Xiao Xiao's casual words seemed to anger the boy.
Flames blazed in the boy's wide-open eyes.
"How do you know I got it wrong?!"
He was so certain, even though he had no proof.
This person just didn't want to give the maple leaf back to him!
The boy was furious.
"I didn't get it wrong."
"This is my maple leaf!"
Xiao Xiao tilted his head slightly.
Hmm.
Leaving aside whether it was appropriate to call it "my maple leaf"...
Xiao Xiao was curious about how confident the boy was in his judgment.
"How can you prove that?"
"..."
The boy opened his mouth.
Hmm?
Xiao Xiao looked at the boy.
The boy clenched his fists tightly.
"...It's spring right now."
"Mm."
Xiao Xiao nodded.
That was right.
Spring had arrived, and flowers were blooming.
"Maple leaves turn red in autumn."
The boy's eyes widened.
"Mm."
Xiao Xiao gestured for the boy to continue.
He had some idea of where the boy was going with this.
"...Only my maple leaf is red in spring."
The boy pretended to be calm.
He looked completely justified.
But the slight flicker in his eyes betrayed his unease.
He wasn't uneasy about what he'd said.
Everything he'd said was true.
He just didn't know how the other person would react to it.
"Have you ever seen a maple leaf turn red in spring?"
The boy hurriedly added.
Since things had already come to this, he might as well throw caution to the wind.
He wasn't nearly as timid anymore. He'd loosened up quite a bit.
"You haven't, right?"
"This is my maple leaf."
The boy nodded firmly.
His gesture lent his words a great deal of conviction.
Xiao Xiao's lips curled slightly.
"I've