The tide of ecstasy on the pier continued, the deafening cheers almost tearing through the clouds.
King stood at the bow, the sea breeze lightly fluttering the black hair on his forehead.
There was no expression on his face, but he was sighing in his heart.
This commotion was too much; it was even noisier than Inazuma's thunderstorms.
"Eh?"
King suddenly seemed to have discovered something.
Ascending beyond his limiter had brought not just power, but also five senses that transcended common sense.
Thousands of gazes, like a complex array of light points, flowed through King's perception.
The vast majority were gazes of fanatical worship, merging into a warm ocean.
However, among these countless gazes of worship, there was one that was particularly different, catching King's instinctive attention.
This gaze was heavy and complex, brimming with emotion, falling upon King like aged wine or late autumn mist.
Within it surged an indissoluble longing, a cautious attachment, and an indescribable sense of grievance.
King's gaze instinctively turned toward a corner of the pier.
Under a lush, leafy tree.
A petite figure wrapped in a large black cloak stood quietly in the shade.
The cloak's hood was pulled very low, covering most of his face, leaving only a small section of a fair, delicate chin and a few stray strands of blue hair visible.
Against the backdrop of everyone else lost in collective revelry and surging forward,
this black figure staying still alone appeared so conspicuous.
King's gaze fell upon him.
The surrounding deafening waves of "Long live Lord Su Ze!" and "Ten trillion Mora!"
The ribbons and flowers flying through the air.
People's faces contorted with excitement... all these noisy backgrounds were instantly pushed away and blurred in his perception.
In his sight, only a pair of heterochromatic eyes remained, which were currently widening slightly because of their eye contact.
The left eye was as blue as the clear sky, and the right was like pale gold starlight.
It was Furina.
It was Furina, who had sneaked out.
He even thought he was well-disguised, wearing a black cloak that was completely useless other than making him even more conspicuous.
The corners of King's mouth curled into a pleasant arc.
The slight irritability in his heart caused by the noise Melted away silently, like thin snow touched by sunlight.
The world seemed to fall silent.
Leaving only that slender figure in the black cloak and the blue trench coat at the bow.
Furina felt his heart, in that instant, as if it were gently squeezed by a warm hand and then suddenly released!
"Thump, thump, thump!!!"
The temperature of Furina's cheeks soared, his heart crashing around haphazardly in his chest like a startled finch.
The violent sound of his heartbeat thundered frantically against Furina's eardrums.
It was so loud he suspected everyone around could hear it.
How did King spot him at a single glance?!
This cloak's color was very dark and low-key.
Standing in the shade of the tree, it blended perfectly into the background!
I clearly disguised myself perfectly!
Furina had an incredibly firm, yet mistaken, perception of his own disguise skills.
What should he do now?
Should he immediately turn around and slip away into the crowd, or shout out and reveal his identity?
Furina's mind was a mess.
Ecstasy, panic, and grievance.
All sorts of emotions exploded in his little heart like an overturned palette.
Furina's fingers, hidden under the cloak, trembled slightly, and his eyes uncontrollably began to heat up.
He wanted to lower his head and avoid that gaze,
like a startled little animal wanting to hide back in its shell.
But his body betrayed its owner's will.
Furina's neck was stiff; instead of lowering his head, he tilted it up slightly and gave King a brilliant smile.
King looked at Furina's flushed face, his heart full of amusement.
Furina's face grew even redder because he saw the man, who was the center of everyone's attention at the bow, wink his left eye at him.
"Boom—!"
Furina felt he had suddenly become so strange!
He almost forgot how to breathe!
His face began to burn, and his heart pounded frantically, making him feel quite distressed.
But at the same time, a sweet warm current flowed to his limbs and bones with every beat of his heart.
The distress vanished, replaced by secret joy and sweetness.
Furina's brain was mush.
What little wisdom he had was now entirely absent.
Across the sea of cheering people and the vast distance, the two of them just stared at each other quietly.
He stood in the light, cheered by thousands.
He hid in the shadows under the tree, looking only at him.
The clamor was merely background noise; a silent understanding became their secret channel.
Furina no longer wanted to continue his "disguise"; he took off his cloak, stretched out a fair little hand, and waved vigorously in King's direction.
Like a kitten carefully retracting its claws.
The smile in King's eyes deepened.
He withdrew his gaze and stopped looking under the tree, as if that brief eye contact had been purely accidental.
But Furina knew it wasn't an accident.
He pressed his hand to his racing chest, feeling an unprecedented sense of fulfillment and happiness.
King was finally back.
Furina covered his face with both hands, hiding the corners of his mouth that couldn't stop turning up.
Where no one could see, his tiny toes curled up tightly from shyness.
Furina turned and, like a flexible little fish, slipped quietly into the crowd behind him, heading back toward the Opera Epiclese with a heart full of sweetness.
He had to prepare the welcome refreshments before King got back.
Yes, he had to brew the black tea King liked and prepare the little cakes he had praised... Venti held his red wine and took a blissful gulp.
As the god with the strongest perception among the Seven Archons,
he keenly captured the scene just now.
"Ehe~"
Venti, like a cat that had discovered a secret, immediately floated over to King, nudged him lightly with an elbow, and teased him with a knowing look and a low voice:
"Mr. King, putting on a cold front, are you doing it specifically to maintain your image?"
"You're actually ecstatic inside, aren't you?"
"This is what they call—"
He intentionally elongated his tone, grinning as he spat out three words:
"A~ closet~ pervert~"
"..."
The bit of joy on King's face vanished instantly without a trace.
He slowly, very slowly, turned his head and looked at Venti expressionlessly.
In those black eyes, there was no emotion, as calm as the deepest sea before a storm.
The smile on Venti's face froze instantly, and the hand holding the wine bottle trembled.
*Gulp.*
Venti swallowed hard.
He felt the surrounding air suddenly become so heavy, so heavy that he was almost unable to float!
A chill shot from the soles of his feet straight to the top of his head!
"I-I'm just kidding! Ehe! Purely a joke!"
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