"Cancel the teleportation for now." Eric gave a quick side glance to the masked figure and then shifted his full attention to Aria again.
Truthfully, it would've been a lie to say that he hadn't anticipated a huge outburst from Aria even before they began this 'trip' of theirs.
Aria was well... Aria after all.
Moreover, she was traveling with someone she hated.
It probably would've been less strange if she didn't fuss about anything the entire time and behaved obediently.
That was why Eric had brought over the portable satellite internet terminal and various of other things currently in his backpack for her.
It wasn't because he was being considerate for her, although he could see how it could be interpreted that way, but rather it was so that Aria could be occupied with other things and won't bother him as much while she walked with him for a couple of days.
However, he didn't expect Aria to have an episode over something this trivial... even though to be fair, no normal person would stay sane after seeing what happened as well.
Because it was just plain... stupid, to say the least.
Like seriously, she just saw him get injured or something and a little blood spilled on her face, and now all of a sudden she doesn't want to confront and avenge her parent's death anymore?
Shouldn't she be happy that he was getting hurt on her damn behalf instead?
Sure, that might be stretching it a bit, but at least the Aria he remembered in the novel didn't freak out like this over someone she didn't care about or something even this horrifying.
And that includes all of the Arias that retain absolutely no memory of anything whatsoever every time Aurora dies and begins a new regression cycle!
'Sigh, maybe I really should've stuck with my words and not gotten myself involved with Aria to begin with.'
Well, nevertheless, it was too late to regret another one of his dumb decisions he has made ever since remembering his past lives now, and he'll see this stupid plan of his through to the very end.
Even if there might even be a possibility that he doesn't even gain some of Aria's trust after this was all over.
Having said that, Eric, who could feel his injured leg slowly growing weaker, moved closer to Aria once again before kneeling on it a few feet away so as not to crowd her.
"Miss Aria." Eric spoke as calmly as ever while looking straight into her eyes, as though he was not kneeling in a pool of his own blood, "I'm fine."
Hearing this, Aria's shoulders trembled violently as her gaze moved over to the blood stain that had been left unattended for far too long.
"It's something that you don't need to concern yourself with. Just ignore it." Eric moved one of his hands to cover the open wound and briefly glanced down to make sure it was no longer visible to her.
Aria still didn't move her gaze away however and stared intently at the spot that Eric's hand covered.
"Even I'm not concerned about it to begin with, so why should you?" Eric added after a brief pause.
"But..." Aria finally began opening her mouth and tried saying something, but just couldn't get the words out of her mouth for some reason.
"The only important thing that matters in the end is your life, and yours alone. Isn't that how it always has been for you?"
"..."
"You don't get close to people."
"..."
"You only talk to them when you have to."
"..."
"You don't care about things that don't concern you."
"..."
"You don't involve yourself in problems that aren't yours."
"..."
"You don't take responsibility for decisions you didn't make."
"..."
"You don't let other people's problems become yours."
"..."
"You use people to benefit yourself."
"..."
"You've always known where to draw the line."
"..."
"And you don't hesitate."
"..."
"Especially not for someone else's sake."
"..."
"You've grown up and managed to get to where you are today because of those principles. Because you believed in them so adamantly."
"..."
"And they have never failed you once, ever."
"..."
"Not after losing your parents to this world you consider cruel."
"..."
"That's why you even screamed at me when we first met."
"..."
"Because you believed that I was someone who was a danger to you."
"..."
"And because I am someone who is not worthy of your compassion and will never be."
"..."
"So why are you stopping now, Miss Aria? Nothing has changed."
"..."
"Just go on ahead and do what you originally came here to do. That's all I've ever expected from you."
"..."
At that moment, Eric's legs began to slightly wobble from the amount weight that he was putting on it, and so he finally ended it off there and stood back up.
Luckily, he was able to maintain his balance somehow and didn't end up toppling over like he thought he would in the back of his mind.
But quite frankly, he honestly didn't know why he even went that far to say all of those things to Aria in the first place when he could've definitely used that precious time to attempt to treat his thighs while convincing her in some other way instead.
It was just like that time when he had first met Aria back at the cafe and told her about her skin cancer.
Something inside him just... wanted him to do it.
But he didn't know what it was.
'...'
In any case, it looks like whatever he tried doing didn't seem to work at all, since Aria was still staring at him at a distance without even moving from her spot whatsoever, and so Eric just didn't care about it anymore.
Eventually, she'll have to snap out of it anyways and realize that whatever scene she has been causing for the last 10 minutes now was totally pointless.
Then after that, she can actually do what she came here to do.
In the meantime, Eric was going to attend to his damaged leg and prepare some bandages, tourniquet, and the other medical supplies that he had brought with him while he was waiting.
As Eric was reaching into his backpack and was about to open it however...
"Let's at least take care of your leg first before we go, okay?" Aria stood up and came to him with slightly worried look on her face.
"..."
What the fuck is going on here?