Gentleman of the Apocalypse

Dark Memories

It's been 16 days since we've settled in the mansion.

"Ugh.....I can't sleep."

I got up from my bed and walked out of my room.

I was intending to look for a snack to eat, but I saw Perci walking out of his room with a serious expression on his face.

"Oh, Ori....you can't sleep?" Perci said with a faint smile.

"Yeah. I guess I can say the same for you."

He's looking gloomier than usual.....

"Is there something wrong?" I asked him.

"No, not really. Nothing you need to worry about." Perci shook his head.

"Tsk, I can see it in your face, something's wrong."

"I guess I'm caught. I thought I've hidden it pretty well," Perci chuckled weakly.

"Just talk to me if you want. Girls are pretty good with this sort of thing."

Perci thought for a moment. Then he opened the door to his room.

"Would you like to enter my room?"

"No. I am not sleeping with you."

"Sorry, that's not what I mean. I thought I would be able to talk with you. It's just that I have a window that leads to the roof."

"Oh......"

We climbed out of the window of Perci's room and sat on the rooftop.

"The stars look pretty tonight...." Perci pointed out.

"It sure does......"

"I would like to ask you a question. Do you trust me?"

I took some time to answer.

"Just a little."

"I see. Well, I believe I can trust you. We've spent a lot of time together, so I guess it should be fine if I tell you."

"I'm all ears."

"I........"

Perci hesitated to speak.

"Just take your time."

"Sorry, I'm just not used to speaking out my emotions. It's not very gentleman-like of me."

"Ah, whatever. Gentleman or not, you're still a human being. What's wrong with displaying emotions once in a while?"

"I've trained myself specifically not to show my emotions as much as possible. It's something hard-wired into my brain."

"Screw that. If you keep it bottled inside, you're bound to overflow and go on a mental breakdown."

Perci nodded his head and smiled. Then he changed his expression into a frown.

I've never seen him make that face before.

"I can't get over it. What happened with Wolfis still haunts me to this day. I....killed him."

"I may not understand what you're feeling, but I believe it wasn't your fault. It was an accident. Wolfis is to blame for his demise."

"But, it doesn't change the fact that I caused it."

I sighed and looked Perci in the eyes.

"Jeez, I can't change your mind. So I'll have to give up on convincing you otherwise. You'll always believe that you killed him. But I can always remind you. That your intention was to protect me. If it weren't for you, that bastard would have killed me."