# 46
“Ah……”
The body naturally attracts towards strong arms.
Sirius hugged Dearyn's body tightly.
“Sirius, xx……?”
Sirius squeezed the back of Dearyn's head and held her tightly to his chest.
It was the same position she used to calm Sirius down when he was excited.
“Heartbeat is strong.”
“……”
This was not an expression of dissatisfaction with the noise.
Just as Deyarin had been calming Sirius before, Sirius was trying to calm Deyarin now.
When Dearyn felt Sirius' intention, her tears suddenly flowed.
“Ah……”
When Dearyn's shoulder shook, Sirius tightened his arms around her tighter.
Deyarin received comfort from the heat of his arms that hugged her.
It was warm comfort.
Dearyn stayed crying in Sirius's arms for a long time. Sirius didn't get bored and continued to hug her until she stopped crying.
“Ah, better now.”
As Dearyn raised her head, exhausted from crying, Sirius gradually loosened his grip. Dayarin felt that her heartbeat had calmed down.
However, Sirius did not completely uncross his arms, but rather continued to embrace her as he watched her closely.
“……Really, I’m fine.”
Dearyn felt a little embarrassed when her eyes met Sirius's close gaze.
Dearyn pretended to wipe away her tears and scratched her cheeks with her palm, while gently pushing Sirius' chest. The force she used wasn't great, but Sirius responded gently and moved away a little. Dayarin felt a little touched by his kindness. This time her tears were not flowing, but rather emotion in another sense.
“Sirius, you are so kind.”
“Cute……?”
Deyarin was not in the mood to explain the meaning of the word now.
“You are good.”
Sirius remained silent.
Regardless of the evaluation of others, Sirius did not regularly pay attention to their feedback. Even though he was now dependent on Dyarin, it would be different if he one day became a true siddi and started living his own life, as that would be very attractive to people. Perhaps some might find comfort as he did now, or perhaps they might feel dependent on him.
It was unfair to label Sirius as a “rude master.”
“The description ‘Master Shameless’ only applies to that despicable person.”
“?”
“Do not use the description ‘Master Shameless’ on Sirius.”
“What should I do then?”
“Be kind and friendly sir.”
A master who makes people near him feel warm and comfortable as if they were in the sunlight. A master who does not cause pain to others.
Although Sirius didn't quite understand what Dearren meant, he nodded.
"Good."
Dearyn smiled lightly. Sirius did not quite know what it meant for Sir to be kind and friendly, but he had confidence that he would become so.
* * *
The empty house was boringly quiet. In this silence, even the smallest sounds seemed powerful and disturbing. Dearyn clearly felt the amount of imperceptible noise that was surrounding her.
No matter how much people tried to reduce sounds during their lives, it was not possible to hide all traces of their presence. These effects were not only noticeable.
“It looks like a fly got into the house.”
Even the sound of a single fly hitting the window was clearly audible.
“Actually, there are two.”
“……Two?”
Even if Dearyn was listening well, she was unable to compare her ability to Sirius.
“Where are they?”
The two flies were not visible from the living room window. But Sirius answered without looking around.
“In the blue room, and in the yellow room.”
The blue room is located three rooms from the living room, and the yellow room is at the end of the corridor.
Her astonishment went beyond a bit of shock.
“Haven't you become less sensitive?”
If so, the change was not that great compared to the beginning.
If Sirius was sensitive enough to locate flies in other rooms, it meant that he had not changed much from when he was quickly responding to Dearyn's heartbeat and breathing from one end of the room to the other.
“I haven't become any less sensitive.”
“Then how can you bear it? Is my heartbeat not annoying?”
“No, it's not annoying.”
Dearyn fell silent and began to stare at Sirius intently. Sirius looked at her with a completely calm face, as if nothing was bothering him. At that moment, a fly entered the living room from the other room. Without looking at her, Sirius tossed the pillow at her.
The sound of the pillow hitting was so loud it could have been the sound of a fly exploding.
“……It’s quiet now.”
When the pillow fell, the sound of the fly disappeared, and silence returned to the place. At that moment, a huge bang was heard in the distance.
“What was that?!”
Deyarin was startled and looked in the direction of the amazing sound. There were shards falling from the distant sky outside the window.
Then, another explosion was heard. This time it was certain to see fireworks decorating the sky.
The fireworks were small compared to the size seen downtown, appearing as small ribbons.
“Uh…….are they fireworks?”
The source of the powerful sound revealed it to be fireworks from celebrations. After the bright festival atmosphere filled the streets since the day, the celebrations began to become more intense as night fell.
It was not a random festival based on personal initiative, but rather it was a big festival organized by the royal court with huge funds, so it was expected to be a big festival.
“I congratulate His Highness the Second Prince on his birthday.”
Deyarin sent her congratulations without enthusiasm. She remembered the scene she saw in the streets.
“Maybe people are there now enjoying themselves?”
The fireworks continued to sound, and the royal court's money seemed to evaporate beautifully into the sky.
"Sirius, are you okay?"
"Yes."
The sound of fireworks was very similar to the explosion of bombs on the battlefield. I was worried that Sirius would be affected, but he seemed to be calmer than Dearyn herself.
It was surprising to Dearyn that her eyes remained glued to Sirius.
“How can you be okay?”
“As long as Deyarin is by my side, everything is fine.”
"……truly?"
Dayarin was aware of the effect her stability had on others. So, she didn't mind Sirius clinging to her.
Medications should be used as needed. Even medications that seem impossible to stop using become unnecessary when a person gets better. Currently, Deyarin feels like she is like that medicine, in the way she affects those around her.
But Diaren did not know that her influence would be so strong.
“By the way, Sirius, you haven't seemed to be stressed or upset lately.”
Upon reviewing the memory, I found that Sirius was so quiet that even the noise made by the people working in the house did not affect him.
Even the sound of fireworks reminiscent of war didn't seem to affect him now.
“Sirius, can you now live just like normal people?”
“What is the normal standard?”
“Not to be so annoying that he tries to hurt people, to answer questions, and not to be loud and annoying when others are quiet?”
The goal of this project was to “make a master.” The goal was to look great in high society. When this is achieved, Deyarin's mission will be completed.
“It is possible.”
Dearyn responded with amazement to Yris's answer.
“…Is my job done? Is the project over now?”
She did not expect things to end so quickly after she decided with all seriousness and dedication to continue working hard.
But if the real time comes to finish the project, there is no need to hold on to it too much.
“…without me?”
This was her last verification. The project was supposed to actually end when he was able to succeed in high society without needing two homes.
"no."
However, Sirius was firmly in denial.
“……Ah, well. I thought so.”
Diarin relaxed her shoulders, tense with tension. Why was she nervous? If the work was finished, she should have enjoyed returning to the temple, promoting her rank, and receiving rewards.
When she was sure that she was still necessary for Sirius, she felt relieved and her tension disappeared. Not even she herself could understand her feelings.
“Uh, so, in what situation would everything be okay if you were just here?”
"maybe."
Dearyn's eyes began to turn to her gaze. Outside, there were large crowds due to the festival, with the annoying sounds of songs, performances and processions. The nobles' parties were more organized, but the places where people gathered to have fun eventually resembled each other.
The songs, the shows, the crowds.
Then people came who recognized Sirius and approached him to talk to him. He could have been subjected to crowding or passing too close to them. It is impossible to train or create all these states artificially.
'But if he can handle the festival, he must handle well at parties too, right?'
Deyarin thought about the idea that came to her mind and liked it.
“Sirius, shall we go see the festival?”
"……festival?"
Sirius knew what the word “festival” meant by definition. He knew its meaning from the books he had read, but he was not familiar with the details of practical experience.
It was difficult for Sirius to imagine what the real festival was like and relate that to his information.
"There will be a lot of people. It will be noisy, too."
“Ah……”
Sirius's face showed signs of questioning why he needed to go there.
"Parties will be similar to that. Consider it pre-rehearsal. At parties, I won't be there."
“……Won’t you be at the party?”
“Of course, it's strange to have a priest at parties. When the time comes, you'll be able to handle things on your own, and you won't need me.”
Even now, Deyarin couldn't be completely sure, as the day had not yet come.
“Also, it would be nice to make a fun memory, Sirius.”
This was at a time when Sirius could actually have fun. Dearyn wanted Sirius to have the memory of the festival that she herself did not have. Even if she was not by his side, she hoped that those memories would be a source of strength for him to endure and carry on well.
"Yes."
After a little thought, Sirius nodded. With Dearyn by his side, he seemed to feel like he could go anywhere.
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