“Greetings, master.” Theia bowed her head at Jiu Shen. She was suddenly taken by surprise when she heard that Jiu Shen had summoned her since she was supposed to protect the store. Although she was also part of the Heavenly Sword Tower, Jiu Shen had specifically told her that she would remain as a waitress in his wine store, so she was a bit surprised when Jiu Shen made him come to the sword tower.
Jiu Shen nodded his head at her. To this beautiful blonde woman, Jiu Shen did not know, but he always has this feeling of familiarity every time he looks at her. ’I don’t recall meeting someone with this appearance during my past life. Perhaps the system gave her a completely different look, just like me…’ He thought to himself.
Theia was slightly confused when she felt Jiu Shen’s lingering gaze, but she did not feel any discomfort when she saw those clear golden pupils free of any emotions.
“Theia, I won’t beat around the bush. I plan to bring you with me to the Divine Beast Continent. We will be there for maybe a long time, so prepare yourself before we depart tomorrow.” Jiu Shen said as he looked at her face.
Hearing this, Theia nodded her head without hesitation. “As you command, master.”
At this moment, she looked like a peerless and valiant warrior in her knight armor. Her golden hair rippled following her movements.
“That is all I have to say. You may leave the room now.” Jiu Shen said in a calm tone.
Theia bowed her head before she excused herself. As she went out, she tried to compare Jiu Shen to the man that she always sees in her dreams. From time to time, she would have these life-like flashbacks. Although it was fragmented, Theia guessed that it might be related to her past life because of how real the scenes looked. However, no matter how Theia did a comparison, there was nothing similar about them aside from their eternally calm gaze.
***
The next day arrived in a flash, but only a few people were aware that Jiu Shen would be leaving today.
Jiu Shen came to visit his wine store together with Theia and the little girl Ice. All the customers immediately greeted them respectfully when they saw their figures.
“Sect Master Jiu Shen, congratulations to the Heavenly Sword Tower for successfully recruiting its first batch of disciples!”
“Congratulations, Sect Master Jiu Shen!”
Hearing the customers’ heartfelt words, Jiu Shen merely nodded at them, his expression remained steady.
Hestia immediately came down from the second to greet Jiu Shen when she heard that he had arrived. She smiled sweetly at the sight of him. “Greetings, master.”
“I only came here to take a quick look at things and we will be leaving in a moment. Hestia, we might be gone for a while, so I will leave the wine store in your care.” Jiu Shen said as he glanced at Hestia.
Hestia was slightly surprised at his words, but she nodded her head firmly as she promised. “Don’t worry master, no one will be able to cause trouble here.”
Jiu Shen nodded his head. He then lightly inhaled the store’s heart-calming air before he turned around and left. Following behind him were Ice and Theia.
Three streaks of lights flew towards the skies under the admiring gazes of the customers.
“Theia, you have readily accepted when I told you to come with me to the Divine Beast Continent. Are you not curious why we are going there?” Jiu Shen suddenly asked.
Theia was silent for a moment, but she soon replied. “Master even if it’s somewhere perilous, I would still come with you.” The moment those words left her mouth, she felt slightly embarrassed inwardly, but it was what her heart desired. The moment she had awoken in this world, she had this weird feeling that Jiu Shen was the only one in this world worthy of her.
“Hmph! I can’t believe that the most feared woman in the Silver Wing Empire could actually utter such words. Meow.” Ice muttered to herself, but Theia was able to hear it because of her keen senses.
“Alright. Don’t be rude to her. I brought Theia with us because she will be responsible for taking care of you and this includes making your favorite milk.” Jiu Shen whispered to Ice.
Hearing this, Ice immediately flashed a flattering smile at Theia as she said. “My beautiful Big Sister Theia, I will be in your care. Hehehe.”
Looking at her adorably cute face and those pair of twinkling eyes, Theia’s gaze softened.
“This journey might not be too boring…” Jiu Shen muttered in his heart.
***
Inside the imperial palace, a banquet was hosted by the fourth prince as he had promised. He also brought the people who had helped his group in fighting the demon soldier in the World of Illusion.
The atmosphere was joyous in this banquet and everyone had smiles on their faces as they talked among themselves.
“Why am I even here?” Sylphie muttered to herself as she looked at the smiling faces of everyone inside this hall. She didn’t know most of these people, and she could only remember a select few who had done remarkable during the three assessments.
“I didn’t think that you are actually in this banquet. It must have meant that you have joined the battle against that demon soldier.” The voice of a teenaged young lady surprised Sylphie. She turned her head and saw a girl her age. She tried to recall where she had seen this girl, but Sylphie could not remember.
“You are?” Sylphie asked in an unfriendly manner.
Looking at that face that was full of distrust and unfriendliness, Sylvia chuckled as she answered. “Sylvia Silveria, the fifth daughter of the current emperor of the Silver Wing Empire. It is a pleasure to meet you.”
Sylphie’s eyes went wide when she heard her introduction and she slightly regretted acting rude in front of her.
“So it is Her Highness the princess. I apologize for my rude behavior. Please excuse me.” Sylphie bowed her head before she swiftly left. It was as if she did not want to interact with the princess of the Silver Wing Empire.
“Interesting…” Sylvia muttered with a smile as she stared at Sylphie’s back.
