"Guess I've got no choice but to wreck the temple and steal it by force, huh?"
I was looking down at the temple atop the mountain from a cliff overlooking the town.
I'd considered various approaches but couldn't think of any real solutions.
How about digging a tunnel from the other side of the mountain and stealing it from the back?
Nah, that'd take years. Claire would probably die before it was finished.
The more I thought, the more I could only come up with forceful measures.
"Don't be hasty!" I heard a voice call out from below. There seemed to be some kind of commotion.
"Get down here!"
"Doing that will only make your parents sad!"
I couldn't quite make out everything, but they seemed to be addressing me.
"Shaddup! I'm thinking here! Go somewhere else, you're distracting me."
If only there was a way...
I flopped on my back, gazing at the clear sky. Ah, nice weather.
"Hey, come down already!"
"Oh gods..."
"Don't you have something you want to do? Even someone like you must have something."
So annoying. I don't really get it but it feels like they're lecturing me.
Maybe because I was frustrated from thinking in circles, I blurted out,
"I've got no clue what to do either! My future's pitch black!"
Hearing that, the guys below started murmuring.
"Uh oh, this is bad."
"He seems quite driven into a corner."
"I've seen that man before. I believe he only came to town recently."
"I see. So he too chose this holy place of the gods for..."
Still on my back, I glanced down briefly.
They seemed to have finished some discussion, nodding at each other.
A secret strategy meeting here? What for? Oh well, whatever.
Losing interest, I looked away again, gazing at the cloudless sky. But then—
"We won't move from this spot until you give up on dying!"
"You're still young! What do you have to be so worried about?"
"Suicide is unacceptable to the gods!"
Huh? Suicide?
I had a bad feeling and checked below again. Everyone there was looking up at where I lay.
Seeing me deep in thought, they must have assumed I was going to jump and commit suicide.
The location did seem conducive. I was being persuaded.
"No, you've got it wrong. I'm—"
Just as I tried to correct the misunderstanding, a familiar face burst out of the crowd. The eye mask girl.
The eye mask girl stepped forward and clasped her hands before her chest, taking a deep breath.
"Don't die! I didn't know you were so conflicted! I'm sorry."
Oh boy, here we go.
"I've always... always relied on you to help me. I just kept depending on your kindness. But! From now on, I'll be the one to save you!"
After declaring that, she covered her face and pretended to cry.
No, she was definitely just acting. See, her mouth curled into a grin for a second just now.
Despite her idiotic performance, it riled up the onlookers.
"Hey! Isn't that girl your lover? How could you leave such a fine lass behind and die!"
"Live for her sake! Talk it out together and your worries will vanish, I'm sure!"
"If he dies, I'll take care of you myself!"
What is she even doing...?
She's not a good girl at all, she's weird. And to the last guy, feel free to take her whether I live or die.
All the while, she kept up the act but also babbled nonsense about us being lovers, wanting to be with me forever, stuff like that.
Things escalated quickly.
Might as well jump at this rate~
...
The day after the suicide scare, I met with Claire.
By the way, afterwards I explained I wasn't suicidal and gave the eye mask girl a body blow, making her crumple.
Seeing her collapse satisfied, I left the area.
"What were you doing?" Claire asked.
"Oh, just thinking some stuff over."
She must have heard about yesterday's ruckus somewhere. Claire knew I'd caused an incident.
"What were you thinking about?"
"Devising a plan to punch god in the face."
Recalling yesterday's events, I answered somewhat sullenly.
She probably took it as a joke. Claire listened eagerly.
"Hehe, what would happen to the gods then?"
"It'd hurt. They'd cry and stuff."
Or rather, making them cry was the goal.
"Wow, you were thinking that? Weird guy."
Claire giggled. Huh?
Seeing her like that felt off somehow.
"You're laughing?"
"Huh? Oh..."
I think it was my first time seeing her laugh.
I rarely saw any expression besides her usual poker face.
Surprised herself, Claire patted her own cheeks.
"Oh, me?"
Looking a bit happy, Claire met my eyes.
"Hm? Yeah, go ahead, it's fine."
"It's fine?"
Tilting her head curiously, Claire had an expectant look.
"Makes you look ugly."
"I see. Than— Hey, that's mean!"
Just when I thought I'd seen her laugh for the first time, she retorted at me.
My first time getting snarked at by her. Non-sexually.
Now her cheeks were puffed up indignantly. "I'm mad!" her face said.
I realized this was probably how she was meant to be.
A normal girl, laughing, getting mad, and feeling sad like anyone else.
Sorry to make you angry, but seeing this side of Claire made me laugh.
"You're not used to laughing. Your face muscles tense up and it looks unnatural."
"What should I do?"
"Laugh more. Get happy, get mad, cry. Would crying be weird? Well, anyway, you expressing yourself more—"
"You expressing yourself?"
After another expectant look, she seemed to recall what I'd said earlier and shot me a wary glance.
"Oh... I think it's good."
Looking puzzled at me, Claire's face warped strangely for a moment as she burst into laughter.
She crumpled her expression, laughing out loud. It was an even nicer laugh than before.