Chapter 357: Date
Edward followed directions to the magic shops. He opened the door, and he heard a melodious voice welcome him. However, the voice abruptly stopped, and the owner looked at him with her mouth open.
"You're real?" asked Wiz.
"Why wouldn't I be real?" he asked, perplexed.
"Fleur has been talking about you for so many years, but you never showed. So, I thought you were not real, and they just invented your existence."
"And why would they invent a husband?" Edward asked, intrigued by her thought patterns.
Wiz smiled in embarrassment. "I thought they were part of some cult similar to the Axis Church, and they wanted to trick me into it."
"Fleur did tell me you were distant lately. However, she was too busy with her research to take pay attention. This explains everything," replied Edward. "As you can see, I am real and not the leader of a cult."
"Yes. You're even more handsome than in the pictures I saw."
"Thank you, but I have to say, you're not how I imagined you to be."
"Oh, what did you imagine?"
"A little shyer."
"Haha, these days are past me."
"Of course, maturity comes with age, after all," said Edward.
"That's a great way to explain aging. Come in; I'll serve tea."
Edward nodded before taking a seat. Soon afterward, Wiz served tea, and he observed her. He could tell she now had a magic core and was currently a Tier 6 Undead. He could even see she could not reach Tier 7 because the main ingredient for the Purification Potion was Aqua's Spell. And as an undead, Wiz cannot use it.
"If you don't mind me being direct: Are you still interested in me?"
"And what if I am?"
"Then, I will take you on a date."
"A date, huh? I have not been in one of those since I was a teenager."
Wiz looked Edward directly in the eyes. She was now in her early 30s and had never dated someone since her teenage years. Even though she thought this man was not real, some of her wanted to wait to see him.
Now that she had seen him, she felt many emotions: happiness, indifference, expectation, and anger. Many of them were contradictory, but that was how she felt.
"Very well: I accept your invitation."
"Excellent," said Edward with a smile. "Do you want to know where we are going, or do you want to be surprised?"
"Surprised me."
"Alright, I will come to pick you up tomorrow at noon."
"So, early?"
"We have a lot of places to go."
"Now, you got my expectations up."
"Hopefully, I won't disappoint," Edward replied before drinking his tea and saying goodbye to her. The next day, Edward showed up, dressed casually.
"Yesterday, I forgot to ask what is the dressing code?" said Wiz.
"We are mages; I don't think we need to worry much about the dress code."
"That's true. So, where are we going? I've traveled to every inch of this world. So, it's not easy to surprise me."
Edward waved his hand to open a portal behind him.
"After you." Wiz entered, and he followed. Immediately afterward, she found herself in a strange environment. There were tall buildings made of metal, fulling encased in glass.
There were moving chariots but with no magical animals carrying them, nor did she sense magic behind use. Wiz could see many people walking and traveling; everyone seemed busy while focusing on a strange object in their hands.
"Is this Kazuma's world?"
"Yes. I've heard Fleur said you were sad once Kazuma left and often mentioned you wanted to visit him and his world."
"It's been ten years," Wiz said softly. After Filius led a group of adventures to defeat the Demon King in his castle, Aqua wanted to return to Heaven, while Kazuma wished to return to his life back on Earth.
The Gods granted him his request. Megumin left with him since they had fallen in love, but Darkness remained to take care of her father and inherit the title. As such, the band of misfits disbanded.
"So, what happens to that group?"
"Aqua has been sneaking into the mortal world to see Kazuma and Megumin. She often used her power to allow the four to communicate–despite the laws of Heaven forbidding it."
"Didn't she get in trouble?"
"Not anymore."
His team now secretly controls Heaven and Hell, as such, they can make the rules.
"Let's go. We have many places to visit."
Then, the two visited the city, experiencing a different culture. Edward served as Wiz's guide as they went to different restaurants worldwide, watched a movie, went to park rides, etc.
Edward would jump back in time to make the day longer so they had enough time to experience what they wanted. He did not even care about messing with the fabric of the Space-Time Continuum. And with their godlike stamina, no one was tired.
Finally, at night, the two used magic to change to a fancy dress as they ate at a luxurious restaurant. Edward taught the chefs how to use magical beasts as ingredients to suit Wiz's taste.
"I feel like I know plenty about you. At the same time, I feel like I know nothing," said Wiz.
"What do you want to know? I promise to answer to the best of my ability."
"What made you want to become a wizard? Why the intense desire to pursue knowledge and the truth? Give me a real answer."
Edward took a moment to recollect. "If you want to get to the root of it, you'll have to go back to my childhood."
"Now, I'm intrigued."
"My situation was similar to Kazuma. I was born in a world without magic, but after death, I got a chance to reincarnate in a magical world."
Wiz swirled her wine before taking a sip, paying close attention.
"Even before my reincarnation, I was a curious child. Unlike most kids, I loved reading. I had a library full of books on different subjects. I was the type of kid that could give a presentation on the different types of dinosaurs at a moment's notice.
"However, everything changed after entering high school. I got bullied for being a "nerd" or something."
Wiz understood the anti-intellectualism in many places in Kazuma's world, so she understood why he would be bullied.
"At first, I did not mind since I had great friends, supportive parents, even got a girlfriend," continued Edward. "However, she soon broke up with me. She said she was tired of hearing me talk about astrophysics and other boring subjects. That was the last straw."
"What happened next?"
Edward smiled:
"I changed. I fit society's standard of what was cool. I no longer talked about what I love. Instead, I played sports and became athletic."
"You played football, didn't you?" said Wiz.
"I did."
"Quarterback?"
"No, I was the Running back. I was pretty good too. I became popular, and dated beautiful cheerleaders. You can say my womanizing ways began during that time.
"But as you can expect, I was not happy. I could not remember how many times I've looked at the stars, pondering about the mysteries of the universe, wondering how wonderful it would be if I could be born in the future so I could know the answers to all my questions."
"So, did you finally revert to your old self? Continue pursuing your passion for knowledge?"
"No, that only happened later during university. Although my grades were terrible by the time I graduated, I could still attend a good university with a football scholarship.
"Then, I met her."
"I should have figured it was a woman who changed you back," Wiz said while rolling her eyes.
"I'm ashamed to say, but you're right. Throughout my first year of college, she changed my life. She allowed me to be myself. And when I suddenly went on a tangent about the Influence of 17th Century Gay Occultists on Eastern European Religion, she listened.
"She did not call me names, thought I was boring, or made me feel bad for knowing such a thing. She would ask questions, engage in the conversation, and use the opportunity to learn.
"What's more, she would go out of her way to learn on the subject so we could discuss the topic."
"She sounds like a wonderful person. So, what happened? Did you miss her after you died?"
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