36 Date
They walked to the arcade that Rai and Nova often frequented while they were still in middle school.
『Man.. An arcade?! I haven't been to one before!』[Leo]
『Hahaha! I wonder what they've got for us?』[Andrew]
Upon heading in, they found an arcade machine that seemed brand new.
『Woah! I've heard of the Familiar series!』[Leo]
『Familiar? What the heck is that?』[Andrew]
『A fighting game. First to 2 points win. Whoever loses the most has to go and buy food.』[Nova]
『...You're on.』[Rai]
They both simultaneously put coins into the machine and began to play.
Moments later, Rai swung his hands in the air.
『Yeeeah! Nova still SUCKS AT THIS GAME!』[Rai]
『...Damn.』[Nova]
He got up, and Leo and Andrew played rock paper scissors for his place.
『I'll get some food. You guys meet me in the lounge in 15.』[Nova]
『Yeah! We'll see you there.』[Leo]
As he threw out scissors, he realized he lost again.
『...Am I cursed?』[Leo]
------
Nova was sitting at a table waiting for the group to show up.
Suddenly, out of nowhere, he felt a searing pain roar in his mind.
As this headache hit him, the rest of the group got there.
『Ugh! What the..』[Nova]
『What's going on?! You good?』[Rai]
『I.. Don't know. I just got hit by this massive headache.』[Nova]
『Woah! Alright, no problem. Let's just eat then head back.』[Andrew]
『Yeah, sure. Thanks guys.』[Nova]
Rai looked at his hands with a look of fear.
『...Did I really beat you that hard in Familiar?』[Rai]
『...Bro. Shut up.』[Nova]
The sound of laughter filled the lounge.
-------
Later on, they all went back to their rooms and disappeared for the rest of the day.
『Still.. Why did I just randomly get such a big headache..』[Nova]
「Nova, you really need to fix that problem with you talking to yourself.」[Reischneid]
「Oh.. Right. Do you know why I got such a big headache?」[Nova]
「Yeah, it's because you can't sleep while training mana yet. You don't actually rest unless you're in a fully unconscious state of REM.」[Reischneid]
「...So, I'm just mentally tired?」[Nova]
「Yeah. It's been a full 33 hours, hasn't it?」[Reischneid]
「I think. I'll just sleep after my date with Freyana, is that fine?」[Nova]
「Yeah. Your grasp on your mana is getting a little shaky. Your capacity is growing really fast though. Let's make your continuous mana circulation technique the next priority.」[Reischneid]
「Alright. Do you think I can heal my mental health with Blessed Rebirth Flame?」[Nova]
「Yeah. But don't. Artificial rest is just a shoddy replacement for real rest. If you don't have the need for artificial rest, don't use it.」[Reischneid]
「Okay! Thanks, as always.」[Nova]
「Yeah, always here. I'm going back to work on the seal though.」[Reischneid]
「Mm. Keep up the good work.」[Nova]
「Alright. You have fun on that date.」[Reischneid]
He faded away from Nova's mind, before Nova began to get ready for the date.
-------
Nova stood in front of the statue, waiting for Freyana.
「...I hope I'm not here too early.」[Nova]
Suddenly, he heard a clicking noise come from the ceiling.
『...Huh?』[Nova]
A moment later, he was on the floor.
『OUCH!』[Nova]
『Huh?!』
A person had landed on him, and swiftly climbed off.
He looked up to see Freyana standing there.
『Why were you waiting there?! Shouldn't you have known from the last time you exited?!』[Freyana]
『I.. Took a different exit last time..』[Nova]
She pulled him off the floor, then dusted him off.
『Are you okay?!』[Freyana]
Nova eyed her new attire.
『..Yeah.』[Nova]
She normally wore black and white working clothes, but this one time she was wearing a beautiful white dress and a matching sun hat.
『...Beautiful.』[Nova]
『..Huh?』[Freyana]
『..I said you're beautiful.』[Nova]
She kept silent and tried to hide her blush with her hat.
By the end of his sentence, they were both blushing and a collective silence hung over them.
『...』
Freyana reached her hand slowly behind Nova.
『..Freyana?!』[Nova]
He suddenly heard a noise behind him.
『..What are you kids doing?』[Statue]
『...Can we go to the Eternea Plains?』[Freyana]
The statue picked up on the mood and gave the two a light chuckle.
『Sure. Have fun!』[Statue]
A hole appeared under them and off they went again.
----
When they got to the other side, it was still bright outside.
『Woah! I can never get used to this view..』[Nova]
『I.. Also love this view.』[Freyana]
When Nova turned to her, all he could see was her staring back at him.
『...』[Nova]
He slowly reached for her hand, and she reached for his.
『Then.. Shall we go?』[Nova]
『...Yes.』[Freyana]
「..Although I could just teleport there, wouldn't that ruin the mood?」[Nova]
The two began to walk through the vast flower field until they reached the town Freyana lived in.
『I was very happy when you invited me to go on a date! I thought you were going to spend time with your classmates instead!』[Freyana]
『Well, I can't leave my girlfriend alone. If I did, someone might try to steal you!』[Nova]
She shook her head while getting closer to him.
『...Never.』[Freyana]
She hugged his arm and he felt like he was being consumed by an enveloping fluffiness.
『...』[Nova]
『...When we get to town, I want to take you to all my favorite places! Let's finally get to know each other better!』[Freyana]
He looked at her vibrant smile- before he returned a smile as well.
『..Yeah.』[Nova]
When they arrived, it was bustling with activity and people.
Walking into the town, a man that looked to be a humanoid wolf called out to them.
『Woah! Freyana! That a human?』[Beastman]
『Hi, Mr. Pentil! Yeah! He's my boyfriend!』[Freyana]
He had a shocked look on his face.
『Huh? Your boyfriend? I remember when you still hugged your mom's leg and hid behind her! Are you pulling a prank on old Pentil?』[Pentil]
She vigorously shook her head "No", before pouting.
『Nope! He finished my challenge, and I fell in love right away! He's my boyfriend, alright?』[Freyana]
『Hmm.. Alright! You best not treat her badly, young man. If any of the other young men of Ristelle town hear Freyana is taken, they'll go and hunt you down!』[Pentil]
「Oh! So this town's name was Ristelle! I was wondering...」[Nova]
Somehow, Nova knew that the beastman wasn't kidding..
『I won't, sir! My name is Nova, nice to meet you.』[Nova]
The beastman stared at Nova, thinking slowly before bursting out in a laughter of approval.
『Hahaha! At least he knows how to talk! I remember when your mom brought your dad here, he couldn't say a single word, he was so surprised!』[Pentil]
Freyana had a proud look on her face.
『Mhm! This is MY Nova we're talking about! But please, don't tell anyone else! I only told you because you're like my uncle, Mr. Pentil..』[Freyana]
『Hahaha! I can't turn down my little niece now, can I? Alright, little ol' Pentil will keep your secret behind closed doors.』[Pentil]
『Okay! Bye-bye, Mr. Pentil!』[Freyana]
She slowly dragged Nova away while he waved goodbye to the two of them.
Before long, they were at a classy building unfittingly labeled "The Eating Place".
She dragged him by his hand into the building, and gave him a big wide smile.
『Then.. Let's go in!』[Freyana]
