White jade skins, blonde hairs, white wings attached to their hips. These are the physical traits of the Luxians.
If they are put side by side with a Noxian, they will be the complete opposite of each other.
And well, they reminded me of that certain race in a popular anime about a World where everything is being decided by playing a game. Of course, except for their blonde hairs and their nonexistent Halos.
When the leading Luxian woman reached a certain distance, she stopped and hovered in the air as her white wings folded back in place. She didn't move an inch and waited for the Light Projection of Arland to reach her position.
The other Luxians following behind her, which numbered eight, maintained a certain distance from her and spread out to give the feeling of intimidation.
They're all Rank 5 Mortals and were well above middle stages. However, they're all like Elmer. All past their prime age.
Honestly, their strength could be intimidating if they're not facing Transcendents like us.
The leading Luxian woman is, of course, sporting her golden blonde hair which reached down to her heels. Her sky-blue eyes looked so profound and forlorn as it looked not at us but the distant sky. She's wearing a plain white garb adorned by embroideries which stick closely to her skin.
I don't feel anything about her at this moment and there's seemingly no trace of an Orb on her. This means she's probably neither someone I'm looking for nor someone looking for me.
Well, I'm just using my sense of sight to judge. Is there more to her than what she's showing right now?
"May I know who I am speaking to?"
Arland's Light Projection asked when it reached her position. At times like this, he's always holed up in his Magus Tower. According to him, he's at his strongest whenever he's in there.
"Sofiel. We sent a letter to this city. Where's the Metal Giant owner?"
The way she said it sounded condescending enough that it ticked off not only me but also the always polite Fleur beside me. It's like she's oozing out a thick aura of arrogance or just indifference.
They're the race who secluded themselves without caring about what's happening inland. Now that I appeared, they decided to show themselves. However, with this kind of indifference she was showing, I don't think we can work well with them.
The woman looked around the area. Soon enough, our gazes met each other.
When it did, the woman blinked her eyes for a few times before the condescending aura she was giving off dropped all of a sudden and a captivating smile surfaced on her expressionless face.
Afterwards, she ignored Arland's Light Projection who's currently saying something to her with undisguised annoyance in his voice.
Bypassing Arland's Light Projection, the Luxian woman swiftly flew over to our position.
Upon seeing that, Fleur readied herself in case the woman chose to attack us.
However, she didn't act out our assumption. Instead, she went straight into my arms, embracing me tightly even before I could take a step back.
Because there's no ill intent from her, I didn't move out of the way and ended up being embraced by her. She buried her face in my chest and rubbed her cheeks on it.
"I've waited and waited. You're finally here, darling."
Eh? Darling? What does she mean by that? Do I know her?
I can't recall ever seeing her but something clicked with the way she called me. Darling…
Is that endearment the connection I have to her?
From how she ignored everything and just jumped into my arms, she wasn't putting up an act. That's her genuine feelings. Even the indifference she showed in front of Arland's Light Projection was instantly dropped.
Is she someone from my previous life? Either way, I have to play dumb for now. I'm lacking information.
"I'm sorry, but I think you are mistaking me as someone else."
"I'm not mistaken. You're my darling. No matter what world or era we live in, you'll always be my darling. And this woman doesn't seem to be that clingy woman you always pull along with you."
Sofiel kept on spewing out confusing words, and none of it was an act. She's really someone who clearly knows me. Not someone from the memory which got ripped out, but my previous life.
The way she kept on calling me that way is something that feels right…
If that's the case, is she like Yuko? A reincarnator? But why is she here in a Mortal World? Who's the clingy woman? Now I'm more curious about who I am before all this.
"Uhm. Do you know her, Daisuke? Her words were all spoken in honesty. She clearly knows you."
Fleur commented. Even if she was addressed as 'this woman' by Sofiel, she was unaffected. Instead, she was eyeing the newcomer carefully.
"Of course, why would I lie? As soon as I remembered about myself and darling, I had our race fall under my palm and put ourselves into seclusion to wait for you. See, I preserved the entire race for him. You seem to be a new woman and not someone from back then. Darling didn't change at all, huh? But you're lucky to be under his grace."
Remembered about herself and me... That proves it. She's really someone from my previous life. A reincarnator like Yuko. However, unlike Yuko, her memories weren't sealed and it was unlocked at some point.
Until now, Yuko's memories were still sealed. Even after becoming a Transcendent. The Principal told me that it would be naturally unlocked when she reached the necessary strength.
This means that with this woman, I might be able to know about my previous life. Why am I special for Earth? What's my real purpose? With how much importance the Earth put on me, did I save it at some point in time? Is that why I reincarnated?
Ugh… This just added more questions about myself.
Also, she reincarnated in a Mortal World, why here and not on Earth like us?
Haa. I'm overthinking again… it still hasn't been proven that she's a reincarnator.
"Wait. Please explain, Sofiel."
Before Fleur could reply to her last sentences, I held onto her hand and stepped forward. That one's not important for now. Well, she's not my woman yet and there's a lot of confusing words that she used.
"Come with me then, darling. I will explain everything to you."
With an enthusiastic grin on her face, Sofiel drew near and reached for my hand as if it's something she's waiting for so long.
When our skins touched, I could see how Sofiel trembled in joy. That joyous expression wasn't false at all.
"Can I go with you, Daisuke?"
Seeing that I was getting dragged by Sofiel, Fleur flew over and asked.
"I'm sorry, but Aves is not open to anyone else except darling. You can wait here."
Sofiel instantly turned her down even if the question wasn't directed to her.
Aves is probably the name of the floating city in the distance. From our position, it looked awe-inspiring even if what we could make out of it was just the silhouette of the tall buildings and the various Formations that were being used to maintain it. Now, I'm wondering how much Elemental Energy or Elemental Stones were being used every day just to keep them afloat.
-
Given that she took control of her own race, she could change that, right? This was just her expressing her selfishness to be alone with me.
"Can you at least bend it for me, Sofiel? Fleur isn't just anyone. She's my—"
I stopped my words. I couldn't just claim that she's my Companion when we still hadn't reached that point. In any case, I couldn't just go along with her when I couldn't really recall anything about her.
Upon hearing that, Sofiel turned around, tightened her hold on my hand before closing the distance between us. Her eyes studied my face, scrutinizing every detail on it.
In the end, she took a step back and released a sigh. With a bitter smile on her face, she turned to Fleur.
"… Since it's a request from darling, fine, you can come with us. I envy you. You're really lucky to be favored by him."
"You do not need to envy me. From your words, you've known him way before he appeared here in our world. I think that one is more enviable."
"It is. If only he also remembered me. Anyway, the Noxians and their Dark Lords will be informed of our appearance by now, I have to put the Aves back into concealment once again. Can you tell your colleague to stand down, darling?"
Ah. Surely the Noxians were more than just informed. If a huge floating island suddenly appeared somewhere, anyone would be alerted. After our heist and killing of their elites last night, it would be weird if they didn't send someone to monitor what was happening.
"It's because you ignored him. Sofiel. This is his city. What you did was rude. Even I would be angry if I was in his position."
Because of her actions, Arland has already activated his Magus Tower and was about to fight Sofiel. Even if he heard our conversation, that wouldn't erase the rudeness she showed.
The reason why she secluded their race was for me. I admired that kind of devotion. If that's the case, I don't want her to be on bad terms with Arland or Fleur.
"… It's my fault?"
"It is. Go on, you know how you can resolve it."
Like coaxing an unruly child, I urged her to apologize to Arland. I have to check again if she's really listening to my words.
This 𝓬ontent is taken from fre𝒆webnove(l).𝐜𝐨𝗺