Shinazaki family as her family, but after realizing it was just an illusion, she had lived with a hole in her heart.

But now, to be called Father.

"Really... Can I call you that?"

She can hardly believe it.

"Yes. It's fine. You are not a tool of the family, but my daughter, Shinazaki Ichiro's daughter. And... "

Ichiro caresses his teacup.