I stared at Reisir in disbelief.

Then I narrowed my eyes.

"...You have absolutely no intention of apologizing."

"What a harsh thing to say. I came all the way here planning to apologize sincerely."

"Then start with the apology."

"I already did."

"No, you didn't."

"I said I was sorry."

"You said that while also declaring you'd do the exact same thing again."

"Because that's true."

Reisir answered without the slightest hesitation.

"If I apologized for wanting to become close to you, that would be a lie. I don't regret that part."

"..."

"What I'm apologizing for is ignoring your wishes."

The atmosphere around us quieted slightly.

Even Helga, who had been listening with amused interest, stopped speaking.

Reisir continued calmly.

"At the time, I knew perfectly well that you found me bothersome."

"Then why did you keep approaching me?"

"Because I thought it would work eventually."

"..."

"Actually, it did work."

I almost refuted him before stopping myself.

Because, irritatingly enough, there was no easy rebuttal.

I no longer considered Reisir an annoyance.

At some point, he'd naturally become part of my daily life.

Seeing my expression, the corners of his mouth curved upward.

"See?"

"Don't look so pleased."

"I'm not pleased." 𝗳𝐫𝚎𝗲𝚠𝚎𝗯𝕟𝐨𝘃𝚎𝗹.𝗰𝗼𝗺

"You're obviously pleased."

"Then perhaps I am a little."

The answer came back shamelessly.

A few people nearby snorted.

I heard someone desperately trying to suppress laughter.

Most likely Helga.

I chose to ignore it.

"Anyway."

Reisir folded his arms and leaned back slightly.

"What I wanted to apologize for was deciding on my own that I knew what was best."

"..."

"I assumed that if I stayed beside you long enough, you'd eventually accept me."

His smile faded a little.

"It happened to turn out that way, but that doesn't mean the process itself was correct."

For the first time since he'd started speaking, his tone carried genuine seriousness.

"I should have respected your intentions more."

"..."

"Even if I still would have approached you, I should have been more careful about how I did it."

Silence settled briefly.

Unlike his earlier teasing, this part didn't sound like a joke.

He really did seem to have reflected on it.

Though...

"You're still making excuses."

"I am."

He admitted it immediately.

"Because I don't think I was entirely wrong."

"Then why apologize?"

"Because being partially right doesn't mean I didn't inconvenience you."

That answer left me unexpectedly speechless.

Reisir looked directly at me.

"So, Karvaldr."

His voice was gentler than usual.

"I'm sorry."

"..."

"I ignored your wishes and forced my way into your life."

For a moment, nobody spoke.

The surrounding spectators watched with expressions that suggested they had suddenly wandered into a drama instead of a casual conversation.

Even Ríolíkin seemed nervous for some reason.

Yor, nestled in my arms, let out a quiet meow.

"...Fine."

In the end, that was all I managed to say.

Reisir blinked.

"Fine?"

"You apologized."

"So?"

"I'll accept it."

A smile immediately spread across his face.

An extremely irritating smile.

The kind that made me regret accepting his apology.

"That's a relief."

"Don't get carried away."

"I'm not."

"You are."

"I'm simply happy."

"..."

"Isn't that allowed?"

I genuinely considered throwing Yor at him.

Perhaps sensing my thoughts, Yor lifted her head.

"Meow?"

"No."

"Meow?"

"You are not a projectile."

Yor looked disappointed.

Why was she disappointed?

Meanwhile, laughter finally erupted around the table.

Even Ríolíkin was smiling now.

Only then did I realize that the heavy atmosphere from earlier had completely disappeared.

And at almost the exact same moment—

A shadow fell across the table.

The laughter gradually subsided.

Everyone turned toward the source.

Standing there was Nidr.

The victor of the previous match.

His gaze swept across the group before settling on me.

Then a smile slowly appeared on his face.

A smile that immediately put me on guard.

"I see you're all having quite an enjoyable conversation."