Seventh day of the winter journey—
The Heaven Vein Dragon carried Agusheed's family to the airspace above Riegel Canyon.
Having been thoroughly annoyed by the little magic sprout these past few days, it naturally went on strike.
In the castle's study—
Flamme sat quietly in Agusheed's usual seat.
She held tea in one hand while carefully reading through a magic book from the mythical age with the other.
Flamme passed the idle winter time bit by bit ,
Peacefully waiting for her husband to return from handling the conflict between the Heaven Vein Dragon and Frieren.
This process didn't take very long.
Attracted by the sound but not lifting her head,
Flamme feigned composure, her fingertips hovering over the newly opened page of the magic book in her hand.
Flamme's questioning voice was soft, carrying some of winter's characteristic laziness.
She turned another page of the spell book and gently set down her teacup.
"What happened over there? How exactly did Frieren provoke the Heaven Vein Dragon?"
Flamme, who asked this question, still didn't look up—
But with careful observation...
One could notice that the corner of her eye constantly followed the figure that had just appeared at the door.
"Still the feeding problem..."
Agusheed stepped into the study, bringing with him the cold air of Riegel Canyon.
The hem of his black robe still bore snowflakes left by Frieren's recent prank.
As he spoke, Agusheed removed his dragon leather gloves.
"Frieren got a mana orb mixed with fruit stuck between the Heaven Vein Dragon's teeth—"
After using his gloves to brush the snowflakes from his coat's hem, he continued:
"This has left the Heaven Vein Dragon listless, so we'll probably have to rest here for a day."
Flamme nodded without complaint or expression.
But her book-turning movements clearly slowed down.
The parchment pages fell slowly, drawing soft arcs in the warm indoor air.
"What about Frieren... didn't she come back with you?"
Flamme asked her husband softly.
"Frieren was afraid you'd spank her, so she asked me to take her to the town below to lay low."
Agusheed undid his coat and hung it on the brass coat rack.
"Following her request, I've already sent her to the magic shop in the town below—"
"She said by evening you should no longer be angry, so she asked me to pick her up tonight."
The fireplace flames crackled along with Agusheed's voice.
Flamme finally looked up, closing her book with more force than usual.
She shook her head, looking at her husband who was rolling up his shirt sleeves.
"So you've already been down there... how was it? Does this town have any special features?"
Flamme tilted her head, supporting her face with her arm.
Under the fireplace's glow, her dim shadow fell across the leather book cover.
In his quiet response, Agusheed walked to Flamme's side.
Flamme consciously moved aside, leaving space for her husband.
Without hesitation, Agusheed sat close to Flamme.
After taking a sip from Flamme's teacup of black tea, he continued describing what he'd seen below.
"The town below isn't large, and due to the season, very few shops are operating normally."
Flamme took the teacup from Agusheed's hand and took a small sip herself.
Agusheed answered calmly, then naturally asked about his wife's plans.
"Flamme, are you asking because there's something you want to do?"
"Nothing in particular."
Flamme reached out to put the magic book back on the shelf behind her, responding casually:
"I should say, ever since the holiday started and I no longer have teaching troubles, I've been quite idle."
Hearing her husband's low response,
Flamme's fingers brushed across the bookshelf, selecting another magic book to read.
Her slender fingertips paused for half a second on the gold-embossed cover of a particular magic book.
Without much hesitation, she pulled out the book—
This was "Magic That Makes Stone Sculptures Dance Automatically".
It was also Agusheed's birthday gift to her in their third year of marriage.
"What about you? What are you doing today?"
Flamme sat back down beside Agusheed with the magic book, turning her face slightly toward him.
The firelight bathed Agusheed's profile in warm orange.
He was looking down, organizing yesterday's decoded translations, not noticing his wife's slightly pursed lips when she said this.
Agusheed's voice mixed with the rustling sound of paper.
"Nothing more than continuing to decode Sage Ewig's spell book."
He was about to pick up his quill pen when his raised wrist was pressed down by Flamme.
His wife's robe sleeve knocked over the ink bottle, and deep black ink spread across the parchment.
"Didn't you understand what I meant?"
Flamme looked sideways at her romantically clueless husband.
"I just said I was very idle—"
Her tone sounded calm, but it faintly contained helplessness.
"Now tell me again, when I ask you 'what are you doing today,' how should you answer?"
"Hmm... how would you like me to answer?"
Seeing Agusheed who still didn't understand the deeper meaning of her words, Flamme released his hand.
Instead, she grabbed the front of his shirt and gently pulled it toward herself.
Looking into her husband's confused eyes, Flamme said calmly.
As her words fell, the study suddenly became extremely quiet.
Even the fireplace flames stopped crackling.
Agusheed was silent for a long while.
Long enough that Flamme couldn't help but loosen her fingers from his chest.
But just as his wife was pulling back—
Agusheed reached out and grasped the back of her hand.
"That's not a problem..."
"However, although I can stay by your side every moment of the day,"
"Even so, we should at least find something to do."
Quite satisfied with Agusheed's response, Flamme breathed a sigh of relief.
She withdrew her palm and touched her chin.
"Hmm... that's true..."
Flamme's fingertips tapped her chin rhythmically,
Thinking about what she and Agusheed should do together...
Hmm... they couldn't keep kissing all day...
That wouldn't work either; a human mage's fragile body couldn't handle it...
Flamme muttered softly, and after deciding what to do—
With a smile on her lips, she suddenly moved her head toward Agusheed.
"Alright, I've decided—"
She moved upward, her cheek brushing against her husband's skin, her lips almost touching his earlobe.
"Let's go on a date—"
If we can get to rank 80 in powerstones, I'll release 3 extra chapters.
For 20 advance chapters: /michaeltranslates