Chapter 10 “Night Conversation”

“…Are you going to lay her on the bed?”

“No.” Nerva answered me right away. “There’s no way I will let this fellow on my bed. Ever.”

“E-Eh? O-Okay…” I was quite shocked to hear him said that with such a harsh tone. I guess the two have some history, right? Usually I will proceed to ask him in quite detail but…I glanced at him and felt the same feeling from before again. Fear.

“…Don’t worry.”

“H-Huh?”

“I’m calm now.”

“O-Oh, y-yeah.” Ugh! Damn my stuttering! I cursed myself as I was the one that failed to calm myself.

After looking at his…fight…no, that cannot be called a fight at all. That was just a massacre. A torture. I’ve never seen him like that before. And I felt…scared. I’m scared of him. And the worst part of it is…He knew it. He realized it very well. Even if I’m being silent, he still realized it very well. That is his ability.

“Come in and wait for a while,” said Nerva as he opened the door of his house. “Make yourself at home. And…please calm yourself.”

“…Yes.” Hearing that last part of his sentence really made me feel my heart painful. The tone of his that filled with guilt didn’t help one bit too.

After entering his house, I realized once again how modest this man lived. Although grandfather has offered to provide him a much better accommodation, he refused it very politely. He chose to live in this run down house that is quite far away from the center of the town. Although I couldn’t call it remote, it is quite far from the main street. At most, there are only about three more houses near here.

Then after I stepped right into his living room, I couldn’t help but feeling that this man really live a very frugal life. Besides the essential as a pair of chair and table, I have not seen anything else. The relatively large cupboard might be the only thing that looked rather out of place here since it was given to him by my older sister. The reason is because we don’t have enough room since we ordered a new one. Besides that, the house feels rather empty. I’ve seen the second floor too and it certainly is in the same condition as the first floor.

Although the house is empty, it is very clean. It is so clean that I think that my family mansion’s maid should learn one or two things from him. The wooden floor is spotless and the surface of the table seems to be devoid of any sign of dust. It was such a strange thing for a blind person like him to be able to clean so thoroughly.

My hand reached onto the chair and then I pulled it toward myself. It made a slightly creaking sound as I sat on it. Why doesn’t he buy a new chair? This old stuff is almost unusable. But then again, what do I expect from a man that still wore a worn out coat without showing a single sign of discomfort. I let out a sigh after realizing that.

As I sat there waiting for him, my eyes fell on to one of his spare cane that he left near the door. The moment I noticed that object, a feel a wave of dread spread all over my body. Together with that, the memory of Nerva dealing with those thugs resurfaced in my mind.

“..N-No…s-stop…” My muffled voice came out worse than I expected. Together with my breathing that has gone rugged and short, the previous calmness that I had achieved by thinking mundane things was blown away completely. My hands moved to hug my own body to calm myself down.

“…Eryell…” Hearing a sudden voice, I abruptly stood up and turned around to face the source of the voice.

“N-N-Nerva!” I was in so much panic that I made the chair fell over, producing a very loud thumping sound. “T-The chair! S-Sorry about that.”

“…Don’t worry about it.” His voice was so weak and tired. And if I know him, I know the cause of that. Me. “She’ll wake up soon. It will be enough time for me to hear what you want to report.”

“Report?” What did he mean by report?...”Oh! That report!”

“Yes…That report.”

“Err…ehm..let’s see.” After recomposing myself as best as I could, I picked up the chair and sat on it again before starting my explanation while Nerva kept himself distance from me. With his back leaned onto the wall, he kept tapping on his cane while listening to my explanation.

From time to time, I glanced at his face to try to see what he was thinking. But all I ever get from his face was a face that showed almost no expression at all. It was quite strange to see him like that. But maybe that was his usual expression. I was just feeling that since I’m conscious of his feeling due to the recent experience on the brothel district.

“What is it, Eryell?”

“E-Eh?N-No! N-Nothing!” Curse my stuttering! Why can’t I be calmer? I really hate this side of mine that quickly show my emotion to the open so easily.

“…Is that so?” And what I heard due to my inability to hide my emotion was a pained tone from him. I scolded myself mentally again after hearing that. “Is that all, Eryell?”

“That is all, Nerva.” I nodded. “Just as you suggested, we will hide our operation as best as possible while maintaining a tight security on each key position on the town. Our focus will also switch from the outer ring into the inner ring to defend. For the outer ring we will focus on deploying scout and ranger with primary mission of surveillance from the cover.”

“…I see. Place the newly trained sentry in a group of five so that they can react better. The last thing we want is our personnel being plucked one by one from the dark.”

“Got it. I’ll instruct them right away in the morning for their next shift.”

“And be careful in hiring more men. They might also work with the underground movement. We should also monitor our personnel much closely since the chance of them already being in our rank is too high to be ignored.”

“Ugh, got it. I’ll deliver that message to my older sister later.”

“Good. And…” He stopped tapping his cane. This action of his startled me as the surrounding became eerily silent. “…You are still not calm.”

“E-Eh!?” He then let out a sigh.

“…Not that I blame you or anything.”

“N-Nerva it isn’t li–“

“No, don’t worry about it. I…understand it.”

“…I’m sorry…”

“No.” He shook his head. “There’s nothing for you to be sorry about. You’ve done nothing wrong. Instead…” He grabbed his head and let out a slight groan. “I…have been doing nothing but mistakes this night.” Is he also including the time when I misunderstood him before we gone to the brothel district? I guess…No, I can’t really call it his mistake. That was just me misunderstanding him. But…he didn’t tell me about his secret, so I guess that is…his mistake? Ugh…my head and heart is not in the right condition to make a proper thought.

“I…w-wouldn’t call it a mistake, Nerva.” I guess I can’t really put all the blame on him, right?

“…And why is that, Eryell?”

“…Ehm…at the time you were facing those thugs, you were just angry at him for insulting me and your friend, right? I guess…I shouldn’t really blame you for that. In fact…I should thank you, right?”

“…You are too kind, Eryell.” He muttered under his breath in an almost inaudible voice. “Really…too kind.”

“And…I think that you chose the best move, right? I mean, you choose to save all of them in the end. Your friend, that little girl, and me included.”

“…”

“So I can’t really call that your mis–“

“Then why are you still scared of him, milady?”

“W-What!?” A sudden female voice mixed into our conversation. I shifted my head to the direction of the voice and found the woman from before stood on the entrance of the room. Her eyes that shared the color of her amber hair stared at me.

“…You have woken up.”

“Like you don’t know.” She sneered at him. “Ah, forgive me for not introducing myself. I am Cyrielle Natine, Nerva’s comrade.” She then does a slight curtsy while bowing her head toward me. It was done in such a way that could be considered to be a fruit of detailed and thorough practice befit of a noble lady. “Pleased to meet your acquaintance, milady.”

“A-Ah, the pleasure is all mine, Miss Natine.” I abruptly stood up and bowed to her. Ugh, I felt rather defeated by her in term of etiquette and it is on our first meeting. I have made a bad first impression. “My name is Eryell Reystone, Nerva’s superior and also one of the captains of the town’s militia.”

“Once again it is a pleasure to meet you, Lady Reystone. Please feel free to call me Cyrielle.”

“Ah, understood, Miss Nat–Cyrielle.” She then gave me a smile that could be considered one of the best smiles I have ever seen in my entire life. But for unknown reason, that smile put me very uneasy.

“Before we get back to the conversation, may I tell you one thing, Lady Reystone?”

“Yes?”

“I hate a lies.” Her tone was calm and composed. But somehow that short sentence pierced right through my mind and left me shocked. “Very much so since I have seen far enough of it in my short course of life. Do you share my opinion, milady?”

“Y-Yes.”

“Ah, very nice. It is so hard to find someone who truly hate lies and stick to the truth.” She then smiles at me again. But for some reasons that smile of her that time felt chilling. “And you, milady, is not one of them.”

“W-What?!” I certainly didn’t expect her to say that bluntly. “And w-what is your reason for that?”

“Oh dear, milady doesn’t realize it? Then may I state the reason for you?” She smiled again at me. It was the same smile that felt devoid of any good intention. It was cold and unforgiving. “Milady said that what he did isn’t a mistake. It came straight out of milady’s lips. But did it come from milady’s mind?” My body stiffened after hearing her words. “Does it come from milady’s heart?”

“Y-Yes, it does c–“

“If milady insisted it so much, do try to say it again while looking straight at my eyes.”

“E-Eh? Looking at–W-What!?” I let out a sudden shout as in a split second her face was inches away from my own. I was left dumbstruck by her inhumane speed, but I was unable to even started thinking how she did that. It was because I was too preoccupied at looking at her eyes.

Her amber colored eyes gazed straight into my own pair of eyes. They are very beautiful and alluring, bewitching even. But…they planted fear and uncertainty into my soul. I was unable to say anything else as her gaze locked onto mine.

“Milady can shape many words into so many beautiful reasons that might seem sufficed to hide milady’s true feeling. None of them are lies, but milady also realized that, none of them are the real truth either.” She then moved away from me. “Whatever it is, to a simple person like me, as long as it didn’t contain the real truth, they are lies.”

“B-But I still think that what he did was–“

“Not a mistake. True. But milady, do you approve of his action? Do you truly feel relieved that he helped you that way? Do you feel delighted that he beat the living daylight of those barbaric thugs that threaten you? Do you truly believe that in milady’s mind, Nerva’s action was the most correct?”

“I…I…” I couldn’t answer that. At that, I felt my hand fell onto my side. She…read me completely.

“Enough, Cyrielle.” Nerva’s calm and cold voice boomed in the silent house. “Not another word out of you.”

“Oh my, but I’m just trying to–“

“Enough.” His voice silenced her completely. His tone was so foreign for me. It felt very unforgiving. “Do not make me repeat myself.”

“…Tch…” After that, she went quiet and stood next to him, as if that was a natural thing to do. After that, she kept staring at me. No, the more suitable word is glaring. She kept glaring at me.

Under her glare, I felt…weak. She was able to read me completely. There was not even a word that she said about me that was false. She was able to say all of that just from a first glance. As I pondered that, I remembered that Nerva didn’t say anything against my opinion. Did he…noticed that too? I…ugh…

“Let’s call it a day, shall we?” Nerva broke the silence in the room again. He walked toward me. “I’ll escort you back.” As he closed in to me, I saw him halted his feet. “…”

What happened? Why did you stop? As I looked at him, I noticed that he was looking at me while slightly gritting his teeth in silence. That action made me confused. I moved my gaze at the woman on the wall and saw her looking at me with a very sharp look. Why?

Ah…I…realized what I did. I…backed away from him that time. When he was nearing me, I took a step back unknowingly. Is that a sign of how scared I am? Of how I really felt against him? Against Nerva? I-Is that why he looked hurt? I…No… I j-just–

“Eryell.” His word startled me as I was starting to panic. “It’s okay. Calm down.” He then reached his hand forward, waiting for me to grab it. At first, I was conflicted. Should I? Could I? But…I reached onto his hand and grabbed his in the end. “Let’s get you home. You’ve been on a long day today.” His gentle voice felt slightly forced for me, that it pained me to hear that. But I also realized that it was more painful for him than me.

“…Thanks…” Although I only mumbled that, I really hoped that he heard that.

“Cyrielle, I will be gone for a while. Don’t go anywhere.”

“Okaaay~” After letting out a carefree response, she looked at me. I flinched the moment her sharp glare came into my eyes. “Then I will be seeing you later, milady.” Once again, she did a slight curtsy with a bow.

“A-Ah, yes.”

“…I won’t apologize for what I’ve said.”

“E-Eh?” Although her voice was barely inaudible, for some reason I managed to receive the whole message completely. At that, I couldn’t do anything but to give a weak nod.

“…Let’s go, Eryell.” He then tugged my hand to get me out of the house and out of the uncomfortable atmosphere.

While we walk toward my mansion, I noticed that we walked in a very slow pace. I don’t really know whether it was I that followed his slow pace or it was him that tried to accommodate my slow pace. No matter the real reason, the fact was that the supposed to be short walk turned into a relatively long walk.

Not only long, the walk had become a very suffocating experience. That was due to neither of us opening our mouth to say anything. Along the silent road, Nerva just kept pulling my hand without looking back at me. Usually, he would start a conversation, no matter how mundane the topic was. He was not one who keeps being silent like this. For me…this is suffocating. And painful.

“…Why are you being silence?” E-Eh? W-Why did I blurt that out? That was supposed to be only in my mind. As I held my mouth right after I said that, he stopped walking. I instinctively stiffen after seeing that.

For a few moments, he just stood there without saying anything. I couldn’t see his face at all. The only thing I could see was his back that somehow looked very different. His figure, usually proud and confident, emitted not a single trace of that. The Nerva in front of me looked so frail and…well, empty. It was like he tried to hold everything inside. It pained me that I couldn’t do anything to make him feel better. Instead, I just made it worse for him.

All of a sudden, his grip on my hand tightened slightly.

“…For which one?” He asked without turning his back to me.

“For which one?” That was unexpected. I didn’t know what he meant by that. “What do you mean?”

“…You asked me the reason for being silence.” He then turned his head to face me. “I have been silence when we were walking until now. And I’ve also being silence when I heard your words.”

“…Nerva…” I was surprised. And also astonished. He didn’t try to get out of the delicate topic by diverting the topic onto something else. He didn’t even try to hide anything. His tone was devoid of any hesitation. I’m…utterly impressed at how he tried to face this. “…When…I said all those words first.”

“I will not lie. I was silence because I…think you were…not saying the truth.” Although I very much expected him to realize that, why did I still feel surprised to hear that? It was still painful to hear that I that proclaimed to hate lies…had lied to him. “It was not exactly lies. But…they were also not the truth.”

“…I see…” I felt a slight nausea after hearing that. After I let out a breath, it felt slightly better, but still uncomfortable. “I guess that you realized it after all.”

“…Yes, I did.” He, who had said to me that he will not lie, said that with firm tone. “You didn’t agree at what I did. You felt that there is another way of dealing with them. A much better way than the way I did it.”

“…Ah…yes.”

“Please bear in mind, Eryell, that I will not blame you for that. You are free to think any way you like. You don’t have to agree with everything I did.” He took a deep breath before continuing. “That is the reason behind my silence back then. For when we were walking…I was…” He paused for a while. I could feel his hand trembled for a moment.

“Nerva?”

“I was…at lost.” Lost? “I don’t know what else to say, but at the same time I have a lot of things to say.”

“A lot of things?” Then why don’t you just say it? “Like what?”

“I want to apologize for my previous behaviors, but I don’t know how to say it. I want to give reason for my outburst at that time, but I don’t know what to say. I…want to…,” he paused again, gritting his own teeth, “want to defend you against Cyrielle's words, but…I could not. I…am lost.”

“…Is that so?” Hearing his confusion, I don’t know what else to say. I looked at him and I saw not a trace of the calm and composed Nerva. He was…confused, lost. I guess not even he could handle such an impressive series of event like this with calm and composed mind. The worst part is, I don’t know what to say to calm him down as I am also confused.

A few moments of silence enveloped the two of us. Inside my mind, millions of thought swirled around and around. But sadly, those millions thought yielded me nothing but more question. It is very amazing to think that an event that lasted only in a span of a night had made such an impact for me. I guess the same also goes with him.

Then he let his hand go from mine. I was startled to see that he did that. I looked at him and saw that he was slightly trembling. Before it was only his hand, but this time I could see it spread to his whole body. To my surprise, he stopped his trembling and suddenly wore a smile.

“A-Ah, it’s already so late, right?” Why are you giving me that look? “We shall get going.” Why are smiling you? “I don’t want to make your sister mad.” Why are you giving me such a fake and hurtful expression? I thought you weren’t going to lie to me? “Shall we go then, Eryell?”

He stretched his hand toward me. But before I could even react to that, his hand stopped and he pulled it again to his side. For a split second, I could see his smile cracked. This Nerva…I’ve never seen it.

“…Let’s go then, Eryell.” He then turned around and then started to walk.

I can’t take this! This is not him! I don’t know him! I want Nerva back! I want MY Nerva back! Before I know it, my whole body moved forward.

“What is it, Er–W-Wha?!” His shout entered my ears. I knew the reason very well. It was me.

“Shut up!” At the moment, my hands pulled him toward me and my arms wrapped around his waist. I could feel his entire warmth on my body that somehow soothed me in the cold night. “Shut up!”

“E-Eryell! C-Calm do–“

“No!” I shouted again, refusing to do what he said. “No! I won’t…calm down…” Why are you the one trembling? I’m the one who is scared and confused here.

“…Please, Eryell…” The hand he used to hold mine felt warm. “You have…to let go.”

“…No…please…” Why did you say that as if you were telling me to let you go forever? “Please…don’t…”

“…Eryell…” I could feel my stomach hardening and a slight nausea also attacked me. A painful tightness in my throat stopped me from saying anything else. I could also feel something gripped my chest, making it hard to breathe. “…Please, Eryell…Calm down. You’ll…hurt yourself. I don’t want to hurt you…any more than I have done.”

“…The same…”

“Huh?”

“I…also don’t want you…to hurt yourself more than you have done.” Amidst my terrible condition, I heard a slight gasp escaped his mouth. “Please…Nerva…turn back to the usual Nerva…to the one I always loved…Please…” I could feel my voice turned into a soft plea. Although my body felt weak, I refused to let him go. I don’t want to risk losing him here.

“…Eryell…this man have many secret. They are secrets not one should hear”

“…I don’t care.”

“…This man is not what you think he is. He is far worse that what you expect.”

“…I don’t care.”

“…This man is–“

“I said I don’t give a damn care!” I shouted without letting him finish his words. “All I care is that I want the usual Nerva back.” After saying that, the hand that held mine tightened slightly.

“…I made a mistake…” I stayed silence as he started talking. “I was supposed to be able to keep my emotion in check. I was supposed to be able to hold my calm, whatever the situation is. But…”

“…You wasn’t able to.” He didn’t deny that.

“I was going to solve it peacefully. I was just going to let them be without hurting them one bit. I wasn’t planning to hurt any of them. But…,” I could hear him gritting his own teeth. His whole body trembled as he told his feeling. “I…was enraged. The moment he said that he will involve you….something snapped.”

I felt a bit happy hearing him saying that the reason he snapped was because of them threatening me. But I decided to not say anything from stopping his words.

“At that time, I could hear voices inside my head saying…terrible things. Very…very terrible things.”

“…Such as?” He casted down his head after hearing my question.

“Kill…murder….slaughter…don’t let any alive… make them pay…no mercy…” I noticed that his voice trembled when he recited those terrible words. As I noticed that, I tightened my hug.

“…Is that so…”

“That is the case, Eryell…” He let out a sigh. “This man…has a dark side inside him that he is still unable to control. I am…very…very sorry for letting you see that.” His voice trailed off into a whisper, but it was still audible for me. “I know that I… scared you too. To think that I have harmed the one I want to protect. Inexcusable. Truly…inexcusable.”

“…Nerva…” I couldn’t bear hearing him punishing himself over and over again. But I also don’t have any calming word that I can use. I am…at lost. Just as he is…Just as he is…Just as he is? Should I…”Nerva.”

“…Yes, Eryell?”

“What you said to me was the truth, right?”

“…Sadly, it is.”

“Then…do you want to hear my truth?”

“Your truth?” He paused for a while. “I suppose…that is fair…although, I fear that…I might not be strong enough to hear it.”

“You are.” I quickly gave him a reply. “I trust you are.”

“…Thank you. Then…I suppose I have to try to live to that trust of yours.”

“Then, here goes.” I took a deep breath before I start my turn. Although I am far from calm, this is the only way I could think of. “I was…afraid. I was very afraid.” The moment I said that, his hand trembled again. I’m sorry, Nerva, but that is the truth. “And confused. Because of many things.”

“Because of many things?”

“Yes, many things.” I took another deep breath. “The main one is, of course, because of you. You…at that time had become…like a stranger for me. Foreign and somehow…cold. It scared me.” This time, it was my turn to tremble. “But…I realized. That you have so many things I still don’t know.”

“Yes…you are. And it’s because I didn’t tell you.”

“Tell me, Nerva. Why didn’t you tell me? About that job of yours? About how strong you are? About your real ability?”

“Because…the information might get you in danger.” He clenched my hand tighter. “And because I am not sure you can…take all of the stories like that. It…is quite strange and…well, strange.”

“…I see.” I closed my eyes. Scene of the past with him past over my mind one by one. Just like what I said, I know so little about him. Yet, I have made my decision. “Then, will you still tell me someday? Or do you intend to keep it to yourself for all of your life?”

“I will tell you.” His answer was an immediate one. “But…I have to prepare myself.”

“Why do you have to prepare yourself?”

“At the moment…the thought of losing you because of that…scared me so much. I know that the fact that you’ve stayed with me is a blessing that someone like me could not have obtained, yet I obtained it. The thought of–“

“Stop.” I cut his word. “Please don’t continue. I don’t want to hear the man I chose to mock himself any further tonight. If it doesn’t pain you, it pains me.”

“…Ah, s-sorry, Eryell.”

“Then tell me when you are ready. I will not make an empty promise that I can take it all. But I will promise you this. I will give it my all to take it, even if it takes my whole lifetime.” He didn’t say anything. He didn’t even react. “That actually takes us to the next reason. Myself.”

“Why?”

“Just as you have to prepare yourself, I fear the me right now is…not strong enough and capable enough to take your story. But I really, really want to be able to. As quick as I can.” I then once again, tightened my hold. “Will you…wait for me? Please be honest with me.”

“…I will.” Although it was not an immediate answer, his voice carried his determination. “I will, Eryell. If you will wait for me.”

“It’s a promise.” Somehow hearing that, my heart felt warm. “At that time, please tell me everything about you. No matter how sad, how happy, how strange, how normal that is, please tell me. I will not promise you that I will be able to take those all immediately, but I will try my best.”

“That is fine with me, Eryell.”

“Then don’t put more guilt in your heart than there already is. Don’t wear such a fake expression. As I always said, I hate lies. And…I hate to say it, but I hate myself that I had lied to you at your home. No wonder that woman hated me.”

“…I can understand that.”

“Then the next one is the probably…that woman.” I could feel that my tone became rather icy as I said that. I don’t mind as that is my honest opinion. “Her words are very true and direct. The fact that she was able to see right through me just like that really bother me.”

“Cyrielle is a very blunt fellow. Not many could hold their calm when talking with her. Man or woman.”

“I guess that is very understandable. But…just as you said, I could still relate to her in term of hating lies. But…I still don’t like her.”

“That is expected.”

“And…I am quite envious of her.”

“Huh?” Why do you have to sound so astound by that? Is it that surprising?

“It’s just that…she has seen the side of you I never seen. And…she is fine with that.” Ugh, that was hard to confess. But my own will to tell the truth pushed me to do that. “Nerva, this might be another difficult question, but I will still ask this in hope that you will still tell me the truth.”

“I will.” He nodded. “I will tell the truth.”

“Then…is the Nerva you showed me all these times is the true Nerva or…the Nerva that dealt with the thugs the real true Nerva?”

“…Both.” He paused. “None of them are the false one. Both of them are the true me.”

“…I see.” I feel relieved. To hear that from his own mouth made me feel that a load has been lifted form my mind. “Then is it correct to say that I’ve only seen some part of you?”

“Correct.”

“Then just like my previous promise, I want you to tell me when you are ready. I will prepare myself to see all part of you, Nerva.”

“…All part of me, Eryell?”

“Yes, all part of…” H-Huh? All part of him? As in…”W-W-Wait!? I d-d-didn’t mean it like t-t-that!? N-Not that I didn’t want to–N-No!!! Why is it going to this direction!?” I then heard a soft snicker near me. I shifted my eyes to him. “Y-Y-You?!”

“S-Sorry, my dear Eryell. I was also taken aback by your choice of word there.” Y-Y-You jerk! And here I was being serious. But…he called me dear Eryell. Just like…Ah, good. “What is it?”

“You called me ‘dear Eryell’ again.” I then rested my head onto his shoulder. “You are back to normal.” Back to the normal calm and occasionally teasing Nerva. The one I always see. “I was…waiting for that.”

“Ah…that’s right, isn’t it?” Although I couldn’t see it, his voice seemed a lot calmer. I hope his face also showed the usual calmness he always showed to me. “And all it takes was for you to have chosen such an ambiguous choice of word.”

“…Don’t spoil the moment, Nerva.”

“…You’re right. Sorry, my dear Eryell.”

“Then don’t wear that fake and hurt expression anymore. No, only the fake one. If you’re hurt, don’t hide it. Showed it. Tell me anything. I want to know about you.”

“Yes, my dear Eryell.”

“In turn, I will also not hide my feeling. I’ll say I’m scared when I‘m scared. I’ll say I’m sad when I’m sad. I’ll say I’m happy when I’m happy. I’ll say I’m angry when I’m angry.” Okay, at least I’ll try too. That is not exactly easy for me to do.

“Yes, that is good. I’ll be happy to hear all of that.” He gave a short nod. “Thank you for that, my dear Eryell.”

“Don’t mention it. If I’m committing myself with you, then it is the least I should do.”

“…Committing to me…” A small laugh escaped his mouth.

“What is it?”

“You really are a goddess to me, my dear Eryell.” He turned his head sideway and showed me a smile. This time, it was an honest smile. Although I could only it from the side, it was more than enough for me.

“You regard me too much.” I then pinched his cheek. “While you regard yourself too little.”

“O-ow!” He groaned as I pinched his cheek. After I released it, he rubbed the place. I doubt it was that painful. “I’ll try to not overestimate myself.”

“That reminds me. How strong you really are, Nerva?” Suddenly he frowned. “Huh?”

“Uhm…this might be hard to swallow. But…do you know the entire number of force in this town?”

“Huh? Isn’t that about a few thousands at most?”

“Well…multiply that by ten and…”

“You are that powerful!?” I shouted as soon as I heard that. That’s crazy! “You’re kidding me!”

“Uhm, no…” Oh, thank goodness. “I was going to say that you multiply that by ten and…you got only a small fraction of…”

“…No way…”

“…No, that is the truth.” He nodded at my reply. “I still don’t even know the limit of my own power.”

“…I really not to prepare myself much better.” Both my mind and body. Especially my mind.

Author Note:

Next it will be the meeting of the three.

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