I came to Stardust Garden to pass some time, as I usually do, but before I could open the door, I heard Alise's cheerful voice.
"C'mon, Lion. It looks really good on you. Right, Kaguya?"
"Yes, I must admit she does look like a proper pixie now." Kaguya's voice, and I also decided to enter the hall. Twisting the doorknob, I opened the gate and entered. I was able to see all the girls present in the main hall. Iska, Ryana, Lyra, and others were sitting on the sofa, while Alise, Kaguya, and Ryuu were standing near the window with Ryuu's back towards the door.
Ryuu turned to look, and the moment my eyes fell on her, I was shocked. The outfit she was wearing enhanced her beauty by a huge margin. She looked so ethereal that for a moment i forgot to breathe.
She wore a white off-shoulder dress, its frilled sleeves brushing lightly against her arms and the hem fluttering in the breeze. A ribbon cinched neatly at her waist, giving shape to the airy fabric, while her pale blonde hair framed the sharp points of her elven ears. Bathed in sunlight passing through the large window, she looked less like a magicswordwoman and more like a fleeting vision of a summer fairy itself.
"Ar-Arin-san?" I heard Ryuu's voice, but as I was still appreciating her beauty and was not able to reply, Ryuu fidgeted in place, her hands clasped in front of her. Her eyes failed to meet mine.
She looks so cute!
I want to hug her!
I want to bite her soft cheeks!
I want to gobble her up!
"It-it's a little embarrassing if you stare so much." She spoke again.
Crap, I need to control myself! I thought, trying to keep myself from hugging her.
"He-hem! See, He is too shocked by your beauty, Lion. You just look so cute in this dress, almost as perfect as me!" Declared Alise and hugged her.
"Al-Alise!" Cried Ryuu, but Alise didn't loosen her hold on her.
"Yes, Lion, you should try different types of clothes like these, and who knows, Arin might lose his sanity and start banging you," said Lyra, clearly trying to tease her.
"You are right, Lyra," Kaguya said in support, "After all, all men are animals."
"Ly-Lyra Kaguya!, stop talking dirty! Arin-san is not that kind of person!" Ryuu said in defense.
"Oh my, Really?" Questioned Kaguya, hiding her mouth behind the scarf of her kimono, "Then why don't we ask the man himself?" she said, staring towards me.
Fortunately, all their banter had given me enough time to reboot my mind. "I have nothing to say about your indecent comments," I said, "But I agree with Alise. You look really beautiful, Ryuu, way more than ever."
Ryuu clearly became embarrassed at my comment, her cheeks turning red, head lowered. "Th-Thank you, Arin-san."
Kuu!! Critical hit! I have a feeling I am going to get a lot of these critical hits today.
"Oh, right! Arin, why don't you take Lion out and roam around the city?" Alise released Ryuu and suggested.
"Alise, we shouldn't disturb Arin-san like that; he must have his own things to do." Replied Ryuu, But….
"No, rather let me ask you formally, Ryuu would like to go on a date with me?" I stretched out my right hand towards her.
"*Whistle*"
"Oh? Arin formally asking Lion out?"
"Go for it!"
"So you do have some balls, huh?"
I could hear some whistles and words of encouragement from behind me, the last one being Kaguya.
"D-Date?!" Ryuu said in surprise.
"Yeah, I mean, if a girl and a boy go out alone, then that's a date, no?" I said, a little unsure of myself, as I don't have much experience in these things. "We can think of these as us surveying the city before the festival as well." I gave her an excuse to accept the offer.
Ryuu contemplated for a short while, looking at my outstretched hand, until finally she grabbed my hand with her own. "Then if it's not too much trouble, then please…"
I am pretty sure my smile was reaching my ears. As Kaguya gave a snarky comment. "Wipe that goofy a*s smile off of your face, it's disgusting." But I was in too good a mood to ruin it by arguing with her, so I just ignored her and started walking towards the door with Ryuu following behind me.
"Be sure to get him, Lion!" Alise cheered Ryuu as we walked out.
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We were walking through the streets of Orario when Ryuu spoke. "Please ignore their comments, you know how they are."
"Hm?" I let out a confused voice when finally the understanding settled in, "Oh, don't worry about it, or rather, I should be saying that to you, you can ignore their words, I just wanted to spend some time with you, that's all."
"I-I see, then where should we go first?" asked Ryuu, "If we want to survey the city, then the first place should be the main market."
"Then let's start from there." We agreed on our destination and started making our way there.
"The city has changed so much in such a short time, hasn't it?" Ryuu looked around the street, observing different types of stalls, children playing, running here and there, and people smiling. "No, it would be more correct to say, things have gone back to normal as they should be."
"Yes, this upcoming festival is also helping a lot in lifting up the mood," I added, walking a little ahead of Ryuu and making our way through the crowd.
Just then, I noticed a restaurant that had reopened after the great conflict. I remember Anakitty telling me about how they have some good food.
"Ryuu, you haven't had lunch yet, right?" Ryuu gave a nod, "Then let's go to that cafe, I heard good things about their food."
"Okay," I opened the door to the cafe and entered with Ryuu following behind me.
"Welcome, Customers!" A very energetic girl with brown hair welcomed us. "Would you like a seat for two?"
"Yes, please. Also, is there a seat available on the terrace?" Anakitty especially told me to get a terrace table if I come here with a girl, since it provides a pretty good view of the city.
"Yes, of course! Please follow me!" We followed her up the terrace. There were a lot of people there already, But Fortunately, there was a table available on the terrace, and we got a pretty good one as well, since it gave a good view of the whole street.
"Another waitress will come in a while, and you can place your order then." The waitress said and bowed slightly, and then went away.
But there was a slight problem…
"Um… Arin-san, is it just me, or does this place seem to be filled with couples only?"
Yeah, all the tables were filled with couples only, maybe only couples were allowed up here, as I have seen some families on the ground floor, but not here.
"It's fine, Ryuu, we can just eat some food and be our way, or… if you feel uncomfortable, we can find some other place to eat?" I suggested, though I was hoping she would say otherwise.
"No, I am not uncomfortable or anything, it just feels a little strange, anyway, let's just order food, Arin-san." She looked through the menu, and so did I.
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"The food was really delicious, Arin-san." Said Ryuu as we got out of the restaurant.
"I am glad to hear that you liked it."
"Um. I think I will come back again with Alise and others later." She said, walking alongside me.
We walked through the streets, stopping at some random shops to browse through things, sometimes to get some snacks.
I got us some ice cream as well when I spotted an ice cream stand, and both of our ice creams were of different flavours.
"Should we taste each other's ice cream, Arin-san?" Ryuu suggested, which, to be honest, surprised me, but I kept my calm appearance and nodded. Ryuu held out her cone with subtle elegance, and I took a bite. It tasted like vanilla, a little too sweet for me, but somehow felt more delicious than anything I have tasted.
Ryuu kept looking at my face with an impatient expression. "It's delicious." Her face lit up at my words.
"Here, try some." I held out my ice cream cone towards her. And she took a bite, but stopped midway, her face turning bright red.
Guess she understood, huh?
"How is it?" I said, trying to give her an escape route from her embarrassment.
She quickly backed off, her hand on her mouth. "U-um, it-its very delicious."
"I see–uh, you have some smudged on your face." She tried to clean it. "Let me." I wiped the ice cream from her face and licked my finger clean.
Ryuu turned extremely red up to her ears. At some point, I felt like smoke would come out of her head.
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After that small incident, we walked around some more until we sat on an empty bench in a small park, with our shoulders touching slightly.
For some time, both of us remain quiet. A comforting silence settled between us.
"Thank Arin-san." After some time had passed, Ryuu spoke, making me confused.
"Thank you for what?" I asked.
"for a lot of things, like giving me hope when I was losing sight of justice, but especially for saving Ardee. If you hadn't saved her at that time, then sure, I wouldn't have been able to get back on my feet again."
"I don't think so. You are very strong, Ryuu. Surely, you would have been devastated by her loss, but you would definitely have gotten back on your feet. I truly believe so."
Ryuu didn't reply, nor did I say anything else. We just sat there for some more time until the sun started to go down, and we decided to get back home.
Ryuu stood up from the bench and turned to face me, "Should we get going, Arin-san?" She said with a bright smile on her face, the sun setting behind her created a picturesque view, making her appear like a fairy, but I felt something was lacking…
I got up from the bench and walked towards her, and retrieved the pink flower from my back pocket. I had intended to give her the flowers before, but now I have found a different use for them.
I tore off all the petals of the flower, gathered them in my hands, and extended them above her head. Ryuu gave a strange me a strange look, and I released all the petals and used my wind magic to swirl them around her; the hem of her dress fluttered in the wind slightly.
"Now you look like a picture-perfect Fairy, Ryuu." Her eyes widened at my actions, her cheeks taking on a red hue.
She quickly turned her back against me, ducking her head down.
"Ryuu? What– wait, why are you running?!" I asked to see her behave strangely. But instead of answering anything, Ryuu started running at a fast speed, surprising me.
"What the heck? Was she that embarrassed? Or…" I thought of a possibility that crossed my mind, and seeing Ryuu's behaviour seems to solidify that possibility as well.
"I sure hope that is the case…" I thought, looking at the direction she disappeared to.
I sat back on the bench again and looked at the setting sun.
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She is really fast though… but still cute…
I am really head over heels for them, aren't I?
These feelings in my heart are building up too much… I need to get them out soon…
For some time, I just sat there with different thoughts crossing my mind. Finally decided to head back home, keeping Ryuu's image amid those flower petals, saved in my memories.