Piece 13 (part 1)

As we approached the renovation site, one of the construction workers noticed us coming.

He pointed his finger at us, and every single one of the workers who were chatting on the field in front of the building noticed us. There were six of them, and amongst the six, the one who stood out the most stood up with a big smile on his face.

"Milly?? What're you doing here?" Dad asked so happily to me as he started walking out of the gate, leaving his work friends in the front yard.

"Sorry guys, I'll be leaving early!" Dad said while waving his hand to his coworkers, and everyone on the field definitely noticed me being the reasoning.

"Yeah, yeah! Spend time with your family, Bond!!" One of Dad's coworkers shouted, and Dad only lifted his thumbs up.

"Will do!" Dad proceeded to leave the front gate, and started approaching me and the shadow knight next to me.

"Hey, Milly! And Giorno. Thanks for guiding her." Dad said with friendliness to the shadow knight who is technically his subordinate, but the reaction from the middle aged man is even weirder.

"No problem, Bond! Then, I'll see you two later!" The disguised shadow knight said so cheerfully, and he turned around as he left for a different direction than where we came from.

"O-Oh… he just left?"

"You look like you have a lot of questions. Let's grab some snacks on our way back home. Okay, honey?" Dad asked while lending his hand to me, and I grabbed it firmly while smiling at him.

Snacks aren't exactly what I need right now, but it completes my needs. Dad seemed to be quite careful with what things we're saying, considering we are still right next to where his coworkers are at. It must be the same thing as what the disguised shadow knight told me just earlier.

"So, you were practicing swords by yourself?" Dad asked as we strolled down the large and bustling street, and I was slightly worried that we were having this conversation without care.

"Y-Yeah… Is it okay if we talk like this? There's a lot of people around us." I tried asking about it, and Dad only laughed.

"Milly, take a look at your necklace." Dad pointed at the necklace that was wrapped around my neck, and I took it out from underneath my clothes to look at it closer.

It's a similar necklace to the one that shattered when Mom and Dad first awakened, except this one is only a replica of that one. I was quite confused as to why Dad told me to take this out, but then I quickly realized the reason why.

"This… Is there magic in this!?" I asked after realizing, and Dad chuckled seeing me so surprised.

"You thought it was just a replica, didn't you? Naturally, we wouldn't give you a gift for no reason. That thing is enchanted with so many things that you'd probably have to write down the abilities in order to fully comprehend it." Dad openly explained to me about what the necklace was about, and I opened my eyes widely.

"S-Such a powerful necklace…"

"And you thought it was a replica?? Wow, how can you have such low expectations for your mom and dad?" Dad jokingly asked with such a cunning smile, and I slapped his shoulder lightly as a reaction.

"So what does it do?"

"It does many things. One of the things it can do is conceal your presence to people who don't care about you. For instance, all these people who are walking by us on the street." Dad said while pointing to the people who are walking around on this bustling street with us, and I can only imagine how such a thing works.

"It conceals our voice, our presence, our pressure. Thanks to the magic, these people who are walking by us are only thinking that we're just saying random gibberish as we walk past them. So long as they don't see through the magic, then everything we're saying is completely safe!"

"That's… an oddly handy but incredibly complicated magic!"

"I invented it! So, you're welcome!" Dad said with such a cheerful aura, and I only realized now that his smile was indeed so captivating to look at.

It made me remember… about the thoughts that I had when I was training in the forest.

"D-Dad. Can I ask you something?" I tried asking about it, and Dad turned confused.

"You can ask me anything, Milly."

"Have you ever… No, you definitely have. Then, maybe what I should ask is…

How do you… cope with the things that are just out of your control?" I tried fixing my question so that it doesn't turn out badly, but it still ended up being rather confusing.

Dad stopped his walk and turned his confused look to me, and I realized I had made a mistake by asking this.

"Naturally, I just went to your mom." Dad answered blatantly, and I opened my eyes wide.

"When I have something that I really don't like happening, which truthfully happens all the time, I realize that I shouldn't put those feelings inside of me all alone. So, I turned to your mom and told her about my problems. She'd comfort me at any given moment."

"Doesn't that just mean you're just too reliant on her…?" I asked with curiosity, and Dad laughed hearing it.

"In a way, it kind of does! But, we can't live alone, Milly. We need to have people around us to continue existing. And for sure, we need to let out any pent up emotions that we have within, to make sure those things don't corrupt our minds from the inside.

The best way to do it is by talking it out to people. Tell them about your problems, and let them know what went wrong from their perspective. Having those kinds of things occurring to you can be extremely helpful."

I… I see. It's the idea of sharing your problems with others that helps. It's not about asking for comfort, it's about letting what is pent up within you come out and getting the perspective of others.

"And since you asked that… something tells me you have something you're uncomfortable about?" Dad asked while lowering his face closer to me, and I just turned away while giggling.

"Maybe I do… maybe I don't." I tried not answering it directly, but what I received next was a hand patting me in the head.

"You're a smart lady, Milly. Something tells me you'll go through any of your problems just fine. And if you do happen to come across any problems you can't solve, don't forget that Mom and Dad are here now!

We'll listen to you, Milly. Always. You can rely on us as much as you want." Dad said with the same cheerful tone, but that smile of his is what really bothers me.

Because… that is my problem, at the moment.

"Then, do you mind answering me a question I've been wanting to know for a long time?" I asked Dad, and he only gave me a thumbs up, not knowing what I wanted to ask.

"Ask away!"

"How… exactly do you feel when…" 

My words were halted. I was unable to complete my question, which confused Dad even more. I became afraid of asking this question, and I was even more afraid of what the answer would be.

Can I… really ask this?

"Milly. You can ask me anything." Dad reminded me, and I felt like I genuinely wanted to cry from hearing him so supportive. 

However, this question will not do any of us any good.

"How exactly do you feel after you slaughtered an entire army of people…?"

I finally asked. My cursed tongue has finally asked the question I've been wanting to know the most.

It's painful. Having to ask such things, fully knowing how much of a sin it was to ask. Even though I know how terrible things are going to be between me and him after I asked about it.

I cannot… regret something more than this.

"It felt amazing."

Dad's answer opened my eyes widely, and I turned to him so shocked. However, what welcomed me was the same smile as the one he gave me since we first talked to each other.

The smile that hides away a thousand pain.