Julius’s mouth, which had been ready to lecture further, opened slightly, but no sound came out. He was completely taken aback.
He looked at the girl who was looking up at him.
Sunlight spilled across her face, making her pale purple eyes sparkle. There was no trace of gloom or fear in them, only a steadfast trust.
That trust was heavy—heavier than his Holy Sword—yet warmer than the winter sun.
Julius felt as if something soft had gently struck his heart. That tingling sensation spread through his limbs, causing all the grand principles he had prepared to vanish in an instant.
In the end, the young Chosen One could only let out a helpless sigh. He reached out and gently rubbed the girl’s head, his tone tinged with compromise as he said:
“You can’t rely on me for everything, can you?”
“You… I’m here, sure, but what if one day I’m not by your side? Or if I have to leave again like before?”
“There is no ‘what if.'”
Helos was not buying it. She grinned, reached out, and grabbed Julius’s large hand that was still on her head, responding like a sly little fox:
“This is your destiny, Julius. Since you came back this time, you have to see it through. Trying to shake me off and sneak away again? No way! Not through the door! Not through the window! I’ll even block the chimney!”
After making that bold declaration, the girl seemed to feel the atmosphere was getting a little too intimate—or perhaps her stomach was protesting again. She let go of his hand and instead pushed at Julius’s broad back, urging:
“Alright, alright, don’t stand here contemplating life. We’ve been out long enough; it’s time to go back.”
“If we don’t go back, my sister and Gavi will worry. Especially my sister—if she finds out we actually went to fight a monster, she’ll lecture me for hours.”
Julius looked at her eagerness to slip away, and the smile on his lips deepened.
He turned with her push, took her hand again, and led her out of the dark alley, merging back into the bustling streets of the Imperial Capital.
Though they had just gone through a thrilling battle and dealt with a terrifying chaos monster, their mood on the way home was surprisingly calm and relaxed.
The setting sun stretched their shadows long, intertwining them.
When they returned to the Rose Pavilion bathed in the evening glow, what awaited them was not the anticipated hot tea and greetings but a premeditated “ambush.”
“You’re back?!”
As soon as the door opened, Eleanor and Gavi, who had been waiting anxiously by the door, rushed over like leopards spotting prey.
Before Julius could figure out what was happening, he felt two powerful forces push him aside.
“Huh? Miss Eleanor? Gavi?”
Julius looked bewildered at the two women, who were usually elegant and composed but now seemed so impatient.
“Mr. Julius, your escort duty has been successfully completed. The next hours are for the girls’ secret talk. Please do not disturb.”
Gavi said in her usual flat voice, while nimbly “escorting” Julius to the sofa area in the hall.
“There’s hot water in the kitchen. You can have some tea and rest.”
She didn’t give him any chance to interject.
Then, Eleanor took Helos’s hand, who still didn’t understand what was happening, with a mysterious and excited smile, and pulled her upstairs without explanation:
“Come on, come on, Sisi! Hurry to your room! I have so much to ask you!”
“Huh? Wait! Sister! I… I haven’t changed my shoes yet! And Gavi, stop pushing me!”
Helos, completely confused, was dragged and pulled by the two up to her bedroom on the second floor.
Bam! The door was firmly shut, even locked twice, as if what was about to happen was not a sisterly chat but a top-secret national meeting.
Inside the room, the warm fireplace dispelled the winter chill.
Because of Helos’s indiscriminate “Curse of Silence” field, Eleanor deliberately moved a chair and sat a bit away from the bed.
But her blue eyes were fixed on Helos, blazing with the fire of gossip.
Gavi had no such concern; she sat directly next to Helos. Her gray eyes were also sparkling, and she had somehow produced a small notebook and a pen, looking ready to take detailed notes.
Helos felt a bit creeped out by the way they were looking at her.
“Um…”
She instinctively hugged the pillow in her arms and asked weakly:
“What are you two doing? A triple interrogation? I didn’t cause any trouble today!”
“Who’s asking about trouble?!”
Eleanor waved her hand impatiently, leaned forward, and asked eagerly:
“Spill it! Where did you two go this afternoon? Just the two of you! A man and a woman alone! Did anything… special happen?”
As she spoke, she tapped her index fingers together, showing an embarrassed smile.
“Special? What special?”
Helos was completely baffled.
She looked at her sister’s expectant expression, then at Gavi, who was poised with pen in hand, and finally understood what they were thinking.
“Ah! You’re asking about today’s itinerary!”
Helos suddenly realized, and then honestly confessed:
“We actually didn’t go anywhere fun. After leaving the Academy, we took secluded paths to avoid the crowds. Then we ran into a squad of patrolling soldiers. Julius said he smelled the stench of Chaos Believers, so we followed them.”
“…Followed them?”
The smile on Eleanor’s face froze a little, a sense of foreboding creeping in.
“Yeah!”
Helos perked up at this. She crossed her legs and gestured animatedly:
“You wouldn’t believe it! That Chaos Believer was hiding deep! In a broken market in the Old City!”
“That guy was pretending to be a normal person, then suddenly mutated! Turned into a huge red monster with muscles everywhere! It spat slime! It beat the soldiers to a pulp!”
“And then?”
Gavi’s pen stopped midair, a hint of regret in her tone.
“Then Julius was about to rush in to help, but I struck first!”
Helos pointed proudly at her head.
“I used a little unique technique! That big guy was stunned by me in an instant, kneeling and unable to move.”
“Then the soldiers swarmed in and hacked it to death with their blades. After that, Julius was afraid I’d be exposed, so he pulled me and we ran back.”
“Other than being a bit tired, everything went smoothly.”
Helos finished in one breath and looked expectantly at the two, waiting for their praise.
After all, she had actually taken down a Chaos Believer today—even if it was as an assist, it was still a great achievement.
However, the room fell into a dead silence.
Eleanor and Gavi exchanged glances, seeing deep speechlessness and disappointment in each other’s eyes.
When they heard that Helos and Julius had followed the imperial soldiers to find a Chaos Believer and helped kill it, their eyes did flash with concern for Helos’s safety, but that concern was quickly replaced by an even stronger emotion.
Something’s wrong.
This is too wrong!
So, the two of them went out alone, on a sunny rest day.
But the entire day, besides wandering the streets, they spent tracking soldiers, participating in a bloody and violent incident, and finally running all the way back to escape?
What romantic date?
What sweet interaction?
What emotional progress?
None at all!
“So… Julius didn’t take you to a scenic spot? Or buy you some flowers? At the very least… treat you to a nice meal?”
Eleanor held her forehead, feeling her temple throb.
They didn’t even visit a street stall?!
“A scenic spot?”
Helos thought seriously and replied:
“The Old City’s scenery is quite unique—full of life.”
“As for eating, didn’t we just eat before going out? Besides, after watching that monster get killed, who still has an appetite?”
Eleanor was completely despairing.
She collapsed into her chair, staring at her sister, who was appallingly dense in this regard, speechless.
I’m sorry.
I overestimated them.
This is not a budding romance.
This is just—
Ah well, two idiots.
Gavi silently put away her notebook, her gray eyes full of disappointment.
She had hoped to record some useful emotional data, but all she got was a battle report.
“Alright, that’s how it is.”
Before they could ask further or complain, Helos let out a big yawn.
Though she was mentally excited, the [Mental Shockwave] had taken a toll on her.
The burst of energy had drained most of her stamina. Now that she was relaxing, a wave of fatigue washed over her.
Her eyes grew drowsy, and she flopped softly onto the bed.
“I’m so sleepy…”
“Sister, Gavi, I’m going to sleep first… Goodnight…”
With that, she buried her face in the blanket like a little pig, and within seconds, her breathing evened out.
Looking at Helos, who had fallen asleep instantly, Eleanor and Gavi could only sigh helplessly.
Eleanor tiptoed over, tucked the blanket around her sister, then signaled Gavi to leave and not disturb her rest.
They quietly left the room and closed the door.
Standing on the quiet corridor of the second floor, Eleanor did not immediately return to her room.
She leaned over the carved wooden railing, her gaze crossing the open hall to the first floor.
In the hall, the light was soft.
The black-haired youth they had “abandoned” was sitting quietly on the sofa.
He held a cup of steaming red tea, sitting upright as if in some solemn ceremony.
He didn’t seem angry or impatient about being chased downstairs by two women; instead, he was using the light from the Magic Lamp to seriously…daydream.
But perhaps sensing the gaze from above, Julius looked up, his dark eyes locking onto the two figures on the second-floor corridor.
There was clear confusion in his eyes.
“What’s wrong?”
He asked, his voice echoing in the empty hall.
“Is Helos asleep? Is she feeling unwell?”
Seeing that he was still only concerned about Helos’s physical condition, completely unaware of the golden opportunity he had missed today, Eleanor felt a lump in her chest.
She let out a long sigh, rested her hand on the railing, and propped up her delicate cheek.
She looked down at the youth on the sofa, her blue eyes filled with pity, as if looking at some intellectually challenged creature.
The Saintess shook her head, her tone full of helpless frustration.
“Julius, you really are still a child.”
“Huh?”
Julius was stunned.
His hand holding the teacup froze in midair, staring blankly at Eleanor upstairs, completely baffled by her sudden remark.
A child?
Him?
He looked down at his hands that had killed countless magical beasts and cultists, then touched the stubble on his freshly shaved chin.
How was he like a child?