When Liza entered puberty, her physical appearance changed dramatically. Her dull gray hair turned silver and silky, and her childish features beca more feminine. Every day she grew taller and her skin beca smoother. Her cheekbones beca more pronounced, and her chin slimd down.
etings between Liza and the High Priest beca more frequent. It was related to Lizas bloodline.
The mana spring in my dantian has opened.
Whats that?
Its a special ability I inherited through my familys bloodline. All mbers of the Pascal Family have their mana spring opened around this age.
Thats good
Liza ran a hand through her silver hair and said,
Yes, it greatly increases mana. But my hair color changed because of it. I liked it like I had it before.
Its still pretty.
Hmm. My family mbers also dont age much thanks to the mana spring.
Really?
When youre a middle-aged man, Ill look just a little older than I do right now.
I wouldnt want to be treated like a teenager at that age.
neither. Anyway, the High Priest will teach basic magic.
When will you start?
I start tomorrow.
So starting tomorrow, my friend will be a mage?
Yes. Dont cry while Im not by your side or get into trouble starting tomorrow.
Why? Where are you going?
Im not going anywhere, Ill just take private lessons for an hour or two in the evening.
What will I do while you study?
Dont do anything. No, even better: think about . Think about what we can do together after my lessons.
As we grew up, I realized that Liza and I ca from totally different worlds. As ti went on, the gap between our backgrounds, innate talents and physical appearance beca more pronounced. If an Acates Priest had not taken in, it is likely that we would never have t.
But we beca best friends and confidantes. We shared everything, including our secrets and dreams. As the years went by, we beca an important part of each others lives. We were so emotionally attached that we couldnt imagine our lives apart.
Liza wanted ti to stand still. She feared her uncle would co for her when she was older.
After Lizas mana spring opened, mbers of the Pascal Family visited the Temple every six months to check on Liza.
On days when she t with them, Lizas expression beca very sad.
After these visits, Liza talked about how we should stay together even when we grew up.
Lets live together when were older.
Sotis, she went as far as suggesting that we get married. I took it as a joke, but I still pretended to accept her proposal.
We were fully aware of the difficulties of staying together when we grew up. Realistically, it would even be difficult to see each other again. The more Lizas talent blossod and she improved as a mage, the more I could feel it.
But when we made these promises to each other, we could forget about the difficulties of the future for a while.
Orphans in the Temple of Acates were not allowed to stay in the Lorail Pavilion once they turned seventeen. So we were expected to find out in advance what to do to fend for ourselves.
.
Liza had the qualities to beco a great mage. At seventeen, she would no doubt enter the Academy. Her future was bright.
I decided to start learning talworking at the age of fourteen.
Ti flew by and we turned fifteen. I slowly acquired the skills of the trade as I perford small tasks in a large workshop. During this ti, Lizas nerves were on edge and she beca sad easily.
mbers of the Pascal Family visited Liza more often, and therefore Liza sought out to comfort her more often.
After they left, she would run into my arms, trembling like a lost puppy. When I asked what was going on, she didnt answer.
I collected discarded bits of iron and steel while I worked in the workshop. I selected the ones that were in good condition, lted them down and welded them together. I spent a sleepless night making a ring.
When I gave Liza my first creation, she jumped with joy. She put the ring on her left ring finger and admired it like it was a diamond ring as she moved her hand from side to side.
Ill give you a prettier one in the future.
I like this one.
It was always pleasant to see Liza smile. How long would I continue to see her smile like this?
The desire to be with Liza always continued to grow inside of .
One sumr day, at the age of fifteen, I was told for the second ti in my life, I love you.
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