Aliza telling her past to Rei took longer than expected, but Rei just stayed silent, listening to her story.
After she was done, she then looked toward Rei, waiting for his answer, while Rei was thinking about what he should respond with.
"You ever tell your parents about what you just told me?"
"No... I just can't. They have high expectations for me. Every time they talk about the family, I don't want to disappoint them, but I also want to be free, roaming the world instead of getting stuck behind a desk," Aliza said, looking down.
"Hmm, I see. But you know, most parents want the best for their child," he said as he looked to the front, where the entire island could be seen from here.
He was remembering his parents from his previous world and his parents in the illusion world that Lucilius created. Even though it was only an illusion, he had memories of living his entire life in there.
Both parents from his illusion and his real world had something similar—they always supported him in his decisions and wanted the best for him.
Even though they were technically the same person, because Lucilius took them from his memories when he created that illusion world.
"That's why you should tell them about your dream. Tell them how you don't want to become Grand Duchess. If you don't tell them, they will not know."
Aliza stayed silent for a few moments, thinking about what Rei said.
She didn't know how to do that—how to go against her parents. She had never objected to anything they told her, always believing they only wanted the best for her.
But after hearing Rei's story… maybe, just maybe, if she told them about her problem, they would listen.
"I don't know... I don't even know how to do that," she said quietly.
"I see. I understand that. Going against your parents for the first time is always going to be hard."
After that, Rei stood up from his position. After wiping off his back, he turned toward Aliza.
Offering his hand to her, he said, "If you don't mind, I can help you talk to your parents."
Aliza looked really surprised after hearing that, but then a soft smile slowly formed on her face. She reached out and accepted his hand.
As he pulled her up, Aliza said with a small laugh, "Pffft, you're going to talk to my parents? Why does this sound like a marriage proposal?"
"Marriage proposal? I mean, I'm not gonna reject that. I'd be happy to kidnap you from your parents so you don't have to become Grand Duchess~" he said with a nod.
"Wha—???" Aliza stammered in surprise, clearly not expecting him to take it seriously like that.
Especially coming from someone like Rei—he was already surrounded by so many girls, all of whom Aliza thought were even more beautiful than her.
Of course, being a Draph, she had the natural advantage of her really big chest... but the downside was her short height.
"I'm not joking. You need to be confident with your appearance, you know," Rei said seriously.
"You remember the first time we met? You tried to attack me, but I managed to catch you instead."
"Yeah…" she replied quietly.
Of course she remembered. That moment was probably the most surprising day of her life.
The feeling of being princess-carried by someone that handsome—it was still fresh in her memory. And then, as if straight out of a story, that same handsome man suddenly made six wings appear from his back to rescue the other kidnapped people.
And then he fought that powerful Primal Beast… So much had happened that day.
"And at that time, seeing you in that red and white dress—it was really enchanting. Your appearance caught me off guard. I was really surprised when I saw you."
Slowly, Rei's other hand reached toward Aliza's hair, still tied up in its usual high ponytail. The moment he touched it and gave it a gentle pull, he could feel the soft texture of her silvery-grey hair.
"Even your personality is really cute… that mix of tomboy attitude and then suddenly turning all shy like this~" he said with a smile, his eyes fixed on her face.
Because right now, Aliza's face was burning red. He could see it clearly—even her Draph ears were turning a deep shade of red.
"See? Look at you now—so cute~" A small laugh escaped Rei as he gently poked Aliza's cheek.
At first, Aliza wanted to say something in response, but before she could get a word out, she suddenly felt something wrap tightly around her waist—firm and warm.
"Wha-What are you doing?!" she gasped in panic, realizing that Rei had pulled her into a hug, pressing her closer to him.
Rei only smiled at her, then turned his gaze toward the edge of the cliff. His voice shifted slightly, laced with authority. "You've seen enough. If you keep hiding, I'll make you show yourself."
For a moment, nothing happened. Then, a strong gust of wind burst forth, kicking up dust and debris. But Aliza remained untouched, shielded by Rei's presence. His body stood like a barrier in front of her, protecting her from the sudden storm.
"You... you're not a dragon. You're not even a being I recognize." A rough, deep voice echoed as a powerful figure emerged from the winds.
A massive black dragon revealed itself, its glowing eyes locked onto them.
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"I'm just a normal man having a date with his girl," Rei said with a casual tone. "But you, Dragon of Chaos... what are you doing here?"
"A dragon...?" Aliza's voice trembled in disbelief as she stared up at the towering creature. "Why is there a dragon on Tarvi Island…?"
The black dragon let out a sneering chuckle. "A normal man, you say? The two of you have been roaming across Tarvi Island, slaying Catoblepas left and right—and yet, neither of you have been tainted by their blood."
"Tainted? Corrupted? What are you talking about?" Aliza asked in confusion, her brows furrowed. She had never heard anything like that before on this island .
"The girl doesn't know… I see. So that's how it is," the black dragon rumbled, its eyes narrowing as it looked between the two of them.
"What do you mean?" Aliza asked again, her voice quieter now. She peeked past Rei's arm, still tucked safely in his embrace.
"It means the man has been protecting you since the moment you two set foot on this island," the dragon replied.
"And that's my responsibility," Rei spoke up without hesitation, stepping forward just slightly while still keeping one arm around Aliza. "I'm the one who asked her to come with me. Of course I'm going to protect her with everything I've got."
"Rei…" Aliza murmured softly to herself after hearing his words.
The black dragon continued to stare at Rei before suddenly spreading its wings and landing in front of them. The moment it touched the ground, a powerful tremor shook the area, forcing both Rei and Aliza to step back.
"So, what are you two doing here?" the dragon asked, its large eyes locked onto them.
"Didn't you hear before? We're here to have a date~" Rei replied with a teasing smile.
"No, we're not!" Aliza shouted, her face turning bright red. "We're here to test his weapon! That's all!"
The dragon looked at Rei, then at Aliza, and back again. It stared in silence for a moment before letting out a low hum, as if it finally understood the situation between the two.
"If you have the strength to protect yourself and your girl, then I don't have a problem with you being here," the dragon said calmly. "But you still haven't answered my question. What kind of being are you?"
Rei's smile faded slightly as he heard the question again. He could tell now—the dragon in front of him was still young. If it couldn't tell what he was, then either it hadn't encountered an Astral before… or it simply never expected one to still be walking around in the Sky Realm.
Anyway, this dragon was the same one that appeared in Aliza and Stan's side stories.
Rei also knew this was the very same dragon that saved Stan's life—by letting him drink his blood and turning Stan into an Erune with dragon blood. But after that, nothing else happened with it. It just felt like some plot armor that let Stan survive the corruption when he decided to come to this island.
Rei glanced over his shoulder at Aliza. He still hadn't told her, Therese, or Stan that he was an Astral. After all, most people would think he was crazy if he suddenly said he was a member of a race that existed only in fairytales.
"You can just call me Rei," he said calmly. "And if you're still curious, I'm from a race known as the Astrals."
"Astral???"
"What?"
Both Aliza and the dragon reacted at the same time.
"Anyway, that doesn't matter. So, what's your name?" Rei continued. "I've already introduced myself, and I'm sure you already know who Aliza is after watching us."
But neither of them said anything right away.
Aliza stared at him wide-eyed. As a candidate to become the Grand Duchess, she'd read a lot of historical records. Of course, she knew about the great war five hundred years ago—and the race called the Astrals.
The dragon too, even though still young, clearly understood the weight of that name.
Rei decided to give them a moment to absorb everything he said. But just then, something shifted in the air. He felt a familiar presence quickly heading toward them.
His eyes narrowed, turning toward a specific direction.
"This feeling... Sandalphon? Why is she here?"
And then, not long after, a strong gust of wind swept through the area. From above, a figure descended—Sandalphon, with twelve wings glowing in multiple colors spread behind her.
"She's even using all the power of the primarchs just to come here?" he murmured in surprise, watching her float down from the sky.
"Rei! There's really bad news!" Sandalphon shouted as she landed in front of him.
"What's wrong?"
"Valtz Duchy's island is under attack! When the others arrived, they saw smoke everywhere—buildings were destroyed all across the island!"
"WHAT!?" Aliza, still frozen from shock moments ago, now snapped back to life—only to be hit with even more devastating news about her home.
"Explain. Right now," Rei said firmly, his tone sharp and direct.
Sandalphon quickly nodded and began to explain.
Everyone on Ravi Island had started to worry. It had already been a few weeks since Rei and the others left to attend the festival, and there'd been no word from them. So, Sandalphon used all twelve of her wings—drawing on the full power of the primarchs—to fly at top speed toward where she could sense Lyria's presence.
But when she finally arrived, what she found wasn't relief.
Instead, she saw Djeeta and the others locked in battle with golems, defending the Valtz Duchy island from a full-scale attack.
Djeeta had immediately told her to find Rei and Aliza—and that's how she ended up here, after following Rei's energy signature.
"We need to hurry and go to them!" Aliza said, her voice full of panic.
"I know," Rei replied calmly. "Aliza, go with Sandalphon first. There's something I need to do here. I'll catch up with you both later."
"What are you going to do?" Sandalphon asked, narrowing her eyes.
"Just a moment. Hurry up and go—I'll be fine catching up."
Sandalphon hesitated for a second, then nodded. Without warning, she lifted Aliza into her arms.
"Eh? Wait—why are you not coming with us!?" Aliza shouted in confusion. "What do you mean 'something you need to do here'!?"
"Just hurry," Rei said again, his voice firm but gentle.
With no more time to argue, Sandalphon took off into the sky, carrying Aliza with her. The wind howled as they disappeared beyond the horizon, their forms shrinking until they vanished from view.
Once they were gone, Rei slowly turned around.
The black dragon was still sitting there, silent and unmoving.
"So," Rei said, his tone shifting slightly, "do you mind showing me that flower now?"