"Xiao Xian!——"

Ash put the cat on his face and sucked it, kneading its two paws. Xiaoxian looked hopeless, looking at Freya pitifully, but she only received an envious look from the veela biting her nails.

"How's his osteomalacia?"

After sucking enough, Ash didn't let Xiaoxian go. He held Xiaoxian in his arms and rubbed the cat's head.

"Sif helped cure it, and it won't recur again." Freya took out two teacups from under the table to make tea: "And Xiaoxian has become much more delicate. When she bumps into something and gets hurt, she keeps crying and insists that I help with the pain relief."

"All animals are delicate and afraid of pain, but they have to learn to be patient." Ash put his finger on Xiaoxian's mouth, and Xiaoxian immediately bit it: "Only those who are pampered are qualified to be delicate, because they know that you will respond to their vulnerability."

"Yeah." Freya pursed her lips and nodded, moving her fingers along the edge of the teacup: "You don't seem to have changed much..."

Ash blinked: "Didn't we just meet not long ago?"

Actually, it wasn't that recent, it was a few months ago. At that time, Ash had just been promoted to Demigod for a few days, and Freya and her group accidentally entered the newly formed Origin Road "Anti-Color Stairs" from the Dream Stairs to the Ruby Mountain. If it weren't for the Firefly Princess who connected Ash with them, they might have died silently in the Origin Road.

The Veela shuddered, her already red face looking as if it would bleed if pinched, Ash could almost see the steam coming out of her head. She lowered her head and hummed softly: "I haven't thanked you yet... If it weren't for your help, we might have been lost in the anti-color stairs and had no chance to step into the Ruby Mountain."

Ash said awkwardly: "Although the result is good, after all, I didn't get your consent beforehand. I'm also very embarrassed. I don't know if you will blame me..."

"No!" Freya immediately replied anxiously: "No one will blame you, we all feel very comfortable and have been looking forward to the second time-"

Facing Ash's shocked gaze, she panicked and quickly denied it: "No, no, no, I was wrong. I didn't mean that—"

"Not feeling well?" Ash's body froze, greatly shocked.

Freya was stunned, at a loss, her eyes wandering, as if she didn't know how to answer. Finally, she lowered her head to look at the teacup, covered her face with her hands, and answered in a very low and soft voice: "...very comfortable."

"So you don't expect...?"

“…I’m also looking forward to whether there will be a next time.”

"What does that mean?"

Freya was silent for a moment before she put down her hand and looked at Ash. She bit her lower lip with her pearly teeth, trying to pretend that nothing had happened, but the shyness in her eyes made the whole room's heart beat fast: "That's what you think."

Now it was Ash's turn to be a little overwhelmed. Xiaoxian took the opportunity to break free from the cult leader's arms and jumped onto the table. He stretched lazily, curled up into a big chicken leg and basked in the sun.

"…Were those broadcasts just now looking for me?"

"Yes." Freya nodded: "Annan told us last night that you were coming to Blood Moon and even booked the tickets, so Sif and I knew you would board this train."

"Annan said that Jian Ji and the others were very mean and would not allow us to get close to you. If we want to have a good reunion, we must fish you out alone... By the way, there was a broadcast I wrote just now, do you know which one it was!?"

Ash thought for a moment and said, "Could it be... the one that says we need a handsome young man?"

"Shouldn't the main point be that she's gentle, kind, loyal, and likes to eat Lala fat?" Freya swayed her body and laughed lightly, "I was afraid that it might be too obvious. I felt that no matter who heard it, they would know that I was looking for you, but they thought I didn't need to worry..."

Seeing Freya looking at him with starry eyes, Ash felt really embarrassed this time, and his face was getting hot: "I'm not that good..."

"That's what they said." Freya said, "I'm actually a little worried too. After all, things are different now. You're now a super powerful magician. When I was an ordinary person, I could still see your back, but now I can't even see your shadow. Maybe you've become someone I don't recognize..."

"But Xiaoxian told me that you haven't changed since then." She blinked and said softly, "You are still as gentle, kind and loyal as before, and you still make me feel the same way... But didn't you go to carriage No. 10? Don't you like eating Lala fat anymore?"

"I don't think the lala fat provided by the train is that delicious." Ash paused, and then felt a little strange: "That's not right. Since you think I will appear in the No. 10 carriage, why are you here? This should be the back of our compartment, right?"

Hearing Ash's question, Freya's expression suddenly became strange. She lowered her head and didn't speak, but she looked more embarrassed than shy.

"Is it a topic that can't be discussed?"

"No, it's just..." Freya hesitated for a long time before blushing and saying, "We discussed the plan of how to 'meet' you all night, but I regretted it after I returned to reality."

"Regret?"

"Well, I don't want to go through so much trouble to meet you." Freya put her fingers together and said softly, "They even suggested that I hide in the bathroom and wait for you to pass by so that I can lock you up and do whatever I want to you... This was their suggestion, and I didn't agree!"

"Originally, everything was discussed, but I returned to reality and thought about it for a long time. I felt that our plan to lure you out and hide in the bathroom to ambush you were actually the same. They were both deliberately creating encounters. I don't like this. There are two kinds of encounters I look forward to. Either two hearts chasing each other overcome all difficulties and finally embrace each other, and even fate has to make way for it, just like you and Sword Princess."

"If there is no such encounter that conquers fate, it should at least be an encounter favored by fate. Just like the first time I met you, I returned to my home and found that a cult leader ate my food and rubbed my cat with my light curtain, and then..." Freya said gently: "Our story begins."

"You may find it childish, but I always feel that our meeting is destined. I am also looking forward to our reunion, so I don't want to use such deliberate means to create opportunities. It feels like it will tarnish our fate."

"I have already made up my mind. If you don't come to me, then I won't come to you. I'm not being sulky, but since you don't come to me, you must have your reasons. If I rashly come to you, it might affect your plans. After all, you are now a super powerful magician with a lot of things to do. You may really not have the time to care about a little veela..."

"But maybe there's something wrong with us. After all, you didn't even come to see me when you came to Blood Moon..."

Ash: “I—”

"Listen to me first." Freya stretched out her finger and touched his lips: "Although I thought very hard at night, when Sif came to find me in the morning, I still came with her... But I think this is not my personal problem, but the Veela is particularly prone to weak will!"

"But I still don't want to deliberately create an encounter with you, so I didn't go to carriage No. 10. I asked Shiffrin not to tell everyone that I was on this train, because you knew that if I was there, you would definitely come to see me, and it would seem like I was forcing you... This is not the encounter I expected."

"I never expected that our meeting would be as dreamlike as you and Sword Princess." Freya stared into Ash's eyes: "But I hope at least it is... two hearts chasing each other."

"It sounds childish, right? They all said so. Even Tamashi thought I should take the initiative to fight for it." She lowered her head and said, "It's a pity that I can't even realize such a small wish. You still found me here."

"that……"

Ash couldn't help but say, "I didn't actually know you were here—so why on earth were you in this box?"