After the games were over for the day, Syrous went with Ash to walk around the inner town. Syrous was tense, keeping his guard up.
'The inner city is full of outsiders; if we ended up being recognized...I am afraid this day might not end this peacefully...' Deep in his mind he was praying not to be recognized.
Ash suddenly stopped moving, startling Syrous. Ash didn't say much but kept staring at a flower shop on the side of the road.
Syrous looked at the shop and then again at Ash, asking,
"Is there any problem?"
"In"
"Huh!?"
Ash didn't explain anything and moved towards the shop. While Syrous was still processing, Ash was already opening the doors, so Syrous hurried behind him.
"W…wait for me...you forgot someone behind."
Upon entering the shop Syrous didn't notice anything unusual,
"All are...roots and leaves...you don't like gardening, otherwise I would say you came here to buy some?!" He turned at Ash, looking for answers. "So, why are we even here?"
Ash ignored him and moved forward, only to stop behind a girl who was plucking flowers from the pot on the ground.
Syrous was confused by his actions. 'Did his majesty finally go insane?...That wouldn't be unexpected though.'
The girl in black stood up holding a single red rose in her hand, but when standing, she lost her balance and almost fell to the ground, but Ash instinctively held her waist and left hand, preventing her fall.
With a deep, calm voice Ash asked, "Are you okay?"
The girl looked up at him, smiling gently. "We meet again, pretty boy."
After she balanced herself, she turned to face him; only then did Syrous see who she was.
"Princess...what are you doing here?"
They didn't spare him a glance and kept going with their conversation.
Serenity calmly said, "My legs were numb from sitting for too long that I almost fell. Thanks for the timely rescue; I appreciate it."
"No worries, even without me you could have handled yourself somehow."
"I am happy you have such opinions of me, but...aren't you afraid I am a bad person?" Serenity was actually surprised by his words; after all, she didn't really use that much of her abilities in front of him.
"Not at all."
The confidence in his speech stunned her greatly.
"Wow, you are quick to trust others; be careful, it's not a good habit."
Ash explained, "I am usually very cautious when dealing with others, including relatives, but if it's you, I feel there is no need to keep my guard up."
Serenity's eyes widened from the shock, but she was genuinely happy and relieved. "It's truly a blessing you are still the same even without your memories."
Serenity held the rose in her hand tightly; a genuine happy smile curled her lips as she faced the man standing in front of her. "What can I say? You're still you after all."
Ash, looking at that smile, couldn't help but feel uneasy. "Her smile is clearly a happy one, but I can feel it has a hint of sadness in it...not only this once, but every time she smiled at me before was the same."
Ash clutched onto his chest, his face frowned, thinking, "Why do I keep making you sad?...Serenity, why every time you smile like that, I feel my heart ripped into pieces? It's painful...even worse than my own magical fluctuation."
Serenity felt something was wrong with him; she attentively asked, "Ash, are you okay?"
Ash let go of his chest and brushed her black bangs away from her face, making her face turn red. She held his hand between both her arms and placed her face in the palm of his hand with closed eyes. She calmly said,
"No worries, I am fine... just like you."
"Mm-hm."
He didn't say much; just a simple nod was enough for them to feel at ease.
Syrous, who was watching on the side, had his jaws dropped to the floor wide open from the shock. He was still in a denial state. 'Is he still the cruel, shameless tyrant I know?...Yesterday that old hag and today Serenity. Did my lord finally lose it?'
Syrous hesitated to say anything, but after thinking it over twice, he decided to stay away. "After what happened yesterday with that old hag who has no brain and is stupid enough to question anything...sorry about that, but staying alive is my first priority."
She asked, full of curiosity, "You like flowers?"
"What?!"
Seeing her clueless look, he pointed at the red rose in her hand, and she smiled.
"Buying them doesn't mean liking them."
"Why buy then?"
"I don't like most flowers, but...I have a particular fondness for roses." She held the rose near her face and sniffed it, then placed it in front of his face and said, "Smell it."
-sniff, sniff-
"Nothing strange." He didn't understand what she really meant by her words, so he turned at her. "I am not really into flowers, but is there something special about roses?"
"Smell it once more...Doesn't this smell look familiar to you?"
"Sniff...I don't really get your meaning. Sorry about that."
"No worries."
Serenity held the rose and headed towards the counter.
"Are there any more roses?"
"I am sorry, what?" The lady working on the counter looked at her strangely. "Is she blind or something? The pot is full of roses, yet she asks me if there is more. Did a donkey kick her head or something?"
Ash whispered in her ears, "Do the rest of them not suit your liking?"
She turned her head slightly. "I want red roses just like this one in my hand; the rest are no good."
"I got it now." After hearing her words, he seemed to understand something from them. He hurried to the pot full of flowers and plucked one rose after the other till he gathered enough for a small bouquet, then handed them over to Serenity.
"Here you go." He opened her palm and placed the roses in her hand and closed it. "Those are all I could find; I hope you like them."
Serenity placed them near her face and smelled them carefully. A satisfied smile appeared on her face. "Just what I needed. Thank you."
Ash nodded after seeing her satisfied; he was also strangely satisfied. He turned at Syrous back to his cold voice, "Settle the pill."
Syrous was leaning on the counter when Ash's words startled him.
"O...on it."
When he got to settle the bill, the counter lady asked him in confusion,
"Are they your friends?"
"Something like that," he answered awkwardly, but deep down he was so confused by his actions and afraid of his next words. "Since when was he so touchy?...No wait, since when was he gentle when dealing with others, especially women?...I have never even seen his mother touch his hands, let alone a woman he met for the second time today....This old monster is becoming harder to understand."
Serenity suddenly thought of something. She placed her roses on the counter and walked into the shop.
"Oh! Right, wait for me here."
"Where is she going?"
The counter lady turned at Syrous for answers, but he shrugged his shoulders.
"Don't ask me."
After a while Serenity returned, holding a closed white flower. The counter lady was surprised she picked that flower.
"This flower came among our newest patch last week, but it didn't bloom no matter the method I used. Why did you pick it from all of them?"
Serenity kept staring at the flower in her hand; after a while, she looked at the counter lady. "Doesn't matter why... are you selling or not?"
Although the counter lady was confused, she still sold it to her anyway.
"Selling? Why not?...I am not the one losing anyway."
Serenity handed her bank card to finalize the payment for that flower. After sorting everything, Serenity received her roses in a beautiful bouquet. She looked at the closed flower in her hand, then turned to the lady at the counter, asking,
"Do you happen to have any glass plates in here?"
"You can't find any here, but ... at the end of the street on your left you will encounter one that sells them, but their prices are a bit high."
"Thanks."
"You're welcome to visit again."
The three of them walked outside the shop. On their way, Syrous asked Serenity,
"Why did you use a bank card?"
Serenity continued with the conversation as they kept walking.
"What?....You think I shouldn't have?"
Syrous shook his head frantically. "That's not what I meant, but if you are a student, then your purchase is supposed to be for free, right?"
Serenity answered firmly, "Being free doesn't mean I should accept them. What I hate most is free stuff from others."
"Okay," is what he said, but deep down he wasn't convinced and even criticized her: "A bunch of bullshit. Didn't you accept Ash's free flowers a minute ago? If you ask me, I call this a double-standard personality."
Ash noticed Serenity sweating heavily. He stopped moving forward and looked at the sky above. "Considering it was raining yesterday, this raging heat is not reasonable at all."
Syrous innocently said, "Is it hot?...I think it's alright."
"There is a cafe right ahead; let's take shelter from the sun in there."
"Sounds good to me," Ash said, then turned to Syrous, who was walking behind him. "Since you don't have a problem with the heat, then go buy the plate; we will wait for you inside."
'Me and my big mouth, was it really necessary to talk?...Am I forgetting he is the real devil?' Syrous slapped his mouth shut.
Serenity and Ash entered the cafe. Ash followed behind Serenity and headed directly to the second floor, taking a private table near the window.
The second floor was near empty; on the contrary, the first floor is so crowded you can hardly stand, making Ash suspicious.
"While the city is full of visitors, why is no one here?"
"The only thing provided on the second floor is a cold cake and a cup of coffee, which cost a fortune; you can take it as if not everyone is a fan."
"I see."
Serenity placed her rose bouquet on the side near the window and placed the closed white flower in the middle of the table, then leaned on it.
"Do you know what flower this is?"
Ash, who didn't know anything about flowers, felt strangely familiar with that flower; he unconsciously answered,
"A Lotus"
"Nine guesses, it's definitely a Lotus."
Serenity pushed the closed lotus towards Ash, saying, "From this second till the end of this moment, I will answer whatever you want to know, so ask carefully."
Ash didn't take long to think and directly asked her directly,
"Why did you choose a rose?...What does it really mean to you?"
"You can answer this yourself."
"How?!"
"Because the answer is the same as to why you know Lotus when you never saw them. Think carefully: why do you recognize Lotus from all flowers?"
Ash thought carefully about the why, but he couldn't come up with an answer that was enough to convince himself, but suddenly he recalled how she showed him the red roses previously. 'Does it have anything to do with the smell?'
Ash quickly grabbed the lotus and smelled it carefully, to be stunned at what he found.
"The aroma of this flower... I can smell it on you."
"Pfft, hahahahah...you...you truly never change…this is still the first thing you notice even after so many years…" The bright smile drawn on her face was something he never saw on her before; his face turned red instantly.
Realizing what he just said, he felt so embarrassed he wished the ground could swallow him. 'What the hell did I say? She must be thinking I am a pervert after that.'
Syrous came at the time, disturbing their mood.
"Sorry I am late."
Ash changed from the shy boy earlier into a beast that wanted to swallow Syrous on the spot; no matter how embarrassing the situation was, he didn't want anyone disturbing his peace.
"I am sorry." Syrous felt terrified; he left the plate over the table and ran for his life, but even when he was gone, Ash was still glaring at the entrance.
"Idiot"
"Easy there, he is just a kid," Serenity extended her hand forward, saying, "Give me the lotus, and I will show you something beautiful."
Ash handed her the lotus, and she took out a pottle of potion from her bag, filling the glass plate with its contents. It was a water-like liquid. After that, she placed the closed flower in it.
Serenity removed her right-hand glove and said in a calm yet alluring voice, "Let me tell you this: I don't smell like a lotus; I myself am an original white water lily."
Ash asked in confusion, "What does that mean?"
"What do you think a lotus symbolizes?"
Ash answered truthfully, "The essence of both beauty and purity associated with spirituality—from what you said previously, are you telling me you are an unrivalled empress?"
A wicked smile drew over her face as she said, "I dare to sell; do you dare to buy?"
"Buy"
He answered without any hesitation, making her smile widen even more.
"Did you figure it out all by yourself?"
Only when she said those words did Ash realize what he just said: "That's right…how did I know all of that?...The value of the memories serenity holds is getting more valued."
Serenity placed her middle finger over the closed white lotus, and a sky blue aura covered the closed lotus as she said,
"It's time to wake up, my sleeping beauty."
Those words triggered memories that flashed back on Ash's mind like a bullet on his mind; he clutched his head from the intense pain, but the pain gradually weakened as the flower opened, showing its true form.
Ash's eyes widened as he saw the final look of the lotus; as it turned out, instead of the usual leaves and petals, the one in front of him was fully made of crystals, but strangely enough, the natural air around it remained unchanged as if it were alive.
"Is this how a Lotus should look?"
One of the Lotus's petals turned black and fell into Serenity's hands; she held it and blew on it to turn it into ashes right in front of the dazed Ash.
"It's not what a normal Lotus should look like, but it's what YOUR Lotus looks like."