"Roxy, I'm back!" Accompanied by this shout, Dan Feng's figure appeared in the pavilion.
His voice was like a ray of warm sunlight, piercing through the gloomy haze in Roxy's heart.
Roxy had originally been sitting quietly in the pavilion, alone and missing Dan Feng.
However, when she heard that familiar voice, her body trembled violently. Her gaze quickly turned toward the direction of the sound, and a trace of disbelief flashed in her eyes.
When she saw clearly that the person who had come was Dan Feng, her water-blue eyes instantly lit up, like stars in the night sky.
She didn't even have time to put on her shoes before hurriedly pulling her snow-white little feet out of the pond.
Immediately after, Roxy quickly stood up and ran straight toward Dan Feng.
Her steps were swift, and stepping on the lawn caused her no discomfort.
Seeing this, Dan Feng quickly put down the bag containing the desserts and opened his arms, steadily catching Roxy as she threw herself at him.
His embrace was like a warm harbor, tightly enveloping Roxy within it.
"Wuu, Dan Feng, you're finally back. I missed you so much." Roxy pressed tightly against Dan Feng's body, feeling his warmth.
Her voice carried both grievance and a hint of coquettishness, making one feel pity and affection.
These past few days had been like years for Roxy.
In the days without Dan Feng by her side, she had lost her appetite for both tea and food; her whole person had become listless.
Now that Dan Feng had finally returned, the longing and concern in her heart gushed out like a surging river.
"I missed Roxy very much too!" Dan Feng said with a face full of guilt. "However, I learned a lot of things from Perugius, so I came back a bit late. I'm sorry, Roxy."
As he spoke, he extended his other hand and gently stroked Roxy's little head, as if comforting the grievance in her heart.
"Oh right, I brought a gift back for you." Dan Feng suddenly remembered that he had prepared quite a few good things for Roxy on this trip back, so he quickly asked, "Do you want to see them?"
However, Roxy didn't seem to care about those gifts. She simply kept her eyes tightly closed, her body trembling slightly, as if she was trying hard to suppress some emotion.
"Dan Feng, let's talk about those later…" Roxy said softly. "Just let me quietly hug you like this for a while, okay?"
Seeing this, Dan Feng felt a surge of emotion in his heart. He quickly nodded and replied, "Alright."
Thus, he said no more and simply used his arms to tightly embrace Roxy, letting her feel his warmth and care.
Just like that, the two of them quietly held each other as time slowly passed.
Because Roxy was only wearing a dress, Dan Feng could clearly feel Roxy's heartbeat, which was almost in sync with his own. This couldn't help but stir ripples in his heart.
After just a few short days apart, Roxy missed him this much. This made Dan Feng deeply understand how deep her love for him truly was.
After a long while, Roxy finally lifted her head, looked at Dan Feng's face, and said in a aggrieved tone, "Dan Feng, no matter where you go next time, please take me with you, okay?"
"Being alone at home is really lonely. Days without you are really hard to endure. I don't even have an appetite when eating."
Listening to Roxy's words, Dan Feng replied without the slightest hesitation, "Alright. From now on, no matter where I go, I'll take you with me."
He wanted Roxy to be happy and didn't want her to feel sad, so he agreed to her simple request.
...
After returning home, Dan Feng didn't rush to cook. Instead, he took out the King-rank Water Magic — Raikou and handed it to Roxy.
"Roxy, this is the King-rank Water Magic Raikou. The attempt you made before was just in the wrong direction. King-rank magic isn't a standalone magic; it's derived from Saint-rank magic."
Roxy accepted the magic book of King-rank Water Magic that Dan Feng handed over, her heart filled with emotion.
What she needed most right now was King-rank magic, and a King-rank magic book basically only existed in kingdoms, so this magic book was extremely precious.
"Also, to kill Hitogami, we'll still have to wait nearly a hundred years. At that time, we'll need to kill the Demon God Laplace and take out the secret treasure in his body, so..." Dan Feng told Roxy about the things he had learned from Perugius.
But Roxy only focused on one sentence.
'To kill Hitogami, we'll still have to wait nearly a hundred years.'
"I also learned the teleportation magic circle and summoning magic from Perugius. I'll teach these things to you later. That way, when we need to go far away, we can use the teleportation magic circle to quickly return home." Dan Feng's tone was calm yet rapid.
However, right in the middle of Dan Feng's explanation, Roxy suddenly interrupted him.
Her voice was gentle yet firm: "Dan Feng, let's get married! A hundred years is really too long. I hope we can form a real family together."
The word "marriage" circled in Dan Feng's mind.
Originally, he had planned to place this important moment after defeating Hitogami, but that would still require a hundred years.
This was truly too long. Even for long-lived races like them, it was an extended wait.
Dan Feng was silent for a moment. He gazed into Roxy's eyes—those sapphire-like eyes were filled with gentleness and anticipation.
Even if they temporarily couldn't have children, what of it? He would respond to Roxy first. So he answered seriously, "Alright. Let's get married."
A hundred years really was too long. Roxy and Dan Feng didn't want to keep waiting.
"Eh! Really?" Roxy said in surprise. She had just proposed marriage, and Dan Feng had only thought for a moment before agreeing. Then their relationship would become like the happy one between Mayibeia and Galdaruf.
This was exactly what she wanted, and it had always been her dream—to find a man who liked her and whom she liked, get married, and live a happy life together.
"Mm." Dan Feng smiled as he looked at Roxy and casually patted her little head, indicating that they really were going to get married.
"Then... when will it be?"
"Mm... Let's set the date for Armoured Dragon Calendar year 404, that is, two years from now. Because I want to give you a grand wedding and, at the same time, place some teleportation magic circles around the world."
"Around the world? Then can we clear a lot of labyrinths together?"
"You really like clearing labyrinths, Roxy."
"Exploring labyrinths together with someone you like is a very happy thing."
Roxy was smiling very cutely at this moment. In two years, she would be able to realize her dream.