Free Web NovelChapter 27: A Date That Wasn’t a Date
As time passed, the afternoon sun climbed high into the sky. Alden sat there, looking out of the window, though more accurately, his gaze drifted to the girl beside him most of the time. Alicia sat peacefully sleeping, clinging to his arm with her head resting on his shoulder.
She looked beautiful and cute while holding onto him. Alden lifted his hand and gently tucked a loose strand of silver hair behind her ear, careful not to wake her up.
After several minutes of comfortable silence, he felt a slight movement. Her body stirred as she woke from her sleep. Her long eyelashes fluttered slightly before she opened her eyes. Her head still rested on his shoulder as she took a look around the empty bus.
She looked up at him, then pulled back and composed herself.
"Where has everyone gone? Why are we alone here?"
Alden looked at her as she smoothed the wrinkles on her dress and fixed her hair.
"Yes, everybody has gone to explore the city. The professor said we could explore the town, but we just have to return before 8 PM since we are going to depart through the sea then."
Alicia nodded and looked at him.
"Why didn’t you leave then? You should have gone with the other students."
Alden looked at her, speechless. For a second, he had no words to answer, as he couldn’t tell her the real reason.
’Should I just tell her that I felt it was wrong to leave her alone? Or that I felt it was my responsibility to stay with her until she woke up?’
"Well... I just did not plan to go explore the city."
She tilted her head. Her face was expressionless.
"Oh... Is that so? Are you really not planning to go out?"
Alden nodded without a second thought.
She then stood up from her seat and cast a glance at him.
"Then come with me. If you are not planning to go anywhere, then at least accompany me."
He looked at her, feeling speechless once again.
"Wait—I mean—"
"Let’s go. Hurry."
She grabbed his hand and pulled him up with surprising strength, leading him out of the vehicle.
Alden’s cheeks flushed at her sudden boldness as she dragged him out of the bus. The fresh city air hit his face. The smell of the sea and the surrounding greenery calmed his mind as he looked around the bustling streets.
Alicia kept walking while holding his hand, looking for a better place to explore around the coastal city.
Alden looked at her hand and said, "Hey, can you at least let go of my hand?"
Alicia paused. She looked at him and spoke sharply. Her expression was cold, leaving no room for refusal.
"Nope. You will run away if I let go. Just come with me like this, or I will have to drag you myself."
Alden closed his mouth as his protest died down in his throat. He followed her as she continuously led him through the busy city streets. He could feel the soft warmth of her skin as her delicate hand held his firmly.
As they continued to walk, Alicia glanced around the various shops, actively searching for something that might attract her attention.
Alden walked beside her, finding her curious behavior far more lively than the usual coldness he saw on her face. He could see a slight excitement in her eyes. He finally stopped thinking about leaving and decided to just go with the flow of the situation.
Suddenly, Alicia looked at one particular stall. Her eyes halted on a stuffed teddy bear resting on the winner’s prize shelf. It had white fur and bright red eyes. She felt drawn to it. She glanced once again at his face and then started leading him toward the game shop.
"Do you want to play that game?" he asked.
"No."
Alicia replied calmly as she reached for a few silver coins and gave them to the shopkeeper, who handed her three throwing rings.
She turned around and handed all three rings to him.
"You will play for me."
He looked confused and shocked as he pointed a finger at himself.
"Me? But—"
"No buts. I order you to win that teddy for me."
She stood there folding her arms, keeping an expressionless face. The shopkeeper, an old man, looked at them while holding back a burst of laughter.
Alden shot a glare at the shopkeeper before glancing back at her. He nodded in defeat.
"Okay... What do I have to do then? Do I just have to toss this ring onto the teddy? That sounds easy."
The shopkeeper straightened his back and smiled.
"No, young man. It seems you are an Awakener, so for you, the rules will be a little different."
Alden raised an eyebrow and asked, "Different? How so? What do I have to do then?"
The old man picked up a thick blindfold from the table and handed it to him as he continued explaining.
"You have to wear this. After that, you can throw the ring where you want to. But remember, you cannot use mana for detection. There is a artifact present in this shop. If you use mana, you will easily get detected, and you will lose."
Alden nodded in understanding. Alicia picked up the blindfold and helped him bind it gently behind his head, restricting his vision.
"Okay, young man, you can start now."
Alden nodded as he held one of the rings in his hand, ready to throw it.
Alicia stood right beside him, watching him carefully.
Suddenly, the shopkeeper changed the teddy bear’s position to somewhere else. He placed a cheap candy in its original spot and moved the prize far away from its previous range. There were many different gifts arranged on the shelves, but Alden only wanted the white teddy bear as per Alicia’s request.
The old man stepped back with a scheming smile as he looked at the blindfolded boy.
Alicia narrowed her eyes as she noticed the shopkeeper’s scheming trick, but she didn’t say anything and remained silent.
Without wasting much time, Alden tossed the ring forward. But he mistakenly threw it diagonally, changing its direction. The ring shot toward one side of the wall, reflected onto another wall, and launched toward a beautiful vase. It hit the edge of the vase, changed its trajectory one last time, and landed perfectly around the neck of the white teddy bear.
The shopkeeper’s confident smile vanished instantly as he looked at the prize in disbelief.
Alicia, who stood beside Alden, gave a satisfied smile as she looked at him.
Alden did not stop. He threw the second ring. It followed the exact same bizarre trajectory as the first one, reflecting off multiple surfaces before landing straight on a second teddy bear, almost identical to the first.
The old man’s jaw dropped even further. His previous amusement was replaced by genuine shock. Without wasting time, he quickly put one small teddy bear on the empty spot where he had originally taken the first prize from. He tried to scheme again, thinking Alden had only made the shot because of pure luck and would most likely miss the next one.
Alden then tossed the third and final ring straight toward the original target. This time, its trajectory did not change. It flew through the air and landed straight on the third teddy bear’s neck.
"Sigh... Finally, it landed straight. Did it land on the teddy or not?"
Alden asked while pulling off the blindfold. He rubbed his eyes slightly and looked at the shopkeeper, who for some reason stood frozen with a shocked expression, as if he had just seen a ghost.
Alden looked at Alicia and asked, feeling confused,
"Was I able to shoot it right or not?"
Alicia did not reply to him directly. She walked forward toward the shopkeeper and said,
"Give me my teddies."
The shopkeeper snapped out of his daze. He hurriedly walked over, collected the three teddy bears, and handed them to her.
One teddy had white fur and red eyes. The remaining two had white fur and violet eyes—one was big and the other was small.
Alicia picked them up and clutched them tightly against her chest.
Alden looked at her in surprise.
"Wait, did I seriously win all three? But how? I thought I only aimed for one! It—"
Alden paused mid-sentence. He remembered and realized he had forgotten about his SSS+ Luck. It was no wonder he managed to hit all three targets while blindfolded.
Alicia, meanwhile, was already walking away, cradling the three teddy bears like a precious treasure she had to take care of.
Alden joined her, walking beside her while feeling slightly embarrassed as she held the plush toys happily.
"I think you should put those away now in your storage ring. No one is going to steal them from you."
Alicia paused and nodded. With a simple flick of her finger, she sent all the teddy bears inside her storage ring. She composed herself.
"So where shall we go now?"
She turned toward him and said,
"Let’s go eat something. I feel hungry."
Alden nodded in agreement.
Suddenly, Alicia grabbed his hand and started leading him again.
"Hey, but I am not running away anymore!"
Alicia didn’t look back as she led him through the street.
"Nope. I don’t trust you. You might run away."
"What?..."
Alden pursed his lips, feeling helpless as he got dragged by her somewhere around the coastal city.
As the black-haired boy and the silver-haired girl were walking together around the bustling city, danger lurked in the distance.
Just behind them, on the rooftop of a giant building, a hooded figure was gazing down at them. The figure’s face was hidden behind a dark black mask. Its eyes were solely focused on the two students moving around the city streets.
*RING!* *RANG!* *RING!*
Suddenly, a phone vibrated. The hooded figure picked it up.
The figure listened to the voice on the other end silently.
"Okay... I will take care of the boy."
As the call was cut off, the figure took one last glance at their disappearing forms. Then, the figure’s body lost its form, disintegrating into dark particles that vanished into the air.
