Under the dimming sky, Arias' humming a song as she headed to the bench near the fountain in front of the dorm. Since its almost six in the evening, there are only a few students walking near the dorms. Most of them are still in the cafeteria or in the town outside the academy for dinner and leisure time.
Arias came out of the girl's dormitory a minute before her appointed time with Regis and decided to sit in there so Regis will easily found her.
A few moments later, a silhouette of a person came into view from the direction of the girl's dormitory. She looked at the approaching figure and her eyes lit up.
Unlike from earlier, Regis is wearing a plain undershirt with a black formal coat over it, black pants and shiny black shoes—all in all, its black formal wear that matches her white dress!
It was rather hard for Regis to think about what to wear so he just picked something from his stash of clothes. When he saw the look on Arias' face, a smile crept to his face.
'Looks like I'm still so suave no matter what I wear.' Regis though boastfully. If only he knew, only Arias and 'a certain girl' will only think like that.
Arias stands up and headed forward to the approaching Regis. After looking closely at Arias, his breath hitched unknowingly.
Snow-white skin with a pinkish glow, long golden straight hair hanging down to her back, dreamy aqua blue eyes, white two-inch sandals, and a plain white dress.
The only accessory she is wearing is the black tear-shaped pendant Regis gave her many years ago but it does not look out of place at all. The black necklace even emphasized her white skin.
It was as if came back to the past when they first met with only a few difference of dress color, the pendant, and their body size. The appearance of the princess in front of Regis is full of innocence.
Truly a sight for sore eyes! She's even comparable to the Goddesses he knew! —How divine!
Regis, who don't have any experience in this area, can only stare at her.
"Good evening Regis~!" Arias beamed at him.
"E-Ella..." muttered Regis as he tries to regain his ability to think.
As the two of them stand close to each other, flowery fragrance coming from Arias assaulted his sensitive nose, making it difficult to Regis to think straight.
"Hehe~! Are you so fascinated by me? So much that you even called me by my second name like when we're still children~?" Arias revealed a teasing smile when she saw the look on Regis' face.
"I-I don't know what you're talking about... I just missed calling you by that name. Don't think too much!" a slight blush crept on Regis' face as she tries to explain himself.
'Damn this! How can you look so beautiful?! I'm not really ready for this!' he thought as he somewhat regained his ability to think straight. Using his uncountable near-death experience, he steeled himself to calm down instantly.
"By the way, you look very pretty..." he added as Regis brought his right hand near Arias' face to touch her left cheek. In turn, it Arias time to blush as she tries to look away when she met his cold, serious pair of eyes.
Regis deliberately made the look on his face more handsome when he said that. His hand on her cheek prevented her from turning her face away so she can only look at him. And the result is very apparent.
"T-thank you... You too, Regis. You look handsome." the girl with a blushing face and entranced look answered him.
He remembered reading something from certain books while he was still living in Manaria's mansion—"the girl has fallen heels-over-head when the guy she likes shown her a hypnotic handsome face" or "the smooth-talking and suave-looking protagonist got a princess as his bride".
Those kinds of books deeply moved him. So, when he saw Arias' reaction, Regis feel like wanting to give thanks to the authors of those books.
Regis brought down his right hand from Arias' cheek and took her left hand.
"Come with me. Let's have our little date outside the academy." he said as he gently tugged her hand and lead her to the direction of the nearest exit of the academy campus.
That gesture freed Arias from her entranced look. She let Regis lead her by the hand as took in what he just said.
'L-little date?... So this is really a date?' Arias repeated in her mind as if she can't believe what she heard just now.
After walking for quite a few minutes, Arias turned her head slightly on her left as she steals a glance at the young man beside him.
No one spoke ever since they left the academy. The other students and some townsfolk, who saw the two of them walking together, stopped on what they were doing and stared at them until they disappeared from their sight.
The two don't know what the onlookers are thinking but they don't care. As a princess, Arias is already accustomed to being the center of attention everywhere she goes. She also won't be bothered to mind it if Regis himself does not.
And Regis— he doesn't really care in the slightest. If push comes to shove and the rumors get out of hand, he'll just handle it personally.
The two are now advancing to the center of the town. The night in the west kingdom is really pleasing. Glittering lights from the shops and posts on the street and cold night wind really give off a nice ambiance.
"It's been a long time since we had a moment like this." Arias suddenly spoke up.
"Yeah. I quite miss walking around like this with you. I can't help but reminisce about the past." Regis replied without turning his head to look at her.
'The past...' he thought quietly. A pained look flashed on Regis' eyes. Thankfully Arias didn't notice it.
"And you just said that this is a date, I thought we're only catching up?" she added as to try to start a playful conversation with Regis. Although she didn't see the pained look in his eyes just now, she can somewhat feel that his mood dropped a little.
Feeling thankful, Regis responded with an honest smile as he turns to face her and said, "I thought someone will like it if this is a date instead of something else."
"You really know me so well, Regis~!" Arias said jokingly as she tightens her hold on Regis' hand. Regis likewise responded as he did the same.
"Hey, Regis. I have something important to tell you later after we have our dinner." Arias said with an earnest look on her face.
Seeing that look from her made him realize it right away—
'It really has come to this, huh...'
"What a coincidence. I also have something want to tell you."