Chương 430: Chapter 403. Charlotte's Secret Requests

John Ericsson's Point Of View"..."" Are you okay, Matthew?"" Uh? Charlotte?" I looked around for a moment, Ryan's jewel illuminated all around us for a moment, but... Nothing's seemed to have happened..." Say... Charlotte... Didn't you see the red light?"" Red light? What are you talking about? You just seemed to be dazed for a few moments. You must be tired, right? You've traveled all the way back from Alfheim. Why don't we head back to your house? I mean, Sarah and Anna are going to be overjoyed to see you."

Am I really that tired? Did I just imagine the red light? Let me check really fast... I reached into my shirt to find the jewel just where I left it. I don't why it's stayed right where I left it, but for some reason, I just knew it would. Maybe it's something Ryan left inside my head? I think the jewel just attaches to my skin because of the mana in the jewel synchronizing with my own mana... Or at least... That's the feeling I get. I do feel somewhat sleepy...

Maybe it was the fact that Hank and I were too stressed about Elves coming for us... Or maybe it was the fact we were stuck in the wild, without the option to make a fire? It's been getting colder out, so I found it hard to sleep, even when Hank tried to keep me covered with one of his wings. But either way, I have to get back to the mansion. I need to see Sarah and Anna. I've missed them every day I was away.

With thoughts like that in my mind, what I thought I saw, didn't matter, I just needed to nod my head to Charlotte's words." Yeah... We should head back..."" Okay!... good... now he won't ask about what Ryan told me..."" Huh? What was that?"" Nothing! I just sneezed lightly is all."" Oh... Okay?" I was somewhat confused, I could've sworn Charlotte said something, but she said it was only a sneeze. I guess I just misheard her? Regardless, we began to walk back to town.

Speaking of which, we're about an hour's walk from Paradise, what was Charlotte doing out here?" Hey, Charlotte. What were you doing so far out in the forest?"

"!" Charlotte's eyes widened at my question. Was it really so strange to ask?" Well... I was actually trying to think about what to do..."" What to do? What do you mean?" When I said her words back to her, Charlotte looked like she had a realization." I think we need to make a stop somewhere before we head back to the mansion!"" Uh? What's the matter?"" It's Alice! No... Not just Alice! Ruby and Cynthia too! They want to take off to Alfheim to try and rescue you!"" Oh.

Well yeah, we should stop them from taking an unnecessary trip. Let's get to them right now, Alice's house should be in the Western District if I'm remembering right!" Press. soft... cold... I moved my hand to open a Portal, but then I saw another hand placed on top of my own. It was Charlotte's, obviously. It felt soft... And a little cold... It is the end of November, or the 11th month here in Gaia, I think? I looked at her to see what the issue was, and I was surprised by what I saw...

Well, surprised might be the wrong word... I was captivated for a moment. Charlotte was looking at me with her cheeks slightly blushing. Her eyes were also glistening. Almost like she's embarrassed." Do we really need to Warp?"" Wh... What?"" Warping to them... Do we really need to do that? Can't... Can't we just walk to town? They said they would leave at daybreak. We have time. Please?"" But it would be faste-"" Please?" I tried to argue that it would be faster, but Charlotte was pleading with me.

The look in her eyes." Fine... We can walk..."" Okay!" And her face that looked so uncertain, with a hint of something else... Now, even with only the stars and the moon out right now, her smile looked almost like it was glowing. Unauthorized usage: this narrative is on Amazon without the author's consent. Report any sightings." Hey..."" Come on! Let's enjoy the walk!" Grip! Pull! And she seems a lot more energetic now.

Charlotte took charge and began pulling me with her as we approached the main road to the Northern Gate of Paradise. She's acting so strange all of a sudden... Now that I think about it... I did hug her. But that was because of how emotional I got... I mean, I just realized how insanely lucky I was to be able to get out of there and back to Paradise in one piece." What's the matter?" Charlotte looked back at me, I guess I stopped walking as quickly. Maybe she's worried?

Regardless, I think I should just ask her about how she's feeling right now." I was just wondering, I mean... One moment you looked so worried about my answer and now you're happily walking... It's just... It's like I'm seeing a different side to you."" Is that bad?" She shifted her head from one side to the other, it's like she's observing my reactions. I found that weird, but she's only asking a harmless question, I guess..." No, I don't think it's bad, I guess it means you're beginning to trust me. That...

Feels nice, I guess?"" I've always trusted you, John. Just like how you trusted My Family and I with your secret."" Well, somebody didn't give me a whole lot of options back then, bad enough King Leonard thought I insulted him, but then I had to stop you from trying to kill me." Charlotte used my real name, but seeing how far away from Paradise we still were, I didn't see an issue with it. We're more or less " in private", right now.

It's not like the bugs that are chirping all around us will tell anyone my real name." You know, I always wondered why it was that you chose to use a Barrier instead of using Scarlet. Well, I didn't know that was her name at the time, but still. I thought it was strange that you didn't use your weapon." While I thought about my name for a moment, Charlotte told me about a question she's had for a while. Well... When we first met... I guess..."

It's because I knew why you were attacking me, you thought I tried to hurt your parents or Del. I don't think you should punish someone for trying to protect your family."" And there it is again."" What?" Charlotte looked up at the sky for a moment before answering me." Your kindness. Through selfishness or just trying to not rock the boat in what's technically another Country, you thought about my perspective and chose to do something that didn't hurt your attacker. It's because of things like that..."" Hm?"

Charlotte stopped before she finished her sentence, I waited for her to find the words she was looking for." It's because of things like that, that Alice, Ruby and Cynthia want to go to Alfheim. Come on, let's get back to walking."" Sure..." Charlotte acted out her suggestion. We started walking again. This time, instead of her leading me, we were walking side by side. It was quiet. I mean, we could hear insects making noises. Something like the sounds that grasshoppers and cicadas make, I thought it was nice.

I even started to look around and enjoy the scenery... But eventually, I noticed something that was too much to ignore..." Hm?" Charlotte noticed my demeanor change. For this entire time, from when we saw each other, to our conversation just now. We've been in physical contact. From our hug to now... We've been holding hands since we started walking! This..." Ah!" Charlotte saw that I was looking at our hands, interlocked with each other. Charlotte looked embarrassed for a moment... But what's this? Grip!

She tightened her grip!? I looked back up at her and she had shifted to looking back at the road? No... She just glanced at me!" My... My hands are cold... And yours are warm... Can't we just stay like this until we get back to town?"" Bu-"" Please?" What is this!? She just did this before!" Please?" Did she think I didn't hear her?" Please?" What is this? Is she stuck on loop!?" Please?" Dammit! She's looking at me like a puppy pleading for something again! I'm too weak-willed..." F-Fine...

Just until we make it back to Paradise." She's smiling again like she just received the greatest gift she could ever want... Why do I feel like I can hear Ryan laughing at me from the afterlife? Wait... I just realized something. She hasn't told me what she wanted in return for keeping that hug and me crying a secret. What does she want?" Hm? What's the matter? Do you want to ask me something?"" Well... Yes... A few things.

But I guess the biggest would be, do you know what you want from me to keep that whole thing a secret?"" Oh, right! I never did say what I wanted, right?" She looked like she was thinking hard before she seemed to realize something. She smiled at me. I was lost as to why she was, but she eventually explained it to me." You see? This is also what I was talking about though. You could easily think that this could be the payment I wanted." Charlotte brought attention to our hands.

But it would be weird to think that, this is almost like a reward for me if anything. These clothes I'm wearing are more for summer than the middle of fall. On top of that... This is the first bit of contact from a person that isn't trying to brain wash or kill me... Or me trying to kill them. Hell, even Ryan messed with my head to give me directions to get out. But Charlotte... It just feels... Nice? Comforting, even." It's not something I would think is that big of a deal...

I mean, you are a Princess, but no one's around, so it's not that big of a deal, I guess? I mean, as long as you don't hate it... You don't hate this, right?" GRIP!" OW!"" If you say or suggest something like that again, we'll be holding hands all the way to Alice's house." Charlotte gripped me even stronger than before. How did I make her mad?" Ignoring what you just said... I have an idea about what I want from you, but I don't think you'll be willing to do it just yet. Let's wait until you're okay.

You just got back, you need time to recover. I can be patient. If there's one thing us Dark Elves are good at, it's being patient."" Okay... Thank you..."" You shouldn't thank someone for blackmailing you, you know?" Charlotte tried to make a joke, but I didn't like what she was implying." You're not blackmailing me, Charlotte. If I really don't want to do something, I wouldn't do it. You're my Friend, Charlotte. No matter what."" Just your "Friend"?"

Charlotte asked me a question, but I didn't really know what she wanted to hear. I guess I should just answer honestly?" Maybe not. Maybe something more? I mean, you spend so much time with us. I guess you're a Close Friend of the Family at this point? Right?"" How would I know!?" Charlotte seemed angry at my answer... It looks like I can't help making her angry tonight. I did notice that even though she was somewhat angry, she refused to let go of my hand as she pulled me along towards the town.

She was slightly ahead of me now. While we were walking like that, I couldn't help but notice how nice her long white hair was. The way it shifted with her steps under the moonlight was mesmerizing. It made the walk back to Paradise feel like seconds, instead of minutes.