âPromise what?â
Hearing Kirâs rather serious voice, if possible, I tried to listen to his request. It wouldnât be a difficult request, so I wanted Kir to beautifully remember the touching farewell that would occupy a place in his memories.
If only he hadnât asked for something out of the ordinary.
âYou, donât go slapping anyone else in the Empire.â
My mouth gaped stupidly. He had been doing fine and hadnât been slapped on the cheek for quite some time. I wondered whether his taste had changed, but it seemed like it was still the same?
Donât forget me, write letters often, it wasnât even that kind of innocent promise, I was speechless hearing such request. And I was not someone who just goes around slapping people, was I?
I pushed Kir away in shock. And I sighed at Kir, who moved meekly.
âIf anyone heard it, theyâll think I like slapping people on the cheek.â
âHow much was I slapped by you?â
You did not just? Kirâs eyes glaring at me filled me with resentment. Itâs not my taste, itâs your taste! But in a way, I had nothing more to say because it was true that I had been slapping his cheeks for Kirâs taste. yes. When I hit you, I hit you a lot⦠Why am I feeling so dry?
âAnyway, I donât hit people recklessly.â
âYes. You wonât hit people recklessly.â
âAre you being sarcastic?â
âThen why canât you promise on that?â
âWhy do you want such a strange promise?â
âThinking about it, I think youâre going to answer that youâre going to hit people.â
âNo, what do you mean? Why are you making me into someone who swings their fist around?â
âA fist? It is the palm of your hand.â
Donât refute me with such a serious face! I was dumbfounded because the conversation seemed to keep getting weirder.
âAnyway, donât talk about strange things!â
âWill you hit someone like when you first meet me or not?â
The first time, Kir? The peak of that power? Of course, I want to hit him again.
âRight. Of course, you want to hit me.â
Even though I didnât answer, Kir answered first with a smirking voice. Apparently, itâs Kirâs self-sneering, but why do I feel like I was in the wrong? When I puffed out my cheeks and glared at him, Kir sighed.
âIf you go to the empire, there are many people like me in the past. Are you sure you wonât hit them?â
Oh my God! You mean the empire was full of crazy people? I was sure he was not simply trying to scare me. It was hard to ignore Kirâs words as he had been to the Empire a few times since he was young.
âAre there a lot of weird kids like that?â
Kir noticed that the question itself was insulting his past self, so he frowned for a moment, then turned back.
âActually, since this is just a principality, itâs small, so the line of power doesnât stand out. Father doesnât like that either. But the Empire is different. How many people claim to be a noble? Are you confident that you wonât hit those guys who wield power and wreak havoc in front of you?â
I was ignoring the fact that there were so many people who liked power abuse. I was already worried about whether I would be able to hold on well. No, but why does he keep saying that as if heâs so sure Iâm going to hit people? I feel strangely bad.
âI wonât hit them. I donât hit people!â
âReally?â
âYes!â
Who would I be hitting, was I crazy? It was because you were young, and I got immunity in advance!
In fact, hitting Kir at the time was a challenge that I could try because I was a child. Even if I had immunity, I didnât have the confidence to act like that right now as I had grown up. Hitting a nobleman was dangerous.
âPromise?â
âFine. Promise.â
On my promise, Kir smiled with satisfaction before adding, âEven if you want to hit people, hold back and then hit me. Iâll take all your hitting. The only one you can hit is me.â
â¦â¦Kir was probably the only person who could say such things with full of confident.
I thought he had matured as his body grew, but he seemed to be the same as he was when he was very young. It had been a while since I hit him, but that guyâs secret taste hadnât changed? I shook my head, holding back the frustration, and sighing in my heart.
Now I had to stay away from Kir for quite some time. I donât know when the next time we would meet, but at that time, please, I hoped he would have grown more.
I headed to the Empire without regret because of Kir, who made the faint farewell, creepy.