Chapter 35

"This one seems good enough", Elraven said to himself when he picked a ripe apple from a tree. With that he already got eight apples, more than enough as a breakfast. That morning was quite warm and shiny. Elraven peacefully hummed as he walked back to the temple, where he and Frea had some 'private time' last night. When he arrived at the temple, he saw Frea was sitting on the stairs. "Here's the breakfast", the gunslinger sat beside the soul linker and put the apples as they began enjoying the fruit. Oddly enough, they didn't speak at all during their breakfast. Probably they felt somewhat uneasy after they spend one 'special' night together.

After they finished their breakfast, Elraven encouraged himself to speak. "Uh, Frea", the mentioned girl turned her attention on him. "Well, you know....about last...night. We...I...uh...I...", Elraven didn't seem to find the right words to voice his mind. Moreover, Frea stared at him all the time, making his uneasy feelings grew even more. The stare wasn't an angry or upset stare but it was still a stare, though.

"Come on, Elraven Sinclair!! You're a man, right? You proved it last night! You should be able to say it to her, she's looking at you!! Don't be a coward and start talking!!!", Elraven's inner voice forced him to talk. "Uh...Frea. About last night, I need to tell you something!!" The gunslinger finally spoke as the staring continued. "If something happens as the result of our...I mean my doing last night, I'll take full responsibility. I swear of heaven I'll take full responsibility!", Elraven finally voiced what's inside his mind. His face looked red from blushing. He didn't dare to look at Frea's face.

But the soul linker is not a cruel woman. She slowly rose and went inside the temple as Elraven still looked down. "Is she mad at me? How stupid, of course she's mad at me!! After last night, probably she won't talk to me anymore!!", Elraven's mind still wandered when suddenly he felt Frea hugged him from behind. Elraven was too surprised to react. Her hug was very soft, somehow he felt calm feeling the hug.

"Elraven", Frea slowly spoke as Elraven tried his best to listen carefully. "Don't feel bad about what happened last night. That was not a mistake to begin with. You shouldn't feel uneasy about it, understand? We enjoyed our doings. I won't deny it, and I hope you won't deny it too. I'm glad you said Let's keep this as our secret, just between the two of us. OK?" The white haired words' was more than enough to eased Elraven's mind.

Elraven gently put his hands to the soul linker's circling arms. "Thank you, Frea. Thank you" He slowly replied.

Later, that morning at the main temple festival ground......

Fiorentin was seen sitting in the main temple's stairs. The civilians of Payon were trying to packed their goods after having a big festival last night. The lord knight noticed two familiar figure approached them. "Oh, it's the two lovers. They're finally here", the former princess told herself.

"Hey, Alexandria. What are you doing sitting around like that? Waiting for us?" Elraven greeted her when he and Frea arrived at the temple.

"No, I'm not waiting for you. I'm waiting for Frea cause I need to talk to her. Why would I waste my time waiting for an insensitive prick who called me bratty and mocked me for not having a dance partner?" A great reply which made Frea giggled and Elraven dropped his jaw.

"Uh, Alexandria. If you still mad at me about that, you can throw me one punch but after that, please forgive me, OK?" Elraven offered her a peace treaty.

"One punch? Are you sure? I'm wearing my gloves you know?" Fiorentin showed him her thorny iron gloves. Elraven widened his eyes when Frea chuckled. But Elraven takes it like a man, "Fine! One hit should finish it once and for all!! Bring it on, Alexandria!".

DUAGH!

Before Elraven even prepared to take the hit, one blow from the former princess was more than enough to sent him to the ground. Fiorentin gave him an uppercut, and a good one too. Frea sweat dropped when she saw Elraven didn't move from the ground. Fiorentin calmly approached the gunslinger and slowly slaps his face, trying to see his condition.

"Wake up, sleeping beauty. One punch couldn't really knock you out, right?" She said with a grin on her face.

"You, you really meant it, huh?" Elraven slowly replied as he tried to stand. Fiorentin grinned seeing Elraven. "Well, you offered yourself. Besides, I have a good news for you. You're forgiven, prick!" Fiorentin turned her attention to the shocked Frea and said, "I need to talk to you, Frea. Something very important about Palamedes and Sagramore. Would you mind to come with me? You can meet your boyfriend again after that".

"Uh, okay" Frea followed the lord knight to the temple as Elraven sat on the ground while watching the two ladies. "Women. It's soooooo hard to understand them!" He muttered.

Several minutes later, near the bridge in the forest of Payon....

Elraven walked alongside the bridge to find his friends. When he arrived at the bridge, he found them. George, Olivia, Felicia, Wendy, and Kirigi is seen sitting near the bridge. They were having some rest after preparing for the upcoming event, which Elraven didn't know yet. Elraven approached them and greeted, "Hey, guys. What are you doing down here? Helping the civilians?".

"No, not exactly. We're preparing for one big meeting" Olivia was the one who answered. "Meeting? What kind of meeting?" Elraven joined the group sitting.

"Didn't you know? The whole Sagramore will gather here in Payon. We pretty much conquered two towns and defeated one guild in less then a month. So, Fio decided it's the right time to unleash a bigger force to fight Valdomir" Felicia continued her sister's opening.

"Oh, is that so? Sounds good to me" Elraven responded the news. "Well, of course it sounds good to you, El. You are the MVP! The most valuable player! How come that doesn't sound good?" George tap Elraven's back as Elraven gave a confused face. "MVP? What MVP?" The gunslinger reluctantly asked.

Felicia sighed, "How insensitive! What he meant by MVP is you being the hero of the current wars. Drake, one Atroce, fifteen dozens soldiers, Lethe Guild Leader Gloom Under Night and the vice leader Sniper Cecil, you defeated all of them by yourself right? Not to mention you're one of the major reasons Palamedes joined us. Didn't that make you feel somehow special, Elraven?".

"Huh? Do I suppose to feel special? It's not like I did those things for prize, right? And I think something more special than killing our enemies for me is seeing George and Olivia's expression right now", A surprising reply from the insensitive gunslinger.

"What do you mean by that?" Olivia eerily asked back. "Well, you two put a grumpy faces yesterday, which I found weird since Olivia and George are so lively. Although I don't know why, you don't have those grumpy faces anymore. I'm glad for that. "And by the way, thanks for the recognition of my winning streak" Elraven replied with smile.

The others saw him in awe. They couldn't believe the MVP is such a kind hearted person. They knew he's not a bad person, but they never knew he is this kind. But all of a sudden Wendy remembered something, "Oh, yeah! Speaking about special! How did your date with our leader go last night?!!".

Elraven slowly blushed hearing the question.

"Yeah, tell us!! Did you kiss? Or even more than that?!" Kirigi was so keen to know just like Wendy, making Felicia, George, and Olivia eager to find out too. The group somehow surrounded Elraven, so he wouldn't be able to run before answering them. "Uh...well, it's...uh...we didn't...do anything special. Yeah, it ended just...like that! Ended!", a suspicious answer from the gunslinger making his friends to know more.

"Tell us the truth, El! Did you bone her?! You boned her, right?" George frankly asked the truth, but nobody seemed to feel his words were harsh. They were too eager to know. But Elraven was saved by the bell when they heard someone spoke, "Vice-captain Elraven? Is that you?", making the entire group's attention turned to the source of the voice. It was Clyde, who was standing beside Sasha. The two gunslingers were looking at Elraven and his curious friends.

"Clyde?! Sasha?! What are you guys doing here?!" Elraven asked loudly seeing his two underlings. "You know them, Elraven?" Wendy asked the vice captain of Ropera Squad. "Well, yeah! They are members of Ropera Squad!" Elraven explained.

"Vice captain, in case you didn't remember Captain Barragan sent us here as the reinforcement you asked" Clyde explained his and his sister reason being in Midgard.

"Well, I asked Emilio about reinforcement, alright! But honestly, I never though it would be the two of you. Thank you for coming anyway" Elraven said while readjusting his purple glasses. "Your welcome, vice captain" Clyde politely replied.

"Care to introduce them, Elraven?" Felicia asked the black haired gunslinger. "Oh, yeah! Guys, let me introduce you to our new teammates. They are younger than most of us, but their abilities are special nonetheless. The good looking boy over here is Clyde Williams. Known as 'The Throttle' of Ropera Squad. His specialty is using revolvers and quick attacks. And he is also good at attacking mass numbered crowds. And the bob haired girl is his sister, Sasha Williams. Known as 'The Silver Sniper', cause she can shoot from very far range without using any telescopic sights. Right, Sasha?" Elraven finished his explanation with a smile.

Sasha blushed seeing the smile, and fainted. "Oh, no! Not again!! Not again!" Elraven shouted seeing the female gunslinger fell to the floor. Clyde and elraven helpig her to stand as the rest of the group seeing the accident with an unusual expression on their faces. "El, why did she faint?" Olivia asked the vice captain. "Sorry, it's always like this whenever vice captain comes near her or interact with her!!" Clyde answered as he tried to carry her sister. "Weird. Our new friends are weird...." George muttered as a respond. The rest of the group nodded as the sign of agreement.

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Well, that's it for this chapter. Hope u enjoy!!!