Yes, Damien had been quietly furious while Theo had been completely oblivious to his anxiety, but in the end, Damien was the one who had been helped. Theo had saved someone he didn't need to, someone he had no obligation to help at all.
There was no reason for Damien to feel so resentful.
Now he understood why Cedran had once mentioned getting swindled so many times—he could see how it happened.
"Please, lift your head," Damien said. "I'm the one who lied and kept my true feelings hidden. I'm sorry. It's true that being stuck here, unable to return home, makes me anxious and sad. Even now, just thinking about my family makes me want to cry."
Just mentioning his family was enough to make his eyes well up with tears. He tried not to think about them for that very reason.
And now, as he spoke, the tears were threatening to spill over.
"Damien…"
Theo had lifted his head as instructed and was looking directly at Damien, making it hard for him to hold back his emotions.
"But, because of you, Theo, I haven't had to endure forced labor or live in harsh conditions. Well, there are some inconveniences," Damien added with a weak smile, "but for the most part, I'm living quite comfortably."
The biggest inconvenience at the moment?
He really wanted to take a bath and change clothes. The sticky feeling and smell were starting to drive him crazy.
"I don't know how your lie-detecting spell works, but listen closely," Damien said. "I'm grateful I met you, Theo. For the most part—" he lowered his voice—"I'm happy."
For the most part.
Aside from Theo's unsettling excitement about him being from another world, everything was fine.
And Theo was incredibly beautiful.
"See? That wasn't a lie, was it?"
"Damien… thank you."
"No, I should be the one thanking you. Theo, thank you for saving me."
For the first time in a while, Damien felt like he was smiling genuinely, not forcing it.
He wasn't used to having his fate in someone else's hands, but with Theo, it didn't seem like things would turn out badly.
At least, that's what he was starting to believe.
"Now then, Theo, why don't we restart the tea party? I'm sure you have plenty of questions you still want to ask," Damien suggested.
"Yes! Damien!" Theo responded eagerly.
When Theo smiled, Damien couldn't help but think how adorable he looked.
But still, he want to go home.
...
Since then, Theo hadn't stopped asking questions. He'd made Damien explain every little detail about things from Earth. Right now, Theo was disassembling a mechanical pencil, fascinated by it.
It was a rather charming sight, but Damien was starting to feel exhausted.
"Is it really true that it won't break even after taking it apart this much? Can you really put it back together?" Theo asked, wide-eyed.
"It's fine, as long as you don't snap any parts, it's easy to reassemble. You can take it apart as much as you like," Damien reassured him.