"Patora?" I asked vexingly.
"Yes," he nodded. "So, are you going to keep that promise?" His eyes narrowed.
"...I mean, it was a promise, and you can't break those." It's true. Promises can't be broken, and if they are, it was never a promise.
A promise is something you know you can keep without a doubt, and when making the promise you know if there's doubt in it. Like, "Will I be able to keep it" or, "Can I keep this?" That's not a promise, it's a challenge to yourself. A challenge to see if you can accomplish what someone else asked for.
"So, you're a man of your word?" Luisham smiled. It seemed to have intention behind them, but he hid them well.
Scary.
"I guess you could say that," I said ambivalently.
"Well then," he turned his head to his left. My gaze followed and fell on Patora. She was blushing and her head was hanging low.
"H-hi," she waved weakly.
"Yo," I saluted awkwardly.
Seriously, where'd that come from?
"So, are you gonna keep your promise?" I heard two puffs come from behind me. I ignored them.
"An Elf never breaks a promise," she smiled sweetly.
"Ah, part of the Elvish code?" I joked.
"No," she laughed through her nose. "When you break a promise, a tent of regret lingers with you. Elves live for thousands of years, meaning we'd have to live with them for a long time, and that regret can grow over the years. So we don't ever break them." She walked up to me, stopping directly in front of me.
"So... A code," I dumbed down what she said causing her to become flustered. It was cute, like a kid getting embarrassed.
"Just follow me," she began walking. I followed behind her.
She showed me around the village, first taking me to all the shops and introducing me to the shopkeepers. She then brought me to a field of flowers that ranged in all different colors.
"Now," she grabbed my hand. "I want to take you to a secret place that only I know. She led me through the town into the nearby forest. We made our way through thick bushes and when we emerged I was introduced to a beautiful sight.
It was a lake of crystal clear water. It reflected everything perfectly, like a mirror on the wall. The sun shun down, and the ripples seemed to look like stars even though it was day. She hadn't let go of my hand and was staring at the water. I looked at her and smiled, though she didn't see.
I was living the life of a shut-in. I was in an Elf village, walking around with a beautiful girl. I had beautiful girls in my party too, and if what Yue said is true, they have feelings for me. The problem with that though, is that I doubt their feelings.
I feel as though the only reason anyone was "falling" for me was because of this "gift", as Yue called it, from the God of Love. They weren't actually falling for who I was, it was some system cheat.
I hadn't noticed it, but my smile had turned into a frown.
"Kichirou?" Patora was waving her hand in front of my face.
"Huh? S-Sorry," I scratched the back of my head and forced a smile.
"...You...aren't enjoying this, are you?" Her head fell low and her ears dropped.
No way, They can move depending on how she feels?
I wanted to be excited about it, but seeing her like that made my chest hurt and my hand slowly fell to my side, my smile fading. "That's not it," I said softly. "I was just thinking."
"About what?" She looked up at me, she had a smile, one that could have fooled anyone, but her ears showed her true emotions.
"...Have you ever had a secret?" I asked as I looked at the lake before me. The sun reflected off the water and onto the ground, creating ripples in the grass.
"Yeah," she sat down as she looked at the lake. "Everyone has them. So it's kind of normal to have your own. It's not like you're doing any wrong with it." Her Elf wisdom shun through.
I sat next to her and hugged my knees. "I ask because there's this one guy who has been keeping a secret from everyone he knows," I sounded pathetic making this story up, and I'm pretty sure she knew it was me the story was about, but I continued any way. "And no matter how much he wants to, he can't bring himself to tell them. But the gist of what he's hiding is that he's not the guy they think he is, he's a fake, a liar. They think he's strong and brave, but in reality, he's a weak coward."
"Kichirou," she was looking at me, sadness in her eyes.
That's right. I know that without these skills, I'm the same person I was in my old world. The one no one noticed, spoke to, or liked. I always judge fakes, criticize them, hate them, but it turns out I'm one of them. I'm a fake. Nothing about me is actually me.
Of course I care for everyone, I don't want them getting hurt. But I still keep them at a distance. Because if they find out who I truly am, they're sure to leave me.
A soft sensation pressed against my lips and my eyes met Patora's. As she leaned back the sensation vanished.
"You idiot," her voice was quivering and I fell silent. "That means nothing. You say he isn't who he used to be, yet he knows that, meaning he remembers who he was. But that fact that he's not acting that way means he is different from who he used to be. Sure, he may have been weak and a coward, but now that he has the power to do something about it, he is no longer that same person. He's a strong, brave man who won't let anyone get hurt." She hugged me, causing me to freeze.
She was right... Even though I knew I was different now, stronger, even if only a little, I was doing something with that strength. I was helping people even though I didn't have to...
She truly is wise. What else would you expect from an Elf.
We stayed like that for a while before I pulled away slowly. "Thank you," I said. "But we should head back now. Don't want people thinking something bad happened to us."
"Yeah," she stood up and dusted herself off. I did the same and followed her as we made our way back to the village.
The sun was still shining bright in the sky when we returned. Patora had asked if we could stop by her dad's house to let him know we were back, and after that we made our way through the village, looking for my party.
Just like you'd assume of most adventurers, we found them at a bar. Apparently Elf's drink liquor, but it's not the human kind. It's made from freshly squeezed grapes. It is said the grapes them self have alcoholic properties, but they're so strong they must be squeezed and the alcohol condensed.
This bar was different from the one in the guild hall, it reminded me of a tavern. And right in the middle, drunk as hell, was my party. Wait, aren't we all teenagers? What the hell are they doing drinking?
I took my seat at the table to the left of Han. Patora sat across from me, sandwiched between Sora and Rubellia. Their attention fell on me. "Ki-hick-chi," Sora spoke with slurred words. "What are-hick- you doing here?"
That's my line!
"Aren't you all underage?" I asked.
"Pfft, I'm 17. Of course I'm not underage."
So the legal age for alcohol in this world is 17. That's young, but it made no difference to me. I've never drank alcohol before, and I don't plan to either.
"What did you two do?" Han wrapped his arm around my neck and pulled me close.
"Nothing," I fought to break free, but he was to strong.
"That's a lie, I can feel a difference in the aura surrounding you," he took a sip from his jug. "You seem less tense. So tell us, what was it?"
My gaze turned toward Patora, giving her a look that begged her to get me out of this situation. But her face was beat red, along with her ears.
Noooo! Don't make that face, it's too cute!
"Well, we just talked and stuff." I was still trying to get free, but he showed no signs of letting me go.
"Ki-hick-chi, tell us!" Rubellia got close to my face. She smelled strongly of booze and my face scrunched up.
"Fine!" That's it. If they want to know so bad, I'll tell them. "I told her about how I felt. I use to be alone, and then I met y'all, but I felt like what y'all felt towards me was fake. She listened and made me feel better." I purposefully left the kiss part out.