Letting go of my embrace, I looked at Alice again. She was a beautiful woman, which I would hardly have had in my previous life. But in this world, she suffered so much, so much had happened to her, and soon she would be separated from me.
âAlice, what exams did you pass earlier?â I asked her with a smile.
âHmmn⦠first I fought a metal snake, after that I entered a room that would be filled with water if I could find one of the rocks on wall, and press it, the mechanism there would suck water in and disappear. But I didnât do that, because looking for rocks on one of the walls irritates me, so I just suck all water with my vines,â Alice smiled plain.
I was dumbfounded by her explanation, the exams that Alice received, was exams that suited her very well. She was very lucky, in contrast to me who had to struggle against many flying swords.
âHow was your final exam, Alice?â
âIt was so easy, I fought a giant earth golem, the golem didnât even move after I planted it with vines all over its body. Maybe because itâs made of earth,â Alice giggled.
âNever mind, sheâs too strong!!!â
She was even stronger for her age. The calamity she received now became a blessing to her strength. But Iâm sure, if she had to choose, she doesnât want this power at all. She just wants her family not to disappear, for her power means nothing at all.
âIâm sorry Alice, I had to lie to you,â
I held Aliceâs face and made our foreheads touch. I looked at her face, we could feel each otherâs breath. Alice didnât understand why I was doing this, she just smiled happily.
âAlice, you saw the portal didnât you?â I pointed at the giant circular object.
âYeah, whatâs with the portal, Lute?â
âI heard from the owner of this place, that the portal is unstable when it comes to returning us, we might separate when we pass through that portal.â
In an instant the air turned cold, Alice had an expressionless face. But right now her heart was churning very strongly. The air around her was changing, her eyes were glowing red. She looked like will a rampage now.
âHeheheâ¦hahaha⦠is Lute going to part with me again?â
Alice tilted her head, her eyes now looked dark. I now understand, how terrifying Alice is if she looks angry.
âAlice calm down,â
I held onto her shoulders, trying to calm her down, but the air around her grew more chaotic. Vines appeared and scattered in all directions.
âI DONâT WANT LUTE TO SEPARATE FROM ME, I DONâT WANT LUTE TO SEPARATE FROM ME, I DONâT WANT LUTE TO SEPARATE FROM ME, DONâT GET AWAY FROM ME LUTE, DONâT GET AWAY FROM ME LUTE, DONâT GET AWAY FROM ME LUTE,â
I was horrified to hear her scream. Her eyes were glowing red, she didnât seem to even know I was in front of her right now. At this rate, Alice wouldnât be able to control herself anymore.
âALICE!!!â
I screamed and hugged Alice, Alice finally realized. This was the first time I screamed at her. The vines disappeared, tears came out corners of Aliceâs eyes, she hugged me while crying.
âGusu..hickâ¦Lute..I..I donât want us to be separate uwaaaaaâ¦.â
I feel so guilty hearing her cry because of my lies. If possible, I donât want to see Alice cry, because she is my woman. I want to see her always happy.
âWaaa..wahhh..Luteâ¦I donât want to separate with you, Hickâ¦how about the path we took earlier? Is it impassableâ¦â
Alice tried to find a door or anything that could take them out of this room. But she saw nothing here except the portal. Finally, she knew, that portal was the only way.
âIt must be that personâs fault, HEYYYâ¦RETURN US TOGETHER, WE DONâT WANT TO SEPARATE!!!â
Alice attacked the room using vines with hatred, there was no response even after she attacked. I hugged Alice from behind and said to her again, this time I will calm her down.
âAlice I know you are very sad, how about this, if we separate, two of us will meet again at Merbanis Academy, I want you to enter that Academy too, Iâm sure we will meet again there,â
Alice heard what I said, finally calmed down a bit. The Mervbanis Academy exams are held every year. One more year, they will be old enough to enter the Merbanis Academy. If they entered the Academy together, they would meet again.
This made Alice much calmer because they were only separated for 1 year.
âReally Lute? Weâll meet again at the Academy.â
âThatâs right Alice, I wonât lie,â
âEven though I lied about the portal before,â I cried in my heart.
Alice held my hand that was holding her, she rested her head on my chest, looking lonely. But suddenly she realized, she felt a creature in my chest, she wanted to see what it was. Alice was surprised when she saw it was a horned lizard with a mane, she had not noticed it all this time, because her mind was only thinking about Lute.
âLute, what animal is that?â
âAh this, this creature is a gift from the owner of this ruin, after I finished the exams,âI said breaking out in cold sweat.
âI hope she doesnât know because Yua is still in beast form,â
âThis lizard looks cute,â
Alice stroked Yuaâs head, Yua was still asleep and didnât respond at all.
*Phew* I took a deep breath.
Alice and I sat back down, Alice sat on my lap. We chatted for a long time before the portal suddenly came to life. A dark blue-black hole was seen there. Alice and I looked at each other, I slowly brought my face in front of Alice and kissed her.
Our kiss was not passionate at all, it was a loverâs kiss. After a kiss, we both stood holding hands, we will enter the portal now.
âLute, if we separate, you have to promise to meet me at Academy,â Alice looked at me seriously.
âI promise, weâll meet again there, if we separate,â
Alice smiled at my answer, this time she wasnât angry anymore, but she still looked displeased with this. Arriving in front of the portal, I turned to Alice.
âAlice, come on in,â
âUm,â
{Good luck son} Qilinâs fatherâs voice sounded in my head.
Alice and I jumped holding hands. When I entered the portal, my head felt dizzy, until I finally saw light and arrived at a place I didnât recognize. I didnât see, Alice was beside me.
But Iâm not currently on the ground, Iâm currently a few kilometers off ground. Below me is a valley with a rushing river. I feel scared, because Iâm falling down very fast.
âAAAAHHHHHHHâ¦.WOLI HELP ME!!!!!!!!!!â
[Master, wish you good luck]