Chapter 23 Confidence

Miya's point of view

I lay there, rubbing my burning cheeks, staring at the culprit who did this to me, Miss Lilly.

"Hmph, now repeat what I just said!" said Miss Lilly.

"Uh, confi... confidence?" I meekly replied.

"Huh?! Again, Louder! " "Miss Lilly!" yelled.

"Confidence!" I yelled.

"What?!!! I can't hear you?! Are you asking for another slap? " Miss Lilly asked loudly.

"N-no!" I answered.

"Then say it properly, confidence!" Miss Lilly screamed.

"Confidence!!!" I yelled at the top of my lungs.

"There we go another one, CONFIDENCE!!!"

"C-CONFIDENCE!!!" I yelled again.

"Hahaha!" A laugh could be heard.

We and Miss Lilly turned to look for the source of the noise. Our gaze landed on the person known simply as V.

"Hahaha! You guys sound ridiculous. Hahaha! " V continued to laugh while holding his stomach, even looking like he was about to fall over.

"You sound ridiculous! Do you also want a slap filled with confidence? " Miss Lilly asked.

"Hahaha! Don't push it. Hahaha! " V said, interrupting his laughter with seriousness before continuing his laughter.

My face felt hot, not because I got slapped again. It was because he was right; we do sound ridiculous. I diverted my attention away from the laughing V. I turned to look towards the others, which was the worst thing I could have done.

Rose's body was quaking all over due to the fact that she was trying to contain her laughter. Even Amber, who could be labeled as unresponsive, turned her head away while covering her mouth with her hair.

I felt my face burn from the embarrassment. It was like someone was setting my face on fire and shoving it in a pot of boiling water.

Chrys, meanwhile, has this gentle smile on his face while he silently pokes the fire with a stick. Thank God not everyone's laughing at me, but that DOESN'T MAKE IT BETTER! Let it end. End Me!!!

"Hmph! "Let's go somewhere else, Miya! Miss Lilly said.

"Huh? Uh-huh! " I nodded in agreement since I no longer wanted to hear their laughter that sent my heart to the end of its life.

Come on, we are going to have a private conversation, so no eavesdropping. Especially you, Gold Boy! " "Miss Lilly," she said with a look of disdain.

"What, it's not like I can hear you even when I use my power. It's only the sense of touch, remember? " Chrys replied calmly, but his smile was still plastered on his face.

"But you could still read our lips, can't you?" Miss Lilly asked, not removing the disdainful tone in her voice.

"Hmm, interesting thought... Well, it's not like I keep it active all the time. I respect people's privacy... Most, might I add. " said Chrys.

"Hmph, come on, Miya!" "Miss Lilly," she said as she grabbed my hand.

"Oh, when you see Hela and Loki, tell them to come back!" Chrys said before waving his hand at us.

Yeah, yeah, yeah. "Let's go over there, Miya. "Miss Lilly," she said, starting to walk away.

"Ye-yes!" I said as I followed from behind.

We walked for quite a bit, but just close enough so we could see the light of the campfire. Our surroundings were instead lit up by the stars in the sky.

"Well, this should be enough," Miss Lilly said, after surveying the surroundings for a moment.

"Okay, let's start." Miss Lilly said as she turned towards me.

I gulped in anticipation of what she was going to do with me. Is she going to slap me again, or is she going to make me yell "CONFIDENCE" all over again? I don't think I could handle any more of those.

"Ahem, okay, Miya. What's wrong? " "Miss Lilly?" she asked in a warm, gentle voice with a soothing feeling.

"Huh? I-I aah-" Faced with an unexpected question, I stumbled to find the answer. What does she mean, 'what's wrong?' Did I do something bad? good? Neither? both?!

"Calm down. I'm not going to hit you. Take your time. " "Miss Lilly," she said as she gently placed her hands on my shoulders. This gesture calmed me down a bit.

"I-I don't know... what's wrong." I said, struggling to get the words out of my mouth.

"Haaaa..." Miss Lilly sighed as she took her hands off my shoulders.

"I don't know if you noticed, but whenever you talk you always start with 'umm' or you stutter on your words." "Miss Lilly," she said pointing out my behavior.

"Aah!" I suddenly realized what she was talking about.

I never really sat down and listened to myself talk. I don't think I really had any problems like this prior. Where and when did I develop this issue?

"Judging by your reaction, I think it is safe to assume you just now noticed."

I nodded my head in agreement.

"Well, do you know when it developed?" She calmly asked.

I fell deep into thought. I asked myself multiple times when it happened, but I still couldn't remember.

Don't feel pressured, take your time. I'm only asking so I can help you more easily. " Miss Lilly gently said.

I vigorously nodded before coming back into thought. I tried to recall every prior memory.

It can't be when we met Miss Lilly and the others. It definitely wasn't when the man named Roads took us away. Was it the time when I met Rose and Amber?

Suddenly, it hit me.

It was the time when we met Rose and Amber. I remember thanking them while saying "umm" at the start.

I also remember what caused it to happen in the first place. I remember the time I was held at knife point because I ran away in excitement when we got on Viridis.

Because I ran away, I left Chrys behind, forcing him to chase after me. I then got my life threatened by a bunch of guys.

Chrys tried to save me by pointing his gun towards them. I reacted to this helpful act by openly showing hatred towards him. All because his gun was like the one those people used back in my village.

I then got my life saved by Rose and Amber. When I was thanking them, I slipped up by mentioning Chrys' name. I guess this forced Chrys to do something about Amber.

It all led up to us helping Viridis by blowing up a big weapon. After that, Chrys tried to kill both Rose and Amber, but was stopped by Amber's father.

Amber's dad then managed to calm Chrys down enough so they could have a talk. It all led to Amber having to say goodbye to her father and travel with us.

I see now... it was all my fault.

If I hadn't mentioned Chrys' name back then, Amber would still be with her dad. If only I hadn't run away the moment we got on Viridis, none of this would have happened. If only I hadn't tried to convince Chrys to help Viridis, we would never have reunited with Amber and Rose.

I'm useless.

I haven't done anything remotely useful. Instead, I'm dragging us down. Every time something happens because of me, Chrys is the one who fixes it. Not me.

I am truly useless. Even before meeting Chrys, I was helpless when those people raided our village. I was also useless when we tried to escape.

I'm the worst.

I fell to the ground and hugged my knees, hoping for something or someone to save my useless self. My eyes began to water, causing me to rub my eyes.

"Whoa, wait! What's wrong? I didn't mean to-I didn't want to make you cry! " Miss Lilly frantically shot her arms all over the place, trying to explain herself.

"N-no. It's not your fault. It was because of me. All of it was because of me. " I said teary-eyed.

"Here, here, I'm sorry. I didn't mean for you to cry. Miss Lilly grabbed my head and placed it on her lap as she sat beside me.

My tears wouldn't stop freely flowing from my eyes.

I failed.

I failed to help my family fight against those people that raided us. I failed to even protect the kids on the train. I also failed to keep Chrys' identity hidden, which caused Amber to be separated from her father. I'm nothing.

I'm nothing but a failure.

"There, there, it's okay. "Cry it out. There is no need to keep your emotions from showing." "Miss Lilly," she said as she gently patted my head.

I don't know what you are going through, so I'm not going to pretend that I know what you are currently feeling, but I do know this...

"When you feel bad about something, the best way to get rid of it is to share it with others." She said

I'm not going to force you to talk to me about it, but remember that I'm here for you when you need me. We're all here for you. " "Miss Lilly," she said as she continued to pamper me.

"T-thank you." I thanked him with the tears still flowing out of my eyes.

"Hehe, you're welcome." "Miss Lilly," she said with a bright smile.

We continued like this for quite a while. I cried my entire heart out while Miss Lilly gently rubbed my hair. She waited patiently until I stopped crying.

"Are you okay now?" Miss Lilly asked.

"Uh-hmm." I nodded while taking the remaining tears off of my eyes.

"Alright, let's head back then. Actually, before we go back, I want to tell you something. "

"?"

I'm sorry for hitting you back there. I'm sorry, it was just an act. It was an act that was supposed to force you to do something embarrassing. " Miss Lilly bowed her head as she apologized.

"Huh?" I tilted my head in confusion.

Well, it works like this. Whenever you're feeling down, just remember what you did back there. Just remembering that embarrassing moment should instantly destroy your bad vibes. "

"It also works when you are doubting your confidence. Since there is nothing more embarrassing than yelling "CONFIDENCE" at the top of your lungs, You should never ever feel more embarrassed than that. " "Miss Lilly said with a smile."

Huh? I don't get it. What correlation does embarrassing me have to do with boosting my confidence? Sure, I yelled confidence a lot, but what does it do?

I suddenly remembered the time I yelled "confidence" at the top of my lungs. I soon also remembered the laughter that soon followed afterwards. My face reddened as I realized what Miss Lilly meant.

She is saying that no matter what I do, nothing can top that embarrassing moment. So in turn, I should have a lot of confidence that nothing can be as embarrassing as yelling confidence at the top of your voice.

I covered my red face with both my hands as I realized that I had been played. I have been played like a puppet, devoid of self-control and free will.

"Hehehe, it looks like you figured it out as well." Hehehe, don't worry, you're not the only one that fell for that technique. I know how you feel. "Miss Lilly," she said as she placed her hand on my shoulder, looking like she truly sympathized with me.

What?! She also got tricked into doing it?! What kind of sick, crooked individual would do something this damaging to another person? I know the benefits, but was it worth the cost?