Silvia: I Smell Something Bad

Two days later.

Servia returned from the Wizarding World.

Within the Clawphire Territory, everything had long been prepared. All that remained was for Xu Xi to journey to the Wizarding World, where he would receive the most sincere and heartfelt blessings from the parents of the Hero.

However.

Before setting off.

The Hero, somewhat puzzled, sniffed around Xu Xi.

"How strange," her eyes, clear as spring water and shimmering with an emerald-like green, swirled with confusion.

"Is something wrong, Servia?"

"Great Wizard, I feel like there's a strange scent lingering on you."

It wasn’t a pungent stench.

Rather, it was more of a psychological sensation—an unshakable sense of territorial encroachment that left Servia deeply unsettled.

Such was the intuition of a Hero.

The cicadas chirped endlessly, the summer heat unrelenting. Xu Xi glanced back at the courtyard, where the Witch was dutifully trimming the Dragonblood Grass.

"Perhaps it’s just your imagination, Servia."

"...Maybe."

Servia nodded blankly, her long hair fluttering in the wind, its platinum-gold radiance like a continuous halo of warm, bright light.

She knew her priorities.

Bringing the Great Wizard home was the true matter of importance.

Compared to that, the discomfort of the strange "scent" was trivial.

"Let’s go now, Great Wizard!" Her platinum-blonde hair cascaded freely down her back, unbound and untied, accentuating the noble brilliance of her figure.

Impatiently.

She took Xu Xi’s hand.

With her Holy Sword, she cleaved through space-time, leaping from the Ascendant Universe centered on Earth to the infinite chaos beyond.

"There’s no need to rush. I’m right here—I won’t disappear."

Along the way.

Xu Xi gently tapped Servia’s head with a feather-light touch, signaling her to slow down, to take her time.

Servia obeyed.

She complied without hesitation.

"Forgive me, Great Wizard. I’m just… too excited."

The chaotic void lacked the conventional concepts of light, darkness, or time. Moments slipped through their fingers as if accelerated a trillion-fold, freezing the playful expression on the Hero’s face into eternity.

From her bosom, she retrieved a small pouch.

Inside were still-warm fresh bread and an unknown black-purple jam.

The cloth wrapping them bore a pattern of adorable butterflies in mid-flight, encircling the bread.

This was the breakfast the girl had prepared for Xu Xi.

"Great Wizard, I disturbed you so early today. I thought… you might not have eaten yet."

"If you don’t mind, please have this to tide you over."

"There will be a banquet in your honor at noon."

The gray currents of chaos brushed past the strands of the Hero’s hair, revealing a slightly embarrassed expression tinged with a blush.

Servia felt a little self-conscious.

Afraid she had disrupted Xu Xi’s usual routine.

Xu Xi chuckled. "It’s fine, Servia."

"This is more than enough. It smells wonderful—I like it."

He didn’t mention that, at his current level of power, eating was unnecessary.

Nor did he refuse the Hero’s kindness.

Instead, Xu Xi naturally accepted the bread from Servia’s hands, spread the black-purple jam, and took a bite.

He gave his approval: "Mmm, just as I expected—perfectly soft and sweet."

Servia’s eyes sparkled with delight.

Whoosh—

Whoosh whoosh—

Overlapping dimensions streaked past as countless realms were left behind.

A single ripple in the River of Time could birth or annihilate worlds. Enormous ancient droplets collided, reflecting the final destination of their journey.

[The Wizarding World].

A world once devastated, yet saved by the Hero’s reversal of time.

"How should I describe what I’m feeling now? Like a lifetime has passed?"

"That’s not entirely wrong."

"After all, from the Fifth Simulation until now, an immeasurable span of time and countless simulated worlds have come and gone."

Holding Servia’s soft hand, Xu Xi stepped into the Wizarding World.

In an instant, his consciousness swept across the entirety of the world, taking in countless flora and fauna—familiar yet utterly foreign.

Xu Xi had once witnessed them tainted by the Underworld’s corruption.

He had even experimented on them.

But the vibrant scene before him was the complete opposite—a magnificent ode to the miracle of life.

"Great Wizard, I’ll take you there!"

"Thank you, Servia."

The Hero was so exhilarated that her flight left behind lingering trails of energy as she whisked Xu Xi straight into the heart of the Clawphire Territory.

The wind howled.

Flowers and grass trembled in their wake.

"Oh my! Look at Servia’s fiancé—what a handsome gentleman!"

"How wonderful! Lady Servia is finally getting married!"

"They say he’s an all-powerful Wizard? Good heavens, I can hardly believe it!"

As Xu Xi and Servia arrived, exclamations of awe and joy erupted endlessly within the mansion’s gardens.

The voices bore similarities to those of the Wu Family.

Yet there were differences.

As the Emerald of Clawphire, Servia was known for her gentle nature. To the servants and people of the territory, she had always been a worryingly kind-hearted child.

Now, they watched with heartfelt relief.

The girl they had raised was finally embracing her happiness.

Soon after.

Servia’s father, Viscount Clawphire, personally emerged to invite Xu Xi into the mansion.

"Honored Great Wizard—"

"No need for formalities. Just call me Xu Xi."

A familiar scene unfolded once more.

Here in Clawphire, the Hero’s parents greeted Xu Xi with a mix of reverence and nervousness, carefully measuring their words lest they misspeak.

Xu Xi patiently reassured them.

He explained everything in a way that put their minds at ease, allowing them to converse freely.

Throughout it all, Servia sat nearby, swinging her legs idly, resting her chin on her hands as she watched her parents and Xu Xi talk.

As she watched.

A faint smile graced her lips.

"This is nice," she thought.

Her parents were her most cherished family. Xu Xi was her most beloved. She had always longed for the two sides to meet and converse.

Now, her dream had come true.

The girl couldn’t help but giggle foolishly to herself.

And it was that very laughter that finally dispelled Viscount Clawphire’s last traces of unease. Hesitantly, he gazed at Xu Xi’s face and, at last, let go of his tension.

"In the days to come… we entrust Servia to you, Xu Xi."

"She… still has many immature aspects. We hope you won’t mind and will be as patient with her as you can."

A parent’s plea, filled with warmth and concern.

As he spoke.

The Viscount and his wife looked upon Servia with the utmost tenderness.

The girl who had ascended to the pinnacle of power no longer needed anyone’s care. But in her parents’ eyes, Servia would always remain their little girl—the child who would blink up at them with teary, pleading eyes, begging for tales of heroic adventures.

They yearned for her growth, yet resisted the inevitable independence it brought.

Until they met Xu Xi.

Until they saw him extend his hand to Servia in a world of desolate death.

Then they knew.

They could rest easy.