CHAPTER 416: BY THE ABYSS...

"Finally, classes are over!" Chuck raised both of his hands in triumph as he looked forward to his weekend vacation.

"Are you that happy because you are going fishing with Princess Xenia and Mary... again?" Alex teased.

The happiness that Chuck felt earlier disappeared without a trace. He had completely forgotten about the fishing trip.

"W-What should I do?" Chuck asked, his face turning pale. "Alex, come with me, please!"

"Sorry, but I’ll pass this time," Alex answered. "I have important matters to do."

"No! How could you betray me like this?!" Chuck clung to Alex’s arm, making their classmates look at them in surprise. "After sharing the same room with me every night, you’re just going to ditch me like this? How could you do this to me? Is it because you’ve grown tired of me?!"

"O-Oi! You bastard! Don’t purposely say things that can be misunderstood!" Alex tried to pry his arm from the troublemaker’s hands, to no avail. Chuck gripped Alex’s arm like his life depended on it.

"If I am going to fall, we’ll fall together!" Chuck declared.

"What nonsense are you talking about, you fool?!" Alex was starting to feel embarrassed because Chuck was making a commotion and involving him in it.

"Come with me!"

"No way!"

Nessia and Vaan looked at this scene with mischievous smiles. It’s like they knew some secret that only they were privy to.

Sensing that his reputation might once again take a hit if he didn’t do anything about Chuck’s antics, Alex decided to compromise.

"Fine, you can take Dim Dim with you," Alex stated. "If Dim Dim is with you, you won’t have to worry about not catching anything, right?"

Chuck immediately let go of Alex’s arm and patted his shoulder. "I knew I could count on you, partner. Well, then. See you later!"

Without even waiting for a reply, Chuck quickly left before Alex could change his mind.

Alex sighed, but no longer thought about the matter. He would just have to talk to Dim Dim later and ask it to accompany Chuck on his fishing trip.

The reason why Alex didn’t plan to go far from the academy for the time being was that he invited Evangeline to have a proper talk with him.

But knowing that there was nowhere in the academy where they could talk without fearing eavesdroppers, they decided to just meet in the city tomorrow morning.

’This almost feels like we’re going out on a date,’ Alex thought.

After Nero had spared him, Alex understood that he didn’t have to worry about the Vampire Faction of the Demon Worshipers.

He had sensed that Nero held no hostility against him, which meant that he didn’t need to be overly wary of Evangeline or Eleanora, whom he had done his best to avoid in the past.

The memory of the girl in the snow and their years together made Alex feel that Prince Aetherius was blessed to have met Evangeline back then.

Because of this, Alex felt a little complicated.

He was starting to feel that something didn’t feel right.

How could the Prince be him when he thought that Endless Leveling Online was simply a game?

A game he had played for hours each day over several years.

He had learned so much more about the world of Arcana and fallen in love with it.

He had met amazing people who had become his good friends outside of it.

If it hadn’t been for ELO, he wouldn’t have met his Guildmaster, Noelle, who treated him as someone... special.

When what he knew and what he was supposed to know clashed against each other, Alex felt helpless.

It wouldn’t be an exaggeration to say that he was facing an identity crisis.

What first seemed like a playful way to give his Avatar, Alex Stratos, a background story, turned into something that went beyond his comprehension.

Although he still didn’t know whether he was truly the Prince of the Aetherion Empire or not, he had no choice but to take things one step at a time.

And for that to happen, he needed to talk with Evangeline. Without the memories of the days that they spent together right before leaving the villa that belonged to her father, the Vampire Lord, Alex could not move ahead.

———

"Eleanora, which is better?"

"My Lady, you’ve already asked me that more than a dozen times already. Both will look good on you. Heck, even if you wore a dress made of leaves, I’m sure everyone would still find it flattering."

Eleanora finally snapped after spending hours helping Evangeline choose a dress for her "date" with Alex in the morning! She had rushed over to her mistress’s room because of a command, believing that Evangeline needed her urgently.

It wasn’t even really a date!

Alex had simply asked to meet with Evangeline because he wanted to talk to her in private.

The clubroom was out of the question because Latifa had already become its permanent resident.

"But this dress might make Alex think that I’m being too bold, don’t you think?" Evangeline fretted.

The red dress she was talking about showed off an appealing amount of skin. However, Evangeline didn’t want Alex to have the wrong impression of her. She especially didn’t want to come on too strong.

"Then just choose that white dress," Eleanora commented as she crossed her arms. "You can also wear a big straw hat for that innocent maiden vibe that you seem to want."

"But the shopkeeper highly recommended the red dress," Evangeline tried to argue.

"Just pick one already!" Eleanora was tempted to flip the table, but she held back in the end because the table was innocent.

The carpeted floor, the bed, and even the chair were covered with many expensive, fashionable clothes from famous brands. They were everywhere but the closet, where they should neatly be.

Evangeline had asked Eleanora for her opinion, only to repeatedly ignore it. After much back-and-forth, it was down to the sleek red dress or the flowy white one in Evangeline’s hands.

A few minutes of internal struggle later, Evangeline decided to go with the safer option.

Only then was Eleanora finally able to sigh, relieved that the matter was finally settled. She had never thought that fashion could be so excruciating and miserable, but her mistress had done the impossible.

"Then... What accessories do you think complement the dress best?" Evangeline asked. "This earring or this one? How about this bracelet? Or is it too much? Oh, I need to pick a good pair of shoes too."

"By the Abyss..." Eleanora face-palmed. This was going to be a veeeeery long night.

She wanted to beat the crap out of Alex right now! Just a word from him and she was already suffering so much!

Still, she was Evangeline’s handmaiden. Indecisive as her mistress was, this was her duty. Besides, Eleanora also didn’t want Evangeline to meet Alex in an attire that she didn’t feel fully comfortable in.

’If Alex doesn’t compliment my lady’s beauty after all of this, I’m going to castrate him even if it’s the last thing I do!’ Eleanora clenched her fists as she stormed back to her room.

She knew that tomorrow she wouldn’t be able to sit still while wondering what Evangeline and Alex were talking about. The solution was, obviously, to follow her Mistress secretly.

’I hope that there will be annoying thugs who will try to test me tomorrow,’ Eleanora thought. ’That way, I can finally beat someone up!’

She didn’t really understand what was so good about Alex that her lady was acting like a young schoolgirl whenever she thought of him.

’Although Chuck is a bastard, he’s still way better than that blackmailer!’ Eleanora thought. ’Wait, why am I thinking of that troublemaker now?’

The memory of her defeat brought a burning sensation to her cheeks, but at least Chuck had looked appropriately arrogant and suave. Just for that alone, he was way better than Alex Stratos, whose bounty had once again increased.