"Hmmm… why didn't you come to meet me for a month?"
Luca blinked, startled, eyes snapping to the side.
Just by the lake's edge, bathed in the soft glow of midday sun, sat a girl with violet hair.
He chuckled to himself. Maybe I really was looking for her without even knowing it.
With a quiet breath, Luca walked over and sat down beside her, letting the wind carry off the silence between them. She didn't look at him—just stared out at the water, her expression unreadable.
"Sorry for that," Luca said finally, his voice a little lower than usual. "A lot happened in this past month."
And just like that, the words started flowing.
He told her—how he had fought a monster on the mountain, how the technique he used had caused his mana circuit to collapse. That he'd spent two weeks in the hospital, another week in painful recovery. Then Beastridge Mountain happened. One event tumbling after the next, barely any time to breathe.
