Time Together

Just like on our previous journeys, the sky was clear, letting the sun shine down on everything around us, giving a warm glow that matched the yellowish tone of the grass in the meadows and the trees. It was a great day, certainly.

“Here I come!” Liz shouted, lunging at me.

Yes, while the sun was shining and we were taking a break from traveling, Liz and I were training by sparring.

Since we left Penton, and given that the trip to the next village would be somewhat long, we decided to make the most of our time by training, to improve, even if just a little. I may have a certain amount of skill, but I’d also like Liz to get better with the sword so she doesn’t have to rely solely on her magic.

I received Liz’s sword strike with my gauntlets, blocking it, then deflecting it and pushing her back.

“Remember, if they block your attack, retreat quickly so you don’t leave yourself exposed,” I advised.

“Got it! I’m going again!”

Liz charged once more, this time swinging several times in a row with her sword, which I blocked or dodged depending on the situation. However, she slightly increased the pace in an attempt to overwhelm me, but it didn’t help much. Seeing that her plan wasn’t working, she decided to go for a thrust with everything she had.

In response, I simply dodged by moving to the side, and just as I prepared to counterattack, Liz caught me off guard. She adjusted her stance with great speed and, without losing her previous momentum, twisted her sword to attack me immediately. She took advantage of my dodge to corner me. I managed to escape by leaping back, but her blade grazed my cheek, leaving me with a shallow wound.

After her surprise attack, I pushed Liz again, this time to knock her down, ending the practice fight. I was genuinely surprised by her performance—it was the first time she had managed to wound me, and even the move she used was something I hadn’t seen until now.

“Damn it… I thought I had you this time,” Liz said with regret. “But it seems this is the best I can do.”

“Don’t say that. You’ve improved a lot since I met you. Before, you wouldn’t have even been able to wound me like that.”

“Really?”

“Yes! Cheer up!” I said enthusiastically. “If you keep this up, soon you’ll be so skilled it’ll be hard to keep up with you.”

What I said wasn’t just to make her feel better. I truly feel that if she keeps training as we’ve been doing now, sooner rather than later she’ll be able to fight me on equal footing without any problem.

It’s necessary that she not only rely on mana to fight, but also count on the sword as an alternative in case of emergencies. One is never prepared enough in a world like this.

“All right, then I’ll keep practicing!” she answered excitedly. “By the way! Can we move on to the next training?” she asked with an eager look, like a puppy seeking approval.

“Fine, fine.”

***

Even though it was important for her to also learn how to fight with the sword, with me training alongside her, we also needed to refine her long-distance abilities, as good as they already were.

“Here it goes!” I shouted as I threw a rock into the sky.

So we came up with an accuracy test. While I threw things into the air, Liz would cast basic spells to destroy them and test how precise she was when firing.

To my surprise, her aim was incredibly good. It’s true that she missed a few shots, but not many, and her hit rate was at least above 90%. Magic was clearly Liz’s strongest aspect, and without a doubt what she enjoyed the most.

“Nice!” she exclaimed as she destroyed the target.

The rock I had just thrown was immediately shattered by Liz’s spell. At this point, single targets posed no problem for her, so I decided to increase the difficulty.

“Good shot, but let’s see now… Can you handle five?”

At my declaration, I hurled five rocks as high as I could. Liz didn’t let herself be shaken by the sudden challenge and instead focused and began firing.

One.

Two.

Three.

Four.

Four of the targets were destroyed with consecutive attacks without missing, but sadly she had trouble with the fifth rock, her shot grazing past it.

“Damn it!” Liz cursed, frustrated for not being able to destroy the fifth target.

“To be honest, I’m pretty impressed with your aim. You’re amazing!” I exclaimed.

“Eh? R-really?” Liz asked, slightly nervous, but smiling from the compliment.

“Don’t get distracted! Here come more!” I shouted, throwing even more rocks into the air.

“Wha—!? Wait, wait!”

We continued like that for quite a while until Liz nearly exhausted her mana, which is why we decided to rest under a nearby tree. As she had mentioned to me during our first training, nearly draining her mana and then recovering it repeatedly causes her mana reserves to increase, allowing her to cast more spells.

However, without the presence of ambient mana provided by the great tree Mildfir, mana recovery was usually incredibly slow, making that method impractical, requiring years and years of practice to get even minimally decent results. Luckily for Liz, she had been training little by little since she was a child, and now with me here, that way of improving had become much more achievable.

“Here. Are you okay?”

“Yes, thank you.”

I had laid Liz down on my lap so she could rest. Being close to me would help her recover mana, so she only needed to sleep a little to be as good as new. I won’t deny that having her so close makes me a bit nervous, but if it’s to help her, so be it.

“You know…” she said, a little drowsy. “Being able to use magic this way is really fun. It’s amazing not having to worry about dying if I run out of mana.”

At Liz’s remark, I gave her a small flick on the forehead.

“Ouch!”

“Don’t say such grim things, will you?” I scolded.

“Sorry, sorry…” she replied, yawning soon after. “I think I’ll sleep a little.”

Finally, Liz had fallen asleep. The exhaustion from training and the lack of mana had left her worn out.

“This girl…”

I’ve said it many times since I met her, but I feel that my words are never enough to do justice to how beautiful Liz is. It’s strange, but just watching her sleep already makes my heart race. No one had ever made me feel this way, but it’s also sad. My goal is to return to my world, and even if I don’t want to, I’ll have to part with her as well. Just thinking about it makes my chest sink.

Maybe Liz and I haven’t spent that much time together, but we have been through many hardships. Monsters, bandits, the golem, the Treetalon—we overcame it all together, cooperating with one another despite difficulties and tragedies. She had become someone important to me, and saying goodbye was something that saddened me deeply.

Anyway, that’s a problem for later. At least for now, I’ll keep enjoying the time we spend together.

I should get some sleep too. The fatigue and the warmth on my skin were already taking their toll, lulling me to sleep.

***

Yaaawwwnnn

That was a great nap, I feel completely refreshed.

How much time had passed?

When I opened my eyes, the first thing I saw was Naoya asleep, leaning against the tree where we had sat to rest. It was a sweet gesture that he let me sleep on his lap.

Looks like it’s getting dark. The sun was already setting and the moon could be seen in the distance. The bright yellow meadows had stopped glowing and were giving way to a great darkness. We had to set up camp.

“Naoya, we need to set up camp,” I said softly as I tried to sit up, not very successfully.

“Naoya… Come on.”

I tried to wake him gently, but it didn’t seem to work. This guy really does sleep like a log. Truth be told, watching him sleep was strangely pleasant. He’s usually someone very strong and reliable, so seeing him like this, so vulnerable, was a scene that was at least interesting. I ended up watching him sleep for a while, and as I did, I could feel my heart beating a little faster.

Why? Why do I feel this way when I’m with him?

Looking at his sleeping face, my eyes ended up on his lips. If he really sleeps so heavily, maybe I could…

“No!” I suddenly shouted out of nowhere.

What the hell am I thinking!? Why do I feel like this!?

Just the thought of kissing him… No!

“No, no, no! What are you thinking, Liz!?” I shouted again, already feeling my face hot and undoubtedly flushed.

“… Liz?”

“Ah!” I exclaimed in fright. It seemed Naoya had finally woken up because of my yelling.

“Is everything all right?” he asked, worried.

“Y-yes! Y-you don’t have to worry!” I replied, standing up abruptly. “It’s already dark, so we’d better get the camp ready!”

“Ah, right, I’ll go gather some firewood…”

“No! I’ll go, see you in a bit!” I said, quickly walking away from the place.

Damn it!

How am I supposed to look him in the eyes now!?

What’s happening to me!?