Chapter 73: The Price For A Kiss
After breakfast, Ethan decided to go to the Academy's Garden in order to find Ruby.
He made random excuses so that Chloe, and Nicole wouldn't accompany him. The handsome young man did this so that his secret would remain hidden for the time being.
Aside from Luna, there was no one else who knew about his Unique Ability to absorb the magic power from others.
The reason why he was looking for Ruby was actually very simple.
Among all the Fairies in Brynhildr Academy, the playful, and mischievous red-headed Fairy was the one he was most familiar with.
Also, he didn't know how the other Fairies would react to his proposal, so it would be best to start with someone he knew first in order to test the waters.
Ethan noticed that Chloe and Nicole were secretly tailing him, so he decided to take a detour and head to the Magical Trinket Club in order to shake them off.
Fortunately, the two ladies decided to leave him after they realized where he was going.
Once he was sure that the two curious girls were no longer tailing him, Ethan immediately headed to the garden in order to continue his plan.
Luckily, it didn't take long for him to find the Fairy he was looking for. She was currently sleeping in her favorite place in the garden.
"Ruby, please wake up," Ethan said softly to the sleeping Fairy, who lay at the center of a large rose. "I need your help."
"Muh?" Ruby slowly opened her eyes after she sensed that someone, who wasn't a Fairy, was standing right next to her. "Oh, it's you Ethan. Good morning."
Ruby yawned before stretching her arms and legs. After a minute of stretching, she opened her wings and hovered in front of the handsome teenager, who usually gave her candies from time to time.
"Did you come here to give me candy again?" Ruby asked in an excited tone. "I'll go call my friends. Just wait here for a bit."
"Wait, Ruby!" Ethan said. "Don't call your friends for the time being. There is something that I want to talk to you about in private."
"In private?" Ruby tilted her head. "W-Wait! Don't tell me you got me a super delicious candy that I'm not supposed to share with the others? Oh, Ethan, you really are a good person."
The little Fairy circled Ethan as if she was looking for the candy that he was planning to give her.
"So, where is it?" Ruby asked.
"I did bring some candies, but before that, I need to ask you for a favor," Ethan replied. "You see, I'm experimenting with a new kind of magic. In order to make it work I need to…"
Ruby listened to Ethan's explanation without saying a word. When the teenage boy was finished, the little fairy crossed her arms over her chest and eyed the young man in a mischievous manner.
This was the first time that a human had asked her something like this in the academy, and she found it amusing.
"A kiss? I guess you are of that age, Ethan," Ruby said with a smile. "I don't mind giving you a kiss, but it's going to cost you. I want two… no, I want five bags of candies! My kiss is not cheap, you know?"
Ethan didn't know if he should laugh or cry at Ruby's bargaining strategy.
A bag of candies was only 1 Silver Coin, or 10 Copper Coins. So five of them only amounted to 5 Silver Coins, which was only a small price to pay for the experiment he was about to try out.
Although the Fairy said that her kiss wasn't cheap, for Ethan, it was very cheap!
"Very well. I'll give you five bags of candies," Ethan nodded.
"This is what I like about you, Ethan," Ruby said as she patted Ethan's cheeks. "You don't haggle! However, I want to have the candies first before we do the deal. Although I trust you, I don't want to experience a kiss and run. If you do that, I will let everyone in the Academy know that you took advantage of me and destroy your reputation!"
Ethan almost choked on his saliva because his reputation and social life would indeed get destroyed if the red-headed Fairy made her threat a reality.
"Don't worry, Ruby, I will pay you properly," Ethan stated. "However, I want you to promise me one thing. You will not tell any of the students what we are going to do. This is a special experiment, and I don't want others to find out about this."
"Relax, my lips are sealed." Ruby smiled. "Now, where are my candies?"
Ethan took out five bags of candies from his storage ring and placed them on the ground. Ruby's eyes sparkled in delight as she flew towards the bags to check if they were all loaded with candies.
"Good, I have checked and you didn't cheat on me, Ethan," Ruby commented. "Since you did your part of the deal, I will also do mine."
"Okay, but can you kiss me on the lips for three seconds?" Ethan asked.
"Only three seconds?"
"Yes."
Ruby thought for a bit before nodding her head. "Sure, no problem! This will be over before you know it."
Without even waiting for Ethan to make any preparations, the little Fairy flew close to him and kissed his lips.
At that moment, a tingling sensation ran through his spine, making Ethan fall into a daze.
Three seconds later, Ruby backed away and looked at the Human, who had a weird expression on his face.
"Is my kiss so good that you lost your sense of reason?" Ruby asked. "Don't worry, there's more where that came from. Just remember, I don't kiss random people. In fact, you are the first Human I've kissed. You should be honored!"
"T-Thank you, Ruby," Ethan replied after he regained his composure. "I'll go back to the Dud Manor for now."
"Okay." Ruby smiled. "If you need more kisses, just look for me. Just make sure you bring the sweets with you."
Ethan nodded before walking briskly towards the Dud Manor.
His entire body was tingling right now, as Fae Magic flowed through his damaged Magic Circuits.
Although it wasn't as powerful as Luna's Moon Magic, the blue-haired boy could tell that he had once again gained the ability to use magic.
For the time being, his goal was to return to his room as fast as he could, and test the limits of what his newly acquired Fae Magic could do.