Chapter 1 An Unexpected Welcome

In a blaze of light and shadow woven by fireworks and magic, the airship slowly descended. Even before it was close to the ground, Hao Ren could hear the immense cheers rising from below. He looked at the surging crowds, a sea of color, and couldn't help but mutter to Sir Moriarty beside him, "Looks like Veronica is pretty popular with the commoners."

"The commoners might not know about the Princess's glorious achievements abroad," Moriarty shrugged. "They just each get a sweet pastry."

Hao Ren: "..."

After a slight tremor, the airship finally docked smoothly at the edge of a rectangular platform built of white stone. The sturdy Mountain Warriors pushed the heavy gangplank from the platform to the airship's gunwale and secured it with latches. Then, the Royal Honor Guard fired a twenty-two-gun salute on both sides of the red carpet. Only then did Veronica and Moriarty appear before the crowd.

Hao Ren stood on the other side of Veronica, even slightly ahead of Moriarty by half a body's width.

Twenty knights who had followed the princess through life and death and finally returned in triumph marched in formation behind the three of them. These knights hadn't changed out of their battlefield attire. They still wore their battle-scarred, blood-stained armor, and the long swords at their waists were full of the ravages of fierce battles. The twenty knights came down from the gangplank with the momentum of a thousand men, instantly igniting the enthusiasm of the surrounding commoners. A grander cheer than before roared like a tsunami as people began to shout the name of the kingdom's battlefield rose – the cheers were deafening.

Veronica waved to the crowd below the platform, her gaze lingering slightly on certain points within the crowd, nodding almost imperceptibly. It seemed she hadn't returned too late.

Hao Ren saw everything. He could, of course, see the ringleaders in the surrounding cheers, and he naturally assumed that the Princess would need some means to maintain her prestige in the royal city and to deter the noble factions she governed. These things didn't disgust him or make him have any criticisms of Veronica. He was simply uninterested in it all. Like any qualified inspector, he maintained an observer's attitude towards these "passing landscapes."

He walked forward with the Princess, observing everything. At the end of the red carpet, he saw a dignified middle-aged man in gorgeous robes and a group of nobles of various sizes standing behind him.

*This must be the King of Taros,* he guessed.

Sure enough, Veronica immediately bowed before this middle-aged man, preparing to pay her respects to her royal father according to royal etiquette. But before she could, the dignified king had already taken a step forward. For the first time in his life, Rudolph III actively tossed aside the cumbersome rules and gave his daughter a hug: "Welcome home, my child."

"Father," Veronica seemed to have expected this hug. She stepped back and simply smiled. "It's good to see you in good health. I've returned, and I've brought important intelligence."

"You crossed the Border of Order?" Rudolph III looked intently at Veronica and the knights behind her, his gaze finally resting on Hao Ren. He could, of course, tell that this was a stranger, but this stranger stood in such a conspicuous and important place, even seeming more esteemed than Veronica's Royal Sword Instructor. He couldn't help but wonder where this oddly dressed man came from. "And you've brought a guest."

Veronica immediately stepped aside and solemnly introduced, "Father, this is an ancient guardian we brought out from the Sacred Mountain of Caswan. He helped us cross the Chaos Realm and led us through all the great achievements along the way. His name is Hao Ren, and he comes from the last millennium."

Rudolph III's expression was suddenly somewhat stunned.

Of all the guesses that His Majesty the King might have had, this was the most unbelievable.

The courtiers standing behind Rudolph III naturally heard Veronica's words as well, and their expressions were equally colorful. These high-ranking officials were naturally not ignorant villagers. Although they had never seen Veronica's copy of the ancient texts about the Sacred Mountain of Caswan, they had at least heard similar legends. Therefore, they could naturally understand what an ancient guardian awakened from the ancient sacred ground meant – it not only meant that a powerful warrior had returned to the World of Order, but also that certain ancient technologies and lost fragments of history could potentially be filled in.

However, such things basically only happened in the stories of bards and bad playwrights.

No one would have thought that they would actually encounter such a thing in their lifetime, but some of the old ministers were somewhat relieved after seeing the dust-covered knights behind Veronica: if it was this famous knight princess, it didn't seem too strange to encounter such an adventure.

Hao Ren remained silent, watching the scene of the father and daughter reuniting and the knights' triumphant return. He didn't intend to speak out in this strange kingdom for the time being. But at that moment, he felt an unusual gaze fall on him.

In fact, many gazes were focused on him, this suddenly appearing "ancient guardian." If his perception wasn't already beyond that of ordinary people, he probably wouldn't have been able to distinguish one or two special gazes from the crowd.

With a stirring in his heart, Hao Ren slightly raised his eyelids and found the source of the gaze: behind Rudolph III, a thin, pale-faced middle-aged man was scrutinizing him. The middle-aged man was wearing a light purple robe and was only a few steps away from His Majesty the King, obviously a person of high status. The eyes hidden under his high cheekbones were long and gloomy, like a pool of cold water without any ripples or emotion. Although he immediately shifted his gaze after noticing Hao Ren's reaction and concealed his expression well, Hao Ren was still one hundred percent certain that the eyes had just been fixed on him.

That gaze was not just ordinary curiosity and inquiry, but more of a vigilance, or even hostility – causeless hostility.

But apart from the parties involved, no one around noticed this "little interlude."

The welcoming ceremony ended quickly. After the routine rituals required to welcome the triumphant knights were completed, several luxurious gold-inlaid carriages slowly drove in from the other end of the platform. The King and his courtiers boarded several of them to return to the Golden Rose Palace. But when boarding the first carriage, Veronica requested that Hao Ren accompany her.

The first carriage was for royal use only. Apart from members of the royal family, only dukes and generals specially authorized by the King could ride in it, and that had to be under very special circumstances.

Therefore, this request surprised Rudolph III. He thought of Hao Ren's identity as an "ancient guardian" and knew that this identity was extraordinary, but he didn't expect Veronica to value this guardian so much. He once again sought his daughter's opinion with his eyes, receiving an even more affirmative answer.

"Father," Veronica nodded firmly, "the guardian led us through all the battles in the Chaos Lands and repelled the demon army in front of the Western Fortress. His selfless actions deserve our highest respect. And regarding some of the anomalies that occurred in the Chaos Lands... I think it's necessary for us to discuss them with the guardian."

Rudolph III heard an unusually earnest tone in Veronica's voice. He glanced at Hao Ren, who naturally had an indifferent expression. After a moment's consideration, His Majesty the King nodded: "That should be so."

Thus, in addition to His Majesty the King and Veronica, the first carriage had one more member, this "ancient guardian" Hao Ren. This was naturally not in accordance with the rules, but in this kind of occasion, no one would question the King's decision.

But before getting into the carriage, Hao Ren once again felt that cold gaze.

He raised his head, but only saw a tall, thin back. The kingdom's high-ranking official in gorgeous robes had already boarded another carriage.

"Weird..." Hao Ren shook his head. "What did I do to offend him..."

Although he didn't know how he had offended a high-ranking official of the kingdom whom he had never met, he still silently remembered the tall, thin man's appearance, preparing to find a chance to investigate. Perhaps the other party still thought that he had concealed his gaze well, but he probably never imagined that Hao Ren's perception would be so unbelievably strong.

After the carriage left the white platform, the noisy voices outside gradually faded away, and the carriage became quiet. Hao Ren sat opposite Veronica and Rudolph III, neither curiously looking around nor feeling the slightest bit constrained. He simply narrowed his eyes slightly, as if closing his eyes to rest: playing the part of an "ancient guardian" to the fullest.

Opposite him, Veronica finally couldn't help but take the King's hand: "Father, why didn't Anya and Andrew come?"

"They're sick," Rudolph III frowned as he said this. Obviously, the sudden illness of his children cast a shadow over this celebratory day. "Especially Anya. She insisted on coming to welcome you, but I was really worried about her health."

"My younger brother and sister are sick?" Veronica immediately became nervous. "Is it serious?"

"Don't worry," Rudolph III gave a comforting smile. "They're already getting better. The royal apothecaries have prescribed special medicine for them. Andrew can already walk around, and Anya just needs to rest for a few days."

Hao Ren, who was "closing his eyes to rest," suddenly twitched his ears.

He heard a strange suppression in Rudolph III's tone. The situation of the prince and princess... I'm afraid it's more than just being sick.