Volume 3 Chapter 246

Volume 3 + Chapter 246: Reappearance of The Past

Many years ago.

White Swan City.

“Like this… it should be fine, right?”

The Human Sword Saint, Wright Schubert, stopped in front of a glass window and glanced at his reflection in the glass.

At this time, he was no longer wearing armor as he usually did, but instead dressed casually in everyday clothes, looking very much like a delicate young man.

The reason he dressed this way today was mainly because of a task assigned to him by his family.

To deepen his relationship with his fiancee.

Although Wright had already met the Knight Princess, the two had never spent time together privately. Every time they met, both were clad in armor.

In order to promote their bond, both families had come up with this task.

Thus, Wright had taken the rare step of removing his armor and revealing his true face.

Walking down the streets of White Swan City, hardly anyone recognized him.

This was a little different from the Human Sword Saint image usually promoted by humanity. The portraits used in propaganda were beautified—an idol-like handsome man with flawless looks and sharp features.

In reality, Wright had a bit of a baby face. Compared to dazzling handsomeness, he leaned more toward delicateness. Even though he was already an adult, he still looked full of youthful boyishness.

“When Tia sees me like this… she’ll be disappointed, won’t she?” Wright thought to himself.

At the appointed place—the park of White Swan City, by the lakeside—he began waiting for his fiancee’s arrival.

Speaking of which, he actually hadn’t really seen what his fiancee looked like either. Much like himself, she was always clad in armor.

After all, few people even knew the true appearance of the Knight Princess.

Time passed.

The appointed time had already come, but the Knight Princess still hadn’t appeared…

“Handsome young man, waiting for someone?”

Suddenly, a voice asked.

Wright turned his head and saw it was a flower seller.

“Interested in buying a flower for your sweetheart? Just a little surprise can win you a lot of favor!” The flower seller pulled out a flower.

Wright was the epitome of a straight-laced man.

Theoretically speaking, he had no idea how to handle his first time meeting a girl in this kind of situation.

He had hurried back from his task to White Swan City and only just realized he hadn’t even brought a gift.

That really didn’t seem very appropriate.

“How much for this flower?”

“One hundred Ors,” said the flower seller.

Ors were the universal currency of this land.

Although he wasn’t sure whether the price was fair, Wright still pulled out the money.

The flower seller was stunned. “This handsome fellow, you really… want to pay a hundred Ors for a flower?”

From the tone, it seemed to be an inflated price.

But Wright didn’t care. A hundred Ors wasn’t much to him, so he agreed.

“Thank you so much, handsome!”

After handing Wright a wrapped rose, the flower seller left.

Wright stood there with the rose in hand, waiting.

Afterwards, the flower seller went to another spot, where a blonde girl sat, seemingly waiting for someone.

“Beautiful lady, do you want to buy a flower for your sweetheart?”

“…Alright.”

“One hundred Ors… is that okay?”

“Yes.”

“Thank you kindly!”

The flower seller beamed, delighted, pocketing another hundred Ors.

He thought to himself—what kind of luck is this today? First a rich young master, then a little rich miss. A hundred Ors was enough to buy a whole pile of roses!

After paying, the blonde girl took the rose and silently continued waiting.

Some more time passed.

Wright began to mutter in his heart—why hadn’t the Knight Princess arrived yet? Was it something related to work?

Had he been stood up?

At the same time, he noticed a girl.

She had long golden hair, petite and adorable, with a soft and delicate look, like an exquisite doll, drawing affection. She too seemed to be waiting for someone who hadn’t shown up, sitting there for a long while.

That girl lifted her eyes, glancing at Wright.

The two gazed at each other for a few seconds, then both looked away without a word.

Another hour passed.

Wright even felt like yawning.

In White Swan Park, he saw many couples meeting up.

But that blonde girl was just like him—holding a rose, waiting and waiting, yet no one came.

Truly a picture of utter misfortune.

Thinking this, Wright couldn’t help but feel a little amused.

“Young lady, waiting here for so long—did someone stand you up?” Wright teased.

The girl widened her eyes at the voice. “…Wright?”

“Tia?”

Wright froze as well.

What was this situation?

So she was the Knight Princess, his fiancee Tia?!

In an instant, Wright felt immensely awkward.

His social anxiety exploded!

Wright scratched his cheek awkwardly. “So… turns out we both arrived early.”

“Mm… I didn’t expect you to be Wright either. You’re different from what I imagined.”

“First meeting… ah no, not the first. Anyway, here’s a gift for you! I hope today you’ll be in good spirits!” Wright held out the rose.

“Wright, this is a gift for you.”

Tia blinked and also took out her rose.

In a sense, the two were really in sync.

“Looks like we’ll have to exchange gifts then.”

Wright said with emotion.

The two laughed together and exchanged roses.

…

Wright and Tia walked side by side.

Today, Tia wore a white dress, bare-legged in sandals, with long golden hair cascading like a waterfall, looking just like a sweet, well-behaved neighbor girl.

Honestly, Wright never imagined his fiancee would look like this—so different from her usual imposing demeanor.

The contrast was almost too great.

“Wright, you’ve surprised me. You’re not the way I pictured you.” Tia said.

“That was the beautified propaganda image. Did I… disappoint you?”

“No, no, on the contrary—I like you better this way!”

“Really? Thank you. Tia, you’re different from what I imagined too—very cute.”

“…Mm.” Tia lowered her head.

Wright wasn’t sure if it was just his imagination, but she almost seemed to blush.

But speaking of which, though this was a date, Wright had no idea what to actually do.

So far, they were just wandering the streets.

“Tia, what do you usually do for fun in your free time?” Wright asked.

He wanted to know what girls did in their leisure time.

“Me? I usually don’t rest… if I rest, it’s just training or cultivation.” Tia replied.

Wright felt troubled.

Her answer left him at a loss for what to do next.

“That place is…?”

Tia suddenly stopped.

Wright turned his head and saw a snack shop.

“Shall we give it a try?” Wright suggested.

“Alright.” Tia followed after him.

The shop sold crepes.

After Wright paid, the owner handed the hot crepe to Tia.

“What’s this?”

Tia looked at the food in her hand curiously.

“It’s a crepe,” Wright explained. “Lots of young girls love it. Tia, you’ve never tried it before?”

“No, this is my first time even seeing it. I’ll try…”

She took a bite.

“Delicious~!”

A pure smile blossomed across her face.

Seeing his fiancee like this, Wright thought she was really a bit silly—cream smudged at the corner of her mouth without her noticing—like a little foodie.

In just a few bites, she finished it.

Then, noticing Wright staring at her, she grew embarrassed. “You—you must think I’m ridiculous… this is my first time eating these things with someone else.”

“Never before?”

“No.” Tia shook her head.

“Then why don’t we try all the snacks on this street together!” Wright proposed. “It’s a rare chance—I haven’t gone out with anyone in ages either.”

“Really…? Can we?”

Her voice trembled with excitement. Clearly, when it came to food, she was very interested—her eyes even lit up.

“Let’s go, let’s go! We’ll start with this shop!”

Wright led Tia, starting from the crepe stand, sweeping through all the snacks in White Swan City.

From the bustling, popular dessert shops to the quiet, hidden street stalls.

Tia’s stomach seemed like a bottomless pit—she kept devouring everything.

Holding a candied hawthorn in one hand and a fried chicken leg in the other, she was still chewing a Swiss roll.

Wright was truly surprised. He couldn’t understand how such a petite body could hold so much food.

But judging by Tia’s expression, she was enjoying herself immensely.

It seemed this was her first time walking the streets with someone her own age.

“Wright, where shall we eat dinner?” Tia swallowed the Swiss roll.

“Dinner too?”

“Of course. These are just snacks.” Tia replied matter-of-factly.

Wright was taken aback.

His fiancee was remarkable in certain ways indeed.

“Well, let me see where we can…”

“Sword Saint!!”

As he was thinking, someone suddenly called out and rushed over.

“Sword Saint, so you’re here! I’ve been looking everywhere for you!!”

“What’s the matter?” Wright asked.

It was the president of the local Adventurers’ Guild.

He pulled Wright aside and whispered: “Sword Saint, do you remember? Not long ago you helped us in the mountains outside town, subduing a berserk monster.”

“Yes, what about it?”

Wright had rushed through that task to make it back in time to meet his fiancee.

“That berserk monster should have been dead, but when we were transporting the corpse back, it suddenly mutated, killed many people, and escaped again!”

“Such a thing happened? I understand.”

Wright frowned, thought for a moment, then walked back to Tia.

“Sorry, Tia, something’s come up. I need to leave for a bit.”

“Do you need my help?”

“No, I can handle it alone. I’ll be back soon.”

“Alright, Wright. I’ll wait for you.” Tia nodded.

So Wright and the president of the Adventurers’ Guild left together to deal with the mutated monster.

…

“Damn it, that mutated monster kept slipping away like an eel… that’s why it took so long to finish it off.”

By the time Wright returned to White Swan City, it was already late at night.

The streets were nearly empty—everyone was likely asleep.

“How shameful… abandoning Tia halfway through a date. I said I’d be right back, but I took so long. She must be furious… what a failure.” Wright sighed. “She must have already gone home and stopped waiting for me.”

Originally, he planned to return and rest. But remembering Tia’s words before he left, he couldn’t help but care.

“Though unlikely… I should still check, just in case.”

Muttering, Wright went back to White Swan Park.

In the dim park, only a few street lamps still shone.

And there, all alone, the blonde girl sat beneath the swing.

“This…”

Wright was struck with guilt. Why was Tia still waiting for him?

As he approached, Tia heard his footsteps, looked up, and smiled when she saw him.

“Wright, you’re back. I almost fell asleep just now.”

In her clear voice, there wasn’t a trace of reproach or anger.

“Why… are you still waiting for me?” Wright asked in confusion.

“It’s fine, because you said you’d come back.”

Sitting on the swing, Tia swung her legs.

“I’ll wait for you to return, Wright. I’ll always wait for you.”

…

…

…

“Tia…”

Xia Yi’s thoughts returned to the present, and she shrank back into the alley.

She summoned the Rose Staff, and once certain no one was around, began chanting in Dragon tongue.

Dark clouds gradually gathered in the sky, and before long, heavy rain poured down.

“Why’s it suddenly raining?!”

“My clothes are still out to dry at home!”

“Quick, find shelter!”

Raindrops as large as beans pelted down densely from the sky. People scattered, rushing to get out of the rain.

This was high-level magic—Rainstorm Spell.

The Rainstorm Spell altered the weather, consuming vast magic to sustain. But just keeping it for a short while to clear people off the streets was more than enough.

Xia Yi put away the Rose Staff and dashed into the rain, sprinting at top speed through the streets of White Swan City.

Soon, she arrived at the park within White Swan City.

Beneath the swings of her memory sat a blonde girl, clad in a white dress as before, holding a rose in her hand.

Xia Yi froze at the sight.

It was as if the past had reappeared right before her.

Soaked to the bone, she saw Tia—still not seeking shelter from the rain—just like before, noticing the sound of footsteps, raising her head.

When she saw Xia Yi, her weary face lit up with a smile.

“Wright, I knew… you would come to find me.”