When I went to pick up Ko at lunch, the atmosphere was different from usual.
My parents are looking at Ko and Ko is looking at them.
“Rodo.”
Ko is seemingly normal but…his eyes are red.
This is ──
“Did you make Ko cry!?”
I can only think of that.
(What do you think I called you for?)
It’s a moot point if they made him cry even though I called them to protect him.
“No, I didn’t mean to make him cry.”
They said excuses, but I don’t want to hear anything like that.
Just that “they made Ko cry” is a fact.
“Kill…!”
I put a hand on my sword, but I couldn’t pull it out.
“Rodo, no! Stop it.”
Because Ko stood in front of my parents with his arms wide.
The tears flowing from those eyes are too much for me that I stopped.
“Father-in-law, mother-in-law, Rodo, together. Ko, sad, person, kill, said. Ko, stopped, only.” (Father-in-law, mother-in-law, and Rodo are the same. You’d say kill to whoever made me sad. I just stopped them.)
“…………”
Certainly, when I try to kill someone, Ko always stops me.
While shedding tears sometimes…
Is that why Ko had swollen eyes this time?
…in the first place, who made Ko so sad that they wanted to kill the person who made him like that?
“Ko, who made you that way? What did they say?”
I’m gonna kill them instead of my parents.
But Ko just shook his head and didn’t say anything.
Are you protecting your opponent?
Ko, who was approaching, hugged me.
My anger…will not subside by…something like this.
“Ko?”
“…Ko, don’t want. Rodo, father-in-law, mother-in-law, someone, kill, hate. Ko, want them to say “Rodo’s partner”, only. Not “special existence”, want you to say, just that. Sad, thing, don’t say.” (I don’t want it. Rodo, father-in-law, and mother-in-law killing someone, I hate it. I just want to hear them say “Rodo’s partner”. Not “special existence”, I just want you to say that. …don’t say such sad things.)
“…………”
I can’t say anything to Ko’s words as he looked up with moist eyes.
You can’t make such a cute complaint without permission.
…but is it better to put up with it than be thought of as “disgusting”?
He said he hates us killing someone…but for making Ko sad, in my view, that person didn’t have the right to live.
Since he’s called “God’s messenger” and even worshipped as a “God”, I think it’s natural to kill those who do what Ko doesn’t like.
I can’t understand why Ko is stopping us.
…it would be easy to kill with just Ko’s power, even if we didn’t raise our hands.
But the only way to stop him from crying like this is to obey.
I can’t shake off the crying Ko.
That’s also the same for my parents.
Ko is the only one who can make three Akinists so helpless.
“I understand. I’m not going to kill.”
I held up Ko who is still crying and headed to the barracks.
My parents followed from behind, but the others are intimidated.
When we entered the cafeteria, everyone stopped moving.
Although humanized, there are still three Akinists.
What’s more, not only me but also my parents might be feeling angry because some said Ko might be their mate.
If Ko says he’s not my mate, that means he will no longer be my parents’ son.
For my parents who love Ko, they agreed that no one can take Ko.
So it’s natural to feel angry.
And when angry, an Akinist’s aura is amplified.
If there are three people…you can imagine.
It seems that some people not only stiffened but also fell from their chairs.
Some even went out of the cafeteria to flee.
Even so, Ko alone is not intimidated at all.
“Rodo, put me down. Everyone, meal, make.”
“No need. Just for me.”
“Everyone” meant my parents too, but I can’t allow it.
I’m the only person in the world who can eat Ko’s food.
“…why?”
He cried before, so he looked up at me with moist eyes, but this is a foul.
I’m vulnerable to Ko’s tears, but I have to resist.
“I don’t want anyone to eat Ko’s food.”
Even if it’s a small amount, I don’t like it so it can’t be helped.
“…because it tastes bad?”
“Wrong!”
That’s not it.
I don’t want him looking so anxious.
“Because it’s delicious, I know that once they eat it, they’d want you to make it again.”
It’s not something they can be satisfied with just once.
Since I ate Ko’s food, I didn’t care anymore about the bland food from the barracks.
I don’t say it because it’s a burden on Ko, but I want to eat Ko’s food every day.
“Father-in-law, mother-in-law, Ko’s, family. …family, too, no good?”
If you are told like that, it’s hard to say no.
“…hate it.”
“Rodo’s, make, then?” (I’ll make Rodo’s, then?)
Ko asking if he can’t even use the main premise of “making it for me” is cute but…
But if I say “no” here, will Ko hate me?
Will it make Ko sad?
It’s not like I don’t like the Ko who is looking at me with expectations.
“…only this time.”
When I reluctantly gave permission, Ko had a happy grin on his face.
I’m glad I made him smile, but I still don’t want my parents to eat Ko’s food.
“I’ll make it soon.”
When I saw his back running to the kitchen, I involuntarily sent a sharp gaze to my parents.
“Does Ko only ask you for cute things like that? He really has no greed.”
Father made a voice of admiration.
Certainly, Ko’s requests are so trivial they’re a letdown.
I can spend as much money as he wants, but he’s thrifty and doesn’t try any luxury.
Even the salary he earned for the first time was given to me as his share of living expenses.
──because we’re partners, I did not receive it by saying that there is no need to pay for it.
Then he said he’d go shopping alone, but I didn’t allow it.
I don’t want to restrict Ko from acting alone, but if he’s shopping, I should be with him.
Yet Ko stubbornly refused.
That issue has not been resolved yet.
I don’t expect Ko to have an affair, but when I asked him why he wants to go out alone, he wouldn’t say anything.
If he didn’t have a clear reason, then he should be with me, but Ko insisted on going alone.
He even said he won’t go with my parents either.
I thought he wanted to buy something while choosing carefully by himself but Ko didn’t nod when I said I’d wait, saying that it might take hours.
It would have been possible for Ko to go out alone without getting permission from me.
He can use movement magic, and he can even fly in the sky.
If he wanted to go somewhere, he can go even when I’m not by his side.
…but Ko always gets permission from me when he wanted to do something or go somewhere.
If he wanted to go somewhere, he’d be with me every time.
And yet…
I really want to tell him not to go out alone because it’s dangerous…but if he told me the reason, I might be convinced.
Where and what do you want to buy?
…you should just ask me.
As long as Ko asks, I can buy anything.
────
──
“Done.”
I heard Ko’s voice and stood up to carry the food.
The people who were in the kitchen looking at the delicious-smelling dishes immediately took distance when they saw me.
It’s my job to carry Ko’s food.
But this time, it seems better to stop carrying it all at once, partly because of my parents.
“It looks delicious.”
“That’s true. Ko is awesome.”
…no, they seem to have been following me.
If that’s the case, both of them could carry their share.
“Carry it.”
There are four plates of the same dish, one of which has a small amount, which is for Ko.
So the other three dishes should be for us.
I don’t like the happy faces they made when I gave my parents a plate each.
As expected, I don’t want Ko’s food to be eaten by others.
I should be the only one because I’m his partner.
But lately, Ko has stopped talking about Niho.
He said he came from a family of four, with his parents and a younger brother, but he doesn’t seem to miss his family.
Instead, he’s being spoiled by my parents.
He said he hadn’t been spoiled by his parents before he showed up in front of me.
Since his brother was born, his parents had been dominated by his younger brother, and Ko also seemed to take care of his younger brother.
But now, Ko is spoiled by my parents.
Probably more than me.
…did he become spoiled because he didn’t have a younger brother?
Did Ko originally want to be spoiled but just put up with it all this time?
The spoiled Ko is cute and welcome though.
He didn’t say “I want to go home” and told me that he wanted to be with me more than his family so I thought Ko loved me that much.
But I haven’t heard the real reason.
I have yet to ask the real reason why he didn’t talk about them anymore even though he said he wanted to go home before.
…is it because it’s “scary”?
If he said that then say, “as expected, I want to go home to Niho”… I’d have nothing but despair.
“Rodo? …this, like?”
“Yes.”
Ko had a puzzled face so I answered in a hurry.
Originally, I had no likes and dislikes.
Before this, I only filled my belly because I was hungry.
However, if asked about my favorite dish, I could say “Ko’s cooking” without hesitation.
All the dishes that Ko makes are delicious.
I don’t think it’s a biased opinion because he’s my partner.
With him being called “God’s messenger” and even “God”, I sometimes hear that I am not a good person to keep him to myself, making him out of reach. He’s a “special existence” but I think the special existence here should mean “my only special existence”.
Ko is from a different world than here, but when I heard that, he was focusing on studying the language.
Ko said he wasn’t doing anything special.
I think Ko is diligent, but he said that there were many more hardworking and more knowledgeable people than Ko.
I can’t believe it though. Were all the people living in Wearth, not just Niho, intelligent people?
There’s a lot of difference between Ko and us, but Ko must be my mate and my partner.
My cute partner.
“Rodo? What’s wrong with you?”
Ko looking up with a tilted head is cute, but we’re now in the cafeteria, so I’ll put up with it and just drop a kiss on his forehead.
He blushed a little and gave a surprised look, but he immediately smiled.
A dazzling and shy smile.
…I don’t think anyone in the world is prettier than Ko.
