"So, what is the reason you came to see me?"
Inside a room with only three people, beside an elegant wooden table, the refined-looking Xue Qinghe spoke in a tone that did not match his public identity.
"What? Am I not allowed to visit without a reason?" Wu Ling asked, rarely teasing.
Wu Ling's current "business trip" was already complete. He could have returned directly to Spirit City and gone back to staying at home. But while passing through the Polaris capital, he suddenly had the thought of seeing Xue Qinghe, or rather, Aurelia Cross.
After hearing Wu Ling tease her, Xue Qinghe turned and stared at him for several seconds.
"...That is right. You are Wu Ling. Did you finally open your eyes?"
Toward Wu Ling, the man who had defeated her many times, Aurelia had always held complicated feelings: recognition, respect, and a little admiration. But because of Wu Ling's coldness, nothing had ever progressed.
As for Wu Ling, aside from the emotionally rich six years before his Martial Soul awakening, he had walked wholeheartedly on the path of pursuing Spirit Power after awakening. Because of that, his feelings had gradually been pressed down by the plan he had set for himself. Even with the help of his clones, his own cultivation had never slackened.
Across fifteen years in this life, apart from Kiritsugu, the relative he acknowledged, he had not had a single friend who could speak with him as an equal. He had not had a subordinate who could keep up with his steps. He had not had a confidant who could understand his inner world. Even Bibi Dong, Yue Guan, and Ghost were, in his heart, only tools he had used for a long time and therefore developed some feeling toward. The root of it was the overlooking mindset he had retained because he knew the original story.
Add his own gradually increasing strength, and Wu Ling had even begun to feel like the protagonist of a third-rate power fantasy.
Of course, the reason Wu Ling could think that way also had much to do with how predictable this world seemed.
After he obtained his first Spirit Ring and gained Sasaki Kojiro's power for the first time, Wu Ling had understood one thing.
"What a frail world."
At that moment, he confirmed that he could completely obtain the power of the Heroic Spirits he summoned. He confirmed that he could easily do things even gods could not. So in his eyes back then, so-called gods were only that much. If he were deliberate about it, his sixth Spirit Ring could summon a Heroic Spirit specialized in killing gods. Then those high and mighty gods could easily become ghosts beneath his blade.
It was like telling an ordinary person that if he completed nine tasks that only required time, he would gain invincible power under heaven. That person would absolutely ignore everything beyond the window and bury himself in work. Beauties, wealth, power, none of it would matter. Once he had invincible power, would those things not come easily? Even if he gained some of them midway, they would only be used to accelerate the process.
But over time, Wu Ling suddenly realized that he was a little tired.
Training day after day was possible, but there was no longer much need to force himself so harshly. Even if he did not work himself to death, the things he wanted were only a matter of time. He had no dream of world peace, no enemy who had murdered his father or mother, and no karma from his previous life that had to be settled.
In his previous life, he did not smoke, did not find a girlfriend, and only occasionally drank. In front of outsiders, he had seemed like an ascetic type of person. But in the end, he was not a saint. He had his own desires too.
So a sudden thought had appeared in Wu Ling's mind.
"Why not try falling in love? With a little real feeling involved."
That was why he had come to find Aurelia Cross, one of the only women in this world he could currently imagine approaching romantically.
As for the other one, that was Blair Lockehart. But Blair was still young, so that was not something to consider until she grew up.
Wu Ling smiled faintly and answered with interest, "Opening my eyes? I suppose I temporarily put a few things down."
That was right. In Wu Ling's heart, this sudden idea might only be an impulse. Before coming here, he had already prepared himself to put it down at any time.
Xue Qinghe stared hard at Wu Ling's face again. In the end, Wu Ling showed no reaction, but she herself blushed.
Then Xue Qinghe tilted her head slightly and looked toward Blair standing behind Wu Ling. Blair was still immersed in the shock that Xue Qinghe, crown prince of Polaris, was one of Spirit Hall's people.
"You did not come here just to show off that you accepted a little maid, did you?"
Wu Ling deliberately put on a troubled expression.
"How heartbreaking. So that is the kind of person I am in your heart? Besides, are you that unconfident in your own charm?"
Of course Aurelia could not lack confidence. At nineteen, she was still at the peak of her beauty. But she no longer had the mind to refute him, because she had actually heard Wu Ling compliment her charm.
Although Wu Ling had not said it directly, in Aurelia's mind, that was exactly what he meant.
"Hmph. At least you know what you are talking about. In that case..."
Xue Qinghe stood and walked toward Wu Ling. Over those few steps, Xue Qinghe's appearance gradually faded away, replaced by Aurelia Cross's youthful, radiant face.
Then, under Wu Ling's slightly surprised gaze, Aurelia sat directly on his lap.
After that, she gave Blair a provocative look, then forced down the blush on her face and leaned against Wu Ling.
In the original story, Aurelia's personality was strong. But that depended on the person. In the original, Tang San, whom she admired, was weaker than her, so she showed him her forceful side. Wu Ling was different. The current Wu Ling surpassed her in every respect. Add the fact that she wanted to establish her claim in front of Blair, who seemed to be a rival in love, and she naturally showed this more girlish side.
Feeling the softness on his thigh, Wu Ling was a little stiff at first. Across two lives, aside from contact with family members and combat, this was his first time being so close to a woman.
Slowly, as he smelled the fragrance from Aurelia's hair, Wu Ling's heart gradually calmed. One hand half-embraced Aurelia while the other gently stroked her hair.
As Aurelia, who had also been somewhat nervous, gradually relaxed, Wu Ling's lips curved upward.
"What is this? Is this not just like petting my family cat?"
When he thought of cats, Wu Ling quietly glanced at Blair while Aurelia was not paying attention. He found that Blair was also staring at him and Aurelia on his lap with bright eyes. Her expression made Wu Ling smile as well.
"Are you thinking something very rude?" Aurelia suddenly asked, pressing her forehead against Wu Ling's chin.
Wu Ling laughed it off.
"How could that be? With a beauty in my arms, what else could I think about?"
"That is more like it."
Aurelia nodded in satisfaction and began enjoying Wu Ling's touch.
Behind Wu Ling, Blair stared fixedly at the hand that kept stroking Aurelia's hair. A trace of longing appeared in her eyes.