Moen, standing behind him, couldn't help but chuckle at the scene. She lightly poked his lower back with her fingertip and spoke in a teasing tone.
“Hey! That's clearly an invitation for a date. Did you misunderstand something again?”
“A... a date? With me?! You’re joking, right?”
Starlight was about to refute Moen's joke, but when he turned his head, he saw the girl’s hopeful eyes staring intently at him, seemingly waiting for his answer.
“...No way. What is even happening right now?”
At those words, Starlight’s face involuntarily flushed crimson. Having zero experience in such social situations, he had undoubtedly encountered a thorny problem. He even felt that another intense battle would be much easier than dealing with this.
“I... I’m sorry! We don’t have time!”
After a brief internal struggle, Starlight subconsciously grabbed Moen’s hand. After leaving those words behind, the two of them suddenly vanished from in front of the girl.
No one had expected that the black-haired youth, who had just single-handedly forced back several people, would actually use his newly learned instant movement skill to flee the scene.
In his panic, Starlight pulled Moen through several consecutive teleports until the outer walls of the library were completely out of sight before finally stopping.
This was his first time taking someone along with instant movement. Although it was a bit abrupt, fortunately, nothing went wrong.
When Starlight realized he had brought Moen to a completely unfamiliar place, he suddenly remembered he was still tightly holding her hand and hurriedly let go, feeling embarrassed.
“Pfft... Hahahaha!”
After recovering from the discomfort of the teleportation, Moen finally couldn't help but laugh joyfully. Her silver-bell-like laughter echoed along the unfamiliar road, sounding like a string of moving musical notes.
This was the first time Starlight had seen Moen laugh so happily. The girl’s smile was as bright and moving as the first ray of morning sunlight streaming through a window; even the flowers blooming on both sides of the road seemed to pale in comparison at that moment.
Starlight stood dazed in place, completely captivated by the beautiful sight before him. It took several seconds before he spoke blankly.
“Could you please stop laughing at me? I had no intention of going to that dinner.”
“I just think your reaction was super cute. Actually, having a dinner really isn't a big deal~ After all, that little girl was quite attractive, wasn't she? We should probably get going. It seems like we're quite a distance from our place. If we dawdle any longer, we really won't make it back in time for dinner!”
Moen seemed to be in a very good mood. After laughing and making a rough judgment of their location, she immediately set off on the way back.
“Attractive? Well, I still think... you’re more beautiful...”
Watching the girl’s figure already ten meters ahead, Starlight finally snapped out of his thoughts and followed her, muttering under his breath.
Moen’s long ears twitched slightly, and a charming smile curved her lips once more. She turned her head slightly and said softly,
“Then I’ll take that as a compliment for now...”
“Huh? Moen, what did you just say?”
Starlight, who hadn't quite caught up yet, only saw the girl’s lips move as if saying something to him, but under the rustling of the leaves on both sides, he couldn't hear anything clearly.
“I said, keep up! I’ve been practicing wind-element acceleration magic these past few days, and my pace is quite fast!”
“Then... how about we have a race? Let's see who reaches the destination first.”
“Sure~ Then I’ll count to three, and we’ll head out together! ...Three!”
“??? Wait for me!”
Accompanied by a gentle breeze, countless petals fell with the wind, and the figures of the two gradually disappeared into a corner of the academy.
...
“Oh? Little Star, Little Crescent, you two are back? I heard you did something big and sensational today! Any thoughts you’d like to share?”
Just as Starlight and Moen stepped through the door almost simultaneously, Po Kong, who was sitting leisurely on the living room sofa peeling fruit, looked up and gave them a playful smile.
Sitting opposite Po Kong was none other than Ivan Leon, whom they had met once during the entrance exam.
Upon seeing Starlight, Ivan immediately stood up and greeted him with an unprecedentedly formal posture. This respectful attitude was a complete reversal compared to before.
“Yeah, we’re back. But we weren't gone for that long, were we? Po Kong, how did you know about the library incident?”
After nodding to Ivan, Starlight turned to Po Kong and asked with some curiosity.
Po Kong pointed his finger at Ivan and laughed. “Here, this guy ran all the way here to tell us. He said that to play the hero and save a beauty, you actually froze half the library and taught those people from the Crimson City-State a lesson.”
“Huh? What do you mean I froze half the library... If I really did that, I probably would have been arrested by the Principal and the others long ago, right? Well... okay, I did freeze one person, but it didn't cause any major trouble!”
After hearing Po Kong’s description, Starlight couldn't help but feel speechless. In Po Kong's words, he sounded like some lawless lunatic who would do such a crazy thing.
Hearing this, Po Kong immediately turned to look at Ivan, but Ivan was staring at Starlight with a face full of excitement, even using honorifics.
“Forget the library for a moment! Mr. Starlight, so it’s true? You really taught those guys from the House of Red a lesson? The whole school is talking about it now!”
“The House of Red? I didn't even know who they were. I just saw them looking for trouble with Moen, so I stepped in to stop them.”
Just as Starlight was unsure how to explain, Moen took over the conversation with a smile.
“We really didn't know their identities. I remember they tried to introduce themselves twice, but Starlight didn't give them the chance. But the situation definitely wasn't as exaggerated as you guys are saying.”
After listening to Moen’s account, Po Kong and Ivan finally understood the beginning and end of the matter, and looks of realization appeared on their faces.
Immediately, Po Kong looked at Ivan with a teasing gaze and joked, “I say, Ivan, is the intel you provide reliable or not? What actually happened is at least worlds apart from what you said, isn't it?”
Being questioned by Po Kong, Ivan’s fair face suddenly flushed. He hurriedly defended himself,
“You... don't you dare question the authenticity of my intel! Just tell me, did Mr. Starlight use ice magic to deal with those guys or not?!”
“Ah~ right, right, right! I just hope you’ll be a bit more accurate in other areas next time~”
Po Kong didn't care about Ivan’s defense. He threw up his hands and lay back on the sofa, while Ivan was so irritated by his attitude that he gritted his teeth.
At this point, Starlight also sensed something from their conversation, so he asked curiously,
“What kind of riddles are you two playing at? And Prince Ivan, surely you didn't come all this way just to tell them I had a fight with someone?”
Rate on N.U.
