The flowers Lulina had worked so hard to gather had been scattered to the wind by Vlad, leaving her terribly upset. To lift her spirits, I had bought what was left for one gold. Then, to ease the guilt that she might have felt at accepting such an obviously uneven trade, I had requested that she make a one-of-a-kind bouquet to give me in return. Then, some days later, I’d gone and picked it up in front of the guild hall. The flowers had already begun to wilt, but the bouquet had still brightened up my room, even if only for a little while.
“How is your daughter? Is she well?” I asked.
“Very! Thanks to you, she’s been able to keep her belly nice and full. Lulina and her little sister spend every day happily playing together now.”
“I’m glad to hear that. Helping one’s family is important, but what a child really ought to be doing is playing, after all.”
“Couldn’t agree more. Being able to watch kids enjoy themselves fills me with joy too! I’m sorry to be rude, but I’m in the middle of work and I really should be getting back to it. It was such a pleasure being able to finally meet you!” she said and stepped out of the shop. Seeing her leave the building, I figured the work in question must have been a delivery of some sort. She offered a quick, polite bow as she passed us before continuing to the main road in a hurry.
“Hey,” Tigaro said hesitantly, her expression meek, “can I...ask you something?”
“Sure.”
“Kaito,” she began slowly, as if carefully probing, “why are you so kind to hybrids?”
“Why am I kind to hybrids? Well... No particular reason. I don’t think one needs a reason to treat anyone with kindness, let alone hybrids, but...”
Tigaro’s features seemed to withdraw into a solemn expression.
“You...really don’t have a reason?” she asked. Her manner made me wonder if she had been sitting on the thought for some time now. There’s a saying that goes something like “Nothing’s quite as expensive as getting something for free.” Perhaps Tigaro felt that way and had gotten anxious searching for some kind of catch to my behavior. If that was the case, I figured I’d better come up with a reason just to ease her worries. And, honestly, if pressed to specify, I knew what I would say despite my answer only being on the “if I have to choose” level of certainty.
“These days, I enjoy every moment, but it wasn’t so long ago that life had me filled with despair.”
“Despair? What changed? Were you hurting for money?”
“Not at all. Actually, at my lowest, I was living in affluence. But what I found was that no matter how much money I had, I still couldn’t enjoy my time. Back then, no matter what I tried, nothing captivated me. Nothing was fun or interesting at all... I hadn’t yet discovered the joy of being alive.”
“But you’re so different now. To my eyes, you seem like someone who loves being alive.”
“That’s because I met hybrids!” I said, my voice rising in excitement.
Tigaro looked at me with puzzlement. “What do you mean ‘met hybrids’? We’re all over the place,” she said. It was an appropriate question, but I couldn’t really answer it. If I talked about Japan or my transmigration, I’d just confuse her. I had no option but to evade the query.
“Not where I’m from, they aren’t. Meeting Oltea was a real shock to my system, actually. The moment I saw her, it was like color finally came into my world. I had never thought such wonderful things existed on this earth... In other words, I guess what I am trying to say is that I love hybrids. I want to make the people I care about smile, you know?” I said.
Tigaro paused, taking it in. “So you’re not...looking for something in return?”
“No, nothing like that. When you send money to your parents, you’re not looking to get something back, are you?”
“Of course not. I’m satisfied just being able to help them live a little more happily.”
“It’s the same for me. If I can contribute to the happiness of the hybrids who live here, that’s enough for me. That’s why, if you really pressed me, I’d say that for me, seeing everyone smile is getting something in return.”
“I see,” she said after a pause. “So that’s your reason... And still, I...” Trailing off and muttering to herself, she—SLAP!—struck me across the face out of nowhere.
She really had just slapped me! I stood there, shaken up by the impact. “Wh-What are you doing?! That made such a loud sound!”
“I just whacked you without even thinking,” she said with a relieved-sounding laugh. A relaxed smile—the kind I only saw her wear when dealing with Oltea and Frieze—spread across her face. She looked happy, the way one does after finally listening to one’s heart. But then...concern for me set in, overtaking her satisfaction.
“My cheek is turning red... That really hurt, you know!”
“Of course it did. It hurts just as much as it’s supposed to. It’s not a big deal,” Tigaro said. “You’re really a kind man, Kaito. Nothing at all like Monstro.”
Monstro?
“Was that your previous boss?” I asked.