Chapter 20 : Chapter 20
Chapter 20: The Battle Ends, Fina Confesses
“Fina, are you all right?”
Ryan arrived beneath the tree where Fina was.
When she saw Ryan rush over, a smile appeared on Fina’s face.
She had known it. Ryan would definitely come to save her.
Fina jumped down from the top of the tree.
“Mhm, I’m fine. Thank you for coming to save me, Ryan.”
Fina said with a smile, covering her right wrist.
When Ryan heard her say she was fine, he could not help but let out a sigh of relief.
But the moment he saw her holding her wrist, he became worried again.
“Fina, what happened to your wrist? Are you hurt? Is it serious?”
“It’s fine, Ryan. It’s just a scrape.”
“Come on, I’ll take you to Aunt Kaya so she can heal it.”
Ryan hurried to Fina’s side, scooped her up in his arms, and ran toward Kaya.
In his panic, Ryan did not notice what he was doing.
But Fina noticed.
The moment she realized Ryan was carrying her, her cheeks immediately flushed red.
A princess carry!
It was something every girl dreamed of.
And if the person carrying her happened to be the one she liked, then that was even better.
Very soon, Ryan carried Fina back to the entrance of the town.
Everyone was waiting there for Ryan.
When they saw him return carrying Fina, they immediately burst into cheers.
“They’re back! Wonderful, they all made it back alive!”
When Kaya saw Fina in Ryan’s arms, her brows drew together tightly.
“Aunt Kaya, please check on Fina.”
Ryan carried Fina over to Kaya and gently set her down.
“Fina, where are you hurt? Let me take a look.”
Kaya quickly said.
“Aunt Kaya, it isn’t a serious injury. My wrist was just scraped by a spear.”
With that, Fina held out her wrist.
By now, the wound on her wrist had stopped bleeding, but it still looked quite nasty.
Fortunately, Kaya was here, a Mage skilled in Healing Magic.
A faint green light rose in Kaya’s hand.
The glow spread over Fina’s wrist.
A moment later,
the light faded.
The injury on Fina’s wrist had completely healed. There was not even a scar left behind, as though she had never been hurt at all.
Healing Magic really was incredible!
Ryan could not help thinking to himself.
Only then did the mayor finally get a chance to speak.
“Ryan, what about the Beastfolk in the forest?”
“Mayor, don’t worry. The Beastfolk in the forest have all been wiped out.”
Ryan replied.
“R-Really?”
“The Beastfolk have all been eliminated?”
“We won?”
“Th-That’s right, we won! Not a single person died. We won!”
“Hahaha, we won!”
When everyone heard Ryan confirm that all the Beastfolk had been killed, they immediately cheered.
They had come here prepared to die in order to hold back the Beastfolk’s attack.
Yet in the end, every one of them had survived.
That left them exhilarated.
After all, if they could live, who would want to die?
Right after that, the townspeople crowded around Ryan and asked him about how the Beastfolk had been killed.
Ryan only gave a brief explanation and shifted the credit for killing the Beastfolk onto Fina.
“All right, that’s enough. Stop asking them questions.”
Kaya came to stand in front of Ryan and Fina, preventing the others from continuing.
“Now that all the Beastfolk have been eliminated, Ryan and Fina are both exhausted. They need to rest, so I’ll take them back now.”
Then Kaya turned to the mayor. “Mayor, I’ll leave the rest to you.”
“No problem, Ms. Kaya.”
As the only person in town who could use Healing Magic, Kaya was not someone even the mayor wished to offend.
And so, Kaya led Ryan and Fina back toward the Orphanage.
The others began dismantling the spiked barricade at the entrance to the town.
Kaya walked in front.
Ryan and Fina followed behind her.
“How quickly time passes. In the blink of an eye, the two of you have already grown up, and your strength has surpassed mine.”
Kaya said with emotion.
“It’s thanks to Aunt Kaya’s guidance that I have the strength I do today.”
Fina said with a smile.
“Me too. I’m very grateful for Aunt Kaya’s guidance.”
Ryan chimed in.
“Hehe.”
Kaya smiled and shook her head. “It’s one thing for Fina to say that, because I really did teach her quite a bit about magic. But Ryan, everything you have today came entirely from your own efforts. I didn’t teach you anything.”
“No matter what, you were the one who brought me back to the Orphanage all those years ago. Otherwise, I would have died long ago.”
Ryan said solemnly.
“You child...”
Kaya’s eyes grew damp.
But then she remembered that she was the elder here and could not cry in front of the children, so she forcibly held back her tears.
Over the years, as the profit share from selling perfume kept increasing, conditions at the Orphanage had steadily improved.
Ryan had long since repaid anything he ever owed to her or to the Orphanage.
When they returned to the Orphanage,
Kaya smiled and said, “All right, the two of you went through a battle today, so you must be tired. Go get some rest early.”
“Got it, Aunt Kaya.”
Fina nodded, then glanced at Ryan.
Ryan followed Fina as the two of them took a walk together.
Kaya could tell they had something they wanted to say to each other, so she only smiled and shook her head.
Ah, youth.
“Ryan, you were amazing today. You killed so many monsters. You were incredible.”
“Mhm, thanks for the praise. You were amazing too, Fina.”
“Hehe, that was all thanks to the Desert Eagle you gave me. Otherwise, I would never have been able to hold out for that long.”
When Fina heard Ryan praise her, she happily swayed her tail.
“Ryan, what are your plans for the future?”
“I plan to travel around and see more of the world and the people in it.”
“Is that so?”
Fina nodded thoughtfully.
“What about you? You should be going to the Mage Academy, right?”
Ryan knew that Kaya had already written a recommendation letter for Fina. It would not be long before Fina left to study at the Mage Academy.
“N-No, I’m not planning to go to the Mage Academy.”
“W-What?” Ryan cried out in surprise, then quickly asked, “Why? You’re a Mage. Studying at the Mage Academy is the most effective way to improve your strength. Is it because you don’t have enough for tuition? If that’s the case, I have money here, so I can—”
Ryan wanted to keep speaking, but Fina covered his mouth and cut him off.
“That’s not it.” Fina shook her head. “It’s not because of money. I already saved enough for the tuition long ago.”
“Then... then why?”
Fina lifted her head and looked straight into Ryan’s eyes.
Ryan already seemed to understand what she was thinking.
“Ryan, I don’t want to be apart from you.”
Fina spoke softly.
“It takes four years to graduate from the Mage Academy. Even if I graduate early, it will still take at least three.”
“When I think about being separated from you for four years, I just can’t accept it.”
The young girl’s voice echoed beside Ryan’s ear.
Without question, Fina’s words were a confession.
Ryan was happy. There really was a place for him in Fina’s heart.
Fina wanted to be with him too.
But precisely because of that, he could not hold Fina back.
When two people were together, truly caring for the other person meant helping each other grow and achieve more together.
Besides, he had confidence in the bond they had built over the years.
Four years was all. It would pass in the blink of an eye.
After all, Aunt Kaya specialized only in Healing Magic and did not know much about ice magic.
If Fina wanted to improve her strength as a Mage, then going to the Mage Academy for proper study was the best path for her.
“Listen to me, Fina.”
Ryan gently held Fina’s face and spoke seriously.
“I want to be with you forever too.”
“Really? Ryan, I’m so happy.”
Fina said joyfully.
“Let me finish first.”
“Mhm, mhm, mhm. Go ahead, Ryan. I’m listening.”
“Your magical talent is A-rank, Fina. In the future, you will definitely become an A-rank Mage.”
“If you want to become an A-rank Mage, your own hard work alone won’t be enough. Only by going to the Mage Academy for systematic study can your strength improve quickly.”
“And don’t you still want to find your parents?”
“There’s no telling what difficulties you may encounter on that journey. You need to have enough strength.”
“But...”
“I know. You don’t want to be apart from me, and I don’t want to be apart from you either.”
“But if my presence would get in the way of your growth, then I absolutely will not allow that.”
“Ryan, you...”
This was the first time Fina had heard Ryan’s thoughts so clearly.
Hearing that Ryan liked her made her incredibly happy.
And knowing that Ryan did not want to become an obstacle to her growth moved her deeply.
“Fina, it’s only four years. If you work hard enough, you may even graduate in three.”
“Are you saying your feelings for me would fade after only three or four years?”
“N-No, no way. No matter how much time passes, my feelings for you will never change, Ryan!”
Fina shook her head quickly and answered with absolute certainty.
“That’s exactly it. I’m the same. No matter how much time passes, my feelings for Fina won’t change. I’m confident of that.”
“So, go to the Mage Academy.”
“Mhm, Ryan, I understand what you mean now.”
“And while I’m traveling, I’ll make time to come visit you.”
“Ah, right!”
Fina suddenly understood.
“So,” Ryan said as he gently patted her head, “just go to the Mage Academy and study there without worries.”
Fina nodded.
Ryan had just let out a sigh of relief.
However, in the very next moment,
Fina suddenly leaned in close.
“Mmph...”
Ryan was caught completely off guard by Fina’s sneak attack and could not breathe for a long moment.
It was the first time he had realized just how bold Fina could be.
The moment Ryan recovered, he immediately reached out and pressed a hand against Fina’s head.
Trying to catch him off guard?
Not a chance.
Ryan directly took control.
“Mmph... mmph... mmph...”
Fina whimpered softly.
Three minutes later,
Ryan finally released Fina.
“C-Can’t breathe... I almost suffocated.”
Fina gasped for air.
“Hmph. Let’s see whether you dare try a sneak attack again next time.”
Ryan looked at Fina smugly.
“Hehehe, I’m the first one!”
Fina said happily.
“What? The first what?”
“I mean, I’m the first person Ryan ever kissed! No matter how many women Ryan has in the future, they all have to line up behind me.”
Fina said in a sweet voice.
“Uh...”
Ryan immediately felt helpless.
He understood what Fina meant.
This world was different from the Blue Star of his previous life.
This world did not have a one-husband-one-wife system.
A man could marry as many wives as he wanted, so long as he could support them.
That was why successful men usually had several wives.
Ryan could not bring himself to say that he would marry only Fina.
So he could only swear silently in his heart that no matter how many wives he might have in the future, Fina would always be the first.