Night World Players

Chapter 232: Is This Meeting the Parents? (Two in One)

"Hiltina's father, the current emperor of the Granville Empire, His Majesty Aaron?"

"Invite me to go to the imperial capital tomorrow..."

Rast gently stroked the white envelope, feeling the three marks left by the sword.

Although several hours had passed, the sharpness still remained on the sword marks, causing a slight tingling sensation on his fingertips.

"To discuss my engagement with Hiltina..."

Last recalled a scene he witnessed on campus not long ago.

At that time, Hiltina's stepmother, the biological mother of the second princess Ophelia and the current queen of the empire, came to Star University to visit Hiltina.

According to the conversation he heard at the time, the other party seemed to want to persuade Hiltina to return to the royal family, inherit the holy sword, and become the heir to the imperial throne.

But in the end, Hiltina and her stepmother parted ways on bad terms, and neither of them succeeded in convincing the other.

So, this invitation from the royal family is a continuation of that incident...

"What, a letter from little Tina?"

"Let me have some rest, let me have some rest!"

It seemed as if the built-in radar had picked up the gossip signal, and Dean Yin came over eagerly on the spot.

However, when Dean Yin wagged his tail and read the letter from Hiltina word by word over Last's shoulder.

Its big tail, which was usually lively, suddenly drooped down.

"Ah, it's Tina's father, Aaron, the old man, looking for you..."

Dean Yin lost interest instantly: "Rather than following you to see him, I feel it would be better to find a subspace to catch up on some sleep."

"Dean Yin, are you really qualified to call someone Lao Deng?" Last glanced at Dean Yin.

He did not forget that the true age of this ferret was one of the ten unsolved mysteries of Star University, and it was very likely that it had existed long before Star University was established.

A pure living fossil.

"Can I be the same as Aaron and Lao Deng?"

Dean Yin yawned disapprovingly. "For immortal species like ancient dragons and high elves, living for hundreds or even thousands of years is commonplace... not to mention angels, who have truly achieved eternity and practically never age."

"For those angels who have survived from the Age of Gods until now, thousands or even tens of thousands of years are just a number."

"Thus, in the realm of legendary and even mythical creatures... measuring a creature's age isn't based on its actual age, but rather on its 'purity of soul' and 'state of mind.'"

"So no matter how many years I live, as long as my soul remains pure, untainted by the dust of time, and my heart remains innocent, I am still a three-year-old ferret baby."

It rolled up a small dried fish with its tail and stuffed it into its mouth. "The same goes for you, Little Rust. If we really count from the historical reverberations of the Sixth Epoch, you're considered an ancient from the pre-era, right?"

"But you seem to have used self-hypnosis to solidify your mental state and soul at a certain point, maintaining the purity of your mind. That's why I'll still call you Little Last."

"As for Aaron, Old Deng, even though he's only a few dozen years old, his mind is so flawed that even monsters who have lived for thousands or tens of thousands of years can't compare to him."

"Besides, successive emperors of the Granville Empire have inherited the Holy Sword from generation to generation. Relying on the power of the Holy Sword, even those who haven't achieved angel status can still feel the flow of time to a limited extent, and even use it to distort the flow of time for cultivation...Who knows how long that guy has lived and how deep he hides."

"Dean Yin, you seem to dislike His Majesty Aaron?"

Last sensed the rejection in Dean Yin's words.

He knew that Dean Yin always expressed his preferences for others directly. If it was someone he liked, he would be particularly close to them, and he would never hide his disgust for those who disgusted him.

In Dean Yin's own words, those people with pure hearts and souls shining like gold are a luxurious meal for it. Just staying by their side is a pleasure, making it wish it could stick to its meal ticket every day.

Those who are deep-minded and have mottled souls are like pickled puffins that have been fermenting for several years, which is the complete opposite of the former.

In Last's memory, the last time Dean Yin showed such disgust and rejection was Ingrid and Hiltina's sister, the second princess Ophelia.

"So His Majesty Aaron has a personality very similar to Ophelia's?"

"That's far from it. Little Tina's sister is a bit more thoughtful, but she also has all sorts of bad tastes..."

"But in my opinion, it's just some kind of childish, twisted sister complex."

Dean Yin shook his tail, as if recalling the painful experience of being ravaged and toyed with by the second princess when he and Ophelia were watching the live broadcast in the Mystery Tower.

“But old man Aaron is different…”

Its speech paused for a long, unnatural moment, as if it was trying to find the right words to describe the other person, but it never succeeded.

"There is no doubt that he is a true monarch."

"But he is by no means a qualified father."

A true monarch... not a qualified father?

In his mind, Last silently repeated Dean Yin's evaluation of Aaron.

Although he had known Hiltina for such a long time, Rast had never really understood the family background of this proud female knight and rapier user.

His understanding of it was limited to rumors within the academy and occasional mentions from Dean Yin and others...

As for more things, since Hiltina herself didn't want to say it, Rast wouldn't ask.

However, their relationship has now even reached the stage where each other's parents have initiated marriage arrangements, commonly known as "meeting the parents."

Last felt that at this moment, he needed to understand more deeply about Hiltina's past.

"Dean Yin, can you tell me about Xiltina's family? About her parents?"

"At a time like this, have you finally remembered me, the gossip master? Are you going to stop complaining about my daily gossip and think I'm not doing my job properly?"

Dean Yin swung his tail proudly: "But it's true, you've come this far, there are some things you really should understand..."

"If I tell you these things now, I don't think Tina will blame me."

Its voice became a little more serious, no longer as lazy as before.

"Aaron's first wife, Cecilia, Little Tina's biological mother, is the lord of Qiuye Territory and the head of the Forest Ranger family."

"More than a decade ago, a sudden twilight disaster struck Qiuye Territory... This was at a crucial time when the late emperor was critically ill and the empire was holding a royal election to select a successor."

"Aaron was faced with a dilemma. On one side were the people his wife had protected for generations, and on the other was the critical border situation and the selection of the new emperor of the empire."

"In the end, Aaron chose to support the border and won the royal selection through his military achievements... while Hiltina's birth mother, Cecilia, sacrificed her own life to suppress the expansion of the Twilight Calamity." "Originally, these were just some long-ago events, long forgotten by time."

Dean Yin blinked his ruby-like animal eyes.

"However, that incident had a profound impact on Tina, who was only three or four years old at the time."

"She took her mother's family motto, the Ranger family's motto, as her own life creed... and used the memory of her mother's sacrifice as her lifelong ideal."

"Because of this, little Tina left the royal family's predetermined life trajectory at a very young age and chose to study at Star University, even rejecting the title of being a member of the royal family."

"She was unwilling to accept the Holy Sword, the throne that was hers, and become the next Empress of the Empire."

"Because to become a qualified queen, one must make choices and sacrifices...even evacuating when necessary, sacrificing the lives of civilians and soldiers in exchange for the safety of the monarch. This is exactly what Little Tina is unwilling to accept."

"You should have heard about this incident, right? I remember you once entered Little Tina's dream during the historical echoes of Frozen Water Town."

"Ah."

Luster nodded.

In the original Frozen Water Town, Zhu Yue's pollutants dragged all living creatures in the town into the dream he had woven.

The dream that Rast wove for himself was a fantasy called Canaan.

The dream woven for Hiltina was a figure walking alone into the fire, with long chestnut hair flying in the wind.

That was the back of Hiltina's mother, the female knight named Cecilia, before her death.

At that time, Rast and Hiltina witnessed the scene in their memories in their dreams.

"As a noble, you must protect your subjects at all costs, even if it means sacrificing your life. As a knight, as long as you have breath left, you must never let your comrades die in front of you."

This was the family motto of the "Forest Rangers" that Hiltina had told him in person in the firelight of Deep Blue Harbor.

It is Xiltina's life creed and the ideal she has been striving for all her life.

Just as deep in Rast's heart, it was the desire to "become a shore watchman" that supported him to cycle back and forth in the Deep Blue Harbor for hundreds of years without ever falling into despair.

For Hiltina, the driving force that has supported her to withstand all kinds of rumors, the doubts and scolds from her companions and even her best friends, and to reach her current point is the ideal of being a "Forest Ranger".

"For ordinary people, what Little Tina did is indeed difficult to understand."

"She threw away her supposedly guaranteed heir, the royal family's resources and status, and the chance to be the next empress... She dedicated her life to a seemingly inexplicable ideal."

"Such paranoia can even be considered stupid."

Dean Yin blinked. "However, in my opinion, little Tina's heart is truly dazzling. Such a brilliant ideal... is worthy of comparison with you, a Prismatic Meal Ticket of the highest rarity."

"That's why I was a little surprised by the contents of this letter."

Dean Yin narrowed his eyes slightly. "Although I don't like to admit it, you are quite popular with women. Not only Gray from the Echoes of History...but also little Tina."

"However, for little Tina, accepting this marriage proposal initiated by her father would be tantamount to bowing to her father."

"This is a concern called family affection, but it is also a chain..."

"It forced her to correct her own paranoia."

"Or rather, voluntarily give up the ideal of being a 'Forest Ranger'."

……

The next day, noon.

Last boarded the special bus to the imperial capital from the external platform of Star University.

Somewhat similar to the special train that had previously led to the Arcana Tower, the exterior of this special train was also engraved with the symbol of the Granville Empire—the pattern of the black eagle.

However, compared with the previous military trains, the interior decoration of this train is more special. The carriages are matte black and have been carefully polished, revealing a low-key luxury, indicating its unique identity as a member of the imperial royal family.

This royal train seems to use the latest technology, running very fast but almost silently.

The scenery outside the car window was also changing rapidly.

The endless golden fields outside Fanxing University, where cattle and sheep could be seen and grass blew in the wind, gradually disappeared.

In its place, there is an incomparably magnificent and incomparably prosperous city——

"The place where morning light and starlight meet", "City of Cities"... This city has too many titles.

Of course, there is another name that is more familiar to the people of Granville Empire——

imperial capital.

This is the political and economic core of the entire Granville Empire and even the entire Western Continent.

Even if one looks across the entire continent, there are only a few metropolises that can be compared with the Imperial Capital, such as the Holy Court of the Holy Kingdom and the neutral City of Knowledge.

The train entered the city but did not slow down. Instead, it continued to run for more than ten minutes before stopping between a group of palaces.

"I'm going to catch up on some sleep in the subspace. Call me when you're done."

Dean Yin said hello and then disappeared into the rift of the secondary dimension.

Its temperament has always been like this. If it dislikes someone, it will never have anything to do with them until it dies.

boom--

The train door slowly opened.

Outside the car door, palace maids were already waiting respectfully.

"Mr. Luster."

"His Majesty and his wife are waiting for you in the mansion."

……

"So, does this count as me meeting the parents?"

Rast smiled and followed the maid's instructions into the luxurious palace.

(End of this chapter)