INFINITE - 32!
Heth quietly watched the interaction with a gentle smile.
Marc then looked toward Bell.
Bell noticed immediately and gave a small sigh before introducing himself.
"I'm Bell, and I'm also from Nina's Orphanage."
He gave a polite bow before sitting back down.
Noria politely bowed back in return.
Juro smiled while adjusting the meat over the fire.
"I'm Juro. I just travel around."
Noria looked toward him again and bowed her head slightly.
"Thank you once again for saving us."
Juro casually motioned with one hand.
"It's fine. Now sit down."
He then reached toward his belt pouch, pulled out a steel flask, and offered some water to both Noria and Heth.
Heth looked slightly reluctant at first while Noria reached forward and held out her stone cup.
Juro smiled before pouring water into it.
After a brief pause, Heth finally followed along and held out his own cup as well. Juro poured water into it too.
But the steel flask suddenly ran dry.
Heth immediately looked apologetic.
"Oh my, I am terribly sorry. The children may have my water instead."
Juro laughed lightly.
"It's fine."
He casually poured mana into the steel flask.
The flask absorbed the mana almost immediately, and moments later, fresh water slowly rose from inside until it reached the very brim again.
Heth's eyes widened slightly.
"Oooo... what a convenient magic item."
Juro simply chuckled.
Then he clapped his hands once.
"Alright! I think the meat's cooked. I'll prepare more in advance so we can keep eating."
"Yeah!" Marc replied enthusiastically.
And just like that, dinner properly began.
The warm fire crackled softly while casual conversations slowly filled the campsite. Laughter mixed naturally between bites of food as the atmosphere became more relaxed.
In the middle of eating, Marc suddenly turned toward Noria.
"Wait, Princess Noria... are you really a princess from the Kingdom of Nerlarnd?"
Noria nodded politely.
Marc's eyes widened with amazement.
"Woaaahhh... what's the Kingdom of Nerlarnd like?"
Noria thought for a moment before smiling softly.
"I think it would be best if you all visited and experienced it yourselves."
Marc grinned immediately.
"We will! Me, Bell, and Teacher Juro are gonna become exploring mages!"
Bell glanced toward Noria quietly.
"Kingdom of Nerlarnd..." he thought. "It's a good kingdom. One of that openly accepts intelligent beasts and travelers from races other than humans..."
...
Time quietly passed.
Eventually, everyone finished eating.
Bell stretched his arms before leaning back against the tree and closing his eyes for a moment.
Meanwhile, Marc suddenly stood up and looked toward Noria.
"Princess Noria, wanna go to the open field and look at the sky? I can tell you something interesting about the moons!"
Noria looked up at him.
"Sure."
She stood up shortly after.
Marc then looked toward Bell.
"Wanna join us, Bell?"
Bell lazily waved one hand without opening his eyes.
"I'm fine. I'll just rest here for a bit."
"Okaayy."
Marc immediately began leading the way while Noria quietly followed behind him.
Heth watched the two walk off into the distance before Juro casually asked,
"Aren't you gonna follow her to keep an eye on things?"
Heth took a sip from his stone cup.
"I'm sure they will be fine."
Juro smiled faintly.
"Yeah..."
...
Out in the open field, Marc sat down on the grass while Noria sat beside him.
Above them, the three moons quietly illuminated the night sky.
Marc immediately began rambling excitedly about them, about their sizes, distances, and how unbelievably massive the world was based on what Juro had told him.
Noria quietly listened the entire time with a small smile on her face.
Eventually, she asked,
"You use mana magic, correct?"
Marc blinked once.
"Mana magic? Ohhh, yeah yeah, I do."
He pointed his index finger upward.
Mana slowly spiraled around his hand before gathering at the tip of his finger and transforming into a small flame.
Noria stared at it curiously.
"Do you not feel exhausted?"
Marc tilted his head slightly.
"Hmmm... not really."
"That's impressive," Noria admitted quietly. "I cannot really perform large mana magic... nor maintain it for very long."
She slowly looked down at her own hand.
"I mainly use magic instead."
Then she softly incanted,
"Gluhen."
A faint golden glow immediately spread across her palms, illuminating her hands with a soft yellow light.
Marc dispersed the flame and stared at Noria's glowing palms with amazement shining in his eyes.
Noria looked slightly embarrassed.
"I know it's nothing particularly big or usef—"
Before she could finish.
"WOAAAHHH! Your hands are glowing! That's so cool!!"
Marc immediately grabbed one of her hands with sparkling eyes.
"Teach me!"
Noria froze for a moment in surprise.
But looking at Marc's face, she quickly realized he was being completely genuine.
Not polite.
Not formal.
Genuinely excited.
A soft smile slowly appeared on her face as she dispersed the light in her palms.
"Alright," she said gently. "Open your hands and imagine them glowing."
Marc immediately held both palms out seriously.
"Once you can clearly picture the glow in your mind," Noria continued, "keep that image steady and say 'Gluhen.'"
"Oooo okay!"
Marc stared intensely at his palms.
He imagined the same soft yellow glow Noria had created earlier.
Then he softly incanted,
"Gluhen."
The moment the word left his mouth, a faint yellow light slowly began glowing from his palms.
Then brighter.
And brighter.
Marc's eyes widened immediately.
"WOAAAHHH—!"
A huge grin spread across his face.
"LOOK, Noria! my hands are glowing! WOAAAH!!"
Noria smiled warmly.
"Congratulations, Marc."
"MM!!"
Marc stared at his glowing hands with pure excitement.
The light continued getting brighter.
And brighter.
And brighter.
Marc blinked.
"Uh...(○□○)"
The next second..
FLASH.
"ARGHHHHH TOO BRIGHT—!!"
Marc instantly covered his face.
Which only made things worse.
"ARGHHHHHH!! IT'S SO CLOSE TO MY EYESSSS!! ༼;´༎ຶ ༎ຶ༽"
He immediately fell onto the grass and started rolling around dramatically while flashbanging himself with his own glowing hands.
Noria stared blankly for a second.
"Ah—"
Then she suddenly burst into laughter.
"Pff—hahaha!"
Her laughter echoed softly through the open field while Marc continued suffering against his own magic.
...
A few minutes later, Marc finally settled down on the grass.
His eyes still looked completely dazed.
"(๑﹏๑)... I feel kinda dizzy..."
Noria covered her mouth slightly while chuckling again.
Then she slowly looked up toward the night sky.
"The stars look really pretty."
Marc looked upward too.
"Yeah..."
For a moment, both of them quietly stared at the three moons hanging above the endless field.
Then Marc suddenly stood up.
Noria blinked.
"Are we heading back?"
Marc shook his head before suddenly offering his hand toward her.
"Nope! Since you showed me something cool, I'll show you something cool too!"
Noria looked slightly confused.
But she still accepted his hand.
The moment she stood up, Marc suddenly started running while pulling her along.
Noria hurriedly followed behind him.
"W-wait— Marc? Why are we running?!"
"Because it's fun!"
He answered without hesitation, smiling brightly as the wind rushed past them.
[IMAGE HERE OR KOFI]
Noria's eyes subtly widened while looking at his expression.
There was nothing forced in it.
No etiquette.
No noble restraint.
Just pure, genuine joy.
Without realizing it, Noria smiled too.
Then..
mana began flowing outward from beneath Marc's feet.
The air around them started swirling.
Noria looked down in surprise.
But before she could react further, Marc tightened his grip on her hand slightly.
"Hold on."
The swirling mana transformed into wind.
A gentle current lifted both of them off the ground.
Noria's eyes widened immediately.
"Wo-woaah?!"
The field beneath them slowly grew farther away as the wind carried them upward.
Not too high.
Just enough for the grass below to blur softly beneath the moonlight.
Eventually, they stopped ascending.
Marc grinned proudly.
"Hehe... it's not as high as my teacher can go, but this is better anyway cause it's quieter."
Noria slowly looked downward.
The sight of the ground below instinctively made her tighten her grip around Marc's hand.
Marc noticed immediately.
He simply held her hand back reassuringly.
"It's fine, Princess Noria."
Noria looked at him quietly for a moment before slowly relaxing her grip.
Now both of them stood suspended gently above the field, surrounded by cool night wind beneath the glow of the three moons.
Noria looked up at the sky.
"This is pretty."
Marc grinned brightly.
"Righttt??"
Noria looked toward Marc and smiled softly.
"Marc... you can just call me Noria."
She brushed a strand of hair behind her ear before continuing,
"We're friends now, after all."
Marc's eyes widened immediately.
Then his smile somehow became even brighter.
"WAAAH really?! Okay then, Noria!"
Noria couldn't help smiling a little more at his reaction.
After a few more moments of floating quietly beneath the moons, she finally spoke again.
"We should probably head back now, Marc. I don't want Heth worrying too much."
Marc nodded quickly.
"Okaay!"
The swirling wind beneath them slowly weakened as they gently descended back toward the ground.
The moment their feet touched the grass, the mana dispersed completely into the night air.
As they were about to start walking back, Noria suddenly looked over her shoulder toward him.
"Oh, by the way..."
Marc blinked.
"Hm?"
"I already knew about the moons' sizes and how big the world is," she admitted. "The academy I attend teaches that during the first lessons."
Marc froze.
Then dramatically dropped to his knees.
"WAAAAATTT..."
He lowered his head in despair.
"Huhu...(´;ω;｀) now I feel embarrassed thinking I told you something new..."
Noria let out a small laugh before offering her hand toward him.
"But I liked your explanation more than any of the instructors'."
Marc slowly looked up at her.
"...Really?"
Noria nodded gently.
Marc instantly smiled again before grabbing her hand and pulling himself back up.
And finally, the two of them began walking back together through the moonlit field.
...
From a short distance away, Bell quietly stood beneath a tree with his arms crossed, leaning against the trunk.
He had been silently watching over the two the entire time.
His eyes followed Marc and Noria as they returned toward the campfire where Juro and Heth were waiting.
Bell smiled faintly to himself.
Then, without saying anything, he quietly turned around and walked back first.