Chapter 225: Idiot
Translator: imperfectluck Editor: vb24
Even Naoki, who had a twisted personality, was somewhat moved by Seiji’s sincere expression.
No, perhaps it was because he had such a personality that he could be moved by this sincerity.
A completely honest, direct, undecorated expression that came from the heart… this was the type that he found the most difficult to deal with.
"...What do you wish to tell Milady?" Naoki asked after a pause.
"Will you tell her for me?" countered Seiji.
"That," said Naoki, "depends on the message’s content."
Seiji blinked when he heard Naoki's answer.
He then looked up at the sky, as if he could see someone there, and began speaking.
…
After they finished talking, Seiji and Shika left the amusement park.
Naoki and Iroha watched them leave.
Although they should have left this place immediately as well, the two siblings stood there motionless for a long while.
"What’s this? Just what exactly…" Iroha muttered to herself, her eyes awash with complex emotions.
What Seiji had said was completely different from what she'd expected.
At first, it sounded ridiculous, but upon closer consideration, it was…
"Telling Milady to forgive herself… what is that? How dare he say that! It was correct of Milady to exile such a piece of garbage from the Haruta family! He is simply human scum! He has no sense of guilt at all!! This bastard… this bastard is so arrogant! Just who does he think he is!?"
Her angry shouting echoed in the abandoned amusement park.
Naoki furrowed his brows, looking pensive.
"Say something as well, my stupid brother! Aren’t you really eloquent!? Why didn’t you say anything to him!? Use your conversational abilities that you’re so proud of, and defeat him in a debate!!" The girl fixed her brother with a vicious stare.
The blonde-haired boy remained silent.
"Why aren’t you talking!?"
Iroha shoved him, pushing him back two steps.
Naoki finally sighed. "I was unable to counter anything he said…"
"What!?" Iroha exclaimed in disbelief.
"I couldn’t counter him since what he said… is exactly what Milady needs to hear the most right now." He seemed to be struggling with inner conflict.
"You… what the hell are you talking about! Is something wrong with your brain!?" Iroha stared at her brother in disbelief.
"Don’t shout so loudly. A loud voice reflects your hollow words."
"What—" Iroha started angrily.
"You probably detected it as well but simply can’t accept it." Naoki voiced the truth that even his younger sister knew in a light voice. "Milady feels guilty about exiling her own younger brother from the family."
Iroha didn’t know what to say to this.
"Milady is a resolute individual," Naoki continued, "so she didn’t show any signs of being shaken after she personally exiled her own brother from the family. That’s why we were all under the impression that she did the right thing and wouldn’t feel any guilt about it."
"But, if you think about it carefully, although she's a resolute character, Milady is, at heart, still a gentle girl. Exiling her younger brother… yes, it was the correct thing to do—everyone agreed with it, and nobody thought it unjustified. Despite this, would she be able to forgive herself?"
This was a blind spot that Naoki hadn’t noticed before.
"Before he told us, I never even considered such a thing. You were probably the same as well, Iroha. We just naturally assumed that Milady wouldn’t feel any guilt. But, truthfully, with her personality, it’s impossible for her to not feel guilty."
"After all, he's still her blood-related younger brother. And she personally had him exiled. Even though her younger brother, the lowest of scumbags, truly deserved it, our gentle master’s heart was still pained by the decision. We ignored this. Even though we had always been by Milady’s side, we never even considered it…"
Naoki’s voice was filled with regret as he forcefully clenched his fists.
Iroha fell silent. She couldn’t speak, as she didn’t know what to say.
"Milady wants forgiveness… and only two people are able to give it to her: one is Milady herself, and the other one is—" Naoki looked at the direction that Seiji and Shika had left "—Seigo Harano… no, Seiji Haruta."
"He noticed this. He thought of something that we—and everyone by Milady’s side—didn’t think of, even though he himself was the one who should be the least likely to come up with it. Any normal person would be brimming with complaints or bottled resentment—or at least that's what I'd expect."
"But… why… Why can he say something like having Milady forgive herself with no trace of hatred whatsoever!!?" Naoki roared the last few words.
He thought back to the scene from just earlier.
That handsome boy smiled faintly. "Sister," he said gently, "when you exiled me before… you were correct to do it. If you still feel bad about what you did, then listen to me, and stop thinking about it."
"Please forgive yourself. You did the correct thing by exiling me, and you shouldn't feel any lingering regret for doing so. I was the one who was in the wrong… everything was my fault."
"I’m sorry… even if I’m saying it too late now. If you are worrying about me, there's no need to do so. I’m living quite well now."
"I hope that you’re living quite well as well."
…
Just what exactly was this?
Was this the speech that an exiled person was supposed to give!?
Was this arrogance? Or naivety? Or stupidity!?
Just what type of idiot would say something like this!!?
Some emotions that Naoki had never experienced before were currently filling his chest.
He didn’t know how to describe these emotions, as he didn’t recognize them.
He really wanted to curse out loud at this, but he was unable to.
He was pained by these emotions. He was unwilling to have them. He felt regretful…
'Ahh, that’s what it is.' Naoki suddenly came to a realization.
He was regretful; he regretted never noticing his master’s true feelings. His unwillingness was due to the fact that he was unwilling to have painfully lost to Seiji in noticing Yui Haruta’s feelings.
He was regretting that all this had happened.
And the most painful part of it all was that he had to tell Seiji’s entire speech, without changing a single word, to his master.
That was because his master, Yui Haruta, needed to listen to these words.
She needed to listen to her younger brother’s message to her!
Those words contained no trace of malice or hatred and were truly sincere.
Seigo Harano… no, Seiji Haruta had been a complete piece of garbage human scum in the past. And now, he was already...
Naoki didn’t know how to judge him, and he didn’t even know if he had the right to judge Seiji.
He could only tell everything as it was to his master.
"Let’s go, Iroha."
The green-haired girl was still looking at the direction Seiji and Shika had left in.
She didn’t react to her older brother calling her.
She only started moving when Naoki had already walked about seven or eight meters.
"Such an idiot…" she muttered.
Who was she talking about? Iroha herself didn’t know.
A multitude of indescribable emotions swirled around in her tumultuous heart. She faintly realized that she… might have made quite a big mistake.
…
"Brother Seiji…" Shika started.
"Yes?"
"...It’s nothing."
As they headed back to their apartment in a taxi, Shika wanted to say something but didn’t, and she lowered her gaze.
Seiji smiled at her.
Even if she didn’t say anything, he could tell what she was feeling.
"No need to think too much about it, Shika-chan."
Seiji reached over and patted his adopted younger sister on the head.
Yui Haruta’s actions were self-contradictory. After he met with Iroha Hasegawa, he had combed back through his inherited memories.
If Yui Haruta truly looked down upon him, then she should have ignored him completely, and not sent out anyone to look for him or pay attention to what he was doing in the first place.
If Yui truly had expectations for him, then the person she sent out wouldn’t have assumed such an attitude, or, at the very least, it wouldn’t have been someone like Iroha Hasegawa. Perhaps she would have contacted him directly or even met him personally.
The fact that her actions were self-contradictory and didn’t match the Yui Haruta in his memories meant that she was probably struggling with internal conflict.
To put it simply, she was being difficult. Yui Haruta was being difficult.
The Hasegawa siblings never noticed this and misunderstood her behavior.
This almost caused Seiji to chuckle.
He could tell that the Hasegawa siblings were very loyal to and respectful of Yui Haruta. But precisely because of this, they were unable to see certain things.
Instead, Seiji was the one who noticed.
For his older sister who was being difficult, what should he do as an exiled younger brother?
Seiji chose to give her that message, in the hope that it would help her to overcome her internal conflict.
‘Honestly, idiot sister…’ He actually wanted to add that on at the end, but he was worried that the Hasegawa siblings would explode in anger if he actually said that.
They were really respectful of Yui. It was obvious just from how they addressed her—and Iroha seemed especially respectful.
He already said what he wanted to say, so he was relying on those siblings to convey his message for him. He figured that they would do it, as it was exactly what their master needed to hear.
As for what would happen after? Seiji didn’t know.
He figured that he didn’t need to think too much on this for the time being.
Seiji leaned back against the taxi seat, relaxed, and slowly closed his eyes.
Shika lifted her gaze again and stared at her adopted brother’s face.
'Brother is an idiot…' she thought to herself, her mind filled with worry due to their uncertain future.