Endless Leveling Done Right!

Chapter 619: Two Hearts Beating As One [Part 1]

Right now, Alex still couldn’t tell if he was dreaming or not.

Everything around him felt so real that it didn’t seem like a dream. He could feel the texture of the wooden table in front of him as he slid his hands over it.

The aroma of Noelle’s cooking was also so vivid that it made his mouth water.

The only reason he could stay sane was that Noelle was with him. Her presence, her voice, and the way she looked at him made his heart ache.

He didn’t help her with the cooking because he wasn’t in the mood. Noelle noticed this too and did everything ‌herself. From the start, she had intended to cook something for him as a birthday treat, so this didn’t bother her at all.

Half an hour later, the young lady walked towards the table, carrying a tray of food.

The young man stood up with the intention of helping her, but Noelle simply shook her head, telling him she could handle it on her own.

When she placed the tray on the table, Alex couldn’t help but smile. Noelle hadn’t prepared anything fancy.

Instead, she had cooked Leone’s favorite comfort food, which he hadn’t eaten for a long time.

"I present to you fried rice, spring rolls, and soy fried chicken," Noelle said proudly before playfully lighting the candle she had placed on top of the fried rice dome.

"Of course, I also brought a cake. But that’s for dessert," Noelle added. "Well then, shall we sing you a song?"

"Happy birthday to you~"

"Happy birthday to you~"

"Happy birthday... Happy birthday...."

"Happy birthday to you~"

"Now blow out the candle!" Noelle urged. Alex happily obliged.

He blew out the candle, and the young lady clapped. Back on earth, Noelle had sometimes prepared these dishes when visiting him, which was why they had become Alex’s favorite comfort food.

"Let’s eat while the food is still warm," Noelle said as she sat across Alex, looking at him with a smile. "These dishes are extra special because I prepared them with love and care. I hope that you enjoy them, Alex."

"I’m sure I will," Alex replied before taking a bite of a spring roll.

The spring roll tasted like home, warming his heart and body that had grown cold earlier. It truly tasted delicious, so Alex finished it in a few seconds.

He then ate the fried rice and was surprised. It was tastier than he had imagined. Of course, the soy chicken was just as good, so he focused on eating instead of talking.

Noelle watched him eat with a satisfied smile on her face. All chefs liked to see people enjoying their food.

It was the ultimate reward. Right now, Noelle felt that her effort had been worth it.

After they ate the main course, Noelle finally took out a cake. It was a small chocolate cake that could easily be eaten by two people.

On its surface, "Happy Birthday Alex!" was written in special icing.

Since she had already sung him the birthday song earlier, the two simply cut the cake in half and shared it with each other.

"This cake is better than the ones I buy," Alex commented after taking a bite. "Where did you get this?"

"I didn’t buy it," Noelle replied. "I made it myself."

"Y-You did?"

"Hey! Why are you giving me that look? I like baking, you know? Did you forget all those cookies I brought with me whenever I visited you?"

Alex didn’t know that she had baked those cookies. He thought she had bought them from a bakery because they had tasted really good.

"I’m sorry. I didn’t know you were this good at baking," Alex explained. "Even the cookies you gave me back then were truly good. My eyes have finally opened to the supreme might of my guildmaster."

"Now you know." Noelle nodded with satisfaction.

The young lady continued to eat the cake. She didn’t show it, but she was also surprised by how good it tasted.

When the two were done, Alex helped her wash the dishes. Both of them then relaxed on the couch.

The young man momentarily forgot all ‌his worries as he chatted with Noelle, asking her many things that he hadn’t dared to ask in the past.

He asked her about her favourite foods, places she liked to go, and hobbies she had kept ‌secret.

Noelle was more than happy to share the answers to his questions. But before she told him where she liked to go during her spare time, she looked at Alex tenderly.

"The place I like to visit the most is this place," Noelle replied. "When I’m here, I can forget about my responsibilities in the guild, as well as my duties back home. Here, I can just be myself, showing you what I’m really like.

"I also like it when we go on dates in the city. But knowing you, you might not have thought of them as dates, have you?"

"Um, actually, I secretly thought of them as dates," Alex replied seriously. "I was just afraid you’d get creeped out if I said it out loud."

"R-Really?" Noelle blushed because this meant that she wasn’t the only one who had thought of those meetings as dates.

The feeling was mutual, and it made her feel happiness in her heart.

The two then stared at each other for a while before Alex reached out to pull her closer to him. He hugged her a little tighter, as if afraid that she would suddenly disappear.

"You know, I’ve always wanted to tell you something, Noelle," Alex said calmly. "I was just afraid things would change between us if I let you know what I truly felt about you."

Noelle lay tense in Alex’s arms as her heart beat wildly inside her chest. She also had something she wanted to tell Alex, but she was also afraid of getting rejected.

"Noelle, I love you," Alex said. "Ever since you came to my life, I felt like it has become a better place. Every morning, I looked forward to chatting with you in the game. Every month, I looked forward to our guild meetings in real life because it gives me the excuse to come and see you.

"I loved the way you cared for me and the way you smiled at me. It made every waking day of my life worth treasuring. I believed as long as I was alive, I could be by your side."

The young man then reluctantly pulled back and looked at her tenderly.

He no longer cared if this was a dream or not. He had spent his time in Arcana regretting his cowardice, so now he decided to take the initiative to kiss her lips as gently as he could.

Noelle gripped the young man’s shirt for support and to keep herself grounded. But as Alex continued his kisses, her grip also loosened a bit before she finally let go.

She then wrapped her arms around him and kissed him back. The overflowing feelings they had kept for each other finally broke like a dam, allowing them to feel the happiness that came a little too late in their lives.