OHNIR – Chapter 112
Chapter 112: Feelings
Kevit’s return was undoubtedly a major event that sent the entire Seaside Town into a frenzy.
All the townspeople rushed out of their homes that day, cheering and applauding as they flocked around the young hero.
The men clapped Mr. Maity firmly on the shoulder, loudly praising his son’s intelligence and bravery. The women, with smiles that were a mixture of pride and tenderness, surrounded Kevit, asking one after another if he was hurt, if he was frightened, if he wanted something good to eat to relieve the stress of the past few days…
One girl even threw herself into his arms, sobbing, nearly causing Kevit to stumble and fall on the spot. His handsome face instantly tensed, turning beet red without a moment’s hesitation. His hands hovered helplessly in front of her shoulders, not knowing whether to push or to hold, making him as awkward as a zombie just dug up from its grave.
Even Kelusta, watching from a short distance away, almost died laughing at his reaction.
Although they had retrieved their undercover agent, they were about to face an enraged Starangui. Gloria naturally had to rush off to continue discussing strategy with her father and Wend, as well as integrate the demon warriors Musen had brought as reinforcements into their ranks.
Everyone was busy. In contrast, Kelusta, who had been ordered by her fiancée to “rest well for a day,” found herself temporarily idle.
So she had ambled over to enjoy the spectacle surrounding her childhood friend.
Kelusta knew the young girl who had thrown herself into Kevit’s arms. Her name was Doreen Jane. Ever since she was five, she had fallen in love at first sight with the young Mr. Maity who had built her a sandcastle by the sea, and she had persistently pursued him for a full fourteen years.
Fourteen years!
The people of Seaside were just that tenacious!
However, in Kelusta’s memory, Kevit had never once accepted her advances.
Whenever Doreen tried various tactics and came up with new ways to show her affection, the gentle boy would always firmly refuse her gifts and vaguely tell her that he already had someone he liked—
Wait, someone he liked?
Kelusta paused, blinking. For the first time ever, she found herself trying to take an interest in Kevit’s love life.
Perhaps because her father, Sogeta, was good friends with Mr. Maity, Kelusta, who lived on the east side of town, had made a point of crossing the entire town since she was little to go play with Kevit, who lived on the west side by the sea.
The two little kids were together all day long and never tired of it. When Kelusta climbed the tallest tree to raid a bird’s nest, Kevit would always be waiting beneath it as if facing a great enemy, ready to catch her. When they excitedly formed a team to catch crabs at the beach, it was always Kevit who was responsible for the cleanup, hauling the two full buckets of their spoils back home…
This dynamic always made Mr. Maity laugh and say that Kelusta was more like a mischievous boy than his own perpetually mild-mannered son.
—Which was why Kelusta, who wholeheartedly agreed with this assessment, had always seen Kevit as her good brother.
“Come to think of it, Kevit became the most popular boy in town as soon as we started school… Last time I heard Pascal gossiping, he said Kevit had received love letters from every girl our age in Seaside Town.”
Kelusta stared at Kevit, who was now tentatively trying to comfort Doreen in a soft voice, and said thoughtfully, “Every morning, he’d receive gifts from different girls—desserts, stationery, and little handmade trinkets… Yet, as I recall, he never seemed to accept a single one of them.”
“Huh,” the System asked. “So he wasn’t moved by any of them?”
“…I guess not?” Kelusta said hesitantly. “If he had accepted any girl’s confession, Doreen, at least, would definitely not have let it go.”
“But if that’s the case, where did this ‘someone he likes’ come from?”
“…”
“Oh, and you call yourself his good brother,” the System said mockingly during Kelusta’s awkward silence.
“Does being a good brother mean I have to care if he has a girlfriend?” The brown-haired girl pouted and retorted righteously, “I didn’t have a girlfriend back then either!”
She rolled her eyes and was about to continue her tirade against the System when she suddenly saw Kevit, in the distance, finally reach out and touch Doreen’s shoulder, gently pushing the girl away.
Then he turned his head, a faint, shy blush still lingering on his face, and shot a quick glance in Kelusta’s direction.
“…?” The latter was baffled and couldn’t help but say to the System, “Why is he looking at me?”
But the advanced AI didn’t answer her right away.
“Why aren’t you answering me?” Kelusta crossed her arms, somewhat surprised. “Did I hurt your feelings?”
“No, I am currently consulting data on human micro-expression analysis.”
“Micro-expression analysis? …What are you looking that up for?”
“Because I suddenly have a bold hypothesis.”
The System’s voice sounded a bit distant, a sign that it was focusing its attention on the data.
Kelusta was genuinely intrigued by its serious demeanor. “Let’s hear it.”
“As you said, Kevit has received love letters from every girl his age in Seaside Town, yet he has not accepted any of them, and has even used the excuse of ‘already having someone I like’ to reject them—” the System said slowly. “In that case, this ‘someone he likes’ must be someone who has never given him a love letter or expressed any romantic interest.”
Kelusta froze.
“You mean, could it be…”
Her mouth fell open in shock. “The person Kevit likes—is actually a boy?!”
System: “…”
You’re really one of a kind.
“Well, uh, while that is a possibility,” the System cleared its throat, trying to make its voice sound less like it was on the verge of a breakdown, “I believe it is more likely that the person Kevit likes is among the ‘girls his age who have not shown him affection.’”
Faced with this question, Kelusta’s gaze grew slightly unfocused, and she fell silent.
“According to the data, when a human subconsciously turns their gaze toward someone, there is an 80% probability that they were the first person who came to mind,” the System said leisurely. “Temporary Host, please do not play dumb. I know you already understand what I mean.”
“…Fine,” Kelusta’s shoulders slumped as if in defeat, and she muttered, “But Kevit shouldn’t like me… To be honest, I’ve known him for so long, and I never saw any sign of it!”
“Perhaps that is because you are too dense? After all, in the original storyline, Kevit was one of the named capture targets,” the System said. “And don’t forget—while he was hugging another girl just now, you were the first person he thought of! Isn’t that persuasive enough?”
“…”
Kelusta’s expression twisted rapidly; deep down, she had to admit that the System’s analysis seemed somewhat plausible.
As she watched Kevit finally break free from the crowd of townspeople and walk toward her with determined steps, that thought, like a grapevine growing wildly on a trellis, instantly filled her mind.
Crap, no way, no way, this is my good brother of over a decade!
—And besides, I like girls! Girls like Gloria!
While her mind roared with chaotic thoughts, the brown-haired girl stared blankly at the approaching new hero of Seaside Town.
By the time Kevit stopped in front of her and gave a slightly bashful smile—Kelusta realized with despair that she was starting to agree with the System’s viewpoint even more…
“Ruth.”
Under Kelusta’s terrified gaze, the young man finally spoke, calling her name softly.
His emerald eyes were like the ancient, historic tree in the center of Seaside Town—evergreen for years in the sea breeze, showing no signs of decay, a color that was purely natural and most sincere.
“There’s something I want to tell you.”
Kevit’s eyes curved into a smile as he said calmly, “You probably don’t know, but I’ve kept these words in my heart for a long time. Now that the mission is finally complete and Seaside Town is mostly out of danger, I want to take this opportunity to tell you everything.”
The brown-haired girl pressed her lips together, somewhat at a loss.
After a long moment, looking even more like a zombie than he had earlier, she gave a stiff nod.
—Fortunately, the young man before her didn’t seem to mind her strange behavior.
Kevit’s eyes simply lit up, the smile on his face widening. He paused for a moment, as if mentally preparing himself, before smiling and speaking with great solemnity, “Actually, ever since we were little, I’ve always—”
Unexpectedly, just as he uttered those few words, the girl in front of him leaped up dramatically, like a cat with its fur on end!
“Oh, oh, hey! You don’t have to say any more, Kevit, I already know!”
The rest of Kevit’s words caught in his throat at her interruption. The young man looked both bewildered and surprised, as if his brain hadn’t caught up yet. He stood there dumbfounded for a moment before asking dryly, “You know? You—you actually already knew?”
Kelusta’s heart sank, but she still had to force a smile that looked worse than crying.
She couldn’t help but lower her eyes, avoiding Kevit’s somewhat suspicious gaze, and said slowly, “Don’t say it, Kevit. No matter what you think, I only see you as a brother—”
She sighed, bumping her fist against Kevit’s shoulder. Before he could react, she said dejectedly, “Don’t get any funny ideas. Here’s to our friendship.”
Kevit: “???”
System: “…”
The latter commented dryly, “Simple and crude.”
“I can’t let him go down the wrong path!” Kelusta grimaced as if she had a toothache, but her resolve was firm as she declared her stance to the System.
“But Kevit is your childhood friend. You could have handled it more gently—”
“I’m afraid if I’m gentle with him, Gloria will dismember him and throw him into the sea to feed the fish!”
“…Ah, never mind then.”
While the two of them were arguing, the utterly confused Kevit finally came to his senses. He mulled over Kelusta’s words for a long time, then looked up at the clearly distracted brown-haired girl. After a pause, he said slowly, “Did you misunderstand something, Ruth?”
Kelusta pulled her attention away from her war of words with the System and said blankly, “Huh?”
“What I wanted to tell you was,” Kevit smiled, continuing the sentence he hadn’t been able to finish, “actually, ever since we were little, I’ve always admired your personality—because you’re always so cheerful and lively, like a little sun with endless energy, effortlessly drawing everyone’s attention to you.”
Kelusta froze in astonishment.
“Mm, did you think I was about to confess to you just now?”
Kevit blinked, and in a rare moment of childishness, made a funny face at his childhood friend. Seeing the dawning, embarrassed look on her face, he said with a grin, “Alright, no need to be embarrassed, because in a way, you weren’t entirely wrong—”
“I did really like you when we were little, and I rejected a lot of girls’ love letters because of it,” the young man said calmly. “But after we grew up, perhaps because I realized we see things differently, that overly childish idea gradually faded away… You and I are suited to be friends for a lifetime, even family for a lifetime, but we could never be a compatible couple.”
“I believe Lady Gloria is the best choice for you. She loves you, accepts you, shares an extraordinary understanding with you, and is willing to do anything for you. As your friend, I think you being with her is the most perfect outcome.”
The look of embarrassment on Kelusta’s face gradually dissipated as Kevit continued to speak.
She bit her lower lip and asked with some hesitation, “Then why did you suddenly glance at me when you were hugging Doreen earlier…?”
As soon as she said this, the brown-haired girl keenly caught a flicker of guilt on Kevit’s face.
Guilt!
There was definitely something going on!
Under her scrutinizing glare, the young man scratched his head sheepishly. His eyes shifted slightly, and a hint of red returned to his cheeks.
Just a second before Kelusta was about to press him again, he sighed deeply, as if something could “finally no longer be hidden,” and said in a voice as quiet as a mosquito’s buzz, “Well… Ruth, you might not know—”
“What don’t I know?”
“Ahem,” Kevit cleared his throat dramatically, looking a bit bashful. “Actually… after last semester’s exams, I was planning to officially confess to Doris when the second year started.”
“…Huh?”
Kelusta’s mouth fell wide open in shock. “Doris? The Doris I’m thinking of? Oh, my Goddess of Light—you two?!”
“Yes, us two.” Kevit coughed again, his face turning an even deeper shade of red than before. “Remember that time we were pretending for the act and deliberately not talking to each other? Doris was worried about our friendship and came to find me many times. It was from that time that…”
“It was from that time that you turned my best friend into your soon-to-be girlfriend!”
Kelusta let out a “Wow!” and couldn’t resist punching Kevit’s shoulder again, exclaiming excitedly, “Way to go, Kevit, I’m so proud of you! Doris is a wonderful girl. Mr. and Mrs. Maity will definitely be very happy with her!”
“Yes, of course,” Kevit nodded with a smile, his tone uncharacteristically proud. “She really is a good girl—the best girl there is.”
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