Volume 1 Chapter 5: Part 2: A Promise

"Hey, girl? Are you going to continue to wait out here?" At the Royal capital's gate, the guard looks at Irene helplessly. Don't you have something else to do?!

"Mmmhmm. I just know Onyx will be coming home today!" Irene continues to look out at the path. Her eyes are full of longing and hope.

"..." The guard stays silent. But the others roll their eyes at her. Don't you say that every time tho?

Irene has been coming to the gates for the past 2 weeks!

The guards wouldn't have minded Irene staying there, that is: if she didn't draw in so many people! Behind Irene, there is a crowd!

This all happened because of her beauty.

"The beauty is here again." One person said with a smitten face. Those words are a daily occurrence.

"I want to get close to her." A new person says as he walks up, wanting to ask out Irene. The next second, he was immediately pushed back by the crowd!

"What do you think you're doing, you brat!"

"Don't you know the rule?! You can only look at the goddess! You can't touch!"

This is the cardinal rule! However, the reasoning for this isn't because of Irene's safety.

It's for them.

Some guys did the same thing as this person over here. But Irene ignored them, treating their voice like the wind.

This happened multiple times. And every time, they would leave without any hassle. But this one time, a guy tried to get handsy on Irene. What he got were a shoulder toss to the ground and a cold voice,

"Don't bother me." And that's how the rule was formed. You can look at her, but if you bother her, you'll get it.

Irene could hear everything they said. But she doesn't care as she has only one thing on her mind. Please be safe, Onyx. The only thought she has is worrying about Onyx.

Onyx told her that it'll only take two weeks. But it has been an extra two weeks, and he still isn't back. That means Onyx is in trouble.

She tried to go out and search for him. But Walter stopped her, telling her Vargar was with him, so he'll be fine.

But she couldn't stop worrying.

Maybe, maybe. The darkest thoughts came into Irene's mind. Her face turns slightly tense, and the audience's expressions turn into a frenzy seeing this change.

Just who is she waiting for?! That's what everybody thought as they saw her face. What kind of person would make such a cute girl wait for him all day long?!

The people are seeth in jealousy and rage.

Before that rage can explode to no return, Irene rushes out the gates! It surprised everybody!

How can somebody be so fast?! They just saw a blur running out!

...

"We're almost at the royal capital," Vargar says, pushing the cart. The two can see the shadow of the royal capital.

Hearing that, Onyx makes a sad expression, "It was fun while it lasted." The amount of knowledge he gained is more than all the training he did before it.

Vargar gives him a chuckle, "There will be more times you'll be traveling around."

Onyx's expression brightens, "Will you be the one coming with me then?" The only reason why he learned so much is because of him.

"I" Vargar was about to say something, but he turned his head quickly to the front!

Hearing that, Onyx does the same and grabs his sword. If it's an enemy, he's ready. But the next second, he lets go of his sword.

"ONNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNYYYYYYYYYYXXXXXXXXXXXXXX!" As the yellow blur rushes at them, hearing Onyx's name called out, Vargar knew what this blur was.

"Ire- Buggghh!" Before Onyx can say it, Irene tackles him down! And it wasn't some ordinary tackle.

That tackle has the might of 50 strong men behind it! Onyx's body went flying backward! They could have flown back even more, but a tree blocked their way.

Gah, my stomach. Onyx felt his stomach buckling over, wanting to explode.

"Irene, know your own strength!" Onyx grabs onto Irene's shoulders, ready to scold her. He thought he would be squished into a pancake.

Before Onyx could start scolding her, he heard sniffling coming out of her.

"What's wrong?"

"Sniffle I sniffle miss sniffle you!" Her sentence is unreadable: with all those sniffling between each word. That is if you weren't Onyx.

Onyx's face turns soft, and he pats Irene's head, "I'm sorry." He didn't think Irene would be this sad. With her training, he thought Irene wouldn't be focused on him.

But it seems that isn't the case.

Irene hugs Onyx even tighter, not wanting to let him go. Onyx continues to pat her on the head.

Knowing that Irene won't budge from this spot, Onyx gave in. He looks up to Vargar, giving him an apologetic look.

Vargar shakes his head.

Take your time. That's the message Vargar sent to Onyx. With how long their trip was, Irene deserves some time with him.

...

"Did you get all your crying out of your system?" Onyx asks Irene when he hears no more crying.

"Mmmhmm." Irene looks up to Onyx. But the moment he looks at her face, he instantly laughs!

"What's so funny?" Irene gives him a confused look. She was bawling her eyes out, and this guy was laughing at her!

"Your face! It's so puffy!" All that crying made Irene's eyes look puffed out. And the snot and liquid on her face make her look nothing like a beautiful girl.

If anybody sees her like this, they will never imagine she's a beautiful girl. Or maybe their minds might explode from shock.

"You're the one who made me look like this!" Irene cries out, all embarrassed. Before she can scream at him some more, Onyx places a cloth on her face.

"You can yell at me some more after I clean you up." Onyx can't let other people see her like this.

"Mmmmm!" Irene makes a pouty face as Onyx wipes the liquid off. After Onyx finish cleaning her up, Irene grabs onto Onyx some more,

"I'm not- what happened to your body?!" She tugs on his shirt, and then she notices it. Wrapped around his entire body are bandages.

Onyx quickly tugs his shirt back.

"Nothing. I just got into a scuffle and got some bruises on my body." Who knows what will happen if he tells Irene about fighting those monsters?

"You got into a scuffle? How can you get into one when you have Vargar with you?" Irene gives him a suspicious look, not believing what he said.

What kind of scuffle will make you have bandages all over your body?

Seeing the suspicious look, Onyx quickly grabs onto her hand, "I'm fine now. Let's go back and have some fun." He and Vargar sold the demon crystals off. Even after giving his family most of his money, he still has a lot.

Irene's expression turns bright hearing this. She quickly nods, "Then let's have our date then!" She isn't going to say no to a sudden date.

Onyx makes a smile as well. Seeing her depressed face turn to a cheerful one is enough for him to be happy.

...

"Irene, why are there so many people at the gates?" Onyx's expression turns blank. When they arrived at the gates, he saw a group of people looking at them.

"Did you do something?" Onyx looks down at Irene, who has a smile on her face. Knowing his best friend, she must have done something to make those people stay there.

Irene sticks her tongue out cutely, "I don't know what you are talking about."

"..." Being cute won't get you anywhere. Onyx sighs and walks toward the guard. He was about the pay the fee, but the guard waved his hand,

"The gentlemen who came before you had already paid the fee for you. So you can come in." Vargar didn't want to ruin anything for the two, so he paid for Onyx, giving him a smoother welcome.

Onyx nods and walks in. The looks he was getting from those people were blank. They just stare aimlessly at Irene and him.

He can hear the murmurs,

"So this is the person the beauty was waiting for."

"So handsome."

"A handsome man and a beautiful girl. Dammit! How can I see such a perfect match?!"

"Explode! Explode! Explode! Explode! Explode! Explode! Explode! Explode! Explode! Explode! Explode! Explode! Explode! Explode! Explode! Explode! Explode! Explode! Explode! Explode!"

What's with the last person? Onyx sweats hearing what the people are saying. The guys aren't hiding the hate they have towards Onyx.

It looks like they'll take him down once he separates from Irene.

But too bad for them, Irene locks onto Onyx's arm. It's a heavy-duty lock as well. Onyx's expression turns strained as he looks at Irene,

"Can you loosen your grip a bit?" The amount of strength placed on his arm was something indescribable.

Irene tilts her head, "Do you not like it?"

"I never said that I don't like it." Onyx's voice becomes quieter as he finishes his sentence. If he said he hates it, that's a nope.

But Irene held on so tight that Onyx thought his arm turned cold from the lack of blood circulation! It's like a snake constricting his hand.

Irene's cheeks turn red. She knows what Onyx thought about as well.

"Good. I have a good position. I have to let these people know you are mine!" But then her expression turns dark,

"Did you talk to any girls these last few days?"

Nani! How do you know?!

Onyx's expression turns blank. Never did he expect Irene to pull a question like that right now.

"No! I didn't do anything with any woman for the past few days. Only training!"

"Oh, really?" Irene doesn't believe what Onyx said at all. For the last few weeks, she felt a disturbance in the air.

Onyx is getting hit on! That's what the world told her. Irene brings her face closer to Onyx and begins to sniff his body.

"I smell a sweet scent coming off of you." Irene sniffs even more, "There were at least three girls, being close to you for the last 5 days at least."

"..." Speechless. Just utterly speechless. What kind of nose do you have?! How can she smell something so far back?

But everything she said was correct! Those inn workers kept pestering him for all those days.

Now how to tell her about this? If he tells her about it, who knows what she'll do!

With Onyx unable to say anything, Irene sighed, "I'm going to let this go because you're injured." Also, your expression shows you didn't actually flirt with them. She understands Onyx. Knowing him, he'll never do something like that.

"But I'm going to be hugging you for the entire time!" I need to mark my scent onto him.

Irene isn't going to let other girls have Onyx. Irene looks at the girls. Onyx may not realize it, but she can tell how entranced the girls are towards him.

Irene makes a smug smile,

Yeah, girls. He's mine, so back off.

GRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR

Before Irene could boast more, the loud grumble coming by her side made her pause. Onyx's face turns red,

"Did you not get any breakfast?"

Onyx shakes his head, "Teacher and I left before we could get anything in our stomach." With the cart, they couldn't go full speed. So they have to leave early.

Hearing this, Irene laughs, "Then let's get something to eat before we go shopping! I know a place just for us to eat." Irene takes hold of Onyx's hand and begins to lead him.

While they walk to the restaurant, the two pass through many stalls.

"Hey! Young missy! Is that your boyfriend with you?" A stall owner shouts out to Irene.

Irene's smugness kept increasing, "Mmmhmm. He's mine."

"You guys look like the perfect couple. But do you know what would make you guys look even more perfect?"

"Hmm? What could make us look better?" Irene's interested now.

The merchant smiles, "What you are missing is a matching item. How can the perfect couple not have a matching item?"

"!" I'm so stupid! Irene felt she was given a godsend message! Why couldn't she have thought of this sooner? A matching item will make everybody shut up.

Well, shut up even more!

"I have many items: necklaces, rings, and bracelets. I can also help you guys make a custom item as well."

Custom. That's the only word Irene heard. The rest flew out the other ear. A custom one would make things much better.

But a voice cuts into all this, "Irene, let's go eat something first."

"But Onyx!" Irene's expression turns desperate. How can she let this opportunity escape?

"Let's go." Onyx grabs onto her hand and quickly drags her away from the stall.

"Don't worry, lass! My stall is always here, and it opens till the evening!" The stall owner's voice got drowned out by the other passersby.

"Why did you do that?!" Irene has a tearful expression as she asks Onyx. She was just about to buy something from there.

"Do you think I didn't know you wanted one?" Onyx could see the sparkle coming from her eyes. But he sighs, "But you're a bad spender."

Irene is not a good spender. She would be excessive as she bought more than what she needed.

And this is especially so when it's related to him.

"I was just going to get one." Irene turns away from him as she says this.

"One?" Onyx squints his eyes. Now it's his turn to be suspicious.

Seeing him eye her down like that, Irene came clean, "....four."

"..." Onyx shakes his head, "Tsk, why would I need to wear four of them?" It's overkill. Wearing so much jewelry would just weigh him down.

"..." Irene pouts. But her silence just made what Onyx said correct.

Onyx sighs, "Come on, let's get something to eat. If I don't get something to eat, I'll explode.

We can go around and shop later."

Hearing this, Irene nods and brings Onyx over to the restaurant. When the two walk into, the waiter greets them,

"Welcome to-" Before the waiter can finish his greeting, he drops his plate, "Chef! The gluttonous beauty is back here again! Get ready!"

The moment the waiter shouts out, it's like a firefight!

Gluttonous beauty?

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