Chapter 248: An Unexpected Audience

"I wanted to walk around like this with you, Viktor. Is that... okay?"

Qiu Nuoya looked up at him as he said it, and Viktor’s face immediately turned bright red.

His skin was naturally very fair, so his reaction was particularly easy to see.

Qiu Nuoya knew perfectly well that he was being deliberately cute, but his current appearance suited this sort of behavior so well that he decided he might as well have some confidence in himself.

Though, honestly, being this embarrassing was still embarrassing.

Seriously, getting this shy just because I held his hand? What am I, a middle schooler?

Qiu Nuoya immediately retorted to himself, only to remember that, technically speaking, he really was around middle school age now.

He had never experienced anything this sweet and innocent during his own middle school years, so perhaps this was not such a bad way to get a second chance at life.

Viktor shyly turned his gaze away from Qiu Nuoya.

However, his fingers tightened around Qiu Nuoya’s hand.

That alone was enough for Qiu Nuoya to know that Viktor was not exactly unhappy about it.

"It really was a place I hated more than anything..."

"So, did I overwrite those bad memories with good ones?"

"Nuoya, I cannot compete with you..."

Even as he said that, Viktor showed no intention of letting go of Qiu Nuoya’s hand, which Qiu Nuoya found incredibly endearing.

However, at the time, Qiu Nuoya was so focused on his own feelings that he completely forgot there was someone who had been silently watching the two of them the entire time.

When they were led into the audience chamber of the royal castle, King Velikorya, the ruler of the kingdom, was already waiting for them.

Beside the king sat a beautiful woman who was presumably the queen. Standing beside her was Viktor’s father, Cassian, wearing his usual inscrutable smile.

Several other stern looking older men were also lined up inside the audience chamber alongside Cassian. None of them looked particularly friendly, which made Qiu Nuoya feel somewhat uncomfortable.

The king looked every bit the part of a king, but he also bore a striking resemblance to Prince Lucien. Perhaps that was only natural, considering they were father and son.

The main differences were the king’s neatly groomed, magnificent beard and the wrinkles appropriate for his age. Qiu Nuoya could easily imagine Prince Lucien looking much the same once he grew older.

After offering the customary words upon their return, Prince Lucien turned toward his father with a smile.

"Father, I have some wonderful news. During our journey, we succeeded in acquiring a dragon!"

"!? Lucien, are you saying that you actually tamed a dragon!?"

"Yes, exactly. Though technically, it was not I who did so, but my fiancée, Saintess Shangguan Wan’er."

For an instant, Qiu Nuoya noticed the queen’s already restrained expression stiffen noticeably.

The king, however, failed to notice her reaction and instead stared intently at Shangguan Wan’er.

Wait a minute...

Long had certainly said that he would be dating Shangguan Wan’er, but he was still Qiu Nuoya’s tamed monster.

Prince, what the heck are you saying without even asking me first?

Since Long could not accompany them to an audience with the king, Qiu Nuoya had left him behind in Elysium. And honestly, Qiu Nuoya was glad Long was not here.

Long had an incredibly strong sense of pride. If he heard someone say that he had been "tamed," Qiu Nuoya was certain he would explode in anger on reflex.

Perhaps Prince Lucien thought Qiu Nuoya could control Long easily because he could not understand what Long was saying. But Qiu Nuoya was still figuring out how to interact with Long himself, so having the prince casually make whatever claims he pleased was rather troublesome.

"Saintess Shangguan Wan’er, is that truly the case?"

"Ugh... Long is definitely my boyfriend, but when you put it like that, Lucien, it kind of pisses me off. Besides, what does that have to do with you old men? Our relationship is none of your business, right?"

"Boyfriend..."

She had just called all the most important figures in the kingdom "old men."

Shangguan Wan’er really was fearless. If she did not have the status of a summoned saintess, it would hardly have been surprising for her to be punished for such blatant disrespect. Yet Shangguan Wan’er remained completely unfazed.

"More importantly, didn’t we come here today to return the Divine Sword Velikorya to the king? My boyfriend is waiting for me, so I want to get this over with and go home."

"! The Divine Sword Velikorya has been found!?"

"Xiao Tao is right there too. Are your old eyes really that useless?"

That’s a little too harsh!

Shangguan Wan’er really had absolutely no fear of authority.

Her words also drew everyone’s attention toward Xiao Tao. Unable to endure all those gazes, he nervously retreated behind Warren’s back and tried to hide himself.

"Saintess Shangguan Wan’er, when you say Xiao, do you mean the person who was summoned alongside you...?"

"That’s right, Taotao! Stop hiding behind someone else’s back and introduce yourself!"

At Shangguan Wan’er’s sharp command, Xiao Tao trembled again. He timidly poked his head out from behind Warren and spoke in a small voice.

"I’m... Xiao Tao."

The older men immediately began murmuring among themselves.

Well, of course. For them, the missing summoned Hero turning out to be such an unassuming and helpless looking boy was probably completely unexpected.

As Qiu Nuoya had anticipated, curious gazes increasingly focused on Xiao Tao.

"That’s the Hero summoned from another world?"

"He looks like an ordinary child. Could there have been some mistake?"

Xiao Tao’s eyes filled with tears, as though he could barely endure the somewhat accusatory voices around him. However, since no one was directly insulting or abusing him to his face, there was little Qiu Nuoya could do about it for the moment.

Cassian, the Minister of General Affairs, must have known this would happen. Had he really not warned anyone?