Loviki's breath hitched. “I—I'm not!”
“Is that so?”
“Of course!”
“Then don't look away.”
Loviki looked up and met his gaze, only to look away in less than two seconds. “There, I looked.”
“You really are shy.”
Standing her ground, Loviki bit her lip and stepped closer to stare directly at Chen Mian. “I am not!”
One second.
Two seconds.
Three seconds.
Her fair face slowly flushed red.
“I—I looked!” Her voice rose half an octave. “I am not blushing!”
“Right, it certainly seems that way,” Chen Mian said, nodding with a deadpan expression as he stared at Loviki's thoroughly red face.
“Are we done now?”
“Nope.”
“Y-You...”
“What is it?”
“You're too close!”
“I've been standing here the whole time. I haven't moved.”
Loviki opened her mouth to argue, but realized she was indeed the one who had stubbornly stepped forward. “Let's train!”
The sparring session began.
Loviki's swordplay was even fiercer than usual today.
Silver-white blazing light flickered along the blade. The two light swords materialized from the void slightly faster than usual, tracing sharper arcs through the air.
The light swords struck simultaneously from both sides at a tricky angle and with extreme speed.
Chen Mian sidestepped. The two swords grazed the edge of his clothes and slammed into the tree trunk behind him, sending wood chips flying.
“Too much force.”
Loviki recalled her light swords, took a deep breath, and manifested them once more.
This time, the two swords circled in the air, one after the other, tracing a far more complex trajectory. The first sword thrust straight ahead, while the second traced a wide arc to strike from behind.
Chen Mian didn't dodge. One sword stopped three inches from his chest, while the other stopped three inches from his back.
Enveloped in blazing light, the two swords hovered in midair, their tips trembling slightly.
“Excellent control.”
Loviki's lips curled up slightly at his praise. “Of course. I'm a genius, after all.”
At this moment, Loviki seemed a bit different from before.
An increase in her Sense of Belonging really did come with emotional changes.
Loviki sheathed her rapier and took out a handkerchief to wipe the fine beads of sweat from her forehead.
“Done already?” Chen Mian asked.
“Just a break.” She walked over to a stone at the edge of the training ground, sat down, and took a sip from her water skin. Her breathing hadn't fully settled, causing her chest to rise and fall slightly, with a few stray hairs clinging to the side of her face.
Chen Mian sat down on the grass nearby, leaning back on his hands as he looked up at the canopy of leaves overhead.
A gentle breeze blew, rustling the leaves. A few prematurely yellowed leaves spiraled down, landing on the packed earth of the training ground.
“I've improved, right?” Loviki suddenly spoke.
“Yes, a lot.”
Loviki smiled and took another sip of water before setting the water skin down beside the stone.
She looked down at her right hand holding the sword. There was a thin layer of calluses on her knuckles, worn down by years of sword practice.
She stared at the calluses, her expression somewhat dazed.
“When I was at the Royal Magic Academy...” she suddenly said, her voice softer than usual. “My teacher said my biggest flaw was that I couldn't relax. But having high expectations placed on me since childhood, I couldn't relax, and I didn't see anything wrong with giving my all.”
“Do you understand now?”
“Yes.” Loviki lowered her hand. “I haven't been as diligent here as I used to be, but after relaxing and reflecting, I've actually noticed many of my issues.”
Chen Mian tilted his head to look at her.
Loviki sat on the stone, her black hair swaying gently in the wind, a few strands brushing against her cheeks.
She didn't tuck her hair behind her ears as she usually did. Her expression was relaxed, as if she had cast off a heavy burden.
“I thought about a lot of things last night. I want to live for myself, not for my family's expectations and interests. If I completely fall out with my family... will you take me in?” Loviki's expression was calm as she spoke, but the tips of her ears were slightly flushed.
Chen Mian smiled and said, “There was no lease term specified when you rented the room. But there's nothing here. If you stay too long, you might get bored and want to leave.”
Hearing his response, the corners of Loviki's mouth curved upward. She bent down to pick up the water skin, unscrewed the cap, and took another sip, her movements noticeably faster than usual.
“I think it's pretty nice here,” Loviki said after finishing her water. “Why would I leave?”
“Because it's troublesome to go out since the marriage alliance hasn't been resolved?”
Loviki's fingers suddenly tightened, the water skin letting out a soft creak in her grip. “No. Although you did abduct me here, I like this place.”
“There's a hot spring, a vegetable garden, friends, and someone who can spar with me every day.” Loviki set the water skin back on the stone and stood up, patting the dust off her pants. “I'm hungry.”
Her movements were quick, almost deliberately so.
The moment she turned around, Chen Mian saw that the back of her ears had turned completely red.
“Didn't we just eat?”
“I didn't eat enough,” she said, before striding toward the apartment. After a few steps, her pace slowed down.
Chen Mian stood up, brushed the grass clippings off his clothes, and followed her.
The two of them crossed the training ground one after the other. As they passed the orchard, Loviki paused.
The grapevines had already climbed over most of the trellis. Tiny, rice-sized flower buds had begun to sprout amidst the green leaves, with many unfamiliar little insects buzzing among them.
“They're blooming,” Loviki said, standing under the grapevine trellis and looking up at the buds.
“Yes, it'll still be some time before they bear fruit.”
“What about after they bear fruit?”
“You'll harvest them, Flora will use some to brew wine, and I'll be in charge of eating them.”
Loviki couldn't help but smile. She withdrew her hand from the flower bud and continued walking.
As they exited the orchard, they ran into Luolin coming over from the vegetable garden.
The little catgirl was carrying a basket piled high with neatly arranged golden tomatoes.
“Mr. Chen Mian, Miss Loviki,” she stopped and called out with a smile.
“How was the harvest?”
“I've already harvested two baskets.” Luolin held the basket forward, showing him the tomatoes inside.
Chen Mian picked one up to inspect it. The abundant mana contained within the flesh was even better than the very first mutated golden tomato that had grown.
As if remembering something, Luolin's cat ears perked up slightly, her voice tinged with uncontrollable excitement. “Just now, Miss Flora and I planted a new patch of golden tomatoes. Miss Flora said they'll bear fruit by next week!”
Luolin carried the basket and walked alongside them toward the apartment. After a couple of steps, she paused, took out a small object wrapped in cloth from her pocket, and handed it to Loviki. “Oh, right, Miss Loviki. This is for you.”
Loviki took it and unwrapped the cloth.
Inside was a leaf-shaped silver hairpin with a very smooth, polished surface.
“I noticed your hair tie was a bit loose before,” Luolin said, a hint of embarrassment in her voice. “I made this from a branch that fell from a Silver-light Fruit tree in the orchard and polished it. It's not very pretty, though.”
Loviki looked down at the hairpin. She reached up to remove the hair tie from her ponytail and pinned her hair back up with the silver hairpin instead.
Her movements were natural. After pinning it, she tilted her head slightly. “Does it look good?”
Luolin blinked in surprise, then nodded vigorously. “It looks great!”
“Thank you.” Loviki reached out and gently patted Luolin's head.
“You're welcome! If not for you, Miss Loviki, Liya and I wouldn't even be here anymore.”
Loviki was taken aback, then shook her head. “The one who told me to go into the forest was actually this guy next to me.”
Luolin blinked, looking between Loviki and Chen Mian, a small smile forming on her lips. “Thank you, Mr. Chen Mian.”
“You've already thanked me.” Chen Mian took a golden tomato from her basket, rubbed it against his sleeve, and took a bite. “I'm quite lazy, so you helping harvest the vegetables is the best thank-you gift I could ask for.”
...
At night,
Chen Mian sat in his room and opened his system panel.
【Current Points: 5,040.】
【Game Console purchased successfully! Points -1,500】
【Current Remaining Points: 3,540】
Fifty years after coming to the Continent of Cecia, he had finally bought a video game console in another world.
Rate on N.U.
