In this world, there are always encounters that co unexpectedly, and joys that catch you by surprise.
Even for those like Hanna and Siflin, who had anticipated this mont, the smiles in their eyes were not just from the excitent of the spectacle, but also from genuine inner joy. Although they could understand Ash’s situation through diary entries and others’ accounts, seeing Ash appear right before them still inevitably brought the happiness of ’finally seeing you again’.
Freyja called out once, and when she saw Ash turn his head to make eye contact with her, her mind went blank. There were no emotions of fireworks-like joy, nor feelings of self-pity; she rely felt the light around her grow warm, as if a bottle of lemon soda inside her popped open, with its tangy sweet bubbles filling her blank mind, bubbling and bursting.
Though her nerves hadn’t reacted yet, iwa took an honest step forward, then caught sight of a figure flashing past her side, rushing towards Ash.
"Ash!"
Tamasi dashed over and hugged Ash, even pulling away from Sonia. She wrapped her arms around Ash’s neck, her eyes shimring with tears, taking a deep breath and saying joyfully, "I finally found you! I missed you so much! I’m so happy!"
Everyone was instantly dumbfounded, especially Sonia beside them, daring to snatch Ash right away from her embrace and acting so boldly, Tamasi really was the first.
However, Hanna and Siflin were not surprised at all; Tamasi had always been such a straightforward person, never hiding her emotions. They even silently applauded Tamasi, thinking, good job, well done!
Just from the diary, they could see that until the Sword Maiden’s rule was overturned, no one else stood a chance!
Charge ahead, we will offer all the support apart from help!
"I’m also very happy." Ash gently patted Tamasi’s back, smiling, "There’s nothing in the Heavenly Kingdom of Thousand Wishes, I was really afraid you might starve, Tamasi."
"Tamasi?"
Diya imdiately reacted; looking at the fashionable woman in a miniskirt and sports bra in front of her, she squeezed between the two of them, puffing up and saying, "Ash, didn’t you say Tamasi was a man?"
Ash was taken aback, now noticing Tamasi’s figure. Although they had fought side by side not long ago, Tamasi’s back was turned to him most of the ti back then, and the situation was urgent, so Ash hadn’t observed closely. Of course, more importantly, Tamasi’s appearance was so appealing that he accepted it instantly without much thought.
Or perhaps Ash had vaguely anticipated it; after all, soone who looks better than Igula, how could they not be a woman?
"I used to think Tamasi was a man..." Ash couldn’t help shifting his eyes downward, almost getting drawn into the cleavage of the zippered top: "But you can’t bla ; I rember carrying you before, Tamasi, and at that ti, your chest was rock-hard. I was even envious of your pecs!"
"Oh, it was because of that." Tamasi suddenly understood, lowering her head and giving her breast a push with a look of helplessness: "I’ve been annoyed by this cumberso burden for a long ti, and as it got bigger, it seriously hindered my movent, so I always bind it up and wear chain armor on top. So when you carried , Ash, you were feeling the chain armor. Sorry to disappoint you, I don’t have much in the way of pecs."
Diya’s eyebrow twitched; she certainly wouldn’t feel insecure over sothing like this, she firmly believed her figure was the most elegant and sexy, but seeing Tamasi flaunt like that was infuriating—You guys better not lead Ash astray!
She felt like slapping them hard!
She glared at Ash, only to find he had already wisely looked away, which made her feel a bit better, mumbling, "So it’s not just Silver Lamp, Ash, there’s another woman in the Kingdom of Senluo..."
"Is there sothing wrong with being a woman?" Tamasi tilted her head, looking puzzled, "If I’m a woman, would Ash dislike ? Should I switch back to the Black Crow look?"
Seeing Tamasi speaking sincerely, Diya was slightly taken aback, unsure of how to respond. Just as Ash was about to speak, he suddenly paused, turning slightly to look at the Sword Maiden.
"Of course not."
Sonia patted Diya on the shoulder, smiling at Tamasi, "No matter what you beco, you’re always the comrade who fought life and death with Ash, how could he dislike you? Whenever he ntioned you to us, he always talked about your strength and how much he admired you, which is why we always misunderstood your gender, and the Witch was so surprised, right Ash?"
Whoosh!
Ash suddenly threw a punch at the Black Crow, and Tamasi imdiately blocked it with her arm, exchanging dozens of moves within a second, leaving everyone dazzled. Finally, as their fists t, they exchanged smiles.
"I still can’t catch up to you, the gap is even wider." Ash smiled, "Seems you didn’t slack off while I was improving."
"The gap will only grow larger." Tamasi said seriously, "When it cos to combat, I will never admit defeat!"
"Tamasi, I know you still have lots to talk about with Ash." Suddenly, Siflin from behind spoke up, "But step back for now, there’s soone more urgent here."
Ash was taken aback, staring straight at Siflin.
A sense of unease surged in Siflin’s heart, and she stepped back: "Don’t look, you don’t know —"
"222?" Ash said in surprise, "I really didn’t expect to see you again!"
Oops, the bad guy recognized her!
"How did you recognize !?"
"By your voice!"
"It’s been so long since we t, how could you still rember my voice?"
"How could I not rember, you were my first friend during the Blood Moon."
Siflin was stunned.
Sonia patted Ash and pointed to herself.
Ash spread his hands: "Honestly speaking, we didn’t et at the Blood Moon, and at that ti, you were more like a dreamlike fairy to , not a real person."
Though she lost another achievent, Sonia begrudgingly accepted it, given Ash’s subtle praise.
Diya raised her hand: "What about Uncle Bokin!?"
"The reason I know 222 is because I gave Igula a good beating." Ash’s eyes showed a hint of nostalgia: "That guy had such a nice feel..."
"So, 222, are you still at Shattered Lake Prison?"
"No, I work as a doctor at a hospital now." Siflin patted Freyja’s head, causing Freyja to jolt, "I’m colleagues with this fool."
"Do you still long for adventures in other lands?" Ash blinked his eyes: "I rember I said, if I could escape from the Blood Moon, I would tell you all my adventures along the way. If you’re still interested, I have many exciting stories."
He looked at Sonia and Diya, and smiled: "Why don’t we reminisce together then, what do you think?"
Diya was very sensitive to the term ’first friend’, just about to get angry when Sonia held her down. The Sword Maiden smiled: "Sure."
I know pretty much all about your little escapades, and even things you don’t know yourself... Siflin silently complained in her heart.
She never thought that Ash would recognize her.
Nor did she expect Ash to still rember that insignificant promise.
Her thoughts were instantly taken back to over half a year ago: a dical practitioner and a death row inmate chatting about dreams unrelated to reality, the inmate wanting to escape prison, the dical practitioner yearning for a bizarre world.
But a fish living in a lake could never leave the water; it could only entrust its dreams to a bird with clipped wings. Who would have thought that the bird, once flown away, would rember its first fish friend and even keep those dreams, once spoken as a joke, in mind?
Siflin wanted to firmly refuse, but as she spoke, it turned into: "If there’s a chance, then sure."
Just as she finished speaking, she regretted it, feeling full of sha. She cautiously looked at the nearby iwa, only to find iwa watching her emotionally, winking at her: "Siflin, you agreed to help create opportunities for , right!"
Siflin imdiately nodded: "That’s right, exactly!"
"I knew Siflin is the best to !"
"Stop making eyes at , get in there!"
At this mont, Sonia suddenly asked: "I guess... you’re Miss Hanna, right?"
"Just call Hanna." Hanna, not intending to hide, walked over openly and said: "Nice to et you, Sword Maiden."
She turned to look at Diya, her expression imdiately dropping: "Your Majesty, when are you coming back?"
"What Empress?" Diya played dumb: "Are you talking about Empress Diya? But isn’t she supposed to be a little girl, as they say?"
"I have seen your adult portrait!" Hanna directly gave a karate chop to the Witch’s head: "Do you have any idea how I’ve been working over 16 hours a day to clean up your ss for the past few months? Constantly afraid of the Gospel System blowing up, thinking every minor issue might be the end of the world—might as well destroy the Gospel System altogether!"
"If worse cos to worst, at least take with you!"
"Ugh..." Diya covered her head: "How dare you be so disrespectful to the Empress..."
"I’m sorry," Ash protected the Witch, looking apologetic: "If it wasn’t for saving , she wouldn’t have gone to Dazzling Star alone—"
"Wait, who are you? I’m talking to Her Majesty, outsiders shouldn’t butt in." Hanna suddenly frowned, crossing her arms and looking sternly at Ash: "Don’t act like you know ."
Huh?
Everyone was taken aback, even Diya got confused. She waved at Hanna, her expression slowly turning from confusion to fear: "Sister Hanna, is too much pressure driving you crazy? I’ll make sure to cure you!"
"Empress, stay out of this!" Hanna pushed the Witch aside, staring at Ash: "Shouldn’t you introduce yourself?"
Among the crowd, only Ash understood what Hanna ant, or rather, this was his intention all along. He blinked at Sonia, and Sonia raised her eyebrows, seemingly curious about what they were up to.
Ash’s lips curled up slightly, his eyes smiling as he looked at Hanna, extending his hand: "Nice to et you, I’m Ash Heath, just call Ash."
"Nice to et you, I’m Hanna Doran, the First Witch of the Gospel Witch Governnt Establishnt Bureau, Secretary-General of the Imperial Palace Liaison Office, Chief Advisor to the Empress. You can call Hanna or Miss—if you like."
Hanna shook Ash’s hand, her fingers lightly tickling his palm, and added: "Unmarried."
When they first t, Hanna was still a plot-filled office director, and Ash was rely a wandering foreign traveler. They learned each other’s nas through a contract, with Hanna as the dominator and Ash as the subordinate.
From the beginning, their relationship was that of a scher and a tool, a master and a slave. No matter what they later developed into, it all originated from a dark encounter, a bad joke.
So, Hanna and Ash are eting again for the second ti now.
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