Chapter 22：Together

The water evaporated and turned into mist. Dylan let out a sigh and swept his hair back. It was truly a difficult task to cast that spell, it still had a lot of improvements to add to it. Thinking of this, Dylan could not help but to get excited. In Diva, he was more focussed on honing his sword arts but he had already almost reached the peak. He was now more interested in improving his magic. He was excited by the prospects of exploring the mysteries of magic.

"...I asked to see a dragon, not a near-death battle." Janine muttered, still overwhelmed by what she had just seen. Her heart palpitated loudly and she felt tense. This would have been good in a thriller or action movie where she knew everything was fake and she didn't know the people on the screen, but it wasn't and the one inside was her best friend. Seeing her almost get crushed beneath the dragon's claw time and time again caused her heart to drop, her face went pale and she found herself praying to a god she did not believe in. Of course, she realised it was silly due to the fact that Sherry was standing right beside her.

"I really thought I was going to die that day." Sherry laughed heartily.

Janine glared at her. "This is no laughing matter! What if you really did die? What will we do?" Janine scolded, her tough face looking tougher and scary.

"Uh, I'm sorry." Sherry straightforwardly apologised. Tears had formed in the corners of Janine's eyes, she knew she was worried about her.

Janine blinked her tears away and pulled Sherry into her embrace. "Don't do anything dangerous again, idiot."

Dylan watched on from the side with a lukewarm gaze.

"Oh, and by the way, what was with that ending?" Janine teased as soon as she recovered. She whistled playfully and grinned. "Just like a princess and her knight."

"Y-you idiot! It's not like what you think! We, we were just tired and relieved that we survived, no deeper meaning." Sherry's ears were flushed with red and her eyes swam for excuses.

"Hmm, really? Then what was that smile? It looked like a girl in love to me."

"I-I-I-I-I-I-I, You idiot!" Sherry face poofed with red. She seemed so hot that Janine could almost see steam coming out of her ears.

Janine shook her head with a knowing smile and decided to leave the poor girl alone. "Let's go inside, you're bothering the neighbours."

Sherry looked around. They were in her backyard, surrounded by trees and grass. The reason why they was there was because the spell required light to work, Dylan was more familiar with the sun so it was relatively easier for him to manipulate its light.

"Ah, yeah. Let's go."

The three of them walked in. Coincidentally, it was time to eat dinner. Sherry and Janine walked into the kitchen, feeling peckish. Dylan followed after them silently. The two of them began to naturally prepare for dinner, Dylan stood around awkwardly, not knowing what to do. He just watched them work.

"Hey, why don't you tell the big guy to go rest?" Janine suggest.

"Eh, oh, okay." Sherry turned around and looked at Dylan. "We'll be fine on our own so why don't you go watch TV? You know how to turn it on right?"

Dylan looked in Sherry's eyes. She smiled and tilted her head from being stared at and stared back into his eyes. Dylan thought for a while and then glanced at Janine and back at Sherry again. He slowly nodded his head. "Alright."

He trudged out of the kitchen without saying much and turned on the TV. A show starring real people was playing. Dylan slumped onto the couch and started to watch. Through the noise from the TV, he could still hear the sound of Sherry and Janine cooking and the slight chatter of their voices.

Dylan held a hand over his chest. The palpitation had stopped and was replaced with a strong steady beat. Just then, when Sherry had asked him to leave, he was reminded of the day she set out. She was smiling as usual that day, her hair blowing in the cool breeze.

Sherry tucked her hair behind her ear and grinned at him. Her eyes glittered and sparkled. She seemed happy at the prospects of being part of the solution and helping to end the long war. There was also a tinge of sorrow, of having to leave for so long. But she covered it up with a look of excitement and ease.

Dylan had been reassured by her confidence and tranquility. He didn't insist to be allowed to go with her any longer. If he did though, surely the king would have eventually gave in. However he didn't, and Sherry walked into her doom alongside a traitor, never to come back.

Dylan snapped out of his daze. The TV was still playing, and he could still here Sherry and Janine joking around. She was okay, out of sight but not out of reach. With Dylan's abilities, it would only take one second to reach her. He relax thinking he would be able to deal with any situation. Worse things worse, he still had his healing magic to rely on. His healing skills, though weak, was at least able to heal a stab wound in the span of thirty minutes. And so, it was okay. She was not going to die as long as they were together.