Rayleigh burned through the Reiatsu inside his body, freezing the moisture in the atmosphere and taking control of the entire sky above the royal capital through Tensō Jūrin.
In just a few short minutes, the temperature within Rakia Kingdom's royal capital had plunged to minus thirty-three degrees.
On top of that, Rayleigh used Tensō Jūrin to create violent winds comparable to a level-seven gale.
Heaven and earth turned into a world of endless white.
The naked eye could no longer see anything more than a meter ahead.
And mixed into the snowstorm was Hyōten Hyakkasō, causing many people to have parts of their bodies frozen by blossoming ice flowers.
"..."
After causing such a massive disturbance, Rayleigh was not exactly in good shape either.
His Reiatsu was nearly exhausted.
Of the cross-shaped ice flowers behind him, only two remained.
His Bankai was about to be forcibly undone.
However, the blizzard he had created through Hyōrinmaru's power would continue for at least another four or five hours.
Using the snowstorm to hide himself, Rayleigh soon reached the location of the secret passage.
The moment Lulune saw him fly down and land, she rushed forward.
"You finally came!"
"What is going on with this weather? Did you do this?"
The beastman girl was completely shaken.
She knew this man was strong.
But this was way too ridiculous!
He had actually changed the weather of an entire kingdom, making snow fall in this season!
And this snow was not normal either.
It was too cold!
Normally, even hail would not make the temperature drop this quickly.
At this very moment, every household in the city had lit their fireplaces to keep warm.
Otherwise, people really would freeze to death.
"Leave while we can."
Rayleigh did not explain much as he immediately spoke.
Lulune did not dare ask more. She led him to meet up with Lady Phobos and Welf Crozzo, who had arrived ahead of them.
At that moment, both of them were wrapped in thick clothing.
Even so, their ears and cheeks had been frozen red.
"Rayleigh-kun, thank you for saving us."
The goddess held Rayleigh's hand, lifting it and covering it between her palms.
Rayleigh noticed that her hands were somewhat cold, so he infused the power of Kaidō into her body.
Feeling something warm enter her, Phobos immediately showed a look of pleasant surprise.
Then Rayleigh reached his hand toward Lulune.
At first, Lulune wanted to dodge.
But after seeing Phobos's reaction, she held herself still.
Rayleigh placed one hand on the beastman girl's head and performed the same action, driving away the cold that had accumulated inside her body and allowing the power of Kaidō to circulate through her, helping her resist the freezing weather.
When it came to Welf, Rayleigh reached out, only for the boy to dodge!
"Hm?"
"Why are you dodging?"
"I-I'm... not a little kid."
Rayleigh froze for a moment, then gave the slightly red-faced, red-haired boy a long, judging look.
If this wasn't a little kid behavious, then what was?
The corner of his mouth lifted slightly. Then he extended his fist toward the boy instead.
When Welf saw that Rayleigh had changed the gesture into a fist bump, he felt as though he had been acknowledged.
He was so happy that both rows of his teeth showed in a wide grin.
'He's so easy to coax.'
Their fists touched.
Rayleigh thought, 'A kid really is still a kid.'
"All right. Let's go."
"Mm. You go first. I'll follow shortly."
As though he had remembered something, Rayleigh said that to the three of them.
Welf asked, "You're not coming with us?"
Seeing the worry on his face, Rayleigh said, "Don't be fooled by how she looks. She's actually a professional. You don't need to worry if you follow her. I'll catch up soon."
When Lulune heard Rayleigh praise her, she was so overwhelmed that she immediately saluted on the spot.
"I'll complete the mission!"
Rayleigh showed her the back of his hand and tapped it.
Lulune immediately understood.
If anything unexpected happened, she was to contact him using that magic.
She nodded heavily, then led Phobos and Welf into the secret passage.
...
After seeing them off, Rayleigh returned to the palace once more.
He arrived at Eleonora's room and found her sitting in front of the fireplace, wrapped in a thick blanket and shivering as she muttered at the flames.
"Honestly, is this the end of the world? A blizzard this huge came out of nowhere. Has this country finally been punished by the gods...? Hahaha, just kidding."
"Uuuuh, it's so cold!"
"If Rakia could just be destroyed like this, that would be nice. Then I wouldn't have to become a breeding machine."
"The snow is... so beautiful."
The girl gazed at the snow outside the window, her thoughts a tangled mess.
"Sigh."
Her life recently had truly been one disaster after another.
First, that curse-like skill had been discovered.
Then Lady Bastet had been punished because of it. After that, she was kidnapped, rescued, and even ended up beating a kingdom knight during the ceremony.
Honestly.
She had thought this might be the beginning of a story.
But now, it seemed her existence was nothing more than a passing character in someone else's chapter.
In the end, she still could not escape her tragic fate.
She wondered how later generations would record her, the mother of heroes.
"What is that guy doing now... Ulquiorra. That was obviously a fake name. That idiot."
"Ahem."
"If you talk badly about someone behind their back, your tongue might rot off."
Thud!
The moment Eleonora heard Rayleigh's voice, she shot up like she had been launched!
But the blanket around her was too long, and she tripped over it, falling straight forward in a full-body tumble.
The sound alone made it clear how much that hurt.
"Y-you...!"
Eleonora stood up while holding her nose, tears in her eyes as she pointed at the boy in front of her.
Rayleigh ignored her reaction and opened his palm toward the fireplace.
By changing the arrangement and density of Reishi, he increased the strength of the flames.
The temperature inside the room immediately rose, becoming much warmer.
After doing that, he spoke to the girl, "Fine. Ulquiorra was indeed a fake name. My real name is Rayleigh."
"Ray....leigh."
The princess repeated the pronunciation softly, then gave a very haughty little huff.
"What a weird name..."
"I get that a lot."
Eleonora turned her face away, but one eye secretly glanced in Rayleigh's direction.
"Did you finish your business?"
"More or less."
"Then why did you come here? Do I still have any use to you?" the girl asked, her voice carrying a faint loneliness.
But the moment the words left her mouth, her tone suddenly changed, becoming somewhat frightened.
"W-wait. Don't tell me you're after my body?"
Rayleigh smiled and shook his head.
Then, narrowing his eyes, he said, "Hm. Now that you mention it, I'm starting to think that does sound somewhat tempting."
"Wait, sorry, I was joking. I'm sorry!"
Eleonora apologized at the speed of light.
She kept her apologetic posture for a while before slowly raising her head.
A moment later, the princess's voice came out low and dejected.
"Then... did you come to say goodbye?"
Rayleigh looked at the girl's trembling body.
The room was already warm now, yet she was still shaking.
It was not because of the cold, but because she was afraid.
"Goodbye?"
Rayleigh raised one finger and wagged it left and right in denial.
"Don't be too surprised when you hear this. This time, I came to kidnap you!"
Eleonora: "..."
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