# Chapter 8: The Sound Behind the Door
# Chapter 8: The Sound Behind the Door
Ever since Chia joined the group, he'd been getting a lot closer with the others.
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It was that relaxed stretch of time right after dinner.
Empty plates sat on the table — the remains of Akebi's special "glossy meatballs even Witch Enaga approves of."
Kuromame perched at the edge of a plate, puffing up its feathers, looking thoroughly satisfied with itself.
"Ahaha! Come on, Chia, you're eating way too much! Those were supposed to be Kuromame's share!"
*(wiping his mouth, wearing an unusually relaxed expression)*
"Hmph... when you're ranked #2 in the world, even eating is basically a battle. Besides — this Kuro... bun? — will lose the ability to fly if it eats too much. I just did it a favor."
Kuromame smacked Chia square on the forehead with a wing. *Whap!*
"Oof, now you've gone and made Master mad. Hey, Chia. Wasn't it you who tried to float a meatball into your mouth with magic earlier and smacked it right into your own nose? Was that the legendary precision of the world's #2, huh? *(lol)*"
"Wha—!! That was — a fluctuation in the gravity spell, I—!!"
Swept up in Enaga and Akebi's laughter, Chia finally couldn't hold it in and burst out laughing himself.
"...Hah, heheh...! HAHAHAHA! You two have got some nerve, you know that...! Ahahahaha!"
Unrestrained laughter filled the living room.
The sharp, guarded edge of "the world's #2" melted off Chia's face, and for a moment, his eyes shone with the light of an ordinary boy his age.
But then —
"Ahaha, ha...!, ...ugh, ...........!?"
Chia's expression froze solid, all at once.
A short, strangled groan caught somewhere deep in his throat, like something had a grip on him from the inside.
Chia kicked his chair back with a violent scrape and shot to his feet, tearing off toward his room, slicing straight through the last echoes of the laughter still hanging in the air.
"Wait, Chia!? Hey, what's wrong!?"
Enaga and Akebi chased after him and stopped short outside his door. From inside came a sound that was nothing close to normal.
**>> BANG!!! <<**
.
.
.
A violent impact shook the entire house.
Once, twice — fists slamming against the desk, or maybe the wall, hard enough to shatter — a sound like some kind of curse being pounded out over and over.
A low, trembling voice bled out from inside Chia's room.
"............don't... come near me.............. ...don't laugh. ...Don't say anything!!"
Cold mana leaked out through the crack in the door, mixed with ragged, animal-like breathing.
Only Kuromame stayed behind in the living room, quietly watching — the only one who understood what that sound really was. A scream, trying to bury a swelling storm of rage and grief by turning it into physical pain instead.
Akebi laughed awkwardly, clearly confused.
"Eh, ehehe... Guess Chia's just acting out 'cause he's embarrassed again? Hope the desk's not broken..."
"Ugh, he's always so dramatic. And we were having such a nice time eating, too."
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**"WAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!!!!"**
**BAM!!!**
The sound of Chia falling off of something.
"Oh come on lol, what are you even doing in there? lol You're being so loud lol"
"Right~? lol"
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**The next day**
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.
.
"...morning. ...ow, ow, ow..."
"What happened!? What's with those bandages!? lol"
"You're wrapped up like a mummy! lol Turns out you're actually a huge klutz, huh?? lol"
Route just tightened the bandages wound around and around himself even further, his eyes hollow with exhaustion.
o/
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**Author's Note:** No hiatus, don't worry.
Bit of a late update today, sorry about that.
See you next time — o/
