Rick looked at the dusty pale green worn paint that covered the ceiling, trying to find some clear flaw within the smooth surface to focus his thoughts on. With there being none he could readily zero into, he took a deep breath.

Carefully, he moved his foot forward, applying pressure first on the ball of his feet and then extending towards the rest while he shifted his weight. There was only a very marginal tingling to be had, so the next step didn’t come with as much apprehension.

His eyes fought to glance downwards, but he resisted, keeping his gaze on the ceiling for the next two steps, eyes slightly spread wide to help with his balance.

“Very good, sir, now look to the floor.” There was a smile in Dia’s voice, even if Rick couldn’t see it.

Complying with the instruction, Rick turned to look at his feet, pressing his chin against his chest. The tingling emerged, rushing down his spine and all over his body. The young chemistry teacher closed his eyes and stilled, waiting for it to pass before opening them again.

“Another step…”

A pair of polished leather shoes blocked his slow progression across the wooden floor.

The owner of the shoes reached out and, with soft hands, caressed the back of his head, tracing fingers down his neck. “Hm… good, everything’s working as it should. You’re almost ready to be discharged, sir.”

Rick slowly looked upwards, following the white knee-high socks that ended in the white and pink skirt of the nurse uniform. It was modest, yet it pinched at Dia’s hips, hinting at the curves held beneath. Especially eye-catching was the hint of cleavage that peeked up at him. The chemistry teacher was quite sure this uniform was a size smaller than the one she’d been wearing until now.

Hastily, he pulled his eyes further up and towards the blushing grin of the nurse. “Almost?” He managed to ask, pushing the question out rather than forget what he’d meant to say entirely.

Dia’s cheeks kept their pinkish color as she pulled out a little wooden box. “Yes, you still need to pass a very important taste test, sir.”

With a laugh, Rick shrugged his shoulders a little, moving to sit but having his movements stopped by a firm hand as Dia reached out to grasp his waist, keeping him close to her. The look in her eyes flickered back towards serious professionalism before faltering back into a blush, pulling her hand away once he arched a brow. “Please remain standing, sir.” Her words were hesitant. She took a step back to focus on the box she held with her other hand, the same one she’d brought the other day.

The box’s craftsmanship looked simple enough, polished dark wood with a little piece of string to pull on to remove the cover. The size was just barely larger than a clenched fist. “That… looks expensive.” He commented with a moment of hesitation and a little pang of guilt. Had she brought the sweets in a store? What kind of store would hand out wooden boxes along with the sweets?

“Oh, this?” Dia faltered for a moment. “I made the box a couple years ago.” Quickly, she pulled out a tiny cupcake no larger than a golf-ball. It was capped by a bright orange pearl. Her hand reached out to offer it. “The first treat.”

“What is it?” He wondered, taking it and looking closer at the marble sized sweet that remained on top.

“It’s honey infused milk candy.” Dia’s words held a bit of tension. “The center should be gooey.”

Quirking a brow, Rick took the bite. And just like promised, the pearl burst once inside his mouth. His eyes widened at the explosion of taste. It had a soft, crispy sweetness that felt almost chilly. It washed over him like a cool morning breeze with a scent of cream and lavender. “Wow, this is good.”

Dia’s expression turned into a billion watt smile. Her whole face lit up, cheeks dimpling as she bounced a little on the spot, nodding eagerly. “Thank you!”

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It took Rick a moment to connect the dots. “Wait, you made these?” She nodded as if she were a bobble-head on a bumpy ride. “I think it feels like cheating if all I have to pay for this is a couple of answers.”

She opened her mouth and quickly snapped it shut, nodding a bit less energetically than a moment ago, but the smile didn’t go anywhere. “What kind of village did you live in?” The question was practically blurted out. Clearly, there was an itemized list somewhere in her head she’d plucked it out of.

“I grew up mostly in a city.” He replied easily enough. “Biggest one around, a couple million in size.”

Dia’s eyes widened like saucers. “A… million? Just how large do your cities get!?”

“Is that your second question?” At his question, she nodded quickly. “Well, we had a couple big cities with almost ten million, but I’m pretty sure there were cities in Asia that had four times that.”

“Just… where? How? How could you fit that many people in one place!?” Dia’s voice became a little shrill. “And… the disasters? How could they avoid…?”

“It was two questions per treat.” Rick chuckled, watching her lunge into the box to pull out a little dark brown confectionery shaped like a star, no larger than a thumbnail.

She’d been just about ready to stuff it into his mouth when she froze. Her eyes flickered to his lips for the briefest of seconds, and Rick felt his throat become dry. He acted rather than wait. His hand reached out to grasp her free hand, pushing his lips against the back of her wrist before plucking the treat from her slackened grip.

The maiden might not have spoken, but her expression was an open book. She wanted to complain that he’d tricked her, but at the same time, her eyes darted towards the spot he’d kissed and her cheeks reddened.

This treat had a faint taste of oatmeal and something else… definitely not chocolate, how he’d expected. It was a less extravagant taste, down to earth, simple and warm. “Hm… good one, probably better with some milk.” He commented, breaking the death stare she’d locked onto her wrist.

“Question.” She quickly declared, lips pursed. “Natural disasters, how often? How strong?”

“Not too often. It’s rare to have anything that causes too much destruction. Some places would get typhoons or hurricanes once a year or so.” A rather simple answer.

“Ah… that explains it.” She pouted, looking into his eyes, then his mouth. She bit her lower lip slightly, teasingly. “Male female proportion?”

“Fifty fifty more or less, a bit more males I think.”

“Oh.” That startled her a little, her finger scratching her chin. “That means things are very different, huh.”

“We don’t have maidens over there, so that’s a definite yes.” His words cut off as she stepped closer, turning her head to the side and leaning slightly towards him. “What?”

“Will you… give me another kiss?” She asked, hesitating slightly, turning her head to the side and pointing at her cheek. Her face was turning slightly redder.

With a laugh, Rick leaned down to do as asked. But Dia’s head whipped to look at him the instant he’d closed in. In a fast and fluid motion she leaned to cross the remaining space. Her lips touched his own. Silky smooth and with a raspberry scent lingering within.

Rick’s chest seized up, something strung tight like a rope about to snap. His breath caught in his throat as his thoughts abruptly froze in place. For a fraction of a second, his heart forgot to beat.

She had pulled away before he could react, eyes lowering and fixating on her polished brown shoes, locks of pink hair hiding the intense blush. Embarrassment clear all across her features. The young woman mumbled something, fishing into the box and trying to quickly pull something out. A startled yelp left her as Rick stepped closer, one hand pushing away the box.

“I’m so-.”

The words died quickly as his other hand pulled her chin upwards. Her startled face was silenced as he took her lips freely.

This time it was her turn to tense, a short-lived thing. The woman melted against him, dropping the box and wrapping her arms around his neck. Dia drew herself closer to him, tongue flicking to taste his mouth just as his own reciprocated.

“Ahem.”

Human and maiden leapt away from one another as if someone had detonated an explosive in the space between them. Rick almost tumbled, Dia immediately tensed, expression turning into stony professionalism even as her cheeks burned and her breath was short.

Rick turned towards the voice that had interrupted them.

Kat had the smile of the cat that had eaten the canary. Next to her, Tomas was looking away and awkwardly scratching the back of his head. There was a mix of embarrassment and something else in that expression on his face.

“We rushed here to tell you about Monica and we find you having some hanky panky with the hot nurse? Shame on you.” There was no bite in Kat’s tone.

But it stung Rick all the same. The warm feelings from a moment ago stopped dead in its tracks. “Monica? Do you know where she is?”

“The Baron has her, duh.” Kat rolled her eyes. “You’re going to have to rescue that catty princess.”

“What… did you see?”

“He’s chained her up.” Tomas said, tone grave. “Showing her off like some trophy.”

“He’s torturing her.” Kat nodded.

Rick’s brow furrowed. His mind snapped into a decision on the spot. “I need to talk to Major Huge.”

Quietly, Dia’s shoulders dropped, and she held back a sigh.