Chapter 67: [67] Misunderstanding
Olivia let out a steamy breath as she grabbed a smaller towel and began wiping her hair.
"Tsk." She clicked her tongue. "I should be done with that beginner mission by now, and here I am..."
For a few seconds, she did not say anything; she simply stared at her hands in silence, and then when they began to tremble, Olivia clasped them together.
"Why can’t I do anything right?" Her voice was low, her tone almost breaking as she uttered those words.
’Did she forget I was here?’ Ark mused.
No, that would make no sense. He arrived here with her barely fifteen minutes ago. Although her shower had been long, that was not enough reason to forget that she invited him.
Maybe she just didn’t care?
There were indeed some people who didn’t think much of this level of exposure. It was not like she was naked after all...
Ark’s words trailed off when Olivia suddenly grabbed her towel and began pulling it down.
He saw the outline of her well-rounded breasts, as the towel went halfway down them...
"Stop!" Ark screamed on impulse, half shielding his eyes.
Now he was sure of it, she forgot he was in here!
Olivia nearly jumped out of her skin. But her reaction was far from the regular reaction one would expect from a girl.
Normal girls would have screamed, while hugging their chests in the most cliché way possible. But Olivia... Olivia turned murderous.
Her wings violently fanned out by her sides, each feather sharper than a razor.
Lightning pulsed in the air, crackling with intensity. Ark was sure that she was ready to fry whoever had intruded into her personal space, but the moment her eyes landed on him, her face turned red all the way up to her ears.
"A-Ark?!"
Her eyes were wide, and her wings suddenly wrapped themselves around her body.
"Pervert! What are you—what are you doing in my room!"
"Wait, I can explain! It’s not what you think!"
’Why am I sounding like an actual pervert right now?’ Ark cried internally.
"You were the one who—"
Tzzzz!
Ark immediately jumped down as lightning streaked over his head, exploding on the nearby wall.
He had no idea what it was made of, but the wall actually managed to withstand the blow.
"Olivia, you brought me here, remember?!"
Olivia froze her hand, which was still pulsing with lightning, pointed right at his head. "I... brought you here?"
She seemed confused.
"I... brought you here." She recited to herself, and then her eyes widened. "Wait, we met at the adventurers guild, didn’t we?"
’Why is she acting like it didn’t happen recently?’
"Oh..." Olivia brought her hand down. "Sorry... I must have fallen asleep in the bath, I forgot."
Ark gave her a blank stare. "You forgot?"
The part about falling asleep in the bath was a blatant lie, but Ark had no doubts that she indeed forgot that he was here.
The question was how?
Olivia nervously scratched her head. "Sorry about that..."
Ark sighed and plopped down on the couch. Thankfully, she had not destroyed it during her outburst.
He waved his hands dismissively. "No problem. Thankfully, no one was hurt."
Then he tried to stop himself, but his eyes flickered to the towel, to that figure, to that water-glistened skin, to her green eyes that seemed to sparkle more than usual—
Was Olivia always this...
Ark did not dare complete his thoughts.
Why was she no longer covering herself with her wings?
"...You might... you might want to change."
Once again, Olivia turned beet red. She practically teleported back into the bathroom, slamming the door with so much force that the room shook.
Now inside the room, Olivia slid down the door to the bathroom floor.
"..."
"Olivia!" She shrieked, kicking her feet repeatedly in the air, while simultaneously slapping her forehead multiple times.
"You idiot!"
She eventually stopped kicking her feet, and stopped hitting her head once it began to sting... but she remained seated, staring at a single spot on the marble tiles.
The bathroom was large, but somehow, it felt as if the walls were closing in on her...
"Why do I keep forgetting?"
...
’I can’t even remember her anymore...’
But her moment of silence was interrupted by a beeping sound in her head, and a screen that flashed in front of her face.
[Incoming Call...]
[Player ID, unknown]
"Huh? Who could be calling me?"
The only people who had her number were her family and Ark....
[Answer]
"Hello, Olivia. How have you been?"
Olivia was surprised when she recognized whose voice it was. "Soo-jin? I’m doing okay, how are you and Isabella? I haven’t seen you since the trials..."
"Hmm? That is to be expected, is it not? We from legacy families will be stuck in training for a little bit."
There was a short pause before Soo-jin asked in a skeptical tone.
"Did your guild release you early?"
"Oh..." Olivia smiled wryly. "I decided to skip that training, I don’t need to be lectured by those oldies, you know? Haha."
Although she tried to sound unbothered, Soo-jin could likely sense the tension in her voice.
"..."
"I see..."
A few more seconds passed.
"Well, as long as you are having fun, I guess. I’m sure it has been rather... eventful."
"Yup, it has been pretty fun! I even ran into Ark and we formed a party with some weirdos we came across." Olivia smiled. "We are going on a quest together tomorrow."
"Interesting..."
’Hmm?’ Olivia mused. ’Why the sudden change in tone?’
"I’m guessing you had so much fun with Ark that you offered him a place to spend the night..."
"Oh."
Soo-jin’s voice was so icy and detached that Olivia felt a chill crawl up her spine.
"Olivia..."
She was speaking over the phone, and yet it felt like Soo-jin was right next to her, watching her every move.
"...you didn’t... try anything, did you?"
"O-of course not."
"..."
"...good." Then her voice suddenly returned to normal; actually, she even sounded cheery. "Have a great day then."
The line went dead.
Olivia stumbled back to the bathroom wall and breathed out with relief.
"It felt like she was going to kill me over the phone... but, how did she know I offered him a place to stay?"
<•••>
Ark could hear muffled sounds coming from the bathroom, but he could not make out what the words were.
All he knew was that Olivia was talking to someone, either that, or she was speaking to herself....
She came out of the bathroom a few minutes later dressed in a bathrobe, then she walked up to him and sat next to him on the couch.
A few seconds went by.
"So, when did it start?" Ark asked calmly.
While she was in the bathroom, he had thought of how best to approach the topic, and had come up with dozens of ways to ask her without seeming as though he was prying.
But at the end of the day, Ark simply decided to be direct.
They were friends; if she wanted him to know, she would tell him. But if it was something she was not comfortable with sharing, then he had no choice but to wait until she trusted him enough.
Everyone was entitled to their secrets.
Olivia stared at the space in front of her for a few seconds before speaking.
"Ark." Olivia smiled. "I know this is a lot. But can you do me a favour?" She asked in a reserved tone.
Ark nodded.
"Then don’t ask about it... please."
"..."
"Alright..."