Emi couldn’t dream to be anywhere else right now. She had never felt so wanted, so loved all her life while she was in his arms.

It was sad to leave behind her friends and the village as a whole, but she had always dreamed of doing something great. And according to Hana, there was nothing greater. Hana also had assured her that she didn’t need to be afraid of being trapped like Marla if she became a mage.

The adept mage was right, as no one could or dare to mess with her if she knew magic. Emi had always dreamed of using spells when she first got the blue-stone. She would be learning magic real soon, and she would do it together with Adrin.

She was more than happy to be able to share the soft comfy bed with him. She wasn’t ready yet, and as always, Adrin wasn’t pushing her. He loved to just cuddle as much as she did. There was a very obvious change in him after he learned the ability from Marla, and it was more comfortable when he wasn’t poking her anymore.

Emi chuckled inside, but it reminded her of something else. She was afraid to tell him what she had discovered right after he had left. Her father’s friends became more talkative when they thought Adrin wouldn’t be around to make a fuss about it.

“How’s Marla,” he asked as Emi rested on his wide chest. She could fit her head and both her hands on them.

“She said, don’t worry about her,” Emi passed the message. “The men in the village both love and fear her.”

Adrin was surprised to hear that, “eh, how so?”

“They love her because, you know why, and it is also the source of their fear.”

“I- I can’t see how?” Adrin admitted.

He wasn’t so bright sometimes. Marla could handle two men if she wanted to and both would still end up passing out. It should have been obvious to him rather than anyone else.

And because of Marla’s old profession, she was addicted to being loved by men. The woman knew she was already broken in such a way, but she just couldn’t help herself.

Of course, Emi would never say something so embarrassing to him.

“Well, they could wake up naked in the middle of the village if they messed up,” she giggled. “It is easier with her increased [Strength].”

“Oh, I see,” Adrin chuckled. “I worry for nothing then.”

“Yes,” Emi replied, he should know that Marla knew what she was doing. Regardless, she wasn’t sure how to break it to him, the truth about the blue-stone. Would he hate her because of it?

“You are shaking, is something wrong?”

“No, it’s just-”

“You can tell me anything, Emi, you know that. Find another boy in the town you fancy?”

“No!” she slapped his chest. “It’s not that,” she sighed as Adrin chuckled.

Marla and Emi had a long talk about a man like him. Adrin would just run away if she tried to tie him down, it was just how he was. Emi could understand that as she also would feel the same way if anyone tried to force her to do anything. That’s why she loved him.

The only uncomfortable thing Marla said to her was the unintentional nature of his ability. She could see it already as both of the other girls. The way they were looking at him was worrying. It felt like godsent when he wasn’t as handsome.

He had told her that there was only one thing he wouldn’t compromise. If she found someone else someday, it was better just to tell him, but it was also something she was afraid of.

Emilia was afraid if she found someone else and ended up losing him. She didn’t think it would ever happen, but Marla reminded her to not count on it.

“Woman’s heart is a finicky thing,” Marla had said while lamenting her own past.

Regardless, Adrin deserved the truth and Marla had agreed with this.

Emi had to tell him.

She braced herself. “Adrin,” she called.

“Yes,” he kissed her forehead and sniffed her hair.

“It’s about the blue-stone, my father didn’t actually buy it,” she said. Her gut twisted and churned as Adrin stayed silent.

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“It’s okay, just tell me,” his hand caressed her back. It felt wonderful.

“He... he took it from your mother. Your father left it for you,” she hid her face. “I’m sorry.”

“I see,” he said while his arms tightened around her. “Thank you, now I know my father isn’t a total douchebag, wherever he is,” he chuckled.

“You- you aren’t angry?” she looked up.

“Why should I, you still let me borrow it,” he said and kissed her lips.

Warmth spread inside her as Adrin lovingly reassured her through their lips. The warm feeling swelled in her and gave her the butterflies again, but she stopped him.

“What’s wrong,” he asked.

“I’m not ready yet.”

“Ready for what?” Adrin chuckled.

“Last… last time, it’s a bit too much,” she admitted as her ears felt hot.

“Oh, you mean that?” he sighed. “I’m sorry, but let me get back to you, without it.”

“But how-”

“Just trust me, you’ll sleep well tonight.”

“Oh, okay,” she relented.

Adrin went down and to her surprise, he began by kissing her belly button before going even lower. Much lower.

His lips sent shivers to her spine when they touched her. Her face was hot from embarrassment but Emi knew this feeling. She was losing herself again.

She squirmed on the bed with his head in between her legs. She grabbed his hair as he relentlessly kissed her. It was embarrassing but it felt so damned good, she just wanted more.

Her other hand grabbed the pillow and snuffed her mouth. The girls were just next door and she didn’t want them to hear her.

She lost track of the world as Adrin kept at it. The last thing she remembered was screaming into the pillow, and it didn’t stop him at all.

Emi fell asleep before she even knew it.

The next morning Adrin revealed his deepest secret. He didn’t say it, but it came in the form of a silver necklace centred on the blue-stone.

----

Adrin sighed inside. Like Hana had said, the academy had sped up the process of her return. She couldn’t stop smiling while delivering the news. It was apparently worth the expense when there were three mages more to be added in this year’s mage roster.

Of course, his affinity was also taken into consideration. He wondered if anyone would find out about his lesser affinity, [Metal] and its [Metallurgy] skill? The [Crystal] affinity was much higher, but he couldn’t help it to worry.

They only needed to wait for two days before the teleportation circle was ready. Its glyphs circuit was insanely complicated until he didn’t know where the head or the tail was.

Not even Hana was capable of melding the glyphs and she had to use a scroll to complete the preparation on this side.

Adrin spent days studying another spell glyph, the [Candle]. Hana had rewarded him the basic spell after he had gained the [Mana Meld] skill.

The reward could have been something else entirely if Emi wasn’t here. The lady would still flirt with him but she was more considerate when Emi was around. The girl was his savior.

‘And maybe guardian?’ he chuckled.

Anyway, Emi wasn’t ‘ready’ even after two days and he feared that he might have traumatized the girl. Not like he wanted her, but he should have known that not every woman loved them big.

It should have been obvious to him when even Marla, the ex-courtesan, couldn’t handle it and passed out. He should have stopped, but in the heat of things, he just didn’t even think about the girl. He had been the biggest douchebag idiot.

Most of the time, the poor girl would be training with Nerina, leaving him alone. It felt like she was avoiding him even though they slept together every night.

He was fine with it as both of them needed some time. Emi probably needed someone similar to share her thoughts with. It wasn’t easy for a village girl to suddenly put on the mage's shoes and act as nothing happened.

This also freed his time to rediscover fire in the magic world. His glass and candle experiment had ended as expected. This proof of theory might become one of his greatest assets just yet.

And what better way to earn his autonomy than by trading off knowledge? Hana might have plans for him but that didn’t mean he couldn’t make things the way he wanted.

It was early morning when Hana came to get them with the news. The time had come for them to leave. For this reason, each of them was wearing an apprentice robe while Hana proudly donned her adept robe.

This world might be more culturally modern than he thought based on the uniform. Unlike he had expected, his uniform looked more like a suit than a robe. He had a white shirt on the inside while a knee-high gray three-buttoned ‘suit-robe’ was worn on the outside. The trousers were featureless black, and thank God, no silly hats.

The girls looked cute in their pure white one-piece dresses. The dresses followed their body shape but still left a lot to the imagination. Adrin was quite surprised when Nerina showed up with a rather generous amount of flesh on her chest. Was she hiding them before?

The girls’ ‘robe’ looked like a jacket on top and its layered extension continued down like a cloak until it reached their knees. There were flowers and other decorations which were sewn onto the fabric which the girl was excited about.

Hana’s adept robe was similar but with different color schemes. Her skirt was shorter, but she got longer boots that extended until they reached under her thigh-high skirt.

The belt under her modest chest though was quite puzzling. She could cover them with her robe-jacket, but for now, she let them unbuttoned with a chain holding the two sides of the jacket together.

He could say that her whole attire was more action-oriented. She should be able to move better in such a set of clothing. Hana smiled when she noticed him, but he wasn’t staring at her braless bouncy boobs or anything.

Emi grabbed his arm as the circuit below them glowed. Nerina held onto his sleeve when it got even brighter, and in a short span of time, it was too bright to even open his eyes. He wondered if Hana had purposely set him to stand in the middle because of this.

The female apprentices shrieked as the world around them shifted.

Only smoke and burn marks on the ground were left after the bright light subsided.