Chapter 898 - Redheads Cannot Be Trusted!
"... Are they still following us?" Belle asked.
William smiled as he lightly squeezed Belle"s hand. "Yes. Your friends seem to really care about you."
After leaving the cafe, William and Belle strolled through the city. They had no particular destination in mind, so they just randomly checked different places as they went.
Paula and Hana followed them from a distance while staying out of their sight. However, who was William? If such amateur stalking skills were to get past his detection then his training in Hestia would have all been for naught.
"If you like, we can try to lose them," Belle proposed.
William shook his head as he walked steadily. "There"s no need to lose them. If we suddenly disappear from their sights, they will certainly panic. Who knows? They might even do something reckless in their attempt to find you."
"Thank you, Will."
"You"re welcome. By the way, are you tired? We can rest if you want."
The Half-Elf was paying close attention to Belle"s condition because he didn"t know if she had already fully recovered from her ailment.
Belle smiled as she held onto William"s arm, as they walked side by side.
"I"m not as fragile as you think I am," Belle stated. "Your heart is very strong and it has kept me safe all these years. I"m fine."
William was doing his best to prevent himself from kissing the lady beside him because she had the knack for saying the things that made him happy.
The two lovebirds had also attracted the attention of the people walking on the streets with them. Some of them even discreetly took a picture of the both of them, thinking that they were celebrities taking a stroll in the city.
Several meters behind them, Paula and Hana, looked at this scene with complicated expressions on their faces.
They were happy that Belle seemed to be having fun on her date with William, but they were also worried that the red-headed teenager might just be playing with Belle"s heart.
This was the first romantic relations.h.i.+p that their best friend had, and both girls were worried that William was just after Belle"s beauty and the wealth of her family.
They were afraid that once the boy had gotten what he wanted from their best friend, he would just toss her aside like a used rag.
"Hana, what do you think?" Paula asked as she eyed William from their hiding place. "Can he really make Belle happy?"
"You saw her face in the cafe," Hana replied. "She is smitten with William. They usually say that one"s first love never works out. This is Belle"s first time having a boyfriend, the possibility of them breaking up is high."
"So, you mean that after he has had his way with her, he will call it quits?"
"The possibility exists."
"I knew it! Redheads cannot be trusted!" Paula gnashed her teeth. "Come on. They"re getting farther away. We might lose them if we don"t hurry."
Hana nodded as she followed one of her besties from a distance to ensure that William wouldn"t take her somewhere unusual.
Several hours later, William and Belle sat on a bench in the park located at the center of the city.
They had visited many shops, and even had several snacks along the way as they toured the city without any destination in mind.
Now that their date was coming to an end, the two decided to just relax for the time being while looking at the flowers that bloomed in front of them.
"So, among your wives, who is your favorite?" Belle asked before drinking the canned soda in her hand. "You must have a favorite, no?"
William drank his own canned soda as he pondered Belle"s question. He had never considered this matter before, because for him all of his wives and lovers were important.
"Each of them has their own unique set of traits that make them special in my heart," William replied after giving the question some thought. "For example, Wendy, she was the one that first confessed her feelings for me.
"She also showed me that it was possible for me to fall in love all over again, so she"s very special in my heart. Her straightforward att.i.tude, along with her genuine feelings made me feel that I am someone capable of loving others.
"Est is my first best friend outside of Lont. Because she has been cursed, I never thought of her as a love interest. In fact, the transition from being best friends to lovers wasn"t easy. She had held her feelings for me back for so many years, because she didn"t know if the curse on her body was going to be lifted.
"However, in the end, we decided to give it a try. My feelings for Est are complicated to say the least. As a boy, he was firm and steadfast. You could even say that he is the "dependable guy" you can always count on when things go south. But, as a girl, she"s… way too innocent. I feel like I"m corrupting someone pure when I"m with her inside my Sea of Consciousness."
Belle frowned. She didn"t understand the term Sea of Consciousness, but decided to put it aside for the time being. She waited for William to organize his thoughts to continue his descriptions of his wives and lovers.
The black-haired beauty wanted to know all of her love rival"s characteristics, so she would be able to deal with them whenever Wiliam found a way to take her with him, or he brought his wives to Earth for her to meet them.
"Then we have Ashe…," William smirked after remembering his beautiful mermaid bride that was hard on the outside, but very soft on the inside. "As a boy, he always bickered with me. He was like this rabid dog that would bite if you came close to his strike range. I swear that there were many occasions that I was tempted to give him a good beating in order to show him who"s boss."
Belle rolled her eyes at the red-headed teenager who was obviously bitten by the rabid dog that he was currently bad mouthing. Of course, if Belle knew that Ashe liked to bite Will"s… then the black-haired beauty would definitely tease William for acquiring rabies.
"But, she still became your wife, no?" Belle raised an eyebrow as he gazed at the Half-Elf beside her.
"Yes," William answered as he held Belle"s hand. He then pressed her hand over his chest, where the gem was embedded. "If it wasn"t for her, you and I would have never met again in this lifetime."
Belle"s jealousy of Ashe disappeared after hearing how she had saved William"s life. William told her about the Demons" invasion of the academy he was studying at, and the battle he had with the Astral Worm that had made his Spiritual World collapse.
"I will properly thank her when the two of us meet," Belle said softly as she rested her head on William"s shoulder.
William nodded his head in understanding before continuing his tale.
"Then we have my Master, Celine." William sighed after mentioning the name of his Master whose whereabouts he was not aware of. "After reincarnating in Hestia, she was my first crush. She was the most beautiful lady that I had seen back then, and I couldn"t count the number of times when I wished that she was my girlfriend."
Belle snorted. "She must be really beautiful for you to have a crush on her. It"s a shame that I am not able to see this Elf who had turned you into a slave."
"Do you want to see her?" William asked as he looked at his right side.
"Of course. Not only her, but I want to see all of your wives."
"Well, I"m not sure if it will work, but it"s worth a try."
Belle blinked in confusion before looking at William"s face who was looking back at her with an expectant gaze.
"You can really make that happen?" Belle asked.
William smiled. "I don"t know, but we won"t lose anything by trying. Let"s go back. It"s not safe to use that method out in the open."
Belle was still unsure about what William was planning. However, if she could really see the people who also loved the red-headed teenager with all of their hearts, it would allow her to understand these mysterious ladies who were able to always be with him, back in the world he now called home.