The next day was the day when Zoemi's father, Mizoe, would leave the academy and return to the Espines estate, as duke Espine called for him to return to his duties.

Zoemi was standing in front of the dormitory watching his father prepare the horse for the journey. He felt a bit weird, he wasn't a small child that would cling to his father on every possible occasion but he didn't really want him to leave...

"S-senior...!"

"...!"

And as it turns out, he wasn't the only one who didn't want to part with the pale-blue-haired knight...!

The blue-haired young female teacher came out of the Academy building and bashfully approached the father and son duo.

"Teacher Perserios! Good morning!"

Positively surprised Zoemi bowed toward his teacher.

"Oh! Zoemi! H-hello!"

She flinched as if she noticed him only then and there – but that certainly didn't upset the black-haired boy – opposite actually...!

"Lady Perserios, it's a pleasure to see you, what can I help you with?"

Mizoe turned towards the woman with a warm smile and asked excessively politely – like always, which made his son roll his eyes in disbelief.

"Senior, I've heard that you are leaving so I wanted to see you off..."

Rokiana lowered her head bashfully and started playing with her hair.

"You're too kind, lady Perserios."

Mizoe completely missed her point and bowed his head.

Zoemi felt like clicking his tongue over his father's denseness but Rokiana wasn't going to give up so easily – she seemed to be completely determined to push forward with her plan!

She pulled something from her pocket and extended her hand towards Mizoe offering it to him.

"Senior, I have a present for you!"

She declared with a flushed face.

"Lady Perserios! There's no need, too...! A-and I don't have anything to gift you in return!"

"Nonsense, here!"

Mizoe became agitated and started backing off but Rokiana shorted the distance decisively.

"Senior, you don't have to give me anything in return... For now..."

The last part she mumbled under her breath and blushed harder – but although her words weren't picked up my Mizoe, Zoemi heard them clearly and straightened his back, making an excited expression.

"I-I just want you to have this! So please bear with my selfishness!"

The blue-haired woman spoke up clearly and made Zoemi - who was standing on the side - want to loudly applaud his teacher.

"..."

But of course, the black-haired boy stopped himself in time - his interruption could ruin the mood after all...

"N-no! Lady Perserios, don't talk like that about yourself, you aren't selfish, it's just that... That... I... Umm... Thank you."

Mizoe couldn't refuse when a lady of a higher social position was putting so much heart into her words and actions.

He took the gift and looked at it.

It was a peculiarly shaped green magic crystal with various runes engraved into it - it was slowly pulsating with a calm, emerald glow.

"...?"

"Ah...!"

Zoemi didn't know what it was exactly but Mizoe clearly recognized it.

"L-lady Perserios, I-I cannot take such an expensive present!"

The pale-blue-haired knight started panicking and tried to return the gift after all, but Rokiana took a step back and put her hands up refusing to take it off of him.

"You already took it, senior, don't you think that it would be rude to return it?"

"!!!"

Rokiana smiled mischievously and Mizoe flinched and took back his hand.

"B-but, Lady Perserios! That's too much! It's a too expensive gift for someone like me! It will be wasted on me!"

Mizoe desperately tried to return the weird crystal after all, but Rokiana smile became even wider.

"Oh? As expected of you, senior - of course, you do know what this is!"

The blue-haired young woman laughed and pulled out another peculiarly shaped green crystal, exactly the same as the one in Mizoe's hand.

"I already had a wind magician connect the two of them!"

She sounded very proud of herself.

"Senior, I want you to promise me that you will always answer my calls! Ah...!"

Rokiana said smugly but then she realized how she sounded and she blushed and lowered her head again.

"I-I mean... If it will be possible... Please..."

She added bashfully.

"I... Um... O-of course, lady Perserios..."

Mizoe nervously scratched the back of his head and also blushed.

"To answer you just have to pour a bit of your mana inside and make it stir up the..."

"Yes, I have heard about his device before, lady Espine was really interested in it so she bought it and was kind enough to show it off to me."

Rokiana said and Mizoe nodded with a timid expression.

"...l-lady Espine did...?"

The Duke and the Duchess always liked Mizoe so it wasn't anything unusual, really - still, Rokiana flinched.

"O-oh, so you already know, I see..."

She laughed nervously and didn't know where to look.

"I-if you would want to contact me, the command is..."

Her face became completely red and she went silent before she finished her sentence.

"Lady Perserios?"

Mizoe tilted his head.

"The command is... My... Name..."

She muttered quietly.

"Oh? So I just have to say 'Lady Perserios' to contact you?"

"...n-no..."

Mizoe asked politely but Rokaina shook her head and hid her face in her hands.

"No... I-it's only my f-first name..."

The blue-haired teacher sounded so embarrassed as if she was about to burn from shame.

"So... Rokiana..."

Now even Mizoe became embarrassed and blushed.

"...!"

Rokiana peeked at him from between the spaces of her fingers and got even redder.

"Y-yes..."

historical

She nodded and put her hands down.

And the two of them just stood there looking at each other and the atmosphere was becoming a bit awkward...

"I-I must go now..."

Mizoe was the first one to break the silence.

"Ah! R-right, o-of course...!"

Rokiana laughed nervously and started looking around awkwardly in embarrassment.

"Bye, dad!"

"Ah! Zoemi! Right! Take care!"

Mizoe panicked when Zoemi spoke, it seems like he forgot about his son's presence.

Not that Zoemi minded that at all.

"So, well. Goodbye."

Mizoe got on the horse and waved to his son and teacher Rokiana.

"See you, dad!"

"Bye, senior...!"

Rokiana waved back bashfully and Mizoe patted the mare to make her move.

As soon as he disappeared from their line of sight Rokiana turned to Zoemi in complete panic.

"Zoemi! Tell me! Was I not too direct!? You told me I have to be direct but wasn't that too much?! Won't senior think I'm too desperate!? Won't he think I'm some kind of an easy woman!? Or worse – the annoying one?!"

She grabbed Zoemi's shoulders and started shaking him in panic.

"Teacher! Please! With my father, you have to be at least that direct, or he won't get it at all! You have my full support! Go for it! I have never seen him so bashful, you definitely did a good job!"

"Really?! I... I mean, really?"

Zoemi assured her and she calmed down a bit.

"By the way, teacher, what is that crystal?"

Zoemi asked though he already did have a pretty good guess.

"It's the newest invention of the royal magician! You know that he can control pure mana, right? This is a crystal that works just like a message spell of a wind magician! It runs on the wind attribute mana so you need a wind magician to charge it, but as long as the mana remains you can contact other crystals as long as they are registered! It's really convenient! But because it's such a useful novelty, it is EXTREMELY expensive, I had to ask my father for a loan or I would never be able to affo... Never mind...!"

The blue-haired teacher shut her mouth, stopped talking, and looked away making an ashamed expression.

|Yep, she's a keeper!

Zoemi nodded to himself.

"Do you think my father knows that it has to be charged with a wind attribute mana? He said that lady Espine show it to him, but did that include the charging process?"

The black-haired boy pointed out.

"Ah! Exactly! He might not know that and try to recharge it with his own mana! I'll call him immediately!"

Rokiana hurriedly took out her crystal and put it to her ear.

"Future husband! ...ah...!"

She called confidently and then suddenly she froze.

"..."

Zoemi tilted his head and observed Rokiana in silence as she very slowly turned away from him so embarrassed, that the black-haired boy fully expected to see steam rising from her head...

"I'll be going now, future mom~!"

Zoemi smiling brightly called out happily and went back to the dormitory, leaving the blue-haired teacher behind.

"..."

Rokiana didn't answer - she wanted to slap herself for choosing such a name for contact with Mizoe and blabbing it out in front of his son before she even heard the pale blue-haired knight call her intimately!

"That's so embarrassing...!"

She yelped.

"Hello? Roki...? I-I mean, lady Perserios...!"

The voice of Mizoe came from the green crystal and Rokiana instantly got over her embarrassment, Mizoe almost called her by her first name at the very start - she clearly heard it!

"Hello, senior, you see I actually forgot to mention, but~!"

The blue-haired woman started coiling a strand of hair around her finger and turned around, away from the Academy building while talking with an excited smile.