Reunion

Kane, having obtained a piece of the Emerald Tablet, surprisingly didn’t seem to change much. Kane, clutching the shard that emitted a green light, tilted his head, finding that nothing happened despite his tension.

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,Is that it?

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As if waiting for those words, the fragment of the Emerald Tablet suddenly melted like a liquid and was absorbed into Kane’s hand through the copper part of the bronze gauntlet.

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Then Kane slowly closed his eyes while standing, as if falling asleep. After standing motionless for a while, Kane finally opened his eyes and looked at me. His eyes didn’t emit green light, nor did his skin turn green.

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,How is it? Have you reached the truth of alchemy?

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At my question, Kane slowly shook his head with a blank face. After frowning for a moment as if contemplating how to answer, Kane opened his mouth.

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,No, it just feels like I have a restaurant menu in my head.

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,A menu?

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Kane, who threw out an irrelevant analogy, nodded with a satisfied smile as if he had given the perfect answer, and said.

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,When you’re agonizing over choosing from various dishes on a menu, you think about the taste of the food you’ve eaten before, right? Like thinking lemonade goes well with meatballs. When I think of a reagent combination in my head, I can imagine what the result will be. I even naturally understand how theories I haven’t even studied work.

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Kane, with a smile on his face, said in a hollow voice.

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,So this is what it feels like to be a genius. Alchemy is so easy and fun….

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It was a strange analogy typical of Kane, but I felt the same way when I obtained the essence of magic engineering. Being able to perfectly understand something theoretically to the point where I could easily explain something I didn’t know to others.

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Kane, with a face that seemed to not believe that he had really obtained a piece of the Emerald Tablet, returned the bronze gauntlet to me and suddenly gave me a strong hug.

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,Thank you. Really… thank you from the bottom of my heart.

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I don’t have a hobby of hugging men, but I could feel him trembling slightly, as if he was genuinely moved, so I patted his back silently.

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Kane, who hugged me until he was satisfied, finally let go, and I said with a smile.

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,I promised you, didn’t I? That I would make you, who abandoned the hateful surname of Yousef, able to take revenge proudly in the name of Kane.

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Kane smiled with slightly moist eyes.

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,I also told you that becoming friends with you would be the best thing I ever did after entering the Academy.

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Kane, wetting his dry lips, said in a serious voice.

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,But that’s wrong.

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Before I could say anything, Kane swept his face once and added.

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,Not after entering the Academy, you’re the greatest luck in my life.

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I was embarrassed by those heartfelt words, so I scratched my head for no reason. But if I remained silent like this, it felt like an awkward atmosphere would come, so I opened my mouth as I thought of something.

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,…You and Aria are definitely alike.

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,Huh? That’s not a very nice thing to say, is it? You better come up with a good excuse.

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I gave a mischievous smile at Kane’s appearance, who sniffled and frowned slightly with a playful face.

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,Isn’t it true? The point that both of you have exaggerated reactions when you receive gifts.

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If you give Aria something delicious as a gift, she talks about all sorts of words she knows and sings and dances to express her praise for the gift and her joy.

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It feels like I’ve become an uncle giving a gift to my niece, so I can’t help but check if there’s a gift that Aria would like when I stop by a store.

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Of course, a piece of the Emerald Tablet is incredibly valuable to an alchemist, but it was true that Kane’s reaction was no less than Aria’s.

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Kane, who had been thinking carefully, averted his gaze and muttered an excuse, as if he felt that way too.

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,Still, I didn’t dance on the bed like Aria, did I?

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In the end, we looked at each other and laughed.

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***

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After leaving the dungeon, we camped in a suitable place that Kane had been so looking forward to.

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Kane took out the seasoned meat that he had put in the space storage with the bonfire he had made himself, ate dinner until he was full, and took a break while blankly watching the fire.

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Kane, who was pushing sweet potatoes into the bonfire with a branch, looked at me and said.

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,When I go back to the Academy, I’m going to be stuck in the library for a while. My desire to study alchemy is incredibly fired up right now.

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,The word choice is too dirty for a conversation between two men camping. From now on, just say you’re full of enthusiasm.

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We had pointless conversations while making such puns, and we happened to talk about the Trial Room.

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,The reagent to pass the second trial just popped into my head. I’m going to modify the existing mixed reagent to create a wall of poison in the shape of a circle to block the enemies coming from all directions.

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Certainly, it was Kane who blocked the attacks of numerous goblins in the last practice. It was now only a matter of time before Kane, who had obtained the knowledge of the Emerald Tablet, passed the second trial.

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,Lakar and I are challenging the final trial.

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,Really? What’s in the final trial?

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At Kane’s question, I crossed my arms and grinned.

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,Of course it’s a secret.

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,This bastard keeps making me look forward to it?

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,I’ve never let you down, have I?

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Kane grumbled while peeling the skin of the baked sweet potato.

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,That makes me look forward to it even more, which is annoying!

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I looked at the bonfire and suddenly said something that came out of my mouth sooner than I thought.

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,Let’s split up at the portal station tomorrow. Go back to the Academy alone.

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,Huh? Aren’t you going back to the Academy?

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,Yeah, I miss Luna so much that I can’t stand it anymore.

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Looking at the bonfire that turns the cool air of winter into warmth, I felt like I wanted to see Luna. Perhaps it’s because the warmth created by the bonfire resembles Luna’s gaze towards me.

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,You’re such a lover boy. But is it okay to just go there without a letter?

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,Well, she told me to come anytime during the vacation. And I want to surprise her. With this.

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When I shook my head and moved my long hair tied in one, Kane nodded as if he understood.

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,She’ll definitely be surprised. You’ve changed so much in a few weeks that people won’t recognize you. Luna might even cry from the shock.-

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I was about to answer, “Eh, no way,” but after hearing Kane’s words, I thought that Luna might really do that.

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I was touching my long hair, and I thought that seeing Luna cry after a long time wouldn’t be so bad. Because she’s not crying because she’s in pain. And Luna’s crying face is so pretty and cute that I couldn’t help but love her so much that I couldn’t resist hugging her.

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Her lips, which had become hotter and softer than usual, and her watery eyes made the muscles all over my body flutter as if magic power had been poured into my heart.

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I wanted to hold Luna in my arms with all my might so that she could never escape from my arms, but strangely, in that situation, I felt good about suppressing my impulses while focusing all my attention on whether Luna would be in pain.

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While I was looking at the bonfire and thinking about Luna, Kane lowered his voice and muttered.

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,After all, a man smiling alone is not a good sight. I shouldn’t do that in front of other people.

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At those words, I used space magic to steal and eat the baked sweet potato that Kane had worked hard to peel.

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***

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This isn’t my first time in the eastern part of the continent. I had visited with Estelle to get the Shadow Spear. But that was a business visit, and now the purpose is travel, so wouldn’t it be okay to say it’s my first time in the east?

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The place where Luna’s family is located was a city named ‘Starfallen’. I didn’t set the name of the city, and I don’t know the origin of the name.

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Starfallen was a large city with a large population that was not far behind the capital, as it was ruled by the famous three great noble families of the East.

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Thanks to the existence of a direct portal station befitting a large city, I was able to easily arrive at Starfallen by taking a direct portal after parting ways with Kane, who was returning to the Academy.

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It was easy to find the way thanks to Luna telling me her home address in advance, but I didn’t go to see Luna right away.

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Just like I gave Roel, whom I admired, the setting of receiving a good first impression from everyone, I am very concerned about leaving a good first impression.

I can’t go to the first meeting with Luna’s family in the same comfortable clothes I wore when I went to the dungeon with Kane.

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I went to an expensive clothing store inside the portal station and changed into clothes that suited me with the recommendation of the clerk, and bought expensive items that were good for showing off as gifts at the magic tower direct store, the potion store.

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If there was a store that looked good while passing by, I bought several gifts for Luna as well.

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Before leaving the station. I looked at the large mirror installed on the wall and checked my hair, which was tied with a string, once again, and carefully moved so that there would be no wrinkles in my clothes, and headed to the address Luna told me.

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When I was almost there, I was filled with the thought of wanting to see Luna soon rather than the tension of seeing Luna’s family.

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As the saying goes, the three great noble families of the East, the houses around me disappeared, and a huge mansion befitting a family that ruled the city appeared. What appeared to be the Grace family crest was beautifully carved at the very top of the mansion.

If a stranger saw it, it was a beautiful mansion with countless windows that might be mistaken for a huge hotel in a resort.

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Several large carriages were waiting at the entrance of the mansion. Several people came out of the mansion and got into the carriages in turn, as if they were preparing to go out.

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There were so many people gathered that I wondered where they had all gathered from. It seems that not only family members, but also guests, escort knights, coachmen, and servants were mixed in.

However, I was able to notice Luna’s unique gait among the many people.

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When I approached, the knights around the carriage guarded me with fierce eyes. The sharp gaze made my skin tingle, as if they had a lot of combat experience.

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I had no choice but to stop walking and called Luna’s name loudly as she was about to get on the carriage.

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,Luna!

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Although there was a bit of distance, Luna turned her head towards me as if a dog that had been separated for a while reacted to its owner’s voice.

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More beautiful than I had expected, and with a rich expression, Luna looked at me with a face full of surprise.

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,Ro, Ross…?

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She had a face as if she couldn’t believe I was here. She blinked her eyes and pinched her cheeks, which made her look even cuter.

Only then did I realize that I was smiling because of the sound of laughter in my ear.

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The knight, who had been blocking the way and guarding me, realized that I knew Luna and subtly opened the way.

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Luna, who was frozen in the same position as when she was getting on the carriage, started to blush more and more as I approached. Then, she seemed to belatedly discover my changed appearance and flinched her shoulders as if she was surprised.

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For some reason, my heart was beating like crazy every time I took a step closer to Luna. Just like when I first fell in love with Luna, I fell in love with Luna again today.

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Luna, who was looking at me with surprised eyes with her mouth slightly open, and the gazes of the people who were puzzled by Luna’s appearance were focused on me. I moved my steps while facing only one of those gazes.

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When I got to Luna’s front, I couldn’t think of anything as if my head had turned white. I simply gently wrapped Luna’s face and kissed her as if it was natural.

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The murmuring around me turned into noise. But I couldn’t hear anything. I can’t see the beautiful mansion or the people around the carriage.

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I tried to leave a good first impression on Luna’s family, but I didn’t have the luxury to think about anything else in front of Luna.

I didn’t even realize I had made a mistake. I acted as if watching Luna’s expression was the only thing allowed to me.

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I took off my lips that had been pressed together and looked straight at Luna and said.

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,I missed you. Luna.

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Luna, who was looking at me with watery eyes as if she was about to shed tears with a face full of embarrassment and confusion, answered in a small voice.

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,…I, I missed you every day too. Ross.