At the Combat Temple, in the small dojo occupied by the Water God, Aisha admired her new blade, the golden short sword of Reida Lia, Undertow.
Reida was seated on the tatami in front of her and soon asked, curiously:
"Did you like it?"
Aisha nodded with a smile.
"I loved it, master!"
Reida nodded as well.
"Well, you really did it. You surpassed me in combat, that was the deal. It's yours from now on."
She stood up and walked to the back of the dojo, where her residence was. Aisha followed her, observing her second master with curiosity.
She knew Reida loved that sword and, considering she would still live for quite a long time thanks to rejuvenation, she was surprised that she gave up the weapon so easily.
Reida noticed the look while she began preparing tea and commented casually:
"Well, it won't be as useful as that armor you got from the Beast God… but, if you ask Rufus to change a few things, it should suit your style."
Aisha smiled.
"Master, that was a very old agreement. Are you sure you don't want to keep the sword? It is one of the rare Jalisco swords, after all."
Reida turned around irritated.
"I don't want to! A deal is a deal! I'll get another sword later…"
Seeing that she was truly bothered by the refusal, Aisha did not argue further.
She understood the master's intention, more or less. She wanted Aisha to remember her. It was very cute of her, since Aisha had no intention of leaving her aside to begin with.
Besides that, Aisha also thought Undertow perfect for her fighting style. As Reida said, a few magical modifications would be enough.
Aisha smiled gently while watching the master prepare the tea. Reida tried to ignore her as much as possible, but, realizing she wouldn't be able to, she decided to go on the offensive:
"Ah, speaking of that… for how long are you going to keep circling Rygar without telling him you like him?"
Aisha froze upon hearing that and coughed to disguise it. A light redness appeared on her cheeks.
"W-wait… why are you interested?!"
Reida realized she had hit a weak point and continued:
"Hehe… he seems to be avoiding the subject. If you're not more assertive, he might never give you a chance."
Aisha snorted, trying to appear confident.
"Hmph! Don't worry about matters outside your era, old lady! I have everything under control!"
Aisha was an incomparable genius, a God-level mage and a Water Emperor. Someone like that would probably have difficulty finding a worthy husband, right?
But that wasn't quite the case.
Aisha did not have very complicated requirements for a future husband.
He only needed to truly love her, be authentic, minimally strong, sincere, but also intelligent. And, above all, curious.
She herself was a very curious person about life and wanted to do many things; therefore, he would need to accompany her.
It did not seem difficult.
The problem was that Aisha had never been romantically interested in anyone, regardless of whether she knew what she wanted or not.
Reida looked at her suspiciously while serving the tea.
"Everything under control? He doesn't seem very cooperative with your flirting, brat."
Aisha made a slight grimace. Well… that was true. She wasn't doing as well as she had hoped.
She sighed.
As she grew older and more mature, Aisha came to research marriage possibilities and simply did not find a better suitor than her master, within her standards.
Rygar occupied the most important place in her heart; even her mother and Eris came a little behind.
She had immense affection, admiration and love for him since she could remember.
But it was not necessarily romantic love.
Rygar had always told her that she would know when she was truly in love.
And as he said, there really was a specific moment, two years ago, that changed everything.
It was not any special occasion — there was no dramatic rescue, confession or display of strength.
That day, Rygar was not even talking to her.
Aisha was simply talking with Eris while both watched him play with the children.
She was suddenly stunned to see him having fun in a silly and innocent way with his children. He was not even pretending, he seemed fragile, simple and not at all fearsome as usual.
Aisha knew he was kind deep down, but did not imagine he could show such actions.
At that time, she thought she already knew him completely, and was shocked to discover a new face of her master.
That day, the affection and love she felt changed form. A strange warmth spread through her stomach, leaving her confused and uncomfortable in his presence.
Aisha's life until then had been somewhat turbulent, being a genius, her mind worked differently.
She did not live childish crushes nor teenage romances; there was always something more important to dedicate her time to.
It was only at seventeen that she realized she was experiencing her first true love.
And she became completely lost before that attraction and the uncontrollable feelings that took over her chest.
It was quite a turbulent period for the Star Rise Academy.
While remembering this, Aisha tried to sound unconcerned:
"Well… at least he doesn't hate me or anything like that. My starting point was already excellent!"
Reida grumbled:
"Hmph! That's because you refuse to ask Verdia and Eris for help!"
"That wouldn't be fair!" Aisha immediately retorted. "I want him to truly fall in love with me, not marry me just because it makes sense!"
Reida clicked her tongue.
"Idiot girl. Not everyone marries for passion. Sometimes love is born with time."
Aisha drank her tea and pretended not to hear.
Reida sighed.
"Look, he is going to a Labyrinth now. It's a chance!"
Aisha raised an eyebrow.
"You want me to go with him…?"
Reida put a hand to her forehead.
"Gods… do you lose all that IQ of yours when we enter this subject?! You need to do something that makes him think about you for a long time! Something impactful!"
Aisha reflected.
"Hm… not a bad idea, but what would I do? I don't even know what he thinks about this. I can't be too direct and be rejected immediately…"
"Why don't you ask Verdia what he thinks?" Reida suggested. "You don't need to ask for help directly, but getting some information would already be good."
Aisha was still pondering when her Magic Word rang. Only a few people could contact her, and only in truly important situations.
She picked it up to see what it was about.
Some Legion warriors stationed on the Begaritt Continent had sent an urgent report to the central.
Aisha frowned. Considering the Future Vision Verdia had involving Begaritt, that needed to be treated seriously.
She stood up.
"Thank you for the tea. About your suggestion… I'll think about it. Call me if you need anything!"
Reida sighed as she watched Aisha leave in a hurry. Soon she was alone in her simple residence; Aisha's tea remained half-full.
She grumbled:
"Young love is so stupid…"
Some unpleasant memories of her own youth came to mind. To push them away, she grabbed a wooden sword and went back to the dojo to train.
In the end, improving her technique was always the best occupation.
---
In a rather famous café in the city of Tinaver, a blonde elf was talking with a young human woman, also blonde.
The elf was Elinalise.
She sighed while slowly stirring her coffee, her gaze lost for a moment.
"You know… I knew this might not go exactly as planned... but this is a bit excessive!"
Norn seemed embarrassed. She brought the cup to her lips and took a small sip.
Since Elinalise had arrived in the Kingdom of Gaia to rescue Norn and the others, she had discovered something unexpected.
They did not really need to be saved.
Not only Norn — neither Zenith nor Lilia.
On the contrary, all of them had built a life there. They had friends, colleagues, routines. Thanks to Aisha, they also had security and stability.
They seemed perfectly adapted to life in the Kingdom of Gaia.
Norn spoke carefully:
"As I said before… it's not like we're enemies or anything like that…"
Elinalise snorted, clearly displeased.
"Your sister seems quite like an enemy to me. But… it's not my business, I came alone precisely because I won't get involved in fights." she shrugged.
Elinalise was the wife of Cliff Grimoire.
Even so, she had basically become a housewife and had no direct involvement with the political or military activities of the Dragon God faction.
Now, pregnant again and with her curse suspended for some time, she decided to make that trip as someone neutral, only to fetch Zenith and Norn, without getting into conflicts.
Norn sighed, thinking about the family's complicated situation.
Publicly, the Beast God and the Dragon God were enemies. The Kingdom of Gaia and the Kingdom of Asura were also opponents — there was, without a doubt, a certain hostility between them.
Even so, they were not mortal enemies.
Proof of this was that neither side had initiated a total war.
Zenith, for example, would be happy to see her eldest son again and meet her grandsons and granddaughters. Lilia, on the other hand, felt indebted to Rudeus, but ended up staying on Aisha's side in the end.
Aisha… well, she might be the only one who could actually kill Rudeus if she saw him.
But, as far as Norn knew, it was not because she held personal hatred.
Aisha simply placed herself entirely on Rygar's side — and, within that logic, Rudeus was an enemy.
Whoever was against Rygar, was an enemy.
Elinalise looked outside the café, observing the movement of the kingdom's capital.
"This city has changed a lot…" she commented. "So Zenith became a healer here too? Sounds nice."
Norn nodded.
"It's not like we're mistreated. Many years have passed since the Milis war. A lot has changed."
She did not want her mother's friend to feel uncomfortable, but the truth was simple.
Norn studied at the Star Rise Academy, had friends… she even liked a boy from there. She saw no reason to go to another continent and abandon everything suddenly.
Elinalise opened an understanding smile.
"I see. You don't need to go back home… because you are already home."
Norn nodded.
Even so, Elinalise sighed deeply.
"How frustrating… I came all this way for nothing!"
Norn asked carefully:
"Would you like to visit my mother?"
Elinalise thought for a moment.
"Hmm… maybe." her eyes shone. "Actually, it would be great to have a reunion with the old group! Yes!"
She suddenly stood up, excited.
"I'm going to contact Tallhand!" she said, determined. "Ah, and use your magic communicator to talk to Zenith. Ask her to invite Ghislaine too!"
She paused for a moment.
"Huh… I'll stay in this hotel anyway. Tell them to look for me here!"
Norn stood up as well, a little nervous.
"A-ah… of course. I'll talk to her, yes… but I can't guarantee Miss Ghislaine will show up."
Elinalise made a small pout.
"Hm, all right. But really try."
With that, the elf left the café excited, leaving Norn alone at the table.
As long as one had money — and was not a wanted criminal — using teleportation circles was simple. And Elinalise was, in fact, quite rich.
Norn remained seated for a few moments, still a little dazed. Even so, she picked up her magic communicator and informed her mother, Zenith, about the unexpected visit of the old friend.
She only sincerely hoped that this would not be the beginning of a big problem.
-----
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