touchnovel Chapter 60 Erza, will you believe me?
Chapter 60 Erza, will you believe me?
Zekrein: "..."
Erza: "..."
"Oh, sorry, sorry. I'm just a very curious person. I hope I didn't bother you?"
Chase stared intently at Zikrein.
The distance between their eyes was less than a finger's width.
"This has completely and utterly disturbed you!"
With Lucy absent, the Toadman Messenger took on the role of providing witty commentary.
"Ha, Chase, I'll remember you."
Ziklay snorted, waved his hand, and turned to leave.
"That matter must be kept a secret, Erza. It's good for both of us."
Words carrying warnings and threats lingered as he walked away.
Erza lowered her head, her expression somber, a complex light flickering deep within her beautiful eyes.
Soon, the two were brought into the courtroom.
At this moment, nine councilors sat side by side in the high seat, including Urutia, who was dressed in a clean white casual suit.
At the very top, in the main seat, is the current Speaker of the Council—Crawford Himm.
He's that big-bearded idiot who used an ancient text to transfer the "Fez" key to himself, only to have his heart and lungs ripped out by the Gates of Hades.
As Zikrein said, everyone is the most ordinary thought entity.
Chase and Erza stood side by side in front of the dock, their gazes sweeping over the high-ranking members of parliament.
Apart from a few peripheral figures I barely remember, I recognize most of them.
Crawford glanced speechlessly at Chase, who was looking around like a tourist, and sighed helplessly.
The act of assaulting a council envoy can be a serious matter or a minor one.
An ordinary guild could easily lock someone up for ten days or half a month, but Chess is the hero of the Relic Island who just received a lot of praise from their council, and he's also a member of that troublesome Fairy Tail.
He really didn't want to waste his energy dealing with them; he just wanted to get through Erza's process as quickly as possible and send the two of them back to where they came from.
So he raised his gavel and tapped it on the table.
dong dong.
The crisp sound echoed in the empty, quiet hall.
"The defendant is Erza Scarlet, the one involved in the Cursed Song incident that occurred a few days ago in the Iron Forest."
"Destroy part of Osibana Station, damage the Lusica Canyon Railway, and completely destroy the Kurobala Town Council House."
"You are suspected of the above crimes. According to witnesses, the perpetrator is a red-haired woman wearing armor..."
Boom!!
Just as Crawford was about to announce the verdict, an explosion suddenly rang out from the tightly closed doors at the front of the hall.
"That's right! I am that red-haired woman in armor, Erza Scarlet!!"
A strange man dressed in a junk made of cobbled-together scrap metal rushed in, shouting incessantly.
From the blazing flames emanating from his mouth and his arrogant tone, the council members instantly recognized the man's identity.
"Natsu?!" Erza looked completely bewildered.
"Hahaha, so it finally happened, Natsu, no, Erza." Chess laughed heartily, having expected this.
"...I feel inexplicably offended by what you said."
Erza pointed at Natsu and sighed heavily.
This grotesque appearance doesn't resemble me at all!
Ultimately, as expected.
Thanks to Natsu's intrusion, Chess and Erza, who were supposed to go home today, ended up spending the night in the Council's luxury suite.
Inside the prison.
"I'm speechless with utter disbelief!"
Rosa sat on the ground, rubbing her forehead in despair.
After a lot of effort to explain, Natsu finally understood the reason and scratched his hair in frustration.
"Haha, well done, Natsu! I think I would have done the same," Chess said with a laugh, giving a thumbs up.
"Should I say you two are really birds of a feather...?" Erza's speechlessness deepened.
To be honest, she still couldn't figure out whether Chess came to keep her company out of kindness or just wanted to watch the show!
"Putting aside the facts, don't you think it's cool, Erza, to risk your life for your comrades?" Chase asked.
Upon hearing this, Erza looked up at the adorable Natsu, and a relaxed and reassuring smile appeared on her lips.
"Indeed."
"In short, Chess, Natsu, thank you for today."
After saying that, she reached out and gently embraced the two people in front of her.
Ding! Dong!
Two sharp cracks rang out—the painful screams of a head slamming into steel armor.
"So hard!!" x2
After a commotion, Natsu lay down on the ground and fell peacefully asleep.
The sound of snoring followed; this guy has the ability to fall asleep without a care in the world, no matter where he is.
"What a lovely child."
Erza squatted down in front of Natsu, sometimes gently poking his cheek with her finger, and sometimes using both hands to pull Natsu's face into the shape of the toadman messenger.
The Fairy Queen, renowned in the outside world, seemed to enjoy bullying Natsu ever since she was very young.
Chess just stood there quietly watching.
He only spoke slowly after Erza had finished playing.
"You still care about it, huh?"
Chase's expression turned slightly serious. "Erza, when I saw Zekrein earlier, it was quite obvious that I could sense panic and even fear from you."
"What exactly is this matter he's talking about?"
When he was first locked up, Chess had already observed him closely.
This is the lowest security level prison in the Council, almost unattended, and without any magical image crystal balls for surveillance.
Upon hearing this, Erza's pupils contracted, her expression changed drastically, and she instinctively tightened her grip on her knees.
"Please, Chase, don't ask."
Her long, crimson hair fell down, obscuring Erza's face, making it impossible to discern her expression.
Her voice was weak, with a slight tremor, completely lacking the elegance of a fairy queen.
The Tower of Paradise was Erza's lifelong pain, even after escaping from that nightmarish place and gaining "freedom".
She still carried the lives of her former comrades and everyone in the tower on her shoulders.
Chase shifted his gaze from Erza, who was huddled slightly in the corner, and looked up at the narrow window in the prison wall.
The bright moonlight shone down, casting a gentle yet warm glow over the entire cell.
"It must be incredibly difficult for one person to bear all the pain alone, right? If you don't speak out, you'll never get any help from anyone."
Chase looked at Erza again and said in a deep voice, "Erza, will you believe me?"
Staring blankly at the smiling man under the moonlight, Erza trembled, unable to hide her inner vulnerability and years of repression any longer. A tear slid down one cheek and dripped onto the cold, hard armor.
That night, she opened up to Chester for the first time, telling others about the unpleasant things that happened in the Tower of Paradise.