The moment Sophia saw Xue Ji, she immediately asked for time off on the spot. Fortunately, there weren’t many customers today, and the other two shop employees were so dazzled by the three stunning people before them that they nodded along to whatever Sophia said.
“Mr. Xue Ji, I finally found you, wuu wuu wuu~”
Sophia leaned in, almost unable to resist pulling Xue Ji into her arms.
Luckily, she suddenly came to her senses and quickly let go of Xue Ji.
“I’m sorry, I got too excited.”
As she spoke, Sophia turned her head away, trying to hide her embarrassment, but the blush on her ears gave her away.
“Not at all. I’m truly happy to see you here.” Xue Ji stood on her tiptoes and ruffled the girl’s hair.
Aria, acting as a background prop nearby, was grinding her back teeth in this atmosphere, her fists clenching involuntarily.
“Um, did I do something wrong…?”
“Why do you ask?”
Following Sophia’s gaze, Xue Ji turned around and only saw Aria looking around innocently, hands clasped behind her back.
Although there weren’t many people nearby, the three of them were devastatingly good-looking, each with their own distinct charm, and people’s gazes were gradually being drawn toward them.
“Well, this isn’t the place to talk. Let’s go to the nearby esper forces base.”
“Okay, I’ll follow you.” Sophia’s smile was radiant—it seemed that just being with Xue Ji made her happy.
…
The Magic City branch of the esper forces had become the frontline command post after the coastline crisis broke out.
Defense forces on par with headquarters were deployed here, making it the perfect place for confidential discussions.
Xue Ji told Sophia everything—how she had been cursed by the Demon King into a white-haired little girl, and her experiences as humanity’s guardian on this side.
Sophia was very engaged, reacting to Xue Ji’s storytelling with perfect timing—tense during crises, delighted at victories. Compared to the Sophia Xue Ji remembered, she had become much more expressive of her emotions now.
Like a little sister next door—innocent and cheerful.
Yet Xue Ji’s own demeanor was somewhat awkward, mainly because the next part of her story would involve Ling Xiaoxiao and the others.
“Um, Miss Sophia, what I’m about to say next might make you sad.”
Seeing Xue Ji like this, Aria couldn’t stop the corners of her mouth from curling upward.
“Here it comes, here it comes, the entertainment is here!”
Sophia sat up straight and nodded, signaling Xue Ji to continue.
“I-I already have more than one…”
“I know.” Sophia considerately didn’t let Xue Ji finish, her expression still gentle.
“The blessing I gave you let me see some blurry images. It should be three, right?”
Sophia pondered seriously, seemingly completely unbothered by the matter itself.
“I thought you’d be sad. I guess I was overthinking it.”
“Do you want me to be sad?”
Sophia looked at Xue Ji with curious eyes, her big eyes blinking, making the guilt in Xue Ji’s heart grow even heavier.
What was this feeling of deceiving an innocent young girl?
“I-I don’t want that. Even though saying this is very selfish…”
“I don’t mind at all. I came here just to see you. I didn’t think about it that much~”
She rested her cheek on one hand, squinting and smiling, her gaze fixed on Xue Ji the entire time.
Meanwhile, Aria, who felt like she was glowing in the background, was sitting on pins and needles. She somewhat regretted this—she shouldn’t have stayed here. She had underestimated Xue Ji’s capabilities.
“Wuu wuu wuu, why? I want to fall in love too! I’d be happy with just one! Ahhhhh!”
Aria’s inner turmoil grew so intense that she blurted this out loud.
Noticing the two people’s gazes shifting toward her, Aria’s body jolted.
“Did I just say something?”
“Uh, I heard you say you’d be happy with just one.”
“You said you want to fall in love.”
Sophia pointed it out directly, shattering Aria’s fantasy.
“I didn’t, I wasn’t, I just…”
Under the shame of social death, she used hunger as an excuse and fled the meeting room in a panic.
In her fluster, she even knocked over the receptionist waiting outside the door.
This young officer with glasses had her hair in a low ponytail, and her eyes were a gorgeous wine-red.
Seeing those jewel-like eyes, Aria was stunned for a moment.
“Lady Pope, is something wrong?”
The receptionist was pinned beneath Aria. Even though their current position invited all sorts of imaginations, she still maintained the utmost propriety and respect.
In her daze, Aria’s right hand squeezed, and a familiar softness brought her fully back to her senses.
“Sorry, sorry, I didn’t mean to!” Aria quickly got up and ran off into the distance.
“Where are you going?” Though the earlier accident had left her somewhat flustered, she still didn’t forget her duties.
“I’m hungry, don’t follow me!” With that, Aria dashed off without looking back.
The receptionist’s face flushed slightly, but she couldn’t help calling out: “But that’s… that’s the restroom!”
…
The little incident Aria caused didn’t break the atmosphere on Xue Ji’s side.
Sophia had deliberately pointed it out just now to give the person interrupting them an excuse to leave for a while.
“So, what about your experiences? How long have you been in this world?”
“It’s been several years now. It started when you were fighting against dark magic and triggered the protective effect I left behind.”
“That early? That was before Cain!”
“Coming here, I wasn’t used to it at all. I couldn’t even sense your presence.”
The reason was naturally the difference between spiritual energy and magical power. Without Ling Xiaoxiao’s help, Xue Ji herself would have needed at least a year to fully adapt.
As a priest, Sophia had it even harder—after all, not everyone could manipulate magical power and spiritual energy with the same meticulous precision as Xue Ji.
“So I just went with the flow and settled down in this world.”
“No wonder you almost made me not recognize you. So you’ve already become a resident here.”
“Actually, I quite like life here. It’s interesting. But you, on the other hand, seem to be busy almost all the time.”
Sophia steered the topic back to Xue Ji, who just smiled.
“So how are the others doing?”
“Everyone in the party is doing well. That hero fellow went back to his village to live in seclusion with his childhood sweetheart. Miss Cynthia returned to the elf clan to serve as chief in her sister’s place for a while, then ran off again.”
“She never can stay still. Though it’s a bit of a shame that Brother Del retired just like that.”
Sophia wiggled her finger, building suspense.
“Who knows, they might come to help you when you need them?”
Hearing this, how could Xue Ji not understand her implication?
A warmth flowed through her heart, making her eyes sting.
“You don’t need to feel pressured by my feelings. I’m not the person I was back then. When the time is right, I’ll finish what I didn’t get to say back then.”
With feelings like these, saying thank you again would be superfluous.
Xue Ji stood up and looked directly into her eyes, opening her heart in return: “Meeting you and adventuring together was my greatest fortune.”
“So please, fight alongside me once more, as my companion.”
“Isn’t that a given?”
