Chương 44: If Some People Hurt Others

"Mr. Cael... Why are you here? Weren't you..." Lili stared blankly at the adventurer who still smiled gently at her.

"Drunk? I was drunk, but not completely. From the moment we left the Dungeon, I felt a lot of hostile gazes, so I kept paying attention." Cael took out the Healing Potion Lady Hestia had given him that morning and offered it to the stunned girl.

"I did not expect this to happen the moment I let my guard down. This potion came from my goddess. Drink it, and your body will stop hurting." Lili lowered her head. Her hair covered her eyes. She pressed her lips together, her voice choking as her small shoulders trembled. Then she lifted her face, tears at the corners of her eyes, and shouted as if she could not understand him.

"Why did you come help Lili? Why did you chase after me?

"Does Mr. Cael not know that Lili got you drunk on purpose and stole your most important thing?

"Why would you chase after me and help me? Why are you still smiling at me like nothing happened?" Tears appeared before she could stop them.

"It is all right. I know. Lili is a good girl." Cael smiled. To him, what mattered most was this moment, not a watch with sentimental value. Lili clenched her fists as if she had finally found an outlet for all the negative emotions she had accumulated since childhood. She shouted in despair, tears falling despite herself.

"Lili is a good girl? Idiot! Is Mr. Cael a naive fool?

"Lili is a shameless little thief. Lili betrays adventurers and stabs them in the back. Lili is the worst kind of Prum.

"Every time, Lili secretly hides part of the Magic Stones Mr. Cael worked so hard to earn and sells them for herself.

"After tricking you, Lili always cursed Mr. Cael in her heart and wished you would die quickly to monsters. Is that kind of Lili still a good girl?"

"I know all of that. It is still all right." Cael smiled.

"Why is it all right? Is Mr. Cael really an idiot, a fool, a hopeless moron?" Lili looked up at the adventurer who still smiled without a trace of blame. Tears kept falling from her eyes.

"Because I like Lili." Cael reached out and gently wiped away her tears. Lili froze, unable to believe it.

"Why? Why would you like Lili like this?" Did you know this story is from Royal Road? Read the official version for free and support the author.

"I can feel it. Lili is lonely. She wants companions. She wants to be needed."

"I like Lili's strength. I like how hard Lili works to live. I like that this world has Lili in it." Cael held both of her hands.

"Everything Lili did was just to survive. No matter what mistakes Lili made, I will not be angry.

"There is a saying from my old world: If you have not lived someone else's pain, you do not get to judge how they survived.

"I have not experienced pain like Lili's. What right would I have to rage at the choices you made?" Lili's sealed heart shattered as if struck by lightning, and sunlight poured through her whole world. Looking at the adventurer before her, tears kept streaming from her eyes. All the grievance she had accumulated since childhood finally found a way out and came surging free.

"Wuu... aah... Mr. Cael, I am sorry... I'm sorry..." Cael slowly opened his arms. Lili threw herself into them like a child who had suffered too much, burying her face in his clothes as she cried and kept saying she was sorry.

"Lili, being alone was painful, wasn't it? I know." Cael held the sobbing Lili and spoke gently.

"If there are people in this world who hurt others, then there must also be people who soothe those wounds."

"I want to be the person who soothes Lili's wounds."

"Wuu... Mr. Cael, I am sorry. I am sorry..." Lili clung to him and released all the emotions she had suppressed since childhood. Cael gently patted her back. He had once been treated kindly. Now he wanted to treat the people he liked with kindness too. Even now, he remembered the two lines carved most deeply into his memory. When someone truly recognizes you, that person becomes the most important person to you. The place where someone thinks of you is where you belong.

Right now, he was the most important person and place of belonging for the girl in his arms.

"Cry. Let out everything you have been holding in." Cael patted Lili's back and comforted her. If he had gone through the same things as Lili, he could not guarantee he would have stayed as strong as she had. Time seemed to pass slowly. After some unknown length of time, Lili finally stopped crying. She grew flustered and embarrassed, then slowly left Cael's arms.

"Lili is still hurt. Drink this." Cael offered the Healing Potion again.

"Healing Potions are expensive. This was given to Mr. Cael by his goddess. Lili only has surface wounds. They will heal quickly. Mr. Cael should use it in the Dungeon." Lili shook her head and refused to take it.

"The purpose of a Healing Potion is to heal wounds. As long as using it is worth it, that is enough. Other things can be left for wise people to think about." Cael opened the bottle and brought it directly to Lili's lips. Now she had to drink. It was not as if she could let the potion spill onto the ground. Warmth filled Lili's heart. At that moment, she felt happy. After drinking the potion, she raised her arm to wipe the tears from her face, then picked the Magic Sword and the watch up from the ground.

"Mr. Cael, here."

"Actually, what matters to me is not expensive objects. Even if Lili had pawned it, I would not have been angry. What I am searching for is the most beautiful thing in the world." Cael put the watch away, looked at Lili as she lowered her head and wiped her tears, and smiled gently. Then he reached out and patted her head.

"The most beautiful thing in the world?" Lili's shoulders trembled.

"Yes. Money can be earned again after it is lost. But once something beautiful in the heart is lost, it may never be found again. Those beautiful things are called love, friendship, family, understanding, and trust. That is what I am chasing in the Dungeon." Cael looked at Lili's tear-bright eyes. His heart softened, and before he could second-guess himself, he slowly leaned closer. Lili looked at the gentle face approaching her. Her cheeks slowly turned red, and she closed her eyes. He kissed her softly.

"Come on, Lili. Come home with me." Cael gave a slightly silly smile. Before Lili could react, he took her hand and started walking. And just like that, his first kiss in eighteen years was gone.

"Is this... really all right, Mr. Cael?" Lili pressed her lips together and asked with a red face.

"Lili just deceived Mr. Cael, but now Lili is going to Mr. Cael's Familia."

"It is fine. My Familia currently has only five people including our goddess, and the goddess is away on business for the next two days. The current Soma Familia makes me worried about your situation, Lili."

"But Lili clearly betrayed Mr. Cael. And now, so easily..." Before Lili could finish, Cael smiled and asked,"Then will Lili betray me again?"