Chapter 10: Blooming, and the trouble.

Around two weeks has passed. The rise of the new day's light rays passed through the room from the open window hits Alan's face that wake him up.

For some reason, Miltinna sleep besides him. They both sleep on the cold ground without any blankets or whatsoever due to their overnight preparation. They had to blame themselves for spending time in procrastinating on almost nonsense trainings of their magical and physical power they've already perfected, at least in their opinion.

Alan rise up from his sleep with an immense muscle pains but it disappeared after a minute he performs a warm-up exercise. Miltinna wake up late after Alan is done with his daily routines. And minutes later, she also done the thing same as he do.

"Is everything all okay? We must double-check our things and belongings in case we forget something."

She reminded him while she wiping out the sweat on her body with his towel. Feeling irritated, he scold her

"You don't have to tell me. I already done it already. Check yours too, you might forget something. And one more thing, DON'T USE MY TOWELS TO WIPE OUT YOUR STINKY SWEAT!"

"Fufufu", She smugly laughs on an irritated Alan but he quickly calms himself down.

"We should start clearing up this place and then we are going out for our destination, to my home village."

"Uhmuhm." Miltinna nodded her head as she agrees.

•

Time about before noon, they've already finished up what they had to do. They put their belongings on the bag they've made last night using the excess blankets on Miltinna's spatial storage spell for various reasons like not wanting attention from travelling merchants or a possibility they could meet an influencial person fight each other just for that spell for it's rarity of people who make such a thing.

In this world, spatial storage magic spell is super rare, at least in the western continent. Only fewer than 300 people like merchants, low-rate nobilities, and rich Adventurers who own inferior spatial storage ring. Less than 60 people like middle to high ranked nobles owns a middle-rate spatial storage ring. And lastly, 17 Superior spatial storage rings is mostly in the hands of higher-rank nobles, secret organization leaders, and royalties.

Inside of the secret library on Miltinna's house, Alan finds her sitting down on a desk staring at the books. The room itself is not that big but it contains somewhere around two thousands of books, some on the shelf on the walls, some are scattering in the ground.

"Our most of belongings is inside of our separate spatial storage spell but this pair of bags that can fit a few pairs of clothings, a tent, a few pairs of kitchen utensils, and secured food supplies overnight just to avoid such suspicion from some people during our travel. Everything is all here. Are you sure you leave this valuable books here in the forest?"

Alan asked Miltinna who were staring blankly on her books she made through out her lifetime as Milanni. Those books are her source of information sent every 5 years by Osmond, her first disciple, and other of her disciples that became a successful known magicians. Her library also contains her research about the origin magic theory and other magic theories to kill off time since she had nothing to do in the forest other than teaching and training kids sent by Osmond who wants learn magic.

In her mind, she cannot leave these books behind but she decided to leave it, thanks to Alan. She learned things that she never heard it before, like Physics, Advanced Mathematics, and other things that Alan yet to tell her.

She had been creating magic based on Alan's knowledge that turns out to be more powerful than what the various unique systems standard institutions and organizations recognized.

Alan tried not to ask her again, she seems feel wasted about her past works to be left behind.

The moment he turned his back away from the secret library, Miltinna pulls out a sharp sword and she sharpen it more using magic. She tie up her hair using her left arm, hold the sword at her right arm, she placed the sword at her back of her neck then she cuts her hair. Alan heard a faint noise of the sword from the secret library, he immediately went back there and he saw Miltinna cutting out her hair.

Afterwards, she put back the sword inside on her spatial storage spell. She looked at him with gleeful look.

"Alan, I won't bring anything. I shall leave this book for someone who will need it the future. Being with you is more exciting and fun. Take care of me, okay?"

The boy's reaction being is priceless, his feelings bloomed like a flower. The feeling he was been felt wasn't irritation, but rather, he actually liked the girl. He convinced himself not to give in the feelings, but he couldn't just stop it.

His mind becomes scrambled with memories, he remembered his actions from the day when the witch turned into girl.

Looking too obvious, Miltinna stand up from the desk then she throws her cut-off hair on the ground. She walks close in front of confused Alan then she kissed him on the lips.

The then confused Alan restored his sanity, they both switch back to their original attitudes after they show their love to each other.

"You know, we should start our relationship now. It's hard to say it but, I like you, Miltinna. I can't deny it anymore."

"Even though you are too hard to understand, I like you ever since you made me realize my dream. I love you. No promises though! Promises are ought to be broken", then she continued, "I heard so many promise that never become true. Even if it is, you know it already how it ends."

"Yeah."

The burst of laugher resounds the room as she cracks a joke on promises. Alan hugged Miltinna softly, and kissed her forehead.

Their relationship advances in a way they both wanted. Despite them being young in appearance, they both know they are adults in mind. The only obstacle in their relationship is the fact they both beginners in love.

•

Three hours has passed, Everything they have to do is completely done. Alan and Miltinna tucked their bags on their back, readying themselves for a journey.

Miltinna hand over the map to Alan to point out where they should go, she also explains each route they might stumble upon.

"From here, we should go to the southeast until we see a cliff. There's a small bridge that we supposed to pass through but I think it's broken now, we could just jump over the other side of the cliff then we go eastwards, it will take around 3 days if we go to a nearby town but when two of us arrive there, we should go north, we don't have money and it will save us time and strength.", She swipes through the map as she trace the path, "Going north, when we will pass through Almonus desert, we should go northwest until we see the ocean. I hope there's a cave or atleast a safe place we could rest by. Afterwards, we should go straight northwards until we see the mountainous ridge of Kaziem, the border between Kingdom of Matthos and Principality Kingdoms of Hrathiae & Pitha. We are on the side of the principality, and here, there's a border city of Letz. We will be forced to sell something for a money because we cannot pass through the border to the domain of the Maltrans. After that, we will walk westward until we see the raising hand hill, your home village 'Artheos'. I guess it'll take 3 weeks in total to get there."

When she finished, Alan jokingly ask her.

"But how do you know that? You are supposed a shut-in girl who never go outside the forest."

Feeling annoyed, Miltinna clenches her fist to punch Alan for his stupid jokes. But he catches her fist and he sprints away from her.

"Hehe. Catch me!"

"Come here you!"

They seem to have fun running like they're playing the game of tag.

•

Eventually, they almost get in their destination. But unfortunately, the fate is sometimes unfair. They get stuck at the border in Letz. There was an internal civil war happening in the principality. They realized they cannot do something that Kingdom of Matthos will get involved in this war, they cannot enter or bypass through the mountains either nor even leave Letz, but they done the unthinkable.

""We are so iffed up."" Alan and Miltinna said in unison.