The Elusive Mysterious Hero, Part 33

The work of consolation was finished, and before long another morning had slipped away.

Charles, after all, bore the duties of the captain of the guard, and though he was reluctant, he still took his leave of the young lady and returned to his work.

“Your Highness, will you be attending the banquet three days from now?” he asked before departing.

Nobles loved throwing banquets whenever they pleased. This one, however, had been personally announced by the king himself, held in honor of Princess Jane’s birthday.

As the guest of honor, the young lady would of course have to attend.

Seeing her nod, a faint flush of rare shyness appeared on Charles’s face. “Then, Your Highness, have you chosen your escort?”

A little nervous, and a little hopeful, he looked at her. “If you have no suitable candidate, I hope Your Highness will consider me.”

She glanced at Rui, who had been distracted by a peddler’s peculiar toys nearby, then looked back at Charles, who was trying very hard to remain composed despite being tense beyond measure, and curved her lips. “All right.”

Charles practically floated away when he left. Even as he passed Rui, he gave him a smile.

Rui’s beastlike instincts immediately sounded the alarm. He dropped the toy in his hand at once and appeared in front of her in a flash.

“What is it?” he asked.

By now he had grown much more accustomed to speech than he had at the beginning. Yet longer sentences still came with difficulty; most of the time he would simply push out one word, then two, and he was even less willing to speak at all to others.

Others took him for an aloof, taciturn sort, and as a result, only grew more awed by him.

Only she knew the truth: he was really nothing more than an innocent, inexperienced giant of a creature—an enormous hound of sorts… a dragon.

“It’s nothing. The banquet in three days.” She nodded toward the stall. “Didn’t you like that toy you were looking at just now?”

“I liked it. You.” Rui took her hand and fixed her with a burning gaze.

She could not help but laugh. If he knew what a banquet was, and what she was to do there, he would not be reacting like this now.

“Come on, let’s go back.”

They were still living in the temple. Only, the temple had far fewer people in it than before.

And because of the High Priest’s betrayal, the temple was now under the control of the royal guard.

They had walked all the way out, and after roaming about all morning, her feet were rubbed sore by her shoes. She only frowned slightly and slowed her step, when suddenly two hands caught her around the waist and lifted her up. The next instant, she was seated on Rui’s shoulder.

“……”

She had no doubt that he had originally intended to place her on top of his head. He had probably only remembered that he was not in dragon form, and so settled for his shoulder.

He was always like this.

His favorite thing was to wrap his tail around her, then spread his wings to envelop her.

Rui raised his head and met her eyes, offering her an unadulterated smile. Then, with one hand steadying her to keep her seated securely, he strode forward.

He was very tall, broad-shouldered and strong-armed. Carrying someone was effortless for him, and his pace was steady and swift.

With one hand resting on his head, feeling him from time to time secretly nuzzle her palm, she slowly curved her lips.

Having a large mount was not such a bad feeling, after all.

This man had chased her through three worlds. His identity was unknown, but his intentions were plain enough.

Though it was impossible to tell whether it was because of the world’s restraints, in every world he had no memory of his past life. Yet the urge to pursue her and love her seemed to have become something carved into his soul.

Thinking of how they had met and come to know one another in that first world, of the twists and turns of their inexplicable fate together, and of that final parting, she was not in the least surprised by the near-obsessive persistence he showed toward her.

Seeing the pair in that almost heartwarming scene, the system was only a breath away from shedding tears of maternal relief. It choked out, [Host Father, have you been moved by him already? Are you planning to accept him?]

No emotion could be read from her face: [What do you think?]

[…………]