Chapter 541: Their Anniversary

Tauro and Aeris’s first official date had gone like any other.

Aeris tagging along while Tauro tested abilities or worked on inventions—this time, after shopping, things took a strange turn and they were grilling meat for lunch in a plaza on the outskirts of town.

“…Is this really  a date?”

Ankh muttered this as he secretly watched the two on their date using his newly acquired Presence Concealment.

“…It feels the same as always.”

Zion, who was also peeking in the same way, let out her thoughts.

“They’re both acting like they always do, but they look like they’re having fun. Isn’t that fine?”

Ragune, who was also using “Concealment” to keep an eye on the situation without being noticed by Tauro and the others, gently chided Ankh and Zion.

““Now that we’ve finally confirmed that the two of them feel the same way… I don’t know, shouldn’t there be more to it?”

Ankh said impatiently.

“But it’s not like their relationship would suddenly change overnight, right? They were already close to begin with. And they’re both clueless about that kind of thing, so it can’t be helped.”

Ragune understood what Ankh was saying, but pointed out the obvious.

“Still, is that ‘yakiniku sauce’ Aeris keeps praising really that delicious?”

As the pleasant smell of grilled meat drifted over on the breeze, Zion asked while sniffing the air.

“…When they get back from their date, let’s have them give us some.”

Ankh replied, swallowing hard as the aroma reached him.

“Let’s head back before we get noticed, you two. —After this, the three of us can go eat together.”

Ragune warned them, but since the good smells were making her hungry too, he suggested a meal.

“…What are those three doing, I wonder?”

Using his ability True Eye, Tauro had already noticed that Ragune and the others were using “Concealment” to spy on them.

Tauro possessed the ability Anti-Inhibition, which allowed him to see through even the most refined concealment skills.

The only thing left was the issue of distance, but his training at the Dragon’s Hole had expanded his range a bit, so Ragune and the others were well within it.

“What’s wrong?”

After finishing the barbecue and saying, “Thank you for the meal,” Aeris reacted to Tauro’s words.

“No, it’s nothing. Anyways, what should we do next?”

“It’s still early afternoon, so if there’s anything else you want to do, Tauro, I’ll go along with it.”

Aeris  replied with her usual smile and her usual line.

“…Well then. How about going a bit farther out?”

“Farther out—as in outside the city? I don’t mind, but we need to think about the time so we can make it back, okay?”

Aeris  answered, mindful of the time, as the city gates would be closed in the evening.

“Somewhere with a nice view would be good.”

As he said that, Tauro began putting away everything he had taken out of his magic storage.

“A place with a good view? From around here, how about that mountain? I heard the view of the city at sunset from the observation deck there is beautiful. But it’s too far away—we wouldn’t make it back in time. …Hmm, where would be good?”

Responding to Tauro’s vague suggestion, Aeris started thinking of possible places.

“That won’t be a problem.”

Tauro replied after he finished packing up, then he took Aeris ’s hand and used “Teleportation.”

The next moment, they were transported to the top of the mountain overlooking the town of Sven, as Aeris  had mentioned.

“!—…Oh right, you have Teleportation. But you can move this far in one jump?”

Aeris was mildly surprised. She had thought that moving five people limited them to a few hundred meters, yet they had just traveled several kilometers to the observation deck near the peak.

“For just Pella, me, and you, Aeris, I can manage a reasonable distance. But if there are more people than that, the range drops drastically.”

Tauro answered her question with a wry smile.

“Is that so? As always, your abilities really make you think about how to use them. Hehe.”

Aeris laughed cheerfully at Tauro, whose abilities were as extraordinary as ever.

“…It really is a nice view.”

Tauro muttered a common sentiment as he looked down at the town of Sven at the foot of the mountain.

“It is. But it doesn’t seem like many people come here.”

Aeris replied with a wry smile, seeing that there were no tourists around.

“Personally, I kind of like it better that way. It means we can relax.”

Tauro answered absentmindedly, as if something was on his mind.

“?—Well, it’s rare for it to be just the two of us, so I think that’s nice too.”

Strictly speaking, Pella was also there, but while feeling a bit curious about Tauro’s behavior, Aeris gathered her courage and gently wrapped her arm around his.

For a while after that, the two stood in silence, admiring the scenery.

But it wasn’t an awkward silence—just a calm, peaceful flow of time.

It seemed Tauro had finished sorting out his thoughts, as he began to relax and enjoy the moment.

Time passed, and before they knew it, the sun had begun to set and dusk is approaching.

As the town of Swen, bathed in the colors of dusk, started to light up with the glow of daily life, it created a fantastical sight.

“…It’s beautiful.”

Aeris voiced her honest impression.

“…Yeah.”

Tauro nodded briefly in agreement.

Then Tauro took something out of his magic storage, covered it with both hands, and chanted, “Creation Magic.”

“?”

Aeris watched his sudden action with curiosity, squinting as a dazzling light leaked from between his palms.

The light quickly faded. Tauro released Aeris’s arm, then knelt down on the spot.

“Eh?”

Aeris couldn’t understand what he was doing.

If she looked at it calmly, this was that.

But she had never expected Tauro to do something like this, so she couldn’t help being surprised.

“…I can’t suddenly ask you to marry me… but would you go out with me, with marriage in mind?”

Tauro blushed as he said this and held out his palm to show what he had just created with Creation Magic.

There was a small ring, gleaming beautifully in the light of the setting sun.

The ring was made of black metal with gold patterns engraved on it, and had a single red stone embedded in it, the same color as Aeris ’s eyes.

Aeris understood at once: the gold pattern on the black background probably represented her team, “Black and Golden Wings,”  and Tauro’s own hair color.

“…Yes. I’ll gladly accept…!”

Aeris replied shyly, her cheeks red. She took the ring from Tauro’s palm and slipped it onto her ring finger.

Then, bathed in the light of the setting sun, she threw her arms around Tauro.

Tauro embraced her in return, and the silhouettes of the two overlapped as the sun sank lower in the sky.