A Change

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Eleanora emerged at my side, and quickly looked at Erika angrily, she was filled with jealousy, I see. Perhaps I shouldn't have let the girl kiss me, but it was quite sudden.

I didn't feel embarrassed over it but was surprised by it. She did it out of nowhere… I don't know what to feel, but I suppose it made me happy she sees me in such a way, I suppose Erika is my family… No, she had always been my family.

"Uwah! E-Eleanora…!" said Erika.

Eleanora was pouting while crossing her arms.

"Come on, don't get too clingy with Blake! Y-You already gave him a kiss so back off for now… He needs his own personal space!" she said, while hugging me and pushing Erika back a bit.

Erika got angrier too, pouting back at her.

"I-I was just happy to see him being fine! D-Don't be like that!" she said.

"He already understands your happiness, no need to get so personal over it!" said Eleanora.

"Eleanora, cut if out, you don't have to be so over the top with this…" I sighed.

After I said that, we started a telepathic conversation where we were only glaring at one another while the other three kids looked at us with confusion.

"B-But she kissed you and all! How can you let it slide so easily, master? You have to tell her that she can't do that so easily!" said Eleanora.

"Erika is my friend, don't worry too much about it, she's just a child…" I said.

"I-I know… But still…" she sighed.

"If you want to kiss me as she did, you're free to do so…" I sighed.

"T-That's not it! Kissing is… s-something special that you do after a long time… Not something you give off so easily… she's really a child if she did such a thing so easily…" sighed Eleanora.

"You're acting more childish than she does now…" I said.

"Geh…! Don't say such things…" she complained.

"Eleanora you're someone special to me. Don't get worried over these small interactions. My relationship with Erika will not suddenly separate us or something…" I said.

"Ah… I guess…" she said.

Eleanora was just very jealous over nothing… Erika was only a child, she shouldn't worry about a child.

Anyways, after all of this, Chris and Eric tried to apologize to me.

The two kids kneeled before me.

"I am sorry… For everything…" said Chris.

"Hm?" I asked.

"F-For being rude to you… for acting so stupidly… I was just… jealous of you… and of having Erika for you…" he said.

"What?" I asked.

"T-This… I…" he muttered.

"Chris, you shouldn't be apologizing to me, apologize to her… It was because you left her as a friend that I decided to stay at her side and leave you behind. What you did to me is of no consequence to me. I am not someone that grows resentful against children. You're at your growing pace, after all, we all commit mistakes, and we all had our own fits of rage from time to time… It is part of growing up as a person to experience these things, all the emotions we can develop, and all the things we experience…" I said.

Chris and Eric looked at me while I said those words, their eyes shone brightly.

"N-Nobody had ever put it like that before…" said Eric.

"Blake… I am sorry… still… You're a good person…" sighed Chris.

"Apologize to Erika already, stop going around it!" I said, showing him my fist.

"O-Okay! Sorry, Erika!" said Chris.

"Ueh?!"

Erika then saw Chris and Eric bowing their heads to her.

"Y-You're the one that convinced Blake to help our parents… It was all thanks to you… We are sorry for discriminating against you… for all these stupid things…" cried Chris.

"We don't care about looks… or anything other people would say…" said Eric.

"Y-Yeah… We know it has been a long time since we were friends… But… I hope that one day you could let us become friends again…" said Chris.

"We don't really deserve the friendship of someone as good as you." Sighed Eric.

Erika blushed a bit as she saw the two boys looking at her while in tears.

She covered her face in embarrassment adorably, as Eleanora giggled at the scene.

"Your friends are really adorable." She said through telepathy.

"Ah… Yeah. I suppose they are… In each of these children, I see her…" I sighed.

"Saphira?" she asked.

"Hm… The innocence and cuteness of a child… the inexperience, the willingness to learn, the curiosity… everything… I see her all the time…" I said.

"…Blake." Sighed Eleanora.

Nonetheless, there was no time to be stuck in the past all the time.

"Y-You two… Stop bowing your heads… It's okay… Blake was always the one that was angered by you but… I am not…" said Erika.

"Eh? Y-You're not?" asked Chris.

"But why? After we left you behind…" said Eric.

"I just couldn't hate my friends…" said Erika.

Chris and Eric were moved by Erika's words.

The pink-haired girl moved their hearts so much they began to cry once more.

Erika was really a forgiving child. Perhaps because she was still growing, or maybe… she has the compassion and empathy that her father has.

A man very much dedicated to his daughter to the point of obsession, but whose only intentions had always been to help her and see her happy, even after dying.

Erika is a very unique being, even amongst the countless planets I had traveled to in my previous life… I had never met someone like her.

Chris and Eric looked at Erika with shiny eyes and rivers of tears coming out of them.

"Y-You're really an angel, Erika…" cried Chris.

"Sorry… I am sorry…" cried Eric.

The black-haired boy and the blonde boy continued to cry for a while. It was indeed quite mildly annoying, but in the end, they calmed themselves down.

"Erika, you're okay with this?" I asked.

"Yeah! I can't really hate my friends after all!" said Erika.

"Sigh… You're too nice for your own good sometimes… But I suppose that is the virtue that makes you the most special. " I said.

Though, it is more of a flaw...

"B-Blake…"

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