Hearing Eleanor's response, Melzarin was left at a loss for words as he did not expect that Argentum's advice for him did not work. Just as he was about to turn around and look at Argentum for more advice, a familiar voice had resounded in his mind, given that the four of them were still connected.
"Try again!" Argentum said through their connection, allowing Felix and Rosalia to listen in. Although they were a bit confused as to why Argentum would say that to Melzarin all of a sudden, it did not take long for his words to click in their minds, prompting them to say the same thing to him.
"Try harder, Melzarin!"
"You can do it, Melzarin! Try your best~!"
Letting the encouraging words of his friends resound throughout his mind, Melzarin had regained enough confidence to try again, even though Eleanor was radiating an aura of disgust towards Melzarin.
"Please, Eleanor! I really love you! Be my girlfriend!" Melzarin shouted once more, to which Eleanor instantly responded with a slightly infuriated tone, "Is this some kind of sick joke, Melzarin? Get away from me!"
"Listen to me, Eleanor! Just become my girlfriend!" he said amidst Eleanor's harsh words. At this point, Eleanor could not help but be incredibly infuriated at Melzarin, given how he did not stop saying nonsense to her like asking her to become his girlfriend. Even though she had regained her full rationality, her response felt like it was driven by pure anger as she shouted, "You better get away from me or else I won't listen to anything you say anymore!"
"…" Surprisingly, that statement had worked, instantly causing Melzarin to shut up as he went ahead and looked at the three slightly far away from him. While he was waiting for the three to tell him on what to do next, Felix and Rosalia had come closer to Argentum as they noticed that the domain that bound Eleanor to the ground was still there. Curious as to why that would be the case, Rosalia went ahead and asked Argentum through their connection, "I'm quite surprised that your domain has Eleanor still bound to the ground. But why?"
"I'm giving Melzarin a chance to sort things out," Argentum replied, only to let out a sigh soon after. Not long after that, he went ahead and removed his control over the domain, allowing Eleanor to be free of the restriction. Since she had regained a bit of energy from being bound, she hastily distanced herself from Melzarin, only to notice that Argentum, Felix, and Rosalia were there with him as well.
In an instant, she looked at the direction of the three, recalling the bits and pieces that she could recall from what had happened some time ago. Fortunately, the bits and pieces she recalled were enough to get a rough idea of what was happening, prompting her to be on guard as she asked them, "Are you three…helping Melzarin out?"
"I guess you could say yes," Argentum decided to respond for the three of them, which elicited Eleanor to get into a combat stance. Unfortunately for her, she did not even have enough energy to conjure a single attack, given how almost all of it was used up in her Samsara form. Nevertheless, she still remained in her combat stance, asking them, "So, I guess you used a binding skill on me to let Melzarin have his way around me?"
"Not at all," Argentum responded as he shook his head before continuing, "I only used the skill just in case you were still in your berserk state. Felix and Rosalia told me how dangerous you were in your berserk state."
"Speaking of which…" he then said something through the connection he and the other three had, the message being focused towards Felix as he asked, "Didn't you tell me back then that you were stronger than Eleanor?"
"Hoh? Felix actually boasting in front of someone else? Now that's a rare occasion," Rosalia could not help but say in response to Argentum's words, while Felix could not help but let out an awkward chuckle as he said, "I'm not really joking when I said I was stronger than Eleanor…"
"Of course, only when she doesn't get too serious."
"Right…" Argentum gave off the feeling that he was rolling his eyes before focusing his sense of vision back at Eleanor. Since Eleanor had gradually relaxed after listening to their answer, Argentum thought that this was the best chance for Melzarin to make a move once more. Without hesitation, he sent a message to Melzarin, which the other two heard as he said, "Try making a move again. This time, stay true to yourself."
"Wasn't I already doing that in the first place?" Melzarin looked back at the three and asked with a slightly confused expression. In response, Rosalia said to Melzarin, "What Argentum is trying to say is that you should approach her from how you normally would."
"Just be you, Melzarin. That's all," Felix could not help but add.
Although Melzarin still didn't really get what the three told him, he would try his best to follow their advice, this time weighing the pros and cons of their statements. Naturally, with their words having no malicious intent, most of their words to him had lots of pros.
And so, mustering up the courage, Melzarin went closer to Eleanor once again, who was looking at him with a vigilant aura surrounding her. Just as Eleanor was about to tell him to get away from her once more, Melzarin took the initiative to start the conversation with a statement that left her at a loss for words.
"Before you tell me to get away from you once more, let me say from the start that I'm sorry."
"…" Eleanor went silent after hearing Melzarin's statement, not knowing what to say for a bit. Though, after some time, she opened up her mouth and asked with suspicion, "Did those three tell you to say this so you could humiliate me again?"
In an instant, Melzarin shook his head as he replied, "Not at all. These words of mine come from the bottom of my heart. Thanks to Argentum, I've been enlightened that my ways in the past have been the wrongest it could ever be."
Hearing this, Eleanor went ahead and hastily sent a strand of energy towards Argentum, connecting her to him as she asked, "Is what Melzarin saying true?"
"Uh huh," Argentum said with a nod. "I did tell him that what he has been doing so far to you is wrong, and he's finally enlightened to know that he's wrong. Felix and Rosalia can attest to that."
With that said, Eleanor then looked at Felix and Rosalia, who were informed by Argentum that they were going to be asked by Eleanor. Taking in a deep breath, Felix went ahead and responded first, saying, "Although it may not seem like it, Melzarin has really changed, Eleanor. Have you noticed how the arrogant air around him has disappeared?"
"Yeah, yeah, yeah! Plus like how he's not forcing anything onto you, Eleanor. Didn't you notice that as well?" Rosalia continued where Felix left off, prompting Eleanor to look at Melzarin with slight surprise. Naturally, Melzarin had an idea of what was going on in Eleanor's mind.
"I seriously apologize for what I've done back then, Eleanor. I know I've been treating you like garbage for over ten thousand years now, but I hope you can find it in your heart to forgive me," Melzarin said, unsure as to whether she would actually forgive him. Thinking that his statement was still a bit lacking, he then added, "If you're still unsure that I'm a changed skeleton, I wouldn't mind giving you a gift to make up for the over ten thousand years I've mistreated you."
"Really?" At this point, Eleanor's interest was piqued as the word 'gift' had aroused her attention. The combat stance she was in before was now nowhere to be seen. Instead, the pose of an eager girl could be seen as she asked with a hint of curiosity, "What kind of gift are you planning to give me to make up for everything you did to me?"
"Hmm…" Melzarin pondered over the matter for a bit, eventually coming up with what he thought was a decent answer as he answered, "Would a vial of Draconic Ignivaris Essence suffice as an apology?"
Just as Melzarin had mentioned that, both Felix and Rosalia could not help but radiate auras of shock and wonder as they simultaneously said, "He has that?!"
As for Argentum, he maintained silence as he was a weak Pseudo-Animate in their eyes. Nevertheless, the mere mention of the thing had aroused his attention and surprise after rummaging through Aurus' memories. "A Pseudo-Animate actually has access to a Pseudo-Transcendent grade material? Now that's surprising."
Hearing that Melzarin was willing to give her such a precious piece of material, Eleanor instantly accepted the offer as she said, "Alright, I accept your apology. Although it's still hard to forget everything you did to me for the past ten thousand years or so, I'll take this as the first step to our relationship turning over a new leaf."
Melzarin was delighted to hear those words come out of Eleanor as he felt that his chances of her becoming his girlfriend had increased. With that in mind, he mustered up his courage once more as he asked, "So…about you becoming my girlfriend…"
"You were actually serious about that?" Eleanor responded with a question of her own, to which Melzarin replied with a slightly flustered tone, "Well, if I didn't have serious feelings for you, then I wouldn't have done all of that stuff to you for the past ten thousand years."
"How in the world…" Eleanor muttered in confusion, wondering why Melzarin would do such a thing. After looking around for a bit, she then noticed that Felix and Rosalia were actively avoiding her gaze, prompting her to ask them with a sigh, "Was it you two?"
"Haha…I guess you could say that…" Felix spoke up for the two of them, with Rosalia twiddling with her thumbs from embarrassment. Scratching her head as to whether the two were her true friends or not, she still knew that she had to respond to Melzarin. Although she knew that Melzarin was a kind guy even before what she had done to her, she still could not forget the harsh things he had said and done to her.
In the end, Eleanor could not help but look at Melzarin with a slightly long sigh as she said in a slightly sad tone, "Well…I don't know how to say this, but…I'm sorry, Melzarin. I still can't forget the things you did to me back then. How about you try asking me again in a couple thousand years from now?"
"I see," Melzarin said in response, an aura of slight disappointment surrounding him. Though, amidst the disappointment, one could find a hint of relief in it, letting others know that he was relieved to find out that there was still a chance for him to make his dream come true. "Sure, I can wait until the wounds heal."
"But for now, can we go back to becoming friends again?" he asked soon after, prompting Eleanor to form a tongue made out of flames as she said, "Bleh. You think anyone would become friends with a smelly dark skeleton like you? Never in a million years, stupid."
In response, Melzarin let out a peal of laughter as he knew that Eleanor was fine with them being friends again. As for the three, although they were a bit disappointed that the two did not get together, which was understandable, they were still happy for Melzarin since it seemed that their relationship was heading in the right direction.
While Melzarin went closer to Eleanor as they talked out about the gift that he was going to give her, Felix, Rosalia, and Argentum decided to have their own conversation, with the latter saying, "All's well that ends well, I guess."
"So, what are you guys going to do next?" Argentum followed up with another question, to which Felix replied, "I'm heading back to my inheritance to sort some things out. How about you two?"
"I'm going to head back to my inheritance as well. I still need to take care of my disciple," Rosalia said, only for a thought to surface in her mind as she looked at Argentum and asked, "Speaking of which, would you like to tour around my inheritance for a bit. Although I feel like Melzarin has already given you everything from his inheritance, I can still give you a thing or two that's beneficial."
Hearing that, Argentum pondered over the suggestion for a bit, eventually nodding soon after as he looked at Felix and said, "I guess I'm coming along with Rosalia, then."
Just as Argentum was about to cut off the connection the four of them had, Melzarin's voice soon resounded in his mind, prompting him to look at the two beside him. Noticing that the two were oblivious to what he was hearing, it seemed that it was a private message.
"Argentum, I can't thank you enough for what you've done to help me out," Melzarin said to Argentum through their connection. "Although it would be hard to pay your goodwill back with the things I have in my inheritance, if there's anything you want from me, I'll try my best to procure it and give it to you."
"Anything?" Argentum repeated one of the words in Melzarin's statement, wanting to clarify Melzarin's limits on his offer.
"Yes, anything," Melzarin responded, lightly nodding as he looked at Argentum.
"Well…" Argentum pondered over the offer for a bit, an aura of slight maliciousness radiating from him as he soon came up with a fitting answer.
"How about…"
"…you give me your ownership over the Desecrated Inheritance?"