Caring about someone is not easy. There are many moving parts that one has to account for. You can’t force the person you are upon someone else. Everyone’s different.

One of the biggest problems I’ve found in my life is a lifestyle change someone else has tried to force on me. You know something about me by now, don’t you? I mean, you know what I want to be, how I want to conduct myself. Fame, money, power… all those things are nothing. I don’t mind having more money than I can spend, but I’d rather see someone happy around me than have one more penny in my life. I try, but I don’t always succeed. I’ve made my fair share of mistakes, ruining someone else’s happiness every now and then. But you can’t succeed if you don’t make mistakes, right?

My hand still trembles a bit before knocking.

Why?

Well, I don’t want to make Lucinda unhappy. When she’s with me while I bake, even just keeping me company as I do a menial task, I feel in the right place. I feel like I belong by her side. It’s as if she had clearer air for me to breathe. But I know I messed up her schedule.

This past week has been a blast for me.

I’m making a boatload of money thanks to my recipes and my dear Stanimal. I’ve taught some stuff to the two other bakeries and had the possibility to spend more time with people I’m starting to view more and more as dear friends.

Even Gaius, the massive adventurer, has been spending the nights drinking and eating at my place. His team has a special pass to use the tables and chairs inside the bakery. I don’t even know if we are charging them or not, to be honest. I leave that to my Stanimal. I love that old man so much. Hopefully, I won’t be roped in any legendary quests because of him, though.

But now—now it’s time I do something for the woman who’s been giving me the happiness I’ve always craved for.

How can I explain love to you? How can I explain my love?

Flaminia and Camilla make fun of me because they don’t understand why I’m so taken with Lucinda. On a level, not even I can understand what’s happening.

But how can you explain to the world when something feels so right, so perfect?

I don’t have the words or the skills to accomplish such a task.

How do creatives find their inspiration for their great works?

Did Michelangelo manage to tell people where his statues come from? Did Mozart manage to tell people why his music was what it was?

Am I getting ridiculous here?

Maybe, maybe a bit.

But I love in this stupidly ridiculous way. Take it up with me.

Well, let’s knock.

“Who’s there?”

“The biggest hunk in the city, the most beautiful Human you’ll ever meet, the bane of Elven pu--”

The door opens slamming to the wall.

I smile and flash my signature wink.

“What are you doing here? I’m studying!”

Clicking my tongue and crossing my arms, I try to assume the stance of an old and wise master.

“Well, honeypot, I’m here to help you study!”

See, I don’t know if you remember, but I have 529 stupid Cantrips to learn, and guess what happened after two days of lazing around?

Yeah, I got zapped.

Stupi--

Let’s not say it. Or think it. I’m getting paranoid, maybe, but I’m starting to think that the book might hear my thoughts.

“Joey, I have no time to fool around. The academy places students in classes based on our proficiency and the general assessment they run us through in the first few days. I don’t want to be grouped with idiots.”

“And you think a stupid assessment can stop this big piece of American-Italian meat? HA! Think again, honey-badger!”

“Honey-badger?” she looks confused by the word.

“Oh, it’s a nasty-ass animal that’s not scared of nothing and no one. It can kill much larger beasts than itself because it’s as mad as they get.”

“And I’m supposed to be that?” my lovely blonde Elf takes on a scary-angry visage that would have me running on any other occasion.

This time, however, I’m here to help. Really help.

“Come on, show me what you are working on!” I drag my girlfriend inside and shut the door behind me.

Her apartment is…

Messy.

Woah.

No angry-girlfriend-has-cute-apartment romp? Disappointing.

I mean, it’s also true that it’s hard to find pink furniture, teddy bears, and whatnot in medieval times.

We have not talked much about magic since we have been together, but I’m sure she knows that I’m getting good at it. If it were not for the stup--insistent book, I would have probably learned some cool magic already.

“Joey! I really need to--”

“Listen,” I say sternly, “listen to me for a second. I think I have randomly discovered a better way to do magic. Even if you can’t see what I see, I can teach you about vector theory and polarity. You can probably make a fireball go off at three times its normal speed. Hell, you could lecture an [Archmage] about it!”

She recoils and looks at me, stunned.

“Joey, in the name of all eternal forests, what are you rambling about?”

“Lucinda, you are losing time because of me. Why don’t you let me tell you about real magic? You are moving [Lights] with your own Mana, but you can influence the matrix in a way that it will be able to move on its own!”

She looks at me with her eyebrows locked.

“What you are talking about is impossible. Matrixes can only be moved when the original spell contains a movement component. Are you suggesting you can add moving components?” she looks at me, disappointed.

“Oh yeah, you superimpose anti-matrixes on it to regulate it. Use the starting points in a way it creates movement…”

I explain my practices and theories, making her see my way of doing magic and what the book has taught me so far.

I even explain the multi-casting without batting an eyelid.

Hours go by, and I even help her when she shows me a third-tier spell. I cannot learn it because the book would zap me, but I can help her think it through, try to make her understand how I would approach the problem.

We go on until it’s time for me to go back to the bakery, but Lucinda is in tears by then.

She’s apologizing for treating me so badly when she saw me, and she’s telling me that all of this is ground-breaking and that she has no idea how to repay me.

“I love you, and that’s all I need.”