- One Night to Remember -

"That Charlotte...she must be behind this" Altaira said and sighed.

Before, there were two little pumpkins walking to them and forced them to dance with each other. After they did their work, the two of them disappeared. After reading the Manhwa and the book that Charlotte once gave to him, Altaira knew the identities of the two little pumpkins and could tell that this was all Charlotte's idea.

Outside, he appeared to be sad and stressed because of Charlotte's little trick but inside, he was cheering for Charlotte and thanked her wholeheartedly. After this, he would seriously treat Charlotte to eat whatever she wanted.

"It's fine" Celeste said. "Let's look for the others now."

"Nah, let them be" Altaira responded. "If we should look for them, then we would be spending the whole night to find their silhouettes. It's our first time coming to Archimedes, so why not enjoy it for awhile?"

Celeste found his words correct and then agreed with him. Without the two of them noticing, there were three people hiding from them.

"It's hard to run away from their sights....." Estrella said. She sighed and continued, "I can't believe that guy would threaten us to go away from them."

When Altaira was approached by those two little pumpkins, he had threatened them to stay away from them for the rest of the night. It was obvious that he wanted to spend some time alone and in order to not get feed by the dog foods, these three agreed without hesitance.

In Chinese, dog food refers to the self-pity of single people (humorously dubbed "single dogs") triggered by the public displays of affection by couples online or offline. After watching how the three of them

"Well, now that we have ran away from those lovebirds, then let's find something to play" Estrella happily said.

"Your sister spends her day eating, sleeping and playing" Raisin looked at Estelle. "Aren't you worried?"

"Why should I get worried?" Estelle asked and stood up. She added, "Besides, aside from eating, drinking, playing, sleeping, doesn't she always argue and bicker with you? Don't forget about that."

Raisin, "........"

•••

Before the party was finished, Charlotte and some members from the Team Sweet and Sour were told to return to meet with Khun again. He had just returned from the meeting. The hosts offered the eight losers another chance to win and participate on the final round with a bonus round: Growth.

Each team would be given points. With that points, they could summon teammates. The first thing that each team should do was to choose a spearhead in each team. There will also be stores to summon weapons and summoning center to summon teammates and the spearheads who were chosen from the beginning would be able to gather points while summoning weapons or teammates.

Since the spearhead had an important role, each team must choose their spearheads wisely. The spearhead that they chose also had their own prizes or points. After Khun thought about it, his decision fell on Charlotte.

When Charlotte who was drinking water heard that, she chocked on her water and coughed before looking at Khun in disbelief. Khun also looked at her in disbelief as he believed that she should have guessed this sooner or later.

In this Workshop Battle, Charlotte had disguised herself as 'Xi'. Xi wasn't any famous or powerful regular. Even in the Plug Game before, she relied on the Red Hawk (Rak Wraithraiser) and someone else for win. So since she did nothing and wasn't famous either, her price was quite low and it was the same with Wangnan.

So Khun thought by choosing Xi, not only they had deceived their enemies and will get an upper hand as she was a slayer candidate, it will also save their points.

But Charlotte was surprised because the role of spearhead was supposed to be handed to Wangnan Jah. In the Manhwa, he was the hero in this Workshop Battle. So this time, why it was her who was chosen for this fight? She didn't feel that she deserve that position actually as it belonged to someone else. Khun had to explain again to remind her about it.

And after explaining, he told everyone to get out and he rested on his own bed. But he wondered why Charlotte hadn't left his room yet.

"Is there something that you want to tell me?" Khun asked her.

She did have one question to ask. At this time, Rak, Endorsi and Yeon must be preparing themselves to look for Viole....to look for the Twenty Fifth Bam. After what Paracule did on the stage, after he made such a scene and troubled Khun, Rak can't wait any longer and decided to look for Viole and bring him back no matter what. In the Manhwa, they would be having a reunion.

Charlotte wanted to make sure that the trio will remain together. In the small reunion that they had, Charlotte wanted to bring Khun as well. After all, he had the right to look for Bam. But she was also hesitant. She knew that Khun would question her how she knew about it if she did that. But then again, in order to make sure that everything follow the Manhwa, then the wager should be broken sooner or later. Bringing Khun won't matter and she could just lie about it later on.

Charlotte, "....."

"What's wrong?" Khun asked her again.

She took a deep breath and then began to speak: "Khun....if you have a chance to look at brother now.....will you go and see him?"

"You mean Bam?" Khun asked back. "Of course I would."

Charlotte extended her hand, "Then if you want, I will bring you there."

This made Khun surprised.

"What do you mean by that? Are you planning to break the wager?" Khun asked and frowned to her. He knew that by breaking the wager, it will only do them more harm.

"Rak, Endorsi and Yeon are also planning to look for brother" Charlotte said. "It's just the matter of time before they reached for him."

"They did WHAT?! WHY DON'T YOU TELL ME ABOUT THAT SOONER?! OR WHY YOU DIDN'T STOP THEM?!" Khun asked at her and Charlotte closed her ears so that she won't go deaf.

She knew that she will be scolded if she said all of these to Khun and Khun wasn't messing around.

"Do you know that if we broke the wager then Bam will-"

"I know, I know, of course I know about it!" Charlotte interrupted. "I don't let all of these happen because I want to hurt my brother. Do you think why FUG would try to kill you aside from raising Viole's name? It was because that FUG knew how deep our friendship was that they tried to lure all of you here. In another word, they are planning to make us broke the wager first sooner or later."

Of course he had thought about this. But this was too fast. That crocodile was too impatient.

Charlotte extended her hand and said, "Since this wager is meant to be broken from the beginning, then why should we hesitate? If you truly want to see him and if you really believe in me, then let's go. But if you don't want to go, then I would go on my own, for I want to see my brother."

"Do you know what will happen if you broke the wager?" Khun asked again towards her. Charlotte calmly replied, "I know."

"And even when it will hurt Bam, you will still look for him?" He asked again, frowning even deeper.

"If I say that in order to bring brother back is that we have to broke this wager first, will you believe in me?" Charlotte asked.

Her golden eyes stared at him with determination and seriousness, something that she didn't show all the time for she always behaved childish and casual. She was calm as she was sure that if Khun refused to go, she would still go to look for Bam. She wanted to see him again and whether he will come with her or not was all up to his decisions.

"I know very well what I'm doing and we know very well that I won't do anything to hurt my brother" Charlotte said again to Khun. "And here, I just need an answer between yes or no from you, not questions or lecture that you will give to me for letting the others looking for brother for now. It's either you come with me or stay here. There is no third option."

Perhaps this was the first time he watched her being this serious and determined. Back then in the Test Floor, she would always run away in fear whenever she saw him. They were separated for seven years. And for this one month, she always appeared to be someone childish, playful and naive.

If Khun was given a chance to meet with Bam, he would take it. He would take it without hesitation. He hasn't get a chance to meet his old teammate thanks to FUG. In the Hand of Arlen, they didn't have proper talk either. He never asked him about how he has been doing and to talk about everything that had happened. If he had no desire for meeting them again, then why he was haunted by the dreams of looking for them again?

If breaking the wager was indeed the way for getting Bam back....his mind believed that it won't happen as breaking the wager will only put them in greater danger and Charlotte was just a little child in his eyes who could be considered naive and took everything lightly but still, despite of all these thoughts, he still reached out his hand and held her hand.

After that, he was pulled by the young lass to look for Bam.

He thought that it was probably a selfish and reckless decision. It won't be too late if he stopped there. But he just said nothing and did nothing. His hand was being pulled by the young lass and he didn't take it back. His mouth that was supposed to say the words to deny and scold her, to take back his decision couldn't say anything. His blue eyes watched the young girl who was pulling him to find her brother.

Riding the Blue Oar, she tried to go as fast as she could. She didn't want to miss the timing. If they were caught by Reflejo- one of Viole's teammates who came as his teammate in this Workshop Battle- then things would turn worse. Khun tried to tell her to slow down, but she was too anxious to see her brother again.

She hoped that she would be arrive there on time.

And her wish was granted.

Jue Viole Grace, the notorious slayer candidate who people didn't know where he came from, he watched how the friends of Twenty Fifth Bam appeared one by one. He knew that if he seen his old friends, then things would be over. He tried to run and escape, but he was stopped by the damned Paracule.

For this once, Paracule had done a good deed.

As he was bumped and fell down from his Blue Oar, he was caught by Rak who hugged him with tears on his eyes. The crocodile actually teared up and hugged Bam tightly. Bam could have pushed Rak away, just like how Khun could actually stopped Charlotte, but he can't do it. He hugged him. It was the hug that he had long dreamed for.

Endorsi Zahard seen it with her own yellow eyes. The person who she thought had killed his other friend was actually the man who he chased for seven years. It was him, the Twenty Fifth Bam.

She looked around as she felt something headed towards them.

Khun hadn't remove his dye that made his blue hair turned blonde, but without his mask, he was easy to recognize. He also watched that the person who Rak hugged for and was reluctant to let go was Bam.

Maybe a part of him also wanted to hug Bam. They had missed seven years. Seven years of time where they should have climbed the tower together and did lots of things that they hadn't done yet.

A part of him wanted to hug Bam, but his pride didn't seem to allow him. When he was thinking about what he should do at this moment where he can't do anything, Charlotte happily pushed him toward Bam. By her gestures, she was telling him to join them.

And he did it.

For that brief moment, the three of them were together again.

It was just like a dream.

Seeing how the three of them were together and how much they missed for each other, Charlotte might just cry on the spot. But she tried not to. This was a happy and good day, why would she cry?

"You're alive...." Rak said. "You really are alive...."

Bam who closed his eyes for awhile opened his golden eyes and looked at Charlotte. Charlotte noticed his gaze and tilted her head, responding his gaze with an eye closed smile. Bam believed that the mastermind from this short reunion was her as he remembered that she had always promised him that she would bring him back, back to where he belongs to, to his home.

But this short reunion wasn't something that she would be presenting to him. This wasn't her gift. Her gift would be bigger and merrier than this. It was only the matter of time....right, the time.

"Who would have guessed that you are also alive?" Endorsi asked her.

"Of course, after all, I still had so many things I haven't done yet" she said and opened fan to fan herself. "Who wants to die when they could live?"

Before Endorsi could reply, they heard the sound of shouting and noises. This shocked them as it was the time for them to leave again.

Rak refused. He just gotten his Black Turtle back. What right did the FUG has to take what belongs to him? He just gotten him, why should he let go?

Endorsi, out of irritation, she pulled the small crocodile, "Come here, you insistent crocodile!" After that, she looked at him,

"You had better come back soon. If not, you'll miss.....our date."

And then, she turned around and ran away with blush. Of course, by pulling Charlotte who hasn't said what she wanted to say to Bam and told Yeon and Paracule to come with her to run away.

Khun was also prepared to leave when Bam held his shoulder. He looked again at his old friend.

"Please take care of Charlotte for me, Mr. Khun" Bam said.

"I will" Khun responded and then ran away.

With Bong Bong, they left the place to somewhere else. They landed on the forest.

While Endorsi was interrogating both Rak and Khun for their explanation and the truth, Charlotte watched them with a smile. She never felt this satisfied for whatever she had done. She never felt this proud of herself. But then, Charlotte felt that there was something wrong and put her right hand on her chest.

She felt that there was something inside her. She felt a little pain on her chest that came out from nowhere. Strange, she believed that she was healthy though without any kind of disease.

"Are you alright?" Yeon noticed her act and asked.

"I'm fine" she said and smiled to Yeon.

"Is there something wrong with your chest?"

Charlotte smiled for a moment before she said, "Yeah."

"Really?" Yeon asked in surprise.

"Yep" Charlotte said with a playful eye closed smile. She added again, "After watching that short, brief and beautiful reunion, I felt so touched that I might just cry. Perhaps the sweetness of the reunion is what hurting my chest."

Yeon smacked her head and Charlotte just laughed while running away.

She knew it! She can't just believe in slayer candidates and show them sympathy!

Endorsi noticed that and said, "....She doesn't seem to change at all....."

"Well, at least she doesn't run away from me again" Khun responded with a smile.

•••

All of them then returned to their own place to rest. It was indeed one night to remember.

Charlotte found it weird that Khun would be walking her until before her room. Was this the form of his gratitude for bringing him to see Bam? But knowing that he was someone prideful, asking him straightforwardly will only make herself being hit again.

"Well, it's already late now and we have a tournament to do tomorrow" Charlotte said to Khun. "You have to get a good rest, leader."

As she opened the door, Khun said something that made her froze on her spot.

"Thank you."

Hearing him saying these words, Charlotte froze on her spot and immediately turned around to look at him.

Did he say it wrong or Charlotte was the one who was hearing things? Or, was his words meant for someone else? But aside from the two of them, there was no one else. No matter which one was that, she could feel her mind became blank and that her heart was beating fast.

"You....."

She didn't know how to react at this kind of situation. At the end, she could only ask: "Did you hit your head somewhere? Ah no, even if your head gets hit by something, your intelligence won't drop that far." She put her palm on his forehead and put another one on her forehead, "Strange, you don't have any fever either. Could it be that I am the one who hear it wrong?"

This made her earn a smack from Khun.

"It's neither" he said, trying not to show the pain that he felt for hitting her head. No wonder Altaira ever said that to deal with Charlotte, he needed to be very patient. She was stubborn and her head was seriously hard like a rock. "You didn't hear it wrong, I did say 'thank you'."

"But....for what?" Charlotte asked.

For several moments, Khun remained silent and pressed his lips together. After that several moments of thinking, he replied, "Just take it as a thank you for bringing me to look for Bam."

At the time, Charlotte wanted to tell him. She wanted to tell him about her thoughts.

'Khun....do you know that when you said those two words....'

She closed her eyes, laughed and waved her palm, "There is no need to thank me for that. After all, I did it because I want to look for brother. I just take you with me because I thought that you want to see him as well. There is no need to thank me."

'Not only that you scared me, but also made me happy.'

Khun smiled, "Either way, you have helped us this far. I still have to thank you for it."

Khun probably didn't notice that when he said those words, there was the hint of happiness in her heart at first. But hearing the latter part or what he just said, she felt suffocated. She wanted to tell him that she wasn't the real Charlotte, but someone else. She wanted to tell him that the one who had all the merits was Charlotte and not the real one. At the end, she was just fake who came silently and will leave quietly. Her merits will be written in someone else's name and not hers.

She had realized this long ago, but why her heart still ached for that thought?

His words were simple yet genuine. His thank you made her felt that all her efforts and sacrifices worth it. But in the same time, it hurts her to think that all her credits will be given to someone else as she was just fake.

A fake, no more and no less.

Charlotte chuckled. She chuckled because of his words and also to cover the pain she felt inside.

"What are you chuckling about?" Khun asked her.

"Nothing, I just never thought that the prideful and arrogant Mr. Khun would say those words" Charlotte responded. And then, she looked at him while slightly tilted her head and smile, "Well, you really don't have to thank me. But really, I did that not for you or brother. I did that just for my personal entertainment."

"........Is that so?" Khun asked her after a pause.

Charlotte looked at the pocket that she had turned into visible mode. It is midnight already, she thought and then looked at him again. Without answering the question again, she said, "Well, we should be resting now. Tomorrow is a big day. I'm kind of tired, so excuse me."

She closed the door and leaned against it, waiting for his footsteps to walk away and slowly disappear.