His first love!

[2 Days ago]

Just the day after, when the spy Rito brought the information regarding the matter of church to the emperor of Gram, a particular meeting was called in the golden palace.

In the place where the extravagant decoration with heavy chandeliers and expensive furniture was arranged could be seen figures of two men, varying in age.

One was bespectacled with a ring-sized frame around his left eye. His overall stature wasn't much to mention about; however, what might his spells carried was something that no one could ignore.

The other person sitting on the giant chair behind the table was a man in his mid-thirties. His platinum blonde hair with pair of blue eyes was proof of the royal bloodline to which the person belongs.

"I sent you to the academy to resolve the situation, not to flame it even more. The matter which could have been handled with the small rejection of that brat's wish for an apology has now escalated because of your unstable reasoning. Do you have anything to say in your defense?"

The Emperor of Gram, William der Gramduör, the 15th emperor of the lands of prosperity and where the goddess of light has bestowed her blessings and protection, said in an irritated tone.

"My lord, what I did was all to save the reputation of our hero."

The one who answered with a sigh was the court magician Alex who, after being summoned by his majesty, returned to the capital using the Teleportation portal. Since the matter held great urgency that the royal messenger came to fetch Alex, teleportation, even being expensive, was the only option left.

Upon hearing Alex's confident remark, William's brows frowned visibly as he leaned back on his chair. Without pondering on the matter by himself, the emperor delegated the job to the mage in front.

"Elaborate."

Commanding in an authoritative tone, the king saw the court magician nodding before he started stating the reason why Alex made Venessa ask for forgiveness.

"I take the liberty to say that your Majesty, is aware of the expedition on which the Eden Academy releases their students and what rules those expedition carries, right?"

Without thinking much, the emperor nodded as that academy was where he spent his boring three years before graduating without any fun events. 

Despite not being interested in the academy, the emperor was well aware of the expedition and the rules applied to ensure that no students dies in the name of the test.

"Using any spell on fellow student above the Unique Rank spell is prohibited, as may your majesty knows. But despite knowing the fact, Hero Kyouki-kun used his Legend Rank [Christine of Light] on Austin without having a single proof of him being a demon cult follower. Do you think if I hadn't brought Venessa to the church, Austin wouldn't have confessed about Hero's rash actions?"

The emperor became pale throughout the explanation, which Alex confessed right at that moment. Knowing that Alex had no benefit from lying when he had sworn his loyalty to the Kingdom, the words seemed nothing less than a nightmare.

Many things were incomprehensible from whichever perspective the emperor looked.

First, why does the Hero even use such high-ranking magic on a person who hasn't even broken through Newbie Class?

Second, how the person who, even after getting attacked by a spell that could deal with Terror Class being if provided with buff, could survive the period and still could fight with the Terror demon single-handedly. If the baptism stated the natural conclusion, then Austin's origin contains the most concern at the moment.

And last, knowing the actual personality of the ex-Nobel named Austin, the emperor was troubled about why  didn't Austin say anything about it in the church. Well, Austin did receive the apology, but those who knows his personality could expect him to spout every unfair action he was treated with?

Yet, Austin stayed silent.

The emperor was now far from mere concerned. He was terrified to think what could happen if the might which people are expecting to see from the hero gets proven to be less than a mere ex-Nobel.

No, he couldn't let that happen. He couldn't let the hero get distracted and act like a stupid brat!

"You know the reason why the hero acted such unreasonably?"

With a dark expression, the emperor asked his trusted employee and wisest adviser about the best way to deal with the situation before it got out of hand.

Alex took the bait, and while adjusting his frame, he threw his conclusion regarding the whole scenario that he had observed in a mere single day.

"It seems Kyouki-kun's personal feeling for Saintess Luna has been hindering his judgment. He thinks that Luna-sama has gone to Austin's side because of curse magic, but I have verified it's a baseless thought of Kyouki-kun to keep pushing to a greater extent so one day he can snatch Luna-sama back. "

After a pause, Alex continued without caring for the white-and-blue expression his majesty was showcasing.

"Other than the rule Kyouki-kun broke in the forest, this time, he would be pushing his luck to an impossible level."

Hearing such a suggestive remark, the eyes of the emperor went wide in shock as he hurriedly asked in disbelief.

"You mean ...Captain Charles...!!?"

Wordlessly Alex nodded before the blonde man slammed his palm on the big table in a fret of frustration.

"This hero!!"

William gritted his teeth to the point where his jaws started aching, but the emperor was in no mind to think about it at all. 

The thought of Kyouki facing Charles was undeniably gave an ominous feeling, as neither Charles would listen to the emperor's command nor the blind hero would back away from the confrontation when his love was involved in this.

'I can't let Charles and Kyouki clash, whatever happens.'

Alex stood there silently without a single word as the emperor contemplated on the matter for more than half an hour before it seemed that something finally clicked in William's mind.

He instantly directed his gaze upon Alex as he stated his command, which required immediate implication.

"Alex, write a letter to the Northern Emperor Norsvolk that if he doesn't bring his daughter back to his country in three days, then the relationship between the nations will be severed entirely without any further ado. Use teleportation to go there by today evening and bring me good news by night. Understood, now move!"

_______________________ 

[Present Timeline]

It was the third day since Luna and Austin entered the enhanced Lair, which Luna specifically prepared for Austin.

The lair was only cleared up to the sixth floor since Austin started to have problems keeping up with his physical boost and reached the extreme where he could push his body for now.

Luna instantly teleported them to the entrance when she felt Austin at his worst and, along the way, healed him from head to toe.

"It sure was freezing out there. I will challenge this place with more clothes next time."

"Well, I offered a comfortable body warmer, but you missed your chance, sir Austin~."

The couple was enjoying each other's company while they flirted along the way.

Not so long after, the natural sunlight of the outside world shone over the couple as they finally got out of the cave after almost half a week.

But just after exiting the darkness, instead of Luna's face brightening up, a cloud of frown took over her expression.

Austin also felt the change in Luna's temperament before he followed her line of sight and found the reason for such change.

A man in his late twenties was standing solemnly without any particular expression on his face, at some distance from the cave entrance.

His hair was ashy silver, with lean arms and tall stature defining his physique. The thick furry coat over the upper half of his body signified that the person didn't belong to this continent, where winters never went this harsh that a person could wear such insulating clothes. 

Luna was very well aware of the person she saw, and by no means was she elated to see such a person at this place unexpectedly.

"Austin, can I...?"

Like an obedient wife, Luna asked for permission, to which Austin subconsciously nodded before Luna left his side and walked toward the strange man.

Austin hightened his senses, but since he was unaware of the language they were using in the tongue of their motherland, he soon lost hope of understanding the situation.

The man from the homeland of Luna took out a letter inside his coat before forwarding it.

Luna froze in her place for quite some time before she finally steeled her resolve and scratched the top of the envelope, and started reading the content.

Austin saw the scene with a slight disturbance in his heart. He wasn't sure why he was feeling such a thing, but there was something which told him that the letter was going to painful.

And indeed, as soon Luna returned to his side, Austin's hunch went right.

"A-Austin..there's something I haven't told you, but for now, I don't have enough time. I have to return to my birthplace at this instance. So please forgive me and wait for me to return."

Fighting her urge to weep in front of the man she loves and doesn't want to give any more grief, Luna was about to depart toward the strange man before a warm hand wrapped around her wrist, naturally halting her movement.

"I won't ask you the circumstance as I know you will tell me eventually about it when the time is right. But before you go, can I give you something?"

Luna, with tears filled in her charming oceanic eyes, nodded silently without daring to look at Austin at this moment.

She knew once she saw him now, then there wouldn't be any going back. She would do something which she might regret, so not looking at her beloved was the only thing she could do at this moment.

Austin released her wrist before he took something out of his inventory.

It was a pendant with a beautiful blue drop of water shining at the center of the two long silver chains. He held it in front of Luna's face, which made the latter once mesmerized by he sight.

Luna stared at the image of the pure and beautiful pendant with blurry vision as she heard her beloved's voice from behind.

"Can I?"

Asking for permission, Austin received a nod in a blink before he held the alluring silver hair of Luna at one side, exposing her moon-white back and fragile nape.

The sight in front was so enticing that Austin found himself drowning in a stupor before he pulled himself out, as this wasn't the time nor place to admire her beauty.

He gently placed the pendant on her cleavage before tying the string on the back without letting his dirty hand touch her delicate skin in fear to stain her purity. 

"This pendant was the thing I bought from my first earning. I know it's not something to boast about, but I hope I conveyed my feelings through it."

Beads of heavy tears were rolling down Luna's cheeks as she heard the words she desired the most to hear for so long. But in this situation, she couldn't even turn her face and look at him and confess her feelings back, at all.

She felt utterly miserable...

"Luna...I have lost too many people in both of my lives which I have held dear to me, but the fact that you are the most precious than anyone makes me even more scared to think of being separated. I know it must sound sissy of me when I say it, but please don't leave me. I can't think of life without you anymore. So finish whatever business you have and return to this hopeless villain as soon as possible, okay?"

With a broad smile and tears still dripping down her face, Luna nodded vigorously as she leaned her back on Austin to attain as much warmth as she could before she leaves for the battle she had been avoiding until now.

"I will, Austin, so you better keep yourself alive until then. If you dare to leave me alone, I will not let you to rest even in the afterlife. So beware!"

"Hai...hai."

Austin nodded with a grin before finally letting go of Luna as she left the scene not so long after following the stranger.

Austin, staring at the place where  Luna left, didn't move even an inch before he finally lost his strength and plopped down on the dirty ground.

The time he looked back in the sky, the stars already have been spread like a sheet over his vision.

With one arm under his head, he lay down on the same ground, without care of anything in this world, before a sigh left his mouth.

"So I finally fell for her, huh...."

______, _________ 

A/N:- The separation won't be long, and the confession will be something you should look forward to.

Anyway, drop a comment if you like the story~