Vanessa shed tears as she waved goodbye to her little brother at the entrance of the village. The sun had barely come up over the horizon as a group of people stood and saw off the village prodigy and his escorts.

Kyle held her in his embrace as the small group vanished from view. Kyle thanked the group of people for coming and headed back to the small lake. It did not matter whether they were sincere in wishing Alex success or merely wanting to build relationships with a potential officer of the kingdom.

“He will be fine Vanessa. He’s being accompanied by strong people.” Kyle’s attempts at comforting didn’t get through to the girl as she sobbed all the way back to Kyle’s little hut.

After a while, Vanessa looked up at Kyle.

“We’ve…always been together. I don’t know what I should do now. I miss him already. I mean, he’s going to be there for at least eight years!”

Kyle didn’t know what to do for the gloomy Vanessa. He lived mostly a solitary life and had no real companions. He was quite clueless when it came to relationships! Still, he was an old fox and knew a thing or two about women.

“We can go visit him if you’d like. I’m sure he’ll be happy.”

“Really?” Vanessa looked up with a smile. Her face went back to being gloomy shortly after.

“But, the capital is so far away……it’ll cost so much for the journey.”

“I’m sure we can save up enough money. Let’s both work hard to save money for a journey. We can join a merchant’s caravan.”

Vanessa remained gloomy over the next few days. After a week, her mood returned to normal but Kyle could notice Vanessa staring into nothingness from time to time. She would make small mistakes while not paying attention, while doing her jobs.

Months rolled on as the two lived a quiet life. The depressing mood of a far away family member all but forgotten, yet supressed. Occasional letters would arrive through a merchant’s caravan which brought temporary relief.

***

Kyle contemplated long and hard. He was thinking about Vanessa and Alex.

‘Should I or should I not…My peaceful life could be over if I do.’

‘Ahhhhh!! Dammit. You’re a god! Why care about some weak mortals. It seemed that I got too comfortable living this life. A bit of excitement might be good for me.’

Kyle let out a sigh as he came to a decision.

That day, after dinner.

“Vanessa, come with me for a bit.”

Vanessa looked at Kyle with a puzzled gaze. But she still followed him into Kyle’s little hut.

The inside of the hut was quite simple. There was a wooden bed in a corner, a chest of drawers next to the bed and a wooden table with two chairs nearby.

Kyle led Vanessa to the table and sat her down on a chair. He then headed over to the bed and moved it out of the corner. A small chest metal chest could be seen where the bed used to be.

He grabbed the chest and placed it on the table.

Vanessa looked at the chest with curiosity, seemingly still lost at Kyle’s sudden actions.

Kyle took out a key from the inner pocket of his shirt and opened the chest. Inside of the chest was filled with straw. Kyle sifted through the straw until he grabbed a piece of what seemed to be a rock from within. It was an odd looking rock with deep blue veins running through it.

“Kyle, what’s that?”

“This, is an ore. To be more exact, a blue iron ore. It’s what they use to make mana weapons. There is enough to make one full sized sword here.” Kyle looked at Vanessa as he explained.

“What does this have to do with me, Kyle?” Vanessa could somewhat guess what Kyle was implying but she didn’t dare to have her hopes up prematurely.

“Vanessa.” Kyle put on a serious expression and faced Vanessa, looking into her eyes. Vanessa gulped from the tension and nervousness.

“Let’s move to the capital. Alex would likely not be able to return here after he graduates from the academy. We can sell the ore at the capital and buy a small house. I have enough savings to pay for the journey.”

Silence enveloped the two for a while. Kyle patiently waited for Vanessa to process her thoughts.

All of a sudden, Vanessa sprang up from her chair and hugged Kyle. She looked up at Kyle with teary eyes. She closed her eyes and kissed Kyle on the lips. It was an innocent kiss only touching lips, full of fiery feelings. They separated after a full minute. Kyle blankly looked at the girl still hugging him, who was not looking at him with a red face.

“Yes, Kyle. I’ll marry you. We’ll go to the capital and start our new lives there. We’ll be a true family!”

Kyle was dumbfounded at the reply and stared at Vanessa. After a while, he smiled. Returning Vanessa’s embrace, he bowed down and gave her a soft gentle kiss.

‘I didn’t expect this but whatever. I am rather fond of this kid. It won’t be so bad spending some time with her.’

Of course, Kyle merely thought of spending a human’s life time with her. He did not know how much he would come to cherish this innocent girl until far into the future.

***

The next day, both of them were quite busy. Kyle went to the city alone to find out the possible caravans heading to the capital from the trading post.

He also had to buy supplies such as tents and clothing for the journey.

He spent a day going around the village together with Vanessa, informing the village elder and friends of their decision to relocate to the capital. This was quite a shock for those in the village. They didn’t think much of it as they weren’t hopeful on a hunter and a village girl finding stable employment in a large city to make a living.

The villagers thought the pair would be back in a few months after suffering difficulties. The single women of the village were disappointed after learning that Kyle and Vanessa were getting married.

In their eyes, Kyle was a good husband candidate as he was a fine looking and talented young hunter. Vanessa decided to wait to have a small ceremony after meeting with Alex to inform him of their marriage.

On the chosen day, they bid goodbye as they followed a merchant’s caravan back to Mountain Pine City. The caravan would stop for a short while at the trading post and head off to the next city on the way to the capital in the morning.

Kyle had a small smile on his face as he rode on the back of a wagon, embracing Vanessa as he looked back at the village that he spent in the last four years in.

“Well my wife, let’s have a happy life at a new land!”

“Hmph, I’m not your wife yet!” Vanessa retorted but snuggled in closer as she rested her head on Kyle’s chest.