𝐀 𝐓𝐡𝐨𝐮𝐬𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐘𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐬 /// ᴋʜᴜɴ ᴇᴅᴜᴀɴ - Chapter 7: Chapter 7

"Lilia, can you come with me for a moment?"
The jewel eyed woman's eyes were wide as saucers as she stared at the blue haired man before her in shock. Though what was surprising wasn't the fact that he asked for her alone, since he does that all the time, but the act that he actually sounded... shy?
To have the shameless Khun Eduan fidgeting before her like this... makes her feel like the tower's about to come crumbling down.
"No."
"Eh?!"
"You're acting weird!"
"What do you mean?! I'm always weird!"
"...Did you just admit that you're weird?"
"...Nyes?"
Lilia sighed as she dismissed the man's antics, returning her attention back to her lighthouse, something she had been doing way too often as they start to advance into the higher floors. "If it's something stupid, just go ask Hon or Gustang."
"But it has to be you! Besides, why would I even ask them?" Eduan exclaimed as he placed himself between the woman and her lighthouse to prevent her from ignoring him. From an outsider's point of view, it made it seem like Lilia was pinning the man against the cubic device. This of course, did not go unseen.
"OH MY GODS! I can't believe Lilia was the one to actually make a move-- maybe she's not as much as a wuss as I thought..." Arlene muttered as she peered through a pair of binoculars from who knows where.
"Shh! They might hear us!" Yurin whisper yelled, pulling the brunette back into the bushes they were hiding in. "And if Lilia heard you calling her a wuss... it won't be pretty."
"I can't believe we're doing something like this... spying on someone is the utmost epitome of rude..." Hana whispered as she placed her palm against her head.
"Then why are you even here...?" Yurin asked, Arlene nodding in agreement. The two looked towards the hwayeomsa who began sweating bullets at the obvious fact being pointed out. She believed that what they're doing is unethical, of course. But to even leave with the thought of her dear friend Lilia being along with that perverted wolf causes all her hair to stand on edge.
"W-well, I'm just worried for Lilia, that's all," Hana replied, though her tone not a least bit truthful.
Because deep inside they know that Lilia Belle never needed protecting from Khun Eduan... they're just here for the drama. But aren't we all?
Anyways, back to the two.
The jewel eyed woman sighed as she backed away, trying to put as much distance between them as possible. Eduan was giving her what Arlene would call 'puppy dog eyes', something she admitted that she would do to V to get her way.
"Stop it. You know that's not going to work," Lilia muttered as she crossed her arm. It was obvious that she was looking everywhere but the man's eyes.
"C'moooon! Please~" Eduan whined as he seated himself on the lighthouse, causing the young woman to tense at the wellbeing of her device.
"OKAY OKAY! Just get off!" Lilia exclaimed as she grabbed the collar of his robe to pull him up. This of course caused his body to tumble forward, crashing into her smaller frame. A small chorus of gasps can be heard from a nearby bush, but the it went unheard as both of their minds were occupied, sadly with completely different things.
Eduan's face was completely red at their close proximity. To maintain their balance, his hands were wrapped around her waist, something that she would never let him do. The woman's hands were still grasping the collar of his robe, but all that's in his head at the moment was her delicate frame against his chest.
Meanwhile Lilia was trying to look past the male's larger frame to check her lighthouse for any damages, of which there were none. "So, shall we?" Lilia asked as she grabbed Eduan by the arm and pulled him away. "Apparently bushes have ears now..." she muttered the second part as she narrowed her eyes at a set of bush the women were hiding behind.
All three of them felt chills crawling up their spines simultaneously. 'She knew we were here after all...'
Eduan was still dazed at the close physical contact they had, so the woman had no problem dragging him to a more private area.
"So... what is it?" The lightbearer asked, crossing her arms as she stared at the male expectantly. The blue haired man snapped out of his stupor once he realized they were moved to a more secluded spot and began to act all flustered again.
"Uh... I don't know how to say this... but I just... well..."
Lilia lifted a delicate brow, watching the man stuttering like he forgot how to speak. Is he going to profess his love to her again? But he already did it so many times, with her rejecting him of course, so what made this time so different?
Hearing Eduan heave a heavy sigh, she straightened up her posture to match his now more confident one. The woman watched as he reached for something in the sleeve of his robe, his colbalt eyes looking anywhere but her with a surprisingly evident scarlet on his pale cheeks.
She slowly uncrossed her arms as she noticed a beautiful pin in his hand. It was a blue lily, the color matching the shade of Eduan's hair. "Back at the bazaar... when I was with Hon, I saw this. I- Well I thought that you might like it and-"
"... it's so ugly...."
"Eh?! Σ（ﾟдﾟlll）"
Lilia realized how wrong that came out before clearing her throat. Eduan's once red face is now as white as Hon. His entire frame grew rigid at the blunt rejection of his gift.
Or at least what he thought was a rejection.
"W-Wait! It's a beautiful pin, don't get me wrong! What I mean to say is that it's blue... all my clothes are red. It won't go well, it will only stick out like a sore thumb!" Lilia explained, a poor attempt to comfort the male.
Apparently her people skills are still -3/10.
"Th-That's exactly what Hon said..."
"What? Hon gave you fashion advice?"
*flashback to when they were at the bazaar*
The Khun and Arie were walking among the busy crowd of the colorful bazaar, nothing in particular piquing their interests. Hon was on the lookout for a rare weapon to use while Eduan was checking out all the beautiful locals.
A particularly beautiful young lady smiled at him and ushered him over to her jewelry booth. Being the simp he is, Eduan dragged his companion towards her as she showed him her array of goods. The swordsman sighed as he watched the man observe the jewelries and accessories on the table, one in particular caught his eye.
A blue lily hairpin stood out among the rest. It wasn't particularly flashy, but it has a certainly simple beauty that would immediately grab one's attention. Eduan picked up the pin and held it against his head before turning towards a the male next to him.
"It looks good on me, doesn't it?"
An irk mark made its way to the white haired male's head as he glowered at taller male. "Stop messing around, if you're not gonna buy anything, then let's just go!"
"Geez... you don't always need to be so hardheaded, Hon. Besides, what makes you think I'm messing around? I came to this bazaar with a very important mission hehe~"
"And what would that mission be...? Looking at other women?"
"*Gasp* How dare you assume that I would do that?! I'm here to find the perfect present for my dear Lilia of course! Her birthday is soon!!"
"Oh? It is? I never paid attention."
"That's because you're just ignorant, Hon."
"Oi! It's not like you gave me anything for my birthday either!"
"Oh, that's because I don't care. Out of all of us, I only know Lilia's birthday."
"I-"
"Anyways, I think I found the perfect gift! Don't you think this pin will look great on her?"
Hon stared at the pin with a deadpanned expression. "No."
"Hah?! Why?!"
Hon grabbed Eduan's wrist holding the pin, bring it up to their faces. "First of all, Lilia always wears red, blue will not go well with it. Both colors are too strong and will overpower each other. It's best to go from dark to light or use colors based on the color wheel to see which combination goes best. And-"
Eduan sweat dropped at his friend's fashion rant about color schemes. It feels weird learning about proper color combinations from someone who only wears and consist of a single color. Just as Hon finished his rant, Eduan huffed and bought the pin anyway, dismissing everything the white haired male said.
"So I was just wasting my breath..."
"Yep!"
"Why blue anyways?" Hon asked as they head back.
"Because it matched my eyes, doesn't it? Now every time she wears it she'll think of me! I'm sure that alone will prompt her to accept my gift!"
"You really have no shame."
"I know~"
*Back to the present*
"Wow... you really have no shame."
"Please— I don't need to hear it twice in one chapter!"
Eduan sighed as he begins to pocket the pin back into his sleeve. His eyes were slightly watery from the harsh rejection, but refused to let any tears fall in front of the girl he likes.
Just as he was turning away, he felt a hand grasp his forearm. Looking down, he saw the young woman with a light blush on her cheeks as her other hand reached towards his own that was holding the pin.
"E-even if it won't suit me, it would be rude for me to reject a gift! Besides... you went out of your way to get it for me..." she muttered the last part, looking anywhere but the male who was now staring at her in shock.
A delighted smile crawled onto his lips as he turned his entire body towards her, internally screaming at how adorable she looked staring up at him. Gently, he brushed a strand of hair behind her ear before placing the pin into the half bun of her long black hair.
Feeling a little bolder, he let his hands fall from her hair to her cheek, and eventually to the her lips. Lilia didn't stop him, which surprised the man since she would usually start threatening him to back off if he even gets within three feet radius of her.
Something about how a man shouldn't be so close to a woman, or else it would be considered scandalous.
And this moment was nothing but.
His cobalt eyes bore into her amethyst ones unconsciously leaned closer.
Thinking that he's probably pushing his boundaries, Eduan gave her one final smile before drawing his hand back. As much as he wants to keep touching her, he didn't want her to feel uncomfortable or to hate him. For her, he was willing to take it as slow as she wants.
Just as he was about to open his mouth to say something, he felt a pair of hands tugging at his collar, pulling him down to meet a pair of lips.
His eyes widened as he felt Lilia's lips on left cheek, dangerously close to his lips, but not quite there. She was slightly tip toeing to reach his face, despite pulling his upper body down a bit.
Both of their faces were flushed crimson as Lilia looked at him dead in the eyes after pulling away. She looked like she was struggling to gather her words as Eduan was still at a loss.
"Thank you, Eduan," she said softly, a small smile played on her lips for a split moment before she released his collar and sprinted past him.
Eduan stood there, dazed after what just happened. The feeling of her lips lingered on his cheek as he carefully placed his hand above it, afraid that he might wipe away that tingling feeling.
"D-did we j-just," he muttered to himself as his entire face turned red, steam coming out of his ears.
It was just a simple peck, nothing more.
But to the two irregulars, it meant everything.
Lilith and the rest of gang managed to clear each level without much of a hitch. After all, with the bright mind of Khun Aguero Agnes, nothing is impossible. That is at least until they were met with the Final Boss, which is exactly what they needed to clear the floor and find Jahad.
They just managed to beat the C level quest that they summoned without thinking, which is the notorious octopus Kim. With a close call on Hockney's life, the group was exhausted when they cleared the quest. Lilith sighed as she and Khun leaned against each other for support, the boy groaning about how much harder the rest of the levels will be.
The woman glared at the sky, knowing that the big breeder was probably watching her. She knew that they were making this hard on purpose on hopes of killing them. Just then, a ring appeared in the sky at the spot she was glaring at, revealing the big breeder in all its glory.
A scrawny looking man came out of the gate with two armed men at his sides. He looked down at the challengers with a cocky grin.
"Congratulations, warriors. I applaud you for making it this far. As promised, in my hand is the grand quest you've all been waiting for. If you complete the quest, the Fruit of Good and Evil will be dragged down deep into the darkened, allowing you to pass onto the next level."
Before he started the quest, Khun asked him about the whereabouts of young Jahad, of which the man replied with a shady answer, hinting that he does know something but is refusing to tell.
"Now you warriors will be facing... THE MOTHER LONG-TAILED TIT!"
Everyone in the town quivered at the name as a thunderous boom echoed throughout the main square. Amidst the smoke and rubble revealed their final boss.
A very fluffy chick.
The breeder explained that the C level quest was made harder than it should have, confirming Lilith's theory about him trying to kill them. So in a way to make up for his mistake, he offered an easy final fight.
"So this level was made easier? Nice!" Boro concludes as he draws his needle. Just as he and Rak were about to attack, Khun stopped them.
"Guys hold on! This is rather suspicious, don't you think?"
"How so?"
"Isn't it obvious...? That bird is hiding tremendous power!!" he accused as he pointed at the bird who was sweating under its feathers. Everyone looked at the light bearer in concern, but agreed in the back of their heads nevertheless.
Something about this was too easy.
As Khun, Boro, Sachi, and Rak dance around the beast trying to get it to unleash its ultimate move, Lilith observed that was going on.
'The breeder is up to something... but what? If the boss is truly as weak as he says, then why does he want us to clear the level so quickly?' but then Lilia recalled what the minstrel said about the Fruit of Good and Evil.
"It's a quarantined place for the most dangerous and evil people here... or those who may harm the balance of this floor"
'Harm the balance...' Lilith thought to herself. 'If the rules here are anything like that of the tower then those who harm the balance... must be referring to the irregulars! That must mean Bam is in there!'
The wave controller looked up at the boy yelling orders in front of the scene. 'And Khun must have figured it all out beforehand! Hmph! I guess it's to be expected of him after all', the woman smiled to herself, a face mimicking that of a proud mother watching her child grow.
Meanwhile in Khun's head: 'That thing's shady as hell... let's not kill it for now.'