Gigolo Diaries-Chapter 10: Elaine and Lain
He paid the coachman with a few don notes. Coins had become scarce in recent years, and paper currency was slowly replacing them.
After paying, he moved towards the party at the edge of the gate.
As he got closer someone suddenly stopped him, the man was tall and looked to be in his early twenties. He wore a leather armour with the holy knight’s crest patched on his chest.
"Where do you think you’re going? Can’t you see the crest?" He pointed at his badge.
His brown hair shone in the morning glow and although his looks were above average, to someone as good-looking as Eros, he wasn’t that much.
"I’m here for Elaine. Is she here?"
The man blinked a couple of times before realisation dawned on him.
"Oh, you’re the Eros kid she was talking about."
Eros’s fingers twitched; they were almost the same age and he was calling him a kid.
"Sorry about that man, I didn’t expect you to be... this old."
It was clear that Elaine had talked about him as if he were a child, and while he didn’t like that, it wasn’t out of character for her—the blue-haired her.
"Hey Rox," the brown-haired dude said to one of the men arranging their supplies. "Tell Elaine Eros has arrived."
The man nodded and went on to deliver the message.
"So, you’re her colleague?" Eros asked after the silence became a bit unnerving.
"Well, she’s more of the boss around here. You’re going to be joining us on the operation right?"
Eros nodded, affirming his suspicions.
"Oh that’s cool, I’m Gareth, the main healer." He stretched out his hand.
Eros took his hand after a moment of hesitation, the dude seemed cool, although that was only because he knew Eros was connected with Elaine.
"She’s coming over." He said, pointing at the approaching figure. "Shit, her hair is red, I gotta go before I get scolded for no reason."
Watching the dude scurry away Eros didn’t find anything strange. As someone who had lived with Elaine, he knew how eccentric the red-haired her—Lain—could be at times.
In less than a second she was already in front of him and Eros’ was dumbfounded at how much she had grown. Not only was she so much more beautiful than he remembered, but she had also gotten a lot fatter in the right areas.
Before he could get a word out, her firm hands took him in a bear hug, her fingers grasping onto his back like it was the only real thing. He reciprocated the hug and didn’t make a sound as her fingers dug into his skin.
Her hair slowly turned blue and Eros began to hear her sobs, muffled by his clothes.
He patted her head slowly and whispered into her ear. "It’s alright, I’m here now."
"Donla and Shion are both dead," she said amidst sobs. A sharp pang went through Eros’ heart as names that he had long chosen to bury were dug up from the depths of his heart.
"And there was nothing I could do." Her fingers dug deeper into his back and if not for his cultivation, his skin would have broken.
"They wouldn’t have wanted to see you like this," he whispered.
She didn’t respond. She just wrapped her legs around him and held onto his neck tightly, as if he were her last anchor in the real world.
None of them said anything as her sobs slowly grew quiet.
Before he knew it she had fallen asleep in his arms, her heart that had been weighed down by so much guilt from over the years finally calmed down. Her fingers clung to his clothes so tightly that it was almost impossible to release her grip without tearing his clothes apart.
Not that he planned to do that. If he could give her an iota of comfort then he would do so.
"Captain, we’re ready to move..." a female voice suddenly came from upfront.
A tall lady with glasses revealed herself, her mouth was agape, closing from time to time as if finding the right words to address the situation.
In the end, she just let out a sigh and faced Eros.
"You’re Eros right?"
He nodded at her, still holding onto Elaine.
"Can you ride a horse, with—," she pointed at Elaine, "—her on you?"
Eros responded affirmatively again, back at the Yin and Yang sect he had mastered horse riding so he doubted it would be much of a problem even while carrying someone.
"Okay good, pick a horse, we’ll be moving in a minute," she said in a hurry. "Hopefully the redhead wakes up along the way."
Eros was a bit surprised and picked a horse nonetheless. He had expected to use the carriage, but it seemed that it wasn’t meant for them
It was also strange seeing these people so used to Elaine’s dual personality, although it was expected considering that she had spent quite a large amount of time with them
The blue-haired Elaine represented her ice affinity—soft and calm.
The redhead version, Lain, represented her affinity with fire—strong, tough-skinned and more than a little perverted.
While Elaine could cry in his arms, Lain would never do such a thing, that was why most people found it easier to be around Elaine.
Although Eros who had been with her for a long time, could handle both of them.
With Elaine still clinging to him, he climbed onto the horse and the crew began to move. The gates were opened revealing the Glygen Forest.
"Just follow our lead and you’ll be alright," the tall woman with glasses perched on her face said. Her name was Rachel and she was Elaine’s secretary.
As the horses moved there was a single golden carriage in the middle of the formation, Eros had already realised that it was some sort of escort job, not that he cared much.
There was a cleared path in the forest which they were following.
After asking Rox who was beside him a few questions, Eros was able to understand the basic details of the mission. Their main job was to escort the carriage to a region deep in the woods and leave it there.
When Eros asked what was in the carriage, all he got was a shrug. "I don’t know," Rox said in a carefree tone.
As they continued forward on the never ending road, they got attacked a few times, but before Eros could even pull out a dagger the rest of them had made short work of the beasts.
They moved like a well-coordinated military unit, and that was probably because they were one.
Eros was so entranced in their display of skill he didn’t even realise that Elaine’s hair had changed colour until he felt her hands leave his back and begin roaming on his chest.
