"Looks like he won't come today either." Artoria murmured to herself, facing the misty sea breeze.
She hadn't seen Asher since that day of training. Artoria didn't know if the bridge Asher had mentioned that connected to the small island had disappeared, or if there was some other reason.
In any case, three days had passed, and Asher hadn't appeared again during these three days.
"Forget it, focus on training." Artoria withdrew her gaze and continued practicing her swings, as well as the Rune characters Asher had taught her.
These characters were truly too marvelous, capable of enchanting weapons and causing extra damage, making them difficult to defend against.
To give such an ability to her without reservation, he must trust me very much.
While using the Rune characters, Artoria couldn't help but think.
Splash.
A wave surged, and a string of flames flickered at Artoria's fingertips, as if about to be extinguished at any moment in the sea breeze.
This was one of the Rune characters Asher had used to grill fish before. After several days of training, Artoria had finally managed to make the flame the size of her fingernail.
She had previously thought Asher's flame was very small, but now, after looking at the flame at her fingertips, she realized that Asher's flame that day, being the size of a finger, was already a very difficult feat.
After practicing repeatedly for two hours, Artoria looked at the gradually dimming sky, knowing roughly that Asher wouldn't appear today either, and was about to leave.
"Hey!"
Just then, a shout suddenly came from the distance. Artoria turned her head to look, and a familiar figure was walking through the mist towards her.
"Asher?!"
A look of surprise appeared on Artoria's face, but soon, this surprise turned into calmness.
Then, she drew her sword.
"Good afternoon... uh, I wanted to greet you in a friendly way, so could you please put your sword away first? It looks kind of scary," Asher said with a strange expression, his eyes fixed on the sword Artoria had drawn at some point, not daring to approach even half a step closer.
"Is it really you?" Artoria's gaze was fixed on Asher, her eyes still wary. "Could it be his ghost or something?"
In this world, creatures similar to ghosts really existed. Some of them could transform into human forms. Asher had disappeared for two days, and now he suddenly reappeared, making Artoria couldn't help but be suspicious.
"Are you cursing me to die like that?" Asher said with a helpless wry smile. "I finally managed to sneak out without Shishou finding out."
Shishou had just told him to face the wall for two days, but the next morning he had immediately sneaked out. If he was discovered, he would probably be punished.
But there was nothing he could do. When he returned to his room, Asher immediately thought of Artoria, wondering if she was still waiting for him there, so on a whim, he came to take a look.
Unexpectedly, he had guessed correctly.
"Didn't we eat grilled fish together two days ago? You seemed hungry back then?"
Seeing that Artoria still looked somewhat unconvinced, Asher continued, trying to prove himself.
The wariness in Artoria's eyes finally relaxed a little. "It's really you?"
"It's really me. If you don't believe me, I'll catch some fish and grill them for you now. As long as the taste is similar, it should prove my identity, right?"
Artoria then lowered the sword in her hand. "Sorry, there's been some trouble in the royal palace these past few days, causing some unrest. I hope you can understand."
"It's okay, it's okay, I understand," Asher waved his hand, walked to the sea with the spear, took off his upper clothes, and jumped into the sea.
"What are you doing?" Artoria asked, puzzled.
"Catching fish and crabs and stuff," Asher said. "Didn't you want to prove my identity?"
Artoria was silent.
Sometimes it was really hard to understand what this boy was thinking. To prove his identity, he actually dived into the sea to catch fish?
What kind of strange method of proof was that?
"Aren't you coming into the sea?" Asher raised his hand in the sea and waved. "It's super cool!"
Artoria still stood rooted to the spot, not moving. Only after a while did she speak, "Not interested."
"Landlubber?" Asher asked loudly.
An unpleasant look appeared on Artoria's face, but she didn't refute him.
She really couldn't swim.
"Then forget it, I'll catch the fish myself. You wait for me for a while."
After saying that, he really dived into the sea like a fish.
Rune magic was activated in an instant, and magic power filled his body, allowing Asher to easily dive into the shallow beach.
Artoria walked barefoot on the sand, slowly moving forward, reaching the shore.
Thirty seconds passed... one minute... two minutes...
Asher hadn't come out yet.
Just as she was feeling faintly uneasy, bubbles suddenly rose to the surface of the sea, and a hand suddenly stretched out from the distance, followed by a head.
"Save me!"
After saying that, the whole person sank into the sea.
A hint of panic appeared in Artoria's emerald green eyes.
Almost without thinking, she ran towards the sea.
Then, just as she reached the shore, Asher, who had just sunk into the sea, suddenly popped his head out.
"Were you scared by me?!"
Their gazes met for a moment.
The tide crashed against the reefs, stirring up white waves that splashed onto Artoria's white dress.
Her hair and clothes instantly became wet.
Then, after three seconds of staring at each other.
"W-wait! It was just a little joke..."
Artoria was too lazy to pay attention to Asher's voice and silently pressed his head into the sea.
---
Dry firewood crackled with flames, illuminating the girl's bright eyes.
Asher glanced at her. "You're using Rune magic very well."
"You can do it by practicing a little every day," Artoria replied faintly, not looking back at Asher.
"You're still not angry, are you?"
"I hate guys who tease people like that," she said calmly.
"It was just a little joke," Asher said, glancing again at her white dress that she had taken off to dry. "Although I did get your clothes wet."
She didn't look at Asher at all from beginning to end, just staring blankly at the fish cooking in the pot.
"You said there was a little trouble in the royal palace... what's the situation?"
Asher was also in a daze, but after a while, he looked at the girl beside him again.
"Of course, if it's a secret, then never mind. I'm not the kind of person who tries to pry into other people's secrets."
Seeing Artoria's solemn expression, Asher quickly waved his hand, expressing that he didn't intentionally want to pry into any secrets.
It was just that everyone had some curiosity, and he was also quite curious as to why Artoria had suddenly become so vigilant in just two days, to the point that she even suspected he wasn't himself when she saw him.
--------More Bonus Chapters!!!!
Every 300 power stones = 1 Bonus Chapter