I let out a deep breath as the ’being engulfed in fire’ process came to its end.
I stretched my muscles, feeling an incredible lightness throughout my body. The constant tension I’d carried in my facial muscles was gone, replaced by a natural ease I’d almost forgotten existed.
My skin felt smoother as well, and even stronger than before. It must have been refined by those mysterious flames.
I turned to Lady Nisha and bowed my head slightly.
"Thank you for your help, I’m really grateful."
She waved her hand dismissively, though her eyes sparkled with satisfaction.
Then, with obvious enthusiasm, she pulled out a mirror from seemingly nowhere.
I nodded and took the mirror, staring at my reflection with growing disbelief.
The burned and scarred, and injured face that has been haunting me was completely gone.
My original appearance had returned, but somehow I looked more mature and refined now, as if the flames had not just healed but perfected what was already there.
I touched my face, smiling faintly at the wonders of the world.
I knew I could fix it someday, but not this fast and not to this degree.
Although I had a hunch Phoenix’s tears or that essence might have healed it, it would have been an utter waste to use them just to fix my face. Not to mention the fact that I wouldn’t be using it for who knows how long.
"Woah! You’ve become even more handsome!" Lady Nisha exclaimed in genuine delight. "I can’t wait for you and my daughter to meet each other."
My ears twitched at the comment, but I managed not to react with words.
I just decided to switch the topic.
"If it’s not a secret, just how strong are you?"
"Oh~" She smiled mysteriously again. "Let’s just say... even your master wouldn’t be able to kill me even if he went all out."
Just as I thought. But I’d never seen master go all out. Even when he’d gone to pay back Luna’s grandma, he was holding back a lot.
That made me want to see a fight at a greater level now.
"Are you perhaps friends with my master then?"
"Friends?" She tilted her head. "Well, it was more like comrades, and it’s been a long time since I saw him. So yeah, something like that."
"Comrades?" I muttered confusedly. Then an idea appeared in my mind. "Are you... a primordial individual too?"
She just smiled, offering no answer.
Well, at least she didn’t deny it. I decided to check the Monster 101 later to see if I was right.
"Then, can you defeat the ones who are after me?" I looked at her calmly.
She stared back. "...Yes."
"-But..." She interrupted me. "I can’t do it. For several reasons."
"...I see," I muttered, thankfully, I didn’t expect much from her.
She noticed my expression and smiled apologetically. Then her eyes lit up. "However, I can promise to protect your family from them."
My eyes widened instantly.
"W-What did you say?"
I didn’t hear it wrong, right?
"I said I can protect your family. If those scums try to harm them, they’ll have to go through me first."
My heart began racing. This... This changed everything. If she could truly guarantee their safety...
"But why?" I asked, hardly daring to believe it. "Why would you do that for us?"
"Well," she said with a small smile, "consider it an investment in my son-in-law. Besides, I can’t have my daughter’s beloved’s family getting hurt, can I?"
I stared at her, mind reeling. "You are really serious about this engagement?"
"Deadly serious," she confirmed. "Besides, she can only marry you, and you have no choice but to marry her."
"I don’t get it. Explain more clearly."
"...You fate has been interwoven with hers from the very beginning." She said, her voice taking on an almost mystical quality. "You two are destined for each other. You have been chosen as her partner."
I squinted my eyes, a familiar skepticism rising in my chest. "Don’t tell me it’s some kind of prophecy or an ancient decree? If so, then it doesn’t make sense."
"Oh, and why doesn’t it make sense?" She asked.
"Because," I said, crossing my arms, "prophecies are usually vague, metaphorical nonsense that can be interpreted a hundred different ways. They’re convenient excuses for people who want to justify their actions by claiming it was ’fate’ or ’destiny’. And the ancient ones aren’t that different."
"You’re right." Surprisingly, she didn’t deny it. "It’s much simpler than that. However, it’s better to talk about it once you’ve recovered your memories."
She’s dodging the question again.
"And there’s one more thing I have to tell you." She said in a guilty tone. "The ones who are trying to kill you... They’re doing it because you were chosen as her partner."
I went silent, staring at her for a long moment.
Then, slowly, a smile spread across my face, indifferent and cold.
"So, all of this..." I said, my voice eerily calm, "...was because of the fact that I was ’chosen’ to be your daughter’s partner? Does that... make any sense?"
Her expression grew uncomfortable, guilt flickering in her eyes.
"You do know what I went through and what happened because of it, right?" I continued, that detached smile never leaving my face. "The scars on my face weren’t just for decoration. The constant sense of foreboding, the countless sufferings, the relationships I had to abandon, the life I had to give up..."
I stared right into her eyes. I wasn’t scared anymore. I was barely controlling my emotions.
"Constantly worrying about who might want to kill me again. Or all the innocent people who got caught up in the crossfire of someone else’s vendetta against me..."
"It’s not that simple-" she began.
"Isn’t it?" I interrupted. "Let me guess. Some powerful enemies of your family, or perhaps rival factions, or even the ones who wanted your daughter for themselves, targeted me the moment I was marked as her partner. They decided the best way to hurt you or prevent this ’destined union’ was to eliminate me before I could fulfill my ’role’. Right?"