Chapter 146 - Trouble

"Let's split up," I revealed my idea to Ruciel and the kids.

"No... We don't need to split up in a search for her," Ruciel said. "Use your nose, Eclaite. Following the woman's scent to find her is better than the plans to split up for later we will be troubled to regroup again."

I forgot that I had that kind of ability! So, I sniffed the pillow Diana used to remember her scent. After that, I followed the scent that still lingering in the air.

After a few minutes of walking, we stood in front of a restaurant.

Is that woman hungry? I thought before I with everyone else entered the restaurant.

And no, we didn't find Diana in there. However, we found a story about a Flugel who was chased out for being a big nuisance for the other customers.

We become a little alarmed after leaving the restaurant. That happened because we thought, that Flugel who become a nuisance maybe was Diana.

As soon as possible, we continued our search for her.

Some of the places we went to and still, we haven't found her yet.

I kept following her scent without any intention to give up. My heart became uneasy when I learned that her scent was leading us out of the village.

"I hope she doesn't go too far." Ruciel narrowed her eyes to see the sun setting in the distance. "Finding that woman at night will drain our energy rapidly. More than that is danger. I don't know what kind of monsters roam this place when darkness blinds us."

"We should find Aunt Diana as soon as possible!" Kimi exclaimed. The little girl pulled my hand to force me to walk immediately.

"That's right! As soon as possible!" Chloe followed. She also pulled my other hand.

"Okay, all right, I understand," I told them.

So we walked.

The sun set faster than I expected. Darkness enveloped us and I had to use a spell, Illumination, to create three spheres of light that helped us see the surroundings.

We're lucky, on tonight's expedition, we didn't encounter any monsters. Our journey was safe until we found a humanoid figure digging the ground.

That figure is making good progress. The hole she or he dug had already hidden half of her or his body from waist bellow.

After we see a pair of wings with different sizes in the waist of that figure, we knew that the figure was Diana.

We exchanged glances before approaching her. And not to forget, Ruciel used her spell to neutralize the influence of Diana's curse.

"[Fyona's Compassion]"

The Flugel twitched for a moment after the light illuminated her body. Not only that, her body became stiff as a statue.

I could feel the fear emanating from her body.

"Diana, what are you doing there?" I asked to satisfy my curiosity.

I wish she hadn't made the hole to bury herself, I thought when I realized that big hole was similar to a cave.

Diana turned around and a moment later she closed her eyes. The light must have blinded her.

"Whoever you are, please don't care about me," she told us while shielding her eyes with her left hand. "I'm fine. Please leave me alone."

"We came to pick you up. Now, let's go back to the village."

"I didn't do anything!" Said the woman in a hurry. Her face became so pale. "Please forgive me!"

"What are you talking about?" I asked and approached the woman. "We're looking for you because we're worried. Let's go back, I hope your injuries don't get worse."

"No! I don't want to come with you." Diana shook her head. She also took a few steps back but immediately stopped because she hit the wall of the hole she made. "I don't want to be locked up and tortured anymore!"

"We have no intention of doing such a thing," I told her. "And it's me, Eclaite, have you forgotten about me?"

"I don't believe you guys!" Diana exclaimed. Then, as fast as she could, she get out of the hole.

I shouted, "Wait!" When I saw her running away.

"No!"

"Don't go, auntie!" Kimi screamed and chased Diana.

"We just want to help you, Auntie Diana!" Chloe followed.

A moment later, me, Ruciel, and Alan followed those three women.

"You are lying!" Diana shouted once more.

"We're not lying!" Chloe replied.

"Has auntie forgotten the promise that we'll have dinner together every day!?" Mini said a promise I didn't know about.

And yes, I decided to let the kids persuade the woman. I know for sure, their words have more influence on the woman than mine.

We continued to pursue Diana. Kimi and Chloe kept saying promise after promise they made with Diana.

And sure enough, their words become effective weapons. Diana stopped her footsteps, she turned to look at us.

"... You will not lock me up, torture me, or tell me to continue working without rest?" She asked with distraught and fear.

"We wouldn't do things like that, auntie," Kimi said.

"We are not bad people!" Chloe made her claims in support of Kimi.

"...is- is that true?"

"Of course that's true, we have no reason to do cruel things to you." Kimi approached Diana and took her hand.

"We want to make you smile." Chloe took Diana's unoccupied hand.

"...Is that a promise?" She looked at the two little girls with eyes full of hope.

"Of course, that's a promise!" Chloe and Kimi replied at the same time.

"Uwaa..." Diana was crying.

The woman ran up to me and ended up hugging me tightly. She didn't hold back, she buried her face into my b*obs then shook her head rapidly.

She really enjoyed my b*obs and...

"Okay... Why are you hugging me instead of the kids?"

"Because you have big b*obs and I feel a great maternal instinct from you."

Hearing that answer, I didn't know I had to cry or laugh. But in the end, after a deep sigh, I stroked her head. 

And I wondered, why should we bother to help and deal with this woman who has a terrible curse?

Is it because we helped her before?

Or is it because we already know her?

And maybe, because we feel sorry for her?

I don't know the answer to all those questions. But I know, one doesn't need a deep reason to help others.

We hugged for some time until the woman calmed down.

"You look better now," I said after I see her face. "Let's visit the inn, you need enough food and rest to face tomorrow."

"Hmm..." She made a sound and nodded.

We returned to the village, the inn was our destination. And yes, along the way, we got problem after problem that made Diana a target.

And that's right, Ruciel had to repeatedly use Fyona's Compassion to get us out of those problems.

On the other hand, Diana was hiding behind my back. She used me as a shield.

We arrived at the inn and we rented three rooms.

We told Diana to stay in her room. That makes her think we want to lock her up. Once again, she became hysterical even though we had already explained, it had to be done so that her curse didn't affect other people. 

Diana wouldn't listen to my explanation. But, she calmed down after Chloe and Kimi said that they would sleep with her.

So, Ruciel and I brought three portions of dinner to them before we joined Alan to fill our bellies at the inn's restaurant.

I feel sorry for Alan because he has to sleep alone. So I invited him to sleep with me and Ruciel. But, the boy rejected it directly. He assured us that he was fine to sleep on his own before disappearing into his room.

We were full so we decided to follow Alan's steps. We went back to our room to get enough rest.

"We need something to seal her curse. I could die if I continued to use spells every five minutes," Ruciel complained.

I who heard this understood what she meant and felt. Therefore, I gave her a lap pillow to replenish her energy.

And... Something to seal Diana's curse huh?

I've seen the kinds of stuff sold in this village. Therefore, I know, something we need cannot be obtained in this place. Luck will probably greet us when we visit the city.

Speaking of cities, maybe it's time for us to leave this village. Following Ronove wasn't a bad idea. In addition to that, I also want to know Lostria, Teria, and the Airship crew's well-being.

It's been a few days that I haven't seen them and it makes me uneasy.

"Tomorrow we will go to the nearest city, Ruciel. There, we'll probably get something to seal Diana's curse."

"It was sudden but it was a good decision. Honestly, I'm tired of this place," she expressed her feelings. Then, she closed her eyes.

Silence enveloped us.

I looked at the girl's face for some time until I couldn't help myself. Moving my hand, I stroked her head.

"Can you stop that?"

"Oh! I thought you were asleep. And if you don't want this, maybe you want something more intense?"

"...no, maybe next time. For now, this is more than enough."

Next time? Did she want something more intense next time? Does this mean our relationship has improved?