Chapter 285: What? It's my hand; I can do whatever I want
"What are you trying to do now?"
"Guess?~"
"....."
"....."
Two people locked eyes, one with red eyes and the other with lavender-colored eyes.
It was none other than Asher Eli and Pearl Harper.
Currently on the streets, but the bustling surroundings paid no attention to them, thanks to Pearl's protective barrier.
After Lilith departed, Eli decided to take a break in the Library's second floor. The librarian, upon seeing Eli with a silver card, treated him with newfound respect, recognizing the rarity of a first-year student holding such a card. Soon, Eli found himself on the second floor, similar in structure to the first but adorned with older books.
As Eli delved into his reading, time passed slowly as sun was about to set when he felt the Librarian turning on the light, and He realized he had forgotten about the orphanage, He then hurriedly left the Library. However, just like the previous day, The Shameless Pearl Harper stood in his way.
This time, though, her approach was different.
She had opted for the classic move.... the Kabedon.
Eli gazed at the woman he had rejected earlier today, pondering whether shame existed in her vocabulary. However, what caught his attention was the 'smug smile' threatening to escape her lips.
It was obvious, that she believed her method was working.
Truth be told, if she was even a little serious, Eli didn't mind accepting her however no matter how Eli saw.... there was no hint in her that she was romantically interested in him.
"What do you want?" Eli's patience wore thin with the persistent woman.
"You know what I want~" Pearl said in a seductive tone... no, more like she tried to say seductively but the execution felt awkward, her strange expression making it more ugly than seductive and then she leaned forward.
Eli blinked for a moment before a sly smile crept onto his face.
Pearl was grinning inwardly after getting some tips from her friend's mother who was renowned for her seductive techniques. She was now confident this time she would seduce him.
'Now, I just have to whisper something seductive in his ears, right?' Pearl muttered, recalling her plan.
"~ha~" Pearl let out a hot breath, her face turning crimson as Eli's handsome face loomed closer, calming her rapid breath. She began to whisper, "~What I wan--Hikkk!!"
However, before she could proceed with her seductive technique, Eli grabbed her slender waist. Her modern dress, consisting of blue shorts and a white crop t-shirt, provided minimal coverage, and Eli's hands made direct contact with her soft skin, causing her to jerk slightly.
Pearl's eyes shifted to a serious expression as she emanated a palpable killing intent. She disliked unwarranted touches and was on the verge of cutting those filthy hands when,
"You are being unreasonable!" Eli muttered, sensing her killing intent once again. His hands slid inside her shorts, and Pearl's body jolted. Instead of attacking, she stood there with a serious expression.
Eli's hands tightly grasped her soft ass, but instead of the enjoying softness, he stared at her with a small, sly smile as he mentioned, "I just read an interesting fact about a mermaid....."
He pulled her even closer, and her hand, which had been pressed against the wall, finally loosened and fell onto Eli's shoulder.
"Take. your. hands. off" Pearl muttered threateningly, but she didn't summon her spear or resist him.
Eli scoffed at her words, noting the abrupt shift from attempted flirtation to potential hostility.... as if he murdered her family.
Eli's pupils flickered with a light yellow colour, and he smirked, saying, ".....They are very sensitive to flames... especially their lower half, If their skin makes contact with flames, then...."
Eli paused as he pulled her even closer, their bodies almost touching. In a normal situation, Pearl would have likely blushed, but she now.... she felt her ass heating up as if she were sitting on a hot plate.
She gritted her teeth, berating herself for lowering her guard. Her face paled as she sensed her blood drying out.
Eli continued, observing her face turning white, "...they lose their blood and slowly become a 'Dry Fish,' is that right?" His pupils glowed with a bright yellow hue.
"arh" Pearl groaned, feeling the heat on her ass intensify 10 times as a small wisp of smoke began to emerge from her shorts.
It wasn't that she didn't want to retaliate truthfully; she felt an intense desire to kill Eli. However, she knew she was under his domain, and attempting anything would prompt Eli to unleash his domain in fire.
'Tsk, When did he even use his domain?' Pearl clicked her tongue in annoyance.
"Tell me, what is your real intention for approaching me?" Eli asked with a blank expression.
"Because I lo--"
"Please don't be an idiot. What do you want?"
"... I said I want to know more about y--arh"
"What. you. want?"
"...." Pearl felt her blood almost dried out as ass skin began to peel off, yet she remained resolute, refusing to utter a single word.
"...." Eli stared at her, sensing her stubborn expression, and shook his head. He couldn't simply torture her; because he knew if anything happened to her.... the next step would be a war between the Fallen and all of Atlantis. Moreover, he lacked any proof that she harboured malicious intentions.
'Sigh, why is everyone against me either powerful or well-connected?' Eli clicked his tongue in annoyance.
Then, he deactivated his arts, and Pearl sighed in relief, confident that Eli wouldn't risk the consequences of killing her.
However, before she could move away,
"H-Huh?"
Eli's forehead touched Pearl's.
Caught off guard, Pearl didn't know how to respond, seeing his face so close to hers. The proximity sent a shiver down her spine, and uncertainty lingered in the air.
"Brat, are you going to harm me?" Eli asked as he closed his eyes, his tone carrying a mix of curiosity and indifference.
Understanding his question, Pearl replied without hesitation, "No"
"My family?"
"... No."
"I see..."
"~Hmm~"
Suddenly, Pearl felt her burned flesh and skin being cooled and healed. An unexpected warmth surrounded her, and she couldn't help but feel a strange energy playing at her ass. Confusion and wonder filled her as she looked at him for answers, but Eli maintained his closed eyes.
Soon, her body returned to normal. She had a disbelieving expression, 'This Water healing method surely looks like ours...'. Witnessing an outsider, other than her own race, able to use such healing methods without a problem was perplexing. Yet, a sense of gratitude replaced her initial scepticism.
After a few seconds, she fully recovered, and Eli slowly removed his hands, not before playfully groping her rear end. The unexpected action made Pearl react with a sharp inhale,
"Ouch"
"!!!" She glared at Eli and was about to retaliate when she saw him moving his hands towards his nose.
"H-Hey, w-what..." She immediately caught his hands, glaring at him with a red face. "What the hell are you trying to do? You pervert!!"
Taken aback by the accusation, Eli was feeling a little itchy in his ears. Why was she stopping him?
Looking at her panicked expression and the way she looking at his hands...
"OH!" Eli suddenly understood, and a devilish smile appeared on his face.
"What? It's my hand; I can do whatever I want" Eli said as he tried to shake her hands off, mischief gleaming in his eyes.
"W-Wh--Wai-Wait!!!" When she saw him again moving towards her nose, she shouted with all her might and caught Eli's hand.
"P-Pervert!!" She glared at him, her cheeks burning with embarrassment and frustration.
"What's wrong with you? Why are you calling me a pervert?" Eli also glared at her, feigning innocence.
"I-It's your ha..." Pearl hesitated to say, her words trailing off as she tried to compose herself.
Seeing her embarrassed and teary eyes, Eli smirked inwardly. However, he wasn't finished yet.
"What is it? Leave my hands; my ears are itchy or you gonna touch my ear?" Eli said with annoyance as he shook off her hand, trying to divert the situation.
Hearing that, Pearl sighed inwardly, trying to calm her racing heart. Yet, uncertainty lingered in her heart....
But her calmness didn't last long when she saw him sniffing his hands and making a disgusted face.
"Smells like shit!!"
Those words and the disgusted expression made her freeze in time, turning into a statue.
'Snap'
Eli took a photo of her teary, red, frozen face, capturing the unexpected moment. A mischievous grin played on his lips as he immediately turned on his heels and sprinted away, leaving a trail of laughter in his wake.
Glancing back, Eli observed Pearl, still frozen in time...
"Heheh..." Eli couldn't contain his mischievous laughter. However, his laughter was abruptly interrupted by a soft yet audible 'Thud'
"Ouch"
Eli turned his attention to the source of the sound, finding a brow-haired little boy who had stumbled over him. The boy quickly apologized, fear evident in his eyes, and attempted to flee.
"Hey!" Eli seized the boy's hand, his expression stern. "Give me"
'G-Gulp'
The little boy, visibly nervous, reluctantly handed over a wallet. Eli accepted it, his gaze lingering on the child.... it was the same boy who was chased by a Bakery worker yesterday.
Looking at his patched and tattered state boy's dress, Eli didn't feel pity or empathy.
"S-Sir, I am sorry, I-I won't do it again. P-Please don't call the guards. P-Please, sir..." The boy pleaded, desperately trying to escape Eli's grip. The onlookers around them went about their business, seemingly indifferent to the scene unfolding before them.... as if this was normal.
Eli gazed at the tearful boy, desperately attempting to conjure up some excuse.
Yes, it was all nonsense, and Eli was well aware that the little boy might repeat his acts. Despite considering releasing the child....
"As a wife, I scold you when you do something wrong"
"My Darling, don't ever regret your choice"
These words reverberated within him, guiding his decision.
"Here" Eli declared, reaching into his pocket and offering the boy a single copper coin.
"Huh?" The boy was initially surprised by Eli's unexpected generosity. He hesitated momentarily, glancing at Eli's indifferent gaze. Slowly, he extended his hand to accept the coin. Just as he was about to depart, thinking he had escaped the situation,
"Wait" Eli called out, grabbing the little boy's collar.
"Y-Yes?" The little boy turned worried because there were some people who gave him money but then they beat him for that... He wondered Whether Eli was that 'Kind'.
'Slap'
That slap resonated in the area, momentarily halting the bustling activities around them, only to resume as if nothing unusual occurred.
"If you dare to do it again, I will call the authorities and.... I will personally check tomorrow what you did with that 'ONE' copper coin" Eli declared with a stern and resonant voice.
The little boy, initially bewildered, realized he hadn't felt any pain from the slap, he hurriedly checked his body but was nowhere to be found, 'But I saw his hand and that loud sound....'.
As Eli winked at him, the boy comprehended the situation, tears streaming down his face.
"I-I am sorry 'sob', 'sob'. I-I will save this and show it to you tomorrow, sir 'sob' 'sob'. Please don't hurt m-me."
'Tsk'
'Tsk'
'Tsk'
Eli's ears twitched as he heard a few tongue-clicks.
"Good," Eli nodded and patted the little boy's head, feeling he was a really good actor. Even Eli felt he was doing the normal villain thing in this scenario.
After a few gentle pats on the boy's head, Eli left, leaving the child to ponder the strange encounter.
The little boy observed the peculiar man who had given only one copper coin but acted as if he had accomplished something grand. In his experience, these were the kind of people who believed they were above others.
However, despite his initial judgment, the little boy felt a sense of gratitude toward Eli.
'Those jerks won't take this coin... Even if it was just one, it's enough to buy a loaf of bread... Brother and sisters, we can have dinner tonight... hehehe' the little boy thought, a glimmer of hope in his eyes. As he prepared to run away, something unexpected happened.
'Ting, Tang, Ting'
The little boy frowned when he heard a coin sound from him, 'I don't have any coin other than one copper....' , checked his pocket and discovered something inside. To his surprise, his pocket, previously torn, seemed to be mysteriously patched up with a sticky substance. Peering inside, he found three copper coins, two silver coins, and—
"Golde---" The little one quickly covered his mouth, realizing the value of the golden coin. He looked around cautiously before calming his racing heart.
With teary eyes, he glanced in Eli's direction, who was now quite far away.
"THANK YOU!!" The little boy shouted his gratitude as loudly as possible.
Eli simply waved his hand without turning back, but the words reached him.
"T-Truly, Thank You Big B-Brother!!" The little boy's voice wasn't loud but audible enough this time.
However, Eli halted his steps, and with ocean-blue pupils, he looked back. The boy's tear-streaked face was adorned with a grateful smile as he covered his pocket with one hand before hurrying away.
Eli observed the scene with a stern gaze, revealing little emotion.