Chapter 105 Revenge Time (2)
Chapter 105 Revenge Time (2)
Chapter 105: Revenge Time (2)
[Do you know what nobles take pride in?]
Hunter was in the bustling city belonging to Susan Valkoch, recalling Aimee's question which began her talk about the plan to make the shrewd noble woman pay them for what she had done.
He wasn't alone.
Seraphina was on his side, pushing through the masses of dynamic citizens. There were also a few refugees from devastated by the monster tide villages who were struggling to find food and a place for themselves. Naturally, the scheming merchants and other business owners crowded the streets to use those poor souls.
Which was why it was quite cramped outside.
Seraphina held to Hunter's sleeve as she weaved between people in his wake. Both were wearing casual clothes without any weapons near at hand. Hunter simply put a leather black shirt and pants on himself, strolling the city in the most comfortable shoes Aimee had found for him on the market here.
Since Seraphina didn't see herself in dresses and any other girly stuff, she kinda mimicked his style but with a few differences as her shirt had a boob window to show her ample cleavage, and her pants were short, showcasing to the world how blessed she was by nature and how much thought and hard work she had put into herself, as Seraphina was like a seasoned warrior with how toned her muscles were.
Though those outfits weren't really for a date, these two looked exactly as though they were on a date.
All of it was naturally orchestrated by Aimee, who had noticed Seraphina's uneasiness. The events during their struggle against Lothar must have worn her down to the point where she returned to her old self, zipping her lips and staying silent while following them.
Aimee wanted to avoid that, and she naturally wished for them to clear the misunderstanding. Moreover, she appreciated how Seraphina was happy for her sake after she and Hunter stepped up in their relationship.
Aimee also didn't forget how Seraphina had strained herself physically and mentally to save her before Susan Valkoch arrived with her guards. On top of that, Hunter also needed to have peace of mind.
Looking at the watch tower, Hunter seemed to have noticed Aimee's scheme. There was a lot more time before their main plan began, more than enough to set the record straight between him and Seraphina.
The streets were brimming with people, however. Worse, the restaurants and any other places were so busy that it'd take some time before Hunter and Seraphina would be able to get a room for themselves.
He wondered why he couldn't have had a talk with Seraphina at their inn, though. If Aimee was here, she would told him that it'd only make things awkward since it was the place where both of them lost their virginities.
Women paid a lot of attention to those details, apparently.
Which was why Hunter went for quite a bold move and took Seraphina to the dark alley. It was all but empty, seemingly driving away others with its darkness. As far as Hunter looked in, he couldn't make out any presences so far, so it was safe for a heartfelt talk.
If that could be called a heartfelt talk in a dark alley.
He turned around and faced Seraphina. She beat him to the punch and started the talk first. Her nervous and wounded expression, as much as Hunter didn't' want her to wear that, was pretty beautiful. It wasn't something anyone could just peek at on strong and independent women like Seraphina.
Hunter swallowed back what he wanted to say and tenderly stared at Seraphina, making it easy for her to find the best words to convey her feelings.
It was also pretty easy.
"I apologize for… that drama I had caused. It was so unnecessary, wasn't it?" Seraphina clenched her hands and averted her gaze, her already pretty expression turning more lovable. "After all power dwelling within you that you've shown to us… I just instantly believed what was going on at the scene and shifted gears against you. The more I think about it, the more I hate myself. I even went as far as to say that you are like Celestia to my sister… and betrayed your trust. I don't know how I can fix it. It hurts me. It hurts me that I can't read the feelings of people I've taken a liking for, that I can't trust them… I'm sorry for not believing in you. I'm sorry for hurting you. Will you forgive me and let me fix our relationship, Hunter?"
Smiling tenderly at his teammate, Hunter nodded.
He said, "Thank you, Sera. You just made things easy for me."
Blinking, Seraphina looked into his eyes. She was a little confused.
He couldn't have helped himself and extended his hand to caress her cheek. She was warm and soft, seemingly the same as Aimee, yet there was a difference Hunter couldn't put into words. He just came to the understanding that each woman had something different to them.
Controlling these feelings, he shut them in within his heart and opened the scroll with his thoughts about the incident that had hurt Seraphina.
He laid it out for her with the most tender smile he could muster, "What you had done wasn't unnecessary. I'm not talking about us pulling the wool over Lothar's eyes. Your instant shift, your disappointment in me, and how you went against the demon despite everything, had shown me how serious you're about hunting down demons. I learned how much those demons had hurt you. It steeled my resolve to help you pull off your revenge. And… it's not because you're Miss Charlotte's little sister that I want to help you. You were together with me during the demons' invasion during the hunter exam, you fought against the World Order beside me, and you spent your precious time practicing with me and Aimee. You're my teammate. You belong to my team. As a team leader, you can only blame me for being incompetent against the demons and hurting you. As a team leader, I failed, and it hurt me. And as a man, I felt even more wounded as I disappointed and hurt the heart I've been insolently calling 'my future wife'. That's why it's me who should be asking for forgiveness, Sera. You have nothing to apologize for. Please, be my teammate."
Although Hunter had a huge mindset shift because of his recent developments with Aimee, he hadn't forgotten his time with Seraphina and what he had been doing to her. He was so into Aimee and nurturing their feelings that he felt bad for even thinking about other women just after leveling up their relationship, yet Seraphina had managed to get into his heart at this very moment.
And it wasn't because she was cute.
She was angry at him.
Seraphina stretched her hands, clutched Hunter's shirt, and lifted her furious gaze at him. Her eyes welled with tears as those crumbled down on her cheeks.
"What do you mean I have nothing to apologize for?! We're friends and teammates! Right?! If I mess up, I must at least apologize and fix my mistake! Don't think that you will make me stronger or happier by taking all failures onto yourself! You'll only make me feel worse and mad!" Seraphina screamed as her grip on Hunter's shirt became filled with more strength. "Do you forgive me?!"
"I do…" Hunter whispered, "Do you also forgive me?"
Seraphina let Hunter's shirt go and quickly jumped onto him, enveloping her arms around his neck and burying her little nose in his shoulder. Reciprocating her feelings, Hunter coiled his arms around her back and made it easier for her to lean onto him, sniffing her fragrance.
"I forgive you," Seraphina said, her voice only audible in Hunter's ear.
Before long, these two naturally melted into each other. Hunter even instinctively lowered his head and stuffed his face in Seraphina's hair, inhaling more of her smell. She smelled so good and sweet. And her warm touch and strong grip on him only told Hunter to squeeze more of her.
All of it just… felt so good. Seraphina felt too good.
Still in the tight lock, Seraphina asked, "How long do you know my older sister? Was she one of those three women to take you to the hunter first union?"
"Yeah," Hunter blew his hot breath into Sera's hair, making her fidget, "Miss Charlotte also added me to friends when I got my hands on the tablet, and we've been talking from time to time ever since then. Most of our talks are about you. She really loves you, just like your father."
"Father?" Seraphina flatly asked, yet Hunter could feel more strength in her hands, not wanting to let him go until he explained what he meant by that. Since he had already decided to talk about everything he knew about Seraphina, Hunter confided in her about that time when he could see and talk with her father during the hunter exam.
Which shocked Seraphina to the core.
"By now, I understand that the world is fraught with souls… I have yet to see anyone other than your father, so I feel like it was fate, or perhaps he was too stubborn or protective to give up on you," Hunter explained with a warm smile. Alas, Seraphina couldn't see it as she hid her bemused self in his nest.
She recalled her brazen solo hunts and moments in which she was close to meeting death. There were times when luck was on her side as monsters made mistakes or were confused by her for a few precious seconds, which she never wasted to continue living.
But what if it was her father who had strained his soul to help her as much as possible? So many lucky encounters were indeed odd.
"But it all began… because of him…" Seraphina cried as it was her turn to talk about her past.