269,

Cyclone thought for a moment, but remained silent, finishing the chicken leg in his hand first.

"Um, I'm sorry," Hilmirya said, perhaps noticing Cyclone's lack of response and slightly straightening up.

Taking another bite of the chicken, Cyclone pondered whether or not to accept Hilmirya's apology.

Hilmirya was the one who ultimately put Cyclone on the pyre, rather than the Water Priest. Though it was her naivety that caused it, he couldn't blame her entirely, as Cyclone and the others who stole Fat Loss Pills were at fault too. And even if Hilmirya was not referring to that particular incident, but rather to the escape from the prison cell, Cyclone had no reason to blame her.

Why would someone risk their own career to save a stranger? If it were Cyclone, standing in Hilmirya's shoes, and hearing a person in the cell claiming to be Allen's hero, he would have also thought it was just another trick.

"Um, I'm sorry..." It was only after finishing the third bite of his chicken that Cyclone responded to Hilmirya's apology.

"What are you doing?"

"N-nothing..." Seeing Cyclone still uninterested, Hilmirya assumed nothing had happened and returned to her foodie mode. But after the embarrassing incident earlier, her ferocious eating behavior disappeared.

Cyclone understood this mindset, but he unwillingly chose not to respond. It wasn't the other person's fault, so there was no reason to shift the blame onto them. Cyclone may be a lecherous person, but he was not petty.

"Speaking of which..." Perhaps because it was too quiet, Hilmirya was looking for a topic to break the awkward atmosphere.

"You seem to always be surrounded by miraculous things~"

"Miracles, huh..."

"Yeah, like when you were at the execution site, and when you were found in the water reservoir."

Hilmirya was referring to the time when Cyclone was stabbed with a knife.

"If it weren't for the layer of ice sealing your wound, you would have bled to death in that river."

"... " Cyclone didn't respond because he already knew this fact. It was the action of a certain person, someone who had closed off their heart, that allowed Cyclone to survive.

Playing with their fingers, the only topic Hilmirya could think of had already been exhausted.

"I heard...your two wives are looking for you. I never expected that you...would already have... but I guess it makes sense. As Allen's hero, your appearance during the fire attracted the attention of many girls in the village..."

Cyclone also knew this fact already. Since the news spread quickly, it had already been mentioned when the old priest came to the village that there were two beautiful women in another village looking for the missing hero.

"I... wonder when I'll... also find a good husband..."

Finally, Cyclone finished eating. Originally, he had planned to savor this most abundant meal after his rehabilitation and then go find his two wives. But after hearing the inner thoughts of the chubby girl in front of him who couldn't think of any more topics, Cyclone decided to give her two sentences.

"Focus on your medical studies~ I doubt there's a good man in this world who would marry you."

This slightly harsh sentence was Cyclone's retaliation and kindness towards Hilmirya.

False blessings are like malice, Cyclone decided to repay Hilmirya's care with the truth.

Even though her beautiful dreams were so pure, reality would not be like that.

Cyclone was well aware that he himself was a man.

Who would like a fat woman?

That's reality, even if a man is ugly or kind, he would still choose a beautiful woman.

It's not a special problem, just human nature, it's the pursuit of beauty.

Cyclone felt that Hilmirya's heart was beautiful, she was the kindest girl among the people Cyclone knew.

But so what?

Cyclone would not like her because she was fat, that's the reason.

"No one would like a fat woman."

No rebuttal, it seems Hilmirya is also self-aware.

"You should give up."

"As long as I sincerely pray to the Goddess of Water... the Goddess will definitely bless me..."

Goddess...

This time, it might just be a temporary impulse.

Cyclone also felt afterwards that his actions did not have to be taken so seriously.

But maybe it was because of this opportunity that Cyclone began to deeply consider the meaning of "love".

In response to Hilmirya's thoughts, Cyclone responded cruelly.

"In this world, so-called love is all superficial. You're so fat that men don't even want to look at you."

After being criticized by Cyclone, Hilmirya finally retorted.

"Love... love..."

But perhaps lacking confidence, her words were also intermittent.

"Love is... the ability to change everything."

To this, Cyclone responded calmly and directly.

"You're wrong."