Non-Canon Omake 2 — In Which Hugo and Marina Lose Their Memories

A/N: Another noncanon chapter, courtesy of Precursor9311 once again.

And it stars Hugo and Marina as well. And this time, they’re dating. So if you don’t like that stuff… tough luck!

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Mira, the capital city of the Magocracy.

It was a bustling metropolis of magic, filled with all sorts of mages, from the destructive type that just liked to burn everything on their sight with fire magic to the constructive type that preferred creating runic constructs that could help with the day-to-day life of the average Magocracy citizen.

It was only natural for such a capital to have their own magic academy. It was there where the kingdom produced the kingdom’s best magicians.

And now, a certain brother and sister were attending its classes. The genius duo, they said. At such a young age, they were already able to cast Master-level spells, with the boy specializing in Wind and the girl specializing in Earth.

Unfortunately, they weren’t native citizens of the Magocracy. They came from a neighboring kingdom instead, a kingdom that was far less advanced in magic than the Magocracy.

Still, it didn’t stop the higher-ups in the magic state from recruiting them to their folds. In this nation, your aptitude with magic was everything, and so, any magic families worth their salt would want to marry their children to them.

The girl got it lucky. She only had one admirer. All because that admirer was the grandson of one of the ruling mages of the nation. No other families dared to touch her as a result, especially knowing how vindictive said ruling mage could be.

The boy, on the other hand, was a free-for-all. Day by day, he would be harassed by girls wanting to be his girlfriend. He even got the attention of the daughter of another ruling mage and that girl had already graduated from the academy.

Still, neither of them accepted their advances. They were here to study, not to be roped into some political alliances. They wanted to be adventurers after all, not tied into a single country that wasn’t even their own.

Their names were Marina and Hugo, of the Greenwood family. And this is their story.

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Hugo

Ooh, nice! She wears green today!

The eastern wind blew, delivering the joyful sight of a girl's panties into my eyes.

Not just any girl though. She was my older sister, Marina.

Even though she now wore a long green cloak that went down to her ankles, it still wasn't enough to cover her butt from showing whenever a sufficiently strong wind came around. Under it, her skirt was still short and was very vulnerable from being lifted by the slightest force.

Now, you may say, "Dude! She's your sister! Why are you perving on her?!" And I'll reply, "Yeah, but she's still hot. And she doesn't mind me accidentally seeing her panties. Emphasis on 'accidentally'."

She was now sixteen years old, and in her last year in the academy. I, on the other hand, was just an innocent eleven years old, who was still in second year. In this world, she was already considered an adult. So peeking on the panties worn by an adult? No problem here, Sir!

And now, we were going on a quest together. Just your usual D-rank gathering quest, nothing special. Yes, we worked as adventurers on the weekend after all. Not because we needed the money but just because it was fun.

Soon, we arrived at the designated forest. We were to gather a bunch of mushrooms from it, making sure we didn't bring back the wrong one.

With her magic, Marina quickly determined where the mushrooms were located. Ah, the convenience of being an earth mage.

"Alright, Hugo." She spoke with a tender smile as she looked at me. "Stay close to me, alright? You don't want to get lost in these woods. It's really dangerous."

Sheesh, she's treating me like a kid. I'm just as good of a mage as you are, Sis!

Still, I didn't say anything. I didn't want to ruin the smile she had on her face.

We spent the next hour going from one mushroom spot to another. Any monsters we found on the way were swiftly taken out by either me or her with barely any effort. They were just E rank to D rank monsters, not difficult in the slightest. As for the gathering part, she did the hard work while I stood by guarding her. I would've helped but she insisted that she had to do it on her own, citing how sensitive the mushrooms were.

Eventually, our basket was filled to the brim with mushrooms. It was time for us to go back.

Until we were ambushed by a certain plant.

We didn't see it coming in the slightest. The monster flower looked exactly like the other, non-monstrous giant flowers inside the forest. So when it sprayed its pollen, it was already too late for us to dodge it.

I quickly burned it with fire magic. Still, it didn't stop said pollen's effect on us.

We coughed and coughed and coughed, until all of a sudden…

Huh?

Wait, what am I doing here?

And who's this chick with me?

...Hold on, I can't—I can't remember who I am!

We had lost our memories.

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Luckily, our memory loss wasn't complete. After much thinking (since there was nothing we carried that could show our identity), I could remember that my name was Hugo. And she, the girl that was with me, did the same, saying that her name was Marina. Feeling the sensation of familiarity from that name, I quickly told her that we must have been acquaintances. She agreed and so, we decided to stick together, at least for a time.

We decided to return back to the capital city, another fact we both remembered. We also still remembered our spells so we could make it through the forest just fine.

As for the mushroom basket she had on her hand, we figured that it was the reason why we came here in the first place.

"For now, I think we should get a room in an inn." She proposed once we entered the city. "How many coins do you have?"

I reached down to my shorts pockets and found only a handful of copper coins. Certainly not enough to rent a room even at the cheapest establishments.

"Well…" She opened her palm, revealing a few silver coins. "You're in luck." She smiled. "I can rent us a room."

"W-wait, are you sure? You don't even know me. And for a boy and a girl to share a room together…"

She giggled, covering her mouth with her hand. "It's fine. I have a feeling that we've been working together. So I can trust you, Hugo."

Trust, huh?

I do have this strong feeling that I can trust her as well. Maybe we really are a pair of adventurers after all.

And besides… My eyes paused at her bountiful chest. Who would refuse staying together in the same room with a hot chick like her?!

"Alright! I'll take you up on your offer! But before that, shouldn’t we check around the Adventurer’s Guild first? See if anyone knows about us?”

"Sure. We can do that. I… don't know where the Guild is though." She bit her lip.

"Oh, it shouldn't be that hard to find!" I gave her an encouraging smile. "We just have to ask around!"

She paused, blinking a few times before responding with her own smile. "You're right! You're a smart kid, aren't you?" She giggled, patting me on the head.

Before abruptly pulling her hand back. "A-ah, apologies." Redness spread on her cheeks. "I… don't know why I did that."

“Don’t worry! I don’t mind at all, miss!” I gave her a grin.

Oh my, could she be a shotacon in disguise? Have I somehow hit the jackpot of befriending a sexy lady who’s fond of younger men?

Although, I can’t really say she’s a lady yet. She’s around seventeen years old at the very most. Still very much in her teens, only her womanly features are already there. Large boobs, tight ass, and so on, and so forth. Oh yes, I got a show of the latter on our way here. A strong breeze blew, her cloak flew up, and the short skirt under that flew up as well, and I got a full view of her green panties.

Now, I would have said that she could headpat me anytime, but that would be a dumb thing to do. I’m not five. As an eleven years old, that kind of innocent act won’t fly anymore. I have to act more mature, like a young gentleman. That’s how I can charm her!

We then walked through the city, making sure to look at the cobblestone road and the neatly arranged houses well. We didn't want to get lost in such a big place.

Hmm, I definitely have been here before… if I had to guess, this is our current base of operations. We must have stayed here for a good while…

We asked around the populace, who quickly pointed us towards the district where the Guild was located. And when we arrived, I was struck by that nagging familiarity again.

Or at least, that's what I felt.

Yep, this place—I've definitely been here before!

We went to the nearest receptionist and asked her whether she could recognize us or not.

"Huh? What kind of a question is that?" She raised her eyebrows.

"Please. We were poisoned by a monster flower and now we couldn't recall our memories," I answered.

"Amnesia? I've never heard of such a flower. And, as for your question, no. I don't know who you guys are. Though I definitely have seen you two before here. Can you tell me your names at the very least?"

"My name's Hugo. And she's Marina."

"Hugo and Marina…" She opened her book and crawled through the names there. "Hmm… yes… you two are indeed registered adventurers here."

I knew it! We are adventurers after all!

"And you two have an ongoing quest."

"For the mushrooms, correct?" Marina went forward and put the basket on the counter.

"Yes! Wow, you actually did the job!" She smiled, clasping her hands in front of her chest. She then stood up and checked the basket before putting it down on her side. "Yep! No problem! Alright! Here's your payment! Oh, and take it easy for a few days! Whatever that plant did to you, it should wear off soon enough."

I took the money from the receptionist though not before splitting it with Marina.

"No." She smiled, pushing my open palm back towards me. "Take the money. You don't have any left, do you?"

"Wait, I can't do that! You don't have any money either!"

"I'll be fine. Now that I know I'm an adventurer, I can just take more quests to get more. You, on the other hand—" She bent over and touched my nose with her index finger, "—should just stay at the inn until you recover."

Wow… this girl… she is really nice, isn't she? Too nice, perhaps.

And what's with that finger touch? Aren't you being too friendly? We might be adventuring together but I'm not your little brother or your boyfriend.

Not that I'm complaining of course. I do wish I was her boyfriend, despite me being a 11-year old boy. I dunno. I just feel that way. Heh, guess I'm just more mature (perverted) than your average boys that age.

That's why I can't let her go out on her own. Too dangerous with her compromised memory. What if a bad guy comes over and kidnaps her, saying that he's her friend? And then, she'll get r*ped or sold into slavery. I can't let that happen!

"No." I gave her a firm look and crossed my arms. "We work together. We're partners, remember?"

A surprised look came to her face, before  transforming into another smile.

"You're right." She rested her hand on my shoulder. "We should."

And so, with the matter settled, we went to the cheapest inn we could find and rested for the night.

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The bed was small and it was only fit for one person, leaving me no choice but to sleep on the creaky wooden floor. She offered to be the one sleeping there but I refused, saying that as a gentleman, it would be wrong for me to do so.

Yeah, I was trying to rack up points with her.

She giggled, jokingly asking whether I was actually the son of some magic noble in the city, since I was exceedingly talented at magic, far beyond what she would expect from a boy my age.

"Nah," I replied with a smile. "If I were a noble, I wouldn't be out of money, would I?"

"That's a good point." She smiled back. "It would make more sense if we're just a pair of talented mages from the countryside."

Damn, this angle… I can see her panties from down here!

As we spoke, I was lying down on the floor with only her cloak separating me from the wood. She, on the other hand, was sitting on the bed. She wasn't opening her legs or anything but the low angle and the shortness of the skirt (it only ended at her mid-thigh) were enough to give me a good view.

This girl… she really needs to be more careful….

We didn't converse for long unfortunately, as soon afterwards, I let out a yawn. And she immediately took it as a sign that we should get some sleep.

Yes, we went without dinner. Thankfully, we had eaten some of the mushrooms we got from the forest before turning them in. They were delicious, even if we just roasted them with a simple fire spell.

"Good night, Hugo." She smiled as she rested her head on the pillow.

"Good night, Miss Marina! Don't let the bed bugs bite you!" I smiled back.

"Oh, enough with the Miss." She chuckled. "We're partners, right? Just call me by my name."

"Alright then! Marina it is!" I grinned.

Yes! One step closer to making her my girlfriend!

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The next morning (I swear I didn't do any perverted things to her while she was asleep), I was woken up by the sunlight peeking down through the windows.

Slowly, my eyes fluttered open as I lazily regained my consciousness.

And what I saw made my jaw fall open.

Marina was standing in the middle of the room, completely bending over, mooning me with the sight of her buttocks. And slowly, with her two thumbs, she pulled down her panties, down from her thighs, all the way to her ankles.

And a trail of sticky clear fluid had attached itself, from her slick-looking womanhood to the crotch of the damp fabric.

I gulped, feeling my shorts tightening significantly.

There was no doubt about it. It was her juices. Flowing out of her clean-shaven flower.

She just had an orgasm.

Did she have a wet dream? Girls can get it too, right?

I remained silent, even as my little guy down there throbbed like mad. If she realized I had woken up, there would be hell to pay.

She slipped her feet from them before storing the garment inside her skirt pocket.

And then, to my surprise, she turned around, knelt down, and gave my body a gentle shake.

"Wake up, Hugo~ We need to go to the Guild early today, remember?"

H-holy shit! Is she seriously not going to wear any panties?!

The sight in the corner of my eyes confirmed it. I could see her privates between her legs, still glistening with her juice.

Suddenly, she gasped.

Slowly, I peered up towards her face. That surprised expression, the blush drawn on her face, and the angle where she was looking…

She was staring right at my erection.

T-this is bad! I-I swear I wasn’t looking! I wasn’t looking at all!

I soon found out that my panicking was entirely meaningless, however, as she looked away and mumbled, “Boys are like that in the morning… it can’t be helped… I guess I’ll let him sleep for a little bit more… while I clean up…”

She then stood and left the room, opening and closing the creaky wooden door as silently as she could.

The moment she was gone, I let out a big, relieved sigh.

That was close. She almost saw me like the pervert that I am.

Quickly, I sat up and began to meditate, calming down this boner I now got.

And so, when she got back, I was back to my old, innocent self once more.

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We skipped breakfast as we no longer had any money in the slightest. I had no idea why we were this poor but we certainly didn’t have any coin purse in our possession. Wherever our old selves had stored our money, it was definitely out of reach now.

We made our way to the Adventurer’s Guild. We had to take some quests and finish them as fast as we could, so that we could actually have money to spend. And so, we took on the easy quests, like slaying monsters just outside the city walls or menial labor like helping in a warehouse.

All the while with Marina wearing no panties under that green skirt of hers.

I guess it’s because her panties get dirty. But how did it get dirty in the first place? Did she have a wet dream? Or did she actually touch herself while I was sleeping? Damn it, I would have loved to see the latter!

Still, if I were her, I would just wear those panties anyway. I understand why she wouldn’t, considering how uncomfortable stained underwear can be, but wearing a skirt without underwear, you’re either insane or an exhibitionist. And surely, she can’t be the latter. Right?

Whatever her reasons were, it was enough to distract me multiple times in the day. I kept staring at her behind (even though the skirt was covered by her cloak) or up her legs and thighs any chance I got. And I didn’t want to do that. If she had been more perceptive, she would’ve noticed me looking, and that would spell trouble for me. No girl likes to be with a pervert after all.

Eventually though, after we got our first payment, she made a beeline to the nearest clothing store. Oh, she didn’t tell me she was going there, only that she had something to take care of for a bit, but I knew just from her expression that she was glad she could finally wear underwear like a normal girl once more.

Guess she isn’t an exhibitionist after all.

Our lives continued like this for a bit. We would spend the day doing quests together and then pool our money to buy all the things we needed. It wasn't a bad life for sure, especially when I was doing it with such a cute girl like her.

Still, I couldn’t help but feel I was missing something. Something big. Our lost memories… We were just waiting for them to return. I could feel it—the gnawing sensation behind my head, and the clearing of the fog that obscured what I used to remember…

No good. I still could not remember.

Eventually, one week had passed since our trip to the forest.

That day, we decided to take on a special job. Unlike the easy ones we had done throughout the week, we now would go into the Barton Mines, located northwest of the city. Our job was to clear out a recently monster-infected section there.

Dangerous? Definitely. However, it paid really well compared to our usual jobs. And we had grown confident in our fighting abilities. The monsters at the outskirts of town were no match against us. And since the monsters in the mines were only one rank more difficult, we should be able to manage.

We wanted to rent a better inn, you see. And you needed a lot more money for that. Not to mention that for privacy’s sake, it would be better for us to sleep separately.

...Why yes, she orgasmed again in her sleep. That time, I didn’t get to see it directly. But I could tell from the smell and the slight wet patch on her skirt when she woke up.

She might be the calm older sister type but she had a libido far higher than the average woman. Maybe. I wouldn’t know how many wet dreams the average woman got over a week.

And so, after accepting the quest and having our breakfast, we departed. It was a short trip from the capital city, not even requiring a full day. Once there, we contacted the local miners and they pointed us to the part of the mines we needed to clean out.

The mines itself looked like your average mines—dark, cramped, and full of dirt and rocks. Thankfully, we had our fire spells to light the way.

We didn't always stick together since the narrowness of the cave meant we wouldn't be able to move around very well at all. But, we always made sure not to get separated too much. And each of us had maps of the tunnels given to us by the miners.

The monsters were just as easy as I had expected—simple creatures I could kill with a spell or two. I had to be careful though as to not knock down the entire place. These tunnels were fragile after all.

Eventually, once there were no monsters in sight, we met back on the designated spot.

"All done?" Marina asked me with a smile.

"All done!" I smiled back. "Let's go back and report—"

An earthquake struck.

The floor, the walls, the ceiling—everything around us shook with great, dizzying force.

I never managed to finish my sentence. I pushed her down and covered her body with mine.

Just in time before everything went black.

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When I regained my consciousness, the first thing I saw was Marina's face.

Tears were trailing down her face. She was begging me to wake up.

“Please… wake up… I don’t want you to die on me…”

At first, I didn’t know why she was acting like that.

Until I felt the warm blood seeping out of the back of my head.

Then I remembered. A chunk of the collapsing ceiling had landed on my head when the earthquake struck.

I was only alive due to a miracle. And this fabric tied to my head tightly, stemming my blood loss. If I had to guess, judging by her lack of coat, it was hers.

“You… you idiot… you’re just a young boy… why do you need to save me like that?”

“Heh. I don’t know. I just felt it was the right thing to do, that’s all.”

She paused, her gaze now locked into mine.

Her eyes widened.

And then, she threw herself on top of me, giving me a big, strong hug while pressing her breasts right onto my face.

“Oh, thank you! Thank you thank you thank you!”

Ahh, heaven… even if my head is bleeding right now…

She quickly released me though, probably realizing she was smothering me with her hug.

Gently, I sat up. Urghhh, my head really hurts. I took a glance at my surroundings. As I feared, the tunnel we were in had collapsed at both sides. Only Marina's floating fire orb was lighting up the place.

"Y-you're okay?" she asked. She was now sitting in front of me, with a gaze that was a mixture of fear and relief.

"Yes, I'm fine." I gave her a relaxed smile. "Thankfully, I don't think the wound is deep enough to reach my brain."

"You—" She averted her gaze. "—shouldn't have saved me back then.

"Oh come on, Marina!" I flashed her a grin. "We're partners, right? It's only natural for me to risk my life saving you!"

"No." She shook her head before giving me a stern glare. "You're too young to be risking anything. As the elder, I'm the one who's supposed to protect you instead."

"Oh don't give me that." It was now my time to frown. "I didn't do it because I was forced to. I might be eleven but I'm young enough to make my own decisions. And my decision was to save you."

"Well, I'm sixteen so you should listen to me!" She raised her voice. "My heart would break if anything happens to you!"

"What?! You're not my older sister! Or my girlfriend! You should let me—"

"I like you!"

I fell silent.

Did I just hear that right?

"Yes! That's true! This past week, I found that I'm fond of you! More than just a partner or a friend!" She was now profusely blushing. "I don't know what's wrong with me but you're exactly what I want from a lover! Even if you're five years younger!"

...I heard right.

She really just made a love confession.

Here, right now, while we're trapped inside a mine.

"So please! Don't you ever do something like that again!"

She averted her gaze again. Her fingers were now playing with the hem of her skirt. A nervous tick for sure.

It was time for me to answer.

I stood up, enduring the pain coming from my head. I then walked up to her and grabbed her hands.

"I'm glad to hear that. I like you too, Marina."

I gave her my brightest smile. I can't believe it! I now have a girlfriend as cute as her!

"But for now," I released my hands from hers. "We should find a way out of this place."

She nodded, standing up as well.

And so, from that day on, we became an official couple.

All thanks to that earthquake.

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Our journey outside was rough, to say the least. It took us hours to make our way through all the rubble, despite using Marina’s earth magic. We had to be careful not to cause a further cave-in so she couldn’t just destroy any rock she chose. She had to be extremely precise while doing it.

And that’s why we had a lot of time to chat with each other.

“So… umm… your confession back then… that was… sudden." I opened my mouth. We were now walking through a section of the mine that wasn't blocked off.

A dry laugh came out from her mouth. She maintained her forward gaze, not looking at me in the slightest. "You must think I'm a weirdo, liking someone your age."

"Oh no, not at all! I can be really charming after all!"

"Oh you." She grinned, finally glancing at me. "But you're right. You are charming. And you have charmed my lonely self to fall for you."

"Lonely?" I raised my eyebrow."

"Yes. I don't know why, since I have yet to recover my memories, but I have this feeling that I've been very lonely for a long time. And your presence somehow cured that loneliness." She glanced at me again, this time with a smile.

"I see. Well, I'm glad to help! A cute girl like you should never be lonely!" Oh God what was that cliched pick-up line?!

However, hearing those words, she giggled. It seemed the line wasn't as cliched as I thought.

We then stopped as another pile of rocks blocked our path.

"Well, Hugo, once our memories return, I can only hope that we continue being together like this," she said before exploding the nearby rock.

"Yep! Me too!"

I can only hope too.

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When we got out, we were greeted by the miners who had been clearing out the rubble from the other side. I had my wound patched up before we returned back to town (they had a healer, thankfully enough). It was already night outside. We really took that long escaping that place.

Whew, finally. Not going back to a cave anytime soon for sure!

To my relief, we didn’t encounter any monsters on our way to Mira. Not that we couldn't handle it. I just preferred us walking together peacefully under the moonlight.

Once we got back, we reported the quest, got our money, and had the most lavish dinner we could have. Afterwards, we moved to a new, better inn and stayed there for the night.

And yes, we decided to still share a room. We were now a couple after all.

"Hugo, can you… sleep with me tonight?"

Those seven words, said with a bashful face, was enough to drive any man crazy with lust.

Oh, don't worry though. We didn't do anything lewd. I just buried my face inside her bosom as she used me as my pillow.

Aahhhh, this truly is heaven…

Damn, she smells good. And I can see her green bra peeking through her buttons.

…

Wait.

This feeling… I've been here before.

Back at home, she would occasionally sleep with me. And she will hug me just like this.

Home?

And then, it hit me.

All my memories—they all returned in an instant.

We… were never adventurers in the first place.

We were students at the magic academy in this city.

And this girl…

She was my older sister.

Aaaaaaaaaahhhhh!

I screamed inside my mind.

My sister just confessed her love for me. And I accepted it.

We had gone full incest mode, without us knowing.

T-this is bad! I have to get away!

Quickly, I pushed her away.

Only for her to pull me back in, pressing my face even deeper into her breasts.

“Hugo… don’t leave me… I’m lonely here… You always have too many girls following you around in the Academy…”

Wait, did she just—when did she remember?

Or was this just her subconscious speaking?

...Still, if she really feels that way…

She was right.

Thinking about it, with the exception of the weekends, we rarely interacted with each other at the Academy. We went to separate classes with different schedules. And naturally, I stayed at the men’s dorm while she stayed at the girl’s. And, just like she said, I was constantly swarmed with girls vying for my attention.

No wonder she would feel lonely, being the big brocon that she was.

Still, for her to actually confess romantic love to me like that… that was just too much for my modern Japan sensibility! Cousin marriage is one thing but brother and sister marriage? And directly blood-related at that, not even half? It was just too taboo for me.

But then again, according to that history book I read in the library once, brother-sister marriages are somewhat common in the Magocracy. Somewhat, being the key word, since it was a double-edged blade. You can either end up having a child whose magic talent surpassed their parent by a mile or you might end up with someone with no magic talent whatsoever.

However, that book didn’t say anything about defects or illnesses that you would expect from an incest child. Maybe it doesn’t work that way in this world?

...Aah, does it matter? She’s lonely and it’s my job as her little brother to cheer her up. No need to talk about marriages or anything.

I stopped my struggle. I let her hug me as much as she wanted.

And just like that, I eventually drifted asleep. Inside the embrace of my lovely older sister.

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Marina

The next day, we went around the city together. A date, as they would say.

When I woke up that morning, I remembered everything. I remembered how I was his big sister—how we weren’t really adventurers at all, and how we weren’t even citizens of this country.

But, I decided not to tell. I didn’t even care if we skipped another day away from the Academy. This day would be ours and ours alone.

...Yes, I realized I had confessed to him. And yes, I had admitted my loneliness and jealousy to him as well. Now that they were out of the bag, there was no point in hiding them anymore, was there?

I liked him. More than just a little brother. But as a man as well.

A young man, to be precise. A gentleman-to-be. Exactly the kind of man I would want to marry in the future.

And now, I suppose he is my boyfriend too. Mine and no one else. None of those grubby girls can get their hands on him anymore.

Incest? So what? Perhaps it’s unconventional. But I don’t care if our child can’t use magic at all. We’ll still love them all the same.

But, enough of those thoughts. Today, I intend to enjoy our excursion to the fullest. I will only tell him the truth at the end of the day.