"Truth be told, not many commoners are as righteous as rumors claim that you are and now that you broke through rank two as a warrior and of course as a mage at only thirteen which is only one year younger than I am, your overall potential is staggering compared to even the nobles who are here that were blessed by the heavens with resources since they were born. I may be unable to have anything more than a simple friendship with you given my background, but do know that this was all my idea and I do want to see you succeed in this lifetime."
At first, Timothy was somewhat skeptical of Nora and the way she chose to do what she had just done especially taking a large cut for just having two people meet him for less than an hour. But, everything she had mentioned was correct and even the artifact praised him for his hard work ethic. If it was not for living what could be considered his second life and being given a heaven defying artifact as a personal teacher, there would be no telling what he would be doing right now.
The night went on and both started to become more friendly with one another and open about some personal matters. Nora explained that she did not enjoy being at the center of attention but since her father was so well known, she had no choice but to publicly always go overboard. She also mentioned that her father told her that she did not have to be married out if she did not find someone she truly loved that also surpassed his own expectations for her. This rubbed Timothy the wrong way, but in a way he felt somewhat bad for Nora.
The food was delicious and Timothy even felt the battle qi in his body stirring around slightly showing that the food they were eating was not just delicious, but assisted with training the physical body. This was also considered one of the benefits that wealthy individuals had access to. Normal food even of the highest quality was never guaranteed to help with one's training, but some cooks were able to cook while pouring their actual energy within the dishes they created which would allow those of a lower rank to receive their own little boost of strength once they finished eating said dish.
Though the effects were considered mostly low and it had no real benefit other than boosting one's energy when it came to their foundation, any small advantage a wealthy individual could give to their children was acceptable. Unfortunately, over time if their child who continuously ate these expensive dishes had a very low level of overall potential, it would eventually catch up to them. And so, many wealthy families and forces would only do this for those with high potential once they turned an older age normally around ten or so, or thy would just allow those with nearly no potential to do this in order to make up for it.
Such matters did not affect someone like Timothy who had high potential and access to an endless amount of top tier techniques and abilities once it was time to handle learning more. It could also be said that due to such things existing in the world, one's foundation meant more as they progressed in their training and there would always exist a wide gap between those who used such methods to get ahead faster, and those who spent years bitterly training.
The two after finishing their meal together began to head out and found a private area under a large tree to sit down and watch the stars in the night sky. Timothy had begun to enjoy Nora's company and even thought when she became old enough he would like to be her boyfriend or even potentially her husband and from what the artifact was teasing him with through voice messages, it seemed like she felt the same way but had no idea how to approach the topic.
"You know Tim, there are many female students who are interested in you, have you ever given it a thought to pursue those girls?" Nora after an hour of chatting with Timothy asked in a shy but direct way. "In my opinion, there may be a lot of commoner girls who feel that way, but I think it matters more if you feel the same way towards them compared to pursuing anyone just because of the background they may have. You have enough potential to create your own path and I just think as someone in your position, you have the right to choose like my father had."
"My grandfather was also in the military and was considered a commoner and very poor. If it was not for him being able to kill demonic beasts at the time, enough to build up his own worth in gold by trading demonic beast cores and demonic beasts souls back to the army, there is no telling where our family would be today. Once my father was born, he was seen to have a very special body constitution called the Mountain Lord Physique. With my grandfather's help, my father was able to swiftly grow and work his way up until he was able to enlist himself."
"My mother was actually from a noble background but only from a branch family that served the main family. However, she was allowed to leave the branch family and marry my father who three years later had me. Due to his strength and overall potential while racking up an endless amount of military achievements even before the one that made him almost infamous in our empire, my mother's family decided that they would be unable to give them any trouble."
"One day, I see you being like my father but because you do not have a father that is alive and who built a large sum of wealth beforehand, the road may be even more difficult for you. Just remember that-" before Nora could finish her sentence, Timothy kissed her on her cheek before sitting up straight and on the opposite side of the small bench they were both sitting next to each other on. All Nora could do was smile as she got up and walked away, and with that without either one of them saying anything, they both knew their feelings for each other.
