Melina frowned. Nolan did not raise his sword. He simply rested a hand on her shoulder and called out to the Flying Dragon.
"Hey, Adula!"
The Glintstone Dragon, sprawled on the ground, heard the call and struggled to lift her heavy head, glancing around.
The moment she saw that all-too-familiar figure, a surge of excitement rose in her heart.
She wanted to let out a roar, but her injuries were too severe. What came from her throat was only a faint whimper.
Before she could make another sound, her vision darkened and she passed out on the spot.
Nolan immediately took out a Flask of Crimson Tears and poured the whole thing into her mouth.
Only then did he ease up a little and look ahead.
The Mage's Tower had already gone quiet. The noise and tremors were gone, and the battle seemed to be over.
As Nolan looked up, another gaze was fixed on him from a corner not far away.
"He's finally back."
Ranni's Mage Tower stood high on excellent ground with a commanding view, and from far away she had already seen Nolan coming out of the Moon Viewing Grounds.
The Lunar Princess stood silently by the window, her beautiful eyes fixed on the man drawing closer. For a moment, she actually lost herself in the sight of him.
She had already planned everything she would do when she saw him again, but she had never expected a group of unwelcome intruders to throw all of it into disarray.
Fortunately, she had adjusted the timing of her slumber in advance. Otherwise, the consequences would have been far worse, and Adula's injuries would have been the least of it.
After a brief pause, Nolan kept walking.
At last, he arrived before the gate of the Mage's Tower, where a faint chill lingered in the air, and gently pushed it open.
With a low creak, the heavy, icy door slowly swung inward, and he stepped inside.
The moment he entered the Mage's Tower, a breathtaking scene came into view.
The entire space seemed to be covered in a layer of clear, crystalline ice, as though he had stepped into a dreamlike world of snow and frost.
And across that silver-white ground lay several savage monsters with half-human, half-wolf bodies.
Some were completely still. Others let out an occasional low whine. The sight was miserable and frightening all at once.
Ranni appeared soundlessly by the staircase, like a ghost.
She stood there, her beautiful eyes fixed on the man, and for a moment she said nothing.
He wore brilliant blue armor. His long silver hair spilled over his broad shoulders like a waterfall, and his cyan eyes were as clear as the waters of Liurnia of the Lakes.
That handsome face still carried the same calm, placid expression, as if time had never left the slightest mark on him.
Everything was exactly the same as it had been four years ago, just as simple and complicated as ever.
Time had passed and the years had changed, yet he himself seemed never to have truly changed.
A faint smile unconsciously touched the corners of Her Highness the Princess's lips.
But it vanished just as quickly, like a shooting star flashing across the night sky.
Yes, nothing had changed. The only difference was that the one by his side now was no longer the Magic Teacher, nor those adorable yet dangerous younger siblings, but a pretty young girl who looked troublesome in a way that made her seem dangerous.
As a Dark Moon Knight, instead of properly attending to the princess, he had gone off gallivanting with someone else. That was a serious dereliction of duty.
Ranni narrowed her beautiful eyes slightly, a trace of displeasure showing through.
The moment Nolan saw that Ranni was safe and unharmed, the taut string in his heart finally loosened, and he let out a long breath of relief.
But right after that, he noticed the look on Ranni's face, and a wave of headache-inducing dread rose in him.
Melina, meanwhile, stood at the side with a blank expression, as if she had noticed nothing at all about the danger in Ranni's gaze.
Ranni gave a cold snort inwardly.
"Hmph, Nolan, you should be grateful. Letting her stand here alive is already the greatest mercy I can grant you!"
Ranni felt annoyed with herself. She could not believe she had been careless enough to let someone of such uncertain identity stay by Nolan's side.
She frowned, shot Melina a hard glare, then tossed out, "Come in. Iji will handle things below," before turning and hurrying inside.
The moment the words left her mouth, though, Ranni regretted them a little. That reaction clearly did not suit her dignified image as a princess.
At the same time, Nolan also felt like he had completely lost his mind. Why had he ignored his own instincts and brought Melina in with him?
He pressed a hand to his forehead, feeling his head throb. What made it even worse was that the wooden-headed person beside him seemed utterly unaware that anything was wrong.
"Are you worried? Even though she's Caria's great champion, it seems your relationship with her is not very good. It looks like the Lunar Princess is not a very qualified lord."
Melina blinked those large eyes and looked at Nolan with complete innocence as she spoke.
What was that supposed to mean? It was not that their relationship was bad. It was that it was far too good.
Nolan did not know whether to laugh or cry.
Still, it was only a feeling, not something confirmed, so for now he could only answer with silence.
"If your relationship with this princess is not harmonious, then you can simply break the heavy shackles binding the two of you."
Melina looked solemn, her expression serious and composed.
Yet deep inside those dull eyes, faint traces of longing quietly stirred, as though she were gazing toward some distant place she could never reach.
"To be honest, living as freely and as I please, the way I do, is actually quite nice."
"And even without the princess, you still have me as your partner, so you do not need to worry about being alone."
No. The truth is that you are the one carrying chains.
Nolan sighed inwardly. Looking at the girl before him, he did not know what to say for a moment.
With a deep tenderness showing in his eyes, he reached out and gently rubbed her short hair a few times.
"Don't worry about me. I just feel very relaxed when I'm with them."
"When you're with people close to you, there's no need to put on the airs of a Lord or a champion. It's enough to just be Nolan."
If he had been a native Undead from the Dark Souls world, he definitely would not have been this sentimental.
Unfortunately, even before he ever went to that world, he already knew he was nothing more than an ordinary, unremarkable person.
Nolan paused for a moment, then looked at Melina and continued.
"And the same goes for you. We're already this close, after all. You do not have to keep everything bottled up inside."
"Me too?"
Melina froze slightly. Her head, already lowered, dipped even deeper toward her chest as astonishment rose quietly in her heart.
She had never expected that the thoughts she had hidden so carefully all this time would still be noticed by Nolan's sharp perception.
At that moment, her understanding of Nolan seemed to deepen again.
Deep down, the young girl knew very well that she too wanted to live like a normal person.