The moment his voice echoed, the auctioneer was stunned. He couldn’t help but look at the young man who had raised his hand.

After all, the jump was astronomical. But he recovered in the next second.

"Two hundred Mid-grade Verth crystals! What a rise! Does anyone want to bid further?"

The crowd was as shocked as the auctioneer, despite those earlier bids. They had already exhausted all their crystals. Although some of them could afford to compete further, in their eyes, it was useless and risky.

If he could raise the price at such an astronomical rate in one go, god knows how many more crystals he had in his pockets. The wise ones calmly backed away.

Seeing that there was no further bid, the auctioneer happily raised his hammer and brought it down.

Thud!

"This item goes to that young man over there!"

After a bit of exchange, Emperal effortlessly paid the two hundred Verth crystals and obtained the sword.

Since there was no further item, the couple calmly walked away and left the auction arena.

...

"Mhm, a decent sword you got there." Vara appraised the item and even gave feedback.

"I know, that’s why I love this," Emperal said, the sword hung behind his back.

"You seem to love swords."

Vara couldn’t help but question, these days, Emperal hadn’t held any sword or kept it with him. And now, seeing his smile, Vara concluded that he must finally feel safe and...confident.

"My sword is everything for me; it was there with me when no one had looked at me. It has taught me way more than any other person I know, and lastly...I love using it."

Emperal said it all in one single breath, surprising Vara.

She had just asked him this out of curiosity, but didn’t expect such a deep response. But, surprisingly, she just nodded.

The two walked for a while; it was a peaceful, quiet area. The wind was gently blowing alongside the calming crashes of the tides.

It wasn’t entirely dark; the moonlight shone gently on the seabed. Illuminating it.

"Emperal, I guess we will be getting separated soon."

Vara broke the silence and uttered the forbidden words.

"...True."

"So, what is it that you want from me?"

Vara asked, although it may seem like a simple question, it was not.

The intentions and implications behind those words were...immense, especially coming from her original self.

Emperal halted, his dark eyes shone as he stared deeply at her.

"I will...tell this to your original self."

The moment those words echoed, Vara froze—literally. Her eyes widened in horror as she stared at Emperal.

"Y-You, how?"

In the end, she couldn’t even form proper words. She was too stunned to speak; never in her long life did she expect that someone as weak as Emperal would guess her identity.

"You stupid boy, you have truly doomed yourself."

From inside, the Infernal Dragon’s voice echoed; its tone was harsh and reprimanding.

But Emperal ignored it, stepping forward. He closed the distance between them.

"Vara, although I do not understand why you had to change your appearance, well, to a certain extent, I do. Although I do not know of your intention in approaching me. I will be honest here, as I am now, I am not ready for a relationship, my mind is messed up, and I still haven’t recovered from my previous relationship. Please, forgive me."

Vara stared at him, her stunned expression had long gone. Replaced by a sharp expression.

"Haven’t recovered? What do you mean by haven’t recovered"

She asked, her millennial-old heart, which had long stopped due to the cold passage of time, suddenly skipped a beat.

Seeing this, Emperal shook his head. "I am not denying or rejecting you, I am just saying, I need a bit of time to sort my life, and there is a certain goal I am chasing at this moment."

He spoke, his tone strong. In moments like these, if he dared waver, he wouldn’t ever recover or stay strong-willed.

Vara looked at him deeply, and her dark eyes slowly began to transform. Like a newborn galaxy, they slowly regained their colour.

The most brilliant gold in the entirety of existence.

Emperal was stunned when he saw those eyes, he...he couldn’t take his eyes away from those jewels.

She took his hand, her face began to shift, and the muscles underneath twitched. Her earlier pale white skin slowly dimmed, replaced by a milky white covering that was coated with a golden glow.

Vara’s height extended, and her collarbone became more prominent. Her facial structure had changed; it was too perfect to be called Perfect Symmetry.

But the earlier playful expression had vanished. Replaced by a cold look.

Looking down at Emperal, she opened her mouth.

"So, you do not love me?"

The air started to change; the earlier gentle Verth, which was like a mother to Solspire, suddenly became suffocating.

Her golden eyes alone bore such an overwhelming pressure that even the waves were halted.

Emperal just stood there, staring at her with a complicated look on his face. But, in the end, he merely shook his head.

"I never said that."

With just those words, he had...essentially saved the entire Empire.

The pressure vanished in an instant, as the intensity in her eyes slowly returned to normal. Seeing this, Emperal knew this was the moment.

Stepping forward, he took her lips!

"Emperal—!? You dare?"

He ignored the Infernal Dragon’s nosy voice; the Phoenix Empress stood frozen in her place. Her mind...broke.

Just a second later, Emperal backed away.

"That should be enough to assure you, right?"

Emperal spoke, and the Phoenix Empress snapped out of her daze. Her entire emotionless face felt like it was burning.

She could no longer bear standing there; in the next second, she vanished. Leaving a surprised Emperal.

"Hey! What about my information?"

He shouted, but there was no response. But, the moment she had vanished, a piece of paper fell on Emperal’s head.

"Hmm?"

Holding it in his hand, he gently opened it.

"Oh?"

Reading the contents of the paper, he couldn’t help but shake his head and sigh.

"Well, it is what it is. But I enjoyed her company. Sigh, good things will always come to an end one day."