Mother and Daughter Reunited 

After confirming the knights meant no harm, Ard decided to accompany them.

Just then, the knight captain said, “If you would both please mount your drakes. We are still charged with protecting His Highness and cannot be away for too long.”

Ard: “…”

How am I supposed to get on a drake with all this weight?!

He tentatively glanced at the two drakes the Marquis had given him. The moment they met his gaze, they seemed to understand his intention. Their eyes widened in terror as they began to shake their heads frantically.

Ard: “…”

These two drakes were the most elite and intelligent of the Marquis’s military stock. For the past month, they had been firsthand witnesses to the crushing weight of Ard’s gear. If he sat on them, they would probably collapse on the spot. Their vivid, all-too-human expressions of fear stunned everyone present.

Though he didn’t understand why the drakes were reacting this way, the knight captain, being a man who knew his mounts, couldn’t help but be impressed, a look of envy and admiration in his eyes. A good mount was something a knight could never resist.

Yexi covered her mouth, stifling a laugh. “Pffft.”

Ard looked helplessly at her. Yexi first handed the little girl on her drake to the knight captain, asking him to carry her. Then, with a lithe, graceful movement, she mounted one of the drakes and extended a hand to Ard. “Let me give you a ride.”

The drake she was riding turned its head and let out a pitiful whimper. “Awooo, awooo.”

Yexi smiled and patted its head, as if to reassure it.

Ard felt the strange, slightly contemptuous gazes of the knight captain and his men on him, but he was not one to hesitate. He took Yexi’s offered hand. With a light pull, she lifted him onto the drake’s back behind her.

The poor drake, which had braced itself to be crushed, was surprised to find that Ard’s weight had added nothing to its load. It let out a long, triumphant cry.

Ard felt an invisible force supporting his body and instantly understood. “You’re using your Ki.”

Yexi just gave a faint smile, not answering.

Seeing they were ready, the knight captain said, “Then let us depart.”

The troop of knights set off toward Little Cora’s village. Yexi followed at a leisurely pace, the other, unridden drake trotting steadily behind her.

On the drake’s back, Ard inhaled the sweet fragrance of the beautiful woman so close to him and sighed. “I feel like my glorious image is beginning to crack.”

Yexi scoffed. “You have an image? Oh, right, you do. Pervert, human-shaped autocannon, underwear fetishist, man whose brain is in his lower body… not much of an image to speak of.”

“Heh,” Ard retorted. “Those are all baseless accusations you’ve forced upon me. I’ve never acted on any of them.”

“Heh, if you had acted on them, you wouldn’t be sitting behind me in one piece. You may not have acted, but you’ve had every physiological reaction in the book. And I feel you haven’t missed a single opportunity for mental desecration, judging by your disgusting gazes over the past month. And don’t think I haven’t noticed… what are you staring at now?”

Ard’s mouth twitched. Yexi never pulled her punches. He glanced at the others riding along. She seemed to be deliberately keeping a certain distance. Amidst the clatter of hooves, their conversation went unnoticed. That was a relief, at least.

As for what he was staring at… good heavens, a stunningly beautiful woman, a graceful rider with a perfect figure, was sitting right in front of him, less than ten centimeters away. The waterfall of her soft, silky silver hair occasionally brushed against his face, and her natural, pure fragrance was like a top-grade aphrodisiac, making his head spin. That he could sit there without losing control was a testament to the discipline he had forged over the past month. To ask him to control his eyes as well… that was too much.

Ard could only lament that the beauty before him was not his own. Otherwise, to rest his head on her fragrant shoulder and whisper sweet nothings… how romantic that would be.

Good moments always pass quickly. With the speed of the drakes, they soon arrived at the village.

A group of people was already waiting at the entrance. At their head was a tall, blonde, blue-eyed woman in light armor. Her resolute, determined face possessed an unconventional beauty, and the greatsword hanging at her waist served as a clear warning to any who might have untoward thoughts.

The knight captain reined in his drake smoothly before the woman, dismounted with sharp precision, and gave a military salute. “Commander, the child has been found.”

The female commander was pleased with her subordinate’s efficiency. “You were quick. Well done.”

“Little Cora! My child!” A woman cried out and ran over, lifting Little Cora from the drake’s back and holding her in a tight embrace, tears of joy streaming down her wrinkled face. Little Cora, now in her mother’s arms, finally released all her pent-up fear and began to wail.

Yexi and Ard arrived just then.

The female commander looked at the pair and asked, puzzled, “And… who are they?”

The knight captain explained, “According to the girl, they were the ones who saved her from the bandits. We just happened to run into them as they were escorting her back.”

“I see.” The female commander’s gaze swept over them. She could get a rough sense of Ard’s strength, but Yexi was a complete enigma. She seemed like an ordinary, beautiful young woman.

Yexi reined in her drake and said coldly, “You can get down now.”

“Right.” Though he was reluctant, Ard didn’t linger. He swung his leg over and dismounted. The moment he landed, Yexi released her Ki support. The heavy thud as his feet hit the ground immediately drew everyone’s attention.

The knight captain’s eyes widened in disbelief as he stared at the deep impressions Ard’s feet had made in the hard-packed earth.

“What is this…”

The female commander stated her conclusion. “He’s carrying weights. And they’re not light, not at all.” She watched as Ard walked toward them, each step leaving a significant footprint in the ground. To be able to sink into solid earth like that… the weight must be really immense.

The knight captain’s expression immediately changed to one of respect. He had looked down on Ard before, but to have such great perseverance was worthy of admiration. And to be able to support such a weight with his Ki… perhaps Ard really was just a poor rider. The captain still thought Ard had been supporting his own weight, not even considering the harmless-looking Yexi as a master.

The female commander, however, sensed something was amiss and turned her gaze to Yexi. But Yexi seemed not to notice, simply leading the two drakes calmly behind Ard.

Ard smiled as he watched the mother and daughter’s reunion. Little Cora peeked her head out from her mother’s embrace and pointed at them. “Mama, it was the big brother and big sister who saved me.”

“Thank you, thank you so much! Our saviors, I don’t know how I can ever repay your kindness!” The woman was about to kneel, but Ard quickly stopped her.

Just then, the female commander walked over. “Thank you for saving this girl.”

“And you are?” Ard asked.

The female commander didn’t elaborate. “Just a knight protecting my superior. My name is Kelly Sidney.”

Ard nodded. “A pleasure. You can call me Ard. This is Yexi.”

Yexi gave Kelly a slight nod and said nothing more.

At that moment, an aged, wizened old man slowly walked out, his wrinkled face and white hair a testament to his years. He bowed to Ard and the female commander. “Thank you, benefactors, for not only saving Little Cora, but our entire village. We have nothing to offer in return but a humble meal to show our gratitude.”

Seeing the old man’s frail state, Ard quickly helped him up. “There is no need for such formalities, elder. We only did what our hearts told us to do.”

The old man was taken aback by his answer. The female commander also replied, “Punishing the wicked and helping the weak is my duty. There is no need for thanks.”

“That’s right! We are all citizens of the Hanlock Kingdom. How can we stand by and watch our own people be harmed by those villains?”

A young boy, dressed in rich, noble attire, came running out, a frantic maidservant chasing after him.

“Your… Young Master! You mustn’t run around! It’s still not safe here!”

The boy pouted. “With you guys protecting us, how can it not be safe? Weren’t the bandits attacking the village already scared off?”

A thought struck Ard. “There were other bandits attacking the village?”

“That’s right,” Kelly nodded. “We were originally just passing through this area, but our scouts discovered a group of bandits attacking the village, so we came to suppress them. But after a few casualties, the bandits fled. That’s why we were staying in this village, and how we learned a girl was still missing and sent our men to find her.”

“I see.” Ard glanced at the well-armed guards. A pity. If they had committed their full force, they could have wiped out those bandits. But neither he nor the village chief had the right to ask more of them. They were not the local soldiers, and they were clearly on a protection detail. To have detoured and risked their own mission to drive off the bandits and help find a missing person was already an act of great kindness. Private soldiers from another territory garrisoning a village could be a cause for accusation if the local lord was unreasonable. And Baron Paunch was the most unreasonable of them all.

The old village chief, clearly thinking of his own unreliable lord, said with a wry smile, “If all the noble lords were as thoughtful as the young master, our lives would be much better. We will be holding a banquet tonight to thank all of our saviors. If you are not in a hurry, I hope you will attend.”

Ard agreed. “We have no problem with that. It will be nice to finally sleep in a bed tonight.”

“We…” Kelly was about to say they had to leave that night.

“We’ll attend!” But the young master who had suddenly appeared did not agree. He seemed very interested in the evening’s banquet.