“La, la, la~” A young girl, with a kind, gentle face, hummed a lovely and merry tune as she walked across the peaceful grounds of the academy. She appeared rather young to be in high school, with a short and petite figure, but with her blond hair, emerald green eyes, and pointy ears, one could tell at a glance that she was an elf!

A legendary elf, a being rarely seen across the Northern Continent, with unparalleled beauty across all the races that exist within Tyr. They’re also known for long-lasting lifespan, with those of royal blood living for even thousands of years, and their magical attunement to elements related to life is nothing to scoff at.

With a light hop to each of her steps, the young girl went on her merry way to the gates of the academy, when she suddenly felt something brushing against her ear. Looking to the side, she grinned at the small wind spirit tugging at a strand of her hair.

“What is it?” she asked curtly.

The wind spirit hurriedly did some motions with its arms as it strengthened its pull at her hair. As if understanding the spirit’s message, the young girl widened her eyes slightly in surprise and asked, “You want me to follow you?”

The wind spirit hurriedly nodded its head and caused a weak gust of wind to form a trail of leaves. She then unhesitatingly followed from behind and walked down the leafy trail, running at unexpectedly fast speeds and soon arriving at an area full of trees.

Dashing across the small forest, she soon arrived at a certain place with a certain stench filled with iron. Coming to a pause, she glanced at the ground where two certain people remained unconscious, with one of them missing limbs, and the other all bloody and bruised from head to toe.

Strangely enough, the two were covered in certain plants, as if the plants were acting as some warm blanket to give the two ample life force to barely survive. Quickly getting over her initial shock, the young elven girl hurriedly sprinted to them and pulled out bottle after bottle of high-quality healing potions from her storage ring.

Then, using her expertise in wood magic, which is the magic closest to the element of life, she began to complete a small magical array and allowed the pure and raw life force within the potions to course through them like a stream of vitality.

This appeared to have been rather effective as their wounds quickly healed, and the stumps of the limbless young man began to squirm and reveal rather grotesque tissues and bones, interlacing and weaving together to form new arms and legs.

What… is… hapenning… Anna thought dazedly as she winked open her hazy eyes. Glancing at the shadows of dazzling blond hair and emerald green eyes, she felt the last bits of her remaining consciousness squashed away and she returned back to the darkness of unconsciousness.

…

Rob sat on a certain bench in the capital near the central part of the city, with a bag of bread crumbs placed on his lap. Grabbing a handful of bread crumbs, he tossed it to the birds cooing around the place and feeding them with a smile.

His actions caused some eyes to linger on his handsome face and athletic frame. Even though he wore a simple white shirt and some slim-fitted black pants, given his naturally attractive looks and the unique aura given to him by his powerful soul, he had inevitably gathered a small crowd of hidden onlookers to eye him with infatuation.

Sighing lightly, he slid back his messy hair and leaned back on his chair. Just as he expected to wait a little more, he felt a presence come into contact with the sphere of microorganisms he had set in place in replacement for his Divine Sense and saw Holly approach him from the side.

Turning to look at her, his eyes met with hers and he grinned a moment later.

She appeared rather stunning even with modest clothes, wearing a plain white shirt and a frilly yellow skirt, complementing well with her golden locks and blue ribbon placed on her hair.

When her eyes met with Rob’s, a hot sensation burst from her heart as her face flushed red. Even though she had already mentally prepared herself for this for nearly an entire week, now that she was actually here, any sort of preparation she had went crumbling down the drain.

Rob chuckled softly at her blushing face and stood up from his seat. Tossing the last of his bread crumbs to the ground, he crumpled the paper bag and tossed it into a nearby bin before approaching Holly with a smile.

“Nice weather, yeah?” Rob asked.

“Uhm… yeah!” Holly answered with a stammer and tried to look away, but her eyes kept sneaking glances at Rob.

“Why are you acting so nervous right now? It’s not the first time we’ve been alone together like this,” said Rob.

“But like… You know, this is a date!” Holly shouted. “And that would mean that you know… This and that…”

“Relax,” snickered Rob. “You should already know that I’m open if we’re already on a date.”

Hearing this, Holly’s face turned redder as he looked down at the ground with hazy eyes. Feeling her heart rapidly pounding, as if it was about to erupt out of her chest, she clenched her fists and mumbled, “So you do know…”

“But since when-“

Support the author by searching for the original publication of this novel.

“Woah woah woah!” Rob raised his arm and metaphorically shut her lips. “Are you really sure you wanna talk about important matters like that out here? Come on, it’s still the start of our date! We’ve gotta enjoy and relax!”

“Well, uh…” Looking around her, Holly saw the curious eyes of nearby passersby and felt all the more embarrassed. “I guess you’re right.”

“See? Told you so,” Rob laughed and placed his hands on his hips. “Anyways, let’s go already! We’ve got a whole day ahead of us!”

…

From the crowded plaza, the two young teenagers wandered around the open streets of the capital with bundles of money at hand. Months had already passed since Rob had first registered himself as an Alchemist at the Alchemist Guild, and he had already gone from Apprentice Alchemist, the lowest rank any alchemist can have, to Master Alchemist.

He’s already a veteran of his field, with numerous feats listed under his belt. He had created numerous potion formulas and had accumulated quite a wealth from his own work. Then there’s also his family’s business which had rapidly expanded all throughout the capital, and could almost be found in one every five streets!

In a way, Rob was already considered a rich kid with piles of gold at his fingertips.

And while Holly may not be as rich, as Rob’s botanist and now famous supplier of Holly Herbs, her wealth and funds have grown through the months and she could also be considered quite the affluent gal.

Even she didn’t expect to be raking in so much cash just by selling her holy-magic-infused herbs, but adding into consideration her ridiculous high supply with the help of Elaine’s time magic, then it’s only understandable why she had so much success as a botanist.

So, as young as they may be, they were fucking rich and had the money to splurge. They went from one stall to another, eating waffles and ice cream, drinking sweet drinks, and tasting yummy desserts.

They even visited random stores, buying strange trinkets like paired bracelets or pretty rings. They then went to watch some shows from theaters and played around with magical amusements like the performance of a young man and his drake, or a sound magician’s mystical tune.

As of now, they were currently inside a clothing store, trying on new clothes.

“How do I look?” Holly asked and moved around with her new plain white dress with a yellow handbag slung across her body and resting near her waist.

“Hmm…” Rob rubbed his chin and fiddled with the hem of his new black shirt. Standing abruptly, he took a few steps closer until he was only a few inches away from Holly’s face, inspecting her closely and carefully.

Holly felt her heart beat faster once again as Rob visibly grinned. “You’re pretty as usual.”

P-P-Pretty!!!??? Holly hurriedly stepped back and pushed Rob away. She clutched her chest while looking away to hide her reddening face, but Rob only giggled at her extreme reaction and pocketed his hands.

“You can’t even handle a little flirting!” Rob sighed and shook his head disapprovingly. “Now that won’t do!”

“Imagine what would happen if I do become your boyfriend, eh?” Rob tsked three times to show emphasis on his words and turned around.

Holly widened her eyes over Rob’s last statement and wanted to ask, but he had already walked up to the receptionist to pay for her clothes before promptly saying, “Come on, let’s go eat dinner already!”

Standing there alone, a look of confusion, anxiety, and excitement bubbled in her blue eyes as she hurriedly followed from behind.

Arriving at a high-end restaurant, Rob habitually sat down on the table he usually sat on, and raised his arm to call for a waiter with visible expertise, as if he had visited this place on numerous occasions already.

“You’ve been here before?” Holly asked curiously.

“Yep,” Rob asked as he quickly gave his order to the man holding their menu. “Nice place, nice food, and a decent price for an enjoyable weekly experience.”

Finishing her order, Holly silently heaved a sigh of relief at her acting as a high-class person before turning to look back at Rob.

He wore a teasing grin and rested his face on his hand. “You know, I’ve always noticed that you try to act as some sort of classy gal whenever we’re in this sort of place. Why are you even trying to hide that you’re a country bumpkin?”

“Well, you know…” Holly wore a wry smile. “Reputation and stuff.”

“Heh,” Rob snorted. “They’ll only care about your money, not the way you act.”

“That is true…” Holly chuckled. “I guess I’ve been worrying over nothing all this while.”

“Mmm, that’s good!” Rob nodded his head sagely. “The opinion of others doesn’t matter as long as you know you’re in the right.”

An uncomfortable silence then descended upon the two as their eyes locked. Now that they’re finally here, in a calm and orderly environment, all the thoughts Holly had pushed to the back of her mind were abruptly pulled forward and now she was just rearing to ask all the questions she wanted to ask.

“So-“

“I’ve known it since the beginning,” Rob answered bluntly, not even waiting for her to finish.

“Since the beginning…” Surprisingly, Holly didn’t find herself embarrassed, but more so just… baffled and dazed. “So, I guess I looked so stupid to you then, huh?”

“No, no, not really. I get it when a person has a crush on someone they like. They’d do all sorts of stupid actions to hide their true feelings and stuff, which is just human nature, nothing wrong with that,” Rob said softly, with his gaze lingering on Holly’s face.

“Wait, so does that mean that you’ve been… Uh… What’s the word?” Holly frowned as she struggled to describe Rob’s actions concisely.

“Taking the initiative?” Rob chuckled softly.

“Yeah, that’s the word! Initiative…”

“Well, yeah, I’ve been taking the initiative since I’ve noticed your feelings.” Rob smiled with a straight face.

“Oh, wow…” Holly winced as she felt more embarrassed by her previous actions. Although, if he was taking initiative, did it mean that… potentially?

“Unfortunately, no, I only have minor romantic feelings for you,” Rob answered bluntly.

Holly’s face immediately transformed from happy to downright glum. All the joy in her eyes lost their luster as she felt her heart skipped a beat.

“I guess it’s normal to not like me after all that…” Holly looked away with tears already beginning to form in her eyes.

“Oh you, I didn’t expect you to be this pessimistic.” Rob waved his arms with a sigh. “I didn’t say I would reject you… It’s just that I don’t feel like being officially together for now.”

“You know me, you’re probably the first and closest to an actual relationship I’d have in my entire life. This is a first time for me too!” Rob explained slowly and carefully.

“So you’re saying…” Holly looked back up with a light bubbling in her blue eyes.

“All I’m saying is that we should take this slow. Let’s just go on more dates, spend more time with each other, see if we’re compatible and stuff,” said Rob. “Like, emotions are dangerous stuff, you know. Maybe it’s just infatuation that you’re feeling. If that’s the case, then it would inevitably die out and now we’re left in a messy relationship together.”

“Right…” Holly chuckled dryly as she slowly realized how stupid it actually was if they really did become lovers at a spur-on-the-moment decision.

“So, now that we have that all out of the way.” Rob leaned back in his chair and stared at Holly with a twinkle in his eyes. “You wanna go on a date again next week Saturday?”

Holly visibly glowed with joy upon hearing his suggestion as she straightened her back and puffed her chest.

“Of course!”