Chapter 131: Reunion with the Naked Old Man and the Young Hero
In the bustling market where crowds came and went, a young girl cloaked in a white robe drew her hood up, concealing a face capable of toppling empires. She walked quietly through the stalls alongside a youth clad in red.
The marketplace here was incredibly lively, packed with throngs of people. Peddlers carried heavy shoulder poles, vendors shouted their wares, and the shops were lined with an endless variety of goods. Shiro glanced left and right, casually picking up a few sticks of candied hawthorns to munch on as she enjoyed her leisurely stroll.
"Darling, I want to try that roasted sweet potato." She pointed enthusiastically at a nearby snack stall.
Shirazawa reached out to wipe a trace of sugar from the corner of her mouth, his eyes full of doting affection. "We'll buy it."
"I want to eat that one too."
"Buy it!"
"And this one."
"Buy it!"
"Then that–"
Shirazawa could only offer a helpless, affectionate smile as he paid for one treat after another, completely indulging her whims until they had purchased hundreds of different local delicacies. What they couldn't finish on the spot was tucked safely away into a private vault inside their dimensional space, saved to be eaten as snacks later.
"I'm so full!" Shiro patted her slightly rounded stomach, letting out a satisfied sigh. "Darling, how come you haven't gained any weight at all?"
Shiro turned her head to stare at Shirazawa's lean waist, her voice thick with a mix of envy and playful jealousy. They had eaten the exact same amount of food, so why was his stomach still so flat?
Shirazawa gently flicked her nose and teased softly, "Is it possible that you're just about to lay a clutch of little spiders?"
Shiro froze, her cheeks instantly flushing a deep crimson as she gave him a sharp, embarrassed punch to the chest. "Shut up!"
"Oh?" Shirazawa caught her fist, a playful smirk tugging at his lips as he leaned down to whisper near her ear. "So... do you like little spiders?"
Blushing furiously, Shiro found herself completely at a loss for words. "Who–who said anything about laying spiders with you! I'm ignoring you."
She tried to huff and look away, but Shirazawa simply pulled her tightly into his arms. Their public display of affection drew frequent, lingering stares from the passing crowd. Feeling a wave of embarrassed irritation, Shiro glared at him and hissed, "Let go of me already!"
"Alright," Shirazawa agreed with a bright smile, though he didn't loosen his grip in the slightest, completely playing the rogue.
"..."
Continuing to spread their shameless romance to the world, the two strolled past the edges of the imperial capital. It wasn't until they reached the completely deserted outskirts of the city that Shirazawa reluctantly released the girl, his pink eyes narrowing as he scanned the surrounding scenery.
"Since you've already followed us all this way, you might as well show yourselves. Aren't you tired of hiding in the shadows?"
In response to Shirazawa's mocking tone, a cold snort echoed from the darkness. Moments later, a heavily armed regiment marched out into the open.
Leading the group was a tall, powerfully built man dressed in luxurious purple robes, a menacing blood-red crest branded onto his forehead. This was Lestor, the Commander of the Analeit Kingdom's Royal Guard.
"Twin Demons, what business do you have here?" Lestor demanded, his voice freezing cold as the surrounding guards drew their weapons and locked their eyes onto the pair.
*Twin Demons?* Who on earth came up with such a lame title? It didn't sound half as cool as the Nightmare of the Labyrinth.
Shirazawa cast a casual glance over the crowd, his tone incredibly light and unbothered. "What, we aren't even allowed to come here for sightseeing?"
"Ha!" Lestor let out a mocking sneer. "Do you honestly expect us to believe that crap?"
The moment the words left his mouth, rustling sounds echoed from the surrounding foliage as more and more squads materialized from the brush. In total, there were easily over three hundred men–an entire ambush he had prepared well in advance!
Looking past the guards, Shirazawa spotted a few highly familiar faces, alongside a group of shady elves wrapped in dark cloaks. *Well, if it isn't the naked old man and the little Hero. What a small world.*
Lestor spared the couple an arrogant glance, his voice overflowing with confidence as he barked, "Since you walked right into our trap, don't expect any mercy. Kill them!"
In his mind, with the presence of both Lord Ronandt and the Hero, the human side's combat strength was already at the absolute peak of the continent. Even if the Demon King herself showed up, he wouldn't feel a single shred of fear. Furthermore, as the strongest warrior in the kingdom, handling two completely nameless demons should be a walk in the park. He had zero intention of negotiating; people like this simply weren't worth wasting his breath on.
Following his command, the three hundred royal guards charged forward in a synchronized swarm.
"Idiots." Shirazawa shook his head at the oncoming tide of soldiers, calmly raising a single leg and stomping down hard onto the earth.
*BOOM!!!*
A violent shockwave erupted like a cannon blast, sending all three hundred soldiers flying backward into the dirt, knocked out cold in an instant.
Lestor's face twisted in pure horror. These men weren't ordinary grunts; they were elite human troops with stats clearing the one thousand mark. The kingdom had invested decades of resources to cultivate an army of this caliber, only for them to be casually wiped out by a single stomp?
"Who exactly are you?" A deep sense of dread began to pool in his chest.
"My name is Shirazawa. Just a passing traveler," he replied casually, lazily pulling his hand back from Shiro's grip.
*Strange... when did Darling's physical body become this ridiculously strong? He felt so exhausted last night...* Shiro stared suspiciously into his calm eyes, sensing that something was slightly off.
"Master, should we step in?" In the distance, the young Hero Julius watched the scene with a heavy, grim expression, turning to look at the old man beside him.
Ronandt didn't answer immediately. Instead, he stared intently at Shirazawa for a long while before muttering under his breath, "That aura... why does it feel so incredibly similar to that esteemed entity?"
After spending over half a year training inside the depths of the labyrinth alongside the Parallel Minds, the naked old man's strength had skyrocketed. However, he had never managed to cross paths with "that master" again, eventually getting thrown out of the labyrinth by the thoroughly annoyed Parallel Minds.
Afterward, he continued to explore the limits of magic using the Shiro-style training method, eventually crossing paths with a deeply traumatized young Hero near the nation of Ohts. Julius had been used as a literal yo-yo by Shiro during their last encounter and had completely lost his drive, only recovering his resolve after meeting Ronandt and receiving his guidance. Out of deep gratitude, the young Hero had officially apprenticed himself to the old man, his strength exploding under the self-destructive, masochistic training methods Ronandt had reverse-engineered. Upon hearing that their homeland was being threatened by a pair of mysterious demons, the master and disciple had rushed back as fast as possible.
"Master, he doesn't really look like a demon to me. Is our intelligence actually accurate?"
"Besides, they haven't actually harmed any humans since arriving. They don't seem like bad people."
Standing on the other side of Ronandt was a young girl wearing glasses, sporting a notably large bust paired with a thoroughly exhausted, listless demeanor. Though she was technically older than Julius, her physical silhouette made her look like a tiny loli–the quintessential legal loli, Aurel.
She harbored zero affection for her eccentric master. Originally, Aurel was just a daughter from a fallen noble family who wanted nothing more than to find a quiet job, make a bit of money, get married, and live out a peaceful, ordinary life. She had started out merely working as a maid under the old man, only for him to suddenly claim she possessed rare magical talent and force her to become his disciple. From there, she was inexplicably pushed into becoming an Imperial Court Mage, setting her down a path she had never wanted.
To her, the old man's training curriculum was pure torture; every single session left her practically paralyzed and in agonizing pain. If she actually possessed the strength to beat him up, she would have flattened the old eccentric a long time ago.
"Junior sister, do not be deceived by outward appearances. The reality of a situation is often vastly different from what you assume. Use your heart to perceive the truth, and never rush to a conclusion before the facts are clear." Julius glanced at her, offering a piece of life philosophy with the textbook gravitas of a proper senior disciple.
Aurel rolled her eyes internally. *This little kid isn't even older than me, so why is he acting like a crusty old adult?* Still, she was far too lazy to start an argument. She was just here to coast through life, and she would thank the heavens if she could just survive to a ripe old age.
"Right, right, I guess I just oversimplified things. Everything you say is absolutely correct, Senior Brother," she slurred out, offering a completely half-hearted response before shifting her focus back to the battlefield.
As her eyes locked onto Shirazawa's breath-taking, dangerously handsome face, Aurel's heart suddenly skipped a beat. Her cheeks flushed a bright crimson as she swallowed hard. *This man... his looks are down-right criminal! Mother... I think I've just fallen in love.*
"Ahem... *cough, cough*!"
Shiro instantly detected a highly suspicious, lingering gaze locking onto her man. A woman's intuition was a force of nature, and she was absolutely certain of it. Her face twitched slightly as she let out a couple of sharp, loud coughs, silently signaling Shirazawa to wrap up these small fry so they could get back to their honeymoon.
"Anyone else?" Shirazawa asked, looking around. "Why don't the rest of you just come at me all at once?"
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