A few minutes earlier.
Artemisia had returned from her mission and reported to her mentor, Ellen, confirming that all the Bartons on the island had been eliminated. Ellen praised her work, told her the rest would be handled by other magicians at the company, and gave her permission to head out early.
After clocking out, Artemisia went back to her office, every magician at the company had their own private office, fully equipped with everything from a kitchen to a bedroom, rivaling a luxury apartment. So she'd never bothered renting or buying anywhere else; she just lived at the company.
She took a shower, changed into a nice set of clothes, and left. Her destination: the nearest supermarket, to buy groceries and her beloved ice cream. After a fierce battle with the middle-aged housewives at the store, Artemisia fought her way out victorious, securing her groceries for the day.
Of course, she didn't forget her favorite vanilla cream ice cream. She was already eating one, with plenty more stashed in her bag. With her shopping done, she was happily walking back while enjoying her ice cream when she accidentally bumped into someone at a street corner.
What surprised her even more was that she felt like she had run straight into a mountain. Even with all the intense training under Ellen, her physical conditioning top-notch, she'd lost her balance and was about to fall to the ground. It was almost unbelievable. Thankfully, the other person reacted quickly, catching her in his arms and saving her from a nasty fall.
As Artemisia looked up and saw his face, she froze.
Only one word echoed in her mind: Handsome.
The man she had bumped into was incredibly good-looking, more than anyone she had ever seen. Perfect in every way.
"So handsome..." Her attention was gradually drawn to his deep, captivating eyes. She stared at him, mesmerized.
A blush crept across her cheeks. Unconsciously, her hands reached up toward his face.
Yuki was startled by her boldness. Anyone watching would've thought he'd drugged her. Her porcelain cheeks turned a deeper shade of pink, almost as if they could drip. And her gaze was practically glazed with longing.
"Ahem. Miss, are you alright?" Yuki coughed lightly, trying to snap her out of it.
But perhaps due to her air-headed nature, she didn't hold back, instead, she pressed forward and started kneading his face with both hands. Yuki felt like his face was about to be rubbed off. He had to stop her.
"Hold on... Hey! Stop! That's my nose!"
After some resistance, Artemisia finally let go and came back to her senses a little. Well... only a little. Because the way she looked at Yuki was still deeply mesmerized. It made Yuki wonder if she might be a little too into handsome faces.
"Hi, I'm Yuki. Sorry for bumping into you earlier." He quickly steered the conversation back to the actual incident.
Artemisia, still looking a bit dazed, shook her head. "I should be the one apologizing. I wasn't watching where I was going. Sorry."
She didn't try to shift the blame onto Yuki, she owned up to it. After all, she'd been in a rush turning the corner and hadn't noticed him coming the other way.
"My name is Artemisia Bell Ashcroft. I'm British, currently living in Japan. Single, and I'm hoping to find a boyfriend here. I work in planetary defense. The company is a legitimate international corporation, and the pay is great. I haven't bought a house yet, but I've saved more than enough, enough to buy ten villas in Tokyo." She shifted her tone, looking at Yuki seriously as she introduced herself.
The way she phrased it felt oddly familiar, like the kind of self-introduction you'd hear on a blind date, where someone lays out their job status and financial situation. Yuki's mouth twitched slightly, a little speechless.
"Uh... Miss Ashcroft."
"Artemisia."
"Huh?"
"Call me Artemisia."
Just as Yuki was about to say something, Artemisia cut him off and asked him to use her first name.
"Alright... Artemisia." Seeing the serious glint in her light blue eyes, Yuki gave in and said her name.
"Mm-hmm, mm-hmm~" Seeing Yuki say her name seemed to satisfy Artemisia; she nodded with approval.
But since she had cut him off like that, Yuki figured whatever he had been about to say wasn't really necessary anymore. So he just dropped it.
"Doesn't matter whose fault it was. Let me help you pick up your things." Yuki shook his head, bent down, and started gathering the items Artemisia had dropped on the ground.
Artemisia quickly joined in, helping him pick everything up. She hadn't bought many things, so it didn't take long to put everything back into the bag. However, a few of the ice creams had burst open when they hit the ground.
"What a shame." Artemisia frowned slightly as she cleaned up the spilled ice cream and tossed the ruined ones into a trash bin.
"How about I buy you a few more to replace them?" Yuki offered.
Artemisia shook her head. "No need, Yuki-kun. The ones I have left will last me a while. When I run out, I'll just buy more."
Since she insisted, Yuki dropped the subject. Just then, Artemisia's gaze drifted to Yuki's pants, where some white smears had gotten on the fabric. She blinked, then remembered the ice cream she had been eating while walking. It must have spilled onto him when she bumped into him.
Noticing her staring at his pants, Yuki smiled casually. "Got a little bit on there, but it's no big deal."
"No it's my fault. I caused this, so I need to make it right." Altimia flatly refused to let it slide.
Without waiting for a response, she crouched down in front of him, pulled a tissue from her pocket, and started wiping the stain off his pants. Yuki was taken aback by her actions, and a flicker of awkwardness crossed his face.
The reason? The ice cream had landed in a rather unfortunate spot. Yuki was standing. Artemisia was crouching. From the perspective of someone across the street, the pose looked, well... highly suggestive.
Yuki just wanted her to finish quickly before someone walked by and got the wrong idea. But just as he was worrying about that, a figure appeared from across the street. And Yuki recognized her immediately.
It was his homeroom teacher, Mafuyu Kirisu.