A while has passed since Emi's party, well, even though I say a while, it's actually only been a week. In that time, my relationship with Emi has grown in a healthy and natural way. Of course, my marriage to Emi was still in total secrecy, so we couldn't even tell Eric and Flora that we were engaged.
The official announcement would probably happen soon, so Emi and I intended to tell them both a little before the official announcement occurred. With that in mind, Emi and I went back to school while hiding our relationship.
On one of those days, on Wednesday to be precise, Emi called me just before we headed to our next class. All my classmates started to leave one by one, leaving only Emi and me behind. It seems that they had somehow noticed that we needed some time alone to talk.
"Did something happen?"
I asked as I looked at Emi once I saw that we were alone in the classroom. Hearing my words, Emi pulled a letter from her pocket and held it out towards me.
"What is it?"
I asked as I looked at the letter. The letter was simple-looking but still didn't look like it was from a commoner. As soon as I opened the letter, a white paper was inside.
"And an invitation to you... to your secret identity, to be more precise"
Emi said, pointing immediately to the paper in my hand.
"That's the invitation"
Hearing Emi's words, I nodded slightly before turning my gaze to the letter again. According to what was written on the letter, I had been invited to attend the annual art exhibition that takes place in the Crystal Kingdom. While I was distracted by the paper in my hands, Emi pulled out another letter and handed it to me.
"It is here and for you"
Said Emi after handing me the letter. Taking the letter from her hand, I could confirm that there was my name written on the letter.
"Since your identity as X is a secret, this turned out to be inevitable"
Emi said with a wry smile on her face.
"The royal family will attend this event, probably those from other kingdoms as well. It's an annual event that has become almost a tradition. Every year, we take a look at the new arts that are created"
Said Emi as she looked at me. Besides that, the invitation also stated that my whole family was invited to appear. But seeing this, a question popped up in my mind.
"I understand they want to invite my other identity as X, but I really don't understand why they are inviting me specifically"
I said as I looked at Emi.
"Remember the presentation we gave about the steam train? Apparently, there were some Crystal nobles in the audience. It seems they fell in love with the steam train"
Said Emi with a wry smile on her face. But after hearing her words, my confusion increased even more.
"They consider the steam train a work of art?"
I asked, confused, hearing my words. Emi looked at me for a few seconds before answering.
"Well, you know... there are many different ways of interpreting art, just as what you consider a work of art may not be the same for me"
Hearing Emi's words, I had to agree with her on that point. It's not because I don't consider the steam train a work of art that other people won't consider it. Putting those thoughts out of my head, I turned my gaze back to the paper. In the upper left corner, there was a date that I assumed was the day the exhibition would take place.
(It is scheduled for a month from now. If I remember correctly, it takes something around two weeks to arrive in Crystal)
With all the information acquired, I kept the letter in my pocket and thanked Emi.
"Thank you for bringing me the letter"
I said, looking at Emi. Hearing my words, Emi just nodded slightly. After that, an awkward silence fell over both of us. Strangely, it wasn't because we didn't have any topics to talk about, somehow, it seemed we didn't know how to address the other.
"Well... then I will go to my next class now"
Emi said as she started to turn around.
"Wait"
I said, causing Emi to turn towards me again.
"Yes?"
Emi asked, looking at me.
"And that... as you may know, the mall is pretty much done. After some final touches, we will open it to the public probably in 2 days. I was wondering if you wouldn't want to go with me on opening day... if you're not busy, and of course"
I said while looking at Emi. Hearing my words, Emi put her hand on her chin, seeming to think seriously about my request. After a few seconds, Emi finally turned her gaze to me again.
"I don't have anything planned for two days from now. I would love to go with you"
Emi said with a soft smile on her face. After that, Emi and I parted, and we both went to our respective classes. As I walked through the halls of the academy, the conversation I had with Emi about the annual art exhibition came to my mind again. I really don't know much about the kingdom of Crystal since it was something I read when I was a child.
The only thing that still remains in my mind is that the focus of this kingdom is geared towards arts and culture. In a way, the country is quite calm and has never had problems with other countries until today. This is probably due to the fact that Crystal is not greedy like Storne, for example. Besides, from what I could understand from my conversation with Emi, Crystal is a country that sees art above all other material goods.