Memories · Gentleness / Girl · Selfishness

Thinking of Su's current state, Lin's lips twitched, and it wasn't hard to imagine what had happened back then.

Su probably couldn't help but complain.

"Your punishment is to dress like this too?" Eden tried her best to maintain her composure, but her delicate face was clearly twitching; the scene before her was truly... insane.

Lian Hua's heart rate soared to 180. This scene, which could only be described as terrifying, was right in front of them.

"No, wearing this outfit is just the first step in the punishment." Kevin snorted coolly, his two strong, well-developed muscular thighs standing out sharply beneath his miniskirt billowing in the hot wind. "By the way, those aren't safety shorts."

I don't want to know.

"I don't want to talk about it either."

"..."

So, this is part of the punishment...?

"My punishment needs to be witnessed." Kevin took out a diamond ring, and everyone's expression froze. Then he walked straight to... Sue in the center of the lake.

"Can I not watch what's going to happen next?" Lin asked, raising his hand expressionlessly.

Kevin skirt fluttering, looked serious. "No, there must be at least three witnesses present at the same time."

In this world where light has taken shape and the lake water is crystal clear, almost transparent, a handsome man kneels on one knee by the lake, holding a magnificent diamond ring in his hands, and presents it to the shy fairy in the center of the lake.

It was such a beautiful and touching scene that even Eden couldn't help but have tears welling up in his eyes as he watched this extraordinary moment.

"Su, from the first time we met, I knew you were the only one in my life. No one can replace you. I will cherish you and love you for all eternity. When we are old and frail, I will still hold you tightly in my arms and say to you, I love you. Please give me the chance to take care of you for the rest of my life. Will you marry me?"

"I... I do. So, before I formally agree, may I ask you whether you prefer the golden King's Sword of kings or the silver King's Sword of kings?"

It's likely that no one else wants to see the so-called beautiful love story of a knight and a fairy anymore. After all, a story like a saleswoman fairy accepting a cross-dressing cool guy's marriage proposal in order to sell the King's Sword would only give children nightmares or... awaken a terrifying hobby if drawn in a children's picture book.

Chapter Nine: Memories of Tenderness

"Huff... huff... huff..."

Mei knelt on the ground, covered in wounds. After a terrifying battle, she was weak and exhausted. She had already seen the abilities of the Key of Blankness in Lin's memories, and fighting it herself was like dancing on the edge of life and death.

Fortunately, this wasn't the real Lin, nor the real Key of Blankness, otherwise it wouldn't have been as simple as just being injured.

"Wow? They won?"

The girl popped out at just the right moment after the battle ended. She looked at Mei, who was staring at her with eyes that looked at her warily as if she were some kind of monster, with a grin, and hopped over with her hands behind her back.

"It seems that what Lin said is true. He is an old man of the old era, and what he needs to do next is to hand everything over to the new era."

"Don't worry, I won't do anything to you. Just like you thought before, I still need you to achieve my goal~" The girl bent down and reached out her hand to Mei, her smile as adorable as Elysia's Mei found Mei somewhat shameless, so she didn't use her hand to get up. Instead, she stood up on her own and sheathed her sword.

"Girls with strong self-esteem... hehe, I like them too~"

"Stop with your act." It's a miracle if half of what this person says is true. Mei adjusted her breathing; under the influence of the Herrscher Core, her wounds were healing relatively quickly. "What's going on with these 'forests'?"

"Didn't I say? It's a test. Only by defeating him can one be qualified to continue delving into the truth."

The girl smiled knowingly, but Mei didn't see it as she covered her mouth with her hand as she smiled.

"Lin thought his life was nothing special, at most a dull tragedy, so his first battle was easy. But the next battles involved more core matters, so it's normal for the difficulty of the battles to increase."

"Of course, this is not the last hurdle. There are some deeper 'things' waiting for you to discover."

After listening to the girl's description, Mei looked in the direction where "Lin" had disappeared with a complicated expression, but after hearing about something "deeper," her gloom vanished, and her eyes became resolute and cold.

What comes next?

"I don't know~" The girl shook her head like a rattle-drum. "Don't look at me like that~ I really don't know. If I knew everything, why would I need to find Mei? So let's enjoy watching Lin's life after he loses his memory~"

Even though Mei's face was not happy, there was nothing she could do about the girl. She could use force, but her intuition told her that the girl was definitely not afraid of her taking action. On the contrary, she might be expecting the girl to take action.

With no other option, Mei walked toward the portal that appeared before the two of them, pushed it open, and stepped inside.

But what happened next was something even the girl couldn't have predicted.

Mei's pupils contracted as she stared at the "memories" and "truth" before her, murmuring in disbelief, "This... this is..."

"... It really was an unexpected ending."

After the initial shock, a wicked smile naturally appeared on the girl's lips.

"Su, are you alright?"

Hua and Su had a good relationship, perhaps because they were from the same hometown. So after the so-called Thirteen Heroes were formed, the two got along fairly well.

Su sat pale-faced under the shade of a tree, her clothes changed back to a combination of beach shorts and a shirt. However, her "charming" demeanor from before was so captivating that even Hua couldn't help but glance at her a few more times.

In contrast, Kevin was much calmer. After changing his clothes, he looked completely indifferent, as if nothing had happened.

"It's alright." Su shivered, as if she had thought of something. "Let me calm down first."

It's getting late, and we should be having dinner by now, but none of us have eaten anything all day.

The Flame-Chaser's physique allows them to go for long periods without eating, but they all maintained their original habits. In addition, Lin needed to replenish his energy, so the group decided to rest on the spot, cook, and continue their journey after eating.

"Su, rest here. Kevin and Eden, go find some vegetables and firewood. Hua and I will go find some meat."

Hua didn't expect Lin to specifically ask her to go with her.

Shouldn't he have gone to Kevin?

None of them objected, and Hua only felt slightly strange before walking with Lin deeper into the jungle.

"Is there anything you'd like to eat?" Lin asked casually as he stepped over a thick, arched tree root.

"I'll do anything, you..."

Hua was about to say something, but suddenly she slipped and her foot caught on a tree root, causing her to lose her balance and fall forward.

Um?

Lin, who was walking in front, suddenly appeared in front of Hua in a flash. His movements were so fast that even in his most serious battles, he rarely did so. He gentlemanly opened his arms to catch the gray-haired girl who was about to fall.

But the gray-haired girl exerted force from her waist, and her strong balance as a martial artist allowed her to turn around instantly, stabilizing her body on one foot. Lin's hand stopped just beside her waist.

"Phew... Let's keep going... What's wrong?"

"No, it's nothing." Lin subtly withdrew his hands, a hint of regret in his eyes, before calmly continuing to walk ahead.

A highly venomous snake, the same color as the grass, flicked its tongue as it fell from a tree, landing right on Hua's head. It opened its venomous mouth, revealing its fangs!

Lin reacted quickly and lunged at Hua, trying to push her away.

The gray-haired, blue-eyed girl raised her hand and unleashed a powerful palm strike, cleaving the snake in two mid-air. She then calmly picked up the two still-writhing snake bodies and asked Lin, who was in a strange posture, with a puzzled expression, "What happened?"

"Nothing."

Lin withdrew his hand again.

"Beware of traps!"

Hua punched the incoming wooden stake into pieces.

"Watch out for beehives!"

Hua casually waved his hand, and the strong wind scattered the bees into pieces.

"Watch out for the bear!"

Hua carried the entire grizzly bear, its heart pierced by a finger.

Even if Hua was slow to notice, she could already sense that Lin was acting strangely. They had encountered far too many "crises" along the way, and Lin's way of handling them was... unusual.

He was always worried about her getting hurt, and would rush to her side at the first sign of danger. It wasn't that there was anything wrong with that, but Hua felt that he was worrying too much.

There's one more thing.

Lin, aren't you standing too close...?

A faint blush graced the gray-haired girl's face. The black-haired man scooped a cup of clean, fresh water from a leaf and brought it to her lips. During this process, he stared intently at Hua's plump, jelly-like lips, almost pressing them against her face.

"I... I can do it myself." Hua took the cup and drank the water, hiding her expression behind the cup, a little flustered.

Lin is so gentle today... Is it because she has amnesia?

Chapter Ten: The Girl's Selfishness

"Magnificent."

"What's wrong?"

The gray-haired girl, who was processing animal entrails and fur with Lin by the water, turned her head away, her clear blue eyes looking at the black-haired man.

"I'd like to talk about you, is that alright?" Lin plucked the fur from the bear's paw. His tone was so gentle that Hua was unaccustomed to it. Had Lin ever been so refined and courteous before?

... Thinking about it carefully, all I could think of were the dull "Go," "Okay," "Um," and "Get ready" sounds coming from under the helmet, which was harder than stone.

There's always this feeling that adults are impatient with children, thinking, "As long as the child listens, that's fine."

Hua thought Lin wanted to talk about his past to understand who she was before she lost her memory. However, when Lin asked the first question, it was like being hit by a truck driven by Mobius.

"Do you have a boyfriend?"

"..."

"..."

...ah?

Hua went through Lin's words one by one in her mind. She was confident that her attention was good and that even if she was dealing with animal fur, it was unlikely that she would misunderstand a sentence.

What kind of person is Hua?

Some people described her as naive and confused, while others commented that she was far more stubborn than others. In any case, no one ever mentioned her "girlish" side, only her unfortunate experiences and her confusion about not being able to find her way.

In fact, she often forgets that she has this identity.

So when Lin asked such a personal, even explicit, question, she... was at a loss.

After Flame-Chaser nearsightedness was resolved and she removed her stiff-looking glasses, her fine gray hair and the ancient beauty of a blue-eyed woman unique to Shenzhou were truly revealed.

At this moment, a condition called "shyness" spread across that beautiful face, and the other party's serious appearance, which did not seem like a joke at all, made her speechless, not knowing what to say.

Fortunately, Lin just silently stared at her until Hua calmed down a bit.

No, no.

Do you have someone you like?

The next bombshell question left Hua dizzy and confused. She stammered, "Why... why are you asking this question?"

Lin rested his chin on his hand, his expression turning slightly gloomy, and then shook his head.

Surprisingly, Lin neither asked further questions nor answered; he continued to process the animal meat with his head down.

"It's nothing, just take it as me asking casually."

"..."

Hua felt much more relaxed, but then a strange, indescribable feeling came over her, making her steal a few glances at Lin's profile.

Lin was deep in thought.

... Let's just forget about it.

Lin had been looking for an opportunity to cause an "accident" along the way, and tried all sorts of methods, but Hua had thwarted them all. So he started thinking of simply attacking Hua from a psychological perspective.

But he gave up after asking Hua two questions.

That won't do.

He simply couldn't bring himself to rack his brains to hurt Hua and other women just for his own sake.

Punish him if you will, it's better to punish him than to let him harm the people around him... He simply couldn't bring himself to do such a thing to these people who were so important to him even after he lost his memory.

At worst, I can wear a little dress and propose to Kevin.

The person who assigned him the task must have thought of this as well, just like Kevin and Sue's tasks and punishments, which were entirely designed to make it impossible for him to complete them.

"Alright, let's go."

Lin got up, hung the prepared small animal meat around his waist, and then he and Hua carried some more as they started walking back.

Along the way, Hua's expression was unpredictable, but this time there were no more "accidents".

"Lin, what are you planning to do next?"

Birdsong filled the air, leaving footprints on the grass. Hua, holding two bear paws, asked the man beside her.