Lunch came to an end without any trouble and they continue their agenda. Ben, Mira and Bella walk around the town to visit the stores they've marked before.
Ben bought some souvenirs for Wendy, Carla and the villagers. They also visited some book stores, but Ben was disappointed because he can only find 2 new magic books of low grade.
"Well, at least you found new books and didn't return empty-handed." Mira said to cheer him up.
"Yeah, I guess you're right. I've returned empty-handed many times before. So this is good enough." Ben admitted. They continue to walk around the market and look at the items that are sold there. Mira really enjoyed it because it felt like a date. It got more real when Ben suddenly took her to a small jewelry stall.
"You can choose whatever you want, I will buy it for you." Ben said.
"Eh? N-no, you don't need to." Mira replied with a blush.
"It's fine, you don't need to worry about my pocket. I am not poor to the point I can't afford some of this." Ben insisted.
"T-that's not what I mean." Mira added.
The stall owner suddenly chimed in. "Hai, you should just take your boyfriend's offer. It will be a good gift that will remind you of this day. From the looks of it, this must be your first date. Don't you want to remember this day, Miss?"
"B-B-Boyfriend?!" Mira exclaimed in a panic as steam came out of her head.
The stall owner smirked after seeing Mira's reaction and he blinked his left eye at Ben. It's as if he was helping Ben and he could only sigh. Well, now Mira finally wanted to choose something, so it's really helpful.
Mira looked around at the pieces of jewelry while trying to hide her smile. She is very happy, but she tried to hide it from Ben. However, he could see that she is very happy right now and it made him happy too.
Ben is not stupid. He knew Mira liked him after they spent time together for 2 days. But he can't take that feeling, not now.
They've only known each other for a little while. Mira's feeling might be just puppy love, a normal thing for teenagers. Such love is superficial and he doesn't want something like that.
Ben doesn't want to play around with Mira by just accepting her feelings. He wants to make sure that she is ready for a serious relationship when the time came.
Besides, he still hasn't gained feelings for Mira. He has never even thought about love since he arrived in this world. Ben always thought about magic, his guild, his sisters and his dream.
But he won't close that door for Mira and will consider it. Mira is beautiful and she has a good personality. It would be a lie if he said he wasn't interested in Mira. That's why he will get closer to her first to get to know her better before deciding what to do.
While Mira chooses the jewelry, Bella also chose what she liked. Ben's money is her money, that's Bella's principle. That is true though because Ben will spend all of his money if it's for his sister's needs.
Ben also looked at the pieces of jewelry while the girls are becoming confused. Bella and Mira were asking for each other's opinions while choosing the jewelry. It took an hour for the girls to choose what they want.
The stall owner and Ben have gotten tired of waiting for the girls to choose. Both of them even have time to talk and eat some snacks. They were relieved when the girls were finally done.
Both Mira and Bella chose necklaces, but with different designs. Mira's necklace has a gold color even though it's not made of gold and it has a star ornament. Bella's necklace has a silver color with a heart ornament.
Ben paid for the necklaces and gave the stall owner some money as an apology for taking up his time. Then they return to Mira's house without stopping anywhere else. They rest in the house because it's been a long day.
"Phew, I guess it's time for us to leave. Thanks for your hospitality, Mira." Ben said after resting for 20 minutes.
"You want to return already?" Mira asked with a rather disappointed tone.
"Of course, we completed the job yesterday and should've returned last night too. Everyone will be worried if we don't return now. We will visit you when we have time." Ben answered.
"Alright then." Mira said.
Ben and Bella take their luggage and go to the front door with Mira. But before they left, Ben stopped and turned around to look at Mira. He suddenly took a small red box out of his pants pocket and gave it to Mira.
"What is this?" Mira asked.
"A gift." Ben answered with a smile.
Mira opened the box and saw what was inside. It was a Golden Rose hair clip that looked simple, but pretty.
"It's pretty." Mira said happily.
"I'm glad you like it." Ben said.
Mira immediately put the hair clip on her hair. She put it above her right ear and it looked really good in her white hair.
"It really suits you." Ben said.
"Pretty." Bella said with sparkling eyes.
"Thank you." Mira said happily.
"Then we will take our leave now. Give my regards to Elfman and Master Makarov. Tell him that I'm sorry for not being able to meet him even though I came to Magnolia." Ben told her.
"Alright. I will tell master about it. I'm sure he won't mind." Mira said.
Ben and Bella then left the house while waving at Mira. They head to their car that was parked near the town gate. Then, they immediately leave Magnolia Town and return to their village.
On the way back, Bella kept looking in Magnolia's direction. She had gotten attached to Mira and missed her already. Ben can only sigh and tell her that they will meet Mira again in the future, so she needs to be patient.
They arrive in the village after 3 hours and everyone rushes at them like usual. Bella immediately went to Wendy and Carla while carrying the souvenirs. The girls then go to their 'Base', which is Wendy's house to open the souvenirs.
Ben smiled as he went to the guild hall to report his job to Roubaul. He reported everything that happened on the job in detail. As for the event in Magnolia, Ben just said that they are having fun.
"Ah, that's right. Gramps, do you know anything about this?" Ben asked after showing Roubaul the map he found in the ruins of the mansion.
"A lacrima crystal mine map? Why'd you ask me about something like this?" Roubaul asked, giving Ben a strange look.
"Ah sorry, I meant this thing behind the map. I've found out that these words aren't the explanation for this map. This is a code, 'The Dark Sun' is what's written here." Ben said.
"Hmm? 'The Dark Sun'? I've never heard of that. Are you sure that's what's written there?" Roubaul asked.
"Absolutely. And I'm also sure that this thing will help me somehow." Ben said with a serious expression.
Roubaul looked at Ben and knew that he was serious. But none of them knew the meaning of the code. So they start to discuss the code using everything they know.
Ben used A.I Chip's help to find every possible answer using all the data in it's database. A.I Chip has everything Ben has like books. So it should've helped them, but it didn't.
They discuss it until midnight, but they didn't find an answer. Both of them agreed that the only way to go there is by following the map. But Ben needed to prepare himself because this might be very dangerous.
"The Dark Sun, just what is it?" Ben asked himself before falling asleep.