Chapter 29, Chapter 29: Dating Diary, Dating Diary One, Two...
On moonless nights, the mist is like a candy tornado made of granulated sugar, and even the air is filled with an intoxicating sweetness. The grass, which reaches almost to the calves, is emerald green, a bit like gummy candy, but it gently kisses your calves as you walk by, rather than tickling you mischievously.
They seemed to have learned to avoid obstacles as well, some getting close and some separating, at least there was a narrow path on the ground big enough for one person to pass through.
When Enid's fair and soft hand touched Dick, and Dick instinctively grabbed her hand, the grass and trees parted instantly, and the narrow path that was originally only wide enough for one person to pass through became a path that could allow two people to walk side by side.
For some reason, Enid's face suddenly felt hot. Dick's gaze pierced through the thin mist and landed on her emerald eyes. She seemed to feel the gentle gaze of Dick, and quietly stopped, turning her head to meet those eyes as clear as a lake.
"What's wrong? Did I get something on me?"
"No, it just seems like they welcome us a lot?"
She looked down and saw the grass making way for him. Her ears turned red. "Okay, let's go!" Her tone was slightly raised, making it seem like she was glaring at him, but also like she was being coquettish. She was excessively cute.
Okay, she seems a bit annoyed, so Dick immediately decided to stop while he was ahead and stopped teasing her. Instead, he gave her a huge wink to get her attention, and Enid smiled back instinctively when she saw his bright smile. Seeing her smile, Dick shrugged, glanced around, and said softly.
"It seems like nothing has changed since before?"
She also looked around, and at the sleeping moon. Whether intentionally or unintentionally, their hands remained clasped together, neither of them mentioning or moving. Enid blinked slightly and whispered, "Hmm, yes. Because this place has also been properly stored away, nothing has changed."
Is it because this is a place we've been to together before?
Dick didn't ask aloud, but he was certain of the answer—perhaps a tacit understanding. Enid didn't continue the conversation; instead, she pulled him and started running. Dick sensed what Enid was about to do a split second before she moved, reacted immediately, and cooperated with her momentum.
The grass and trees were falling, revealing a gravel path. The two ran side by side towards the path. The wind carried a refreshing scent of mint and milk, and fireflies were silently increasing their brightness, as if preparing to take the place of the moon. The bright path led to increasingly familiar memories.
With Dick deliberately keeping her ahead of him, she always led by half a body length until they were almost at their destination. Enid stopped, turned around, winked at him with a smug look, then quickly turned around, opened her arms, and flashed a bright smile.
"Clang clang clang—" Enid added a sound to her own head, "Guess where we are~!"
"Hmm...it's a bit hard to guess."
Dick cooperated by feigning distress and raising his hands in surrender. "Alright, I give up. Can our great Druid Prince tell me the answer?"
"Hmph, fine, I'll tell you then~"
She smiled freely, then stepped aside, revealing the mint-green lake behind her in its entirety. Under the shimmering fireflies, the lake exuded a sweet fragrance, perfectly matching the scene in her memory, even down to the glow in her eyes.
"It's beautiful."
Are you talking about lakes?
“Of course it’s—people.” Dick deliberately drew out the last syllable before giving his final answer, and when he saw her stiffen slightly, he deliberately made his tone lighter, “And every moment here and now.”
Enid's movements were somewhat stiff. She couldn't deny that she felt overwhelmed and drowned by his overly serious eyes. In the struggle to get up, she almost couldn't get up, and then he pulled her up, along with the breeze that was blowing at that moment.
He didn't intend to listen to Enid's reply and smoothly changed the subject.
“This time I brought a glass,” Dick said, producing a pink crystal glass from who-knows-where—the same one as the previous one. “Want to try some?”
"Pfft." Unable to suppress a laugh, Enid took the crystal glass with a smile, squatted down, and scooped out most of it. The milky green liquid in the carved crystal glass swayed gently. Enid suddenly became anticipating the taste, so she took out two straws and gave one to Dick. "I don't mind, maybe we can try it together. Is it still the same taste as before?"
"Okay," he replied softly.
After taking the straw, Dick supported the bottom of the cup with his other hand and lowered his body as much as possible to make it easier for her.
They placed the straws into the cups at an astonishingly synchronized pace, and the sweet milk tea with its minty aroma filled their mouths—a taste that hadn't faded from their memories. Dick's eyes flickered slightly, as if he were confirming something.
"It still tastes the same."
"Hey, I knew it!"
After receiving Dick's affirmative reply, Enid smiled brightly with great satisfaction. Coinciding with her smile was the gentle sunlight of the next day, the shimmering light that pierced through the clouds and poured onto her skirt, and the same gentle look in Dick's eyes as he handed her the cup the night before.
"Want to try it? I heard it's called mint milk green tea."
Enid nodded vigorously, her face full of anticipation. Today and yesterday, it was the same sweet, milky green color. Although she wasn't in the Holy Forest now, the people around her were the same, and her feelings were the same.
“Okay.” Dick held the straw to her lips, so Enid didn’t have to stand on tiptoe; she could just tilt her head slightly and put the straw in her mouth. After taking a big gulp, her eyes lit up. “It’s so delicious! And it tastes so similar!! So…”
"Yes, actually I've been looking for this place for a while now, and I just happened to see that this store has opened, so I thought I'd bring you here to take a look. Luckily, the lake is still there."
Dick glossed over all the inquiries, simply mentioning the same flavors without mentioning the other plans, but the first stop was a great success, wasn't it? Enid agreed, calling it a super successful first stop.
“I really like it. We can try other flavors. Maybe we can try them again sometime. The lake water has other flavors as well.”
It was as if they had made many promises for the future without even realizing it. Enid hadn't even realized it yet, but Dick wasn't going to remind her. He was happy to fulfill every promise he had made and hadn't made yet, no matter how long it would take. He was looking forward to it.
"Okay, anywhere is fine."
"Hmph, alright, tell me now, where's the next stop?"
"Okay, it's actually a haunted house, but there are other arrangements, if you're not afraid..."
Seeing her overly expectant eyes, Dick decided to tell her about the next steps, mainly to get her opinion, even though he knew she and Bruce had gone to the amusement park yesterday.
"Haunted house? Hmm... Actually, I'm not afraid. There was a haunted house at the amusement park I went to with my father yesterday! What's the difference?"
"Hmm, this haunted house isn't scary at all. Maybe you'll like it?"
Dick thought for a moment, and realized that it might not really be called a haunted house; it was more like a fun role-playing experience. Hearing this, Enid became even more excited and nodded, indicating that she thought it was a good idea. Seeing her agreement, Dick smoothly changed the subject to her amusement park trip with Bruce the previous day. Although he knew some of it, he was eager to hear the whole story from her.
"That's fine then. But, where did you and Bruce go to the amusement park yesterday?"
"So many—!"
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Author's note: I only realized after finishing writing that I forgot to go to the amusement park with my dad, so I'll have to quickly insert this in the next chapter!
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