Chapter 198 - Date (1/2)

6:30am Snow Kingdom Outskirts of Main Town

”Come on, come on, let's go!” his girlfriend was very excited as she tugged on his hand.

”Alright, I'm coming,” Kazuya replied, feeling less like a boyfriend and more like a father who had agreed to take his daughter to the princess aisle of the toy store. Still, his gaze fell on the girl smiling beside him; he supposes this isn't bad once in a while. He is spending time with Lyn like this.

Kazuya looked around and closed his eyes. He doesn't sense any malicious presence anywhere. What worries him is that the Snow Kingdom Knights have gone after Lyn. That guy, he clearly didn't betray them but even so shouldn't the others have noticed that Lyn disappeared? Unless they are turning a blind eye to things? But why would they do something like that for?

As they walked side-by-side, Lyn continued to bounce around eagerly. 'She's acting like a little kid,' it was amusing to see this sight of her.

Kazuya continued watching. ”Geez, you're like a little kid.” He chuckled.

When Lyn heard this, she ceased the humming and stopped swinging her arms around as she seemed to realize something.

”Sorry.” She bowed her head, feeling a little ashamed. ”I'm the only one having fun, aren't I?”

”Dummy,” Kazuya used his free hand to lightly wack her head. ”Of course, I'm having fun. And what's so wrong with getting excited about something you enjoy? Come on,” he urged.

Kazuya tightened on her hand; he began to swing his arm back and forth. The girl's eyes brightened again.

Despite the winter breeze, the scarf and gloves she had made him before they left never failed to keep him warm, and as he glanced sideways at the black-haired girl, he could make out the familiar golden necklace peeking out from beneath her scarf. She had not taken it off since the day had given it to her. That fact touched Kazuya; he didn't think Lyn would treasure it so much. Though Lyn often complained that while she could wear her's forever, his present is only restricted to a season and could get damaged easily.

The rest of her life, huh? Maybe leaving her something behind is too painful. But it is the only way. Kazuya didn't want to expose Lyn to the horrors of the Sound Kingdom just yet. He has to talk more with that King, the girl's father before making any more drastic moves.

Their destination was 40 minutes away, so by the time they reached the place, the couple was relatively chilled and slightly out of breath. Kazuya didn't mind, but he took a sideways glance at his Lyn. He brushed his hand on her cheeks, ”Okay?”

”Ah-huh, I think it will be warmer when we move around.”

Kazuya nodded.

Their destination was one of the leisure activities in the Snow Kingdom called skating. Kazuya felt uneasy about having Lyn roam around, however, after last night he wanted to do something special for her. There was a leisure area where customers could eat at a small restaurant and leave their belongings, but Kazuya knew that if they stopped to relax for too long, they would probably not want to go onto the ice.

Lyn removed her cloak and left it with the basket on a table before she sat down and began fumbling with her skates. She was wearing western-style clothes, a pink long-sleeved top, some fabric that covered her legs, and a rustic-colored skirt.

He isn't used to western clothes just yet even though the people living in the Mist Kingdom wear such things. ”You're going to freeze,” Kazuya commented.

”Maybe,” Lyn agreed. ”But wearing a large cloak will only get in the way.”

That's true, Kazuya sighed and removed his cloak and placed it by hers.

After he finished tying her own skates, she knelt down a bit awkwardly to secure his for him.

They carefully made their way to the ice. Lyn stepped onto the rink. She pushed off and glided effortlessly across a few feet of ice before turning back to him.

Kazuya has never done this before, so he quietly trailed after her.

”Here,” Lyn took his left hand. ”Just use the walls for support at first,” Lyn instructed.

Kazuya followed her instructions and leaned against the wall with his other hand as she led him along.