Boy meets Girl

 
 “Can you remove 『this thing』?”
 
 Theo, who had wiped away his tear and pulled himself together, looked at me and asked as such once again.
 
 To that question, I nodded.
 
 “It seems it will be possible to remove it. However, considering the maker’s intention, I’ve thought that some sort of trap will activate if it is forcibly removed.”
 
 “A trap?”
 
 “Yes. It could be an explosion, or it could be a stronger magic power attack… a life-threatening attack that will activate.”
 
 “-…!”
 
 Theo gasped.
 
 “To safely remove it, I will need to examine the magic circuit inside. And if there is a trap, we’ll have to take countermeasures.”
 
 “The inside, you say… if there’s a trap on the cover itself, won’t it activate the moment you open the lid?”
 
 I took a good look at Theo who gazed this way.
 
 He seems like a kid with a pretty good head for his age.
 
 In my memory of four years later he was also quick-witted, but looking at him now I feel like I’d say 『it’s probably so』.
 
 
 
 I nodded at his words.
 
 “That’s right. There’s a good chance of that. That’s why I’ll examine it without taking it apart.”
 
 “? You can’t understand the insides without opening the lid, can you?”
 
 To the boy’s puzzled face, I gave a wry smile and brought my face slightly closer.
 
 “I’ll understand it. ——— like so.”
 
 Saying so, I placed my left hand on the magic tool, stuck to his chest beneath his sleepwear.
 
 “Wha-, what are you doing?!”
 
 Theo yelled, his face turning bright red.
 
 “And so, I’ll examine the magic circuit inside like so. By reading the microscopic magic power’s flow and change, I can understand what kind of circuit was assembled inside. ——— although it’s a 『technique』 I can’t use unless the target magic tool is not being used.”
 
 “G-, got it already, so get your hand off of me.”
 
 “?”
 
 I moved my hand aside, and Theo immediately pulled the blankets up over him again, hiding his chest.
 
 
 
 “……”
 
 Theo glared my way with his bright red face.
 
 (You don’t have to be so mad…)
 
 I thought so for a moment, but immediately reconsidered.
 
 (Perhaps, he was a germaphobe in this phase of his life? ——— If so, I’m sorry.)
 
 I apologised to Theo.
 
 “I apologise for touching you without asking or warning. I didn’t think you’d dislike being touched that much…”
 
 “Huh?”
 
 “But in order to pull this off, I’ll need to examine the circuit at the same timing as the seizures. I understand that it’s uncomfortable, but could you please bear with me?”
 
 In response to my request, Theo hid his face with one hand.
 
 “… it’s not that.”
 
 “Hm?”
 
 I asked a question in reply to his murmuring, and Theo just slightly shrugged his shoulders.
 
 “I don’t, really dislike it.”
 
 Theo replied so, pouting.
 
 “You’re fine with me touching you?”
 
 A little while after I asked, the boy nodded.
 
 “Ever since I’ve gotten this spider, everyone has come to detest me. Even shamans and magicians gave up. THe only one to properly face me without fear, is you.”
 
 Saying so, Theo lifted his head and looked at me.
 
 “I’ll ask you once again.——— Please, I want you to remove this. Even if I get hurt, even if I die, I won’t hold you responsible for it.”
 
 Sincere eyes.
 Within those pupils, I nodded with a smile on my face.
 
 “Of course I will. That’s the reason why I’m here.”
 
 At my words, Theo’s cheeks loosened.
 
 “Thank you. I’m counting on you. Ehm———”
 
 “It’s Leticia Ainsworth. Please call me 『Letty』.”
 
 “Got it, Letty. Then I’d like you to call me 『Theo』.”
 
 “Understood. ———Theo-sama.”
 
 “You don’t need to add 『-sama』. Also, it’s fine to not use honorific language^[1].”
 
 “But…”
 
 I was puzzled, but he said it again.
 
 “That’s… Please speak to me like we’re friends.”
 
 Saying so, the young boy’s gaze wandered uneasily.
 
 After a slight hesitation, I gave in.
 
 “Got it, Theo. I’ll be counting on you too!”
 
 When I said that to Theo, he smiled happily.
 
 
 ☆
 
 
 The next three days.
 We fought the spider together.
 
 When the seizures occurred at noon, and late at midnight.
 
 When that time approached, I would go to Theo’s room, and as soon as the seizure began I had Coco and Mel stabilise the magic power.
 
 And then I examined the spider’s circuit while the magic power was shut out, and repeated that over and over.
 
 
 
 And then on the fourth day.
 I had finally pinpointed the problematic circuit.
 
 It was in the third layer, the lowest of them all, a circuit directly connected to a small-sized magic stone.
 
 There were two activation switches.
 One switch that turns on when it’s ripped off, and another switch that turns on when it’s disassembled.
 
 The sensor which detects when it is torn off is in the leg part, which detects magic power on the body surface, and the moment there is no longer magic power input coming from no more than three of the legs, the device outputs the magic power of the directly connected magic stone in one go.
 
 The disassembly switch is similar, monitoring the conductivity of the surface cover’s joint part.
 
 In other words, both the trap I knew that lead to that unfortunate future, and the trap with ill intent that Theo had predicted, were properly prepared.
 
 
 
 “The explanation is roughly so.”
 
 A drawing board in the courtyard of the guest house.
 
 Having explained the 『trap』 while drawing a caricature on a page stuck on there, I saw Theo’s face as he glared at the picture.
 
 Wrinkling his brow, he groaned 『Hmmmm~』.
 
 “Is it hard to understand?”
 
 In response to my question, Theo shook his head while making a difficult face.
 
 “No, it’s amazingly easy to understand. It’s just…”
 
 “Yeah?”
 
 “Now that I know the structure, I’m wondering what would be a good way to deal with it.”
 
 “It’s that, huh…”
 
 It happened then, as I crossed my arms just like Theo, and glared at the drawing board.
 
 “Wai-, this-, balance-, is oooooouuuuuutttt?!”
 
 Something came flying overhead with amazing force along with a familiar voice.
 
 Crash, rustle rustle!!
 
 It plunged straight into the garden shrubs opposite me.