Chapter 604: [ Celty ]

After going back to the bar counter to ask for a shot of bourbon, a scorching heat began boiling inside Allen while his eyes revealed peculiar excitement.

“You sure have such beautiful yet scary escorts, do you?”

As he was back in his mood, drinking alone, a charming yet dignified and intelligent voice appeared beside him, He blinked and looked to his right, seeing a pretty girl sitting right next to him with a Bloody Mary in her hand.

Emphasize on pretty, though, because hell she was pretty like those eyes were going to pierce a man’s soul. It was as if all the beautiful waves in the world were gathered in her eyes, making her look like a stunning goddess from a world-class artist’s painting. Her skin was as flawless as a piece of jade, and her mouth and nose looked as if they had been personally crafted by the gods.

Although Allen was at eye-level with her and she appeared to be quite fragile and weak compared to him, he still felt a bit of pressure. Adding on her curves and seductive look, Allen’s heart became increasingly chaotic. That was strange...

However, Although Allen was surprised to find out that he too was being entranced by a woman despite his status and physique--where he usually was the one doing such surprise. But he indeed couldn't help but admit that it was not out of skill or any ability. It was just pure beauty within her that makes him captivated, as he stared at the girl sitting indifferently beside him. It was as if the heavens had put all of their resources and effort into sculpting this face.

Allen could almost feel himself falling into a trance as he stared at her. The feeling was as if he was falling into a bottomless pit, and yet he didn’t want to stop falling.

“So beautiful…” Allen couldn’t stop himself from uttering those words. He continued to stare unblinkingly at the girl beside him.

Devastatingly beautiful-- beauty that could cause the downfall of a country. Allen had heard this saying many times before, but only now did he understand what it truly meant. It would take a single glance of hers or a single smile to bring down an entire country.

“You like what you see?”

Seeing Allen's stares, the girl couldn’t help but smile. Since she was young, whenever men looked at her, they would always stare and reveal that sort of expression. She was already used to it so she didn't mind Allen's expression. The girl fully embodied the saying: “Bringing down a city with a single smile”. Her voice and the faint smile on her face caused Allen to gradually come back to his senses.

Allen averted his eyes away from her as he tried to regain control over his heart. He drank a mouthful of alcohol, searing his throat and waking him up from his weird dreams. When he turned at her once again, he was once again astounded by her beauty, but he no longer lost control. He smiled, “Definitely…among the best I have seen so far,”

“Ha ha ha,” The girl laughed heartily as if enjoying Allen’s praise and compliments.

Allen smiled faintly. However, within him—Who is she...?

A curiosity budding inside of him suddenly appeared.

Looking down, he somewhat recognized the attire she was wearing, once again giving her a strange yet comforting mood that greatly suited her appearance. Adorned with a beautiful dress in lilac and silver silk, it was the reproduction of the gowns worn in the days of Marie Antoinette.

At the top of her head, she was wearing a tall white wig on the front of which was a narrow circlet of what looked like real diamonds and which was surmounted by a tall feather.

“…Such a beautiful dress,” Allen shook his head from these strange thoughts. He gave the girl a smile, nose in the glass and inhales the alcohol's aroma then took a sip from the glass.

“…beautiful isn’t it? I adored the one who had worn this one and became fond of it~”

The woman smiled at Allen and answered, raising her chest as if showing off the dress she was wearing. Allen clearly saw in her eyes a certain type of playful and mischievous expression. Unknowingly, he started to feel a sense of warmth in his heart.

This was a result almost impossible to achieve, as Allen would never have this sort of impression towards someone he just met. Then just why did he feel this way?!

“A strong woman till the end, despite being blamed, ostracized and despised by her citizen. I wanted to be one, even in front of certain people…who had left me alone…”

The soft whisper of the girl traveled over. She still sat beside Allen, but she gave off the feeling of being unmoved by everything, a feeling of lonesomeness and solitude. To think that such a young and pretty lass could give off such a feeling of isolation!

It was as though in this wide world, in the boundless mortal dust, she had already withstood endless generations of solitude!

Desolation and loneliness!

Allen sighs, impressed and also in awe. “…‘Courage! I have shown it for years; think you I shall lose it at the moment when my sufferings are to end?’” Allen smiled with both his face and eyes, looking right at the lady without a trace of awkwardness, and sincerely continued, “…Those are the words that she had spoken, which I liked the most…”

“Oh? So you do know your history~” The lady grinned, feeling a bit surprised for Allen knowing who she was referring to.

The ‘Marie Antoinette’ lightly giggled as she slowly turned to face Allen. However, Allen failed to notice that, at the moment she turned, her body actually trembled a bit.

With eyes deep like the endless ocean, she gazed across Allen’s face, with countless thoughts flashing past her head. If Allen had carefully looked into her eyes, he might have found out a fluctuation within her eyes, much like the revolving of the wheel of samsara!

… Exceeding the boundaries of this world!

“…Last Queen of France; Marie Antonia Josepha Johanna or famously known as just Marie Antoinette, wasn’t it? With that headdress you’re wearing, it was now a full set—a replica of the dress Marie Antoinette wore at the opening of the Estates General when Louis the Sixteenth called together representatives of the whole people of France to debate the state of the nation.”

“You even remember that…” The lady exclaimed, in awe. The pretty woman looked delightful as she took another sip from her cocktail drink and acted like she was going to really listen to him. She had settled down her turbulent feelings, and her tone became quite lively and mischievous all of a sudden.

"… Indeed, this should be similar to what she wore that day. Even still, you really did your homework—not many have such knowledge about the poor queen. With the passing of time and the changes of the era, such an outstanding person was already in the verge of being forgotten…even by time…" she paused to look at the table, only to look back at him.

“Though, it’s really hard to call her outstanding…but no one can actually completely understand her, aside from herself that is…”

“Probably, just as you said… although the Queen her majesty wasn’t the best woman in the world nor a Queen that can be said as the greatest, yet the character she had shown at the last moments of her life made me feel in awe, making me change my impression of her completely…”

When Allen glanced at her way, he'd seen that she'd set down her drink and tilted her chin to the right and set her face on her left fist. Hallucination or not, she was really pretty now that she showed her whole face instead of half of it.

“… …”

“…The dignity and nobility she had displayed during her trial at the hands of the Revolutionary Tribunal and the fact that despite all of outrageous slur and charges she was given by the people, she deported herself with an air of sullen defiance—showing her utter contempt for this travesty of a trial without losing control of herself…just like a certain fictional Pirate King~” Allen murmured with a faint, nostalgic smile. “Truly outstanding~”

“…as expected great minds think alike,” The lady's eyes turned into slits as she smiled, before knocking on the counter and the bartender immediately came over, refilling her empty glass.

“Enjoy~,” Said the bartender in which the lady responded with, “…thanks~”

A pair of arched eyebrows looked down on sweeping eyelashes. Her delicate ears framed a button nose. A set of dazzling, angel-white teeth gleamed as she opened her mouth, and took a small sip at the edge of the glass. Her enticing, constellation-blue eyes gazed at him over her puffy, heart-shaped lips.

... ...

As Allen and the woman continued their conversation, sitting at the side of the counter were Laura, Mireya, and Romeia who was watching Allen and the woman they didn’t know smiling and laughing while taking with an unexpected harmonious atmosphere. However, unexpectedly, neither Mireya nor Laura do anything to interfere and instead, quietly watching at the sideline, drinking their own glass.

Are they reflecting on their behavior a while ago…? Romeia couldn’t help but think as such.

“…hey, is that…okay?” she whispered.

“…it’s fine…” Laura smiled in response. “That woman seems to be honorable…as long as she’s not deliberately trying to throw herself into my master, we wouldn’t interfere. Master seemed to be enjoying it as well~”

“Well, indeed, to the point that I’m feeling jealous~” Mireya pouted as she picks up her drink and looks at Allen’s direction, cockeyed.

“You all really are good servants, aren’t you?” Romeia sigh in praise.

“Servants sounds so rude… you should say family instead…”

A voice appeared behind them. When they turned around, Layla’s group was there standing with a faint smile. Her incredibly fair hair bound by a garland of pink rosebuds hung to her shoulders with shapeless drapes of pale mauve chiffon.

““Sister Layla!””

Mireya and Layla immediately stood up with a start and happily greeted the group walking towards them.

“Hey, we’ve been looking for you all over the place~” Layla hugged Laura and then Mireya respectively, Behind her was Alkrasha wearing a beautiful one piece emerald slim-fit dress with sparkling diamond and emerald jewels. Because of her sexy dress, it was displayed perfectly; her comely figure which was stem-thin was extremely seductive and eye-catching especially in this place. Her sexy emerald dress suited well on her wafer-thin body.

“We thought that we would have a hard time finding you with this many people, but who have expected… even within this kind of place, a shining jewel is still too eye-catching in the heaps of stones and rubbles.” She had a decanter shaped waist and her complexion had an impeccable, ochreous hue.

Her curvilinear waist didn’t surprise one as much as her race—a demi-human resembling that of a heteromorphic insect race, giving her appearance somewhat strange for a human yet she exudes a beauty that any men wouldn’t be able to help but fall in love with, even with the differences in race and appearance. Her crescent-shaped antennae inclined slightly as she saw Romeia staring at her.

“This is…?” She asked.

“Now that I think about it, she does seem familiar~” The last one who came with her was Liu Muxiao. And as expected, she was wearing an elegant modern *qipao, Her thighs were vaguely displayed through the slit to the side of her leg which released an arousing sex appeal.

In addition, her plump breasts and an exquisite waist matched well with that smooth porcelain-like face that looked like a meticulous piece of art—though a sculptor could not have fashioned her seraph’s ears and pixie’s nose any better.

When she broke into a smile, one would have a misconception that her beguiling, oyster-white teeth lit up the room. This was a young lady with an appearance like she came out from a painting, as she leisurely walked towards Layla and the others, all while looking Romeia with a face full of interest.

(*The Cheongsam is a one-piece Chinese dress for women also known as Qipao,)

“She’s…”

“My name is Romeia, a player from Earth-313, it’s a pleasure to meet you~” Romeia cut Laura off and introduced herself instead while offering her hand towards Liu Muxiao.

… ?!!

“Its pleasure meeting you as well~” Liu Muxiao accepted Romeia’s hand and shake it while Laura and Mireya stared at Romeia confused. Is she hiding her identity? Is that even necessary…?

“…right, sister Layla, you are with Sister Alkrasha and Sister Muxiao but…where’s Sister Celty and Sister Snow? If I’m not mistaken, you came here together right?” Mireya inquired with a bewildered face after noticing that only Celty and Xue Ling was not among Layla’s group.

“If you’re talking about them…” Layla smiled bitterly and as if saying it couldn't be helped, she glanced over to the side, there five to six meters away from the bar counter, Celty and Xue Ling was surrounded by a crowd two, three layers deep—most were men, seemingly trying to curry favor, laughing and chatting together.

Indeed, Celty was a very popular person. Probably because of her cheerful and bouncy personality and sugary voice, as soon as she came out onto the hall, almost all men and women gathered delightfully before her in just a matter of minutes. Like a bunch of fans crowding around an idol.

Surrounded by these people, Celty stood out greatly as she responded to the incessant greetings with a cheerful smile.

“…Because of her lively and socializing spirit, we could hardly move around the place and took our time arriving in this hall. She became a star in just a matter of minutes~”

“…Seriously, what is she doing…?” Liu Muxiao frowned as she couldn’t help but sigh watching her friend went in a party mode.

“…But is that okay? If Mister Allen saw her like that…” Romeia voiced out her worries, imagining a jealous Allen storming the entire hall into the abyss of death in an instant. She trembled. Realizing her worries and anxiety, Alkrasha and Liu Muxiao started giggling in amusement.

“It’s alright… Allen is not that narrow-minded.” Layla smiled faintly. “And also, although Celty is like that, she is trustworthy and would never do something that would hurt Allen.”

“You really trust each other, huh… how envious…” Romeia felt touched at the same felt jealous.

“Well, we had known each other for so long, after all. We have a long history together, sharing tears and smiles together. Celty aside, even if Allen suddenly disappeared one day, most of us would still be able to keep our reason and keep waiting patiently until he returns, or probably we would go chase him wherever he was, just like we were doing right now. "

"...No matter what happens we would stop at nothing just to find him—however, that idiot is different…”

Liu Muxiao muttered as she stared at the laughing and having fun Celty. He voice had an unusual solemnity and gentleness she had never shown in front of Celty before. Though, due to their always usual arguing session, it’s really hard for her to show it to her.

However, whether her or Celty, both of them know that each of them thought the other preciously, like a family, a friend… a loved one. Probably that is also the reason why they could fight without worries of hurting each other—that they can fully express what they really feel without any awkwardness or reservedness…

Liu Muxiao shrugs her shoulders and smiles bitterly as she thought about her precious friend, “Unlike us who can at least composed ourselves properly, she would go insane. If she wouldn’t be able to see Allen at most a year, with no proof that he was alright and would return to her, she would break…and would probably turn crazy…worst, kill herself in despair…”

As what Liu Muxiao said, Celty was very afraid of losing Allen. Although she wouldn’t say it out loud, Allen was her moral support and reason to live.

When she was alone, that black silhouette had reached out to her. It was the same when she was on the verge of death. They had been together for many years already and had faced countless tribulations together. He had encouraged her to live when she wanted someone to say it to her and even scold her when she needed it.

He had even saved her when she’s on the brink of death numerous times.

Whenever she needed it, he was always there for him. When she was on the edge and full of despair, he would appear and pull her up without a second thought.

Her dependence on him is like a drug to her, addicting and very dangerous—even though he had been covered in blood at that time, and looked malevolent, but that concerned smile of his, that seemed to carry comfort and security, and those words he told her with confidence, ‘It’s ok now, Celty’ as if he was telling her that even if the sky falls, he would be here to shoulder it for her... made her unable to leave him.

Even if, in the end, the one he loved wasn’t her, she wanted to always be by his side, loving him. Because Celty knew, that underneath his usual facade, he was someone who could spot her in a crowd, pat her head, and take her away in a moment’s notice. That whenever she felt doubtful and worried, would always notice it for her, consoling her even though she didn’t say anything.

She knows that he wouldn’t abandon her no matter what.

He was her safe harbor.