"What? Not talking anymore? Don't tell me you're actually scared?"
Seeing Chang Yuan fall silent, Airi immediately teased him.
Chang Yuan merely glanced at her and said nothing more.
He believed he could succeed. Even the hardest iron would melt one day.
"Alright, alright, how boring. Can't you give me even a tiny reaction?"
"What reaction do you want? Fear? Excitement?"
"Um, I can understand being scared, but why would you be excited?"
Airi looked puzzled at his words.
What necessary connection was there between excitement and what she had just said?
What, was not being able to find a girlfriend something worth getting excited about? Wait! Could Chang Yuan possibly like boys?
In an instant, Airi thought of a possibility and narrowed her eyes slightly at Chang Yuan.
"Don't tell me you're excited because you like boys?"
"...?"
"I don't like boys, damn it! Don't go spreading rumors about me!"
Hearing Airi say that, Chang Yuan nearly lost it.
To hell with liking boys. He wasn't some guy from certain provinces—how could he possibly like boys?
"Hehe~, who knows? Maybe you really do like boys? We've traveled together for so many years, but I've never seen your gaze linger on any girl for very long."
With her hands behind her back, Airi spoke as she walked ahead of Chang Yuan.
But she had not noticed that Chang Yuan's gaze had always remained fixed on her.
You said I'd never looked at other girls for too long, but had you ever considered that all my gazes had stayed on you?
"Yeah, I really haven't lingered over other girls. Maybe I just haven't met someone I like yet?"
"Then your standards are really high. After all these years, you still haven't met anyone you like. I was even waiting to call someone sister-in-law~."
"...Heh."
For some reason, Chang Yuan felt a trace of bitterness at that answer.
Still, it was within expectations. If winning the heart of this Herrscher of Humanity were so easy, plenty of people in the original story would have had that kind of patience.
But even so, he had to try. Even if he failed, at least he would have been brave.
One year later...
"It's getting dark, and we still haven't found an inn."
"Can't be helped. This city's security is too good. There aren't any inns where you can stay without registering your identity."
Chang Yuan helplessly shrugged at Airi's words.
But then he noticed a library ahead of them—a self-service library open twenty-four hours a day.
"There. Let's make do at the library for the night. At least it's better than sleeping on the street."
"Looks like that's our only option. Let's go."
Airi found that reasonable and nodded in agreement.
After the two inserted coins, the library doors opened automatically.
Since it was not too late yet, Airi picked out a book to read.
Chang Yuan, meanwhile, took out his phone and connected to the internet. After all, buying a phone did not require an ID card.
Once connected, Chang Yuan searched for nearby hot springs or something similar, so they could at least count it as having a wash.
He really did find one, so he noted down the location, planning to take Airi there for a soak later.
But just then, a man suddenly screamed.
"No, don't come any closer! You're that Pink Demon!"
"Huh? I-I'm not. Did you mistake me for someone else?"
"Impossible! That signature pink hair—you're definitely that Pink Demon! Get away from me! Don't come closer!"
"I really am not. I was just passing by to read."
Hearing Airi's voice and that of some stranger, Chang Yuan's instincts kicked in almost instantly.
Library, man, Pink Demon, mistaking Airi for her.
Wait, didn't that mean they would run into Sakura soon?
"Airi, ignore him. Let's go soak in the hot springs first, then come back to read until we're tired and sleep with our heads on the table."
"Mm, alright. But I really am not some Pink Demon."
Airi had more or less taken issue with that title.
She was obviously so cute—why call her the Pink Demon? Wouldn't Miss Pink Fairy be better? What an adorable title.
Still, Airi did not dwell on it for long.
She slung on her backpack and followed Chang Yuan as he left.
Only after seeing Airi truly leave did the man believe she was not the Pink Demon.
He immediately let out a long breath of relief.
But while he was sighing in relief, he failed to notice a pink figure appearing behind him.
"**, you used information fraud to obtain materials from the Flame-Chasing Moth. My name is Forget-me-not, so please be on your way."
The moment she finished speaking, without giving the man a chance to react, the woman swung her blade. A cold flash gleamed.
In an instant, the man collapsed to the floor, unable to rise. But perhaps to avoid frightening anyone, the pink-haired woman looked around.
After confirming there was no one nearby, she did some simple cleanup—at the very least, wiping away the blood on the ground—then found something to tie his neck back together before leaving him lying there.
Someone would definitely find him the next day, but she still dragged him into a relatively secluded corner, so he would not frighten the person who had just been mistaken for her.
After finishing everything, the pink figure left behind a flower called a forget-me-not. She left one such flower each time she killed someone, declaring that the person had been killed by her.
Elsewhere, Chang Yuan soaked in a private hot spring, feeling thoroughly displeased.
Damn this hot spring. Why didn't it have mixed bathing? Damn it all!
But when he thought of Airi soaking in the hot spring next door, Chang Yuan calmed down.
In a sense, this still counted as soaking in a hot spring together.
Just then, the door to his hot spring was opened, and the hot spring owner slowly walked in wearing a yukata.
"Sir, would you like any special services?"
"..."
What an utter humiliation. An absolutely colossal humiliation—too big to grasp with one hand.
At that moment, Chang Yuan's brain short-circuited.
No, so this was the Far East! There was actually a hot spring interlude too!
And as a normal man, Chang Yuan had to admit that he got hard.
But he then resolutely turned his head away. Not for any other reason—Airi was right next door, and he was a champion of pure love. He would not mess around with this stuff.
"Tsk, does this handsome young man really not need it? I guarantee the service will leave you longing for more. Or are you afraid of that little girlfriend of yours?"
As she spoke, the owner moved closer to Chang Yuan.
Before you continue