Days turned into weeks, and I began to put the fourth stage of cultivation and began to infuse that with Zenki Ryu. I pushed myself harder than I ever had before and of course Theitus and Altear supported every moment of it.

I had become so much more proficient at cultivating magical energy than I was before and it seemed that Zenki Ryu only gave me more ways to apply Magical Energy into the battle arts, which I used with precision and efficiency to cut through every form of obstacle in my way.

Theitus and Altear were beginning to question my drive and my endless sparring and training, it was obvious of how obsessed I was about my cultivation and my improvement. I had no idea why, but I couldn't stop myself from pushing to go further, as if something in the back of my mind was telling me to improve even more.

Or maybe it was a developing hunger to get stronger, to push myself to go beyond what I was already capable of. And it all started with him.

Kazu.

He was the cause of it all. I would never tell Theitus and Altear that of course, they’d have too much fun teasing the bond blossoming between the two of us. But at this point it was becoming too obvious to hide.

Kazu had become someone I couldn't imagine going a day without seeing, and my thoughts always drifted to him in the short moments that would come and go, it was hard to explain but something in me felt different about him.

Eventually amidst the changing season, the chilled air began to release its hold over Mythral, bringing a warm breeze that danced through the city, carrying the scent of blooming flowers and the promise of new beginnings.

In a way the changing of the seasons reflected the way I had grown in my cultivation, as if the world around me had changed as I did, and there was no doubt that the title ‘Theitus’s talentless Prodigy’ no longer applied to me.

Of course, Kazu had his contributions to all of this. In fact, it was because of him the Clan Kanmori and Ezumi began to see me in a different light. One that shined brighter than ever before.

Regardless of the warm breeze and achievements of the new season, I found myself in a momentary pause in my daily routine, a chance to sit in the courtyard where Theitus and Altear instructed us, and where Kazu and I spent our time together.

A sigh left my lips as I gazed up at the now clear sky, before Theitus’s loud voice snapped me back into reality.

"Isabelle, what’s got you all spaced out? Are my lessons growing boring?" he said with laughter filling the air to which Altear butted in with a giggle.

“… now, now Theitus, she’s clearly thinking about, Kazu-Kun~. Look how cute they look so close together, how could she not daydream a little," she cooed, leaving me blushing as I did turn my attention to Kazu sitting beside me, paying little attention to Theitus and Altear’s teasing.

I still put on my glare before turning back to Theitus. "A-as if, I'm not thinking about anything like that." I stammered which was hardly convincing as Theitus and Altear's laughs filled the courtyard. “You believe me, right Kazu…” I muttered as I glanced over to him with redden cheeks.

Kazu however, only had his usual flat expression, which in a way felt more irritating than ever, "…What… Don’t be dragging me into this." he replied with a sigh but again my irritation only grew as Theitus and Altear continued to poke fun at me, and Kazu refused to do anything about it.

"Y-You dummy, you're making it worse!" I shouted and shot my attention away being sure to cross my arms and huff.

Of course, this caused him to merely glance at me. "it’s really not that big of a deal," he said as if that was comforting in anyway. But it was a big deal to me, relating Kazu to be my romantic interest was embarrassing but being teased in front of him was even more humiliating.

“… hmph, whatever," I huffed, looking away as the laughter continued before Theitus cleared his throat.

"Ahem, Well, I don’t mean to intrude on your little moment, but you both still have work to do and not to mention the preparations for the Golden Lantern Rite are coming up," Theitus began with a light chuckle. "But I suppose that means you to will be two will be helping the Clans prepare,” he said which seemed to pique Kazu's interest.

"Huh? Golden Lantern Rite?" he asked.

Theitus, Altear and me always helped prepare the annual Golden Lantern rite and since it was approaching it would require some help in the city. I actually liked this time of year even if Theitus and Altear were the only two I’ve ever interacted with during the festivities.

But now Kazu was here… I could do everything with him! Were some of my thoughts that I found myself admitting to, but I quickly shook away my growing excitement.

"Y-yeah, it’s this big festival in the city, it's one of the biggest events in our city and we hold it every year." I exclaimed taking over Theitus’s explanation.

"It's pretty interesting, there are all these lanterns and all these dancers, and musicians playing songs and there’s a lot of food and sweets," I continued, clearly overwhelming Kazu with all this information, and yet Theitus and Altear only laughed at how excited I was, telling him.

"…well now, Isabelle it has a lot more cultural value to us than fun and sweets, that you want to share with Kazu,” Theitus remarked with Altear nodding in agreement before he continued. "Well, like Isabelle said it's a festival but when many of our people faced off against the gods who threatened Mythral. It was a time to remind them, that their home was waiting for them, a place to return to and something to fight for. As the lanterns were lit, they were set aflame as a way to remember those who fought, A beacon of hope and a promise of life a legacy for all to remember," he began which was something I knew quite well but I Kazu's didn't, still he listened in.

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"It also serves to welcome the souls of those who lost their lives and the light of those who are still with us," Theitus added with a chuckle.

"Is that so?” Kazu said as if it were nothing. “it certainly sounds like something, I can enjoy." he added before Theitus and Altear shared a glance and smiled to one another.

"Hahaha, then perhaps you and Isabelle can head into the city after your training, Clan Kanmori and Ezumi have much to prepare, I’m sure someone will need your help." Theitus said with Altear only giggling in agreement.

For a moment I glanced over to Kazu with my usual red cheeks wondering what his response would be to all this. Of course, I wanted him to join me, but I also didn't want to sound too desperate.

“… I can help you guys with whatever you need," he said with his usual stupid flatness causing me to find some irritation in his indifference, but I didn’t say anything just turned my cheeks away with a light pout and my crossed arms.

Regardless, Theitus and Altear laughed at both of our very different reactions before they returned to the lesson at hand.

Eventually our lessons and training ended for the day leaving us to clean ourselves up before me and Kazu made our way to the city.

With Kazu at my side, we walked through the streets of Mythral, the warm midday breeze flowed through the city with its familiar yet refreshing aroma, while the orange sun painted the city in its vibrant colors.

As Theitus said it was quite obvious that everyone seemed to be getting ready for the Golden Lantern Rite. A number of people gathered along the roadway, already setting up decorations on buildings and the roads of the city were adorned with colorful flowers that bloomed in all their glory.

It didn’t take Kazu long to find a place for us to help out after a quick chat with a few clan members, who needed herbs from the mountains for their sweet teas, they planned on serving at the festival.

Of course, this was a bit of a task for Kazu to do. He had little knowledge about herbs or where exactly to get them, but I had done this many times before and I was happy to take Kazu along instead of Theitus and Altear.

It didn’t take much to convince Kazu that I was quite capable of leading the way to the towering mountains of Mythral, and with my newfound speed I could happily say that the trip wasn’t going to be a slow one.

"Isabelle, you shouldn't go so fast," Kazu raised his voice still maintaining his usual flatness, but I only continued to smile while the breeze brushed through my red hair, and the sunlight glistened in my eyes as I looked back at him.

"Hmph, don’t worry about me, dummy…” I pouted a bit at his usual bluntness taking in the passing scenery’s of Mythral’s lush green fields and valleys, occasionally we’d pass through one of the quaint villages that surrounded the golden city at my top speed, which would cause some of the elders to marvel or perhaps even scold us. But I was hardly paying attention to anyone, but Kazu as he was still intentionally lagging behind.

Eventually Kazu and I made it to the foot of the mountains that seemingly touched the sky itself. However, it’s not like the specific herbs for the festival needed to be harvested from the top of the mountains, in fact we wouldn’t need to go very high up at all.

But for some reason I felt more excited to have Kazu here, I could feel a rush of energy flow through my veins, glad I could show off to him.

"We should find plenty of the plants we need up here, I can practically smell it in the air," I said with a laugh as Kazu only looked at me with his flat stare.

“You’re the expert here, Isabelle," he replied causing a light blush to dust across my cheeks as I shook my head.

"H-hmph, that’s right, you just follow along," I replied before I led the two of us up the mountain path with Kazu following along at my side. Besides the scenery that increasingly grew more picturesque the further we went, I felt Kazu's amber glare take in both my every move and our surroundings.

“… D-Do you get bothered by Theitus and Altear teasing us, about… being together?" I asked a bit hesitantly which caused him to sigh, before glancing over to me with that same expression.

"No," was all he said, obviously we actually weren’t lovers or anything of the sort. But something about being together felt so natural, regardless I did pout a bit at such a short answer, but Kazu had little concern with what I thought or so it seemed.

“Is there any reason why you keep bringing that up, Isabelle?" Kazu asked which caused a bit of irritation to well up inside of me.

"I-it's just… no, not really” I replied crossing my arms with an obvious lie and a blush on my cheeks.

Of course, he didn’t seem too convinced by it and simply sighed again, his amber eyes cast off as if he had nothing else to say about the matter.

"I don't see what the big deal is, I don’t exactly understand emotions, but I enjoy feeling them… but what’s the big deal, it's just you and me," he remarked with the same flat tone that always seemed to leave me blushing.

And for some reason it caused something inside me to stir, “you really are an Idiot… Kazu” I said under my breath, but I knew he heard me and saw my embarrassment, still I pushed onward leaving the conversation at that, as we continued to climb the mountain.

With a bit more searching we eventually came across the shrubs and herbs we needed with Kazu taking his time to observe the surroundings, and even helped pick the herbs after I had to show him what he was supposed to be doing.

After harvesting the herbs from the shrubs along the mountain walls, I took a deep breath, glad we had found what we were looking for, but it was also quite a bit of work, and with Kazu taking his time to observe and harvest the plants it had taken longer than expected.

Regardless I still let out a sigh of relief, glad we were almost finished.

"That should do it, we should head back to the city, we should make it back before it gets dark," I said to Kazu who looked up at the fading sun, seeming to have something entirely different on his mind than what I said.

"Hmm? Yeah, let's head back," he said and began to follow me down the path back to the golden city, taking my time to look over my shoulder with a faint smile on my lips.

Kazu clearly wasn't paying any attention to me anymore as I looked back at him. “Isabelle?" He said in his own thoughts further examining our surroundings with his amber glare.

"Y-yeah?" I asked as if he had broken me out of a trance.

"Do you feel that? Like there’s something in the air." he remarked which caused me to furrow my brows before I glanced around at the area.

"Something in the air? It feels just like it always does." I replied and I felt nothing out of the ordinary.

Kazu only shook his head before ultimately taking in another breath and resuming the trek back to the city not exactly saying what it was, he had sensed.

But regardless of this, we walked down the same mountain trail, as the sun cast its final beams of light over the distant horizon and the clear skies faded from the vibrant hues of orange to a deep blue of sparkling stars and a growing moonlight that shone on us.