Chapter 131 - traveling the city with luan
I woke up in the morning and looked around.
A warm blanket was covering me.
I immediately knew who had done it.
Mom.
A bright smile appeared on my face.
I got out of bed, took a shower, changed my clothes, and made my bed before leaving my room.
As usual, Luna was already waiting outside.
A warm smile appeared on my face when I saw her, and I walked toward her.
She noticed me and greeted me.
"Good morning, Gray."
"Oh, good morning, Luna."
I looked at her and asked,
"How are you feeling?"
She blinked before smiling.
"Oh, I’m fine."
I nodded.
We waited for Amy and Elena, and once they arrived, we all went to breakfast together.
As usual, we ate while talking.
But today, something felt slightly different.
Isabella wasn’t there.
She wasn’t exactly the most talkative person, but her presence somehow made the table feel more complete.
Sometimes, someone’s presence could say more than a thousand words.
After breakfast, Luna and I said goodbye to everyone and headed toward our training.
When we entered the training hall, we found Elara already there.
"Hello. Good morning. It’s been a while."
Elara immediately smiled.
"Hmm, yeah. It really has been a while."
"I missed you two."
We smiled.
"So, how’s the training going?"
She answered cheerfully,
"We’ve been practicing mana control, magic, combat training, and a lot of other things."
Then her expression became slightly disappointed.
"But it’s been boring without you two."
Luna smiled faintly.
"So, where’s the instructor?"
Elara glanced around before lowering her voice.
"You know how he always talks about being punctual?"
"He’s always late."
I chuckled.
"Oh, that old man must be getting slower because of his age."
Luna and Elara suddenly went silent.
They both stared behind me.
My smile froze.
Oh no.
I slowly turned around.
The instructor was standing there with his arms crossed.
His expression was terrifyingly calm.
I immediately waved my hand.
"Oh, hello, Instructor. Good morning."
"It has been a while."
His eye twitched.
He clearly understood exactly what I had just done.
But there was nothing he could say.
After all, he couldn’t exactly stand there and admit that he was an old man.
He simply walked toward the center of the training hall.
"I’ll deal with you later, brat."
I smiled innocently and stayed where I was.
Luna looked at me and giggled.
"You changed your entire attitude as if nothing happened."
I looked at her innocently.
"What happened?"
She laughed again.
Even Elara couldn’t hold back her smile.
Then our training began.
The instructor taught us how to properly use mana to reinforce our bodies.
I already had a decent understanding of mana reinforcement, so I adapted quickly.
After that came physical training and swordsmanship.
Day after day, the training continued.
Days became weeks.
Weeks became months.
My control over Eclipse improved considerably.
My mana control became more precise.
My physical abilities improved.
And my understanding of my various affinities continued to deepen.
I wasn’t simply becoming stronger.
I was becoming more efficient.
I learned how much mana I actually needed for an attack instead of wasting it.
I learned how to combine my physical movements with my elemental abilities.
And most importantly, I continued experimenting with Space.
It remained one of the affinities I understood the least.
Which was exactly why I enjoyed practicing it.
Then, after several months had passed, the instructor finally began teaching us more about the Secret Realm.
He explained what kind of environment we could expect.
What kinds of monsters lived inside.
What dangers we needed to watch for.
And, of course...
The treasures that could be found there.
My interest immediately skyrocketed.
The Secret Realm sounded even more interesting than I had imagined.
Eventually, the instructor began training us specifically for surviving inside it.
That old geezer really wasn’t joking around.
Of course, there was one small problem.
We still had to pass the tournament first.
As the tournament drew closer, our intense training finally came to an end.
We were given a short break.
Luna and I immediately decided to spend one day relaxing in the city.
We went to the Empress and asked for permission.
She looked at the two of us with an amused smile.
"Oh?"
"Little Gray, you’re already taking my daughter on a date?"
"You really are moving fast, just like your sister said."
Our faces instantly turned red.
"It’s not a date!"
We protested almost simultaneously.
The Empress laughed.
She clearly enjoyed watching us squirm.
"Alright, alright."
"You have my permission."
"I’ll also send a guard to keep an eye on you two, so don’t worry."
"Go and enjoy the city."
We nodded happily.
Before leaving, I also went to Mom and told her about our plans.
I wasn’t going to leave without telling her just because the Empress had already given us permission.
Mom listened to everything and nodded.
"Alright."
"Just be careful."
"I’ll send someone with you."
I waved my hand.
"Aunt Auralia already sent someone, so that’s enough."
Mom thought about it for a moment before nodding.
"Fine."
"Have fun."
We happily left the palace.
We put our hoods over our heads so our identities wouldn’t attract unnecessary attention and began exploring the city.
We visited different places and browsed through several shops.
Eventually, we entered a dessert shop.
Luna and I found a table and sat down.
We picked up the menu and began looking through the choices.
There were far too many.
Before we could decide, a server approached our table.
"Excuse me, sir."
"Would you mind taking off your hood?"
"It can be a little troublesome for the shop if you keep it on."
We looked at her.
"Oh, okay."
"We didn’t realize."
We removed our hoods.
The server froze.
She stared at us for several seconds.
Then she quietly muttered,
"Oh..."
"What adorable children."
She quickly recovered and approached us with a bright smile.
"Do you need any help choosing?"
Luna and I looked at each other.
Then we nodded at the exact same time.
"Yes, please."
The server’s heart practically melted.
She began pointing toward different desserts.
"If you like pudding, you should definitely try this one."
"And this strawberry cheesecake is one of our best sellers."
She continued showing us several different choices.
Luna and I looked through everything.
Then we exchanged another glance.
We nodded.
"Bring all of those."
The server blinked.
"All of them?"
I nodded.
"If we have anything left, I’ll just keep it for later."
I didn’t mention that my Space Storage made keeping food incredibly convenient.
The server looked surprised for a moment, but she quickly understood that money probably wasn’t an issue for us.
"Of course."
She smiled and went to place the order.
Luna and I continued looking through the menu.
We decided that if we found something we really liked, we’d buy a few portions to take with us.
My Space Storage could keep everything fresh anyway.
Eventually, the server returned.
By then, she had clearly realized how comfortable we were around each other.
She began chatting with us.
"So, what are you two doing here all alone?"
"And where are your parents?"
I casually answered,
"We’ve been training continuously for the past few months, so we came here to relax for a day."
"We got permission from our parents before coming."
She nodded.
"But what if something happened to you?"
"You two are extremely beautiful children, after all."
"The possibility of someone trying something isn’t exactly low."
Luna pointed toward another table.
"My mother sent a guard to protect us."
I glanced toward the table she had indicated.
The guard was there.
Watching.
I smiled.
"So there’s nothing to worry about."
The server nodded.
"That’s good, then."
Luna and I continued our conversation while waiting for our desserts.
For the first time in months...
We didn’t have to think about training.
We didn’t have to think about the Secret Realm.
And we didn’t have to think about the upcoming tournament.
Today was simply a day to relax.
Then she asked the most important question.
"So... are you two friends or relatives?"
Luna and I looked at each other for a moment.
We both seemed to think about how to answer.
Finally, Luna smiled.
"You could say we’re best friends for now."
The server immediately caught onto her wording.
"For now?"
I scratched my head.
"Ah... we’re engaged."
"But Mom told us that when we grow up, we can decide for ourselves whether we want to remain engaged or dissolve it."
"That’s basically the situation."
The server looked surprised.
"Oh, you two are engaged?"
"That’s nice."
"It seems your mother really cares about both of you."
I nodded enthusiastically.
"Yeah. Mom is the best."
Luna nodded beside me.
"She really is."
The server smiled warmly.
"I can tell."
She then remembered the order and quickly excused herself.
"Ah! I almost forgot about your desserts."
She hurried back toward the kitchen to place the order.
Apparently, she had enjoyed talking with us so much that she had almost completely forgotten why she had come to our table in the first place.
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A/N :-
Echo_7642 here the 4th Chapter
One more to go i’m not sure i can finish a another if can’t i give you it tomorrow😶🫠