As soon as Caius stepped into Holan’s laboratory, he immediately spotted Belle’s figure.

  She was still wearing that familiar flax-colored mushroom outfit, almost unchanged from their first meeting.

  When he arrived, Belle was in the middle of carving a Magic Circle onto a Magic Array Plate.

  Even as Caius walked right up beside her, she didn’t react at all, fully absorbed in her intricate work.

  Caius made a silent gesture to Holan and the little cat to keep quiet, then simply stood there behind her, quietly observing.

  Holan and the little cat also seemed to feel an odd sense of anticipation, wondering when Belle would finally notice Caius—and how she would react.

  Belle’s hand was steady, the magical carving knife in her grasp glowing faintly.

  As time passed, the small plate, no larger than a teapot, grew increasingly dense with intricate engravings.

  After completing the final stroke, Belle let out a quiet breath of relief, straightening up and stretching her neck slightly.

  Still, she hadn't noticed Caius’s presence.

  Instead, she picked up a prepared crystal with a pair of tweezers.

  It was a positioning crystal, the same kind used in the teleportation array plate Caius had—the ones representing teleportation points.

  Carefully, she embedded the first crystal into a groove on the plate, then fitted the second one in place.

  Caius could immediately tell: this was a Teleportation Magic Array Plate with two teleportation points.

  This little mushroom had already learned how to craft Teleportation Plates herself!

  And considering the value—even a short-range plate, spanning just a few hundred kilometers, would cost thousands, if not tens of thousands of gold coins!

  Truly impressive.

  After embedding the two crystals, Belle took a small brush and applied a layer of transparent resin to secure them.

  When that was done, she lifted the plate to her lips.

  Lowering the high collar of her sweater that covered half her face, she revealed her small mouth and gently blew on the resin, accelerating the hardening process.

  Finally, the resin solidified.

  Belle seemed a bit nervous, fidgeting with her little hands for a moment as if psyching herself up.

  After a full minute, the slow and careful little "silly mushroom" finally cradled the plate in both hands.

  A faint blue light flickered in her palms—the glow of magic power.

  As magic power flowed into it, the carved lines of the plate quickly filled with energy, and the crystals embedded within began to light up.

  In the next second, a small teleportation circle, over a meter wide, appeared at Belle’s feet.

  Since it hadn’t been bound yet, the teleportation circle lingered for three seconds before slowly dissipating.

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  But that was enough to prove: the Teleportation Magic Array Plate was complete and fully functional.

  Belle looked genuinely delighted.

  Even though her hair and sweater collar still concealed most of her face, Caius could clearly tell—

  She cradled the plate in both hands and gave a tiny, victorious fist pump.

  Just when Caius thought she would turn around and finally notice him, Belle instead picked up her carving knife again.

  Was it not finished yet?

  Apparently not.

  Belle leaned down once more and delicately carved neat, elegant characters above the two crystals:

  Ocean City and Hydis.

  Caius initially thought she was simply labeling the two teleportation points for convenience.

  But then, Belle flipped the plate over to its smooth, unmarked back and began carving once more.

  Caius couldn’t help craning his neck to see what she was doing.

  There, on the flat surface, she etched the face of a little cartoon figure—square features, short, messy hair, and a wide, grinning mouth.

  Caius’s expression instantly became quite... complicated.

  That was unmistakably him.

  After finishing the caricature, Belle lowered her collar again and gently blew away the carving dust.

  Caius noticed a faint curve forming at the corner of her mouth—a shy, almost secretive smile.

  Then she extended a finger and lightly tapped the little cartoon face she had just carved, her smile growing even more vivid.

  In that moment, Caius’s gaze softened considerably.

  At that exact instant, Belle lifted the plate and turned around—

  Only to come face to face with Caius standing right behind her, staring straight at her.

  Belle visibly startled, her shoulders giving a tiny, involuntary twitch.

  Caius, meanwhile, grinned broadly, his bright teeth flashing in a mischievous smile.

  “Surprise~” he said.

  Belle simply stared at him, dumbfounded, not responding.

  Caius put on a fake pout, hands on his hips, leaning closer until their faces were only inches apart, tilting his head playfully.

  “What’s this? You don’t look too happy to see me?”

  Belle shrank her neck back slightly and shook her head.

  Caius raised an eyebrow. “Not happy?”

  Belle immediately shook her head again, her voice coming out in a tiny, almost inaudible whisper.

  “No... not unhappy...”

  “So you are happy, then?” Caius teased, grinning ear to ear.

  Belle gave a soft nasal hum.

  “Mm.”

  Caius pressed, “Don’t just ‘mm’. Say it properly—‘I’m happy.’”

  Belle hesitated, then shyly murmured, “Happy.”

  “Good girl~” Caius chuckled, reaching out to ruffle her mushroom-like hair affectionately.

  Belle shrank her neck again, visibly overwhelmed and at a loss for how to respond.

  "Don't bully her," Holan said, gently brushing Caius’s hand away.

  "How am I bullying her..." Caius muttered under his breath.

  Belle also shook her head and looked at Holan. "He didn’t bully me..."

  Holan: "..."

  So it turns out I was just being overly sensitive?

  Holan looked at Belle a little helplessly, then noticed the Teleportation Magic Array Plate in her hands and smiled. "You can independently inscribe a Level-Two Minor Teleportation Circle? Looks like passing the Level-Two Magitech Researcher exam won't be a problem for you."

  Belle nodded lightly, looking a little pleased. Then, as if remembering something, she turned toward Caius and slowly held out the array plate she was cradling.

  "For me?" Caius asked knowingly.

  "Mm," Belle nodded again.

  In that instant, Caius was overjoyed. He took the array plate and began examining it closely, muttering to himself, "Ohohoh, look at these etched lines, this craftsmanship—truly impressive~"

  Holan: "......"

  When I gave you a Level-Three Thousand-Mile Teleportation Magic Array Plate, you didn’t compliment it like this!

  Holan glanced helplessly at Belle, then said, "I thought you made this for yourself. Turns out you went through all that just to give it to him?"

  Belle: "Mm."

  "Heh, jealous, aren't you?" Caius said smugly, flashing the array plate at Holan.

  Holan rolled his eyes and added, "The materials for that array plate weren’t cheap. Belle used the research funds I allocated to her—three thousand gold, no less. You better not lose it."

  "Three thousand gold?!" Caius raised his eyebrows and looked at Belle. "And you’re just giving it to me like that?"

  Belle nodded once again. "Mm."

  Caius turned his gaze back to Holan, who simply shrugged. "Research funds cover a lot of expenses—materials, wear and tear, living expenses for researchers like food, lodging, daily necessities, and so on."

  "I gave her five thousand gold. She spent three thousand of it on the array plate materials. I thought she was going to practice carving it herself, and once she perfected it, she could take the Level-Two Magitech Researcher exam and even keep the array plate for her own use. Never thought it’d end up benefiting you instead."

  As she spoke, Holan pouted a little.

  If I had known earlier, I would've told Belle that Caius already had an array plate.

  But now, since Belle had already given it away, Holan didn’t say anything more.