"Tell me. D-do you l-love me even if it's a little bit?" As Rima asked this, her voice stuttered due to her anxiousness. After asking her question, she stared into his eyes with a face full of expectations.
Max's expression turned stiff when he heard her question. He hadn't expected her to ask this and was caught off guard.
The light in Rima's eyes dimmed down when she saw his expression. However, after she noticed that he was merely surprised, she sighed in relief and continued to stare at him.
After his initial surprise died down, Max sighed inwardly. Then, he took a deep breath, cupped her face in his hands, looked into her beautiful eyes glimmering with anticipation, and nodded, "Yes, I d-do."
When Max nodded, his heartbeat quickened, and he was a bit unnerved because this was his first time admitting his feelings to a girl. However, after he said, 'Yes, I do.', he was relieved.
"R-Really?" Rima's eyes' brightened, and her heart started beating like drums when she heard him. However, she asked again for confirmation because she felt as if she was hallucinating.
She knew that even though he was very good to Belen, Leticia and especially her because he had given her two priceless spells, he never confessed his feelings to any of them. As a woman, she could feel he was uncertain about his feelings, so now, when he admitted that he loved her, she couldn't help but ask again.
"Yes, I l-love you." Max nodded again and then continued, "However..."
Seeing him nod again, Rima's face blossomed like a beautiful flower, and before Max could say anything further, she had sealed his lips with hers.
Ha!
After a while, they stopped kissing and moved their faces away. Max opened his mouth to say something. However, Rima put her finger on his lips and prevented him from saying anything; she smiled and said, "It's enough for me as long as you love me. I don't want anything more."
After spending so much time with him, she knew what kind of man he was. However, as long as she had a small corner of his heart, it was enough for her.
"Okay." Max smiled, kissed her lips and said, "Let's hurry up and get ready. They are waiting outside."
"Un. Okay." Rima nodded.
...
"Big sister Belen, should we try and knock again?" Arya blinked her big black eyes as she asked,
Belen shook her head, "Let's wait for a few minutes-"
Creak~
Before Belen could finish her sentence, the door to Rima's room opened, and two beautiful figures, Max and Rima, walked out.
"Wow! Big brother. Big sister. You look amazing!" Little Arya cried out when she Max and Rima.
Max was dressed in blue-coloured robes. His handsome features, blue hair and captivating sapphire eyes made him look very handsome. Hardly any woman could resist his charm. Even the old lady gave him a few more looks.
Rima, on the other hand, was dressed in a fiery red dress that accentuated her seductive curves and made her look like a beautiful succubus. Previously, when Max saw her when she came out of the bathroom after getting ready, he had the urge to push her down and rava... make love to her again. However, he controlled himself.
"Hehe, thank you, Little Arya." Rima giggled happily.
After they greeted each other, The old elf woman glanced at Rima and asked, "Little lady, shall we depart now?"
Rima glanced at Max, and after she saw him nod, she nodded, "Okay, granny. Let's go."
Following this, the elf family and Max and company departed from the inn they were staying in. They hired a carriage and headed toward the nearby great forest where one of the elf cities was located.
When it was noon, they had travelled for a few hundred miles into the forest, the old elf man stopped the carriage. Then they had lunch before continuing on their journey.
"Elders, how far are we from your city?" Leticia asked the elf couple.
"It's still quite far. If we continue at this speed and aren't hindered by the beasts here, we should reach there by tomorrow evening." The old woman replied.
When Max heard this, he furrowed his brows and asked, "How high are the chances that we might encounter a three-star beast?"
Previously, when they were looking for a carriage, they couldn't find any driver willing to journey with them to the elf city even when they offered to pay double the Mana stones. The reason they weren't willing was that they were afraid of the three-star beasts residing deep in the forest.
"More than 50%." The old man replied. Hearing this, Max and others' expressions turned grave. Three-star magical beasts were different from the ordinary three-star human mages, they were stronger.
Although Max was confident of defeating an average early-stage three-star beast thanks to his enhanced Mana and his strongest spell, [Calidus Brachium], if they encountered a slightly stronger or more agile beast, they would die without doubt.
Seeing their grave expressions, the old woman glared at the old man, "Don't joke with the kids." She then turned to Max and others, "You don't have to worry. We have some beast-repelling talisman with us. Once we use them, we'll be safe."
Phew!
Belen, Rima and Max sighed in relief when they heard this. In contrast, Leticia was confused. It was obvious she didn't know what beast-repelling talismans were.
"Belen, what are the beast-repelling talismans? I don't think we saw them when we were shopping for the mission?" Leticia asked with a puzzled expression.
Previously, when they were shopping on the Cloud academy's trade peak, they had seen various types of talismans in the market, and Belen had explained their uses. However, they didn't see a beast-repelling talisman there.
"We didn't see them because, in comparison with other types of talismans, beast-repelling talismans are quite rare because only some top talisman masters in the kingdom are capable of making them. I heard that apart from the fact they are hard to make, the materials needed to make them are also unique." Belen replied,
After a small pause, she continued, "A beast-repelling talisman can be used on anything, for example, this carriage. If we put a beast-repelling talisman on it, based on its grade, it'll send out some kind of energy in a limited radius for a limited time that will keep the beasts away.
Of course, it's only true if the beast isn't more powerful enough to resist the repelling energy. For example, a grade-three beast-repelling talisman can repel all beasts under the three-star realm."
"Okay. So, that's why we haven't encountered even a single beast until now." Leticia was hit with the realization.
"Hmm?" When Belen heard her, she raised her brows and turned toward the elf couple.
As if the old woman knew what Belen wanted to ask, she nodded, "Yes, after entering the forest, we had already started using grade-two talismans."
Belen, Rima and Max looked at each other and smiled wryly, "And here I thought that we are lucky not to have encountered any beasts until now." Belen shook her head.
The elf couple merely smiled at this and didn't say anything.
...
"Grandpa, look, they are our warriors." After travelling for a day, they neared the elf city. As the distance between them and the city became lower, they started seeing a few elf people on the way.
Hearing Arya's cry, everyone looked ahead and saw a group of five heading toward them.
"Are they?" The old man was uncertain whether they were elves or humans since they were half a mile away from them.
However, unlike others, Max could see that they were indeed elves. Moreover, all of them seemed to have serious expressions. He couldn't help but look at Arya with a surprised expression.
Rima and others also looked at her in surprise, "Little Arya, you can see them from this distance?"
"Hehe, of course. My senses are quite sharp." Little Arya giggled proudly.
Rima and the others didn't know how to respond. Belen couldn't help but sigh with emotion, "As expected of the elf race."
The old elf woman smiled and shook her head, "Not everyone in the elf race is gifted like Arya. She is one of rare few."
"Rare, huh?" Rima and the others nodded. However, they were still shocked by her innate talent."
Suddenly, Belen's eyes flashed, and she couldn't help but ask, "I-is she... a saint elf?"
