28 I look forward to seeing you again

Alice indulged in Shui's warmth for a few more seconds before releasing him.

"It's been a while."

"Uh, yeah..."

Noticing the odd expression on Shui's face, Alice remembered that her uncle was still present and looked back.

"Oh, this is my Uncle Lefirius, the one I told you about."

"Uhuh, nice to meet you sir."

"...Yes."

The moment she introduced him, an odd silence spread through the room. At first, Lefirius was only planning on having a short chat with Shui, but once he saw that this friend of Alice's was a boy, that plan went out the window. On Shui's side, he could intuitively sense that Lefirius didn't like him. He had no idea if he had left a bad impression or if he was just overthinking it, but he was sure there was something off about Lefirius' behaviour. Alice also noticed this and tilted her head in confusion.

When the two males in the room glimpsed at this cute expression, they revealed tender smiles, but Lefirius sent a sharp glare at Shui when he saw him eyeing his niece. Not that he could see his eyes.

"Hmph, well, Shui, I would like to thank you for helping my niece."

"Ye, yes. I am proud to have been of help."

"Ohh, so cool~"

Though the two of them were beginning to form a serious atmosphere, Alice's playful compliment put a stop to that and a bashful smile on Shui's face. She didn't act like some know-it-all but she could grasp people's emotions rather well, and so she knew that Lefirius was irritated by Shui's presence, which befuddled her. After all, Lefirius was the one who praised Shui for saving her so she didn't know why he was suddenly upset.

'Maybe it's the stress?'

"By the way Uncle, aren't you busy today? Didn't you say you had something to do?"

If seeing his dear niece flirt with a boy wasn't enough, she even tried to get him out of the room. If it wasn't because he had no way out of the event he had scheduled, he definitely would have found some reason to stay in the room. However, with Alice's urging, he couldn't thicken his skin enough and merely tried to comfort himself.

'Calm down. They won't meet each other after this anyway.'

Though Shui was an unusual talent, Lefirius didn't think he would be a match for a heir raised by a major-level force. Or maybe he just didn't want to think that?

Either way, Lefirius reluctantly left the two alone. Naturally, while glaring hatefully at Shui until the door closed.

"So that's your uncle."

"Well, yeah, sorry about that."

Once the interference was gone, they sat on a couch together. Maybe it was because they had only talked but hadn't seen each other for almost four months, Alice boldly clung to Shui's arm and stayed within breath of his face. With her acting so aggressively, Shui found it very hard to maintain a fully functioning state. While his mind went anywhere and everywhere to escape this scene, he remembered why he was there.

"Oh, I have your gift."

"Yey! Gimme gimme."

Once Shui mentioned her gift, Alice excitedly jumped up on her feet and eagerly stood in front of him. When he took out the ring, her eyes went so wide they might have popped out and she turned speechless.

"Is that that?! Could it be that? But how could it be that?! That's too quick!!!"

"Um, Alice, are you okay?"

"Uh, yes. Thi, this is the artifact?"

"Yes, shall I put it on?"

In response to Shui's question, Alice had to take several seconds to restrain herself, before extending her left hand towards him. Since she had stepped back while doing so, Shui got off the seat and went down on one knee. Though he wasn't sure which finger to put it on, the sight of the finger between her middle finger and pinkie twitching caught his attention. As he put the ring on that finger, Alice's expression went from excited, to confused, to disappointed before she let out a giggle. She knew within herself that it wasn't 'that kind' of ring but, could one blame her for entertaining the thought?

Shui also realized the issue and so once he put on the ring, he immediately apologized.

"I'm sorry, I should have checked."

"No, it's, okay."

Though it sounded like she was trying to comfort him, the laugh she released while doing so didn't help. Still, how could she not be amused by this situation when her ring couldn't even fit her finger. Though it might have been fine for an adult, it was too big for her.

Seeing her laughing face, Shui quickly thought of a way to salvage the situation before pulling out some loose threads from his shirt and tying them together. Then he took back the ring and put the tied up threads through it, creating a makeshift necklace.

"Ohh~, nice save."

"You can switch out the thread if you want. You'll grow into it, I think. The effect should be the same as long as you have it on your person."

After accepting the makeshift necklace from Shui, Alice examined it and was shocked by the inscriptions on it.

"Did you do this?"

"Yeah, to be honest that was the hardest part."

"Hmm..."

While examining the ring, not only was Alice shocked by the inscriptions, but also the lack of resistance she felt. Artifacts were made with another's person's aura infused, and so it was only natural that there would be a bit of resistance using such an artifact. This was why those with money would pay extra for the artifact to be custom crafted with their hair or blood. However, Shui had used martial intent to make the rings, and since martial intent resonated with the natural laws, it was compatible with anyone born in their world.

"So, how, is it?"

As he waited for Alice's response, Shui nervously pinched his pants.

"I love it."

There was nothing more to say. For a supreme-class special-rank artifact, Alice could confidently say that there might not be one of the same quality in the Alterna Kingdom. She could tell that her gift was packed with both care and technique, so how could she not love it?

After putting the necklace on, she felt like she had received a blessing from the world, and so she kissed the forehead of the angel who gave it to her.

"Ah, ah,"

"Thanks."

"Y, yeah, you're welcome."

Both of them returned to their seats and Alice took out a black seal from her storage ring. The black seal had the image of a tiger's face and the material that made it could be used to create a supreme spirit-rank artifact.

Once the seal was shown to him, Shui looked at it curiously before asking, "What is this?"

"Well, I said that I would leave in around two more weeks but that was just how long I would be able to stay. Once spring came we could leave at anytime, but since I'm going with my uncle I didn't want to hold him back too much. Even so, I really wanted to see you one more time."

As she spoke, Shui picked up on what she was trying to say, but he didn't want to believe it.

"So, what does that-?"

"I'll be leaving soon. Likely in the next two days."

Shui couldn't say anything, but he already knew. He already knew she would leave eventually. Though it was sooner than he expected, it was inevitable. Just like he wasn't going to stay in the clan forever, she wouldn't be stuck here either. Not to mention she didn't even belong here. To her, it was just a troublesome trip, so naturally she would have to go back to her real home.

"I see..."

While looking at Shui's darkening expression, Alice's chest tightened. She really wanted to bring him with her, in fact, the request was on the tip of her tongue.

But then what? Would she walk him around like a pet at home, or lock him up where no one would see him? Either way, neither him nor her were strong enough to be free, at least not for the time being. But she knew he was special, so he might gain the ability to find her again.

"Take this. If you can bring it to Netherflame City, you'll be able to see me again."

Right as Shui was sinking in despair, Alice's words showed him a brightly lit path towards their reunion.

"R,really?!"

Alice nodded and handed him the seal.

"But it won't be easy. Promise me that you won't try to find me unless you breakthrough to the Earth Realm before you're twenty."

"Okay! I'll definitely work hard and I'll find you again. I promise! And I'll be there to protect you."

"No, I don't plan on being a damsel in distress all the time. Just make sure you're not too weaker than me when we meet again."

"Of course."

Both of them regained the smiles on their faces and thought,

'I guess it'll be a while before we see each other again.'