Vale stared at Nym for several long seconds as the sounds of the café faded into the background. Her words had reached his ears perfectly clearly, yet his mind stubbornly refused to process them. They hovered somewhere between disbelief and confusion, refusing to settle into anything coherent. Leaning back precariously on the rear legs of his chair, he stared at her as though she had suddenly switched to an entirely different language.
The problem was not just what she had said. It was the way she had said it.
There was no blush creeping across her cheeks, no nervous fidgeting, no awkward hesitation. She wasn't avoiding eye contact or second-guessing herself. If anything, she looked more relaxed than usual. Nym sat comfortably in her seat with the same effortless confidence she brought into every situation, as though demanding someone take her on a date was no more significant than ordering lunch or asking for directions.
Vale blinked once.
Then again.
'What did she just say?'
The thought finally surfaced in his mind.
His eyes twitched.
Slowly at first, then all at once, he lurched forward. His chair slammed back onto all four legs as he planted both hands firmly on the table and fixed her with a stare.
"Repeat what you just said."
The seriousness in his voice surprised even him.
Nym raised an eyebrow, amusement immediately flickering across her face.
"Oh? You want me to repeat it?" she asked, a grin tugging at her lips. "Did you not hear me the first time?"
Vale nodded without hesitation.
For a brief moment, she simply stared at him. Then her smile softened slightly. Leaning forward, she rested her chin in her palm and lazily tapped her fingers against the metal tabletop, completely unbothered by the fact that she had just reduced his ability to think to rubble.
"I said..." Her fingers continued their slow rhythm. "I want you to take me out on a date."
Silence followed.
Vale stared.
Nym stared back.
The only thing changing was the increasingly mischievous smile spreading across her face.
Instantly, Vale became suspicious.
His eyes narrowed.
He glanced left, then right, then behind himself. He craned his neck upward, scanned the ceiling, and finally looked beneath the table.
Nym watched the entire process with growing confusion.
"What exactly are you doing?"
Vale stopped searching and looked back at her.
"Looking for the trap."
"The trap?"
She looked genuinely caught off guard.
Rather than respond immediately, she reached toward a passing waitress carrying a tray of drinks. Without warning, she plucked a bright pink beverage directly from it.
The waitress froze.
"Ma'am-"
Nym silently produced her Royal Guard badge.
The girl's expression changed.
"My apologies, ma'am."
Then she hurried away before either of them could say another word.
Vale watched the entire exchange unfold, with a distasteful expression.
"...That was theft."
Nym took a sip.
"Thank you."
"That wasn't a compliment."
"You're welcome."
Vale pinched the bridge of his nose.
"You really are impossible."
"I've heard that before."
"You literally stole someone's drink."
"I outranked them."
"That's not how laws work."
Her smile widened.
"It is when you're me."
Vale groaned and leaned back in his chair. The worst part was that the statement sounded exactly like something she would say without a trace of irony.
Meanwhile, Nym stretched comfortably and looked entirely pleased with herself while Vale continued trying, and failing, to understand how his day had spiraled into this situation.
Eventually, he sighed.
"Anyway."
Nym tilted her head.
"I thought you hated me."
The question caught her so off guard that she nearly choked on her drink.
"Hated you?"
"Yes."
"Why would I hate you?"
Vale lowered his forehead onto the table with a dull thunk.
Several moments passed before he finally lifted his head again.
"Why ask me out all of a sudden?"
Nym immediately raised a finger.
"No."
Vale frowned.
"No?"
"I am not asking you out."
"You literally just did."
"No." She pointed directly at him. "I am informing you that you should ask me out."
Vale stared at her in complete disbelief.
"...That is somehow worse."
"They are completely different things."
"Only inside your head."
"They are still different."
Vale rubbed his forehead, already regretting every decision that had led him to this table.
"Sure."
"Good."
She took another sip of her stolen drink and looked deeply satisfied with that outcome.
"Now answer the question."
Her grin faded, not entirely, but enough for something more thoughtful to surface beneath it.
She lowered her gaze to the glass in her hands, watching the pink liquid swirl gently as the noise of the café returned around them. For several seconds she remained silent, her earlier confidence giving way to a rare moment of consideration.
The sounds of the café continued around them as conversations blended together beneath the steady clinking of dishes and the occasional burst of laughter from nearby tables. For a few moments, neither of them spoke.
Then Nym broke the silence.
"I don't know."
Vale blinked.
"What?"
She gave a small shrug, her gaze drifting toward the drink in her hands.
"I don't know," she repeated, though this time there was none of her usual teasing confidence behind the words. "I just can't seem to get you out of my head lately."
The answer caught him off guard.
For a moment, Vale simply stared at her. He had expected a joke, a challenge, some ridiculous explanation that would allow him to dismiss the entire conversation as another one of Nym's games. Instead, she had answered with a level of sincerity he wasn't used to hearing from her.
Crossing his arms, he leaned back slightly.
"In what way?"
Nym slowly raised her eyes to meet his.
"The way you think," she answered. "The way you look at things. Most people either agree with whatever they're told or spend their lives trying to impress someone. You don't seem interested in either."
Vale immediately looked away.
The corner of Nym's mouth twitched upward.
"That's bad?"
"No."
"You're lying."
"I am not."
"You absolutely are."
Vale let out a long sigh.
"Seriously, how are you not embarrassed right now?"
The question seemed to genuinely confuse her.
"Why would I be embarrassed?"
"Because you're basically confessing."
Nym frowned slightly, as though trying to identify the flaw in his reasoning.
"So?"
"So normal people get embarrassed when they do that."
She tilted her head thoughtfully.
"That sounds incredibly inefficient."
Vale stared at her for several seconds before shaking his head.
"You're hopeless."
"If anything," Nym continued, completely disregarding the criticism, "you should feel honored."
Vale immediately pointed across the table.
"There she is."
"There who is?"
"The narcissist."
A grin spread across her face.
"Oh, come on."
He leaned back in his chair.
"Right. How fortunate I am. Being personally selected by the academy's most problematic woman."
Her eyes narrowed briefly before the grin returned, somehow even wider than before.
"You can call me whatever you want. I'm still the best option you've got."
Vale laughed despite himself.
"The confidence is genuinely ridiculous."
"You know I'm right."
"I really don't."
"You do."
"I don't."
"You do."
The exchange continued until both of them were fighting smiles.
Eventually Nym folded her arms.
"You know, if you stopped being stubborn and simply asked me out, you'd probably enjoy yourself."
"Probably?"
"Definitely."
"That's a very confident prediction."
"I am a very confident person."
"There it is again."
"What?"
"The arrogance."
Nym shrugged.
"It's only arrogance if I'm wrong."
That finally broke him.
A genuine laugh escaped before he could stop it. Nym watched him carefully, and for once the smile that appeared on her face wasn't teasing or victorious.
It was simply normal.
For a brief moment, the conversation turned into something comfortable.
Then Vale pushed himself to his feet.
The movement surprised her.
His smile softened slightly.
"Whatever."
He stretched his arms overhead.
"I'll think about it."
Nym focussed her eyes immediately.
"No you won't."
"Probably not."
"I knew it."
Vale chuckled.
"I'll give you my answer at the gala."
Something resembling disappointment crossed her face. It wasn't because he had refused. If anything, the answer seemed to satisfy her.
"See you at the gala."
Nym remained seated, watching him go. She didn't wave, didn't call after him, and didn't attempt to stop him. Her gaze simply followed him through the café until he disappeared from view.
Meanwhile, Vale did everything possible not to look back.
Unfortunately, that did nothing to quiet his thoughts.
'Seriously?'
He rubbed a hand across his face as he stepped onto the street.
'Why can't she just be normal?'
The answer came immediately.
Because if she were normal, she wouldn't be Nym.
And, irritatingly enough, that was part of the reason he liked her.
The realization caused his heartbeat to quicken ever so slightly.
Not enough to concern him.
Certainly enough to annoy him.
"There is something deeply wrong with that woman," he muttered.
The fact that he was smiling while saying it weakened the argument considerably.
Determined to focus on literally anything else, Vale redirected his attention toward the Royal Guard headquarters looming above the city skyline. The massive structure dominated the surrounding district like a fortress carved from stone and steel, its towers rising high above the rooftops below. Guards stationed at the entrance immediately recognized his medallion and granted him passage without question.
The atmosphere changed the moment he stepped inside.
Everything was immaculate. Corridors gleamed beneath enchanted lanternlight, banners hung with perfect symmetry, and rows of ceremonial armor stood polished so thoroughly they reflected the surrounding hallways like mirrors. The headquarters felt less like a military institution and more like a monument dedicated to discipline itself. Every surface was spotless, every detail precisely maintained.
Normally, Vale might have appreciated the craftsmanship.
Today, he barely noticed any of it.
His thoughts remained occupied by emerald eyes, sarcastic smiles, impossible confidence, and a woman who had somehow managed to treat asking someone out with the same authority she used to issue military orders.
By the time he reached the upper levels of the tower, those thoughts had finally begun to fade.
At the end of a long corridor stood a pair of imposing doors reinforced with steel and engraved with the insignia of the Royal Guard.
Ares's office.
Vale stopped several paces away.
His smile disappeared.
The lingering amusement from the café vanished with it.
Slowly, he drew in a breath and released it, allowing the last remnants of the earlier conversation to settle into the back of his mind. Whatever Ares wanted, it would not be trivial. The commander did not summon people without reason, and certainly not someone like Vale.
Straightening his posture, he adjusted the straps of his armor and gathered his focus.
Then, with his thoughts finally clear, he stepped forward and reached for the handle.
The moment of levity was over. Whatever waited beyond those doors was certainly far more serious.