Volume 1 Chapter 11: “A Guild Task and a Personal Confession”

Tasu and the Instructor walked up to us.

"That was great, Tasu!" said Kifuru.

"Thanks..." Tasu replied, blushing a little.

"You’re such a shy one," I teased.

"Oh, shut up!"

After a short talk with the teacher, we returned to the college, and he led us into the school library.

As soon as we entered, I noticed how enormous it was.
Tables for visitors stood in the center, and around them rose towering bookshelves packed to the brim with magic books.

"And finally, I wanted to show you the library," the instructor said.

"This library is over two hundred years old, so there are some very ancient spells here," Kimi noted.

"Exactly, that’s why it’ll be useful to you!"

"Well then, that’s all for today. Good luck, everyone!"

"Goodbye!" everyone replied, and the instructor disappeared.

"I should come here sometime to read..." I murmured.

I wonder… are the spells in Tadoki’s book more advanced than the ones here?..

"So, does that mean we can go home now?" Tasu asked.

"Yeah, the teacher said there won’t be any more classes today."

"Then maybe we should head home?"

"I think so."

We stepped outside and started walking toward home.

"Tasu, you guys go ahead. I’ll stop by the guild," I suggested.

"Planning to take on some quests?"

"Yeah, it’s been a while since I’ve been there."

"Alright."

"Akusa, can I come with you?" Kimi asked, a little embarrassed.

"You want to take some quests too?"

"Yes, if that’s okay."

"I don’t mind. The quests there aren’t too hard anyway."

"Well then, good luck on your ‘unusual date!’" Tasu joked, waving his hand.

Kimi and I headed toward the guild.

"Kimi, if I understood correctly," I tilted my head slightly, "Tadoki completed everything he planned with your uncle, and now you’re the legitimate ruler of the country?"

"Yes. Now I’m responsible for everything in the nation."

"So everything went according to plan," I nodded, exhaling in relief.

"Yeah..." her reply sounded quiet.

I looked her in the eyes carefully, lowering my voice so as not to disturb her calm.
"Tadoki... did he find out who killed your parents?" I asked softly, trying not to reopen an old wound.

Kimi answered right away:
"Yes. It was our uncle. As a result, Tadoki killed him."

Cruel… but fair, I thought to myself.

"Sorry for bringing that up..." I said, feeling a sting of guilt for touching such a painful subject.

"It’s fine, I don’t mind," Kimi replied quietly, her voice slightly subdued as she avoided my gaze.

To change the topic, I asked another question:
"Have you ever worked for the guild before?"

"A few times. I only took the jobs that didn’t require using power."

"I see. So you’re just lazy," I teased her with a faint smile.

"I am not!" she protested, blushing slightly.

"Then how about we take something a bit harder this time? Or would you rather not?"

"Let’s do it, I don’t mind. With you around, it’s not so scary!" Kimi said confidently, though a bit shyly.

…She’s way too cute…

I blushed slightly.

When we arrived at the guild, it turned out that Kimi, being a ruler, didn’t need to take a mana test — everyone already knew how powerful she was.

"What quest should we take?" I asked while scanning the board.

There were only three quests posted: two for delivering some goods, and one for slaying a mutant wolf.

"Honestly, I’m surprised there are even delivery quests here..."

"There aren’t enough people right now to deliver various resources, so the guild is helping the country," Kimi explained.

"Got it. Then let’s take the wolf quest."

"Y-yes!" she replied softly.

I… I don’t know why, but being next to Akusa makes me a little nervous... Even though we’ve known each other for a week now… This feeling—it’s so strange…
Could this be…

The guild master finished her explanation and firmly marked the target location on an old map.
After a short while, we had covered a considerable distance and landed precisely at the designated spot — on a vast, incredibly picturesque meadow blanketed with bright flowers.

"It’s so beautiful here," Kimi said warmly, kneeling down and picking a single blossom.

"Yeah, it really is," I agreed, looking around.

Surrounding this oasis-like field loomed a dense, ominous dark forest. There was no doubt — this was the legendary Forest of Death.

Suddenly, the peaceful calm was shattered.
"Something’s approaching," I warned quietly.

"Akusa?.."

"What is it?"

"Can I try?" Kimi asked, her eyes lighting up with excitement.
"I’ve never fought a mutant wolf before. I wonder if I can take one down."

"Alright," I nodded after a brief pause. "If anything happens, I’ll step in immediately."

Judging by Kimi’s mana level, she’s not much weaker than me...

Kimi nodded, and I lifted myself several dozen meters into the air so I wouldn’t get in her way.
A mutant wolf burst out from the forest.

It was gray and stood over three meters tall.

"He’s pretty big," I muttered under my breath.

The wolf drew closer and closer. Kimi extended her hand, and the moment it tried to bite her, she gently touched it.

In that instant, the entire wolf froze solid.

I was slightly surprised and completely tense, as I had already been about to kill the wolf.

Kimi looked up at me and smiled.

I descended to the ground.

"Good job, that was nicely done," I said with a warm smile.

"Thank you," Kimi replied, blushing slightly.

And she doubted she could defeat it?! One wolf isn’t nearly enough! I thought to myself in surprise.

"This... is one of my strongest spells right now," Kimi admitted.

I approached the frozen wolf and placed my hand on it.

"You froze not only its body but its internal organs too? That’s impressive."

"T-thanks..." Kimi said shyly, averting her gaze.

"Alright, time to head back."

"Yes, okay," she replied, pushing away her embarrassment.

I snapped my fingers, creating a powerful impulse that shattered the frozen wolf completely.
Kimi was a bit startled.

We returned to the guild.

"You completed the quest?" the receptionist asked.

"Yes, it was quite easy."

"Here’s your reward."

"Akusa, you can keep it," Kimi said.

"Are you sure? You’re the one who did all the work!"

"Y-yeah!.. hehe," she answered with a bright smile.

"A-alright then…"

Of course, Kimi is a ruler — but in our country, rulers don’t have as many privileges as they do elsewhere.

We stepped out of the guild.

"Do you want to take a walk?" Kimi asked, a little embarrassed.

"Sure, I don’t mind."

We walked toward the fountain in the city center. On the way, we chatted a bit about my past — Kimi seemed deeply interested in it.

We bought some ice cream and headed toward Kimi’s house.

"Akusa… wait…" Kimi said nervously.

I turned around to look at her. She looked really flustered.

"I really enjoyed spending time with you today…" she said softly. "So… thank you!"

"Actually, I should be the one thanking you. I didn’t think you’d find spending time with me interesting..."

I was a little surprised by how things had turned out — but somehow, I felt like the surprises weren’t over yet.

"Silly," Kimi said with a gentle smile.

"W–what? Why?"

"And… I wanted to say..." she hesitated, blushing even more,
"I like you! Let’s… go out?" she whispered.

For a moment, memories from my life before being sealed flashed through my mind.

I placed my hands on her shoulders — and our lips met.

Kimi froze in astonishment.

I lowered my hands.

"I really like you too!"
"I’d love to be with you!"

"...And sorry for that," I muttered.

"T-that… was my first kiss," Kimi said, covering her face with her hands, blushing all the way to her ears.

"Are you alright?"

"Y-yeah, sorry… I should go," Kimi stammered shyly — and vanished, teleporting home.