Mebius World Online – Mari’s VRMMO Diary, Embarking on a Laid-back Adventure as a Novice - Chapter 142
142. Mari-nee and the raging heart
A clear provocation.
But regardless of that, I was already rushing forward.
“Maria!”
“Maria-chan!?”
Ignoring Mareus-san and Kanna-san’s voices trying to stop me, I dashed downstairs at full speed.
Running through the dimly lit colosseum, I reached the stage, gasping for breath, only to find Jade-san approaching with Roulette-san in his arms.
Gils and Vel, who had followed me, were on alert, but Jade-san seemed unconcerned.
“Don’t worry, she’s just unconscious.”
Jade-san walked past us, setting Roulette-san down gently against the wall of the colosseum before stepping away.
Suppressing my impatient feelings, I touched Roulette-san to confirm that she was indeed just unconscious.
As I felt relieved, Jade-san extended Roulette-san’s glasses towards me.
“I took something important, even if only temporarily. Please tell her I apologize later.”
“…Messages conveyed through someone else tend to lose their sincerity. If you want to apologize, you should do it directly.”
“I’ve been hurt many times doing that. Your words, jou-chan, really hit home.”
Jade-san laughed bitterly, a hint of self-deprecation in his tone.
“I see why that archer earlier would want to hold you in high regard, jou-chan.”
“I wish you wouldn’t understand that…”
Having more people like a cult is troubling.
We’re already at our limit, or rather, things are getting out of control.
“Understanding and accepting are different things. I won’t change my stance on what adults should be doing with children.”
“Children, huh…”
“Children being as they should be is the best thing.”
Those words stirred an unpleasant feeling within me.
I had felt this before, but it was worse this time.
Even in the royal capital, I was often treated like a child.
Many times, I was called a “little girl.”
Each time, I wanted to say, “I’m actually over twenty!”
But since there was no ill intent, I managed to stay calm… right?
However, Jade-san’s words felt different.
They seemed to imply I should act like a child.
The moment I thought that,
“An adult like you dares to say that!”
I shouted.
There was no room to act like a child for me.
Such indulgence was never allowed.
Yet, this man tells me to be like a child.
Words that seemed to deny everything I had been through stirred uncontrollable emotions.
Jade-san’s image overlapped with someone I didn’t want to remember.
“How could you, an adult, understand what I’ve been through… what we have been through!!”
Despite my anger, Jade-san looked at me with a strange kind of happiness.
What on earth is with this person…?
He didn’t seem to be mocking me.
The direct gaze he directed at me denied that possibility.
As the sun steadily shone down, his unexpected words came.
“I’m not you, jou-chan. Of course, I can’t understand. And nobody can.”
“What…”
Ignoring my stunned silence, Jade-san continued.
“But even someone as dense as me can understand something. Right now, jou-chan, you are freely expressing your anger.”
“!”
“Hiding and using that well is what adults do… though there are plenty of adults who act like children.”
Jade-san chuckled bitterly, then suddenly turned serious.
“To some extent, it’s acceptable for children to express their honest anger. That’s why, jou-chan.”
He paused for a moment, then spoke again.
“Express it like a child. Show me your anger, jou-chan!”