## Chapter 117 – Acer. Reunion
Acer opened the closet, which had been firmly shut for the past two years and rarely opened, and spread all the clothes inside on the floor.
From frequently worn suits and coats to flimsy dresses she barely wore, and even revealing, see-through outfits she couldn’t imagine wearing outside.
Acer, with a wide smile on her face, held two or three pieces of clothing in her hands and asked Charlotte in a bright voice.
“Hmm? Is this outfit not good? Then how about this one? Isn’t it a bit sexy? I think Number 25 would like it?”
Charlotte watched Acer, who was placing clothes over her chest and opening her mouth as if enjoying herself, and pressed her temples as if she had a headache.
“How many hours are you going to spend picking clothes? It’s already been four hours.”
She already had an unnecessarily large amount of clothes, and trying them on one by one was taking even more time.
At Charlotte’s scolding, Acer hugged the clothes in her arms and trailed off as she replied.
“But… it’s the first time I’m meeting Number 25 in two years, isn’t it? I want to go wearing the prettiest clothes…”
It wasn’t that she didn’t understand her feelings. Charlotte was also trembling at the thought of meeting Number 25.
That feeling was even stronger than Acer’s. It never lagged behind.
But at this rate, she wouldn’t be able to go see him even after the whole day had passed.
Charlotte wanted to let her choose the clothes she wanted, but now she had no choice. It was time to make a decision.
Charlotte picked up one outfit from among the many clothes. The one she held in her hand and handed to Acer was a navy suit that she usually wore.
“You look the prettiest when you’re wearing this outfit, Your Majesty. Don’t you think Number 25 would think so too? He’s probably hoping for the most Majesty-like appearance, the one he’s seen the most often, right? I think it’s much better than ruining the atmosphere by wearing some strange clothes.”
“Is that so?”
After a long time, she finally chose an outfit, but Acer’s demands didn’t end there.
She twisted her dry hair with her hands and said to Charlotte.
“Cut my hair too. Now that I see it, I haven’t been able to take care of it at all.”
She wanted to say something, but seeing Acer smiling brightly like a child, Charlotte sighed deeply.
“Come this way.”
Charlotte said, pointing to the chair in front of the vanity. She went behind Acer, who was sitting quietly in the chair, took out a sharp pair of scissors from the drawer, and began to cut her overgrown hair.
Acer felt her hair getting lighter and hummed a song as if she was in a good mood.
Charlotte continued to nag her even while cutting her hair.
“That’s why I always told you, right? Please take care of yourself. What is this all of a sudden? Acting only after something happens is just like the former Demon King.”
Unlike her harsh words, Charlotte’s touch as she trimmed Acer’s hair was endlessly gentle.
As time passed, her blonde hair, reborn from Charlotte’s fingertips, regained its former luster.
Acer, seeing her reflection in the mirror, was speechless for a moment. The tired, hollow eyes were full of life, and the hair that seemed like it would crumble was flowing like silk.
“Thank you.”
Charlotte nodded slightly and silently looked at the hands of the clock.
Two o’clock, if they left soon, they would arrive without being late.
“Ah, we have to disguise ourselves too.”
“Disguise?”
“Even if you’re a rotten fish, you’re still a bream, you have to consider that students will flock to you at the academy. Even though Your Majesty’s appearance is pathetic right now, it’s not like you don’t have any followers, right?”
“Even so, to disguise myself…”
Charlotte maintained a firm attitude towards Acer, who was hesitating.
“If students flock to you, you might not be able to find Number 25, and even if you do meet him, you might not be able to greet him properly. Is that okay with you?”
Only then did Acer quickly shake her head.
“I don’t want that.”
“Then wear this quietly.”
What Charlotte brought was a pair of sunglasses and a pink wig.
A tacky design that she would never usually wear, Acer began to disguise herself with tears in her eyes.
Acer, wearing sunglasses and a pink wig on her head, asked in a tired tone.
“How is it, you won’t recognize me with this, right?”
For some reason, Charlotte, who was covering her mouth, couldn’t hold back her laughter and opened her mouth.
“Perfect. Then let’s go now.”
Acer followed Charlotte out of the castle for the first time in nearly two years.
She looked around with a worried face.
“The streets…”
People who didn’t recognize Acer because she was disguised were still causing a ruckus as usual.
Charlotte was about to say something, but Acer spoke in a serious tone before she could.
“Yeah, it’s okay. If I just see Number 25, I’ll take proper care of it…”
“That’s a relief then. It was painful to keep watching the area that the former Demon King cultivated fall apart.”
Acer pursed her lips.
She knew better than anyone that Charlotte had made painstaking efforts while she was immersed in the swamp of grief.
The regret she was deeply feeling was pressing down on Acer, who had come out into the light, once again into the darkness.
If Charlotte hadn’t lightly patted Acer’s shoulder as if to say she was okay, she would have shown a gloomy face at the moment of reuniting with Number 25.
After that, the two arrived in District 1 without saying much and took a seat in an alley where the entrance of the academy was clearly visible.
The two were eating snacks they bought from a street vendor, their eyes fixed on the entrance.
In the first place, the academy didn’t have a fixed dismissal time.
Number 25 might have already left school, or there might be no harvest today.
The two were enduring the time of patience with only the belief that they would be able to meet Number 25.
Not even an hour had passed yet, but Acer asked in an anxious voice.
“He’s really coming, right?”
“It hasn’t even been an hour yet…”
She wanted to answer kindly, but it was already the fifth time she had asked.
Charlotte’s answer was gradually becoming perfunctory, to the point where her ears were calloused.
Acer put her hands together on her chest and whispered with a red face.
“What should I do? I’m already nervous…”
Charlotte, seeing Acer’s eyes shining like a girl, raised the corners of her mouth and smiled happily.
As expected, she looked much better smiling brightly like this than looking depressed.
Perhaps feeling sorry that only Acer was talking, Charlotte asked a question for the first time.
“Have you thought about what you’re going to do first when you meet him?”
Acer immediately revealed her wish without a moment’s hesitation.
“Of course. First, I’m going to hug him tightly. And then…”
Acer stared at one place while she was talking.
Charlotte followed her gaze and was able to find two men.
It’s the same as yesterday.
A small man stuck close to a large blonde man.
It was like watching a cicada attached to an old tree.
The important thing is not that.
She can see it clearly.
He has a scar on his cheek, and he has grown a little taller, but his appearance has not changed at all.
There’s no mistake.
It’s definitely Number 25.
She was relieved to see his healthy appearance with her own eyes. All that was left was to carefully follow him so that Number 25 wouldn’t be surprised and talk to him.
Charlotte, wiping away the tears that had begun to flow, filled with relief and joy, looked to the side and said.
“I’m so glad that he seems to be doing well…”
He’s gone.
Charlotte witnessed the empty seat next to her and looked around.
Acer, who had been next to her until just now, had disappeared without a trace, and only the sunglasses and wig remained in her place.
“What, where did she go?”
Acer was already running towards him without anyone being able to stop her.
●
“Then see you tomorrow.”
He finished saying goodbye to Saruk, who was waving at him, and was about to return to District 2.
He was now used to opening a rift in a dark alley so as not to be seen by the surrounding students.
It was then.
His body was pulled back sharply, and he saw someone’s arm wrapped around his chest.
He felt a strong force in the tightly embraced arm, as if they didn’t want to let go again.
Apart from that, he felt a soft sensation from the chest touching his back.
Number 25, who had not identified the identity of the person, let out a flustered voice.
“Wh-Who are you?”
After a moment of silence, the person behind Number 25 said in a tearful voice, sobbing.
“What… have you already forgotten my embrace?”
At the same time as hearing the mumbling voice, Number 25’s gray eyes widened and his body began to tremble.
The voice he had always held in his heart.
What if it wasn’t the person he was thinking of? With that worry in mind, Number 25 turned his head very slowly.
Blonde hair tickling his face, golden eyes sparkling with tears.
The red lips that always whispered kind stories and words of love to him, and above all, the overwhelmingly large, voluminous chest that he vividly felt with his back.
He had never forgotten any of it.
However, he never thought that the day would come when he would witness the reality with his own eyes.
The voice that came out of his mouth was trembling without his will.
“Demon King…?”
The reunion of the two was as unexpected as their first meeting.
However, this time it was not a crumbling iron cage with the fear of death looming over them.
Acer didn’t say anything and put more strength into the hand holding Number 25.
Before he knew it, tears were also dripping from Number 25’s eyes.
He groped with his trembling hand and caressed Acer’s hand.
Soft, warm hands.
The slender hands that always caressed his head and patted him warmly.
Acer’s trembling is transmitted.
She shrugged her shoulders and whispered to Number 25.
“…I missed you.”
Those words became a fuse and finally ignited the longing that showed no signs of disappearing from one corner of Number 25’s heart.
