She silently watched the wooden box for a moment. From the look in her eyes, one could tell that this potential gift tempted her.
However, she kept her emotions in check and snorted, "Hmph! You think I'll forgive you just because you brought me a gift? I won't."
"Oh? So, you don't want to see what is inside the box?" Max asked, chuckling.
"N-No. I don't want to." Anna shook her head. However, her eyes were still glued to the box.
Max let out an elongated sigh and said, "Ai… too bad. I was sure you would definitely like it, but what can we do since you don't even want to see it?"
Saying this, he prepared to put the box away when suddenly, Anna grabbed his hand.
A victorious smile appeared on his face. Just as he was about to say something, Anna turned around.
She looked into his eyes, her expression serious as she said, "Do you know how much I was worried when I didn't see you here upon returning from my monthly mission?"
"You didn't even leave any message. I thought… I thought something had happened to you." As she said this, tears welled up in her eyes once again.
Max pulled her into his chest and hugged her soft body tightly and said, "I'm sorry, I didn't leave any message when I left. However, at that time, I was—"
"You don't need to explain. I already know everything." Anna cut him off.
"You do?"
"Yes. Because I was worried, I went to the mission hall to check whether you had returned from the monthly mission and found out that you had indeed returned but went on a search mission."
She then raised her head to look at him and carefully asked, "So… did you find your friend?"
"Yes, we did." Max nodded and then told her about his experiences. Of course, he left out the part where he nearly died since he didn't want her to worry.
When Anna heard how Rima became a king mage's disciple, she was slightly envious of her amazing luck and couldn't help but mumble,
"She is very lucky. Thanks to her master's guidance, it wouldn't be difficult for her to break through to the three-star or maybe even to the higher realms."
Max could feel the envy and her desire to become strong in her words.
He suddenly cupped her beautiful face in his hands, looked into her eyes and softly asked, "Anna, do you remember the conversation we had that day?"
Given how close their faces were at this moment, Anna could feel his hot breath on her face. Because of this, her breathing and heart rate intensified. Her cheeks and ears turned crimson, making her look even more tempting to the opposite gender.
As she looked into his bewitching sapphire eyes, she fell into a daze for a while, unable to react to his words.
Looking at her current delicate and sexy appearance, Max felt his blood rush to his head and instinctively, he leaned his face toward her and gently kissed her soft and slightly moist pink lips.
Boom!
When Anna felt his lips touching hers, her mind went blank for a moment. Then her eyes widened in embarrassed panic and she retreated backward until she was at the edge of the bed.
"Hey, watch out." Seeing that she was about to fall down from the bed, Max called out before lunging toward her and pulling her toward the middle of the bed.
"Max… you… this…" She touched her lips with her slightly trembling hands as she tried to say something, but because her state of mind was a mess now, she couldn't find any words and could only fumble.
Seeing her so flustered and panicked, Max sighed and cursed himself inwardly for not being able to control his emotions.
He pulled her into his arms and hugged her tightly and whispered in her ear, "I'm sorry for kissing you so suddenly. However, I can't control myself when you look so beautiful."
Hearing these words, Anna's heart raced even faster and a slight smile appeared on her face.
After a while, she managed to calm down a little and with a red face, she spoke in a barely audible voice, "…I-I don't mind."
"What did you say?" Max asked as his lips curled up into a smile.
"N-Nothing." Shaking her head, Anna hurriedly buried her face into his chest.
Max chuckled, but didn't try to tease her further.
While hugging her tightly, he slowly laid back on the bed. He didn't try to do anything more to her even though he was slightly turned on right now because, for now, it was already enough that she wasn't rejecting him.
After a while, when he felt that Anna had calmed down, he curiously asked, "Who did you think I was when you opened the just now?"
Hearing his question, Anna raised head and grinned at him, "Your beloved Flavia."
"Hm? Flavia?" Max asked, surprised.
"Yes. Not long after I returned from my mission, she came to meet you. It seems she was also missing you." Anna smiled.
"Oh? She came, huh?" Max murmured and thought, 'She must have heard that I went to visit her.'
Seeing that he didn't show much reaction, Anna narrowed her eyes and said, "You know she likes you, right?"
Max was taken aback by her sudden words. Flavia liked him? Although he knew she thought of him as her friend, he wasn't sure if she liked him?
Seeing the change in his expression, a knowing smile appeared on Anna's face.
Cough!
Feeling her piercing gaze, Max coughed and asked, "Why would you think so?"
"Hehe. it's because when she came to meet you, she found me here and misunderstood that we were lovers. From her expressions at that time, it was obvious she likes you." Anna giggled.
"Are you sure?" Max involuntarily asked. It would make things easier with her if she also liked him.
"Oh? It seems you also like her?" Anna narrowed her eyes at him.
Seeing her expression, Max nervously gulped down his saliva. He knew there was a good chance she wouldn't like it if he said yes, however, he couldn't lie to her either. So, he nodded, "Yes, I like her too."
