I saw a girl in my dreams.

"Want some snacks? I still have extra!" The girl asked me.

"Who wouldn't?" I replied.

She was smiling at me. It felt so delightful. Our surroundings seemed so bright… serene… then suddenly… it became dark. The grasses, the flowers, and everything nearby… they all withered. The girl in front of me started feeling remarkably weak that she fell unconscious. I just watched everything without any sort of reaction at all.

"Master, is that you?" I asked. "Do you mind showing yourself?" Forgetting everything about my surroundings, I reached out my hand. Was I trying to embrace the darkness?

"My light… my darkness." said by an unknown voice.

"Luminous! Luminous!" someone kept shouting my name. Another dream.

I opened my eyes only to see Lania trying to wake me up. I have no memory after what I did last night except the whole surrounding became bright as if it was daytime and then I fainted. She looks worried. "Ah… it's already morning." I thought. Lania helped me get up as she supported my back.

"Luminous! You're awake… what happened?!" her concern grew stronger as she looked around. I followed her gaze only to realize the training dummies were burnt and almost completely destroyed. The trunks of the two of the huge trees within the premise of our home was also hit. A few more blows to their trunks would make the trees fall. It was the side effect of the Light skill 'Reflection'. As Vieren said, light is dispersed in nature. The more powerful the skill is, the more dispersed it is. As for the magic I cast last night, it was the strongest amongst the Light.

"I… don't know. I was trying to train last night and… I fainted." Confused of all that has happened, I tried to keep some of the details to myself. I didn't know why I did so. I felt that it wasn't the right time to tell her all about me yet. Somehow, I was afraid she would not accept me for who I am.

"Who I am… Is it even the proper statement? I, the guardian of Light, do not even know where I really came from. But…"

"I know you have some magic up in your sleeves but be more careful next time, okay?" she bent towards me and reached out her hand to help me get up. I felt somewhat lethargic when I tried to help myself, not realizing the event that happened last night has been exhaustive.

I looked at her. Seeing her smile like that, I don't know if I could still ask for more. The past may have already been written and I don't know what the future will become of me, her, or us. It's damn scary. But I'm sure we'll be fine.

I reached out for her hand as I ascended from the ground and smiled back at her.

"Lania."

"Yes?"

"Would you like to have an adventure around the world with me?"

Lania was surprised with my question, something that I've always done alone. Her eyes quickly sparkled.

"You've always wanted to go out, huh…?"

"Oh, no! Has my reaction been too obvious?" a very enthusiastic energy can be felt from her reaction. "Of course, I would love to!" She closed both of her fist as she looked at me in excitement. It was very delightful to see her look at me with such happiness.

"Where should we go first?" we started our discussion as we both decided to go back to our house.

"I heard there's a town called Henesys near Ellinia!" Lania took out the plates while I cooked our breakfast. I lifted the cover of the pot where the eggs were boiled and the steam evaporated into thin air. I took the eggs out of the boiling pot. "Yes. Southwest from here, I believe, since we're near Ellinia. It's also the largest town here. Shall we visit?" After removing the shell of the eggs and putting them on a plate, I took a clean rag and walked towards the kitchen that leads to the clay oven just beside the house. I folded the clean cloth that helped me hold the hot tray where the fresh bread was baked.

"Hmm. This is good enough." I nodded after inspecting the bread. I went back to the kitchen, bringing the hot tray to the kitchen table.

"But…" Lania mumbled, distributing the plates on our dining table.

"What is it?" being focused on making our breakfast, I took the bread knife from one of the kitchen cabinets and placed one of the fresh loaf breads on the cutting board. Lania kept silent for a few moments. "You want to go to Ellinia first, don't you?" I placed the tip of my fingers on top of the bread, slicing it horizontally.

"YES!" she uttered in excitement.

Sigh… do I really have to tell her what's on her mind? She can just tell me directly… I can definitely imagine her rubbing both of her pointing fingers without looking at her. I guess that's just how she is when she's being shy at something. After slicing the loaf of bread, I placed some of the slices beside the boiled eggs. I also took the other bread to a plate, placed a clean cloth, set it aside and placed a clean cloth for reservation for tonight's dinner.

"Alright then." I took the plate of breakfast to our dining table and sat with her and Penny. "Ellinia has a huge library." I added.

"Ohhh my! Penny! Did you hear that? A huge library!" Out of astonishment, Lania's eyes widened. Penny, being laid back, opened one of his eyes to give a glimpse on Lania and continued his nap.

"PENNY! Are you even listening?" Lania called out his attention again, startling him this time.

Penny jumped from his nap and brushed Lania off. He walked out of the dining table and walked towards the living room near the fireplace, continuing his nap yet again.

"Jeez, this cat!" Lania pouted her lips as her eyebrows met. Chuckling while watching the two, Lania turned her attention to me. I purposely coughed and stopped my chuckling and quickly taking the plate for my breakfast serving as if not knowing what happened. "Let's plan our trip to Ellinia, shall we?" I asked in a serious tone, putting back the breakfast plate on the dining table.

"Luminous, what should we bring? Do we need to bring food and water in case we get tired? Will it take us days?!" she asked in an excited manner.

Wow… she changed mood quickly.

"We will need a lot of water since you easily get tired…"

"Are you saying that I'm weak?!" she crossed her hands.

"I'm just kidding." I chuckled at her reaction. "We'll have to take the main road and it might take us longer than the route I originally took but it will be a lot safer." I sliced the egg and sprinkled a pinch of salt and started eating. Our discussion about our plan for the Ellinia trip later went on. I kept on chuckling with her innocent questions about the outside world. Seeing her happy and enthusiastic, it gave me a warm feeling inside. Every worried thoughts I had simply faded away, and making her happy felt like a primary goal. As always, my mornings are delightful because of her. Warm feeling… eh?

When I had to leave her alone and went to Ellinia, it somehow gave me an emptiness inside. What is she doing? Has she eaten? Is she on the porch waiting for me? Those were the thoughts that went through my mind. Investigating the matters about the Black Mage, I couldn't help but ponder. It felt like she had a special place of thought inside brain, something that cannot be ever replaced. We've always been together. But when I left her, it felt strange as if there was a fleeting ache inside my heart. A fleeting ache that fades away and comes back every time I thought of her. Looking at how happy we are now, I cannot deny anymore that I just wanted to go home and spend time with my family, with her and wishing that I was just an ordinary man. Cooking food together, sharing stories together… basically, doing things together. I can't imagine my life would be without these routines we've always come to do.

Seeing her waiting for me that night on the front porch gave me a huge relief. It was as if I wasn't able to see her for years. Minutes felt like hours, and hours felt like months. Time ran slow when I was not with her. That's how I wanted to go home badly. Swinging her feet while sitting on the bench, it felt like I wanted to run to her and embrace her tight to feel her warmth once again.

I don' think that… I can live without her any longer. Is this… the love that I once felt before?

"Luminous!" she snapped her fingers in front of me, realizing I've been looking at her for a longer period of time than I could remember. "Is there something on my face? Did you just space out?" she gave me a confused look.

"Oh, sorry. I was just thinking about something." I continued to eat my bread. "We should start packing the things we need after we finish eating." I added.

"I'm already finished eating…" she responded with a straight face.

Looking at her empty plate, I paid more attention at my food to finish. Do I eat too slowly or she just eats too fast…? A few moments later, Lania stood and took some of the plates back to the kitchen. She prepared the things that I instructed her to pack earlier in our discussion. While finishing my food, I suddenly remembered the times when I used to visit towns like Henesys with Lucia and the other Aurora apprentices, selling products that helped the Organization to earn money for its causes. With the help of Freud's genius, he was able to extract Glassiums that can be found at glowing primary rocks where Peace Spirits resided. Peace Spirits were glowing spirit orbs that floated around the Forest of Peace in Serenity, a place where the sunlight could never reach. They could be aggressive when harmed and when their nearby population combines, they can turn into a giant monster that possesses Light Magic. Hunting the monsters were quite risky back then. Glassiums can also be obtained from Peace Spirits. But extracting these crystals would kill them. Knowing Freud always being in touch with Maple World's monsters… or Maple World's children as he would call them, he studied the Peace Spirits' habitat within a month just to protect them.

"I cannot believe that you're killing these fragile beings, Luminous!" Freud spoke in disappointment.

"That is true. But without their Glassiums, the Organization cannot survive. We have orphans to take care of." I rebutted. Yet with the words he spoke, I realized how compassionate he was not only with humans but with other species, too. With the years that he has become a comrade, I have learned a lot. He was one of the people that has made me open my heart. A lesson that has made me feel more blessed and thankful.

After a month of waiting for the outcomes of his research as per Master Vieren's approval, he made sure that we wouldn't have to kill the harmless monsters ever again. He said that Peace Spirits only has a lifespan of a year, and with our hunts, their population drastically declined. His studies also concluded that the Peace Spirits were generous, not minding if some Glassiums were taken out of the primary rocks as long as it will not have a hole or else the young Peace Spirits will die. Thanks to Freud and the Peace Spirits' generosity, we were able to keep taking care of the orphans and the masters' researches were continued after a long hiatus. Freud helped Lucia and I sell Glassiums for household purposes in various towns. Glassiums only required a small amount of mana and it became more popular because the crystals would last for weeks before being completely consumed compared to gasoline taken from fossil fuels that were getting more and more expensive.

I wouldn't say life was difficult back then, but knowing despite that the Organization would only have bread almost every day that the children were getting sick of it, we were still happy just like I am now.

"Luminous!" Lania called my attention while all the things she collected were by both of her arms, almost falling from her grasp.

"That's… a lot, Lania…" surprised of what I saw, I got up my chair and helped her.

"Is this all we need?" Lania asked, searching for my approval.

I set aside unnecessary some of the unnecessary things she took and organized the things we would need for our town visit later. I couldn't feel but happy for her. Being confined in such a place for so long without seeing the other parts of this world must have been dull for her, even though she doesn't show me. After observing her curiosity whenever we went by the river or to Old Man Robert's mini market for our household supplies, I promised to myself that I would show her the things she's never seen before. And now that my magic's back, I will not have worries any longer thanks to the Shining Rod that Grendel the Really Old gave me.

"Clean cloth, check. Two leather pouches filled with water, check. Field dagger in case of emergencies, some fruits for snacks later, some mesos, and my wand… check." I put the items in my bag and tucked the field dagger in my belt. Lania couldn't help but smile and took her own water pouch and tied its knots on her shoulder bag. We split the amount of the mesos we would take in half and put them in our pockets. And in that moment, we were ready to go out. We decided to leave Penny alone and placed a food for him that would fill him up until the afternoon.

"Lania, let's go?"

"Magic Library here we go!" I opened the door and Lania rushed out to the front yard, having a huge smile on her face.

Q here. I've realized that my content has been really half-assed after reading some stories here in the site and I just want to make up for it by giving out more content in a single chapter. Hope you all enjoyed and as always, a review is greatly appreciated.