....I like you: Chapter 115

It has been a couple of minutes since Evangeline left to go to the bathroom, as it took even the moment when the food was placed on the table by the waiters and yet she still has not come back. It worried Hamil that maybe she had left him…

And because of this worry, it left a complex feeling in his chest.

A feeling of doubt…

When he came to take a sip of wine from his glass, he felt an arm come over his shoulders…yet although he expected that Evangeline returned, instead, a soft mature voice came to echo in his ear.

"...Hello Mr. Crux." a voice unfamiliar to him, called him by his last name.

"..."When he turned to look to where this voice came from, he was meet with a very young looking woman who wore a very neat white gentle suit. This woman exudes luxury and power by simply her own presence at the table.

If anyone were to catch her beauty, they would not be blamed for staring at her for minutes on end…yet for some reason, her very presence of beauty did not affect anyone else in the restaurant.

Her Golden eyes that reflected the very sea's of treasure, the silver hair that was incomparable in price to actual silver…and her rosy red lips that spoke of lust by simply her smile…she was a woman who came to show herself to Hamil with an intention to simply catch his eye.

She didn't hesitate to sit down by the chair that Evangeline sat on and she sat with her legs crossed as she was making herself comfortable in place.

"...Do not worry about your date, she is still at the ladies room if I can permit to say." She said.

"...Who are you?" asked Hamil as he was curious to this sudden meeting with a stranger.

"I came here to show myself to you. To let you know that I mean harm to you with a straightforward approach…and please don't mind me when I say I want to rip your face here right now without a single shred of hesitation. Looking at your face, it really is clear to me that you are without a doubt, a nuisance to the great father." having spoken with a charming voice but a threatening choice of words, the lady smiled and simply chuckled for a bit as she saw Hamil react with a rather calm smile on his face.

"...?" hearing the words spoken out of her mouth, Hamil came to a cautious state and choose to pick the small knife used to cut down on the steak. There, he readied himself for what was to come of him…

But the lady intervened and simply choose to slide her fingertips down to his hand as if she was seducing him with her lusty charms. Her soft golden eyes never ceased to fail in the moment to catch any man to fall victim of losing their guard, but even with that, Hamil reacted rather calmly and instead he accepted the soft touch of her hands…and open his palm for her to caress…but seeing this, the lady stopped and knew that Hamil wasn't so much afraid of her approach.

"...Do you know who we are?" she asked.

"..." Judging by her appearance…she seemed human enough…but the color of her eyes, her hair that seemed to smell of a stronger scent of a rose and her very smile…the way her fangs stood out to make itself known…this woman was without a doubt a vampire.

"...I know what you are...and you mentioned a great father…calling his title could only mean one thing." as Hamil spoke, a tinge of bloodlust was directed down at the lady…and in return, the lady felt fear in the quick second Hamil showed his intentions to the lady. If she were to make a move, Hamil without a doubt would kill her on the spot…

"...W-We want to make one thing clear…you've made an enemy out of us…and for that, I will be coming for your head, Mr. Crux..."

"Tell the Great Father to keep his business out of the academy…because if he does, I can make sure to it that he will fail in any possible attempt he can in reviving the the great king of the demon realm…" with his hand gripping tight on the lady with no mercy of letting go and her struggling to let go to a point that her skin was starting to rip off, her entire body shook in fear. She showed such an embarassing moment of desperation to such a young boy yet the look in his eyes simply told her to never underestimate the simple gaze he was giving.

"!?" In that warning, the lady felt fear from a simple boy who she was ordered to simply warn…

To know the intentions of the Great Father…to know that they plan on reviving the great demon king…to know that these words came out of the boy…the lady knew to take this matter seriously…she knew that she had to kill him for he knows too much…and if this is the case…she would have never hesitated to kill…

Yet the fear this boy gave off was unordinary…

And with that, a small drop of sweat came falling down at his table…the sweat coming from the lady herself.

And with it, Hamil lets go of the messenger and made her go her way.

"..." there in that moment, the lady simply realized that whoever this boy was, she knew to fear him just as much as she should to the other strong people of this world.

With the lady gone, Hamil continued to wait in his place.

***

"...The Great Father huh." with a whisper to this title, I tried to think through of all the possible ways on how it was possible that I was found out by a demon in plain view…they seemed not threatened at all by the chance that they would be found out by the hundreds of people that sat itself in the restaurant. It made me question why they approached me directly in this manner.

One thing to consider was the fact that I played a major role in stopping the demons from invading the academy, which in turn, I made a name for himself to a point that it caught the attention of the Demons…and mostly, the great father himself.

The Great Father himself is one of the most important characters to take note of in the book. He was a man gifted with the ability to foresee the future…where similar to Martha who was given a technique to look into the fates of the people in the future volumes of the novel, the great fathers has the ability to predict any mishap that might happen regarding anything that happens in his life.

It was such an overpowered ability, as it was used to capture Arthur when they planned to kill him in the novel. This happened when Arthur had dug himself deep into the territory of the demons.

With his ability of Foresight, it might explain on why the incident on the academy raid happened earlier on than expected. He must have given the order to change the plan because of the possible interference that I was going to create in the event.

Now, I wonder why they even sent a messenger in the first place instead of simply killing me on the spot. I was such a big nuisance to their plans, that it might not even be surprising to see that I might be attacked here and then…but it didn't happen.

Instead, they warned me ahead of time…Why?

Knowing my character, the only interesting factor about my life is the fact that I am a part of the Crow Talon clan…if so, I don't think that this reason is enough to keep me alive…

I can only wonder what the great Father sees in me to a point that he avoids direct confrontation.

Maybe he saw something in his ability that might have changed the game altogether…maybe…just maybe.

As I continued to think deep on the reason, I felt a gaze of a person that was staring me from behind my back.

"..?" when I turned to look, I saw a group of people sitting by the side of the restaurant and was staring at me as if I was someone they knew… and taking a closer look at this group, I then realized that the group that noticed me in this table was none other than Arthur, Liam, Licia, Martha and another added group, Ranzy.

They stared my way as if they were uncomfortable with me being here…especially Arthur who I just parted ways back at the academy.

I could only think of one reason as to why they were even here in the first place…and that was of what Ranzy told me about when we meet in the Black Ridge market.

She talked about having to go inside a gate with Martha and her group…so this could only mean that today was the day they would probably visit a gate to hunt in and they probably decided to visit the restaurant to eat before going hunting…

I would have expected the she would have rest after the incident at the school…but seeing her here meant that she was probably in good condition.

Still, its quite uneasy seeing how they looked at me funny.

And just when it was getting uneasy in this restaurant, another pile on comes to play. Evangeline finally returns from the restroom after minutes of being gone.

It makes my head hurt when I just remembered of what happened back when She just gave me a peck on the cheeks…

I hope its still not awkward…I hope she has a proper explanation by then.

When she came to approach my table, Arthur's group reacted surprised by her visit to a point that one of them stood from their chair in shock.

It was none other than Liam who stood.

I mean I can understand why they would be surprised but this kind of visit shouldn't really all to surprising if you think of it from a certain perspective. Me being a man of my worth should be taken interest for some certain people…

Either way, I don't have the luxury to focus on them right now…in fact, I need to see what Evangeline would do to clear up something…and if she ever decides to simply let this topic go, then I might as well respect that.

"...You're back." I said as I see her standing rather stiff in her place.

"..mm, yeah." although her reply was a bit shy, I can kind of understand.. it is still awkward despite the time given to settle down.

"Umm, we should eat now, the waiter just placed our food a minute ago. So its still hot…I think."

"...Yeah." with a bit of hesitation, she slowly sat down across me and started handling her food.

With her getting her order and mine being served with clam chowder, I can see why it was served to me. After all, I did want something light to digest.

"...So, how long have you been going to this restaurant?" I asked

With the opportunity to start a random topic of conversation, I wanted to ease on the whole situation…I wanted to lead it to a point that she herself would take charge in explaining why she did what she did.

"...I've been coming here since I started hunting in the gates when it was managed by the hunter's association. A lot of times I come here to eat before going inside to hunt…"

"Is that so?"

"Yeah, my father wanted me to be strong since it was very dangerous outside my home... So I came to learn how to use a gun. I followed in his weapon of choice…and used every arsenal I could to become strong…"

"Did you ever wonder if you were any good at other weapons?"

"...I did when I started, but holding a long sword at close range always made me feel tense…like my life was always at risk of being stabbed first…so I leaned in to being a sniper."

"And what would you do if your enemy was close by and notices you, do you have any experiences in close combat?"

"Well, along with the use of a gun, my father taught me how to wield a knife for protection. With that said, I only use it to takeout enemies silently in close range.

"Hmm, that's good."

"Yeah. It's a great way to conserve my bullets and not let my position be found…"

"...What do you plan to do after you finish with the Accademy?" I asked.

"...I might go after the family business and take over my father's role to manage our company. If you know the Strauss Family, my father is high ranking noble with the position of Duke. We support the kingdom with mainly the offensive aspect of it…in other words, we provide the kingdom with weapons."

"...from guns to swords and armor, we have a line of talented blacksmiths to gift the kingdom with protections against all enemies."

"...That sounds like a pretty cool…knowing how after we finish the academy, you have a future already set up for you."

"...Well, being an only child really does have its merits…but that doesn't mean that I have any right to even grab hold of the company..."

"My father told me that I should earn my right to stand as someone worthy to be called a Strauss…and he's right. The burden he carries as a Duke is no joke to simply let be…I'm not like every other nobles who simply let the system of nepotism get them…I'll prove my father that I am strong."

"...That's a beautiful thing to say evangeline."

"...What?"

"...I'm sure that your father is already proud with what your doing right now."

"And how can you be sure of that?"

"...Because you said it yourself. You understand the burden of your father's position and because of it, you act accordingly to your desire to support him…"

"What does that mean?"

"...It means that your father is happy to have a daughter like you. You're a great person if anything else and I'm sure you'll succeed in the company."

".…I doubt that."

"And why is that?"

"...Because of the stupid things I've done in the past…"

"..."

"...I liked a boy once. He was beautiful, he had a great personality… and most of all, he was strong."

"..."

"...One day, after weeks of admiration, I took the courage to prove my love to him…and somehow, he did not mind that I expressed my feelings. He seemed kind enough to hear me out…but he couldn't tell me his true feelings about me…"

"..."

"I felt distant from him but I didn't give up just yet…I tried and tried over and over again to prove my love to him…but he simply did not reciprocate his own emotions…and because of it, I lost it."

"...the boy had his heart set out for another woman…and after knowing this, I made the mistake to push my love forward in his direction…but all I got in return was him hating me more and more…to a point that he pointed his sword at me."

"...In the end, I made the mistake to not realize that I was simply blinded by my emotions…"

"...and I was pushed aside.."

"...About what I did…I'm sorry that I did that to you…"

She apologized.

"...I just went and repeated my mistake yet again…and I want to apologize."

"...What's there to be sorry about?" I asked.

"...What?"

"...You did what you thought your heart wanted…and although it was sudden, I think it wasn't…that bad." feeling self conscious of what I just said, I turned my eyes away from her.

".…" but all she gave me instead was a straightforward look of shock.

"...I…I mean, if you can express your feeling with words then maybe-"

"I like you."

Without ever finishing my sentence, she made the choice to speak out her heart.

But I was too stupid to even comprehend it fully…and she knew this from my face…

With how my eyes were wide open, my heart was beating twice as fast…and the look of flabbergast…I was a stupid person being stupid with my reactions…

And she on the other end, simply looked at me and said it again…

"...I like you Hamil Crux."