Second World



"Don't worry, I ain't hitting on you. I know who your boyfriend is. I'm not suicidal." Spring Crown said. "… But someone clearly doesn't get the picture."

On Grace's other side, another man sat there. He was also chained like the rest of the people in this room. He was an elf with quite a fair face. He went by the name of Evan and claimed to be a high-level priest. He was here before Grace. Since Grace arrived, he had been pestering her non-stop.

"You have a boyfriend?" Evan asked Grace after hearing Spring Crown's words. "That is not strange. Someone as beautiful as a Goddess like you surely has many suitors. But don't worry, I'm not someone who is easily deterred. Once a girl owns my heart, I will not stop even if powerful storms or violent winds are hindering my way!"

"Excellent choice of words," Spring Crown chuckled.

Grace was not that amused. She had been fed up with this guy. This Evan just didn't know how to take a hint. She had told him politely that she wasn't interested. She had ignored him. She had even shoved him away when he put his hand on her shoulder without permission earlier today when they were not chained. For someone who claimed to be high-level, Evan flew quite a distance from the shove. Yet, he came back as if nothing had happened. If there was something admirable about the guy, it was his persistence.

The other girls in the group were also not amused. They were both jealous and relieved. Jealous because of Grace's Goddess-like appearance and how she got all the attention. Relieved because they had been the target of Evan's flirting before Grace showed up. They were also very irritated by Evan's constant flirting, hence the conflicted feeling they now had for Grace. They didn't know whether they should thank her or curse her.

Evan continued to throw one flowery word after another. If yesterday was any indication, Grace knew that Evan would continue to pester her for her entire waking hours. So, she said to everyone, "Aglea said that the game will continue tomorrow. We should get some sleep so that we can be fully ready for tomorrow."

She then closed her eyes to pretend to sleep. Irritatingly, Evan continued chattering.

"You can rest assured, my dear. I won't let anything happen to you. No matter what peril we face tomorrow. I'll be there for you. These five words I swear to you."

Grace felt very much like slapping the guy, but she restrained herself.

Spring Crown had a different reaction. He sat upright and gave Evan a look of disbelief. "You did not just quote Bon Jovi's song lyrics, did you?"

"What lyrics? You are imagining things," Evan denied. He said to Grace who was still pretending to sleep, or at least trying to. "Don't listen to him, my dear. These words are all genuine from my heart."

'I'm not your dear…!!!' Grace wanted to scream, but she continued with her feigned sleep. Hoping Evan would give up soon.

Yet, Evan continued to chatter away.

"… You go ahead and take your rest, my dear. Let my voice be the soothing melody that delivers you to the dream world. Perhaps we will see one another again in your sweet dream, then I can properly show you a proper expression of my undying love without these others here encumbering us…"

The others had their hairs stood on end hearing Evan's words. Some wanted very much to beat the crap out of him. One such person was another elven male named Tom. Unfortunately, he sat opposite Evan. He tried breaking his chains so he could lay his hands on Evan. His effort was, of course, unsuccessful.

Evan ignored everyone's disgusted stare and continued speaking.

"… We might just meet yesterday but I feel like I have known you for life. The first time I lay my eyes on you, I know this is it. This is the woman for me. I want to spend the rest of my life with you. I know you think this is too soon and are still figuring out how you feel. Take your time, my dear. There is no rush. Know that I'm right here waiting for you. I wish I could cut my heart open to let you see how I feel. For I can feel I'm breaking free. For just this moment lost in time, I am finally me. This real me that I…"

"There you do it again…!!" Spring Crown yelled.

Evan turned to Spring Crown, annoyed that his heart-to-heart expression was interrupted.

"You are quoting another song!" Spring Crown exclaimed. "You think you can hide it because it was from a game soundtrack? I know all the game soundtracks! You just quote a lyric from The Edge of Dawn, you miserable fraud!"

Instead of speaking to Spring Crown, Evan again turned back to Grace who still had her eyes closed, and said, "As I said, there is no need to listen to the others. They are just jealous. Jealous of our love, that we can find each other even in such a horrible place. Don't you see it? This is fate. Fate brought us together…"

Grace suddenly rose. Her arms were lifted in a pose that was ready to give Evan a backhand slap. She stopped. She realized she had let emotion get to her. She had dealt with this kind of harassment a lot in the real world. Even though she knew that, unlike the real world, she now had the power to deliver some pain to this type of person. She also knew that this kind of sick bastard would just revel in the pain she delivered. As if that was some kind of a sick expression of love.

Hence, she stayed her hand. She then gave Evan the sweetest smile and said, "If you care about me, do you mind going ahead and sleeping as well? I'm sure we will need to be at our best tomorrow. We will have to make sure we survive the game tomorrow."

Evan was wide eyes after listening to Grace. He said passionately, "Of course, my dear! Everything for you, my dear! I will sleep at once."

He lay down and closed his eyes.

Grace lay back down and turned the other way. Spring Crown came close and whispered, "Hey. If that guy somehow becomes the sacrifice. Let's agree to not save him. How about that?"

Grace didn't reply, but she nodded softly with her closed eyes.