"The demon city is a lot more normal than I thought." nor and I walked around the town which, aside from the permanently red, cloudy sky, everything else was rather normal. People lived their lives like normal, regardless of their pointy horns.


    "Yeah, it feels like we are just in a demi-human city." Most people had some form of animal features alongside their horns, so we didn''t really feel out of ce.


    "I''ve even seen some elves with horns, which I didn''t think was possible."


    "Well, apparently if you are born here or at least grew up in the demonnds, you get your own set of horns." It had something to do with demonic energy, which made me think how I might have gotten a pair of my own if I hadn''t grown so quickly.


    "I see, that makes sense. I do feel an unusual energy that feels like the opposite of the world tree in Elfheim." I couldn''t feel whatever nor was talking about, but I didn''t really care either.


    "Ooo, what is this ce?" However, nor''s attention would suddenly be dragged away by a jewellery store. She walked up to the window and saw a wide variety of different designs.


    ''Looks like Shino was right about just walking through town.'' Thanks to the help of my intelligence centre colleagues, I had gotten a pretty good idea of the cityyout. And so I nned a little route going past certain ces to see if anything grabbed her attention.


    "It seems like people here also enjoy a bit of luxury." Walking up next to nor, I noticed the jewellery on disy was quite fancy. There were many rare gems adorning the different ornaments, with the price reflecting it.


    ''10,000 gold? Do we even have that much?'' Taking a quick nce at the system inventory, we had well over a million gold, which took me by surprise. I didn''t remember having that much money, but it wasn''t really something I needed to worry about.


    Considering we had gotten so many monster parts, I guess we just umted a lot of gold over time. Not to mention if I remember correctly, Freja gave us a hefty sum to ensure we didn''t need to worry about gold ever again.


    "Everything is so expensive, though, I don''t really have much gold to spare... But that ornament looks so good." nor contemted one item in particr and it was a bright green gem in the shape of a leaf.


    ''50,000???'' However, when looking at the price, I almost choked on my own breath.


    To me, it didn''t really stand out, but I could imagine that for nor, it reminded her of home. It would go perfect with the choker she started wearing ever since she cut her hair really short.


    "Let''s not break the bank, we can farm the dungeon for some gold." Luckily for me, nor didn''t have ess to the same funds, limiting her to only her own gold. This would allow me to buy it for norter as a gift, perhaps as a way to… confess.


    My face turned slightly red at the thought, imagining her happy expression when I presented it to her. Besides, if she likes this trinket so much, what better than to ensure it would always remind her of me.


    "Hmmm, you''re right, I should stop looking before I end up buying something." nor looked back and paused for a moment, noticing my reddened face. She then slightly smirked before turning away and continuing down the street.


    ''Was I just caught red handed?''


    *


    <Couple weekster>


    "Okay, today is the day. I''ve got the present in hand and we are meeting up on the castle wallter." After our date, things had gotten a bit busy for the both of us, but tonight we finally had a chance to meet up.


    I had gotten the ornament with ra''s permission for the withdrawal and now it was just a matter of giving it to nor at the right time. I really didn''t want to mess this up, although ra said there was no way I could fail.


    It still stressed me out, as I wasn''t 100% confident that nor was happy with the idea of being in a rtionship. Sure, she has dropped little nuggets of clues, but what if they mean something else? Once again, ra made it apparent that I was overthinking and being a little too dense.


    ''Just do it instead of worrying like an idiot. My mother somehow got two women, surely I can get 1.'' I wouldn''t really say measuring myself up to Shaman is a goodparison, but I did feel a bit of pressure.


    That being said, it also reminded me of the headache my mother will get once she finds out that I started dating nor.


    ''She will just have to ept it as is.'' There was no hope of me calming her on my own. Maybe ra could help, but that is neither here nor now.


    [5:45PM]


    ncing at my system, I realised it was time to leave. The sun was about to set and I hoped itsst rays of light would really highlight the gem''s beauty.


    ''Let''s go.'' I walked out of my room with confidence, knowing that today was going to be the day I confessed to nor.


    *


    <Near the castle wall>


    After meeting on top of the wall, me and nor decided to change location and hop down to a nearby roof. We sat next to each other, enjoying the view of the setting sun. With the castle out of the way, we got to see the sun reflecting off the vast wastnd of the demonnds, contrasting with the vibrant red sky.


    We also decided not to wear anything fancy as we were not far from our rooms. Plus, it was much morefortable toe in our casual clothes.


    "The sun is always obstructed by clouds during the day, which only makes this view all the more special." nor basked in the sunlight, as technically, sunset was one of the only times it could be seen.


    "Couldn''t agree more." There was a sense of peacefulness for the moment, and I wished it wouldst forever. Once all our problems are solved, I would love to just sit here with nor once more, enjoying the calm wind.


    ''Silver, just do it. This is the perfect time.'' As we stared off towards the distance, I was having an internal battle with myself, trying to master the courage to speak up. Now that I was actually here, suddenly my nerves were at an all time high, making me want to throw myself off this roof.


    ''Come on, she must be waiting... assuming what ra said is true.'' I had been relying on ra''s advice like it was the gospel since she was the only sane frame of reference. Shaman would be too busy freaking out to help and Elysia would just tease me to death before I could even get her advice.


    "H-hey nor." Finally plucking up the courage to get her attention, I waited for her response.


    "Hmm? What''s up, Silver?" nor looked over to me with her one emerald eye that glistened in the sun. Despite cutting her hair, she still had one of her eyes covered, which I found adorable.


    "I''ve been thinking, is it okay if I ask you something?" My face was definitely beat red and there was no point in fighting it.


    "Of course! Please ask me anything." nor''s face lit up like she knew what wasing and stared in anticipation.


    "A-alright… Do you want to be my girlfriend?" Taking out the small box containing the ornament, I revealed it to nor as I spoke.


    "Oh my god, you actually got it for me… Yes! I would love to Silver." nor carefully took the ornament out of the box and examined it in the sunset light.


    "I had to with how intently you were looking at it." With the hard part finally over now that I had her answer, I could finally rx. My body melted with warmth as my feelings were reciprocated, just like ra said they would.


    "Hehe~, thank you so much. Here, why don''t you put it on for me?" Suddenly, nor passed me back the ornament, which caught me a little off guard.


    My hands were shaking like crazy, putting in question whether this was within my ability at the moment, but I had to at least try.


    "It''s okay, take your time." nor ced her hand on my hand, trying to ease my nerves as I reached to clip it onto her choker.


    "There." As soon as it clicked on, nor pounced, hugging me tightly.


    "You know, I''ve been waiting for you to confess for a while now." nor softly spoke in my ear, sending chills down my spine.


    "S-sorry, I just wasn''t sure." Hearing that I could have asked way earlier made me feel bad, as I kept her waiting for so long.


    "Don''t stress, it''s fine to take things slow as long as you get there in the end."


    "I love you, nor." I couldn''t hold it any longer, as nor was just so perfect. She didn''t need to be so considerate yet she let me take my time, patiently waiting.


    "I love you too, Silver."