Chapter 60: Dressed for Punishment

Chapter 59: Dressed for Punishment

"Where are you now?"

"I’m at the mall. I bought a new phone and a temporary number."

"Which mall?"

When I told her where I was, an unsettling silence came from the other end of the call.

"Noctis..."

"What?"

"I texted you that we were supposed to meet there today."

I raised my head and looked around.

"Are you serious?"

"We were supposed to meet at the north entrance at one. I’ve been here for more than three hours."

Out of the dozens of shopping malls in the city, I had somehow managed to choose the right one by accident. At least my luck hadn’t completely run out.

"I’m on the floor with the electronics stores."

"Don’t move."

"Don’t you need me to tell you exactly where I am?"

"I’ll find you."

She ended the call.

I lowered the phone from my ear and stared at the screen. I hadn’t expected Eris to give me a polite goodbye before hanging up, but the determination in her voice made me uneasy.

I considered running away.

After thinking about it for only a few seconds, I gave up on the idea. Eris was already inside the mall and had said she would find me. I didn’t want to burn down the entire building while trying to escape from someone with a Fire Nexus.

Besides, I owed her this.

She had called hospitals because she was worried about me, come all the way to my apartment, and waited hours for me to answer. I decided not to complain if she shouted at me, hit me, or pulled my ear in front of everyone when we met.

As long as she didn’t cause any permanent damage...

About three minutes later, I spotted the familiar red hair at the other end of the corridor.

Eris wore black sweatpants and a short, dark top that left a small strip of her waist exposed. A training bag hung from her shoulder, and since her long red hair had been tied back in a hurry, several strands had fallen around her face.

The moment she saw me, she quickened her pace.

I couldn’t quite read her expression. Her brows were drawn together in anger, but her eyes held more exhaustion and worry than rage.

I stood from the bench and braced myself for the approaching blow.

Eris ran the last few meters.

Just as I closed my eyes and waited for the slap, her arms wrapped around me.

The impact made me stagger backward. I stretched one arm to the side to keep from dropping the bag as Eris buried her face in my shoulder and held me so tightly that I struggled to breathe.

For several seconds, I had no idea what to do.

As I felt the familiar warmth of Eris’s body, my hands remained suspended in the air. Her breath against my shoulder was uneven, and the fingers gripping my shirt trembled slightly.

"Idiot..." she whispered. "I really thought you were dead."

Something tightened inside my chest.

I slowly wrapped my arms around her back.

"I’m sorry."

Eris spoke without raising her head.

"Say it again."

"I’m sorry."

"Properly."

"I’m truly sorry for making you worry."

There wasn’t even the slightest hint of a joke in my voice this time.

After hugging me for a little longer, Eris suddenly pulled away. Just as I started to relax, she grabbed my cheeks with both hands and pulled my face toward hers.

"Does anything hurt?"

"My cheeks will if you keep squeezing them like this."

My words didn’t stop her. She turned my face from side to side before checking my arms and shoulders. When she found no visible injuries, some of the tension left her, but the suspicion in her eyes remained.

"Did you really do nothing but hide?"

"What else could I have done? I don’t even have a Nexus."

I tried to keep the black bracelet around my wrist away from her. Umbrella looked like an ordinary accessory, but if Eris examined it closely, she might realize she had never seen me wearing it before.

Fortunately, all her attention was currently focused on my face.

"The news said a masked Guardian destroyed the core," she said. "They said everyone inside might have died if he hadn’t appeared."

I cleared my throat.

"Really?"

"Apparently, his name is Orochimaru. It’s a slightly strange name, but he fought hundreds of creatures by himself."

"I don’t think it’s that bad."

Eris narrowed her eyes slightly.

"I don’t trust your taste in names. You give your game characters names like Supreme Dark Lord."

"That’s completely different."

Eris shook her head and sighed again.

"I don’t know who he is, but he saved you too. If I ever meet him, I’ll thank him."

I looked away.

I hoped that would never happen. For Eris to thank Orochimaru, I would have to stand before her as him, which would mean revealing my true identity.

"Show me your phone," she said.

I took the new phone out of the bag and handed it to her. After examining the device for several seconds, Eris raised one eyebrow.

"This model isn’t cheap."

"The saleswoman was strong."

"What?"

"Never mind. I couldn’t resist."

Eris turned the screen toward me so I could unlock it. After I entered the passcode I had just created, she took the phone back and saved her number in my contacts.

My expression froze when I saw the name of the new contact.

[Eris — Pick Up or Die]

"Couldn’t you save it normally?"

"No. You also said this number was temporary. What happened to your old line?"

"They said getting a replacement would take a few days, so I placed an order."

"Why go through all that trouble? You could have sent your new number to everyone."

I hesitated briefly before answering, but Eris’s eyes were already fixed on me.

"I can’t recover my angel’s number without getting my old number back."

The concern on Eris’s face slowly disappeared, replaced by a familiar and unsettlingly calm expression.

"Your angel?"

I realized I had chosen the wrong words, but it was too late to take them back.

"I still don’t know her name. What else do you expect me to call her?"

"As if saving her in your phone as Angel wasn’t enough, now you’re calling her your angel out loud too."

"That’s not what matters right now. Her home was very close to the Overlap area, and I don’t know whether she’s safe."

Eris pursed her lips for a moment. She clearly wanted to remain annoyed, but she knew my concern was justified and couldn’t push the matter too far.

"You’ll find out once your old number is restored," she finally said. "But there’s nothing you can do for her right now."

"I know."

"Then you’re coming with me."

I nodded without knowing what I had agreed to.

When Eris closed her fingers around my wrist and began dragging me down the corridor, I remembered our original plan.

"Wait, do we really have to go shopping today? I just told you I nearly died."

"You said you survived by hiding, and there isn’t a single scratch on your body."

"I’m emotionally wounded."

"You looked perfectly fine while buying a new phone."

"That’s different."

Without stopping, Eris turned her face toward me. The sweet smile on her lips looked more dangerous than the ram-headed monster had just before attacking me.

"Because you were hours late and scared me, you’re going to do everything I say today. Think of it as your punishment."

"Are there any limits to this punishment?"

"I haven’t decided yet."

"Eris..."

"First, we’re going to look at wedding dresses."

My steps slowed when I saw the store at the end of the corridor, its display window filled with white wedding dresses. Eris tightened her grip around my wrist, completely eliminating any chance of escape.

I had survived an Overlap, hundreds of monsters, and a ram-headed creature.

But my real battle might only just be beginning.

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A/N: Hiii, humanoids!

I’ve decided to change this novel’s title... I’ve noticed that the word "femboy" in the title hasn’t been very well received, and it’s been hurting the novel.

Anyway, if you have a title in mind that you think would suit this novel, feel free to share it in the comments!

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