They drifted out of the mall’s main gate with the excuse of "treating her".
Now they were side by side, steps matching up a little too neatly, shoes scraping the concrete path as they headed toward the park entrance like they’d made an actual plan, like there was a destination waiting for them beyond a bench or a food cart or the fountain that sotis shot up so high kids scread about it on Net.
Except there was no plan, like at all. Just this wide, awkward silence that fell between them like a big warm blanket nobody wanted to pick up first. Lanz felt sweat tickle the back of his neck even though the breeze was so soft it tugged at the ends of Talia’s hair every ti they passed under a tree.
He stuffed his hands into the front pocket of his hoodie, the sa old hoodie he always wear everywhere, even though he’d told himself he should’ve left it behind if he wanted to look cool for once. Not including Zero, he personally think he looks cool.
He peeked sideways, half-expecting her to say sothing first, but she didn’t. Talia looked... normal, comfortable, even. Her shoulders loose, one hand playing absently with the strap of her bag, eyes flicking over the street stalls they passed like she had all the ti in the world.
anwhile, his brain was doing sorsaults, smacking against the inside of his skull with every stupid thought.
’This is basically a date, isn’t it? I an, it’s not a date date, but... we’re walking together... alone. That’s a f*cking date. Or fake date. Or sothing, I don’t f*cking know!’
He cleared his throat, trying to chase the squeak out of his voice before it could betray him, but his mouth was dry. He risked another glance at her, caught the corner of her smile, not that she was grinning at him, but just at so random kid chasing pigeons up ahead.
’How is she so f*cking chill? Am I actually a loser??’ he thought, fighting the urge to tug his hood back up over his face like that would fix anything.
He sucked in a breath. Just say words, a normal person could do that. "So, uh, how’s your—"
Crack.
The noise that ca out of his throat was the worst, squeakiest betrayal. It was so bad that the pigeons actually scattered, wings flapping like cheap plastic bags.
Lanz froze mid-step, one foot half-hovering over a stray leaf. He wished he could dig a hole in the park walkway and just disappear into the soil.
Talia stopped too. He could see her shoulders tremble, just a tiny hitch, like she was trying to hold it in. She pressed the back of her wrist to her mouth. The laugh that slipped out was soft and airy, the kind of laugh that made you want to keep it bottled up in your pocket for a bad day. It cracked the silence so easily it made him want to laugh too, except he was busy burning alive from the neck up from the sheer embarrassnt.
"I didn’t think you’d be this nervous," she said, voice warm as she dropped her wrist back to her side. Her smile curved wider, the breeze tossing a strand of hair right across her cheek before she tucked it back behind her ear in this slow, unhurried way that made her look even more unfairly pretty than usual. The wind caught the rest of her hair, fluttering it over her shoulder like she was in one of those shampoo ads Miku always left running on the TV.
Lanz didn’t even bother hiding the way he just... stared.
Stared at the soft light on her eyes, the tiny crinkle at the corner when she laughed, that easy way she held his gaze without blinking away like most people did.
’Whoa...’ he thought. And this ti, he wasn’t joking or being sarcastic. Just... awestruck?
***
They ended up claiming an old bench tucked under the lazy shade of the cherry trees that lined the plaza’s outer path, a spot where you could still hear the street noise but it felt softer, like soone turned the city down for them.
Lanz didn’t even pretend to hesitate when they passed the ice cream cart.
Talia tried to pull her wallet out, but he practically threw the coins at the old vendor before she could argue.
"I could buy my own snacks, you know?" she protested.
But she was t with nothing but silence. The only thing he did was wave off her half-hearted protest.
He picked up the chocolate swirl and handed it over with a goofy grin, refusing to et her eyes in case she saw how smug he felt about the whole "treating you" bit, seriously.
She made a face like she wanted to scold him but ended up laughing anyway, shoulders shaking as she plopped down beside him, boots tapping lightly against the stone path under the bench.
She nudged his knee with hers as she dug the flimsy wooden spoon into her swirl. "So, really, what are you doing here? And don’t say ’stalking ,’ because I’ll believe you."
He stretched his arms over the back of the bench, fighting to look casual while his heart did dumb tricks under his hoodie. "As I said, I’m visiting a relative."
She raised an eyebrow, deadpan. "Seriously?"
"Alright, alright." He dropped the act with a small laugh, rubbing his forehead as he stared out at the park’s fountain misting in the distance. "I’m just shopping for... gear. Clothes and sh*t, mostly. I an, even if I can’t use the system or any fancy stuff, I gotta at least look cool enough that my sister doesn’t keep calling a bum."
Talia barked out another laugh, this one softer, rolling her eyes as she scooped up another swirl. "Your sister thinks you’re cool?"
"Absolutely not," Lanz deadpanned. "Miku calls a walking fail compilation. She literally has a folder of s from the sa f*cking scene."
That earned him a snort and a playful shove against his shoulder. "I like her already."
He just grinned, letting the warm spring hush settle over them, the distant sound of people walking by mixing with the faint rustle of the cherry branches overhead.
He glanced sideways when he felt her fidget, the last of her smile curling softer at the edges.
"I’m here for gear too," she said, voice dipping to sothing quieter, almost shy but not quite. "Saving up for a new raid license this sumr. Gonna get back into it, you know? Better gear, better chances."
He watched her talk, the way her hands moved to sketch invisible maps in the air, how her eyes lit up with that spark he’d seen before — the sa spark that made him forget for a second that he was supposed to be nervous around her at all.
He nodded along, just listening, genuinely locked in even though half the details flew straight over his head.
But when she caught him staring, her eyes dropped for a beat. She poked the spoon at the lting swirl like it owed her an apology. "Hey... about that rooftop thing. Sorry. I know I pushed too hard. I just... I don’t know, it felt like you were hiding sothing dangerous."
He snorted, brushing it off with a flick of his wrist. "It’s fine. You were right to worry, just... don’t worry too much, okay?"
She rolled her eyes at him like she wanted to slap the back of his head but didn’t want to ruin her ice cream. "Deal," she said, soft and warm in a way that stuck to his ribs more than the sugar ever would.
Suddenly, Talia’s phone buzzed with that polite little vibration that sounded way too loud when the world went quiet around two people not sure what to say next.
She glanced down, thumb hovering, then let out a small sigh that tugged her shoulders up before she dropped them again.
"My sister," she said, giving him an apologetic half-smile that sohow made him feel even softer inside. "Gotta run. Thanks for this, though. Reall, it was... nice."
"Yeah... totally," Lanz said, rubbing the back of his neck like it might hide how weirdly warm his ears felt. He didn’t trust his grin not to look stupid if he pushed it any wider, so he just dipped his chin instead, watching her take a few steps away toward the plaza’s edge.
She paused near the curb, and turned back just long enough to catch his eyes.
"See you around, mysterious relative-visitor," she teased, lifting her fingers in a small wave.
Before he could think of sothing equally smooth to fire back, she lted into the slow-moving weekend crowd spilling in and out of the mall.
Gone, just like that, leaving him sitting there in the hush with ice cream sweetness still lingering on his tongue and his own thoughts looping a single word: ’Nice.’
He could feel his pulse thump in his ears, maybe leftover feelings, or maybe just that stupid grin refusing to leave his face. Most likely the latter.
When he finally turned, the mall’s glass doors lood ahead, catching his reflection, hoodie, ssy hair, dorky half-smirk. But there was sothing new, too from his regular self: that payout chit tucked safe in his hoodie, warm against his palm when he tapped it once for luck.
"Alright," he muttered under his breath, voice bouncing back at him from the polished walls, "Now, shall we go shopping this ti... for real?"
End of Chapter 31.
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ALT SYSTEM — USER PROFILE: ZERO
Level: 11
EXP: 82 / 110
Next Reward: 10 Available Stat Points
Global System Tracking: DISABLED
World Rank Association: UNLINKED
Stats:
STR: 8 | AGI: 8 (Affinity) | VIT: 3 | DEX: 1 | INT: 7 | WIS: 0
[Available Stat Points: 3]
[Derived Stat — MANA: 35 / 35]
Skills:
[Crimson Slash Lv. 1]
[Phantom Stride Lv.1]
[Blade Control Lv.1]
[Parry Timing Lv.1]
[Reflex Sync Lv.1] (Passive Skill)
[Combat Awareness Lv.2] (Passive Skill)
[Skill Fusion nu: Active]
[Dev Tree: Tier 0 Access Granted]
[Developer Node – Fusion Core Anchor: Active]
[Skill Slot Available — Unassigned]
Equipnt:
Aged Blade Fragnt (??? Rarity) (Bound)
Goblin Dagger
Spiked Boar Tusk Shard
Lightweight Chest Padding
Boots of Basic Mobility
Fingerless Gloves (Basic)
Starter Cloak: Faded Black
Training Ring ( 1 VIT)
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