After everything that happened, Waitress girl finally arrived at the scene and helped me restrain Meil, but at that point it was already too late. Kevin had lost consciousness, beaten to a bloody pulp by his very friend. The nearby bystanders were quick to call the police over, but even then, not a single one of them swept in to help us keep Kevin safe. Those bastards, those disgusting pigs...!

No, it's not their fault. Meil, he was the one that beat Kevin up, even after Kevin stopped running and went to apologize. Dammit, all he wanted to do was help Meil before things got too complicated, but now look at the situation! Meil, he doesn't even look fazed at all after seeing Kevin get dragged away on a stretcher! What the fuck do those hollow white eyes of his mean!?

"Why?" An angry Waitress girl immediately chewed him out, "Why the hell did you let this happen! Are you stupid or something!? Do you not mentally have the capacity to understand that even in the worst of situations, a single punch is more than enough!"

"He made an enemy out of me. Enemies must be taken care of." Meil heartlessly replied, "One punch would not have been enough, he would get up and retaliate or worse - he might have taken Nelly hostage. I am just glad she is safe now."

"Safe?" I started laughing, my throat dry from the air around us, "He let me go, you idiot! He turned around and wanted to talk things out!"

"There is no such thing as talking things out once you have made it clear as day that we are enemies." Meil explained just as heartlessly as before, "Now that I know he is willing to go this far, regardless of whether or not he backed out at the last moment, I still cannot ever trust him again."

"Well then, big shot, what are you gonna do when he gets out of the hospital? Pay for his bills then beat him up again?" Waitress girl glared, "He's your friend, and I'm sure your girlie here also considers him as such. You may be aloof, but that doesn't mean you're incapable of understanding that you are the one in the wrong here."

"Are you saying you are siding with him then, Jelena?" Meil turned around to show Waitress girl a scary face, "Shall I take that to mean you are my enemy as well?"

"Grr...! That's enough!" I slapped him while he was still restrained, "No one is your enemy, okay!? But just know this - If you ever harm Kevin, Waitress girl, Green girl, Librarian guy or Short guy again, then I will be your enemy!"

"Nelly..." He fiddled around with his rope, trying to instinctively pat me on the head before remembering he was tied up, "You could never be my enemy, silly. I promised I would protect you from the enemies, remember?"

"Enemies this, enemies that..." I groaned, "You idiot, where is all this coming from!? What made you assume the world is so black and white like that, that there always have to be enemies and allies!?"

"You are too young to understand, Nelly." He sighed before lying down on the floor, the sun properly bringing the life back into his eyes, "This world, it has always been harsh like that. You have people you wish to protect, and people who wish to hurt them. It took me a long time to notice it, but once that piece of the puzzle clicked into place, everything started to make sense."

"Meil, your medicine." Waitress girl's words caught my attention.

"Huh?" I turned around before inquiring, "Medicine? Meil, what's she talking about?"

"Nelly, this world, it is unsafe." He continued to talk, all the while ignoring us completely, "As you just saw, people whom you assume to be your most loyal companions can turn on you at the toss of a gigabyte. You start to wonder if you are being a good enough friend, so you start to treat them to all kinds of stuff. Before long, even that is not enough, so you worry you are not helpful enough and start doing their exams for them. But when even that is not enough anymore, well..."

"Meil, did you or did you not take your pills recently?" Waitress girl repeated the same question again, "You can't think straight without them. Tell me so I know how to give my report to the police."

"What kind of pills?" I asked her, "Does Meil need medication? Is that why he hurt Kevin just now?"

"Violence was the last resort." Meil said in a louder tone, "When you have exhausted all of your options, what other choice do you have than to beat some sense into them!? Did he not ask for it when he kidnapped Nelly?! Were his eyes not those of a traitor!?"

"Damn, I should have known he'd ignore his meds when you arrived." Waitress girl turned to me, "Meil, he's dealing with a lot of issues up there. From all the stories he told me about his past, I really can't blame him though. I know of a friend whose Family runs a clinic, so we went there and got him on antipsychotics."

"Antipsychotics... Meil is schizophrenic?" I raised an eyebrow.

"You're quick on the uptake." She smiled before continuing her story, "It seems he developed it for the most part during or immediately after the war, so when he came here without even knowing of condition, it just kept getting worse and worse. Over time, he stopped hanging out with everyone like he did before, only ever wanting to chat with people one on one in the coffee shop. The doc told me to keep a close eye on him and regularly remind him of his medications, as I was the one who most frequently got ahold of him."

"So even today...?" I winced.

"Yeah, I can't exactly tell you why he took me out on such an extravagant date, but I was supposed to do a weekly status report to see how he was doing. We just pose as a couple going out on a date because he claimed it made us look less suspicious. I think, in his mind, he sees everything as some sort of cat and mouse chase, though I think he got confused on whether he was the cat or the mouse halfway through."

"Meil, why didn't you tell me?" I looked down as he tried wriggling away from the ropes.

"Nelly, help me undo these." He begged, "I will not be able to protect you if something happens."

He's really this far gone, huh...?

***

After the police had arrived to take Meil away, the older rugged man wearing an eyepatch who broke into our house a couple of days ago arrived at the scene of the crime and had us explain the entire situation to him. His face contorted into a wide array of unpleasant expressions, which makes sense once you realize he's known Meil the longest out of all of us. After we had finished explaining everything, he sighed and sat down with us on the curb.

"That Kevin boy, I did rather like him. Shame he was Meil's first victim." He slumped forward.

"Hey now, it's not like he's dead." Waitress girl commented.

"Oh, is that so? Good then, I wouldn't have anyone to compare my son to if he bit the dust." He joked as he heaved a sigh of relief, "Still, Meil's like that, huh?"

"Yeah, I'm ashamed to have not noticed it sooner..." I looked down before feeling a strong yet dry hand scruffle my hair.

This narrative has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. If you see it on Amazon, please report it.

"It ain't your fault, kid. Do you always try and shift the blame onto yoursel or something? Or is it just that your admiration for him is too high that you're just shifting the blame away from him?" He chuckled, "Meil's just a human, he makes mistakes. But still, he's simultaneously not just any ol' human. He's weird."

"Urk, I guess..." I kind of understood where he was coming from, "But now he's no longer the weird Meil I've known all my life. He's scared, and I wanna help him get over that fear."

He glanced over to an equally as unsure Waitress girl over my shoulder before leaning back a bit to look up at the sky. "You kids, can't you ever let an old man like me rest? Seriously, my entire life is comprised of people dragging me into their debacles."

"S-Sorry, you don't have to worry about me." I immediately felt bad, "I'll solve it on my own-"

"I didn't say I wouldn't help, he's my friend as well, missy." He laughed a bit, "In fact, I think the one person he'd most wanna listen to right now would be an old companion from his previous escapades, don't you?"

"Yeah, if you wouldn't mind..." I looked away.

"Hey, word of advice: Look at people when you're talking to them. Averting your gaze like that gives off the impression that you're hiding something."

"A-Ah, sorry!" I tried correcting it, but for whatever reason my head just didn't wanna move to meet his gaze, "I... I can't, actually. I dislike making eye contact with people."

"Hm. Well, you really should work on that." He got up before brushing the dust off his pants, "With a case like Meil's, I think showing off your honesty is our greatest asset."

"Where are you going?" Waitress girl got up as well, "The police took Meil that way."

"Hm? Nah, not gonna go there today." He laughed, "Let him simmer down for now. He needs some time alone, don't you think? Nah, the three of us are going to schedule a little appointment."

Unsure of what to make of his statement, Waitress girl and I exchanged glances before following close behind him. Walking without inquiring any further, hoping he'd be the one to break the tension, we had eventually made our way to our neighborhood without exchanging a single line of dialogue. Taking us to the house neighboring Meil's, a noticeable smaller house in comparison, we were instructed to knock on the door.

"What for?" I asked.

"Just do it." He stifled his laughter.

"Hrm..." I shrugged at Waitress girl before knocking, "Hellooo~? Anyone in here?"

"The fuck do you want?!" A somewhat younger voice rang out from inside.

"For you to get the fuck out!" Waitress girl got offended by his shouting, so she shouted back, "Get your ass down here!"

As the footsteps made their way down the stairs and noticeably increased their pace into an angry stomping, the old rugged man suddenly hid behind the two of us and just barely kept his laughter in.

"I swear to God, whatever bitch is behind this door...!" The doors suddenly swung open, revealing the angry person behind them to be none other than Short guy himself, "Oh, you two? Uhh, waitress and... Sorry, who are you again?"

"Pff...!" The old rugged man's wheezing squeaked out behind us as he showed himself to his son, "Look here, son! I gotcha two cuties, so pick who you most fancy!"

"Ugh, dad!" He blushed a bit out of embarrassment before shouting, "What the-?! Come on, you...!? Augh! Stop it with the lame pranks already! You're annoying the guests!"

"Oh, so suddenly we're guests?" Waitress girl joined his father in laughing at him, "So all it takes to get promoted from "Bitch" to "Guest" in your eyes is a simple fatherly prank, is that it?"

"Heheh, she gets it!" Short guy's dad patted Waitress girl on the back as he loudly guffawed, "Nah, but seriously, we're gonna need your help, so follow us to the station real quick."

"For fuck's sake, how many run-ins with the police are you gonna have before you learn your lesson, old man?" Short guy groaned.

"It's not for me, dammit! You gotta help Meil." His dad explained.

"Meil? Oooh, I gotta help Meil, do I?" Short guy chuckled before slamming the door in our face, "Shame, I got things to do."

What the-!? What kind of a friend are you!? Your friend's in trouble, and your dad literally calls you out of your house to ask for help, and you just slam the door on us!? What the fuck, I should have given you a way worse nickname, like...

"Midgetman!" I tried prying open the doors, though he locked them soon after, "Meil's your friend, isn't he? I don't know what sets you apart from the others, but if your father considers you to be up to the task, then I got no other choice but to force you out!"

"I ain't helping that biased prick no matter what!" He shouted through the door, "He's been getting in the way of me and Kiria for two whole fucking years now, and now he wants MY help!? Well he can piss off, for all I care!"

Ah, is that it... Yeah, now that I think about it, Green girl did mention she's stuck in a gridlock between Kevin and Midgetman over here. Yeah, now everything makes sense - So Meil chose to help Kevin get together with Kiria and actively hindered Midget's progress, hence why he won't help us? What a jerk! No wonder Meil chose Kevin over him, I would too! Ack, but I need to get him out of the house somehow... Oh, I know!

"Ugh, just what the hell does Green girl see in you..." I leaned into the door to make sure he heard me muttering, "You do know that if you don't help and we lose both Meil and Kevin that she'll never go out with you, right?"

Immediately opening the door I was leaning on, thus promptly sending me to the floorboards right below his feet, I looked up to see a pretty serious and worried Midgetman. Asking me to repeat myself, he couldn't believe his ears.

"Y-You said we could... lose... Kevin?" He gulped, "Shit, what the fuck did those idiots do now?"

Ah, so he actually does like them, is that it? He acts like he hates their guts on the surface, but underneath he gets this worried when he finally realizes they're in actual trouble. Huh, so he's just a tsundere in that regard. A tsundere, but like, exclusively for his friends?

"You're weird, Midgetman." I smiled, "But thank fuck for that."

"Shut up." He helped me up as Waitress girl and his father applauded his character growth from the sidelines, "I'll only help if you stop calling me that."

"Alright, but Lemmy's a stupid name, so can I call you..." I thought up a pretty cool name before smiling back, "Lem?"

With both his mouth and eyes wide agape from surprise, his cheeks brightened as he simply stared on at me. Huh, he must really like the name.

"S-Sure." He looked away, scratching the back of his head at the same time, "Lem is a... Y-Yeah, sure, let's go with that."

He then awkwardly stood around a bit more before suddenly flipping his father who was standing behind me the middle finger. I was appalled at first, until I saw why he was doing it.

"You two seem like you'd make a good couple~!" His father teased, "The moods just perfect, I can almost imagine the grandkids!"

"The mood is quite fuzzy around them, isn't it?" Even Waitress girl started teasing.

I hate adults with a fiery passion...