Chapter 353: You will pay for this!

"W-What do you want to tell me? And what was that about confessions?"

Lyria’s pink eyes met Noah’s blue ones as she followed him to a quiet corner of the dining hall, a little distance away from their friends.

Noah had deliberately chosen a spot where their conversation wouldn’t attract too much attention. Once they were far enough from the others, he finally stopped and turned toward her.

Then, with a mischievous chuckle, he said, "Well, it’s not really a confession. You see, I was buying a few things for my family earlier, and something caught my eye while I was shopping. It wasn’t particularly expensive or anything, but I thought it was rather pretty, so I decided to buy it."

Lyria tilted her head, looking at him with confusion.

"You brought me all the way here just to show me something you bought?"

Noah nodded.

"Yep!"

He raised his right hand, and a moment later, an object materialized in his palm.

It was a beautiful pink ribbon made from fine silk. Its delicate color closely resembled Lyria’s lovely pink eyes, while a tiny, rose-shaped golden ornament adorned its center. The combination of the soft fabric and the elegant decoration gave it a charming, almost fairy-tale-like appearance.

Lyria stared at it.

Then she looked at Noah. Then back at the ribbon. And finally, she looked at him again.

"It’s certainly beautiful and cute..." she murmured. Her eyes lingered on the golden rose before she hesitantly continued. "B-But who did you buy it for?"

Noah’s lips curved into a gentle smile. "Of course, it’s for you."

"EHHH?!"

Lyria’s eyes widened so dramatically that Noah nearly burst out laughing.

She instinctively took a step backward, then raised her index finger and pointed at herself as though she couldn’t believe what she had just heard. "M-Me?!"

"Yes." Noah nodded calmly, as if there were nothing unusual about giving her a gift.

Lyria stared at him in disbelief. "Why?"

"Why?" Noah repeated, pretending to consider the question. "Well, because you’re my friend."

He held the ribbon up between them, allowing her to admire its delicate design. "When I saw it, I immediately thought of you. The pink color reminded me of your eyes, and the little rose ornament reminded me of your beautiful hair. I suddenly imagined how cute it would look woven into your braid."

He smiled at her. "So, I bought it."

For a moment, Lyria could only stare at him. Her lips pressed into a thin line as warmth gradually spread across her cheeks. She lowered her gaze, seemingly unsure how to respond to such a straightforward explanation.

Then, with slightly trembling hands, she carefully accepted the ribbon from him. Her smooth fingers brushed over the delicate silk, tracing its soft surface before gently touching the little golden rose.

"It’s beautiful..."

Her voice was barely above a whisper. She looked down at the ribbon for another moment before lifting her pink eyes toward Noah.

"Thank you..."

A small, sincere smile appeared on her face.

Noah chuckled, pleased by her reaction. "You’re welcome. Oh, and there’s one more thing."

Lyria looked up. "When we return to the academy, I want to see you wearing it during our first class."

"H-Huh?" Her cheeks grew even redder.

Noah grinned. "What? I went through the trouble of choosing it for you, after all. I want to see how it looks."

Lyria tightened her fingers around the ribbon, her heart beating a little faster than usual. "O-Of course I’ll wear it!"

She answered so quickly that even she seemed surprised by her own response.

Noah’s smile widened. "Great! I’m looking forward to it."

Lyria quickly lowered her head, hoping he wouldn’t notice how red her face had become.

She carefully stored the ribbon inside her storage ring, treating the little gift as though it were something precious.

Then, after rubbing her warm cheeks with both hands, she took a deep breath and tried to regain her composure. "Sh-Shall we go now? Our friends must be waiting for us."

"Sure, dear. Let’s go."

Lyria froze. Her hands slowly dropped to her sides. "...Dear?"

Noah blinked innocently. "Yes?"

Her cheeks, which had only just begun to cool, immediately turned red again. "How many times have I told you not to call me that?!"

She clenched her fists, glaring at him with a mixture of embarrassment and indignation. "It’s embarrassing! That’s something you should only call someone special!"

Noah tilted his head. Then he gave her a sweet smile. "But you are special to me."

"N-NOAH!"

Lyria’s voice rose in a mixture of shame and anger.

Unfortunately, Noah had already accomplished his mission.

The moment he saw her flustered expression, he burst into laughter and turned around, making a quick escape toward the table where their friends were sitting.

"HAHAHA! See you there, Lyria!"

"YOU—! COME BACK HERE!"

Lyria hurried after him, her face still burning.

A few of the students turned toward them as Noah returned to the table with a suspiciously innocent smile, followed closely by a thoroughly embarrassed Lyria.

Noah casually took his seat, pretending that nothing had happened.

Lyria sat down as well, shooting him a furious glare before turning her face away.

’Just you wait, Noah...’

Her fingers unconsciously brushed against the storage ring containing the pink ribbon. Her expression softened for the briefest moment. Then she immediately shook her head, remembering what he had just said.

’That shameless man!’ She clenched her fist beneath the table. ’You will pay for this!’

---

Noah lay comfortably on his bed, wearing a casual sky-blue T-shirt and black trousers.

A short distance away, on the other bed, Damien was lying on his back with his hands behind his head.

"Honestly, this trip was pretty fun. No danger, no enemies, and nothing unexpected happened. And we’ll be heading back to the academy tomorrow."

"Yeah, yeah. We’re really lucky," Noah replied lazily.

"I hope we’ll get more opportunities like this in the future. Just spending time with our friends and enjoying ourselves."

"We definitely will. Though, knowing our luck, we might end up facing all sorts of dangers together, too."

"Well, they’re welcome to try! Hahaha!"

"Fuck off!"

"Hahaha!" Damien burst into laughter at Noah’s response. "Anyway, good night."

With that, he rolled over and settled down to sleep.

Noah let out a quiet sigh and closed his eyes.

’I’ll face whatever dangers come my way. I mean, it can’t be any worse than dealing with a Monarch like last time... right?’

With that comforting thought, he soon drifted off to sleep.

---

"Noah!!"

"Mm...?"

Noah’s eyelids fluttered open at the sudden shout. Still half-asleep, he rubbed his eyes and slowly lifted his head from the pillow.

A moment later, he noticed Damien standing near the open balcony doors, staring outside.

Suppressing a yawn, Noah asked groggily, "What’s wrong, Damien?"

Damien didn’t answer immediately. He stood frozen in place, his gaze fixed on something beyond the balcony.

Noah frowned and pushed himself up slightly. "Hey, I’m talking to you. What’s going on?"

Damien slowly turned his head toward him.

The moment Noah saw his face, the remnants of sleep vanished from his mind.

Damien looked utterly terrified. His face had gone pale, and his eyes trembled as though he had just witnessed something straight out of a nightmare.

"It’s... it’s burning... the world tree is burning."