...

After we arrived at the Knight's Headquarters back in the capital, I headed straight to bed. I'm sure I'd survive without food until morning. I walked into one of the guest rooms after Chung gave us a tour of the place, it was quite fancy and grand! I flopped onto the bed, and tried to pass out.

"Ara, about that Add..." Eun started.

"Huh? What about him? Like I said before, he's a reliable ally to have..." I protested without hearing Eun's statement. Why was I suddenly so overprotective of him?

"Something still seems suspicious. He knows far too much about this entire place for a mere visitor/traveller. Also, it's as if... I've seen, or known him in the past, just like the Nasod Queen. However, I do not recognize the Nasod nor the Guardian." she explained.

Eun claims to have seen Add in the past, but not Eve and Chung. What's this supposed to mean? I've been with her for years now, and I've never met Add. Eun was sealed in Fahrmann for hundreds, or maybe even thousands of years before I met her, so... how is this possible? I trust my fox-spirit ally, she was often right about her suspicions, but this made no sense at all! This entire conversation wasn't helping with my ability to fall asleep, either.

I suddenly heard a knock on the door.

"Who is it?" I shouted.

"Add."

I sat up, then shouted again. "The door's open."

The gateway made a creaking sound when he turned the doorknob and opened the door. Then, he quietly walked into the room, as the door slammed shut with a loud noise automatically.

I reached over to the switch attached to the wall to turn on the lights. It was much brighter now, but it hurt my eyes since they were adjusted to the darkness. I rubbed both of my eyes with my index fingers, hoping that it'd help, which it did.

"Hm. Was I interrupting your beauty sleep?" he smirked.

"N-No, I was having trouble passing out..." I replied.

"Perhaps this'll help." Add crept over beside my ear, then whispered, "You're an interesting person, and I like that."

A flush of embarrassment immediately rose to my cheeks.

"E-Eh?! Th-That's not going to help at all!" I shouted.

He stood up straight, then started heading to the door, laughing like the maniac he is. "Well then, sweet dreams. Kyahahahahahaha, think about those words I've said. Could it be the truth? It could also be a lie. Who knows?"

And just like that, he swiftly stepped out of the room, making sure the door was closed quietly this time, excluding the sound of the creaky gateway.

I started thinking about what he whispered. Interesting person? 'Like'? Maybe he meant it as in liking me as an ally. But to go through the trouble of actually coming into my room to say that, I guess it was sweet of him? I don't know!

I reached over to the light-switch to turn off the luminescence, and laid back down on my bed.

The more I thought about his words, or maybe just Add in general, my cheeks started to heat up again.

"Eun, what should I do?" I asked, her advice usually helps me.

"Suspicious, suspicious, suspicious. We do not know his true intentions yet. But, if you still have trust in him, then so be it. Even if he does turn out to be the enemy, you still have Eve and Chung by your side to defeat him. To support my statement, take a look at his lack of sanity, for example. Does that seem normal to you? I think not." the fox said.

"Okay, I'll be ready for that if it ever does happen." I reassured her.

I lied to Eun, and I felt bad immediately after I spouted those words. I wasn't ready to fight Add if he does turn out to be an enemy. I've developed feelings for him over the short time I've known him for, without realizing it myself. The words he whispered earlier was what ignited my feelings, what gave me new hope. Why was this so difficult? For all I know, he could just be kidding around and teasing me.

All of this thinking eventually made me fall asleep.

"Good night, Ara." Eun softly whispered before I passed out.

...

---[CHAPTER 4 - SUSPICIONS & FEELINGS : END]---