Chapter 29: In the beginning, everyone was just a child, and afterwards…

“Wow!”

The rising airflow wrapped around Lila’s entire body, and with the aid of the wind, she gradually ascended, seeing white clouds floating high in the sky, as if they were within reach.

But once she plunged into them, what greeted her was a rush of moisture and a hazy, indistinct world.

She adjusted the tilt of her body to change direction, freely soaring, such an exhilarating experience, something only possible in this world.

Carried by her excitement, Lila rushed up to such heights, but when she lowered her head to look down, she froze.

Everything on the ground was so small, so blurry, so distant…

In an instant, an unprecedented dizziness surged over her like a raging tide, her legs feeling as though their strength had been drained, turning soft and weak.

Her heartbeat suddenly quickened.

It seemed she had developed a fear of heights, just looking down made her head spin unbearably, and even gave her the urge to fall.

Lila felt afraid.

In the sky, she could only raise her head and look toward even higher, farther places.

Even though she knew the magic array ensured her safety, her body still trembled instinctively.

The more exhilarating the flight had been just moments ago, the more terrifying it now felt.

At this moment, Lila was like a cat that had easily climbed a tree, only to be paralyzed by fear when it tried to come down.

In her panic, she moved closer to Simon in midair.

And finally grabbed onto the hem of his clothes.

****

“Huh?”

Simon was startled by the shopkeeper’s sudden action.

“I’m not scared, it’s just that Simon needs my help.”

Listening carefully, Simon noticed that the girl in front of him had turned pale, her golden eyes unfocused, her lips moving repeatedly as she muttered something over and over.

“I’m absolutely not scared, I just disdain looking at the ground…”

Once he realized what Conflor was saying, Simon almost couldn’t suppress his smile.

He hurriedly recalled several of the most outrageous things Lila had done to him, barely managing to hold back his laughter.

Now, besides knowing that the shopkeeper was a glutton, he also learned that she had a severe fear of heights, though it seemed even Conflor herself hadn’t known before.

“Are you laughing at me?”

Lila’s golden, unfocused eyes shifted to lock onto Simon, her trembling voice carrying a pitiful tone, as if she might shatter at any moment.

“No.” Simon replied firmly.

“Really?”

Lila said pitifully.

“Really.”

Simon let her clutch his clothes.

Even though he had never seen Conflor look so fragile before, he didn’t wish for this scene to last.

Because it was built upon the shopkeeper’s suffering.

“Shopkeeper, I want to go down. Do you want to come with me?”

So Simon, wanting to ease this stubborn girl’s discomfort, took the initiative to suggest ending the flight.

“Sure, since Simon suggested it, let’s go down.”

Lila’s eagerness was obvious, and realizing it herself, she coughed lightly before adding,

“Let’s go down quickly!”

Yet there was no hiding it at all.

“Shopkeeper, close your eyes,” Simon said.

Already flustered, Lila instinctively shut her eyes, then heard him say:

“Hold on tight.”

The next moment, she felt the pull on his clothes as they rapidly descended.

With her eyes tightly shut, Lila didn’t dare look at the fall, only feeling the wind whipping through her hair, growing stronger and stronger.

At last, the speed reached its peak, as if time itself stretched out.

Finally, cushioned by the wind slowing them down to zero, they landed onto a rubber air pad.

Feeling solid ground beneath her feet again, Lila opened her eyes and exhaled shakily, calming herself.

“So Simon has a bad side too.”

Lila complained indignantly.

“But didn’t we land safely?”

Simon didn’t argue, simply asked.

“I don’t care.”

Lila looked around, then fixed her gaze on an ice cream stand nearby, her eyes turning sly.

“Then treat me to ice cream.”

Simon didn’t refuse.

Rather, he felt what he had given was far from enough, because today was filled with sweet happiness.

Seeing so many different sides of the shopkeeper brought him joy.

‘Even though the distance between them still felt immense, at least he had gotten a little closer, hadn’t he?’

Perhaps this feeling was shallow, but it couldn’t be denied, ever since seeing her white hair under the Holy Light, his heart would often, frequently, uncontrollably race, unable to stop.

No matter what, as long as he could stay by her side, his heart felt gradually filled, with faint sweetness welling up within.

At that moment, Lila bit into the tip of her ice cream, while slipping into the cover of a nearby wall, gesturing for Simon to come over.

Simon walked over and asked,

“What’s wrong?”

Lila pointed in a direction with her left hand.

“Look.”

Following her gaze, Simon saw a man kneeling on one knee, holding a bouquet of roses, while the blue-haired woman before him covered her mouth in disbelief.

“It’s him!”

Lila gritted her teeth.

She recalled that shocking kneel at the restaurant entrance, disgusting.

There was no way she would agree to… that kind of thing with a man.

Better to stay far away from such a frivolous guy.

Hearing Lila, Simon looked carefully, and was shocked to realize that the man was the newly arrived swordsmanship instructor, Ulysses.

And the blue-haired woman was their homeroom teacher, Kuroko.

In fact, Simon had heard many rumors of Ulysses harassing pretty women, but he hadn’t expected him to target their teacher.

Although Kuroko was known across the academy as a “legal loli,” her strength had always prevented such incidents—until now.

Lila pondered how to make Ulysses lose face.

At that moment, a crow landed beside her, cawing while staring at her with its bead-like eyes.

Lila looked back at it, thought for a moment, and came up with a brilliant idea.

“Hey, stupid bird, go snatch that pervert’s flowers.”

She pointed toward Ulysses as she gave the command.

The crow tilted its head in confusion.

With no better option, Lila grabbed the unsuspecting crow and tossed it toward Ulysses.

Simon watched the girl and the bird with utter confusion.

‘Has the world finally gone mad?’

Meanwhile, Ulysses, still waiting for a response, saw a black blur flash past, and suddenly the bouquet in his hand vanished.

He froze, at a loss.

Looking up, he saw a crow holding his roses in its beak, circling above him as if mocking him.

‘Didn’t your parents teach you not to take what isn’t yours?’

Anger surged within Ulysses.

Ignoring Kuroko’s stunned reaction, he turned and chased after the offending crow.

‘Nice one!’

Lila cheered inwardly, biting hard into her ice cream with satisfaction.

But before she could savor her triumph, the pain in her stomach began intensifying again.

‘Oh no, I got carried away and forgot I’m still on my period!’

She clutched her stomach and slowly crouched down.

“What’s wrong, Shopkeeper?”

Seeing her like this, Simon grew anxious, only to hear her say:

“I forgot it’s that time of the month today…”

Simon was speechless.

She had been happily eating steak and ice cream just moments ago.

‘If she didn’t take it seriously, what could he even say?’

Still, he should probably go find something like brown sugar water to help.

Looking at the shopkeeper crouching to ease the pain, Simon suddenly felt that she wasn’t as distant and untouchable as she seemed.

Sometimes, she could become a child who needed someone to take care of her.

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