Chapter 80: I can’t stop my nosebleed

"Thank you, Ladies, for helping make the atmosphere so tense earlier."

Elias bowed to Evelyn and Elysia. He was truly grateful to the two girls for being willing to help.

Seeing Elias bow like that, Evelyn felt a little awkward. She waved her hand with a small laugh.

"Oh my~ You don’t have to go that far. We were having fun with Mira, so we wanted to help make her happy too."

Elysia nodded in agreement with Evelyn before adding,

"Mm. At first we thought it’d fail because we’re bad at acting. But who would’ve thought everything would go so smoothly."

Elias could only smile wryly hearing them put down their own acting skills. Honestly, if they were really that bad at acting, how could the two of them have hidden their true selves all this time?

It was like a veteran belittling her own skills all the way down to the bottom of the earth.

’Who can hide their true nature as well as Evelyn and Elysia? In this world, I dare say only the two of them!’

Elias sighed for a moment before smiling at them again.

"Anyway, I’m really grateful to you both."

Suddenly, Aunt Centipede who was standing behind Elias, patted his shoulder before pulling him closer.

*Pat.

"That’s enough thanking. Don’t you notice something different about your two girlfriends here?"

Evelyn and Elysia’s faces turned red right away when Aunt Centipede called them Elias’s girlfriends. Even though the villagers had called them that a few times already, the two still weren’t used to hearing it.

Well, it was only natural. They hadn’t even been in Valebrook Village for a full day.

"Ugh... Auntie, how many times do I have to tell you it’s not what you think? They’re my masters and I’m just their Caretaker."

Elias tried to explain that his relationship with the two girls was nothing more than that of a master and a Caretaker.

But of course, an explanation like that wasn’t going to make Aunt Centipede stop. Maybe she actually understood, she just had no intention of stopping her teasing.

After all, to her, seeing the two girls’ faces turn red was pretty entertaining.

"Elias... You know what? In novels, no matter what someone’s status is, noble or commoner, as long as they love each other, they can be together forever. And you know what lets them be together? Love. That’s the amazing power of love..."

"That’s just a novel, fiction! How could I ever be like that? Don’t set your hopes too high. The higher your hopes, the more it hurts when you fall."

"Of course it’s possible, Elias."

Hearing Aunt Centipede, Elias just raised an eyebrow. To him, hoping for something you might never even get was pretty silly.

Having hope was good, sure, but putting too much hope into something wasn’t a good thing either. Besides, hope alone wasn’t enough to make something come true.

And Elias obviously had nothing to work with other than hope.

"How would you know, Auntie?"

"Because I can tell from the face," Aunt Centipede said with a proud snort.

Elias touched his own face on reflex when he heard that.

"My face?"

"Not yours, idiot. Their faces."

Elias glanced over at Evelyn and Elysia. Both of their faces looked red, and they seemed restless, shifting their bodies every now and then like they couldn’t stay still.

Seeing that, Elias was startled.

’How could they already need to pee after just one glass of beer?!’

Seeing Elias’s shocked reaction, Aunt Centipede smiled in satisfaction, feeling like she’d gotten through to him.

"See? You still have hope."

Hearing Aunt Centipede talk about hope again, Elias only got more confused. He had no idea what she meant.

Besides, Aunt Centipede should’ve known that Elias wasn’t very good at reading other people’s facial expressions. And after looking at the two girls, the only conclusion he could draw was that they were holding in the urge to pee.

’Their faces are red, which means they’re starting to get drunk. And their bodies keep moving around and can’t stay still, like they’re holding something in.

’When you think about it, what a person usually does when they’re restless like that is obvious. They really gotta pee.’

Truly, a remarkable observation from Elias Veyron.

"Hmm... You’re right, Auntie."

"Hoo~ So, you’re fired up? Wanna try it?!"

"Yeah! I’ll try it!"

’I’ll try that beer too, to make sure a drink really can make someone need to pee with just one glass.’

Evelyn and Elysia were stunned by Elias’s answer. Both their faces turned red as tomatoes right away.

How could they not? The man had said it in a loud voice, like he was making an important announcement in front of a crowd.

Evelyn touched her flushed cheek with one hand while the other was still holding her glass.

’Oh my, oh my! What do I do? Elias? Try? What does he mean by try?!’

On the other side, Elysia lowered her head a little to hide her red face. But her ears turning red too made her effort pointless.

’Try? Elias... I wanna "try" him too!’

It seemed Elysia had misread what Elias meant. But oh well. There’d been misunderstandings between them from the very start anyway.

Aunt Centipede, delighted by Elias’s answer, patted his head proudly.

"Good, Elias! That’s the spirit of youth. Now, take a good look at the two of them."

"Huh? Why?"

"Just do as I say."

Elias had no choice but to look the two girls in front of him over, from toe to head.

"Ah, Ladies. You’re wearing new clothes. Sorry, I didn’t notice since I was too focused on Mira’s birthday."

"N-no problem. That’s only natural," Evelyn answered with a slight stammer from nerves.

Elysia then chimed in, in a voice lower than usual.

"At least you’ve noticed now."

Elias scratched his head as he looked over the outfits the two girls were wearing again.

"But seriously, you two are still beautiful even in simple clothes like these."

Evelyn and Elysia’s faces turned even redder after hearing that compliment.

"I-I see... Haha..."

"...I-I don’t care about that..."

Watching the three of them interact was truly entertaining for Aunt Centipede. But that wasn’t actually her main goal.

"Ladies, are your clothes comfortable?" Aunt Centipede asked as she walked up to them.

"Comfortable enough..."

"Enough? So not completely comfortable. Let me see which part is bothering you."

Aunt Centipede stood right in front of the two of them and started examining their clothes. Then she walked around Evelyn and Elysia, like she was searching for the problem spot.

A moment later, she stopped beside the two girls and looked at Elias.

"Come closer, Elias."

Elias pointed at himself with a confused look before finally walking over to the three of them.

’What now?’

Once Elias was standing close enough, Aunt Centipede continued.

"Just look at the area from their shoulders to their waists."

Elias raised an eyebrow. He still didn’t get what Aunt Centipede wanted to show him.

"Huh? Why? You’re not making me do something weird again, are you?"

"When have I ever made you do something weird, Elias?"

"All the time. You forced me to drink poison, made me your Potion guinea pig, and even used me as a dummy to test how painful insect and venomous animal bites are."

Aunt Centipede was startled by Elias’s words. Everything he’d listed made sense, and it had really happened.

But of course, the woman wasn’t going to admit it.

"J-just do it already!"

Hearing Aunt Centipede’s voice rise, Elias could only sigh in resignation.

*Sigh~

"Yeah, yeah..."

Elias then looked over the girls’ clothes carefully, from their waists up to their shoulders. He was trying to find the part that might be making them uncomfortable.

But after looking for a while, he still hadn’t found anything odd. So Elias tried examining them once more, more carefully this time.

"What exactly are you trying to show me—?!"

His words stopped dead when he finally noticed something.

His eyes widened a little, and cold sweat started forming on his forehead. A few moments later, blood began to flow from his nose.

*Drip...

Aunt Centipede, noticing that Elias had finally understood, smiled mischievously.

"What do you think?"

Even after Aunt Centipede asked, Elias still looked flustered. He rubbed his chin like he was weighing something.

"Auntie... What exactly are you making me do? I’m a decent guy. Why are you making me do something like this?"

"Look at yourself before you talk, you brat."

"But seriously, Auntie. I can’t stop my nosebleed."

"..."

While Elias and Aunt Centipede stared at each other, Evelyn and Elysia only got more flustered. Elias’s reaction secretly made both of them happy.

’I’m glad Mira picked this dress.’

’The dress feels more comfortable now.’

The two of them had felt the clothes were a bit uncomfortable because they were too tight. But after seeing Elias’s reaction, it seemed they’d started to forget about that.

"What are you all doing?"

"Oh, Mira. Auntie’s having your brother check the part of Lady Evelyn and Elysia’s clothes that feels uncomfortable."

Hearing Aunt Centipede’s explanation, Mira only tilted her head a little before looking over the two girls’ clothes too.

She tried to find the part that might be making them uncomfortable. But after looking for a while, Mira noticed something far more suspicious.

She then shifted her gaze to her brother.

Blood was flowing from both of Elias’s nostrils. The man was even standing there with a furrowed brow, as if he was concentrating hard on something.

"Ah... Seriously..."

* * *