"Are you okay?"

A hand reaching out to herself, eyes full of concern and worry, was the first sight that the girl Minglin saw when she woke up on the beach.

The bright sunlight, gentle sea breeze, and the waves gently washing over her body made the girl's mind a bit fuzzy, as if the past in her memory was a nightmare.

"I'm fine," Minglin replied in a slightly hoarse and weak voice.

"Um... are you from somewhere else? I can't understand what you're saying." The girl in front of her looked puzzled, but it eased Minglin's mind to confirm this fact.

She was just an ordinary human after all, safe for now... for the time being.

Despite being on the verge of exhaustion, Minglin still managed to muster up the last of her strength to use a simple common language spell on the girl in front of her. "Now you can understand me."

"Eh? Are you okay? You look a bit pale," the girl said.

Of course she looked terrible. Already straining her powers to the limit, coupled with floating in the sea unconscious for so long, Minglin was lucky to have not drowned.

Just before consciousness slipped away once again, Minglin's heart felt a little more at ease.

When she woke up again, Minglin found herself lying on a soft bed. The room was decorated plainly, but judging from the cute print on the curtains and the small decorations on the bedside table, it was probably a girl's boudoir.

"Is it her?" Thinking of the human girl she briefly saw before, Minglin pulled back the covers and sat up.

Unlike ordinary humans, her body wasn't as fragile, and even after sustaining injuries from her Yuan, and floating in the sea for a long time, her current physical condition was enough for her to move freely.

"..." However, sitting on the edge of the bed, Minglin suddenly fell silent.

She slowly lowered her head and glanced around, then rolled back onto the bed at a speed invisible to the naked eye, using the blanket to cover her naked body.

Why am I naked! Despite being different from ordinary humans, in terms of actual age, Minglin was just a teenage girl. She couldn't accept being exposed like this!

At that moment, the door to the room opened.

"Oh? Are you awake, miss from afar?"

The human girl from before entered the room, placing the tray in her hands on the nearby table and walking to the bed. "The doctor couldn't understand your condition either, but didn't expect you to wake up so soon."

"Human, where did you put my clothes?"

Ignoring the girl's words, Minglin clutched the blanket tightly, asking cautiously.

"Clothes? They were already in tatters and soaked through, so I took the liberty to throw them out. But don't worry, I'll give you something of mine to wear."

The girl's smile-filled response made Minglin feel heartbroken, her clothes were made from materials that ordinary mortals could hardly obtain, and they were just thrown away like that?

It might have been okay before, but now that she found herself in an unknown place, she needed to cherish even the things that were trivial in the past.

"Um, you seem unhappy? Don't worry, this is my room, and no one will come in without permission, so you don't have to worry about being seen by anyone."

Noticing Minglin's expression, the girl thought she was upset because she undressed her without permission.

"...No, I'm not upset about that, human," Minglin sighed. It's not that she didn't care about being stripped naked by a human while unconscious, but after all, this person brought her back, so she forgave her.

"Hmm—"

The young girl suddenly took a step forward, bent down, and leaned in close to Mingling, staring at her.

"Why are you getting so close all of a sudden, human!"

"Ever since just now, I've been curious, lady from out of town, why do you always call me 'human, human'? I have a name, Ayako, Tairaeda Ayako!"

The girl held out a finger earnestly and said, "Although I don't know if it's a custom from your hometown, at the very least, that way of calling someone is quite unpleasant here."

Intimidated by the sudden display of the girl's aura, Mingling subconsciously agreed.

"Um, um, then, what's your name next? Lady from out of town?" The girl straightened up, satisfied.

"Mingling."

"That's a bit of a strange name, Ming... Ling? Lin? Hmm, I'll call you Xiaomeng." Seemingly unable to pronounce the word in the local language, the girl simply used a similar word instead.

"Don’t randomly give people names! Only my parents can..." Mingling protested unhappily, but when she said "parents," the light in her eyes dimmed significantly.

Parents...?

"Don't mind, it's just a nickname, because I really can't pronounce that strange sound." The girl showed a bright smile.

"You..." Mingling was a bit annoyed, but faced with the girl's pure smile, she found it hard to get upset.

That was the first encounter between Mingling and Tairaeda Ayako.

...

"Phew... my head feels a bit dizzy, is this what it's like to watch a movie in first person perspective?"

The princess woke up from a white void, complaining with a still groggy head. When she entered the cave within the cave of the cliff, she suddenly stepped into this space, and her mind was unreasonably filled with things that did not belong to her.

Is this wording a bit strange?

Anyway, she saw such a thing from a first-person perspective, and Tiran's curiosity began to swell.

"What you're seeing is my memory." The voice, heard before, echoed in the vast white space.

"Okay, heard you, Mingling, is that your name?" Tiran sat cross-legged and said, "So, where am I, and all those strange events starting from when I encountered them on the Polaris, were all your doing?"

Although this person called Mingling looked pretty formidable, Tiran wasn't planning on forgiving her easily without a proper explanation as to why she got involved in this inexplicable event.

"If you're referring to the ship being attacked, I'm sorry," Mingling sighed as if in regret, "I just... needed your help to pull you into this world. I can guarantee that the ship wasn't damaged in any way."

"So you say... wait, you just mentioned 'us'? Tiran realized, "Besides me, did you bring someone else in?"

"Yes, I need help from two individuals. You should also know him, I can see the threads of fate entwined around both of you."

"So who is it—"

Tiran's voice abruptly stopped. She suddenly remembered the figure she saw in the "time breaks" in the alley.

"Well, long time no see, Miss Tiran," almost as if confirming her thought, a familiar voice came from behind her.

Turning around, the white-haired young man was lying somewhat disheveled on the ground, weakly raising a hand towards her.

The princess first stared at him for a while, then quickly stood up expressionlessly, walked over, and squeezed the boy's face with her hand.

"Painful, painful, painful! Hey, we have been separated for so long, and I am still injured, don't be like this! Ouch... Your Highness, Miss, Sister, please let go!"

"Call me daddy." The princess squatted by the young man's side, raised an eyebrow, and didn't loosen her grip at all.

"Daddy!" Without any hesitation.

Quite obedient, looks like the real deal.

Should I say I breathed a sigh of relief? Looking at the teenage boy in front of him begging with a grimace, Tiran's mood was somewhat subtle. As the tension that had been building up in his heart relaxed, various emotions surged forth like a dam breaking.

Just a moment ago, Aya was shedding tears from the pain of having his face pinched, and the next moment, the girl who was just expressionless and pinching his cheeks suddenly threw herself into his arms, hugging him tightly.

"What's going on here?" From the familiar princess to the shy girl who threw herself into his arms, the sudden change in treatment left Aya a bit bewildered, is this... the real deal?

"Idiot, be quiet!" Tiran's muffled voice came from burying his face in his chest, but he still carried that air of dignity.

Well, it is indeed the real deal.

"Let me hug you for a while... okay?" The authoritative tone only lasted for a moment, then gradually softened, almost whispering in his ear, "Aya, I missed you, really."

"I missed you too."

Without thinking too much, Aya naturally raised a hand and gently stroked the girl's back in his arms.

The front of his chest seemed a bit warm.

Time seemed to have passed for a long time, and the girl unexpectedly lifted her head, as if a child who had cried out all her grievances and then regained her composure, there were no traces of tears to be seen.

Well... except for a small damp spot on Aya's chest.

"Welcome back." Tiran repeated the words that Mimi had said to him to Aya very seriously.

Aya, however, seemed to still be savoring the hug that just happened, lowering his head and not coming to his senses for a long time.

"Why are you spacing out? I'm talking to you like this, you should at least respond properly, right?"

"I was just thinking if you wiped your snot on my clothes just now..."

Iron fist of retribution!

"Idiot! How could a beauty like me have a runny nose!"

"This new outfit was given to me by someone else, isn't it normal to feel a bit heartbroken?"

Sniff, sniff.

"It smells like a woman! Alright, I'm so worried about you, and you're out there attracting other females?!"

"The old clothes just got ruined! This outfit was a gift from someone else!"

"What?!" The princess showed a shocked expression, "You ruined the clothes... Aya, you're no longer that pure Aya!"

Damn, things are getting worse and worse... Aya simply lay back without explaining, knowing that no matter what he said, Tiran would turn it into something perverted.

"Hey, don't tease and then give up so easily, isn't this fun?" Tiran poked Aya's cheek with his hand and supported his chin with the other, smiling.

"You're clearly someone who hasn't had anyone to tease in a long time..."

"Oh, have I been found out?"

Not denying it, truly worthy of you.

But I don't mind it.

"Although I don't want to interrupt your reunion, but time is of the essence, please listen to me," spoke Ming Lin, who had been silent for a long time.