"Are we going out? Are we going out now?"
Emilia opened her eyes wide, her amethyst-like eyes fixed on him.
"Emilia, you've basically slept all day today, so now is the time to go out for a walk." Ayanokouji said calmly, "If you don't want to go out, forget it..."
"I want to!"
Emilia nodded enthusiastically before Ayanokouji finished speaking.
This was a chance to be alone with him, she really couldn't miss it.
After the conversation with Otto earlier, she couldn't calm down at all.
But Emilia felt she had shown too much just now, and quickly added, "I also think that I haven't moved much all day, and I'm ready for a walk!"
"Yes." Ayanokouji nodded.
Her response and performance were almost exactly as he had hoped. Otto had indeed completed his task.
"Ayanokouji... Please wait outside for a moment." Emilia bit her lip, then said with a smile.
The scene changed. After a few minutes, Emilia, wearing a new outfit, finally came out of the room.
Currently, Emilia was wearing a short white dress, her slender legs wrapped in clean white knee-high stockings. Her white thighs soared between the stockings and her skirt, and her long, silvery-white hair adorned with hair accessories, giving off a very pure feeling.
And she also emitted a very fresh floral scent. Ayanokouji could sense that Emilia had carefully chosen this fragrance.
"Ayanokouji, may I ask how I look?"
Emilia's face blushed slightly, which was very noticeable against her white skin all over her body.
Her everyday clothes were carefully chosen by Puck, but after Puck left, Emilia could only match her own outfits. She was very worried now, afraid of making Ayanokouji feel that her style was very different.
She didn't want Ayanokouji to wait too long outside, so she finally chose this outfit.
Emilia looked down at her toes in confusion, but she couldn't help but lift her head and gaze at him, with her hands and fingers crossed in front of her.
"Very beautiful." Ayanokouji said.
"Really?"
Emilia's eyes widened and sparkled. Although she tried desperately to control her expression, the corners of her mouth still involuntarily raised to a certain extent.
"That's absolutely true."
Ayanokouji had no expression on his face as he spoke, but in her eyes, it seemed like he was saying these words very seriously.
"In that case, let's go!" Emilia nodded.
The two left the residence, and Ayanokouji took Emilia to the abandoned church where the villagers gathered.
"It's Emilia-sama and Ayanokouji-sama!"
"Thank you very much, Emilia-sama!"
"Long live Emilia-sama!"
As they saw Emilia and Ayanokouji, the villagers immediately gathered around them with enthusiasm.
"Ah..."
Facing the warm greetings from the villagers, Emilia was slightly confused. She still felt guilty about the failed trial yesterday and her laziness today. She didn't expect such enthusiasm towards her.
And she also noticed that the villagers were packing their belongings and seemed to be preparing to leave. Even at the other end of the church, Garfiel was helping the villagers pack their belongings.
"Thank you, Emilia-sama!"
Just as Emilia was a little bewildered, an old woman slowly approached her and said with a smile.
As Emilia was truly confused, while Ayanokouji explained, "They thank you for allowing them to go home."
Several tens of minutes ago, after successfully threatening Garfiel, he forced him to allow the villagers to leave the Sanctuary – as ordinary people, they were not affected by the Sanctuary barrier.
Not only that, he also praised this incident to Emilia, telling the villagers that it was a successful negotiation between Emilia and Garfiel, so the villagers treated Emilia with great gratitude.
For Ayanokouji, doing this could further enhance Emilia's image and status in the eyes of the villagers, and the gratitude and encouragement from the villagers could also reduce Emilia's frustration from the trial failure.
In addition, these villagers had blocked his attack in the Sanctuary, so sending them out was the best choice.
Currently, Emilia was still digesting this information, and the old woman continued, "I must say, Emilia-sama and Ayanokouji-sama are truly a perfect match! You will surely have a better life in the future and will be very loving!"
"Ah?" Emilia's mind started to heat up. She was stunned for a few seconds before she realized what the woman was saying, "Really...?"
She finally realized that the other party had misunderstood her relationship with Ayanokouji, and her face immediately turned red, "No, no, no, granny, y-you misunderstand..."
As if her language function had failed again, Emilia couldn't produce a complete sentence after speaking for a long time.
Seeing her reaction, the old woman's face showed a happy smile, "Haha, is Emilia-samaso shy? In fact, we all know it!"
"You know?" Emilia was now confused, but also very shy, and her heartbeat suddenly accelerated.
'Understand? What do they know? Did Otto tell the villagers everything I said? That's impossible! Does everyone know? That's impossible... Wait... Wait, does Ayanokouji know?'
In a state of confusion, her mind was like porridge.
This was what Ayanokouji asked Otto to spread rumors among the villagers that they were together.
He placed her hand on her chest, wanting to explain, but she didn't know what to explain. When Emilia fully realized, she realized that the old woman had already left.
"All the villagers should be able to evacuate tomorrow morning, and Ram will guide them back to the village at that time." Ayanokouji turned to her and said, "Let's explore the forest around the village."
"Yes!" Emilia nodded enthusiastically.
The two walked slowly, Emilia and Ayanokouji side by side.
The backs of their hands often touched each other, intentionally or unintentionally, and each touch made Emilia's heart beat faster.
To avoid embarrassment, she chatted with him one by one and asked some questions about Ayanokouji's hobbies.
Unconsciously, the two of them had reached a wide open space deep in the forest.
The temperature was not high, and the cool night wind moved swiftly among the trees, carrying a faint scent of leaves and mixed with soil. The sky was filled with stars. This was the only experience Ayanokouji had in the real world that couldn't be seen at all.
And in this wide open space, almost the entire night sky could be seen.
"So beautiful..." Emilia lifted her head and her eyes focused on the sky. It had been a long time since she had looked at the sky so seriously.
"Emilia, have you ever heard of the firefly legend?" Ayanokouji asked.
"The firefly legend?" Emilia was a little confused.
"Perhaps it's a unique legend in my country." Ayanokouji said slowly, "In our country, it is said that there is a possibility to see a large group of fireflies moving like waves at night. It's truly spectacular, and supposedly lovers who witness this scene can stay together forever."
"Is there a romantic legend?" Emilia's eyes widened slightly, with a hint of hope in them.
Of course, this legend was made up by Ayanokouji. His goal was to connect the two concepts of fireflies and love in Emilia's simple personality.
"Well, it's just a legend. I've never seen such a large group of fireflies." Ayanokouji shook his head.
"I haven't seen it either." Emilia pouted slightly.
"By the way, Emilia, what kind of guys do you like?" Ayanokouji's cold words made Emilia somewhat unresponsive.
Emilia inadvertently imagined Ayanokouji's face in her mind, but of course, she couldn't say 'someone like you,' so she could only stutter a bit, "I'm not sure. I don't have much experience..."
Her heart suddenly beat faster, and she felt a little embarrassed.
'Why is Ayanokouji asking such a question? Could it be that after a while he will... No, it's impossible... Does Ayanokouji really like someone like me?'
Emilia lightly bit her lip, unable to stop the random thoughts in her mind. The words Otto had said to her earlier seemed to still echo in her ears.
"That... that..." She clenched her fists tightly, adjusting her expression, and asked, "Then, Ayanokouji, w-what kind of girls do you like?"
Although Emilia tried her best to ensure her speech was smooth, she still uncontrollably stuttered. It seemed like her brain could no longer control the language center as she thought randomly.
She didn't dare to look him in the eye. She was also worried that asking this question might be too 'obvious.' She didn't realize that her cheeks were completely flushed.
"What type of girls do I like?" Ayanokouji repeated the question, turning and focusing on her face.
This behavior would make Emilia feel that his answer was very serious.
Emilia seemed to sense that gaze, and her gaze uncontrollably focused on his face. She stared at him carefully and reluctantly responded to Ayanokouji's expectations.
"I like someone like you, Emilia." Ayanokouji said in a very calm tone.
The Half-Elf girl standing in front of him, less than half a meter away, froze in place after hearing his answer.
'Wait a minute? What did Ayanokouji just say? Does he like a girl like me? What does this mean? Does he really like me?'
Emilia tried to hide her inner joy, but it was in vain.
And at that moment, a dim light illuminated the open space from the other side of the forest.
It was fireflies.
Initially, there were only one or two, but then their numbers increased like the Milky Way.
The sky was adorned with stars like gems, but in the misty open space at night, the countless fireflies flew in groups, like a string of colorful lights, woven into countless intersecting lines of stars, a long row of lights, and the fireflies fluttering around them shone with a silver light, like silver threads studded on cloth.
The fireflies didn't leave immediately, but surrounded the two of them like a whirlpool.
"Wow..." Emilia was amazed by the beautiful sight in front of her, but she couldn't help but think of the firefly legend that Ayanokouji had mentioned to her earlier.
Ayanokouji watched all of this with a flat expression.
The fireflies didn't have such habits at all. All of this was a carefully orchestrated performance by him.