Two days passed by with the four of them recuperating and training, especially Hana. Following Cecil's teaching and finding her own way to transmute water into ice, she finally managed to turn the entire blob of water in her hand into ice. 

"I did it! I really did it!" Hana jumped for joy, the ball of ice in her hand flying out. 

"You did it, Hana!" Cecil jumped for joy as well, and the two girls rushed at each other, hugging and giving one another a high-five. 

"I did it!"

"It was amazing!" 

"So amazing!"  

K'xug watched the scene of the two ladies squealing and hugging one another happily in amusement. Whereas, Xue was giving off a gloomy aura, and somehow K'xug noticed that the gloomy aura was directed towards him. 

K'xug turned to look at Xue, furrowing his eyebrows in confusion.

Meanwhile, a gardener nearby was trimming the plants around the courtyard when he felt an ominous presence in the air, making him look up. To his horror, he watched as an ice ball was aiming straight for him, and he yelped, jumping aside. 

The ball of ice smashed onto the ground, in between his feet and drops of sweat rolled down his face. If it had reacted any later, the ball of ice would have landed right on his groin. 

There was no recovering from that. 

His startled yelp attracted the attention of the four of them, and Hana realised what happened, gasping as she dashed forward. 

"Sorry, Mr. Jake, sorry!" 

"N-no, it's fine, I am sorry for being in the way as well." 

"Are you alright?! Did it hit you? I apologise for being so careless!" 

"No, I should apologise, young mistress." 

"No, no. It's me, I am so sorry! Sorry!" 

"No, no. I am the one at fault here, young mistress."

It ended up being a competition of who was the one in the wrong. Both of them bowing to one another repeatedly. 

Cecil watched the scene, conflicted yet amused. 

Xue was still as gloomy, narrowing his eyes at K'xug. 

K'xug remained indifferent, but he could feel the gloominess from Xue growing.

What did I even do wrong? 

K'xug decided to escape from Xue by marching forward, planning to resolve the situation between Hana and the gardener. 

Cecil noticed Xue's gloomy grey eyes on K'xug, tilting her head as she stood beside him. 

"Xue? Why are you glaring at K'xug like that?" 

Xue turned to look at Cecil, and Cecil took a step back. 

Somehow, the feeling she got from Xue was the same feeling when she first saw Xue. She forced a small smile on her face.

Seeing this kind of Xue...it feels like I first met him years ago. 

"Wh-what's wrong? Are you...mad?" 

"Yeah." Xue stated bluntly, turning his head away. 

Cecil frowned. 

His mood has been great this entire time!

What caused him to be so moody? If I am not wrong, yesterday--

...yesterday...

Cecil recalled a certain memory from yesterday, and she gasped, her head swivelling towards Xue. 

Don't tell me--

Xue looked back at Cecil, still looking as gloomy. 

***

Yesterday, the two families were seated down for dinner, along with Xue and K'xug, all of them enjoying their meal. Of course, Hana helped in cooking their meal.

Hana's parents mentioned casually that they were going on a honeymoon, however, both Xue and K'xug knew that they were going into hiding. 

After all, K'xug hasn't fully recovered and his light magic wasn't as potent. Hence, the concealing spell he had placed on them would not last forever. 

Hana did not think too much about it, wishing her parents to enjoy herself. Eventually, the topic went from honeymoon, to marriage and...to relationships among the young. 

"Cecil, darling, you know, you have never really told your mother about your type of man." 

Cecil paused, blinking her eyes at her mother. 

Hana almost choked on her water.

Xue went still, his eyes remaining on his spoon but he was alert. 

K'xug continued enjoying his food.

Her mother's perceptive eyes immediately noticed the strange reaction from Xue and Hana, especially seeing the haughty and indifferent mask on her daughter cracking slightly. 

"Mo-mother, why would you ask such a question at this time? During dinner?" 

"What's wrong with asking this question? Where do you expect me to ask then?" 

"Just..." Cecil cast furtive glances towards Hana and Xue. "Just...not here, not now." 

"Why are you acting so strange? Unless, your type of man is among these two men here?" 

Xue still did not move. 

K'xug still calmly ate his food. 

Hana tried to stuff food into her mouth. 

Cecil put down her spoon, smiling uncomfortably at her mother.  "Mother, please stop teasing me." 

"Is it K'xug?" 

Hana spit out the food in her mouth, startling a few people and she hurried to use the napkin to clean the mess up. 

Xue glared at the spoon. 

K'xug stiffened, a dark aura drifting out from the ash blonde-haired man seated beside him. 

Cecil gave Xue a quick glimpse, before turning to her mother, her eyes growing wide. "No, mother. Definitely not!" 

"Then the only choice left here is Xu--" 

"Not my type!" Cecil blurted out in a panic. 

Cecil's mother just raised her eyebrows at her daughter.

"None of them are my type! None!" 

K'xug resumed eating his food, lifting up his hand at the same time and patting Xue on the back, consoling him. 

You have it rough, buddy.

Xue's mood plummeted even more.

Even Hana could feel the change around Xue, inching closer to Cecil as she gave Cecil a pleading glance. 

Anyone could see that Xue was currently murdering the spoon in front of him with his glare. 

"Nevermind then, I'll find out someday when you bring them home." Cecil's mother waved it off, going back to eating. 

Cecil was exasperated.

***

Cecil stared at Xue, a nervous smile on her face. Now, she can somewhat understand the reason behind the gloomy Xue. 

"Are you still mad...at my mother hinting that K'xug was my type of man?" Cecil questioned hesitantly. 

Xue did not say anything.

"I told my mother that he wasn't my type, didn't I?" 

"...it's not that." Xue muttered out softly. 

Cecil blinked, taking a step closer. "What did you say? Speak a little louder." 

Xue sighed, running a hand through his hair. "I said it's not that." 

"Then what are you so mad about?" Cecil tilted her head, blinking curiously. 

Xue glanced away, mouth opening and closing. Cecil only continued looking at him with confusion, and Xue slowly looked back up at her. 

"...?"

Seeing how clueless she was, Xue clicked his tongue in annoyance. 

"You said...you said I wasn't your type." 

"..."

"...what?" 

Xue saw how Cecil was even more confused, and he couldn't help but flare up.

"When you said I wasn't your type, I wanted to die on the spot! It felt as if my entire life was pointless! That's why I was mad the entire time!" 

Yesterday, retreating to his own bedroom provided by both families after dinner, he had been tossing and turning in the bed. The words "not my type" uttered by Cecil replayed in his mind over and over again. 

He realised, he really wanted Cecil to say that he was her type of man. 

The tiny hope he gained when she vehemently denied K'xug being her type...was completely shut down when she vehemently said he wasn't her type of man either!

It haunted him! 

It felt too horrible! 

He...he really wanted to die!

...or to sleep and never wake up!

The words haunted him to the point where he exploded, taking the pillow and hurling it against the floor. He ruffled his hair messily, thrashing around the bed. 

It was as if there were a million tiny Cecil hovering over him, shouting "you are not my type" over him. 

After all, he was experiencing his first love. Getting shot down by your first love like that, in front of so many people, there was no one in the world who would feel fine. 

"...that...that was what you were mad about the entire time? Because I said you weren't my type of man?"

"Yes! I feel like a piece of crap!"

"..."

Cecil blanked out for a moment, before she went red all the way to the tip of her ears. 

She never expected such an answer...and neither did she expect Xue to be so direct about his feelings. 

"I--" Cecil stuttered out, feeling her face heating up even more. "I..." 

Seeing Cecil going completely red, he finally realised what he had barked out to Cecil. The embarrassment hit him immediately, and he found himself going equally red. 

All the way to the tip of his ears. 

In the end, blushing all the way to their ears, the two of them were unable to say a single word and they hurriedly glanced away from one another. 

Meanwhile, the "competition" between Hana and the gardener had long been resolved by K'xug. Hana had already noticed the pink atmosphere around the two of them, dragging K'xug to squat behind a shrub. 

Hana spied on the blushing couple, grinning from ear to ear. She felt a tap on her shoulder, and she turned. 

K'xug gave her a look.  

He was obviously asking her why they were hiding. 

"Shh!" Hana pressed a finger to her lips, still grinning. "We can't interrupt them! They are in the middle of the dating phase!"

Noticing the grin on her beautiful face, and seeing how she didn't care that some of the leaves had stuck to her hair, K'xug started to recall the conversation he had with her parents.  

You seem...really carefree.

That's good.

K'xug found himself smiling gently, reaching forward and patting Hana on the head. He naturally moved closer, removing the leaves that stuck to her red hair. 

The moment felt rather intimate, and Hana's smile started to falter as she blinked rapidly. 

"I...I am going to meditate! And learn more about dancing from my mother!" Cecil announced abruptly, rushing off. 

She was so loud that she startled Hana and K'xug hidden behind the shrubs. They turned to look at the foolish blushing couple. 

"O-oh..." Xue murmured, watching Cecil run off.

A moment later, Xue spun around and walked in the opposite direction. However, he halted a few steps in, squeezing his eyes close in exasperation as he ruffled his hair. 

"Am I an idiot? Why did I say that?"

It didn't help that most of the soul fragments inside his mind were laughing at him. 

Xue: "Shut the hell up, stop laughing!"

Some of them even clutched at their stomach inside his mind. 

Xue covered his face with his hands, sighing. "I must have been out of my goddamn mind."

***

Another day passed, and today, Hana was finally learning how to make ice arrows and fortunately, she did not need Xue to teach her anymore. 

After all, she can only teach herself how to make her own ice arrows. 

The next thing that she only needed Xue to teach was how to shoot properly. 

K'xug wanted to return to his original, healthy state, training on his own in the courtyard as well. 

With Hana and K'xug working hard separately, Xue and Cecil found themselves alone again. Since Cecil meditated yesterday, she had successfully passed another gate and she had a dancing lesson with her mother later. Thus, Cecil had a lot of free time in her hands now. 

Xue, like her, had a lot of free time. 

The ash blonde-haired stood beside her, not too far apart but not too close either. At that moment, his words from yesterday replayed in her mind.

"When you said I wasn't your type, I wanted to die on the spot! It felt as if my entire life was pointless! That's why I was mad the entire time!" 

"Yes! I feel like a piece of crap!"

Cecil was flustered again, and she shuffled her feet on the ground, keeping her eyes down. She had no idea how to respond because of how straightforward he is. 

Xue rubbed at his neck awkwardly, grimacing and still embarrassed. Alas, in his mind, the question of her type of man still bothered him. 

It bothered him, very, very, much.

"Hey--" 

"Xue, I--" 

The two of them spoke at the same time, turning to look at one another. 

They halted abruptly, meeting their eyes for a second before awkwardly looking away. 

"..."

"..."

"Who is your type of man?" Xue suddenly asked. 

Cecil froze. 

He--he is still stuck on this topic?! 

Xue moved a step closer to her, putting his hands in his pockets as he gazed down softly at her. "If it is neither K'xug...or me, who is it?" 

Cecil bit on her lower lip, not daring to look at Xue. "Uhm..."

The soul fragments inside perked their ears up, all of them absorbed in listening to Cecil's answer. 

"I-I don't know." 

"...huh?" 

"I don't have a type," Cecil lifted her head up, looking at Xue. "I never thought about it, and I did not bother to think about it." 

In the previous world, Cecil couldn't afford to date, she was sick and almost in the hospital the entire time. She passed her time by reading a lot of novels, but even then, she did not think about dating or falling in love. 

She couldn't afford to, she knew she would die early. 

In the end, she couldn't take it anymore one day and decided to venture into the outside world, disregarding her health. 

She was going to die eventually, what did it matter? 

Alas, she truly did, by a car. 

The moment she touched down on this world, all she focused on was helping Hana and Xue, and the soul fragments of Xue. She also focused on experiencing the world as it is, and once again, she had no time to think about dating. 

"I don't have a type at all, that's my answer." 

Xue was pleasantly surprised. 

This answer from Cecil made him feel immensely better, rather than suffering from bitter jealousy...the tiny glimmer of hope grew in his heart again. 

Kai: "Doesn't that mean Cecil can start thinking of a type now?" 

Zasiok: "Make her say we are her type of man." 

Leonaut: "Definitely make her say it." 

Alric: "...how courageous." 

Sid: "So our food is what Xue eats, but we cannot eat it physically..." 

Sid drew circles in a corner. 

Isleif still refused to speak after saying he would "gouge their eyes out". He was still glaring at the empty space, though from time to time, he would appear contemplative.

The others left him alone, to let him soak in his own misery. They can always beat him up anytime they wanted to anyway, he wasn't going anywhere. 

"If you don't have a type now..." Xue trailed off, leaning in closer. "From now on, start thinking of it." 

Cecil widened her eyes, turning her head. "Wha--"

Her words were cut off abruptly since they were closer than she expected. Feeling conscious, she recoiled back. 

Xue smirked at her, a roguish glint in his grey eyes.

"...!"

Cecil inhaled sharply, feeling her face heat up inexplicably as her heart fluttered. Without any other word, she dashed off with an apparent blush on her cheeks. 

Being...being this handsome...is unfair! 

This entire time of seeing Xue in person, she had seen him gloomy, angry, sad, kind and rather...happy. However, she had never once seen Xue showing his playful side so openly. 

Especially Xue smirking in such a roguish manner! 

Her hand flew to her chest, trying to calm down her racing heart. 

Thanks to the "stress-inducing" moment, Cecil decided to sink herself into the world of meditating again before heading for her dancing lessons with her mother. Unexpectedly, these moments were actually helping her get stronger by forcing her to meditate to compose herself. 

Unfortunately, this also meant that Cecil was growing conscious of Xue...and avoiding him.

***

《 start 》

Then start thinking of it. 

From this moment on. 

And once you finally arrive at an answer...

I hope you'll say it's me. 

...and only me.

《 stop 》