Chapter 127 - Doubting

"I see. Why are you so far away from him, then?"

With this new information, Lili knew that, the second person that Ethan will have closest to himself was Lefiya, so, instead of trying to embarrass or confuse her, Lili decided to just lend her a helping hand. That's because, even if she wanted to be the person he preferred the most, she knew that was not possible, so she wanted, at least, to be considered as the next candidate to be with him, and maybe, someone like Lefiya would have been able to help with this...

Her question, brought a little flicker to Lefiya's lips. At first, her goal was to sit next to Ethan, but, this was not possible as Aki immediately sat next to him, and she couldn't ask Ais to leave her the place..

These thoughts led her to bite her lip while, although her expression made it clear that she was embarrassed, Lefiya was also slightly angry. For her, it was certainly not easy to act normally, but this was something that no one seemed to see, only Ethan, who in fact, couldn't ask Aki, or Ais, to 'move elsewhere' just for her..

"...C-Circ.u.mstances.. prevented me from acting.."

Hearing her weakly replying so, Lili was already annoyed by the way Lefiya was talking. That's because she was convinced that all of her actions, in Ethan's eyes, were cute, and childish...

'Should this be what Ethan actually likes..?'

Asking this question while she was staring at Lefiya, Lili decided not to think about it for the time being, also because she had something to add.

"I don't know how close you and Ethan really are, or where you went in your relationship, but I want to tell you that personally, if I was united to Ethan similarly, I would have already claimed my position, but I can't. Because for now, I'm just a person who's been saved.."

Although it hurt her to admit that for now, there was nothing else between them, Lili had already decided to devote herself to her training. And finally getting into the dungeon with him as this, would make her stronger, and at the same time, solidified their relationship..

But, it was just as Lili was thinking about it, that Ethan stood up from the chair. This is because he wanted to be the one to give the news to the ones who, like Lili, would have to enter the Dungeon with him.

By clearing his throat with a cough, he decided to start his speech.

"Excuse me if I stop the festive atmosphere that had been created, but now that some time has passed and, even the dessert has been eaten, it's time to explain what will happen now. There are reasons for I'm going to have to stop my adventurer's career for a while. That means I won't enter the dungeon for some time. I wanted to be the first to clarify this point because, the news will not remain only within these walls, but it will be Loki to declare it personally to the Guild in the coming days..."

Although, this was not as rare as one might expect, the entire table fell silent while, the first person who decided to ask something, was Aki.

"..Is there something we can help you with?"

Ethan's words led Aki to this question instead of asking about the latter. The reason was that Ethan was too serious during his speech, and this indicated, that it could be nothing playful, or that it needed explaining, but the same thought didn't apply to someone like Lili..

Thinking about it for a second, Lili realized that everything she was thinking about a second earlier was completely useless if Ethan couldn't get into the dungeon, so she immediately decided to ask for explanations...

"W-Wait..why..I want to know what is so important that you have to stop your career.."

The fact that Lili, and Aki, asked for two different things at the same time, led Ethan to raise his hands to make the two understand they had to stop for a moment.

"If you both talk at the same time, I won't understand what you're saying.. about the question you asked me, Aki, I don't think there's anything you can do to help me concretely.. But if I need help, I'll let you know.."

"It's something really complicated to explain, and Loki is aware of it...I prefer to tell you everything at later date, as now, you wouldn't believe me at all.."

Honestly speaking, Ethan didn't even think about what to say once he started his speech, and of course, he wasn't going to reveal something sizable as one of the secrets he should have most tied to himself before the proper time to reveal it will naturally come..

Although his answer raised even more doubts in Lili's head, and she was ready to ask for more explanations, she was stopped by Hestia's hand.

By bringing a hand on Lili's head, Hestia started patting her before adding

"I don't know why you decided this, but I don't care, I'll still be there for you, adventurer or not.."

Saying these words, as her lips gently moved upward, Hestia sent this encouraging smile to Ethan while the latter, receiving the message, could only respond with a smile of his own as he arched his head down.

'For the next date, maybe I should go alone with Hestia...'

Although Ethan didn't feel that he had any particular problem with Lili, he quickly realized, during the "date" they had had, that it was very easy, on a three-way date, to be excluded completely. He knew it wouldn't be the same on a real date anyway, but the fact that it still happened today is something that Ethan won't easily forget.

While he lost himself, lighter than usual, in his thoughts, Riveria was the next to speak.

"..I see. That means your training will be harder.."

These words led him to 'return' to the conversation he was having immediately. Now that Light 'couldn't answer', Ethan could return to the conversation in a second, and therefore, it was practically impossible for him to miss pieces of a conversation.

"..Yes, I will be busy from now on, but I will always train..we'll talk about it later..."

Nodding in affirmation, Riveria decided to just follow the conversation while, others, began to ask questions as well, until even the waitresses of the pub decided to join as, now that dessert was over, they had nothing to do but the chores..

---

After a while the conversation had gone on, the first person to enter was also the first to leave.

"I guess I'll be on my way now..."

Saying these words, Aki got up from the chair before quickly saying goodbye. That's because she remembered that she was busy.

Seeing her heading towards the exit of the pub, brought Ethan to think about it for a moment, and, he knew that he would be busy as well, in fact, he finally wanted to try the function he had decided to unlock, and more specifically, the [True Dungeon]...

Knowing he had to talk to Lefiya before he could think about it though, Ethan glanced at her before he decided to raise from the chair.

"I think today's day is over.. like Aki, I'm pretty busy right now..Know that I had a lot of fun in your company, and I hope there will be future occasions to come together to eat in this way.."

Leaning his hand on Ais' head to make her understand that he wanted her to follow him, Ais decided to listen and, without hesitation, she rose from the chair while Ethan, like all the others who decided to leave in the same way, approached the exit before Tiona interfered in the conversation

"W-Wait!! I'm still busy helping them.."

Hearing these words, Ethan brought a hand behind his head as he added

"I'm sorry, Tiona, I promise that I'll pay you back for this.."

Saying so, he exited as he added

"Ais, I need time to talk to Lefiya now. And after that, I have to go to a place. Can we meet directly tonight..?"

At his words, Ais noticed that Lefiya was behind them while, without hesitation, she decided to let even today, Lefiya take his time, but of course, everything had a condition.

"...All right, but tonight..I want something good...to eat"

These words caused Ethan to smile, while, he added

"It seems like a good compromise. Expect something absolutely great tonight.."

As soon as Ais heard this, she immediately nodded in affirmation while Ethan decided to give her a precise time..

"I'll return around 10 p.m.."

After confirming the schedule, Ethan decided to slow down to get closer to Lefiya while Ais, thinking about what she should do now until 10 p.m, decided to return home. Even if she had nothing to take care of...

---

Seeing Ethan slow down to get close to her, Lefiya could only gulp while her hands moved nervously.

This reaction led Ethan to look away while, in his mind, he immediately confirmed the theory he had formed earlier.

'Now..where to take her..'

Thinking about the ideal place to talk in private, Ethan looked around before glimpsing the perfect place he was looking for. Stopping Lefiya, he decided to propose the idea to her as he realized that by now, they were the only ones who were walking on that particular road that, if followed, led to Babel...

"I was thinking about a place where we could talk without worrying about anything or anyone, and I came up with an idea..."

With her eyes widening, she realized that, in fact, it was a place where they could talk in private, and even though the idea of sharing a room with a man like that made her feel very embarrassed, Lefiya had already decided that she had to go through it while nodding so imperceptibly that if Ethan hadn't his full attention on her, he would have never noticed that she actually nodded, even if her red face, could already confirm somehow..

---

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(Alternate Titles: "Lili, you are trying really hard, but I don't think you'll get what you want so easily...", "Lefiya's trying really hard, and she's about to achieve what she wants! Isn't it quite unfair?","Poor Tiona, she was left behind to do chores.. <-- (Ryuu told both twins that it was fine, so they really weren't left behind..)")