Opening Night

"Galan wouldn't mind, would he? Besides, you said yourself that only couples do this kind of thing, and Galan and I aren't a couple."

Lia answered calmly, seemingly unaffected by what happened at the store a few days ago.

Moreover, she felt that, according to Amber's explanation, there was nothing wrong with what she was doing.

"Oh, that's not how it works... No, what I said before..."

Seeing that she still seemed oblivious, Amber was speechless and immediately regretted what she had said to her earlier.

These are things that couples do, of course. So, if you become a couple, isn't that enough?

She wanted to say it, but felt a little embarrassed, since she didn't seem to have any need or reason to get involved in this matter.

After some thought, Amber turned her head and asked thoughtfully, "Lia?"

"Um?"

"If I told you that there's suddenly someone else by Galan's side, wouldn't you feel uncomfortable?"

"An extra person?"

Lia didn't grasp the deeper meaning behind Amber's words; she simply thought it was perfectly normal for Galan to go out and make friends, so what was there to be uncomfortable about?

"Making friends is a normal thing, even among Elves, right? Why do you feel uncomfortable?"

She looked at Amber with a puzzled expression, and the other woman knew she hadn't understood her meaning. "What I mean is... if Galan suddenly had a girl by his side, and he spent a lot of time on that girl, how would you feel?"

After much deliberation, Amber finally spoke her mind.

She stared intently at Lia, her expression serious, and even their steps faltered as they let the tiny snowflakes fall on their heads and noses, melting into cool droplets.

"In that case..."

Lia felt that it shouldn't be a big deal, but even though she wanted to say that, she couldn't help but think of that night when she heard that Galan would take Amber as his apprentice. During that time, she felt as if someone had taken something very important from her.

Lia remembers not sleeping well that night. She looked at the moon, but didn't know if the moon was watching her. She only knew that doing so would clear her mind and make her feel a little better.

But why do I experience those feelings again?

Why on earth... why...

She didn't answer Amber's question immediately as she had before, but instead lowered her head and remained silent.

Seeing her reaction, Amber immediately realized that her words had worked.

However, she probably didn't realize that the reason her words had an effect might be precisely because of herself.

"Then... what should I do?"

After an unknown amount of time, Lia's voice drifted through the sparse falling snow.

As night fell, the Winter Festival was about to begin.

Few people in the city would stay indoors at this time; regardless of age, the streets and alleys were packed with people heading towards the Central Square.

Young people gather together, chatting and gossiping. At this age, people always have endless things to say and do, which accumulate into precious memories that are suddenly unearthed one day in the future, like a jar of mellow old wine, always leaving people with endless aftertaste.

Many boys would blush and run up to the girl they liked, slightly bend their knees, extend their right hand, and ask if she would like to dance with them.

The residents' dances weren't as elaborate as those of the nobles in the court, but they contained a passionate emotion, like the warm and touching fire burning in a fireplace on winter's day.

How beautiful! Naïve and innocent young boys and girls came together, dancing around a tall campfire in the light snow. Is this what youth is...?

"Don't talk like an old man. Aren't you about my age? You could easily play that naive and ignorant boy. If you don't mind, I can even bring you an equally naive and ignorant girl."

With one hand holding her face, Galan mercilessly tore away the other person's "artistic" facade.

"Alright, alright, I have no such thoughts."

Fitz waved his hand and casually touched the large bump on his forehead.

This "tech geek" surprisingly stepped out of the store's storage room and onto the large platform above the square, where he watched the grand banquet with Galan.

However, Galan didn't think he did it voluntarily; he probably thought he was kicked out by his the boss.

After all, the bump on his head was in the same spot the boss used to hit most often, so he must have done something to get kicked out by the boss, which is why he had to come to him for a job.

Did you upset the boss again?

"Holy crap? You're incredibly prescient! Do you perhaps possess some kind of [peeping magic that can see through houses]?"

"Is that right?"

"What kind of weird magic is that? It's not hard to guess what you've done wrong, is it? I figured you'd come to me yourself because you always manage to cause trouble."

"You're making it sound like I'm always causing trouble for others..."

"It's hard to say."

Seeing that Galan was showing him no mercy, Fitz was starting to lose his temper.

"Alright, all I was saying was that the Alchemy Gloves he gave me this afternoon were too old-fashioned, more like rags, right?"

Is it really necessary to be so angry? They simply won't let me go back to the store...

Galan initially thought the boss just wanted an excuse to kick this guy out so he could get some fresh air and maybe join in the fun. But judging from the idiot's words, the boss might actually be genuinely angry... "You really are a sinner..."

"Huh? Why? Have I done something utterly heinous?"

"That's enough to kill someone by destroying their spirit. Alright, so what brings you here? You can't really be here to team up with me, can you?"

Galan looked at him and asked.

After all, this guy was just looking for him everywhere. If it was just to find someone to team up with, there was no need for him to go through all that trouble to come looking for him.

"Oh, speaking of which... The boss. Nuo bought you a set too. He said you've done a lot for him, so it's only right that he prepares a gift for you."

Seeing Fitz pull out a pair of pure black leather gloves from his pocket, Galan took them with some curiosity.

The moment the gloves touched his skin, Galan could feel the powerful Binds they held, presumably protected by various powerful magic spells to safeguard his hands from corruption.