I stared at Reisir in disbelief.
Then I narrowed my eyes.
"...You have absolutely no intention of apologizing."
"What a harsh thing to say. I ca all the way here planning to apologize sincerely."
"Then start with the apology."
"I already did."
"No, you didn't."
"I said I was sorry."
"You said that while also declaring you'd do the exact sa thing again."
"Because that's true."
Reisir answered without the slightest hesitation.
"If I apologized for wanting to beco close to you, that would be a lie. I don't regret that part."
"..."
"What I'm apologizing for is ignoring your wishes."
The atmosphere around us quieted slightly.
Even Helga, who had been listening with amused interest, stopped speaking.
Reisir continued calmly.
"At the ti, I knew perfectly well that you found botherso."
"Then why did you keep approaching ?"
"Because I thought it would work eventually."
"..."
"Actually, it did work."
I almost refuted him before stopping myself.
Because, irritatingly enough, there was no easy rebuttal.
I no longer considered Reisir an annoyance.
At so point, he'd naturally beco part of my daily life.
Seeing my expression, the corners of his mouth curved upward.
"See?"
"Don't look so pleased."
"I'm not pleased."
"You're obviously pleased."
"Then perhaps I am a little."
The answer ca back shalessly.
A few people nearby snorted.
I heard soone desperately trying to suppress laughter.
Most likely Helga.
I chose to ignore it.
"Anyway."
Reisir folded his arms and leaned back slightly.
"What I wanted to apologize for was deciding on my own that I knew what was best."
"..."
"I assud that if I stayed beside you long enough, you'd eventually accept ."
His smile faded a little.
"It happened to turn out that way, but that doesn't an the process itself was correct."
For the first ti since he'd started speaking, his tone carried genuine seriousness.
"I should have respected your intentions more."
"..."
"Even if I still would have approached you, I should have been more careful about how I did it."
Silence settled briefly.
Unlike his earlier teasing, this part didn't sound like a joke.
He really did seem to have reflected on it.
Though...
"You're still making excuses."
"I am."
He admitted it imdiately.
"Because I don't think I was entirely wrong."
"Then why apologize?"
"Because being partially right doesn't an I didn't inconvenience you."
That answer left unexpectedly speechless.
Reisir looked directly at .
"So, Karvaldr."
His voice was gentler than usual.
"I'm sorry."
"..."
"I ignored your wishes and forced my way into your life."
For a mont, nobody spoke.
The surrounding spectators watched with expressions that suggested they had suddenly wandered into a drama instead of a casual conversation.
Even Ríolíkin seed nervous for so reason.
Yor, nestled in my arms, let out a quiet ow.
"...Fine."
In the end, that was all I managed to say.
Reisir blinked.
"Fine?"
"You apologized."
"So?"
"I'll accept it."
A smile imdiately spread across his face.
An extrely irritating smile.
The kind that made regret accepting his apology.
"That's a relief."
"Don't get carried away."
"I'm not."
"You are."
"I'm simply happy."
"..."
"Isn't that allowed?"
I genuinely considered throwing Yor at him.
Perhaps sensing my thoughts, Yor lifted her head.
"ow?"
"No."
"ow?"
"You are not a projectile."
Yor looked disappointed.
Why was she disappointed?
anwhile, laughter finally erupted around the table.
Even Ríolíkin was smiling now.
Only then did I realize that the heavy atmosphere from earlier had completely disappeared.
And at almost the exact sa mont—
A shadow fell across the table.
The laughter gradually subsided.
Everyone turned toward the source.
Standing there was Nidr.
The victor of the previous match.
His gaze swept across the group before settling on .
Then a smile slowly appeared on his face.
A smile that imdiately put on guard.
"I see you're all having quite an enjoyable conversation."
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