Not just Charlotte, but Miaha also froze with her eyes wide open in astonishment.
When his suggestion was met with silence, Allen tilted his head, puzzled.
"Hey. Did you not hear me? I told you to hit me."
"No, no, I heard you loud and clear! B-but, why?"
"Demon King... it seems you have a preference for such a thing."
"Don't get me wrong. This is also part of the mischief."
Allen shrugged his shoulders at Miaha, who stared at him coldly in return.
But Charlotte's face was pale. She held her gloved hands to her chest and shook her head.
"I can't do that! Allen has been a great help to me and... I just can't!"
"It isn't about whether you can or you can't."
Allen laughed as he bent his index finger and said, "Come on."
"Do it!"
"What...!"
A moment later, Charlotte's right arm suddenly shot up.
And then, she lowered her hips and swung with all her might--
"Oof?!"
"Allen!"
She landed a beautiful corkscrew punch on Allen's cheek.
Thanks to that, Allen was blown about three meters away. Dust fluttered down from the ceiling in the living room that had just been painstakingly cleaned.
Charlotte rushed over to Allen, who was lying on the floor groaning.
"What was that? The glove moved on its own!"
"Oof... It was magic. I manipulated your right arm so that you would hit me... that was a good punch indeed."
"What in the world did Miaha just see?"
Miaha was so dumbstruck by the whole incident that she had forgotten to keep her composure.
Allen checked his injuries. He had a small cut on the inside of his mouth and lips, but his teeth and bones were perfectly fine. He wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth and smiled at a panic-stricken Charlotte.
"Listen, Charlotte," he said, "I'll tell you this."
"W-what is it?"
"Even if I'm beaten up, trampled on, or cursed at. No matter what happens, I will not abandon you."
"..."
Charlotte was speechless.
All Allen wanted to tell her was this.
That he was on her side no matter what happened and that will never change as he had no intention of ever changing it.
Allen knew that this was a heavy confession to make to a girl he had only recently met by chance. Even so, he couldn't help but say it.
"This is not the Evans family. You can feel whatever you want and you can say whatever you like. You are free to do as you wish."
"Free..."
Charlotte blurted out the word as if it was the first time she had heard it.
However, all of a sudden she was startled.
"So, in other words... did you hit yourself?!"
"Obviously. That's because you won't change your mind unless I go this far. It's called shock therapy."
"How could you put your body in harm's way like this!"
Charlotte's face turned red with anger, causing Allen to flinch.
"Well, having said that, I can heal an injury of this magnitude in a heartbeat. Here, look."
Allen cast a simple healing spell on himself.
The swelling in his cheeks went down and the taste of iron rust in his mouth also disappeared.
"Just like this. There is nothing that can't be undone. So don't be afraid of everything."
"Allen..."
Charlotte was astounded for a moment... but soon, an angry face emerged.
"But that doesn't change the fact that Mr. Allen was in pain earlier."
"Ugh... that's... well, true."
"Please stop doing things like this in the future! Even if you have nine lives, it simply isn't going to cut it."
"I understand..."
Allen had no choice but to nod.
It wasn't that he was afraid, but he could feel Charlotte's anger seeping out of her and so he endured it.
Then... Charlotte grew despondent.
"Up until now... I have always lived my life in fear."
Charlotte said with a somewhat distant look in her eyes.
"But... even so, that's all right."
"... Of course."
Allen gently squeezed her hand.
He could feel Charlotte's tension through her gloves. She looked at Allen with a determined look in her eyes.
"It may not be possible right away, but... I'll do my best. I want to be able to say what's on my mind.
"All right. You don't have to hurry. I'll be by your side for as long as you need me."
Allen chuckled at that.
It was a drastic alteration from his original plan of stress relief, but... well, it's not a bad first step.
Charlotte will start over from here. I'll take my time and watch over her.
Then, Allen suddenly noticed the sandbag idly standing there, looking out of place. He then turned to Miaha, who was standing nearby with a wry smile on his face.
"I'm sorry, Miaha. Even though you had gone through great lengths to acquire this for me... I think it will be a while before I can use this fellow."
"No, no, not at all."
Miaha, for some reason, shook her head with a big smile.
She peered at Allen's face and purred.
"More than that, I hope you will continue to support our Satyr Transport Company."
"Oh? Of course. Why?"
"Well, that's because I think you're going to need a lot of things from now on! A double bed and a ring... I wonder if I'll need baby goods soon! Surely it's a job a courier's skill is called for."
"Why would I need all that stuff?"
"Well, who knows."
In contrast to Miaha, who was excited by herself, Allen and Charlotte just looked at each other with puzzled looks on their faces.