A small point of light, a tint of red surrounded by a vast expanse of dark forest. It was a campfire, and four people sat surrounding it. The location was roughly halfway between Redmound and The Bandit Pass. Lyana sat on one side. She was munching a piece of meat without manner, yet it didn't reduce her beauty in the slightest. On the other side was Ed. With short deep blue hair and azure blue eyes that glimmered in the dark. Opposite to that Ed was Theo, with Vivi sitting directly next to him. Vivi was feeding Theo like they were a newly-wed. He wrapped his arm around her. Vivi's soft pink lips were smiling when she saw Theo also smiling. "So why do we have to go through bandit pass exactly?" Ed asked. Theo's mouth was still full. He gulped it all down before answering. "It's the fastest route. We can't afford to waste any time." He answered. The smile on his face was gone when he remembered about his problem. It was not the fastest route. It was, however, the fastest way that Theo confident would be safe for everyone. If he were alone, he would have taken another, faster, and more dangerous route. "Speaking of which, how is your training?" Theo asked. "Pretty good. I'm level 12 now. I ran through the dungeon two more times and went hunting in the nearby forest. Oh yeah, also this." Ed opened his robe and revealed a plate with wolf carving on it. "I'm officially an adventurer now." Ed spoke as if it was normal for a person to increase his level from 6 to 12 in a month. But considering Ed's Class 5 Magic talent, Dragon title, and being a system protagonist, something that should be impossible would be possible for him. "Also learned quite a lot of new spell. Even a Tier-3 one." He added innocently. Lyana's food burst out of her mouth the moment she heard that. Without cleaning her now stained robe, she stood and confronted Ed. "What did you just say?!" Her voice thundered in the quiet forest. Her normally friendly face was now frowning, and her eyes flashed green, making Ed surprised and scared. Her disguise was also dropped, revealing her horn that came from her temple and the tail between her legs. While Theo already told Ed about that fact, seeing it with his own two eyes was different. "I-i...uhhh...i-" He lost his word in fear. Sweat broke out all over his body. "Relax Lyana." Theo interrupted. Lyana redirected her deathly gaze to Theo. "What did you say?" Theo understood Lyana's feeling to some degree. She was an extremely talented and skilled individual who could use a Tier-3 Spell back when she was still level 15, something that should have been impossible, and she was proud of that fact. Now, Ed suddenly appeared in front of her, breaking her record and her pride. "I haven't told you much about Ed right?" Lyana calmed down and sat again. She looked away. "Heh! I can't accept a coward like him." She glared at Ed who was hiding behind a tree, shivering in fear. Vivi who was still busy eating had no comment and sat silently, observing them. "Well, Lyana, the reason is that Ed has a Class 5 Magic talent. That's why he can learn a Tier-3 spell so early." "Oh, a class 5.........WHAT?!" She turned to Ed again, making his body jolt in surprise. "He's also the Dragon..so, yeah." Theo added. "Dragon what?!" "Oh yeah, He also has the title of protagonist." "Protagonist?!" She asked while glaring at Ed. "Calm down, Lyana." He said in a normal tone, completely disregarding her agitation. "Calm down?" She stood up and approached Theo. "You expect me to calm down when you just said something like that?" She pointed her finger towards Ed. "Him! A Class 5 Mage and a Protagonist? Are fucking you kidding me?" Theo raised both of his hand, trying to calm her down. "I know, I know. There shouldn't be another-" "Yeah! There shouldn't be any other Class 5 Mage other than Lord DeadEye." Lyana shouted, interrupting Theo. Theo frowned. "Uh..Who is DeadEye." Lyana raised her brows. "What? How can you not........forget it." She looked away; her cheek was red. "Ohohoho. Misspoke." Theo smirked. "No, I didn't." She answered, fast and quick. Theo chuckled. "As far as I know. Ticy Phelinx from Lethrand is the current generation Class 5 Mages. You know, Lyana, there's nothing wrong with admitting that you're wrong." He said with a smug smile on his face. "GAH!" She turned away from him. "Don't follow me!" Lyana walked away to the woods. Her face was red from embarrassment. She forgot that Demon Lord DeadEye was 4000 years old, and was not the current generation Class 5 Mages. To be fair though, Demon Realm's books and news rarely covered outside events. She couldn't believe that Ed has the title of Dragon and Protagonist. She didn't know what The Dragon title meant, but if Theo was telling the truth about Ed's Protagonist title, that mean he was the nemesis of her race. Every high ranking demon was given the title of Antagonist. Because of the ridiculous benefit and effects it gave, it was a coveted and sought out title. Only a few demon were able to get that though. The reason she walked away from them wasn't just because of her embarrassment and irritation, It was also because of Theo. The Theo she saw in the dungeon wasn't the Theo that she knew. And after that, he has been acting strange. The worst thing was, he didn't share it with anyone. Not Vivi, not Ed, not her. She walked absent-mindedly. She walked, and walked, and walked until she arrived at a small pond inside the forest. God knows how long she would have walked if she didn't stumble upon that pond. The pond was clear with some lily pads on it and small fishes swimming around. There was a small stream coming in and out from the pond. Lyana sat on the edge of the pond, dipping her legs in the water, it was cold. She sighed. "So who's DeadEye?" "DeadEye is-" She was surprised and looked over her shoulder. "Hey, I'm here you know." She turned her head again. Theo was sitting on the edge of the pond, opposite to her. "H-how did you get there?" Lyana asked. Her mouth was opened wide. "You're spacing out." Theo said and splashed some water on her face. "You see, Ed thinks that he's the reason you walked away, and he feels bad right now because of that. He's an innocent kid, you shouldn't be too hard on him." "He'll kill you for calling him a kid." Lyana said. Theo chuckled. "Tell him that I didn't walk away because of him. I mean, yes, I'm annoyed because of him, but I'm not THAT mad." Theo laid his body on the ground. "So why? You've been acting strange." "Strange? That's the question I wanted to ask you since that dungeon." Lyana replied with concern in her voice. Theo's face turned sour. "What's the problem, Theo? Since we left Redmound, you haven't been yourself, and you didn't tell anybody about your problems." Theo sighed. He covered his eyes with an arm. "I'm angry. At myself. I thought that after Fergus killed the spy woman, there wouldn't be any more problem. I was fucking naive and stupid. I didn't take any extra precaution." "But you sent those letters." "Those are normal measure. I mean, I'm just sending letters, I didn't.....Fuck!" He shouted and slammed his hand on the ground. "Now hundreds of men and women are trying to make Mary's life worse. What a sick fucking joke." "Then why don't we, you know, go back to her, protect her from those people?" His face was red from anger. "Because I know how they work. If they can't hurt her physically, there are many other ways to make her life worse. Driving monster from the forest near the city, attacking merchants, causing local crops failure, a lot of other things. Us being there won't change anything. That's why we're going to meet someone right now and make a deal with her." Lyana raised her brows. "Her? Another woman of yours?" Theo sat up. "Fucking no. She's a devil. There's no way I would ever touch her." His head dropped, he stared at the clear water of the pond. There was no voice after that, only silence. Lyana let Theo organize his emotion. She only knew him for a little over a month, but she knew that Theo wasn't a person who usually showed raw emotion like that After a few minutes of silence, Theo raised his head. His gaze moved towards Lyana's hand. The Magic regeneration ring that he bought for her was still sitting on her left ring finger. He smiled. "Lyana, you still follow my order?" Lyana was confused by his question, but then she realized where his gaze was directed at. "Oh, the ring. Well, you told me to wear it here, so-" "But I didn't tell you to continue wearing it there. It was only a formality for me to buy it for you." "What do you-" Her eyes opened wide when she realized what he meant. She instantly grabbed the ring and pulled it off, but Theo grabbed her hand and stopped her. Theo laughed. "If you have fallen in love with me Lyana, just tell me." Her face turned red. "W-wait! Y-you have promised not to make any advancement towards me!" "I'm not making any advances, I'm sexually harassing you." He replied with a smug grin. Lyana struggled to get Theo's hand off hers, but he was too strong. She kicked him in the feet. It wouldn't have done anything if he wasn't standing in a knee-deep pool of water. His feet slipped. Every rule of physic in this world or the other said that Theo should have fallen to the side or to his back, into the pool. But because of some divine intervention, he fell forward to Lyana. He extended his arm to hold his body before he flattened her. She also fell to her back. Their stares fixed on each other. Theo noticed how lustrous Lyana's hair was, how clear her emerald eyes were, how pretty her pair of horns were, and how soft-looking her pink lips were. "You are.....stunning." He said. Lyana's cheek turned red. "Get away from me." She averted her gaze. Her voice doesn't have the usual fiery tone in it. Theo's moved closer. Lyana closed her eyes, her face became redder. She didn't reject him, not anymore. In fact, she didn't avert her face. Her lips moved, anticipating something. Theo......laugh inside his heart. 'Are you fucking serious.' He thought. He was lucky Lyana had closed her eyes. Because if not, she would have seen a strange expression of Theo trying his best to hold back his laughter. He was only teasing her, and she got in the mood. So much for not becoming his woman or not falling for his trick and manipulation. But to be fair, it was an expected outcome. He only knew Lyana for a little more than one month, but most women would have fallen over Theo in a shorter amount of time than that. And in that one month, he has been careful with what he showed and didn't show to Lyana. He didn't purposefully do that, but after so many manipulations, it became his second nature. Since the first time they met, Lyana wasn't hiding the facts that Theo was interesting for her. He was charming, handsome, strong, smart, and caring, to select people. He had shown himself to be the best male specimen, causing her female instinct to go into overdrive. They shared a lot of interest, and they had similar views of the world. In that short one month, they have shown each others' weakness and strength, their high and low, their good and bad. It was to be expected for Lyana to feel a bond, a connection with him, a pretty strong one. Not to mention that just a few moments before this, Theo was opening his more vulnerable and emotional side to her. She was caught up in the moment, affected by her own sentiment. If he kissed her now, it would seal the deal. Whatever left of her resolve would crumble. She would be his...... but why would he do that? It was more fun this way, teasing her. And even if he didn't kiss her now, nothing would change. It would only delay the inevitable. She would still follow him anywhere, she would still be stuck with him, she would still be in love with him. Theo stood up and get out from the pond. He made a loud sound while doing so to make sure Lyana knew what was going on. Lyana's eyes shot open, and she woke to a sitting position. She looked towards him with a disappointed look in her face. "What do you expect me to do? No advance, remember?" He asked with a smirk. "I-I didn't expect you to do anything!" She yelled, her face was burning red like a fire. He shrugged. "You know Lyana, you should just confess your love to me if you can't hold it back anymore." He walked away from the pond, heading back to their camp. "Like Hell!" She smashed her fist on the ground. There was also another reason why Theo didn't kiss her there. Out of over 50 women Theo currently has a relationship with, only three of them confessed their love first. Most of the time, it was Theo who confessed his love first. It felt much more satisfying being confessed at than to be the one confessing. It would also be interesting to see how long her conviction would stand, blocking her true feeling, before it all broke out like a dam.