I Became a Raid Boss-Chapter 233: Confession (5)

The body, lying motionless on the floor.

"...A corpse?"

Muttering absent-mindedly, the body, which had been lying limply as if dead, twitched.

Da-eun, groaning like a zombie from a movie, slowly got up.

"I was just trying to lighten the mood because it got so heavy..."

Da-eun, groaning while rubbing her back, had a face full of tears.

"I know."

"...Who would hit their daughter like this if they knew that?"

Look!

Da-eun yelled, lifting her top.

On her white back, a distinct red mark was visible.

"Oh my, oh my. It hurts so much I can’t even lie down... Ah! Why are you hitting me again?!"

"When an adult woman is flashing her clothes like that, what are you doing?!"

"It’s not like anyone’s watching, what’s the big deal! Geez... this is definitely going to bruise."

As Da-eun stroked the new mark, her eyes suddenly lit up.

"If Kana blows on it, I think it’ll heal right away."

"...Why me?"

"Kana, you think I don’t know?"

"?"

What does she mean by that?

As I tilted my head, Da-eun narrowed her eyes sharply.

"When mom hit me, Kana hit me too, didn’t you?!"

"...How did you know?"

I had been too distracted by the beating to notice, but I had helped a little.

I absent-mindedly asked, only to realize my mistake and trembled.

If Da-eun had been interrogating me, I had fallen right into her trap.

But luckily, it didn’t seem like Da-eun had intended to interrogate me.

"Hmph. Of course, I knew."

Da-eun was already sure that I had hit her.

...Is that good luck?

"Kana's hand is bigger than mom’s, and Kana's hands are softer. The sensation on my back is different, so how could I not know?"

"..."

"...Da-eun."

"Yeah?"

"You’re a pervert."

I moved away from Da-eun.

It was fine up to the point where she hugged me and ◆ Nоvеlіgһt ◆ (Only on Nоvеlіgһt) touched my cheek, but saying that the sensation of being hit on the back was different was a bit much, don’t you think?

"Ha, thank you for the reward... no, I mean! I’m telling you, it’s really different!"

"I must’ve raised you wrong... You weren’t like this when you were younger..."

Aunt muttered softly, and I could sense deep regret and lamentation in her voice.

"...I’m not doing it!"

Da-eun stomped her feet and shouted.

"I made a big decision and sacrificed, and this is how you treat me! I’m going on strike!"

"Da-eun, didn’t you say?"

The 𝘮ost uptodat𝑒 novels are pub𝙡ished on freeweɓnovēl.coɱ.

"What! I’m upset! I won’t talk to mom!"

"If it weren’t for a joke, I would have kicked you out."

"..."

"Grandma, what about Grandma?"

The words, filled with 200% sincerity, caused Da-eun to finally close her mouth.

I nodded, watching from the side.

"This is Da-eun's fault."

I know that talking about age with a woman is taboo, but considering Da-eun, who’s also a woman, said such things, she definitely deserved to be scolded.

"...I know, I’m just staying quiet."

"You were yelling just now."

"Well, that’s..."

Da-eun, who was about to deny it, seemed to have no words left and mumbled.

It was almost like admitting defeat.

Knowing Da-eun was aware of her mistake, she slowly pulled her clothes down, calming the tense atmosphere, but we couldn’t go back to the playful mood from before.

Somehow, it felt foolish to talk seriously.

...And on top of that, it felt like I had said something embarrassing.

"Seeing Da-eun, I think I need to live more earnestly."

"Kana, what are you saying...? I feel like I’m the lesson on how not to be."

"..."

"Excuse me, Kana~? Won’t you clear up the misunderstanding?"

"Stop bothering that poor kid and come here."

"Ah! Stop touching my back... It hurts, it’s burning!"

"Sigh..."

Aunt, who glared at me as if she couldn’t be stopped, stood up and headed somewhere.

After a while, Aunt appeared with ointment and carefully applied it to Da-eun’s back after pulling her clothes down.

"If you were going to do this, you shouldn’t have hit her in the first place."

Da-eun said that, but her expression didn’t look like she minded too much.

"If you hadn’t said 'Grandma,' I wouldn’t have hit you."

"Hmph... Are you starting to care about me now? Ahhh!"

"Yes, I care, you little..."

Unable to bear it anymore, Aunt slapped Da-eun’s back lightly.

As she closed the ointment, Aunt glared at Da-eun.

"When a kid is struggling with something, you should help them. What have you been doing all this time?"

"Well, how is this my fault? Mom made Kana nervous, didn’t she? Right, Kana?"

"...What should I say here?"

Da-eun turned her arrows at me.

No. This wasn’t just arrows; this was like a meteor strike.

I didn’t agree with Da-eun’s words, but if I agreed, I would be making Aunt out to be a bad person who mistreated a child.

...Should I really say this to my mom?

Honestly, I always admired Da-eun’s daughterly remarks.

"Stop bothering me, I told you."

Aunt’s hand reached out to me.

Just before her calloused hand touched my head—

"Mom, wait! You’re not trying to put ointment on Kana’s soft, silky hair, are you?"

"Oh, that’s not going to happen."

"...Then why are you wiping it on me?"

"You got some on me while applying it to him, so it only makes sense to wipe it off on you."

"Arrghhh!"

Aunt shrugged and played it off.

Her manner was so similar to someone I knew well.

‘Now I get where Da-eun’s mischievousness comes from.’

She may have grown more mature with age, but maybe when she was younger, she was just as playful as Da-eun.

Well, the uncle seemed like someone who was far from playful.

As I thought about this, a shadow fell over me.

When I looked up, my gaze met a pair of kind eyes looking down at me.

"This is the point," Aunt said.

Instead of patting my head, she gently pinched my cheek.

The ointment that hadn’t been wiped off yet made it slightly slippery, but the sensation wasn’t unpleasant at all.

I half-closed my eyes and let my face rest in the warm, rough touch of her hand.

"That I don’t hate you," Aunt said with a small smile.

"If you were a bad daughter, I could understand," she added with a gentle chuckle.

"Hmph. I knew that from the start," I replied.

"Well, if you knew, you should have comforted me properly."

"I did! I did, but until I saw it for myself, I couldn’t believe it. Jeez... you have no idea how hard I tried to tell Kana that my mom’s not like that..."

"Really?"

I nodded at her question.

Because what Da-eun said was true.

Aunt’s eyes drooped sadly.

"To think you saw me as someone without any affection. That hurts a little."

"...Sorry."

Well, it wasn’t exactly that I saw Aunt as someone without affection.

I thought anyone would think the same, and I thought Aunt was an ordinary person.

But I had judged her unfairly, so instead of explaining myself, I lowered my head, and Aunt waved her hand in embarrassment.

"...It was a joke, so there’s no need to apologize."

"Wow, making jokes like that... you really have no sense of humor."

Having spent so much time with Da-eun, I thought I was somewhat used to it, but there was another person who was both similar and different in her behavior. I couldn’t get used to the constantly changing atmosphere.

It really isn’t easy...

"Have you cleared up your thoughts now?"

"...Honestly, I still don’t completely get it."

But—

"I do know that Aunt doesn’t hate me."

"That’s all that matters."

Although I thought the answer was unsatisfactory, Aunt smiled and rubbed my cheek.

"Years of experience aren’t changed with just one word. People now know that you’re not as cold as you thought. The rest will be handled by time and experience."

"Experience... no, I guess that’s true!" I said.

"Who said that?"

"I saw you lift your hand to hit me, thinking I wouldn’t notice? Do you think I don’t know?"