556 Date [6]

9 P.M. 

As Amanda stared at the familiar building in the distance, her footsteps slowed. Matching her pace, Ren's footsteps also slowed. 

They eventually stopped in front of the building. 

"...We're here." 

Amanda muttered softly as she raised her head up. Her face basking beneath the gentle moonlight. 

In no time at all, it was already nighttime, and Amanda felt the whole day pass by in a blur. 

'It was fun.'

She thought as she turned her head to gaze at Ren's profile.

While he may look different from how he once did, as she gazed in his direction, she could not help but feel her heart racing. 

Amanda had never felt this way before, and it felt refreshing. 

This was especially true after everything that had happened to her. 

'Now that I think about it, all of this happiness is because of him, isn't it?' 

From risking her life to save her mother, to saving her father from the demon world. After meeting him, Amanda's dark world began to lighten to the point that she didn't dread waking up in the morning like in the past. 

She no longer had to wake up in an empty home with no one to greet her in the morning. 

She no longer had to worry about her father's safety every day, and she no longer felt as empty as before. 

'Truly...'

While he may not have done it specifically for her, he had changed her life for the better, and she was grateful for him. 

Before she knew it, her mouth opened on its own. 

"Thank you." 

"...Thank you?" 

Turning to look at her, Ren cocked his head a little. 

"Are you thanking me for today?" 

"No."

Meeting his gaze, Amanda shook her head before interlocking her hands behind her back. 

Slowly, she took a step toward the building. 

"...Thank you for everything." 

For saving her mother. 

For saving her father. 

For brightening up her cold world.

For letting her meet new people who treat her with warmth. 

...and for existing. 

"Thank you."

"...Sure?" 

Clearly confused, Ren tilted his head further. Then, recalling something, he tapped on his bracelet. 

It was at that moment that a large teddy bear appeared in his hands. 

There was an immediate pause in Amanda's steps. 

"Isn't that Nola's bear?" 

"Nope." 

Shaking his head, Ren stepped forward and brought the bear toward her. A small grin spread across his face. 

"You think I wouldn't notice your secret glances at the bear?" 

"Uh..." 

An embarrassed look flashed across Amanda's face as she felt her cheeks warm up a little. 

'...Was I that obvious?' 

"You were." 

Ren's voice echoed out as he seemed to have read her mind. Amanda's cheek became even warmer as a result. She then turned her head to look away from him. 

"Are you going to take it or not?" 

But it was at that moment that she heard Ren's voice. Feeling the bear touch her body, Amanda turned her head slightly and softly bit her lips. 

"My arms are starting to hurt. If you don't take it, I'll give two bears to Nola " 

"I'll take it." 

Unable to contain herself anymore, she snatched the bear from Ren's hands as he hugged it tightly. 

Her simple yet innocent actions were clearly caught by Ren who unknowingly smiled. 

Tapping onto his bracelet once more, he said. 

"I've got something else for you." 

Immediately after he said those words, Amanda suddenly felt a terrifying pressure coming from Ren as she was forced to take a step back. 

"Ukh." 

Her hair fluttered behind her as a strong gust of wind blew on her clothes. 

Suddenly, Amanda caught sight of a small frame in Ren's hand amid a nebula-like black hue. She couldn't quite make out what it was due to the nebula-like hue. However, it wasn't long before the hue receded. 

When she raised her hand to get a better look, her eyes opened wide in surprise.

"Isn't that a bow?" 

"It is." 

Ren replied as a powerful hue sprung out from his body, covering the black Nebula and forcing it to shrink. 

Following his actions, everything around them once again returned to normal as Ren apologetically looked at her.

"Sorry, I didn't expect this to happen. It looks like the high mana density here has somehow excited the bow." 

After testing the bow to ensure that it was not acting up anymore, Ren handed it to her. 

"Here." 

"For me?" 

"Who else but you can use the bow?" 

Upon hearing his confirmation, Amanda lowered her head to gaze at the bow. 

"This bow..." 

She was left astonished and shaken by the tremendous pressure the bow emanated when her eyes locked on it. 

'That's at least <S> ranked.' 

It had to be noted that even <S> ranked artifacts were very rare. Each one of them went for an astronomical amount of money. One such example was Monica's sword which sold for billions of U back at the auction. 

They were so rare that even her guild only had a couple of them. And none of them were bows. 

The value of the bow Ren was giving her was simply tremendous. 

So much so that Amanda was starting to feel conflicted. 

'Ever since I've met him, all he's done ish lep me while I..' 

Gently biting her lips, Amanda secretly clenched her fist. Thinking of her past, she realized that she had never truly helped Ren the way that he helped her. 

She was always on the receiving end. There were times when she had also helped him, but compared to what he did for her, they were negligible. 

...and she hated that. 

'I want to help him.' 

Help him as he had helped her. 

"I'll take it." 

And that was exactly why she firmed her mind and decided to take the bow. 

Amanda had no reason to reject the bow in the first place. If she took the bow, her power and usefulness to Ren would increase dramatically. 

Rejecting her would do nobody any good. 

She wasn't one who didn't see the bigger picture and refusing the bow simply because she felt she owed too much to Ren would come across as though she was insecure on her part. 

If she wanted to be of help in any way shape or form, she had to take the bow, and she understood it. 

'I'll use this bow to help Ren.' 

Extending her hand, she soon came into contact with the bow. 

"Ugh." 

An explosive force erupted from the bow the moment Amanda touched it, forcing her to take a step back. 

Regardless, gritting her teeth, she continue to press her hand against the bow as she firmed her grip on the grip of the bow. 

Even then, the bow proved to be a lot harder to handle than she originally thought as her mana started to quickly deplete. 

"Kh." 

"Let me help a bit." 

In the midst of her struggle, she heard a gentle voice from beside her. A short time after hearing the voice, the pressure on Amanda began to ease and the power erupting from the bow slowly receded. 

After that, the wild aura coming from the bow quickly calmed down, and it wasn't long before Amanda was finally able to fully control the bow as she firmly held it in her hands. 

With heavy breaths, she glanced in Ren's way from the corner of her eyes. 

"T..thank you." 

While she still struggled to properly control the bow as her rank was still not enough to properly wield it, she was now able to somewhat bear the pressure. 

Taking a couple of deep breaths to catch her breath, Amanda suddenly felt Ren's grip loosen from her shoulder. 

"How do you feel?" 

"...Tired." 

Amanda replied with a bitter look on her face. 

She truly did not expect Ren to suddenly pull out such a strong bow, let alone give it to her. 

Regardless, staring at the bow in her hands, Amanda felt a weird sense of closeness. 

Looking at the bow's frame that seemed to blend perfectly with the night sky, she thought. 

'So beautiful.' 

Amanda finally had a chance to take a good look at the bow now that it had calmed down, and she became able to appreciate its true beauty. 

There was a subtle yet majestic glow emanating from out of its beautifully carved frame that seemed to be meticulously carved by hand by a master. 

In addition, its weight also seemed to perfectly balance in Amanda's hand. It felt as though it was handcrafted just for her. 

It was an odd yet satisfying feeling. 

'It's perfect.'

Amanda thought as she raised and lowered her hand.

The bow was without a question even better than her current bow. Nightfall, an <A> ranked bow that she had been wielding for the past couple of years. 

Without a doubt, this bow was far superior to it in any way shape, or form.

"I'll make good use of it." 

Amanda muttered as she firmed her grip on the bow. 

"I'm glad you like it." 

Ren replied with a smile. There were hints of relief as he scratched the back of his head. 

"I didn't know if you would've liked it to be honest. Although it's an <S> ranked artifact it still looks kind of u—" 

"No, it's perfect." 

Cutting Ren off, Amanda raised her head to look at him. Deeply staring into his eyes, she put the bow away. 

"Hey, Ren." 

Amanda called out. 

"Yes?" 

"Leaned forward a bit." 

"Hm?" 

Ren looked at her with a confused look on his face. Nevertheless, he complied. 

"What is i—" 

The events that followed felt like a blur to Amanda. It all happened so fast that it took her a couple of seconds to realize what she had done, and when she realized what she had done, it was already too late, as Ren stared blankly at her. 

To Amanda's surprise though, she neither felt flustered nor shy. 

Staring at Ren, her smile softened and she turned around. Lowering her head she gently bit her lips before she murmured in a low whisper. 

"Thank you." 

Without looking back, she walked back into the building, leaving Ren standing outside with a blank expression. 

*** 

Clank—!

"Welcome back Ren." 

The sound of my mother's voice welcomed me into the apartment. But to be honest, at this very moment, everything just felt weird to me as I just merely greeted her with a nod. 

I couldn't quite process everything around me as a weird feeling surged from within me. A feeling that I couldn't understand. 

In the end, much to the confusion of my mother and Nola, I walked toward my room and shut the door behind me. 

Clank—!

When I reached my bed, I sat down on it and just blankly stared at the ceiling of the room for what felt like a very long time. 

My mind was a bit of a mess at the moment as I struggled to comprehend the events of today. 

It was a fun day.

So much so that it felt as though time was flowing at a different speed than usual. It was a strange yet pleasant feeling. 

Never before have I ever felt as relaxed as I did today. I thought that this feeling would continue till the date ended, but...

Slowly raising my hand to touch my lips, I softly murmured. 

"...Soft."