Chapitre 107: Venomization

As Cyanide and the others walked on ahead, Dianna hung back with Kirika, and draped her arm on the other girl's shoulder.

"… Hey, cheer up."

"E-Eh?" Kirika blinked, slightly surprised. "What…?"

Dianna sighed. "Really… it's no use playing dumb, if your acting skills are this bad. It's practically written on your face—Cyanide knows as well, but since he doesn't know how to deal with things like this, he chose to ignore it. Tell me—the real reason you came to say 'thank you' to him wasn't because of your samurai code, was it?"

"That…" Kirika averted her gaze, trailing off. Dianna smiled slightly in melancholy, knowing that she was on the mark.

"… Listen. I know how you feel right now. Like a burden, right? Like a failure? Like you can't do anything except get protected by others?"

"…" Kirika was silent, but her clenched fists showed that she was listening to Dianna's words.

"I know. I know, because I once felt the same way."