Teacher’s PoV:

I reclined in my incredibly comfortable chair. The children were training and I didn’t really have anything to do so I did what I was best at: Relaxing.

While I was having the time of my life I noticed a young warrior approaching me.

He had shoulder length brown hair that looked like it hadn’t been washed in weeks. A pair of piercing green eyes and caterpillar like eyebrows accentuated his already thick chin. Together with his broad shoulders and muscular body this gave him the impression of a strapping young man full of vitality. Various scars of differing size could be seen on every part of his body that wasn’t covered by his green leather armor. The vest only had an elaborate egg that was filled with cracks stitched onto it, which made him easily identifiable as a warrior who had just recently graduated.

When a student graduates from the Academy his or her physical abilities will be tested by a random teacher. Depending on the results the student will receive different ornaments on their graduation gifts that they receive from their teacher.

A cracked egg means that his or her results were exceptional. Everything from their skill with their chosen weapon to their fitness was far above the norm. In short they were geniuses.

When I heard the distinctive change in the melody around me I immediately recognized him. He was one of my most promising students in my last batch: Bradley! I still remember the time when he was as old as these snotty nosed brats in front of me…Good times.

“Uhm, Mr. Teacher?” His voice interrupted me from reminiscing.

“Don’t call me that Bradley. You are a warrior now. Call me Greg, like all other warriors do.” I cut him off before he could say anything else. Damn brats and their stupid Mr. Teacher! How comes that they call me that in nearly every damned batch?

“Y-YES! Mr. Te- I mean Greg. I have come to you because I am seeking advice. I am in a predicament right now and can’t solve it by myself.” He said in an overly respectful way.

The founders be damned; I hate recently graduated brats.

“Fuck off, Bradley. I am not your damned caretaker and I sure as monstrous hell won’t solve every problem you have for you. You are an adult now, as such you should be able to solve your problems by yourself.” I told him off.

When he heard my words he had an unbelieving expression on his face.

“Please! Mr. Teacher, please listen to my request! I beg you!” He shouted as he fell to his knees. He lowered his head until it touched the grassy ground.

I sighed.

Really, what is it that would cause someone proud like him to humiliate himself so much?

“Okay, okay, I will listen to what you have to say. Just stop groveling on the ground like that, okay? This behavior isn’t befitting of a warrior.” I urged him.

He pushed himself off the ground and bowed deeply to me.

“Thank you, Mr. Teacher!” He uttered before he straightened his body again.

“The gist of my problem is this: There is a girl who I am in love with, but even though my love for her is burning even hotter than the fires of Ardens himself I can’t talk to her properly. Every time we meet I start to blush and I begin to stutter uncontrollably. What can I do against that?” He told me.

Why does this sound so familiar to me?

I lifted my head, looking at the beautiful cloudless sky. Memories were starting to flood me but I forcibly suppressed them. I lowered my head again, my gaze nearly burning a hole into the poor chap’s head.

“Do you want to hear a story? My story to be exact. Many, many years ago I was in the same position you are in now. I can’t really give you solid advice but maybe the story will help you.” I managed to bring out of my mouth after a long time of silence.

He nodded with evident eagerness in his eyes.

I conjured a chair right in front of me and told him to sit down. He quickly did so and looked at me with his bright eyes again.

“Well, how should I begin? Not like it matters anyway.

It was a long time ago, when I was about your age. Frumentum was still young and the people full of vigor at that time. Young warriors like me were only able to hunt in the immediate vicinity of the farms, the more powerful ones maybe in the plentiful forests that still surrounded us before the horde a hundred years ago.

I was in a fierce haggling session with a merchant when I first saw my future wife. That damn bastard was as stubborn as a mule could ever hope to be. He later founded a famous dynasty of merchants you surely know. I think he was bestowed the name Drigras due to him improving the streets connecting our cities considerably.

But I am getting sidetracked. I was finally getting the better of him after half an hour when I saw a gorgeous woman around my age strolling around various merchant stalls in front of me.”

I smiled at the memory. Those were glorious times. Back then I had far less worries than I have now. I even thought that if I worked hard enough I could become even stronger than the founders themselves.

“I can’t really describe my reaction when I first saw her, but I remember my mind blanking out. I must have stared like an idiot.

But it was justified. It really was. No matter what anyone says I have never seen a woman whose beauty could even remotely compare to hers.

Her silky black hair was swaying slightly due to a light breeze at that time. I didn’t notice her face at first, no, it was her body that caught my eye.”

Before I could continue I noticed that Bradley was staring at me strangely. I quickly ended that by glaring at him.

“Where was I again? Ah, yes, her body. I won’t go into too much detail but I have to say that she had her curves at the right places. I tell you, it was a sight no other woman could compare with.

But the real highlight was her face. Her body may have been eye catching as hell but her face…Damn! She had shining blue eyes that pulled your gaze into them. Once you look into them you will never want to look away. They were mesmerizing.

Her rosy red lips were moving as she was talking with a merchant. A perfectly symmetrical face and a perky little nose blended in nicely with her thin eyebrows.

But you won’t get any more descriptions of her anymore. Words can’t properly describe her beauty anyway, so I won’t bother.

The bastard I was haggling with noticed my odd behavior and turned around to see what I was looking at. Though he saw her he didn’t really react as intensely as I did. Sure, he did stare a bit but recovered far faster than me.

I think he said “Have you never seen a beautiful woman before?” or something like that to me. Well, that certainly did wake me up.”

I blushed slightly as I remembered what happened next.

“I will probably never forget the words I said in response: “Of course I have! But can’t you see her? She isn’t just beautiful; she is a GODDESS you blind idiot!” I was probably a little too loud as she immediately turned her head in our direction.

My finger was pointing at her, making it obvious who I was talking about. You know, at that moment I just wanted to find a hole to hide myself in.

When she saw how embarrassed I was she laughed in her uniquely charming way. It was a restraint less, full blown laughter, but it was as beautiful as the rest of her. It kind of...fit her.

When I saw her laughing I was even more stunned. The whole scene was just heavenly! Any embarrassment I felt vanished as if it were thin air. To be honest, I don’t really know what went through my head when I did this but I started to laugh alongside her.

At that moment the whole world seemed to consist of just the two of us. Our laughter resonated through the whole street, drawing quite a few glanced from the other people in the area.

Unfortunately, it was just a moment. After a few minutes had passed and she had stopped laughing there was an awkward silence between us.

The embarrassment came back in full force and in my hurry to leave I let myself get ripped off by that bastardly merchant. The asshole managed to get more than 1.5 times more mana stones than he would normally have.

I bolted as soon as the money landed in my hands, even going so far as using mana injection.”

“Did you see her again?” Bradley interrupted me.

“Yes, I did. You will hear about it soon so be patient. Don’t you know that its rude to interrupt others?” I reprimanded him.

“After that incident a few days passed. I searched for her everywhere, hoping to see her again. And when I finally caught sight of her figure I was unsure about what to do. You have to understand that it was the first time I was pursuing a girl. I was shy and insecure.

Nevertheless, I gathered my courage and went up to her. When she noticed my approach she sent me a smile as radiant as the sun.

I have to admit that my knees became as soft as a slime when I saw that. But I pushed through with a furiously blushing face and after walking a few meters I finally stood before her.

But my mind was blank! I was literally speechless! We stood on front of each other like that, me staring into her ocean like eyes and she with her smile still directed at me.

That very smile slowly became forced however as the silence dragged on. Seconds turned into minutes and I was still silent.

I feel ashamed to say this but it wasn’t me who broke the silence. I was far too deep into self-analysis to do that.

“Well, wanna do something fun?” Were the words that broke the growing glacier between us.

It was as if she had laid restraining enchantments on my body. Her voice was just as beautiful as the rest of her body. I must have stared at her like an idiot for quite some time again.” I laughed at my former self for a few seconds.

I have to admit that these were probably some of the happiest times I ever experienced though. Ahhhhh, youth. How I wish that I could go back in time to relive these old memories of mine.

“Fortunately I managed to snap out of it after a while and I managed to stutter a “YES!” out. She gestured for me to follow her and I did so.

The rest of the day is kind of blurry in my memory to be honest. I remember us exploring the city, but like I said the details are missing.

Now, have you learned anything from my story?” I finished.

He spaced out for a while, most likely unsure about how he should respond.

Really, kids these days are just too polite. If they can’t understand something they should just say it, there’s no reason to delay the inevitable like that.

“I guess you didn’t. Let me tell you the meaning behind my story then: It is to be brave, to be a man! Even if you shit your pants while doing so, you have to be able to at least talk to her! If she likes you back and realizes that you are too shy, then she will do something about it. If not, then you were unlucky I guess.” I explained to him.

His eyes lighted up after he heard what I said, but instead of becoming braver the damn brat started to blush!

“You know what? I recommend you doing so right now. After all, someone else could be snatching her up right now so you have to hurry. Here, I’ll even help you get there faster”

I grabbed his ankles far at a speed far above to his reaction time and started spinning him around.

“Teacher? WHAT ARE YOU DOING?” He screamed at the top of his lungs.

I ignored his words and launched him at an incredible speed outside the walls. I just hope he won’t accidentally fall into a building or something similar.

A finger suddenly tapped my shoulder. When I turned around I saw a beautiful older woman with completely gray hair. While the rest of her body had aged considerably her sapphire like blue eyes were still the same.

Just like me she wore the white robe elders usually wore at the Academy and hers was just as decorated as mine.

She wore the same smile I had fallen in love with all these years ago.

“What an old story. Who would have thought that you would be such a sentimental old man?” Were the words that came out of her mouth.

I just laughed while taking her into a hug. She responded in kind and we just stood there for a while, reminiscing the time of our youth.

“How about a romantic dinner tonight?” I suggested. It had been quite a while since our last one and the story I told Bradley caused me to have a romantic mood.

She nodded. “After the trainees have gone to bed, of course.” She added.

I just smiled and hugged her even tighter.

I can’t believe that I still love her this much even after all these years have passed.