The next day, Xia De and Hilia said goodbye to the village chief and set off on their return journey early in the morning.
“Is it really okay to leave just like this? Aren't you going to chat with the village chief and the others a bit more? I saw that Lop really admires you now,” Hilia looked over at him and asked.
Xia De gave a firm nod, calmly looking at the road ahead. “Yeah. It was just a quest, after all. There's no need for further contact. If it hadn't been so late yesterday, I would have left then.”
Seeing how calmly he said this, Hilia sighed. “I really don't know whether you're kind or cold. This morning, you saw how run-down Riri Village was and went out of your way to refuse the quest reward, yet now you say so indifferently that there's no need for any further contact.”
Xia De remained noncommittal at Hilia's words.
He was no saint. In his past life, he had only killed so he wouldn't be so lonely when he died, though he had only ever killed bad people.
Now that he had Plutosas's treasure, he no longer had to worry about money. Thus, when it was within his power, he didn't mind doing a good deed.
Besides, he had already taken Starfall, the greatest harvest of all.
His eyes curved slightly as a faint smile appeared on his face. Then, Xia De tossed the question back to Hilia.
“What about you? Are you planning to head back to your previous city first, or go straight to the elven territory?”
Hilia's eyes rolled playfully before she held up her fingers in an “X” gesture in front of her. “Neither, of course!”
But feeling that didn't sound quite right after she said it, she quickly added, “Well, not ‘neither.’ I'm going straight back to the elven territory. But the direction of the elven territory is the same as yours, so we'll be traveling together for a bit longer.”
Hilia's tone was very casual, as if it really were just a matter of going the same way, but a strange determination flickered in her eyes.
Hmph!
Now that I finally have an excuse to travel together, I'm not leaving so easily.
I'll use this time to win him over and raise his affection level!
And once we get back, I can meet your family and make a good impression on your parents to lay the groundwork for the future.
Even though there's a six-year age gap, it doesn't matter. Once an elf reaches twenty, their aging slows down drastically.
For powerful elves, maintaining a teenage appearance even at several hundred years old is no problem at all.
A hundred years from now, a six-year difference won't mean a thing.
Though she looked perfectly calm on the outside, a chibi version of Hilia inside her mind was already smugly drooling.
With a spring in her step, she walked ahead of Xia De. The warm sunlight bathed her figure as she hummed a melodious, upbeat tune through closed lips, her eyes curving into crescent moons.
Watching Hilia like this, Xia De felt a sudden sense of foreboding for some reason. He had a feeling that trouble was going to find him.
He scratched his black hair, then let his hand drop, watching her with a flat expression. Whatever, he thought.
Let her do what she wants. In this world, I only need to look out for myself anyway.
Hilia suddenly snapped out of her daydream. She cast a curious glance at Xia De's back and asked, “Are you going to keep carrying that on your back? That huge black sword.”
In her line of sight, the handsome youth carried a greatsword over two meters long on his back. The black blade possessed no luster whatsoever, radiating only a profound darkness.
From a distance, it looked almost as if he were carrying a coffin.
Seeing such a stark contrast this morning had instantly piqued her curiosity. With Xia De's permission, she had tried to lift Starfall.
Yet, even after unleashing her full strength, she had only managed to slightly budge the black greatsword resting on the ground.
“Yes. It's a necessary part of my training. It helps strengthen my physical body and improve the quality of my magic power,” Xia De replied, the greatsword strapped to his back.
Hearing this, Hilia lowered her eyes thoughtfully and murmured under her breath, “Strengthen the physical body, huh...”
Immediately after, she heard Xia De's voice.
“Hilia, why don't you train with me?”
“Eh?!” She looked at Xia De in surprise, blinking blankly, seemingly unable to comprehend why he was suddenly inviting her to join him.
Xia De then explained, “When I found you, you were lying on the ground bleeding all over. That didn't look like injuries from an enemy; it looked more like your body was collapsing because it couldn't handle the strain. I'm guessing you stacked your speed and used a move that far exceeded your current tier limit, which is why you ended up like that.”
At his words, Hilia's emerald eyes widened in sheer astonishment, her mouth parting slightly.
But on second thought, realizing that someone of Xia De's immense strength could easily see through her moves, she relaxed.
Still, she spoke up with some hesitation. “Is that really okay? After all, I didn't really do much of anything this time.”
Hearing this, Xia De tilted his head, looking at Hilia's beautiful face with confusion, as if he couldn't understand what she was talking about.
“What are you talking about? You were very important. If you hadn't drawn away that enemy and protected the village, I might not have been able to complete the quest. After all, if the clients had all died, I wouldn't have had anywhere to claim my reward even if I defeated the boss. Then I'd have to take on a new quest just to rank up once I got back, which would be such a hassle.”
“And even putting my quest aside, you saved the lives of an entire village. You deserve this reward.”
It felt like a gentle breeze blowing straight into her heart, incredibly tender and comforting.
The words that followed faded into the background. Hilia stared blankly at Xia De, her eyes growing moist as tears began to shimmer in her emerald depths.
A sudden, inexplicable wave of emotion welled up from the depths of her heart.
Only the words “You were very important” echoed repeatedly in her mind.
Neglected since childhood, she had never been validated by anyone. Even in her memories of her parents, there were only cold, distant, polite greetings.
During the two years she had spent adventuring on her own, most people only praised her strength. Aside from the Adventurer's Guild receptionist thanking her for her contributions, no one had ever truly validated her.
But that wasn't what she wanted. She didn't want validation as an adventurer; she wanted to be validated as Hilia.
Ah, have I actually been validated?
Am I really important?
He's exaggerating. In truth, I'm not important at all.
Why? Ah, why? Am I really that important?
Standing frozen in place, a tangled mess of complex thoughts swirled in her head. Tears rolled down from the corners of her eyes, tracing thin, wet paths down her cheeks.
“Why are you crying? If you don't want to train, we don't have to! Just don't cry!”
Looking at Hilia's exquisite face stained with tears, Xia De was instantly lost for words. His hands flailed frantically in the air, his anxiety peaking.
Having never had a girlfriend in either of his two lifetimes, he had absolutely no idea how to deal with a crying girl.
To make matters worse, from his perspective, she had started crying just because he suggested training together. It made him start to doubt himself.
Am I really that hideous in this world? We're just going to train together, nothing else! Why on earth is she crying?!
Xia De couldn't comprehend. Xia De's brain overloaded. Xia De crashed, ultimately turning into a pale gray statue of despair.
Hilia hurriedly wiped away the tears from the corners of her eyes. She placed both hands on the shoulders of the petrified, grayed-out Xia De, staring into his eyes with absolute determination.
“No! I want to train! I want to train together! Please, I'm counting on you!”
Rate on N.U.
