Who Says I’m Not a Legitimate Adventurer?

Lance pulled out a chair and sat down across from her, his gaze gently fixed upon her.

“In my hometown, there’s a very important custom.”

The man’s voice slowly flowed through the quiet room.

“We believe that the day any person is born into this world is something worthy of celebration and gratitude from everyone.”

“We call that day a birthday.”

“Birthday…”

Cecilia softly repeated the word filled with novelty.

“That’s right. The one in front of you is called a birthday cake.”

Lance pointed at the flickering candlelight on the table.

“According to tradition, the person celebrating their birthday has to close their eyes in front of the candle and silently make the wish they most want to come true.”

“As long as they can blow out the candle in a single breath, that wish will become reality someday in the future.”

As she listened to Senior explain this unique custom—

For some reason, Cecilia felt as though her heart had skipped a beat at that moment.

“Be grateful for my birth?”

Because of her half-Elf bloodline—

The words she had heard most often within the family since childhood were trouble and regret.

Even her aunt and father, who loved her dearly, always carried a kind of compensatory guilt in their eyes whenever they looked at her.

After growing up all this time—

Not a single person had ever looked directly into her eyes like this and seriously told her—

That her birth itself was simply something beautiful and worthy of celebration.

An intense sour ache instantly rushed into her nose, and a layer of mist quickly welled up in her eyes.

But Cecilia forcefully sniffed and held the tears back.

She looked at Lance across from her, and a dazzlingly brilliant and moving smile bloomed on her lips.

“Thank you, Senior.”

“Hurry and make your wish. The candle’s about to burn down.”

Lance smiled as he urged her.

Cecilia obediently closed her eyes.

“If birthday wishes can really come true…”

The girl silently prayed within her heart with utmost sincerity.

“I hope… the partner acknowledged by my soul can always keep looking at me the way he does now.”

“And I also hope I can stay by his side forever.”

After making her wish—

She opened her eyes, took a deep breath, puffed out her cheeks, and blew out the candle with a soft “whoosh.”

The entire room instantly fell into complete darkness.

“Happy Birthday, Cecilia.”

Accompanied by Lance’s sincere blessing sounding out in the darkness—

Cecilia suddenly saw a small box open upon the previously pitch-black tabletop.

A bracelet charm radiating faint light appeared before her eyes.

It was a piece of crystal-clear polished resin amber.

Yet at the center of the amber, a fresh stalk of Moonlight Moss had been quietly preserved.

Within the dim environment, that stalk of Moonlight Moss emitted a cool and gentle silver-blue fluorescent glow through the transparent material.

“This is… Moonlight Moss?”

“That’s right.”

Lance’s smiling voice came from the darkness.

“Do you remember the day we went into the forest for missions? That was the first gathering commission we completed together.”

“I kept the most perfectly preserved stalk from back then.”

“Then I found an alchemist in the Craftsman District and used Tree Spirit Gel as the preservation material to make this Moonlight Moss Amber Pendant.”

“It doesn’t require any additional mana input from you. As long as night falls, it’ll automatically emit light.”

“And that alchemist even guaranteed that wearing this on your body can improve your sleep quality.”

As Lance spoke, he fumbled around on the tabletop.

“Come on, stretch out your hand. I’ll help you put it on.”

Under the cover of darkness—

Cecilia seemed able to clearly feel the warmth of Lance’s breathing as he approached.

Toward the direction his voice came from, she obediently extended her slender wrist.

Although she had no idea how Senior could accurately find the position despite his vision being obstructed—

She could genuinely feel Senior’s broad fingers lightly supporting the underside of her wrist.

The finely woven cord circled around her skin before being carefully fastened.

And when Lance’s rough fingertips accidentally brushed against the skin on the inside of her wrist while adjusting it—

Because of the instinctive “Touch Starvation” brought about by her Flowering Period—

Cecilia immediately felt an intense tingling numbness surge straight from her wrist up along her spine.

Her breathing involuntarily became somewhat hurried.

A shimmering watery glow appeared within those red eyes.

Inside this cramped and dark room—

The ambiguity in the air at this moment resembled over-fermented honey wine, so rich it almost seemed capable of stretching into threads.

Just as Lance finished fastening the knot and prepared to withdraw his hand—

Cecilia suddenly grabbed back with her hand and tightly held onto his fingertips.

Lowering her head, her gaze rested upon the cool moonlight glowing from her wrist.

Though her voice was soft, it carried an unmistakable stubbornness.

“Senior, do you know?”

“Although Elves have extremely long lifespans, their inner worlds are often very small.”

“To them… once they grasp hold of a beam of light within endless darkness, they absolutely will never let go again.”

At this moment, that amber pendant was radiating faint light.

As though that beam of light was currently being tightly held within Cecilia’s palm.

“Half-Elves… are also Elves.”

The girl raised her head. Although her expression could not clearly be seen in the darkness, her voice distinctly reached Lance’s ears.

“Senior, I think I’ve already found the light that belongs to me.”

That was way too unfair.

Although Lance stood within darkness, relying on the night vision brought by his talent—

He could clearly see the watery glow filling the girl’s eyes at this moment, as well as the utterly unreserved attachment within her gaze.

Even though he had watched countless sugary romance anime back in modern society—

When personally facing such a direct emotional strike, even Lance could not help feeling his heart violently skip a beat.

That direct hit was far too accurate.

Just as Lance’s throat bobbed and he prepared to say something—

He suddenly saw Cecilia release the hand holding him.

Both her little hands tightly gripped the fabric of the dress before her chest, as though she were desperately giving herself one final push of courage.

And then—

Lance heard Cecilia speak in a voice as soft as a feather.

“Senior, can I relight the candle from earlier?”

“No need. I’ll just turn the ceiling light back on.”

Just as Lance was about to stand up, Cecilia immediately reached out and grabbed his sleeve.

“Don’t…”

“Senior, what I want to light… is the candle.”

To Cecilia—

The room’s lighting was simply too bright.

If it were under that kind of bright illumination, then some of the things hidden within her heart would become too embarrassing for her to say aloud.

Lance helplessly smiled, relit a match, and lit the short candle on the table once more.

The faint candlelight illuminated the room again.

Warm yellow light gently fell across Cecilia’s exquisitely delicate face.

Her gaze was somewhat hazy as it slowly shifted from the flickering candlelight toward Lance’s face.

Finally, her eyes stopped upon Lance’s lips.

“Senior…”

Cecilia’s voice was unbelievably soft and sweet.

Within it carried the innocent uncertainty unique to a young girl, as well as an adorable charm that was impossible to reject.

“Isn’t there another special custom for birthdays…”

She leaned slightly forward, both hands supporting herself atop the table.

“Where you have to press your lips together…”

“So that the feelings of gratitude can be conveyed to the other person in the most complete way possible?”