Bad apples. The end

Several hours later, he met Wendy to learn how her search had gone. She told him that a young Jinn with white hair and green eyes had found Lina and brought her back to her.

Itsuki hurried to Wendy's house to check on Lina. When he arrived, Lina was sitting beside the door, frightened and silent, waiting for Itsuki to return. When she heard his voice, she stood quickly and ran towards him. She hugged his leg tightly, trembling with fear.

At the sight of her, Itsuki gave a small laugh. He lowered himself towards her, patting her head as he spoke. "You must have been very frightened on your own in this place. I am sorry. It was entirely my fault. But it is all right. Our work here is finished, so there is no need to worry. We will leave at once."

Lina only wiped away her tears and nodded in agreement.

Itsuki said goodbye to Wendy and her brother, then set off towards Aishin's shop. During the journey back, Lina was unusually quiet and spoke very little. Every time she tried to say something, she suddenly fell silent without explanation. Itsuki, for his part, did not seem very concerned. He appeared to be waiting for her to gather her courage and speak on her own.

On the road leading to the capital, the red sunset shone on the 'Closed' sign hanging from a small shop on the edge of the prosperous little village. Inside the small shop, in the kitchen, someone held a metal cooking bowl containing flour. He poured a cup of water and a small block of butter into it, then stirred them lightly by hand for several minutes.

He began cutting fresh red apples into small slices. While Itsuki worked on the pie, Aishin sat at his desk holding a small book and reading it. Lina sat opposite him, fidgeting in her seat with excitement and anticipation.

Noticing her fidgeting, Aishin said, "Are you hungry? Do not worry. Despite everything people say about that man, he is certainly the most trustworthy person when it comes to food."

Lina only nodded. She seemed to frown slightly, then said, "I am not worried about that, but... I did not really do anything. Without Big Brother, I could not have done anything on my own. Is it all right for me to receive payment...?"

Aishin interrupted her. "Regardless of what happened, whether you did something or not, you are the one who accepted this job. Since you completed it, it is only natural that I give you something for your effort. Fortunately, it was only a few apples. It is not important."

As Aishin drank from his teacup, someone kicked the leg of his chair hard from behind. He spilled some tea onto his face and scalded himself.

Itsuki stood behind him holding a fresh pie decorated with apple slices around its edges. In the centre was a rose made from thin apple slices. He placed it on the table in front of Lina and said, "Since you know that, take out the rest of her payment, you conman. You have no idea what we suffered because of you."

Lina felt bad and embarrassed about asking for more. She stopped Itsuki and tried to calm him. "It is all right... You really do not have to. I am grateful to your friend, the conman. Thanks to him, I was able to work on my own and buy something for myself. I am really happy about that."

"You are still calling me that!" Itsuki let out a heavy sigh. "All right. It is not as if I do not understand what you are trying to say. Never mind... There is no point in this. Let us eat first."

Lina was extremely excited, but she was embarrassed to behave that way. She fidgeted without showing any sign of beginning to eat. Itsuki finally sat in front of her and picked up the knife to cut it for her.

Without warning, in those few short seconds, the cold colour of the setting sun changed to dark red.

"Look out!"

That was what Aishin shouted. Suddenly, the red became flames that shattered the windows. A powerful explosion followed, destroying half of the front of the building.

Aishin was the first to understand what had happened, so he took cover properly and escaped the flying debris with only minor injuries. Lina, Itsuki and the pie were not so lucky. Itsuki was buried completely beneath the rubble, while Lina was unconscious under part of the wooden window and part of the wall.

Aishin cleared the rubble from Lina while looking towards the huge number of bandits and mercenaries surrounding the place. Without even asking, he understood exactly what they wanted. "These people followed you all the way here even after seeing your face! They must be very brave."

Itsuki was already standing behind Aishin, his face covered in blood. He answered Aishin's question as he slowly advanced towards the waiting crowd. "No. They probably heard the order from the rumours in that city."

"Ah, I see. Just do not kill them. I do not want trouble with the King's army."

Itsuki stood before them with his usual cold gaze. "I know."

Although he had said that, he did nothing. He only stood before them, watching their arrogant expressions turn into fear and despair. Their loud, forceful words became whispers and consultations. Unease appeared on their faces, accompanied by an unknown terror.

Within a few minutes, everyone in the gathering had disappeared. They ran away in panic, leaving Itsuki standing alone as exhaustion and a little despair rose across his face.

Lina lay on the ground with blood running from her head. The cloth had already been torn from her eyes by the explosion. She opened them sluggishly and wondered what had happened. Even so, she did not seem very concerned. Nor did she appear to feel much pain. She forced herself to stand, and after a few minutes she was upright.

Aishin asked how she was. She answered with the same words repeated over and over. "I have to go back... I have to go back... I have to go back."

She passed Itsuki, who was still standing where he was, continuing to repeat the phrase. Seeing her in that state, he could not bring himself to speak. He could only watch her leave.

Then he heard Aishin's voice behind him. "I cannot believe it. That book..."

Itsuki turned at the words and saw Aishin frozen in place, holding a book partly covered by torn pieces of paper. Itsuki realised that it was the book Aishin had kept hidden in the bag around his waist. It must have fallen during the explosion, leaving Itsuki uncertain what might happen next.

It was the first time Itsuki had seen such surprise and confusion on Aishin's face. That made him even more uneasy.

Aishin spoke, astonishment still fixed on his face. "Tell me, Itsuki. If I told you that I wanted this book at any price, would you give it to me?"

"You know I do not really care about these things. But it does not belong to me. I am keeping it for an old friend, so that is impossible."

Aishin gave a small laugh. "You do not understand, do you? It is important enough for me to ask you for it. I do not want to use violent methods with you."

"The same applies to me. I do not want to fight you over something like this. Even so, if you insist on taking it, do not be angry with me when I refuse to back down."

Itsuki prepared the sword at his waist, ready to fight. When Aishin saw his serious face, he sighed.

"Why do you have to be serious at a time like this? This is why you will never be able to live among humans."

Itsuki smiled and replied, "I think that is better than betraying someone who trusted me. For someone who has nothing, if I abandon these principles, there will be no meaning to my existence."

Aishin threw the book hard towards Itsuki, who caught it as naturally as though it were nothing.

"As I expected, you really are like that girl. Perhaps that is why I like you."

"Do you really think so? Well, I do not think you are wrong. Perhaps that is why I want to help her. No, perhaps it is because she deserves help."

Aishin stepped forward and stood beside Itsuki. "Then are you not going to follow her?"

"Tell me, Aishin. Do you think a girl like her could be the saint they worship here?"

Aishin put his hands in his pockets against the cold. "I do not think there are two people that strange in our society. I might be more surprised if she were an ordinary girl."

"That is what you think, then. To me, she is only a little girl carrying responsibilities larger than she is because she is trying to protect her principles and beliefs, and society treats her differently because of it."

"When society treats you as something strange, can you prove that you are normal? The same applies to you and her."

Itsuki laughed a little loudly, surprising Aishin.

"After all, Lina was right."

"What do you mean? And why are you laughing?"

"I mean the way she called us a thief and a conman. But perhaps she was a little mistaken because she cannot see. I was the conman all along."

Aishin remembered their conversation that morning and understood what Itsuki meant by calling himself a conman. He had been trying to deceive Lina so that he could help her all along. But he had never considered whether she actually needed help or whether she had truly been unhappy. It had not seemed so. Because of his presumptuous idea, the little girl had learned things she had never imagined knowing. By accompanying Itsuki, she had discovered hope and warmth. That might be why the pie had broken her heart more than he realised.

Aishin wondered whether Itsuki had been wrong in what he did. For the first time in his life, he realised that taking someone's circumstances into account was far better than offering kindness without reason.

Aishin sighed.

 "Perhaps you are right. Wait, if you are the conman, does that mean I am the thief? I do not think I have stolen anything in my entire life."

Itsuki laughed as he followed Lina's steps. He waved to Aishin and said,

 "You have not stolen anything yet, then. That may be true, but it does not mean you will not do so in the future. See you later."

When darkness fell over the forest, the only lights in the gloom were the lake's fireflies along the shore. Lina and Itsuki sat on one of those shores.

Itsuki wrapped medical bandages around her head and disinfected her wounds, finishing with a wound dressing on her forehead.

"All right, I think that is enough. What do you think? Has the pain gone?"

"Yes, thank you very much. There is still a little pain, but I am much better. I am sorry for always causing trouble."

She spoke with a wilted expression, hugging her legs with both arms and curling in on herself, depressed and sad. Itsuki gathered the simple first-aid supplies and put them in his bag.

"Tell me, Lina, have you not grown tired? Are you still able to live here by yourself?"

There was no sympathy or kindness in the way he asked. It sounded more like a reprimand.

"To be honest, I am extremely tired. I have forgotten when I first began to be afraid of staying here alone. The animals here are lovely, of course, but worrying about remaining like this for longer exhausts me. That does not mean I can abandon this place for that reason. Yes, I promised him, so I will not leave."

It was the first time Lina had spoken honestly about what she felt. Perhaps her injury had affected her, or perhaps Itsuki's question had carried no hidden meaning. Whatever the reason, the words pouring from her mouth made tears fall before she realised she was crying.

Itsuki stood by the river, picked up a stone and threw it across the water. It bounced several times before sinking into the depths of the lake.

"Then what do you think about taking a break from work? Every Sunday, you can forget this place and do whatever you want. You can sleep all day if you like. I will guard this place for you every Sunday, so you can rest a little."

"Why would you do that for me? I do not want it. I would rather have my old life than cause you more trouble."

She moved towards him recklessly without noticing that she was heading towards the water. Before she fell into the lake, Itsuki caught her by the neck.

"Can you be quiet for a moment? Why do you assume I am doing this for you at all? The truth is that I took an apple without telling you. I am trying to wait for the owner of this place so that I can pay him for it. But I cannot come here every day, so I will come every Sunday. Do you understand now?"

After hearing this, Lina's mood changed quickly, and she accepted the arrangement happily.

"I see. Then there is nothing I can do about it. But what do you think? I was right all along. You intended to steal from the beginning, didn't you? You are a bad person, Big Brother."

He patted her head with a smile. "Yes, yes. I am sorry for deceiving you all this time. Forgive me."

The first time she had called him a thief came to his mind. He laughed as he thought to himself:

As I expected, Aishin. I was the conman all along.

Although he had said that he had stolen something, there was nothing in his bag except the things he had been carrying with him.

While Itsuki was thinking about it, Lina gripped her wrist tightly as she tried to say something to him. Every time she tried to speak, she stopped herself. At last, she spoke, worry clear on her face.

"There is something I want to tell you, Big Brother. When I was lost earlier, the person who helped me..."

She fell silent, then began again. "Actually, his voice was like the voice of the owner of this orchard. At first I thought I was imagining it, but every time he spoke, I became more certain that it was the same person."

"What do you mean?"

She took out a piece of paper she had been hiding in her pocket. "When he brought me back to Wendy's house, he gave me this. He asked me to give it to you."

Itsuki took the paper and began opening it, muttering, "For me? What does that mean?"

As soon as he read the single line on the paper, the expressionless face of Itsuki changed for the first time into a frown, and his eyes burned with anger.

As they made their way towards the apple orchard, the crumpled piece of paper remained on the ground behind them. On it were words written in pure language, accompanied by a simple drawing of a winking boy's face. The words said:

Can you protect her, then?...