Isekai Journey Of The Magic Archer

"How are you feeling, Rein?" I asked with a small smile, and she smiled back.

"That's a move?" She asked, her lips curved upwards in a smirk while her eyes were filled with the sorrow of helplessness.

She was miserable. We both were, but she was relatively more miserable than one can think.

I was fine with all the things I had and feelings I have to keep because I had a solid excuse, but she was different.

She had no actual need to restrain herself.

If she forces it, I won't be in any position to actually get out of her grasp either…

But she didn't do anything that would upset me. And that meant she was determined to do anything if it meant being with me.

Well, it was sweet and all, but we had to wait for just a bit longer, even if it feels like an eternity to her.

Anyway…

"We are here for another dance. But this time, a normal, slow one. On your dad's music."

She was surprised by those words, but she nodded with a calm smile.

"Sounds nice. Anything before that?"

With her fingers playing with mine, she rested her head on her other hand.

"Want some milk?"

"Sure."

It was a genuine question, and she understood it, unlike some weird people.

She sat before me with her face bejeweled by the light of night.

She was gorgeous, and I knew with each passing day, as her body actually grows into an adult form, it would become difficult even for me to hold back.

The feelings and stuff were more intense here at this age in this world than in my previous one.

We were teens right now, and almost in the initial phases of our adolescence.

We would become adults in just three years and the young adults of this world were physically almost like college students.

We would grow up quickly now and I knew mom would still treat me as a baby, but I liked that. She was my mom. She was allowed to do everything.

-Pourrrrrrrr…

"Here." Handing her her special cup full of unique warm milk, I took out the special cookies my master made, and she understood this was a special occasion.

I never shared these cookies. Not even with her. So I knew she understood this was special.

"What's the occasion?" She asked as she picked up one cookie and took a bite.

Her exhilarated expression as the soft, sweet, and ineffable flavors rushed through her mouth, and her mind was cute as usual.

"Today was… long. The dumb you are more tired than you show, mentally and physically.

What you need is that warm milk, those good cookies, my presence, and cuddles if needed.

Sleep is also inevitable, so you will sleep after we reach home. No arguments.

But more than anything, thanks."

It was thanks for everything that happened today.

He had fun, and it could never have been as good as it was without her.

It was mostly perfect, even with the unexpected demon noble, but it was fine because she was there.

Not only did she make things easier, but she also scolded me for doing foolish things.

She was nice… and so was this night.

"I should be the one to say thanks. What would I do without my darling?

If it wasn't for you, I wouldn't be me."

With a deep sigh and eyes that were clearly thinking back to the past, she was momentarily lost in her thoughts.

Thinking back, not much time has passed since the two of us met.

Our first encounter was fate breaking in a distant forest. She had killed most of the creatures there and when we met, the first thing she did was attack me just because I said her name was beautiful.

'It is beautiful, though. Even more now that I know so much about the person that name belongs to.'

We met, talked, saw a city for the first time, and met her family and then my family.

We got close too quickly, almost as those fairytale first-sight love things.

But I can say it wasn't love at first sight for either of us. If anything, it should be called love at third sight.

I remember those days as clearly as yesterday when we just sat before each other like right now, looking at the other one, and just stayed like that as the night passed.

It has been a while but still, this time which seemed to be far longer than one can think was actually wasn't that long.

'And considering how mom waited for dad to open up and grandma waited for grandpa for years… we are only like young infants.'

We were just starting and weren't ready to go beyond what we already had.

It was the limit for now, but, at the very least, we can stretch these limits to their extremes.

So, I took out the recording crystal her dad gave me on my birthday and started the song that had become close to my heart in this short time.

-Slow melodious tune.

"Für Elle? That's…"

"The song he made when you went away in search of a cure. And then… we met."

It was a song filled with an artist's passion, a father's love, a guardian's sorrow, and the loneliness of someone lost in their path.

It was music born from the pain of a father asking for the safe return of his daughter. But the unique thing about it: this piece wasn't sorrowful.

It was calm, filled with the love the artist wanted to express, and was something fully dedicated to his daughter.

It was a great musical masterpiece. And few knew about it.

Rein loved this song, and so did I.

"Have strength for another dance?" I stood up and sincerely requested, with a warm smile on my face.

She was surprised, but she shook her head with a smile of her own and finished the cookie in her hand, ate two more, finished the warm milk, and then accepted my hand as she gracefully stood up.

"Bastard."

Holding my hand, one hand closely wrapped around her waist, being close to the other half, and almost hugging while slowly moving with the serene melody. It was fulfilling.

I don't forget anything, and at this moment, it was a blessing.

Thinking back, when I first saw her, the first thing I noticed in her was her eyes, then her face, then her name, and at the end, the strong body that pushed me back with nothing but pure strength.

After that, we had lunch, and she tasted those special cookies for the first time and told me who she was.

She only looked at me as a strangely interesting person until that moment, and I only saw her as an interesting lady.

Then we laughed at some things the other said and that smile… maybe that was the thing that made us start falling for each other.

We roamed the city and stopped for lunch in that food joint with my name.

I remember how she tried stealing my fries, and she still does that to anger me.

She's mostly the same as she was, but now, she is growing physically and mentally.

She was emotionally stronger than she had been at the start. She's clingy, needs my presence most of the time, and tries her best to get things that she wants.

She was smart, talented, and strong, but she had been through a lot, resulting in her occasional unusual behavior.

I can't actually change her or her thinking and habits, but I can surely help her with this new growth phase.

She needed to learn new things that she can't do half-heartedly. She had to experience what it meant to be close to someone. She needed more time to heal from all her past that she didn't even show to her family.

This Rein of mine will still remain the bloodthirsty witch, but her behavior, thinking, and views were up to her.

And even with all her problems, she was better than me.

The one needing the most help between us was me.

I can not bring myself to fully devote myself to one person because of that wretched past life and bad experiences in that great forest.

I needed more time than her, but I knew I will be ready to accept things soon.

So… I just enjoyed this moment.

This moment of holding her hand, holding her as whole, feeling her warm breaths on my neck, hearing her calm heartbeat which was strangely in sync with mine, looking at her gorgeous face bathed in the tranquil moonlight, and her eyes…

Eyes that can see the truths of this world, eyes that can read the truth of a being, and eyes that were the third prettiest pair I had ever seen.

She was pretty. And maybe, her thoughts were similar to mine as she looked at me with that loving, sad, desperate, and hopeful gaze.

"You're pretty. Especially those blazing red eyes. I look prettier in them."

A smile incomparable to any happiness depicting joy was painting her face. Her lips were curved, inviting one to dive in…

It was aesthetic.

"You're prettier though. Ma'am witch."

Love… it wasn't a feeling, but an addiction. And we were addicted to this euphoric cocktail of indescribable emotions.

She laughed at those words, but then tightened her grip on my hand.

"You're pretty, special, and so magnificent that…

I wish you could see yourself through my eyes, these eyes that couldn't reflect your eyes that are beyond even my descriptions.

I wish you could see yourself the way I see you, maybe that's the only way to express my inexpressible heart."

Those were her words. And they were conveyed to me thanks to those amazing unblinking eyes.

Tonight. It was tonight…

"Rein," I called her name in a low voice and she looked at me.

"One day…" I said as I held her tighter. "One day, there will be no distance, no boundaries, and no barriers between us."

My words, they were unexpected, but she knew they meant something. Something that she wasn't expecting to be today.

"It isn't that great, but… I hope you keep it to yourself."

Long words weren't needed. She knew the barriers, my biggest barriers, were the chains of my past life that imprisoned me in the depths of my own darkness.

"I promise to try my best," she answered with her highest confidence. And that was enough…

"It was a world different from this one…"

We danced under the idyllic blue moon, holding each other, feeling the other's body and soul.

I was telling her about something no one knew. And something I might not tell anyone about.

She knew the most about me after Zoe, but after I tell her about my life in my previous world, she will share my self-created darkness.

She will share my pain, many reasons for things I do, and restrictions that I was bound to.

Tonight, we will reach the point of shared secrets. And that will be a new gate for our relationship.

It was this night that I will finally be freed from one of the burdens, but she had to stay strong… this wasn't going to be easy for her.

I knew she would be fine, though. She was strong and perfect. But more than anything… she was the one.

I knew as this night passes, the distance between us close, the music of nature and her father guide us, and we will be closer, connected, and open.

It was time… for her to know and for us to take a step forward. But this was only a necessary mental step.

Her desires, her thirst, will only clench when we are grown up.

And it won't be long until we are grown up.

But until then… we had hands, our hugs, her sweet talk, and myself to entertain and take care of us.