“Good morning.” Edward smiled and kissed Leyla on her forehead. “What do you think about taking a day off?”

“Mm… you know how to talk to a girl,” Leyla answered, getting up. “Give me some time, let me get ready.”

“Sure.” Edward agreed. “In the meantime, I will tell Cornelius about organizing an expedition to get the mana crystals.”

Thereupon he teleported outside, giving her some space. He sensed that Cornelius was already up in his office. He teleported to it, knock on the door, and teleported inside without opening it.

“Good day. You are up early.” Edward greeted him.

Cornelius had already some files spread on his desk, he was resting on his chair with a cup of hot tea in his hand.

“So are you. What do you need so early in the day?” Cornelius asked him.

Edward exposed his idea of picking up the mana crystals on Egregius’ Folly, as well as the current lack of jobs for adventurers and the need for special material to improve the city’s defense and offense.

Cornelius agreed to display this topic at the daily council meeting. He was expecting a positive response, but things wouldn’t be ready before the next day at the earliest.

Getting the answer he had expected, Edward left and went to prepare for his vacation day with Leyla. That’s when he realized he didn’t have many clothes. His clothes had a tendency to be reduced to shreds throughout his fights. Even his armor had been damaged near his arm and hadn’t been repaired since he came back from Agripin.

I guess this date will have to include shopping to get new clothes.

Getting as presentable as he could get, Edward teleported in front of Leyla’s door and waited for her. He could sense her in the room with his aura, and before long she came out wearing a straight and long blue linen dress, her hair breaded in a ponytail.

“You look gorgeous.” Edward praised. “I didn’t know you had such a dress. I always saw you in trousers before.”

“I bought it recently,” Leyla answered, smiling at Edward’s reaction. “It’s not practical to work in it, but it is indeed pretty, and it’s the perfect occasion to wear it.”

She took Edward’s hand playfully. “So where are you taking me, my prince, charming?”

Edward blushed slightly but didn’t step back. “I was thinking about taking our breakfast in a tavern with a view of the sea.”

“You know, I had never seen the sea before coming to Gobéliard. It’s crazy to think so much water can be gathered in one place. Even the air is different than at Agripin.”

“You have seen nothing yet.” Edward retorted mischievously.

“Ohh, what are you going to show me?” Leyla asked intrigued.

“You will see. I can’t spoil you the surprise.” Edward avoided the question.

The happy couple left the town hall and walked to the seashore, finding a tavern with a terrace just in front of the sea. It was still a bit cold, but the tavern’s windows were too small to really appreciate the view, and it was nothing a hot beverage couldn’t remediate.

Once their breakfast was done, they stroll inside Gobéliard. Stopping when encountering interesting stands. The business was booming, and numerous stalls were lining the streets. Edward bought a small squirrel wood sculpture that he found particularly cute and well-made and offered it to Leyla. They also stop to sample the local food specialties.

Leyla was enjoying her day. In Agripin she was used to long simple days. Since meeting Edward, she had experienced a lot of novelty. The runes were a whole new field of study and applications seemed endless. From an intellectual point of view, she would be busy for years. But that wasn’t all, she had been stuck in the village before, the wilds too dangerous to travel. It was her first time seeing a city, and all that came with it. For someone who wished for novelties, reality had exceeded her wishes.

In the afternoon, once the weather was warmer, Edward brought Leyla to the dock and went to a sailboat. He asked the captain if he would be ready to take them on a cruise if they paid him. The captain recognized Edward and accepted, anyway, as long as he was getting paid it was fine with him.

It was the first time that Leyla went onto a boat. The sea was calm but the ship was still swaying slightly, cradled by the waves. Once they left the dock, the captain had the mainsail raised, and the ship gained in speed. Leyla laughed in delight as they sped on top of the water, sometimes crashing through the waves with wind crossing through their hair. They were surrounded by nothing but the sea.

After a few hours, they came back to Gobéliard. “I should go out more often.” Leyla declared. “I’m missing out.”

It was Edward’s turn to laugh. “Yes, it certainly beats staying confined in an office.”

Leyla pouted. “Staying shut in an office, also had its boons. When I’m researching runes combinations, it’s a lot easier to focus when nobody is there to bother me. And you wouldn’t have got that armor without my research.”

Edward kissed her on the forehead. “Sorry, I didn’t mean to offend you. And I’m thankful for the armor you gave me.”

Leyla frowned. “Actually, I need to fix it, I noticed your armor was damaged. I would like to make a self-repairing armor, now that I have seen that Harpies eggs are able to regenerate. But I don’t understand the regeneration process enough to be able to include it in armor.” She paused. “Actually, if you ever go back to the Damkinan’s library inside the Vipin Forest, I would be grateful if you could bring more of their books. The one we have right now is only presenting basic runes, and I’m starting to feel the limitation. It is hard to merge different runes together, and the runes themselves lacked nuance. I can do basic rune work, but I won’t be able to do anything complex. I need the knowledge but at the same time I don’t want you to go because it is dangerous.”

Edward nodded. “It is duly noted. Don’t worry, it will be easier to move now that I don’t have anybody to escort. Don’t forget that I have a teleportation power.”

Leyla pressed Edward’s hand firmly to reassure herself.

“And now, for the highlight of the show.” Edward paused. “Do you trust me?” He asked mischievously.”

Leyla couldn’t help but smile. “Of course, what else do you have up your sleeve?”

Edward focused on his aura and he made aura steps appear a few centimeters above the ground. The aura being materialized physically, it was visible to Leyla even if she wasn’t an awaken. She looked in surprise at the faint shimmering platforms floating in midair.

Edward bowed in an invited gesture, letting Leyla go first. She took a tentative step on the first platform, first hesitating to put her full weight on it, and then seeing that it was able to endure, she climbed fully onto it. Edward laughed and followed after her, manifesting more aura steps in front of them, forming a stair climbing into the sky.

They climbed higher with each step, Edward holding Leyla by the hand. While the aura steps were able to support their weight without problem, they were also faintly transparent, giving an ethereal display. They had the impression of floating in the air rather than simply climbing a stair.

“So, what do you think?” Edward asked playfully, as they rose above Gobéliard’s habitations.

“This is incredible. You did mention that you were able to step onto the air in your fight against the harpies, but experimenting with it for myself is not the same as simply hearing it. This is magical!” Leyla expressed her feelings earnestly.

They didn’t go too high. Edward knew very well that at a certain height, the wind became strong enough to destabilize you. Leyla was but at the quiescent level, she was fit, but still at the level of a normal human. A simple ten meters fall would be dangerous to her. Of course, Edward was there, so Leyla wasn’t really put at risk, but he aimed to have a romantic date, not to scare her.

Even without climbing at a high height, they were above the other buildings and had an unobstructed view of the sun setting onto the sea. They sat on one of the floating aura steps, holding hands, and contemplating the scenery as both the sky and the sea changed color, turning from orange to pink to the dark of the night.

“I want to go with you.” Leyla broke the silence.

“Sorry?” Edward asked not understanding, still lost in the scenery.

“To retrieve the magical crystal. I will come with you. You are right. I don’t go out often enough. If I want to innovate with runes, I also need to explore new materials, and for that, I need to go on the field from time to time.”

“But…this is really dangerous. You don’t have any power. You are only at the level of a basic human. A simple monster would be a tough fight for you. And monsters are only growing more numerous and dangerous.” Edward tried to argue.

“This is only more reason to do it. I don’t want to go on the front lines but I need to at least be able to defend myself if monsters manage to breach through Gobéliard defenses or if you are not there to protect me.” Leyla didn’t relent.

Edward bit his lips. “You are right. But still, if something happened, you could die.”

“Hey!” She bumped him in the shoulder. “I’m not going alone, you will be there too. Don’t you dare make me die on my first expedition!”

Edward couldn’t help but laugh in protest seeing Leyla’s pouting face. “Still. I won’t be able to protect you if I have to contend against a powerful monster on my own. That wyrm in Vipin Forest, I was able to keep its attention, but if it had gone against Agripin’s villagers for one reason or the other, I’m not sure I would have been able to stop it.”

Leyla frowned. “But you already got rid of the Murlocs not long ago in this area. Don’t you think there won’t be monsters anymore? After all, we are leaving to gather material, not to exterminate monsters. And even if you are busy fighting, Charles and his friends will be there too, they will be able to keep an eye on me.”

“Yeah. You are probably right.” Edward agreed. While he was anxious for Leyla’s security, she had a point. In an increasingly dangerous world, it was better if she could get stronger as well. “All right, you won. Let’s go together.” He agreed before kissing her.