"Ellisa, I wanted to apologise to you..." I said to her softly,
She didn't respond to me a single thing, though. Instead, she began to teared up and jumped right at me as her arm opened wide across. It startled me when she did that, and I fell to the floor when I was trying to catch her. I realised soon enough how bad Ellisa was trembling right now. She gripped her fingers onto my clothes and never let me go,
Afterwards, I heard Ellisa's soft-spoken voice saying to me, "I'm so relieved to find out that you're not getting executed by the King..."
Ichijou was right; Ellisa really cared a lot about me. But that didn't mean I should stop apologising to her. I know very well how bad I hurt her feelings back then. I choked her neck, said terrible things to her, even more, I was trying to kill her too. Despite that wasn't really me who was controlling my body, I still have to take responsibility for what it did towards the others.
I started my plan by gently place my hand onto the back of her head and slowly strokes her hair. Then, I said to her, "You must've hated me so bad for what I had done a few days ago, right?"
A moment later, Ellisa nodded her head softly, indicating that she agreed with me. Moreover, her face was buried in my chest, so she didn't use any verbal communication with me. I carry on comforting her by saying to her, "I'm sorry for not telling you the truth about my power..."
She gradually shook her head vigorously. Seems like that wasn't the case of why she hates me. So I asked her, "Did you avoid me these past few days because you were scared of me?" and Ellisa nodded once again. I guess she was scarred by what I'd done to her. All I could say for that was, "I'm sorry..."
I then proceed to say to her, "However, thanks, Ellisa. If it wasn't for you back then, I wouldn't be able to come back to my sense... Your voice and warm hug really helped me open my eyes and fight back my inner personality to take my body from him. I couldn't do that if it's not because of you,"
Ellisa nodded at me while tightening her arms around my waist. I kept my hands stroking her head and patting the back of her body to make her feel better. Eventually, after a few minutes, Ellisa softly spoke to me,
"Kiseki... Back then, I could never imagine you could be someone totally different from who you usually are. The sinister laugh you did, the eerie smile you had, and the uncomfortable gaze from your eyes was totally unexpected. You never once stuttered when trying to hurt us, too, at that time. It's something I never knew exist in you. I don't know why you hide the truth about your power from all of us, and I won't ask for the answer either. Because I knew you have your own reason for it. But please, I want you to promise me... Never use that power again. Not even for a single second..."
Ellisa gradually sobbed continuously. I knew how she exactly felt. I replied to her,
"As much as I want to agree with you, Ellisa, I can't. King Edwin wanted me to train myself to use my Sinner's System. So that I could use it one day to protect everyone. But fear not, Ellisa. I will promise you this. No matter what happens, I won't let my power take over my body. I will do my best not to let it consume me. Is that good enough for you?"
She looked to the side and briefly nodded once more, and said, "Fair enough, Kiseki."
I know she does not entirely agree with what I just said to her. I can sense her doubting me from her voice. But that's okay. She just worried for my safety and the others. It's understandable. When I looked at the sky above us, the moon had already reached the top of the night sky. It's almost midnight now; I better finish this up so that Ellisa can sleep soundly when she goes back to her place.
"So, Ellisa. Let say if I can do one thing that could mend everything with our relationship, what would be it?" I asked her,
She swiftly had her face a few inches from mine. The way she's behaving right now is as if she's rather excited from what I just asked her. In the meantime, Ellisa wiped off her tears as she thought for her answer. I never had any girl this close to me. I don't know if I should push her a little bit further or let it be. It's not that I'm uncomfortable; it just makes my heart pumped a little bit.
A few minutes after deep thoughts for her answer, she asked me, "That one thing could be anything, right?"
I smiled at her and replied, "Yeah, anything." To be quite frankly, maybe this is a stupid idea. What will she ask me to do? Don't be something ridiculous or weird, please. As much as I wanted to fix our relationship, that didn't mean I could do absurd things that she might ask me to do,
Suddenly, Ellisa finally gave her answer. She opened her mouth and spoke to me stutteringly, Then- uh... Y- You can, Uhm... Bring me out on a date if you want our friendship to fix itself,"
"D-Date?!" Wait, is she serious right now? I have never been on a date in my old life, not even once! Why of all thing she can ask, this one is her choice?!-
"It's just a date between friends! Y- You don't have to be romantic or anything! Just stroll with me around the city and bring me to some tavern or any food place for us to eat!-" Ellisa quickly trying to cover for herself,
"Ah! Is that so? Just a friend date! I almost thought you were asking for some lovey-dovey romance or something! Hahaha! I guess we can manage to do that!- Tomorrow, we will go on our date then! So that we can strengthen our friendship together!" I said to her blatantly,
Ellisa had this straight expression all over the place. She didn't respond to me even once afterwards, but she suddenly swung her hand and slapped my cheeks. That's really surprised me. It's wasn't a typical slap! It stings!
"Ow ow ow! Ellisa! Why did you slap me for?!-" I asked her while gently caressing my cheek to ease the pain,
"I don't know. Just felt like doing so," Ellisa replied monotonously,
Again, she slapped me once more on my other cheek. I tried not to be mad at her and asked again, "Ellisa! You did twice!- I don't get it! What did I do-!"
Ellisa eventually stood up from me and patted her body to clean some dust off her clothes. She looked towards me angrily and said,
"Hmph hmph! I guess that will do for now to satiate my annoyance to you, Kiseki,"
I was pretty confused with her attitude right now, and I said, "Annoyance? What are you talking about, Ellisa?! What did I do??"
She then turned her back towards me and gradually walked away from the front door, "E- Eh?! You're leaving already?! Ellisa, you still didn't tell me why did you slap me!" I shouted gently,
Before Ellisa went further down the road, she turned and looked at me one last time. She had this blissful smile written on her face, and she said,
"Tomorrow past noon! At the main bridge of the castle! I'll be waiting for you there so don't be late, okay, Kiseki? And please wear something proper!"
"O- Okay! Be safe on your way back home! I can escort you back home if you want, though!" I replied to her as I waved my hands at her,
She didn't respond to me afterwards and just took a left turn at the corner of the streets. I don't really get how girls think to be honest. Like a few hours ago, she was crying and sobbing for everything I did. But then, just in a split second, she was all cheerful and happy?!- Just because I agreed to bring her out on a friendly date. Not to mention, I still don't understand why is that slap even needed! She just did that out of excitement? Or was it something else?
"Ah- I don't want to think about it anymore. I'm too sleepy. As long as Ellisa no longer hating on me, that's all that matter," I said to myself as I rustled my hair and closed the front door behind me,
When I walked across the hallway towards the bedroom, I realised that Ichijou actually didn't go to sleep yet. He was lying down on the sofa in the living room while listening to my conversations with Ellisa right from the beginning. He had this annoying smirked written on his face when I looked at him, and he said to me,
"Nice print you got there on your cheek, Thick head,"
"Yeah, yeah. Laugh all you want, man. Aren't you a creep right now? Listening to someone's conversation without their consent," I replied to him angrily,
He just laughed at me over and over. He kept telling me how dense I was for not knowing why I'd got slapped by Ellisa. Even when I asked him for the answer, he didn't say it to me.
"So, tomorrow is your date with Ellisa, huh? Never knew things could turn out this way, to be honest. Do you know where you want to bring her to for the rest of the day?" Ichijou asked me,
I looked at him confusedly and replied, "Why need to ask that? You heard my conversation with her already. Like she said, just stroll around the city with her and go for dinner. That's all,"
Ichijou quickly interrupted my sentences and said, "Tsk tsk tsk, naive as always, Kiseki. When girls told you they just want to stroll around the city, they were hoping you to lead her to someplace mesmerising and magical to spend time together. You can't just walk here and there randomly and not caring where to go! You must plan it out!"
"Ah- just shut up, man! Why should I waste my time planning all of that! Besides, I'm not even familiar with this city at all. You expect me to know where to go and what's famous around here?!" I argued with him,
Ichijou countered me back by saying, "Oh~. I wonder how Ellisa would feel about this if she knew you didn't put a single effort into this date that she was dreaming about. I'm sure she won't forgive you for this~!"
"Psh! You bastard! Fine!- I get it! Then you have to help me, man! To be honest, I'm super nervous about this date with Ellisa! This is the first time some girl asked me out! Although it's just a friendly date, still, it's nerve-wracking!" I said to him,
He burst into laughter very loudly when I begged for his help. I shouldn't have said it. He's making fun of me right now. Just because he used to have a girlfriend in his previous life before, he's really acting like he knows everything about girls right now.
"So, are you going to help me or not?" I asked him while feeling annoyed from his laugh,
Thank goodness he eventually stopped and said, "I will make your date tomorrow the best you will ever have in your life,"
At the end of the night, we didn't spend a single hour sleeping. Ichijou told me everything I needed to know to get it right for my first ever date. Then, we walked out the streets in the middle of the night and looked for the place I could bring Ellisa tomorrow on the date. Not to mention, Ichijou also helped me out on what attire should I be wearing for that event. He fixed my hair and redo my posture to make me look appealing.
Before we know it, the sun already rises above the clouds, and I have few hours left before my date with Ellisa. With little to no sleep and rest, I should be super tired at the moment. But my nervousness kept me awake like that exhaustion I had was nothing more than my imagination.
I waited for Ellisa at the location that she told me, right in front of the main bridge of the castle. So this is it; all I have to do now is to wait for her arrival. Do the outfit Ichijou told me to wear really helps? I look like a total idiot right now with this fancy jacket, together with a top hat and some slacks. Ichijou didn't go back to our place after he helped me, though. He said he wanted to follow us and see the result. So he could be hiding somewhere around here.
"Ah- this guy... Did he really have to make me go through all of this just for a mere date? What a load of-" I said to myself, but then, I was called out by someone,
"Kiseki, sorry to keep you waiting,"
That person who called me was none other than Ellisa herself. I was stunned when I turned towards her and saw she was wearing such a lovely white dress made out of lace fabric with a flower bouquet design paired together with a straw hat above her head. Can a woman really be this beautiful when they go out on a date?!-
"Geez, what are you wearing there. You look so cute, Kiseki! Hahaha!" Ellisa said to me,
My heart can't stop pounding like crazy, and it seems like I can't even talk to her properly. I need to calm myself! Remember the plan I made with Ichijou!- If I can just stick to it, everything will go smoothly, and its mission accomplished by the end of the day!-
Now, what was it? Oh- yeah! The first rule of going out on a date! Compliment your partner for their attire,
"H- Hi! Ellisa, hahaha! You looked very- uh... be- beautiful in that dress!" Alright! I made my first move smooth and simple. How will she react to that?-
When I looked up at her face, she blushed cherry red and played her fingers across her hair. Ellisa's eyes swayed back and forth to me and some random area. I think she liked my compliment!-
"T- T- T- Thank! you... You don't really have to say that!- Uhm... we should definitely get going by now!- Do you have something in your mind about where to go?-" She said to me stutteringly,
Great! Now I can go on with my second step! I had walked throughout the whole city just a moment before the date started. So I know the perfect place where to bring Ellisa!
I reached my hands out to her and smiled, "Let's get going then? I have just the right place to go right now," I said to her gently,
She complied, slowly but surely our hands meet together. The softness of her palm as she gripped my hand was extraordinary. I never knew a woman's touch could be this soft! Her warmth slowly crawled down towards mine. It was gentle; it was calming,
We went straight to the location I had in plan, the Natural Bridge Garden. It is located not far from the city's square, Royal Plaza. I found out that this place will be filled with activities due to an upcoming festival. This is going to be great!- When we arrived at our destination, it was such perfect timing. The festival had already started, the streets were booming with citizens trying to enjoy the day.
As for Ellisa, I have never seen her this excited in her life. She was jumping around in excitement and said to me, "Look- look! There's so much going on right here! Let's check everything out, Kiseki!"
"Well, what are you waiting for?- Let's go!" I replied to her,
It was such a fun time. When we walked down the aisle, we witnessed tons of cultural activities and heritage of what's Croterin Empire are about. We saw stalls that were selling toys and funny masks, even a booth that were having a minigame for us to try too,
Over the distance, people are dancing around happily, followed by the music playing in the background. Ellisa couldn't help but to join them in and have fun. She looked at me and shouted, "Come on, Kiseki! That looks so fun! We should try and dance too!-"
I was a little sceptical about dancing. I never dance before. I would make myself looked like an idiot if I were to join her,
It's okay, Ellisa. You can dance I'll just watch from-" Before I was able to finish my words, Ellisa pulled me in with her,
"Oh, relax, Kiseki! I know you think that you can't dance too! It's okay, I don't know how to either! Just let our body moves on its own and enjoy!" She said to me,
"If- you say so, then I'll just try, I guess," I replied dubiously,
I never knew I could have so much fun dancing around in public. Ellisa and I were laughing with each other happily. We held hands to not let ourselves fall to the ground as we moved, as well as looking in each other's eyes gently. I don't know what this faint feeling I felt in my heart right now, but I felt calm knowing that I had it in me.
The sun is about to set. Ellisa and I decided to buy some food for us to eat. Nothing too heavy nor anything fancy. Just a simple meal that we can enjoy while sitting at the bridge while basking under the moonlight that's now going up the sky,
We didn't say anything to one another in the span of that night. But all I know, our hands never separated from each other's grip. It was such a great memory to have right now. My first ever date with a girl after coming to this world. I never knew it could help me forget about every problem that I had all this time.
A moment later, Ellisa called out to me softly, "Ichijou... Thank you for this lovely date. I had my mind at ease knowing that despite there's a war out there, we could still enjoy our daily lives the way we wanted to. I heard about the trip we will have in front of us two days from now from Cicily. To be honest, I'm scared. Although I'm excited to go on an adventure, I'm still afraid of what lies in that journey. Not knowing what danger lurking around the corner, not knowing how everything will turn out to be, will we even survive this, and can we find what we were searching for. There are too many things been bothering me. But thanks to you, I could forget all that for today."
I gently gazed at her and said, "I understand how you feel. I got the same issue too. I felt overwhelmed by the fact that I had a huge responsibility to carry behind me. Everyone had their hope and faith in me to find the answer to this war and about the world itself. However, I don't know if I could even find what we were looking for. I'm scared that it turned out to be a fruitless journey. Moreover, knowing that people want me to use this Sinner's System also shook me a little. I don't know if I even have enough time to control it or not."
"So, I wanted to say thank you too for coming up with this idea of going out on a date with me. I'm pleased about this moment. All my problem seems to fade away right now," I continued as I smiled,
Ellisa didn't respond to me afterwards. Instead, she just smiled as she leaned her head onto my shoulder. The scene in front of us was magical. The lights that reflected from the water beneath the bridge set up such a romantic mood around us. A moment later, we both had our eyes locked onto each other, and before we knew it, our lips met softly. We kissed. Not just regular kisses, it was filled with passion and love. I finally knew at that time what was really going on in my heart for the whole date.
"I fell in love with her," I said to myself,