While carrying the drunk Alea on his back, Theo walked together with Ellen.
"Theo." Ellen gently called his name. A small smile appeared on her face as she remembered the first time they met. "Do you remember our first meeting?"
"It was in the gym, right? You healed me."
"Nah, it was when Alea greeted you. I was right behind her."
"Ah, yes."
"I underestimated you back then, you know."
"So?" Theo tilted his head in confusion. "I don't see any problem with it."
"I guess that's how you are…" Ellen raised her head and looked at the dark sky. "I just wanted to say that I regret underestimating you even if you cared nothing about it. And I would like to apologize for that."
Seeing Ellen's expression, Theo turned serious and nodded. "I understand. I accept your apology."
"Thank you." Ellen smiled. "I guess this is the first time we have a conversation like this… You usually talk about training and… training."
"I just set my priorities right." Theo shook his head.
"Indeed. Your perseverance was the one that brought you to this step. I don't know if anyone has told you this, but I want to say… Theo, congratulations. You have worked harder than anyone else in our group and your hard work has been rewarded. What you have gotten until now, whether you are aware of it or not, you deserve it. From the bottom of my heart, I feel happy for you."
"Thank you." A genuine smile couldn't help but appear on Theo's face. It was a different feeling from when Aisha praised him. Ellen had been one of the most important people in his growth other than his teacher… And a girl like her praised him with more understanding than anyone else, how could he not feel happy about it.
"You're welcome."
"I also want to thank you for helping me with all kinds of problems I encountered in school."
"Ahaha, it's just the difference of experience. Nothing more than that… Though, I will still accept it." Ellen chuckled while saying, "Do you want some food or drink?"
"Nah, it's fine. I'm already full."
"Okay."
They continued walking at a fairly slow pace, just enjoying themselves talking to each other with a small thing. It might be because of Ellen's action, the emptiness of his heart as he had no one to talk with in the past decade, or just because his heart was still in the mood for celebration, Theo often let out a chuckle.
This looked simple, but the burden in Theo's heart was lifted for a bit, making him realize that the competition put too much stress on his heart.
The guys were still in the restaurant since they couldn't let the girls sleep too late just for a small celebration and Radvils also wanted to say something to the guys, so no one bothered them right now.
Theo and Ellen had a relaxing walk since the place wasn't that far from the hotel.
Suddenly, Alea moved her body while letting out a small but seductive moan. However, she seemed to be half awake as they heard her voice echoing in their ears.
"Mhm… Theo, why are you always so harsh to me…" Alea muttered in her sleep. "I know that I haven't been that mature like Ellen, but I have been progressing too. Or am I just unattractive since guys tend to be nicer to a beautiful girl? If you tell me what's wrong, I want to try to fix it."
"That's what I want to hear too." A smug smile flashed in Ellen as she looked at Theo. "You have been treating Alea differently. It's normal for your personality to do it, albeit I do find it a bit excessive as if you have a more important reason."
Theo fell silent and looked at the sky, thinking, 'How am I supposed to say that she almost killed me twice? Alea once told me about the turtle that I first met, so I realized it was her fault too. In addition to the mess she created with the bat...Ugh, I knew those two were not intentional, but I couldn't seem to forget about it every time I was with her.'
After a while, Theo smiled and said, "It's nothing you should be concerned about. However, I do feel she is attractive and I do know she has grown for the past six months."
"Then do you have a problem with her? Or do you have another thing that is more important than this? And it's somehow related to the Eilric Family or Alea herself?" Ellen asked politely. "Of course, if you don't want to talk about it, I won't mention it anymore."
"I do have a goal more important than this simple thing and all I can say is that my goal is beyond your understanding. I will leave it at that." Theo smiled as he obviously couldn't explain his ultimate goal, which was to fulfill God of Mischief's mission.
"Is that so?" Ellen nodded. "Anyway, thank you for opening up to me."
"It's just because of you… Thank you for taking care of me this whole time." Theo smiled.
Ellen couldn't help but remember Theo didn't have any more family members. It had been a few years ago, so she had been taking care of him like a little brother.
And this was the result. Before she replied to him, the hotel had come to their sight. "Could you help me carry Alea to her room? I will deal with the rest."
"Sure."
They then walked to the elevator and quickly made their way to Alea's room. Ellen used Alea's keycard and opened the room.
Theo gently put Alea down on the bed and positioned her in the middle of the bed. He then straightened his back and said while walking out. "I'm leaving."
"Yeah. Thank you, Theo."
"You're welcome."
After Theo left the room, Ellen began to undress Alea and covered her with the quilt before returning to her own room.
Little did they know, Alea might not open her eyes, but her hands couldn't help but clench the sheet.
It was unknown whether she was jealous to see Theo opening up to Ellen, the confusion came from Theo's answer, the anxiety of this "incident" that resulted in his harsh treatment, or the excitement when Theo said she was attractive. In any case, her heart was filled with frustration, joy, and sadness.