"Will, where is Thor?" Wendy asked. "I haven't seen him for a few days. Is he alright?"
After classes, Wendy visited William and inquired about Thor's whereabouts. It had been three days since she last saw the puppy and she was feeling anxious.
"He's safe," William replied. "He's just undergoing a growth phase, and now is a crucial time. In order to prevent anyone from disturbing him, I decided to put him in a safe place along with Dia and Ragnar."
"I see…" Wendy was disappointed because she had really gotten close to Thor. The puppy would accompany her everywhere to the point that they even bathed together.
Seeing her disappointment, William couldn't help but smile in his heart. Wendy was a straightforward person and her expression told him just how important Thor was in her life.
"Don't worry, as soon as he finishes his Growth Phase, I will immediately bring him to you."
"Really?"
"Yes." William nodded. "I promise."
"I'll take your word for it." Wendy smiled a bit before sitting down beside William.
They finished their training an hour ago and Wendy visited William after she had taken a bath. The smell of scented soap tickled William's nose as the beautiful girl gave him a hug. The two teenagers' relationship had grown closer and Wendy was not the type of person to hide her feelings when the two of them were in private.
William patted her hair and closed his eyes. It was impossible not to feel anything when someone was openly showing their love to him through their actions.
"If the two of us meet in the Inter-Division Battles, take it easy on me," Wendy said as she rested her head on William's shoulder. "You're not allowed to hurt me."
"Fine," William replied. "I will just push you out of the arena."
"Hmp! Try it if you can. You think that I'm easy to bully?"
"Others can't bully you, but I can."
Wendy pouted and lightly pounded on William's chest with her closed fists.
William chuckled and grabbed her hand. He then placed it over his chest and kissed Wendy's forehead.
"Be good," William ordered. "If you're too naughty, I will have to punish you."
"And how will you punish me?" Wendy looked up on William with upturned eyes. "What kind of punishment will the Great Commander give to this helpless damsel?"
William whispered something in Wendy's ear and the latter immediately blushed after hearing William's words. She pounded his chest again, while William didn't do anything to stop her this time around.
Wendy's pounding lacked strength. Instead of feeling pain, William felt a ticklish sensation instead.
Aside from his Master, Celine, and his Big Sister, Leah, William didn't have any close girl friends. This was why having Wendy around made him feel as if he had returned to Earth. Back to the time when he would look at Belle standing in the distance and bury his blooming love deep inside his heart.
Since William could understand the feeling of loving someone one-sidedly, he didn't reject Wendy's advances and allowed her to do as she pleased. This in turn made William's heart, that had once become cold, start to open up to the idea of having a serious relationship with someone.
A few minutes later, Wendy took a candy pouch out of her storage ring and started to eat.
Her Big Sister, Charlotte, had given her another batch of candies last night, which made her very happy.
William, on the other hand, was currently reading the document that had been given to him in their officer's meeting a few hours ago.
It was the rules for the Inter-Division Battles and William decided to memorize them and see if there were any loopholes that he could abuse. The Martial Division was always at a disadvantage when fighting against the Magic and Spirit Divisions.
Although William was confident that this year would be different, he still read the rules to see if he could add more odds to their chances of winning.
While he was deep in thought, a slender hand pressed something over his lip. William unconsciously took it inside his mouth and immediately tasted something sweet.
'A candy?' William thought. 'Not bad. This tastes good.'
William was about to ask Wendy for another one when a series of notifications appeared on his status screen.
-----
< Ding! >
< A Low Level Suggestion spell is trying to invade the host's Sea of Consciousness! >
< Defensive Actions Initiated! >
< Low Level Suggestion spell has been successfully neutralized! >
-----
William's eyes widened in shock and immediately asked the system to investigate the source of the Low Level Spell that tried to infiltrate his Sea of Consciousness.
------
< Analyzing Spell… >
< Successful! >
< Spell Name: Embrace of the Mind Weaver >
< Embrace of the Mind Weaver >
-- A spell that is used to plant a powerful suggestion inside a person's Sea of Consciousness.
-- This spell is very effective against those who have no resistance against magic.
-- This spell invades and slowly corrupts the Sea of Consciousness from within, which allows the one that cast the spell to give their victim "suggestions". This suggestion will make the victim think that it was their "own idea" and carry it out accordingly.
-- Depending on how strong the victim's willpower is, some suggestions can be resisted.
-- The more this spell invades the person's Sea of Consciousness, the lesser the chance the victim wil resist the caster's orders.
------
William took a deep breath as he tried to hold back the anger that was rising from his chest. He had unconsciously clenched his fists while reading the information about the spell that had tried to invade his Sea of Consciousness.
"Is it good?" Wendy asked. "My Big Sister from the Magic Division gave this to me. Do you want more?"
"Yes, please," William replied as he unclenched his fists. "How about you give me all of the candy in your possession?"
"Eh? But, my Big Sister Charlotte gave these to me." Wendy hid the pouch of candy behind her back. "I was not supposed to share them with anyone, but since you're special to me, I gave you one."
William stood from his seat and walked towards Wendy. The system urged him to get more samples, so that it could analyze how the spell had been enchanted onto a piece of candy.
"Don't worry, I will give you something else in return," William said as he hugged Wendy. This time around, his hug was more firm as if not wanting her to run away from him.
Wendy could feel that something was wrong with William, but she couldn't put her finger on what it was. All she knew was that the current William was looking at her with a worried gaze and the arms holding her made her feel safe.
"I'll give this to you if you give me a kiss, how about it?" Wendy teased as she shook the pouch in front of William. She had teased William many times in the past, but none of them had worked. The blonde beauty thought that the one she liked would back off after she gave her condition.
"Okay," William replied. He then used his left hand to raise Wendy's chin and kissed her lips.
Wendy's eyes widened when William actually agreed to her request. When William's soft lips pressed against her, she felt a surge of electricity pass through her body. Soon, her eyes closed, as she wrapped her arms around William's back.
When their lips separated, Wendy sighed in contentment because this was the first kiss she had ever received on the lips. She had always thought that her first kiss would be very romantic. However, the blonde beauty didn't expect that her first kiss would be taken from her in exchange for a pouch of candies!
"That was my first kiss," Wendy said with a slightly higher voice. Clearly, she still hadn't recovered from the effect of William's kiss.
"It was my sec-, first kiss as well," William stuttered. 'At least, this was my first kiss in this lifetime.'
"One more?" Wendy pleaded.
"Okay." William agreed.
This time, the kiss was not only long, but sweet as well. When it was over, Wendy rested her head on William's chest. Her face was beet red, but there was a sweet smile on her face. On that day, she affirmed that William's kiss was far sweeter than any candy she had tasted in her lifetime.